Fall TV

I’m always excited when it’s the start of a new season. Winter because it’s cozy and cold and the holidays always make me feel warm and fuzzy (so yea, I like cold and warm stuff at the same time). Summer because of vacations and the easy, breezy vibe that everything seems to be on a temporary hold. I like Spring because you can finally step outside and indulge in some sunlight. There’s flowers and stuff–yea, I’m actually not a big fan of Spring because I can’t seem to breathe through my nose nor taste anything in my mouth nor open my eyes because of allergies.

But Fall. Oh, Fall.

Fall is glorious. It’s a symbol of new beginnings. It takes me back to grade school days when I would start school again and go back-to-school shopping and watch leaves fall and feel a breath of fresh wind.

Oh, and there’s also the return of Fall TV, where all my tube favorites come back and reunite with me on weeknights. Welcome back, guys! I’ve missed you so! (I have real friends too, I swear. Though sometimes I ditch them to cozy up to my Hulu on Saturday nights.)

I’ve noticed that the new shows this year are really quite female-centric.  And for that, I say, “You go, girls!” with a *snap and a twist of my head (however you do that).

Some promising ones:

NEW GIRL

Kudos to Zooey Deschanel and the rest of the ‘New Girls’ team for crafting a fleshed out, female character that’s funny and pathetic, hot and dorky, silly and serious all at once. Even just by watching the pilot, there are moments of Zooey’s Jess that I find in myself. Case(s) in point:

-Jess’s constant sing-songness of everyday sentences. I do that at work all the time. My boss gets annoyed. And I respond “sorry” in a sing-song voice.
-There was a line in the pilot where Jess tells a bartender pouring her some rose wine, “The pink one makes my slutty” which reminded me of my own moment when at a club in HK, I ran up to my friends and whispered, “The drunker I get, the sluttier I get!” I then proceeded to giggle and run away.

I wasn’t too keen on the storyline in the pilot but I’m willing to watch some more episodes to see how the characters develop. In any case, how can you resist Zooey Deschanel?

posted by Janice | Comments: 7 | TV, Writing

The Best Writing Advice Donald Miller Gave Me

It’s been a tad hard to get any writing done recently.

It’s because when I write, I write for me but I also write for you. I want my words to be of quality, of encouragement, of inspiration. When it’s not up to that standard, I feel hesitant to display it.

Glad to have read this bit of advice from the writer of one of my favorite books, “Blue Like Jazz’s” Donald Miller.

Donald shares,

“I’ve a shelf at home devoted to books about writing. I’d say I might even have two shelves devoted to those books now. I’ve read most of them and some are better than others. But the best writing advice I’ve ever received didn’t come from a book. It actually occurred to me one morning when I was lying in bed, not wanting to get up and do my job. Maybe it came from heaven, I don’t know. But the advice was this: Love your reader.

…These days, that’s about all that’s keeping me going. Just the thought that somebody out there might not leave their spouse, or quit on that book they’re writing, or change their career or find God. In all those books about writing filled with tips and tricks, I think loving the reader is the best motivator I’ve found. And it keeps the quality up, too. We do tend to put our best foot forward when we care about somebody.

So the next time you sit down to write a blog, just remember somebody is going to read it and be encouraged.”

Loving you guys and as always, thank you for reading.

(As a cop-out, I’ll be loading articles that I wrote for various publications for you to read from the past year. Stay tuned!)

posted by Janice | Comments: 1 | Writing

Anatomy of an Outfit

I was never a girl that made too big a deal out of dressing up. For prom, I think I just went into my mom’s closet and dug out a dress she bought but never wore. For weddings, the same deal. For clubbing, I often wear sundresses.

So I was lucky enough this year to have my entire look come together the way it did. My friend Joyce did my hair and makeup. A PR company was kind enough to loan me the dress and jewels, and I just threw on my most fashionable pair of heels.

2011 Audrey’s Night Out | Exchange LA
Dress | Dalia Macphee
Hair & Makeup | Joyce Luck
Heels | My own. Forgot name.
Jewels | Thanks to RedLightPR

posted by Janice | Comments: 9 | Look, Los Angeles, Magazine, Writing

Motivational Monday: If You Can Find A Path…

Cheers to all of life’s challenges and hardships, roadblocks and obstacles, walls, and hoops of fire, dungeons and dragons.

Bring it on.

“If God Is for Me, Who Can Be Against Me?”
~Romans 8:31

posted by Janice | Comments: 1 | God, Inspirations, Personal

Oh Happy Day!

One of the best classes I took during my undergrad at UCLA was this Gospel Choir class every Friday morning.

At that time, I had just wanted something fun and the class was fun, indeed.

With a teacher behind the pianos, we went through gospel songs celebrating and appreciating God. At that time, an atheist me just found the songs to be delicious to sing and dance to. Let the hands clap! Let the voices tremor! Gospel Choir easily became the one class I most looked forward to every week, even though it meant I would actually have to wake my butt up and get to campus every Friday.

Now, I can see that I was being drawn to the light and to the Lord because it is inherently right to be praising the Lord for all that He has done for us and for all that He is.

And I know I’m not the only one who thinks so.  WitnessLA posted about Jesus showing up at Oprah’s Legends Ball earlier this summer. Take a look. It’s moving.

Happy Sunday, all!

posted by Janice | Comments: 4 | Blog, God, Inspirations, Love, Music, TV