Dawn is Breaking

I don't remember all of the events of last week. It was sort of a dizzy haze of parties, running, school shopping, and phone conversations.

But today, the sun broke through the clouds. After failing to find an actor in the past week, I was feeling defeated. Then, Randy called me. I had gotten Randy's number because he is a local actor. He's going to try to fit my short film into his schedule. I really hope everything works out. I have a ton of work to do in order to get this project done.

I also finished Snow Falling on Cedars. I really liked it. Now, I have to read Hamlet and The Awakening. Hopefully, I can read at least one of them before school starts.

Countdown to school: one week.

And finally, I have completed the list of colleges I am applying to:
1. University of Southern California
2. Chapman University
3. Loyola Marymount University
4. Florida State University
5. Temple University
6. DeSales University.

I will do everything in my power to attend one of the first three, but I can make any of them work.

I also found out today that I might be going to New Orleans in November. My cousin Danielle landed a job as assistant to director Scott Hicks. He is the director of the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Lucky One starring Zac Efron. Hopefully, I will be able to visit the set with my brother Ryan and my cousin McKenzie.

In other news...
I watched two Michael Cera flicks this weekend. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was crazy and hilarious. It really feels like a video game/comic book and makes for an interesting night. Youth in Revolt was also really funny. I loved seeing Michael act as Francois. It was different from every other character that he as ever played... which is always the same:himself. I also decided that I am a badass.

I had a lot of fun adventuring with Alaina this week. It's been weird because I've been sleep deprived. Plus I'm still gowing through that growing phase, so I can't stop eating (thus the stash of pretzels sitting next to me) and my hormones continue to rage.

I am going to be really busy this week, but I hope to write a little about Chapman University sometime soon.

Oh... I turn eighteen in less than a month. What am I doing for my birthday?

UCLA

I just got back from a super nice twilight run. Literally 15 people beeped/screamed/waved at me. I'm not sure who all of you were, but "Hi! I love you!"

I'm about to go lock myself in my room and work on my summer reading. Right now I'm reading Snow Falling on Cedars, and I'm pretty hooked. It's suspenseful, sexy, tragic, and beautiful. Check it out. (Alaina, don't comment on this.)

Before I return to San Piedro Island via my too-small-for-my-growing-body bed, I wanted to write my review of UCLA.

Having spent two weeks at the University of California, Los Angeles, I feel like I know the place inside and out.

First of all, the campus is actually like a small city. In fact, it was overwhelmingly huge at first. Coming from a small town and a history of small schools, I loved this aspect.

The campus has plenty to offer - many places to study, eat, exercise, whatever. UCLA had nice cafeterias and an awesome central hub with a cool bookstore and some nice places to eat including Panda Express and Jamba Juice. Woot! Woot!

The campus is really pretty beautiful. Everything is well kept and perfect. It doesn't feel like you're in California. UCLA almost had an east coast feel. The athletic area was cool too. I liked running on the track, and the gym was huge - complete with a rock wall inside.

Believe it or not, you will most likely start to feel the grasp of the black hole at some point. In that case, you can escape to Westwood - the neato neighborhood outside of UCLA. It's fun even thought it's not as hoppin' as it used to be.

Unlike USC, UCLA is in a very safe neighborhood: Beverly Hills. The Sunset Blvd. strip is only a 30 or 40 minute drive away. UCLA is in the perfect spot for internships and access to studios.

The dorms at UCLA looked like hotels from the outside. The rooms were pretty nice inside too.

As for the film building...

It was a little run down. The equipment we used had a few issues. The hallways were white and small and made me feel like I was in an insane asylum. Compared to USC and Chapman, the facilities at UCLA needed work. But that's because unlike the other two, UCLA is a state school. California is broke.

Still, UCLA had everything you needed. What I did like was the emphasis on story. It seemed like the school focused a lot of attention and writing and creating truly worthwhile stories. The techanical stuff came last. Some of the teachers we met were cool. UCLA is definitely more of an independent film school. It felt very different from USC. The two are bitter rivals.

UCLA's film school is actually combined with the theater school. This guy is in charge: Myrl Schreibman. I actually met him last summer when I was walking through the school with Carol Anne and Danny. He told us about the U.S. Performing Arts camps. No doubt, he is an influential and helpful dude.

However, there was some negative talk about him at the film camp. From what I can gather, he lacks a welcoming and warm attitude, but his heart is in the right place.

Finally, UCLA is extremely hard to get into. And you can't apply to the film school until your junior year in college. It's a gamble.

The junior year risk, the rundown facilities, and the negativity around Myrl were enough for me to cross UCLA off of my list. But it may work for other people and is definitely worth looking into.