Classic ‘Manhattan’ Scene (Woody Allen)
Posted: July 23, 2012 Filed under: Culture Beat Leave a comment »
Well, it’s no surprise that Woody Allen is one of my favorite filmmakers as most of his early films are love letters to New York City. ‘Manhattan’ is such a classic and elegant homage to the Big Apple. I just want to share this comedic scene that never fails to make me laugh.
Yale: You are so self-righteous, you know. I mean we’re just people. We’re just human beings, you know? You think you’re God.
Isaac Davis: I… I gotta model myself after someone.
Conversation Hour en Français
Posted: July 11, 2012 Filed under: California Leave a comment »I have been meeting up with my co-worker Kirstin to help her practice French as she’s moving to Europe in September for grad school.
My french is quite rusty so it’s great to practice
this time, family and travel.
we particularly talked extensively about switzerland, geneva where my friend wants to move eventually and because i know a little about the country after leaving there for four years.
it was great know more the person
ciocolat
order but they run out
of course we need to finish in style with creme brulee
it’s great outdoor at Ciocolat
We finish in style with creme brulee
Sometimes, instead of going to restaurants, Kirstin cook
Some pasta with French lemonade !
Another coworker joined us. She bought such a yummy vegan strawberry cake from Food Co-Op.
I believe I ate a little too much 
Amy bought cake from Food Coop So yummy
Anyways, looking forwards
(Pictures taken with Iphone 3 | Mental note: Bring a camera next time!)
Happy Fourth of July !
Posted: July 4, 2012 Filed under: California | Tags: america, bbq, california, food, fourth of july, friends, independence day, peanut butter, uc davis 1 Comment »I woke up today, craving for peanut butter. This is new. I have always hated peanut butter. The only spread I ever had is Nutella. I even had a blog called ‘Nutella Daily’ (and of course, because you can’t spell ‘Nutella’ without my name ‘Ella’).
I made a PB & J sandwich for lunch. The best thing I ever ate.
Why do I suddenly love peanut butter? Somehow, I feel like my new obsession is a sign that I am now completely Americanized - which is neither a good or a bad thing. Just a thought.
My roommate was laughing hysterically at me for walking around the kitchen, agonizing, pondering over peanut butter. She pointed out the irony of my new discovery on exactly Independence Day.
Oh well. I just know that my stomach is happy.
I spent the afternoon drawing graphs for my Economics homework and proofreading my essay. Summer classes are crushing me. I also continued with the editing of my ‘bike safety guidelines’ video for the Global Study Program, which brings international students to UC Davis.
Don’t feel sorry for me. I did have a break after all the work.
At around 6:30pm, I headed over to my friends’ house for some BBQ time by the pool.
I still can’t forget the ribs. So Juicy.
Hinano and Todd (the hosts, thank you!), Rachel, Valerie, and I
We all met through AggieTV, the on campus media production studio. I’m so glad that we are not just mere co-workers but can also spend time hanging out with each other. I love that even though we all aspire to make it big in the media and entertainment industry, we don’t look at each other as competition but collaborators. I can only hope, after college, to find a similar workplace environment, where our creative energy can bounce off each other.
(I just want to give a special shout out to Todd for installing Final Cut Pro and Photoshop on my laptop. Without you, I could not have been able to finish all my work projects.
And of course, to Rachel, my social media mini-mentor, who came all the way from the Bay Area to visit.)
And finally, it’s certainly not a complete Fourth of July without some firework.
Happy Birthday, America !
Favorite Song: ‘Back to Manhattan’
Posted: July 1, 2012 Filed under: Culture Beat | Tags: calm, dream, manhattan, music, new york, norah jones, ny, nyc, song Leave a comment »
‘Back to Manhattan’ by Norah Jones is my absolute favorite song about New York.
I discovered it while on the plane ride back to California from New York. I remembered listening to it on a loop for 5 hours straight.
“I should go back to Manhattan
It’s just a train ride away
I know nothing ’bout leaving
But I know I should do it today”
(Ok, the lyrics are more of a love song, but still, it’s about New York.)
This song is my alarm clock. I know I’m weird for putting such a melodious and calm song to wake me up everyday. In a way, it’s nice to start a day by reminding myself that one day soon, I will be back to Manhattan.
Enjoy !
Summer Reads: ‘An Object of Beauty’ and More
Posted: June 27, 2012 Filed under: Culture Beat | Tags: book, books, chick lit, girl in new york, literature, new york, new york art, ny, nyc, read, reading, summer, summer read, young adult 1 Comment »Just Read
I just finished ‘Delirium’ by Lauren Oliver. What a quick and easy read. It’s the first book of a trilogy about a dystopian society, where love – deliria – is considered a disease. I think the idea of the book is absolutely genius and very original.
Even though I enjoyed reading the story, I was not obsessed or felt compelled to devour it. The writing is flowy so I easily finished the book by just reading on the bus and in-between classes. The book is too ‘young adult’ for me – it doesn’t transcend all ages like ‘Harry Potter.’ Plus, I heard that the sequel would introduce a triangle love tangle (face palm, too Twilight-style).
I think the reason I pick up this book is because I know the movie would come out sometimes soon so I just want to read the book first. I would recommend the book if you like teenage love stories or want a get-away beach book.
Currently Reading
I’ve been reading this book on and off for the past year ! Steve Martin (yes! The comedian!) is a prolific writer. I like his autobiography so I decide to pick up his novel ‘An Object of Beauty’, about a young girl trying to succeed in the art world of New York (Oh yeah, did I mention that I watch, listen to, and read anything related to New York – I will definitely share with you my list of favorite movies and songs about New York in upcoming posts).
This book is definitely more age-appropriate for me compared to ‘Delirium.’ So far, I like the main character Lacey. She has an air of ‘living-in-the-moment’ that I can relate to. I also like all the references to the paintings (In fact, one of my favorite books is ‘The Da Vinci Code’).
Pondering prose, young girl in New York, art world – this book definitely has all the right elements. But somehow, I always come across other books that are more interesting to me. Hopefully, this time, I can turn to the last page of the novel by the end of summer.
To Read
Don’t judge ! I like chick lit. In fact, the quickest books I’ve ever read are ‘Nothing can keep us together’, the eight book from the Gossip Girls series by Cecily von Ziegesar (yup, the original inspiration for the CW TV show) and ‘Beautiful People’ by Wendy Holden. Ok, you’re totally judging. It’s fine. I like variety.
From the summary, it looks like ‘The Twins of Tribeca’ by Rachel Pine is ‘The Devils Wear Prada’ movies style. I ordered this book a couple of days ago through the interlibrary loan system at my school. It should be coming soon. What a perfect book for me: movies, PR, and New York.
I have a feeling I will finish this one before ‘An Object of Beauty.’ I will definitely update you on my books progress. More days lounging by the pool while sipping iced peppermint white mocha, procrastinating.
How about you? What are you reading this summer? Any books recommendations (especially if it relates to New York, films, or arts in general) ?
Why New York ?
Posted: June 22, 2012 Filed under: New York | Tags: college, college graduate, dream, love, new york, ny, nyc, young Leave a comment »
I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit several “dream” cities such as Paris, London, Barcelona. I even had the chance to live in some of the top cities in the world including Vienna, Geneva, and San Francisco. However, no place captures my imagination more than New York City. From the first time I visited the city, 5 years ago, I knew I wanted to live there. I love everything about New York – the chaos, the energy, and even the dirtiness. New York oddly reminds me of home – Hanoi, Vietnam. Maybe because both cities have a unique quality of vivacious rush combined with the typical polluted urban air, exuding a certain sense of a “beautiful mess.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about New York. Kelly Cutrone’s words “The only dream I ever had was the dream of New York itself “ swirl through my mind every instant. Before I transfered from San Francisco to Davis, the only thing I wanted was to re-visit New York to see if it was truly magical. This time, I felt in love even more with the city. Running in Central Park. Contemplating ‘The Persistence of Memory’ at MoMA. Watching ‘Dreamgirls’ under the Brooklyn Bridge. Eating chicken and rice at 3am. Or just standing still at Times Square. I have never felt more alive. Simple but perfect.
As such, it is a no-brainer for me to decide to move to New York after college. I’m young, optimistic, and still a little naive. I have nothing to lose so it’s now or never. As Steve Martin would say “There is no harm in charging oneself up with delusions between moments of valid inspiration.”
New York,
See you in September.
[Photo Credit: luxury.com.ua via Pinterest]
