Star Treatment

This is how unaffected I remain by this city, ok well maybe not by the city, maybe I am just clueless about these things.

Dara and me went to see notes on a Scandal, at the famous arclight, and around the corner there was a lot of noise. I turned to say, what in the world is going on over there, apparently it was a premiere and there were flashing lights and celebrities. Dara said, oh it's because I said so, which was having its premiere tonight. I blew it off thinking it was some random little film, until minutes later I walk inside and see that it was the very movie I had jus told Dara at home that I wanted to see! The one with mandy moore and Diane keaton! Shows how much I know.

Then leaving the theatre, some blonde girl was behind me and some man went up to her and almost bumped into me. I turned to her, coughing in sickness, and saw he was getting her autograph, in my head i thought, who's she supposed to be, she looks rather plain, she looked at me like "i know I am somebody," and i kept thinking i have no idea who you are. In french, I asked dara (the human IMDB) who she was and apparently she was on Desperate Housewives as Terri Hatcher's daughter. Hah. I would've never known.

Then we went to the Rite Aid. There, as I was coughing, came walking a celebrity and I told Dara once we hid back aorund the shaving cream isle that the guy from Wings was in the store, and at least i recognized him. She though I said Weeds, so when she saw who he was she thought i was even more clueless, especially since it turns out not only was he on wings, the sitcom, he's on studio 60! Leave it to me to recognize someone from a 1990s sitcom as opposed to the successful project they are currently working on! Then I said, yeah, I met him when his wife did a show at the Guthrie, but apparently that was the other guy from Wings.

Ah well.

Why my life has been apropo.

Let me further explain my last post.

I was just cast in a film where I play a sister, one who had a kid early on and is now this sorta stay at home chola mom, who is dealing with her career driven sister. I am writing a play about the way latino women are socialized to think abotu sex, family, motherhood, career and identity. When people ask me when I am getting married or when I will have kids I say, well my sister will before I do thats for sure. And finally, In San Jose I am playing the Bride in Blood Wedding, a story abotu what happens when you try ot deny the fate that has crossed you, a story about one's expectations about life and how they are changed and how we have to deal with them. In December I had a serious talk with my sis about HPV, and told her that the last thing she and I needed to do was to get pregnant. not just because my father is a public spiritual figure, but because we have a mother we can always go to, and because we know about respecting our bodies.

That said....I am going to be an aunt! My little sis is pregnant.

So, thank god we had a wonderful new york trip. I think it really solidified us as a family, and we need that support right now.


So....I will be knitting again. If anyone wants to start a knit club with me, I am for it.

Shaken World.

We spend our lives planning, and planning, and as someone once told me...it ends up that life is what happens when you're busy making plans. We spend our time imagining what we want our lives to be, what we expect, what we wish and hope for, but there's only so much one can do to make that happen. As much as I believe I am in control of my life, and what happens in it, and how the choices I make create my own experience, we are creatures living in a precarious world, where hurricanes happen, where death happens, where all sorts of things happen to shake us up and either move us stronger in the direction we were going in, or plant us on a completely different road.

These days more than ever, I am determined to take control of my life and at the same time open to letting it take me to the surprising places it does, but all I can do is my part, right?

It seems that everything that has been ocurring in my life has been so apropo. The short film I was just cast in. The play I am writing. The conversations i had in December. The wonderful trip I took with my family to New York. The answers I give to people who ask me when I am getting married. The role I am playing in San Jose. The plans I have been making....

I just wish the balance the Universe is causing wasn't so close to home....

Update, cause I don't have anything clever to say.

I was in Minneapolis last week.....
I will end by saying that I HATE the cold and will never move back there permanently, and begin by saying it was a wonderful trip being back.
I mean except for the time I was walking outside, crying cause it hurt, then crying even more cause my frozen tears were hurting my face.
Other than that, I was happy to be around creatives again, and our show's in the Lights Up Series were great this year.
One night the cast and me went out to a bar in downtown MInneapolis, and I looked around and though how comfortable and nice it was to be around people who reocgnized the significance of their work, who were comfortable with who they were, and who found joy in their current state. A different feeling from LA.
I didn't get to see evryone I wouldve liked, but I did get to see my lovely BFA's, including ELliot in one of our shows, and Jonas on the Guthrie Stage. And my prom date, Megan, who lent me a dress for Mike's Prom party.

Now I am back and taking improv classes with Second City...just you wait....I will be improv queen by the end of the week when we have our performance, and if you want a personal show...well...we'll talk.

I spoke to NEW TV guy today. This one really is a TV guy, as in he's actually on it. It was a alightly awkward conversation, but if he calls this week like he said he would, then we're going to hang out soon, which is good, because i like him.

Calorie Count.....

Tres bad. After a night at Chino Latino Happy Hour, with my lovely BFA's and french toast of the dead....I awoke to Elliot's crunchy cereal, a cookie at the coffee shop, and unecessarily filling dinner at Newsroom, and then an exhorbitant amount of cookies at the opening night reception....I think I may have cosumed enough calories for two days.

Not doing so well eh?

On a happier note....Von Rollo opened last night, and they were very solid, and very funny. I am very proud of their work. :-)

Little House on the frickin cold snow.

My toes are so cold, I want to stick them in my hot pot of tea here in the middle of Spyhouse. WHY, why did little Laura Ingles Wilder settle in such a cold place. WHY.

about 1300.

So I a, currently freezing my butt off in Minneapolis.....thats the only thing that gives em troubles about being here, otherwise it is wonderful to see my good friends, and to be part of the Light House Group's work, siince we open two shows this weekend. I miss creative kindred spirits. The moment I got in I was sewing costumes, taking notes on a run....I miss the live of constatn creation, but I love the new life I am creating in LA. Being here defnitely puts it in perspective.

I used to be like a mini celebrity here, always beign part of the buzz and getting noticed aroudn town for shows I did. This city has moved on, and so have I, but I love that I can always touch base with Light house.

I somehow always seem to find the frenchies. I am staying at this international house for a few days and i alreayd met the french guy.

So that you guys can keep me accoutnable to help reach my goals, I am going to post my calorie counts, and that way there's no lying, since my trainer has got me on a now strict 1200 calories per day. :-)

Ode to my friend.

SO I have been thinking about people I like ( because after hearing Gov. Arnolds speech kinda like him now.), and I thought about a certain person that I owe a shout out to, not because i feel obligated, but because I really haven't mentioned her enough to know hwo much I love her because, well, we're unfortunately far away.

Ode to my best friend Amanda.

I have known this girl since high school, at HSPVA, when every guy thought he wanted to marry her ( and they all still do). Aside from being smart, in law school, funny, beautiful, humble, caring, compassionate, and so many other things.....I trust her like family. I am thankful for how she is always there for me when I need her, and that she trusts me to be there for her to. I love that we can go days without talking btu it makes no difference beause she knows me more than people that see me everyday or even people i grew up with. She's one of the few that I can honestly saw I admire. And so much more. I am lucky to have her in my life. And though Kara in HS hated me saying that I thought my friendship with Amanda was meant to be, i really think it is.

I also love when she sticks oreos in her teeth and asks if she has anything in stuck in them, or how she speaks in a little voice to her dog (now I do it), or how she calls everything little (I do it now too), or that she may be a white girl but she's been adopted into the latinas and black, or that she can look so great in tshirt and jeans, or that she so forgiving, or , or or so much more....

I love you Amanda.

Children of Men

I saw Children of Men last night....now another favorite of the year. Go see this movie.

Aesthically: Beautiful. Great cinematography, and production design. Subtle, and perhaps the most realistic future movie Ihave seen. Scarily realistically.

Story: Strong plot that serves mainly as a vehicle for the message of the film.

Message: Message? Take from it what you will. There are many, and there is a theme, but if anything this film incited me with proactive fear, because I saw one possibilty of what could be and it seems all to real in light of current events: A world where immigrants are treated as criminals, a world where wealth is distributed so unfairly, a world where women cannot concieve! (all to real consider the rapid spread of HPV among girls ages 9-27 and above, which causes cervical cancer and also can cause infertility- TELL SOMEONE, this is not just an STD it is a contact virus, even little girls and nuns get it!), a world where life is not appreciated, a world where violence is accepted as common, a world over-regulated by government. Sound familiar?

2006 in Review (Copied from Rachel's bulletin)

1) DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR
Alcohol....Ibanga, Peter MN, and Megan Bartle
Tea...Dana

2) LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD (longest friend)
Hmmm. My girls.

3) NEWCOMER AWARD - NEWEST FRIEND?
Lennis, my middle school friend who foudn me online two days before the New Year.

4) RECONNECT OF THE YEAR:
Justin Towery, not only did we reconnect but he got me my apartment.
Also, Justin Simien. After four years apart, we are back together and creating...

5) HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR?
Moving to LA. Marta Solano and Anna in the Tropics.

6) LOW POINT OF THE YEAR?
My anxiety attacks of April and May.

7) BEST HOLIDAY?
My fabulous birthday party at Solera with my dear Minneapolis Friends.

8) YOUR SONG FOR 2006
Chan Chan, Buena Vista Social Club.

9) MOVIE FOR 2006?
Of course, the Science of Sleep.

10) WHO DID YOU SPEND VALENTINE's DAY WITH?
My Tea Garden Friends at Azia in Minneapolis. It was an anti-valentines night.

11) BEST RELATIONSHIP?
Um, in agreement with Rachel, the one I have with myself.

12) WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN
Costume... I don't need a costume....I am French....(I wore an accent.)

13) RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR?
Azia in Minneapolis, and Joey's in West Hollywood.

14) BOOK OF THE YEAR?
Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell.

15) BEST DECISION MADE THIS YEAR?
To stop seeing a certain someone. To move to LA.

16) WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR?
I got lots of plans, but ideally there will be more travelling.

17) MOST STUPID IDEA WHEN DRUNK?
All I have to say is.....Birthday night....big mistake.

18) TV SHOW OF THE YEAR?
Everwood.

19) BIGGEST CHANGE OF THE YEAR?
Moving from the Midwest to the West.

20) BIGGEST DUMBASS AWARD?
Heheh. I can't say here....

21) NEW YEAR RESOLUTION?
I don't make these, I make resolutions and decisions as they come....

i did a lot of work last night, so I can procrastinate a bit

The Best Myspace Survey
* . . About You . . *
Eye Color::	Brown
Hair Color::	Black
Height::	5'3"
Favorite Color::	Green, but I love to wear red.
Screen Name::
Favorite Band::	Too many to name, but I will be seeing the Cat Empire soon!
Favorite Movie::	too many too, but I just saw the Good Shepherd and The Holiday and loved them both.
Favorite Show::	Hmmm, Everwood. And brother's and sisters. oh yeah and my guilty pleasures of Clean House and How Do I Look.
Your Car::	Grey '04 Passat.
Your Hometown::	Houston
Your Present Town::	WeHo
Your Crushes First Name::	Heh, I am not saying.
Your Grade::
Your Style::	inspired by the fashionistas on sex and the city
* . . Have You Ever . . *
Sat on your rooftop?:	Yes, you can see the Hollywood sign from here.
Kissed someone in the rain?:	How about the snow?...My ex Adam.
Danced in a public place?:	Yes, I started dancing when I was little, and sometimes i just burst into dance.
Smiled for no reason?:	Yes. all the time.
Laughed so hard you cried?:	Haha, yes.
Peed your pants after age 8?:	Hmmm. Sadly ...maybe.
Written a song?:	yes I used to all the time. Haven't lately.
Sang to someone for no reason?:	Yes. Infact, once it caused a break up.
Performed on a stage?:	All the time.
Talked to someone you don't know?:	I meet random people often.
Gone out of your way to befriend someone?:	And consequently I befriend them.
Made out in a theatre?:	Yes.
Gone roller skating since 8th grade?:	No! But I soooo want to.
Been in love?:	Not In love, but I have loved.
* . . Who was the last person to . . *
Say HI to you?:	Dara.
Tell you, I love you?:	Dad.
Kiss you?:	My parents.
Hug you?:	Dara.
Tell you BYE?:	Dara.
Write you a note?:	Laura S.
Take your photo?:	Me, at new years.
Call your cell phone?:	Lennis.
Buy you something?:	Dara bought me a great bracelet.
Go with you to the movies?:	Mom and Dad.
Sing to you?:	I can't recall.
Write a poem about you?:	Khary :-)
Text message you?:	Danny.
Touch you?:	Dara.
* . . What's the last . . *
Time you laughed?:	Earlier today.
Time you cried?:	Weeks ago.
Movie you watched?:	Dreamgirls.
Joke you told?:	I don't tell them, when I do theyre bad, so theyre not really jokes.
Song you've sang?:	Isn't this a lovely day....
Time you've looked at the clock?:	Just now.
Drink you've had?:	water.
Number you've dialed?:	i don't remember.
Book you've read?:	The Power of Myth.
Food you've eaten?:	A GREEAT salad.
Flavor of gum chewed?:	wintergreen.
Shoes you've worn?:	My runnign shoes.
Store you've been in?:	Bodhi Tree.
Thing you've said?:	It's cold.
* . . Can You . . *
Write with both hands?:	Nope.
Whistle?:	haha, but only by sucking not blowing.
Blow a bubble?:	On the way from teh airport with Cleveland.
Roll your tounge in a circle?:	I don't remember.
Cross your eyes?:	hahaah a long time ago.
Touch your tounge to your nose?:	I can't do that.
Dance?:	In my room.
Gleek?:
Stay up a whole night without sleep?:	last night I stayed up till reallll late.
Speak a different language?:	spanish and a little french.
Impersonate someone?:	earlier today i tried to impersonate a french accent
Prank call people?:	hahaha in middle school
Make a card pyramid?:	i don't think I ever have, what have I been doing with my life.
Cook anything?:	Today I baked Chevre.
* . . Finish The Line . . *
If i were a ...:	a rich man, yada yada yada yada dum.
I wish ...:	I had a TV/Film agent.
So many people don't know that ...:	I like my solitude.
I am ...:
My heart is ...:	really big, but Careful.
Take this survey | Find more surveys Bzoink - The Original Survey Site

It's 2007!

I am back in LA now, missing my family back in Texas, but very excited about throwing myself back into things because now that I am back I have to step it up.

It was a really good time home, probably the first in a while where we all got into some sorta unreasonable argument making me want my freedom again, instead things were great the whole time, and I began to miss my family before I'd even left. Even little Cachito. At church, during a little trivia game, my dad kept giving my mom the wrong answers so that when she would stand up confidently to announce them, he'd turn red laughing. Christina and I got to talk. Mom and me had a good dinner. And our trip to NYC was one of the best vacations we'd taken as a family. These are only some pictures, more will come later.

Here are some images from NY. Including dad being really silly.

Amol, a friend I met through Chase invited me out in NY to hang with his friends. See for yourself how fun it was. hahaha

Back in Houston, Amanda tried to make me and Lindsey and the boys Mexican breakfast and succeeded! Lindsey and me surprised her with an engagement dinner at the restuarant where she and Brian met.

And finally, Tia Bertha and Tio Arturo's Engagement New Years Party and New Years at the Bandas.

I came home feeling as if I had been gone forever. Dara got me a gift, a bracelet that says Trust Yourself...something I need to hear these days, which Amanda also told me before I left. And she doesn't know this, though now she will, but when she left I was looking at it and got emotional. She's the friend I have been looking for in LA, someone I can really talk to, and she's the first person in alooooong time I can actually live with. She's wonderful. All my friends are. I am thankful though that I have found a good one in this big city of tools. :-)

A downer.

Well...My father's home town, San Pedro, Garza Garcia, Monterrey, NL, Mexico, just got named the wealthiest, richest, something or other of Latin America. Which saddens me since most of the people I know in San Pedro are not.

And tonight, Sadam was hung. I was in the same mixed up place when Pinochet died weeks ago since I cannot rejoice in anyone's death (especially one allowed by the death penalty), but what is there to feel? Apathy? I suppose it's awful knowing thats someone's attitude towards you.

hmph.

My parents are payign for high speed internet but it doesnt even work.

I have been wanting to write, btu my parents don't have high speed internet, so it's difficult to upload pics. Consequnetly, I won't write about NY and abotu seeing my lovely ebst friends, and hwo LIndsey and me threw Amanda and Brian an engagement partey, until I have the pictures to prove it!

SO a few minor updates....
1. Dad and I started the Master Cleanser today, we're only doing it for three days, but he really wanted to detox, so I am supporting, and let me tell you, it's the first time I have done this thing and not gone hungry. I actually look forward to the little lemonades I drink all day long.
2. I saw The HOliday. It was precious and I am now in love with Jude Law. That is only in jest.
3. I got a call from the ladies at the White House Project this morning and then watching the ever inspirational Mr. Obama on the tely, and am wondering if it'sa sign.
4.Diedrich's, my favorite Houston coffee shop, has been bought out, so I have been using that as an excuse to not write since I have no writing location now (I am terribl abotu writing at home.)
5. I got in a fight with my sister's boyfriend. Let me tell you....I love, I am compassionate, I care, and I RARELY get upset enough to raise my voice at someone...btu when I do.....watch out, this Taurus has got some serious horns. Especially when it comes to people I love.
6.I am reading End of Faith, and I like it but Sam Harris draws some really loose conclusions, I hope he makes up for them. I am only at the beginning, but you'd expect more meticulous work from a PHD in Philosphy. Doesn't help that I just read power of myth.
7. hmm, i have no seven, but pics and more blogging to come.

From the Hilton, Ave of the Americas, NYC, USA, N. America, the world, the galaxy, the universe, the dimmension, the string, the ...void

If LA and NYC are my zodiac signs then LA is my sun sign (the sign which gives me the tools acquired to accomplish...) and NYC is my rising, my life journey, where I am to end up.

I absolutely love this city. I cannot wait for the day I move here and live here. And I don't want to think about leaving...but I did become a member at MoMA because admission for the four of us (family) was cheaper that way, so I now I will use that as an excuse to return....I have to make use of my museum membership.

Tonight I saw Wicked, and it'd been a while since a piece of theater (no matter how broadway it may be) was sooooo inspirational. Ana Gasteyer is my new broadway idol, infact both the witches in the show....such great work. Inspires me ot start dancing again, and reminds me how excited I would get watching such reat performances, that feeling that told me to do it as long as I could. Which leads me to say.....

A director I worked with in Minnesota, who is from LA, is doing Blood Wedding in San Jose CA and has cast me as the BRIDE!!!!! First of all, Blood Wedding is one of those plays I swore I would o before I died, and now I have the female lead. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity, and for the anticipation I now have for really working on a show again, really beign challenged, and working with a director I really work well with.

My parents are supreme. I could not have asked for better. Dad suggested we come back to NY at the end of every year as our family trip. Mom and I are gonna hold him to his word. The thing is though...its' hard now that my sister and I are older and we all want to do different things. They didnt have fun on "my day" when I chose for us to go to MoMA and hang out in Greenwich. My dad was happy taking a bus tour and visting Ground Zero. Today my sister got her shopping day, which yielded me a pair of shoes. And my mom....well I think she's happy overall, and tomorrow mornign theyre gonna try to get on the Regis and Kelly show while I go to the Guggenheim cause I know they won't want to. We have fun together, but we're all obvioiusly very different. And I of course want to go out at night, my poor sis cant since she's not21, and my parents well they don't go out like that. So last night I hung out with Amol, my new friend, and his friends and had a wonderful time partying at one of the DeLuca's (yes as in Dean and Deluca) restaurants.

As far as home goes....
I saw TV guy the night before I left. Since I left the office, he kept trying to hang out with me so finally I said ok. And I of course though it was a friendly thing after we sorta got distant with each other back at the office. We had a good time, walked to Barney's and played pool then made fun of people karaoking...and I was reminded about why I liked him....We have fun together...it's fun, and he is a nice guy. And lets just say now that I don't know how we've left it off. Things transpired, noting serious, but now I am confused as to what is going on. Ezpecially since I am still in a "I belong to God and no one else" sorta dating mood.

Ah well.
Pics from NYC to come.

Oh yeah. Amanda got engaged! (congratualtions my wittle pwetty fwend) Which means I was right. Ellie first, then Amanda, and Lindsey says she's talking about engagement with Thad. That's 3 out of 4. I am the fourth. Hah.

I'll be in NYC next week!!

i succeeded last night at making a good dinner. Let me describe:

balsamic marinated backed squash, red pepper and goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, pomegranate/cranberry/pecan mixed green salad. mmmm.

complemented by the holiday cookie Chase bought me at the play last night.

Golden Globes

The Golden Globe Nominees were announced today, and for once I think every nominee I expected was on the list (well I mean I think Gael Garcia Bernal was phenomenal in Science of Sleep but I also knew he wouldnt get nominated.) But both Brad Pitt, and the Hispanic lady in Babel were nominated....thank goodness. Aso Borat was nominated for best comedy as was Sacha Baren Cohen. Little Miss Sunshine got some nominations as well as the breathtaking Penelope Cruz in Volver. Weeds and Grey's Anatomy were also on the list.

Points of DissaPOINTment:

Apocalypto was nominated as a best foreign film. (YUCK, A stupid racist movie., or so I read in reviews....we'll see.)

Beyonce was nominated for Dreamgirls, which I hear is a great film and I can't wait to see it, but I also heard from Justin how her part in the original cut was smaller, but they wanted to make her into a nominee and seem like a lead actress so they extended her scenes even though jennifer hudson had the larger role, and the fact that Hollywood PR people could actually affect something like the Golden Globe nominations is rather upsetting though to be expected.)

And then America, the girl not the country, gets nominated for Ugly Betty, yeah yeah, I watch the show, it's cute, and cheesy, and has some greta actors like the girl who plays her enemy, and her boyfriend and her sister, but I think she's , well and "...
-eh" kind of actor, but I am VERY hard on her because when I have an agent she'll be my competition, and her nomination REALLY makes me want to get off my butt and get one ASAP before she goes and wins that thing. Yes, I admit I am childishly jealous. I am sure she's a nice girl.

Xochiquetzal

My new life as a shaman.

I have just failed at my first attempt to make a Spanish tortilla (egg-potato pie.) I am definitely no Dana, and perhaps I shouldve followed Lauras adviced to cook the potatos in chicken broth first, but nope. It ended up being a a huge omelette, of which half ended up on my stove top during the tricky flipping technique it takes to make a tortilla.

I can't take any pictures for you because I have lost BOTH battery chargers to my Canon Elf, so if anyones thinking of a clever and thoughtful holiday gift to send me......

I have been reading Joseph Campbell, a good book to come into my hands at this point in my life. I oscillate between being caught in though, in ideas, and being set into action, work. And for a while I was stuck in action, action, action. And right now I am in a place of ideas, idealogy, idealism. I catch myself worrying sometimes that I am not doing enough, making things happen (though I am doing quite a but i fyou know me you know I never think it's enough). But I remind myself how much I need these periods of wallwoing in thought to ground myself in my beliefs, my idealogy, my passions, my mind, my spirit. Its in these periods of time that I want to just continue my life as an artist forever, become a scholar, teach, write, speak. Its the times of incessant action that throw me into desires of running for office, taking off for africa to hold children, starting organizations to help immigrants. The peak of my life will be when I have found a way to live my life doing both at once, in a balance. That is the point I want to reach-the point of the most complete me.

Campbell says that artists are the shamans of our age. In my periods of "take action" I often feel like my art is not enough, that it's not actively "doing" anything. But I like this idea that artists revitalize a society with the "mythology" it easily loses, and with the meanings and inspirations found therein. I am going to live in pride as an artist (pride being the un-humble happiness_ because I need to go to that extreme to once again appreciate what it is to live and breath and walk and talk and create as an artist.

Last week I started painting again....I'm no Da Vinci, (though I dream to be), but I finally let myself just do it.

Sure Enough...

I had another dream last time...this time with certain famiyl members who always comment on my weight, but now I got to tell them to shut it. Perhaps my brain is draining of the negativity.

I feel a bit blocked. I feel like my voice is being choked and my brushes lost their bristles.

And Guy #4 had now DIVORCED me...three times he said.