Holidaze

Looking back at the year...and even beyond to when I first moved to New York, I am stuck between feeling like very LITTLE has happened and a LOT has happened. 

In terms of jobs, I have definitely gotten my feet wet in a wide variety of occupations or more aptly named "things that make me money".

I have worked as a receptionist at a branding/market company on 5th Avenue.
I have walked in a parade in front of an MMA fighter while holding a banner for a cable company that I hated so much that I ditched cable altogether.
I have been paid to give my "expert" opinion on luxury makeup products. (Folks, marketing surveys can be lucrative.)
I have served many a cocktail to lovers of song in a karaoke bar, including Precious who I tried to protect from "fans"  (Can I add "security" to the list?)

Don't worry.  I got your back!

I have held platters of food with shaking arms for parties on roof top bars which I myself liked to enjoy during beautiful New York summer nights (it's nicer when you're actually the patron).
I have been a job interviewer on camera for corporate videos.
I have studied sushi on flash cards during my stints as a waitress at two Japanese restaurants.
I have also taught Spanish to little kiddies who are probably fluent in the language, not to mention dug through a bag of clothes to give to a student who peed himself.

Flavor of the Month! Or maybe the Year!

Remember that chef who made his signature move of sprinkling his final choice of topping to his meal with a "BAM!"  I believe his name was Emeril, and the last time I heard his booming voice yelling "BAM!" was on a toothpaste commercial.  Anyway, that catchphrase accurately describes what truffle oil does to food...how it finishes it.  It may go on with a slow drizzle, but man, there is something that awakens your palate and ...maybe even your nether regions.

I'm not kidding.  You look up truffle oil and the words used to describe it include "sensual", "aphrodisiac", and "seductive".  Heterosexual men and lesbians, take note.  Apparently, women say it takes them to heaven.  Thank me later.  ("Men, take note" has a quick, more punchy sound to it.  But I realized that not all men want to lure women and that some women do.  Man, it's difficult to be socially aware at all times. I guess that's why Cosmo doesn't even try. "Ladies, 100 different ways to make your man climax!")

I learned how to tie knots in Boy Scouts!

Remember that music video I mentioned in my last post.  Well, here it is... Pull the Plug.  Do you see me?  I advise you to squint your eyes and cock your head sideways.




I actually got to drive the getaway car.  It's kind of interesting maneuvering the car with a cameraman squished in the seat next to you and trying to look hard and interacting with the singer all while making sure I didn't kill any of us.

When I first arrived to the set, the director came up to me and asked, "Can you drive?"  I nodded and replied:  "Are you asking me that because I'm Asian?" *laughter and a round of "OHHHHHs" in the room*

Director, looking a bit sheepish:  "Actually...yeah, we did discuss that factor".

All Up in the Air

I have videos that I want to put up, but they aren't uploading on here or youtube very well. Which of course makes me want to rip out my hair and lose momentum in blogging about anything. But I guess I'll figure it all out soon enough!

I got to work on a fun music video the other day.  I don't think I can share much, but let's say that I got to play a bad girl.  A vehh-weee bad girl.  It was for Pull the Plug by Sharice Styles.  Great song...especially for all of us who needed to or still need to pull the plug on that addictive relationship.  She and her sister were super nice, as was everyone on set.  I'm all for supporting talented and good people! Check her out on http://www.sharicestyles.com/   I can't wait to see the final cut!  (Hopefully, I don't end up on the cutting floor.)

The makeup got even more INTENSE

I guess I'm no Julia Child

Do you ever want to play hooky, but feel guilty lying about being sick?  Introducing...Erica's pancakes!  They will make you throw up within a minute of consumption, which means you technically ARE too sick to go to work.

No Excuses

I remember watching Oprah one day when she had kids on it who had accomplished extraordinary feats.  A child who created a non-profit organization for the homeless and raised millions of dollars, another kid who managed to get thousands of backpacks and school supplies donated to other less fortunate families, and the list went on and on.  There were 10-year-old's out there who had started their own successful businesses and foundations, and I was sitting on the couch staring lamely at the crumbs left strewn all over my shirt from mindlessly shoving cookies into my mouth while channel surfing.  That moment sure put things into perspective.

Now, I am fully aware that it's not healthy to constantly compare yourself to others and their achievements.  Especially in this day and age of multimillionaire tweens in the media, you could fall completely into a depression thinking about the house and trips you'll never be able to afford (if you're into that kind of thing...ok, but really...who isn't?)

The Face of Herpes...Treatment, that is.

Auditions are usually very short.  The ones I've been to allowed you about 4.8 minutes to shine and make an impression the casting directors won't forget.  It's very common for me to think as I'm walking out of the door, "Damn!  I was JUST getting warmed up!"  If I'm really lucky, the voices in my head will bring up a hundred different ways that I could have done better.  I find that eating ice cream usually shuts them up.

Well, I guess I must have shined (shone?) in one particular audition, or at least produced a tiny bit of reflection, because I got a callback.  It was for some reality show that I'm not even sure I can go into.  Whatever the case, the second part was an interview with the producers.

I am rooting for my fellow Asians.

Walking around the city, posters advertising a new show called Nikita have been leaping out at me.  A smoking hot Eurasian woman graces all of the ads.  She dutifully wears the color red that seems to bring out the more "Asian" in us.  You may be familiar with Maggie Q and that scene in Mission Impossible III with her impossibly long legs grazing her (surprise!) red dress when she gets out of the Lambo.  Come on!  How could you NOT notice??

And her current Nikita photos do not exclude those crazy stems of hers.

And you thought all that "White Man wanting to put us in red to look more Asian" was a bunch of baloney.

Here's a piece of humble pie.

The past 2 weeks have been a time of confusion and frustration as I've been trying to get my website up and running.  I definitely KNEW that doing it alone would be difficult.  I expected web design words to pop up at me and compute in my brain like so:  "eep ork moop beep".  My supposedly "dummy proof" site editor only made me feel even more incompetent as IT IS APPARENTLY NOT DUMMY PROOF.

Sorry, I was reliving the moment of technological defeat.

I hope that in the coming weeks, you observe my steep learning curve and notice my website and blog's awesomeness only becoming more...awesome.

But for now, it sucks.

www.erica-cho.com