How To Be Single - Movie Review

So this is something I'm actually pretty good at.  I've been single for most of my life.  I was slow to the whole dating game, I think due partly to how I was raised.  I remember being in the car with my mom when I was a maybe 11 and seeing a young couple making out on the street.  My mom looked at me and was like, I never want to see you doing that!

Another reason I've been single is that I am kind of picky.  In high school, I "dated" a few guys, which didn't mean anything when you're in high school.  It meant you occasionally went to dances and movies and sometime you held hands!  I remember not liking this guy after we ate In and Out and went to the movies.  His breath smelled like onions and I was honestly turned off. My highs school experience wasn't what you see in the movies or TV, but again this goes back to my upbringing. I know my peers were doing stuff and remember my friend telling me he got his girlfriend pregnant in the 7th grade.  This blew my mind! I couldn't even comprehend having sex at that age, let alone getting pregnant.

Got a bit sidetracked there, anyways back to the movie!  I went to watch this movie on V-day by myself because my single friends either didn't want to watch it or had plans with their other single friends to watch it.  My cousin/good friend wanted to watch it but she's married with kids so it'd probably be out of theaters by the time she could get some free time.

The main character Alice is played by Dakota Johnson, the chick who I thought was wrongly cast in 50 Shades of Gray, but that's another story.  Her two best friends are her sister - Leslie Mann who is a single doctor, and the hysterical and over the top Rebel Wilson. In the film, Alice breaks up with her college boyfriend in order to find herself.  She basically tells him this is a break to make sure that they are supposed to be together.  She moves to New York to start a paralegal job and meets Rebel's character Robin who essentially takes her under her wing in the crazy single life. (Enter the Samantha character, ala Sex & The City).   Robin essentailly shows Alics her how to flirt, drink and coaches her on landing a one night stand. After having that one night stand and doing the walk of shame, she decides she wants her boyfriend back.  But he of course has moved on so she's back to the single life. Alice is of course the Carrie of the story, if we are going to compare this to the mother of all single girls in the city show. Then you have her sister Meg, who is a bit older and more established in her career - a career in delivering babies.  Although Meg has convinced herself that she never wants to have kids, one of her patient's asks Meg to watch her baby for a few minutes while she goes to the bathroom and then decides she wants a kid. (Kind of like Miranda, who doesn't decide she wants a kid but instead gets pregnant and is reluctant to stay with her current boyfriend). Then you have Lucy who's a neurotic girl who's on 15 different dating websites and is trying to figure out the algorithms so that she can successfully meet her soul mate. (Much like Charlotte, she is on a mission).

Overall I will say the movie is entertainment and has some funny and good moments, but it never fully gets there.  While I enjoyed watching it, I wasn't particularly impressed with any aspect of the movie.  I'm sure that once its on cable and rerunning like crazy, I will watch it again and perhaps my appreciate will grow.

Faux Pockets

Just so we're clear, I am in no way a Fashionista, in fact I wouldn't even call myself fashionable. I wear what is comfortable and what I think looks good on me. I am not with the trends and usually wear things that are out of fashion.  With that said, I would just like to ask, what is with the faux pockets in pants.  My old job was pretty casual and I wore jeans everyday - some that had faux pockets and I never understood the point to having these.  You can't use them but because they are there, you will try to occasionally put your hands in your faux pockets.

Now that I am working in banking and have to wear dress pants every day and carry a badge, these faux pockets are even worse! So somebody please tell me, what is the point of having faux pockets?

East Vs West Part 2: People

Now that we got food out of the way, let's talk about the people.

I would say the big difference between the West Side and the SGV is the people.  I'm probably a little biased because I grew up in MPK but it's seriously very Asian and very Hispanic. Don't get me wrong, it's diversified quite a bit over the years but is still pretty Asian/Hispanic.

First and foremost, I think a lot of Asians migrated here because of this very fact.  They were able to come to this city that has Asian grocery stores and businesses where they could basically move to and never have to learn English.  A perfect example was my grandparents who were able to go about their everyday lives without having to speak a lick of English. The Asian people on the West Side are usually 2nd or 3rd generation or very "Americanized."  As I mentioned in the last post, restaurants in the SGV expect you to speak Chinese, they do not on the West Side. Some of them only speak English.   Ooh also, the Asian people are lazier/less obsessed with making money on the West Side.  Some places don't open until 11, whereas the SGV places open at like 6am or never close.  Why close when there's money to be made?  We can sleep when we're dead.

Another big difference is the driving, which is related to the people.  Anyone who has lived and driven in LA will agree - the traffic and most of the drivers suck!  But when it comes to East Vs West, the kind of suck depends on where you are driving. Now this will sound like I'm generalizing because I am. It DOES NOT, I repeat does not apply to everyone but this is what I've observed in my 17 years of driving and my 16 years as a passenger.  SGV drivers will signal and block traffic to turn into their destination no matter where they are.  SGV drivers will slow down to look around to see where they are going.  They will also decide at the last second that they need to turn thus cutting you off or almost hitting you. Or they will make a U-turn out of no where. Again I am generalizing so I apologize if I am offending anyone.  Hell I'm an Asian woman driver - the worst of the bunch!

West LA drivers are a bit more angry and aggressive. They will purposely cut you off, whereas SGV drivers do it because they are oblivious.  I had to switch lanes to get on the freeway once and had to get in front of this West LA driver once. He got so angry he first flipped me off then threw a small rock at my car. 

So the type of road rage I feel when driving in the East vs West is different.  I'm frustrated at different things - jerk drivers vs slow inconsiderate drivers.  Again this is just my own opinion. I mean no disrespect.  Thank you for listening. 

The Big Short - Movie Review

Since the Oscars are coming up, I always make it a point to see as many Oscar nominated films as I can.  This movie has been in the theater for a while, but I finally made plans to watch it at the New ArcLight in Culver City.  Although Arc Lights are generally more expensive (roughly $15 per ticket vs $10-11 at a normal theater), the experience/not having to wait in line is sometimes worth it.

So unless you've been living under a rock, you were around when the whole housing market/economy crashed in 2008/2009.  I remember this clearly because I had decided to go back to school and get my MBA so that I could advance quicker in my career in entertainment.  Little did I know that I would graduate in one of the worst times and never make my way back in entertainment.

The Big Short is about the housing market crash and how certain individuals found out just how corrupt the big banks were and tried to take them on.  It's another star studded cast that includes the incredibly charming and funny Ryan Gosling,  the incomparable Steve Carrell who has come such a long way from Michael Scott and the office and just a few other actors like Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Marissa Tomei.

First off, the movie is able to make banking and finance seem interesting, and as I just started a career in the banking industry, I have to say that is not an easy feat.  They break down explanations using a hot woman in a bubble bath, or stars like Selena Gomez and Anthony Bordain.  The film also has a lot of fun appropriate music that accompanies the story line.

Overall this is a great film that every American should watch to fully understand what went down with the whole housing crash and how irresponsible the banks were - just giving away loans like it monopoly money.

Hooray for Poke!

So I've always loved Poke but it seems like recently these Poke joints keep popping up everywhere!  I live in the SGV and previously I could only find Poke in bigger cities like Pasadena, DTLA or West LA. But now, there's a new Poke place coming to the Atlantic Square called Okie Pokie which I am super excited to try. But there's also Pokiholic on Atlantic in MPK/East La and Pokestuff on Main Street in Alhambra that I've recently discovered and frequent often.  Read my Yelp reviews of these places. I have also recently tried ahipoli bowl in Rosemead and Spinfish Poke House in South Pas (which some consider the SGV but I don't really).

If you love sushi, you're going to love Poke.  I'm always craving sushi but don't always want to spend +$20 to get 1 or 2 rolls.  Plus if I can't find a friend to get sushi with me, I can just get poke!  Bowls range from $10-15 depending on how many toppings you want. It really depends on the place, like Pokiholic lets you put like 5 kinds of fish and like unlimited additions for $10.99, and Pokestuff is more limited - you get 3 kinds of fish - but Spicy Tuna is a $1 extra.  One thing I really like about Pokestuff is that you can choose soba noodles as your base!  There's just so many options and I feel like I personally never get tired of poke.  I will say that the bases are just as important as the freshness of the fish.  I once had some awesome fish on stale brown rice and it kind of ruined the experience.

So we'll see how long this food craze lasts, but until then I will be having me lotsa poke!