The city of angels.

Okay. I am never coming back here until I get a licence. Or enough money so that I can hire a driver who will take me wherever I want to go and look after the car so I don't have to worry about parking. Haha. And that latter is unlikely to happen to me ever in this lifetime so I suppose I shall just have to concentrate on getting a frigging driver's licence. Hello?! What happened to the idea of public transport?!

After twelve hours in a cramped seat, I was about ready to kill someone. On my left and right were two women who had a restless twelve hours, and who needed water every fifteen minutes. In front of me was another woman who kept trying to make her seat go further backwards and into my face. There had been no space in the overhead compartments and so my computer bag was on the floor under the seat leaving me with barely any space at all. Having said all that, the journey still wasn't as bad as I had imagined and so I shall shut up with the whinging now hahahaha...

Anyway we arrived into LAX having completed all the necessary forms and things. I'd asked and asked again whether I had the right forms and was told yes and yes again... The customs officer thought differently though and sent me off to get the green form instead taking the white one. Well, at least now I know. And at least he was nice enough to let me come straight back to the counter instead of having to either stand in line again or be locked up in a room and questioned as to why I had the wrong forms. He told me as much as well, and all I could do was smile as sweetly as possible and thank him profusely over and over.

Our baggage came through fast - thanks to the PRIORITY First Class tags - and we met up with our driver who had a sign for Cory & Davina Yuen. HAHAHAHAHA. Ahem. Americans, I tell you.

And off we went, in the big black Lincoln, down the streets of Los Angeles. I was tired, sleepy, grumpy, hungry, thirsty and needed a shower badly... and all I could do was try and keep my eyes open to watch the streets roll past and try and mumble replies to whatever questions my boss threw at me.

We pulled up at this dumpy looking hotel - what was I expecting *shakes head* - and check in and I find myself in a non-smoking room with a king-sized bed, a TV and an empty fridge. I head into the bathroom and was reminded of that backpackers' place we stayed at in Sydney back in July 2004. For US$99 a night, this seems a little sparse. But I am reminded of my boss' comments that hotels in America suck, and I look around me and tell myself to stop with the complaining already.

I left Hong Kong late afternoon Sunday and arrived in Los Angeles around noon of the same day and find the idea quite disconcerting. But anyway. My boss decides that we should head over to Chinatown to find some food, and we look for our rental car that has been parked at the hotel. DOOD. It is a hugeass car. Perhaps I should term it a truck. But it's not a truck. (For those of you interested, it was an Infiniti QX56. It's huge.) We head out of our hotel on Sunset Boulevard (phwoar! I'm in LA!) and out onto the 101 South. I'm trying my darndest to navigate while my boss drives. It's not easy when neither of us are good at telling left from frigging right, and I have absolutely no idea of geography or anything at all actually...!!!

Anyway, we successfully made it into Chinatown and proceeded to go to some noodles place. The place he wanted to go to was closed so we headed into some other dingy looking place and the noodles were awful but I really need to stop complaining. Haha.

We went to buy phonecards - 1500 minutes for $20... is that a fair deal? I guess huh - and then off we set for the hotel. I get back to the hotel and the first thing I do is head back out of my room and out to the pool for a poolside smoke. It had been t-shirt weather when I left for Chinatown, but now at night, I had on my fleece jacket...

Back in my room, my cellphone that the company had given me doesn't work so I can't call anyone, the internet connection doesn't work either and then my boss calls and tells me I have to go to this meeting with his manager. We head out to some fancy-ish restaurant and I have my first taste of LA food. Actually, it wasn't American food at all but I have no idea how to describe it. Maybe it was Mexican... I don't know. I doubt it. Anyway, back at the hotel, I head out for another smoke and because I still cannot get on the frigging internet and my cellphone still doesn't frigging work, I fall asleep pissed off and annoyed and not happy at all.

The next day the boss man calls early in the morning, finds out I'm still asleep and gives me another hour to get ready. I naturally fall asleep again and am still asleep when he calls again. Argh. I ask for fifteen minutes, throw on my clothes brush my teeth pack my backpack and run down to the lobby. We head out to the screening room which was surprisingly easy to find (probably because it's also on Sunset but further west haha) and we look for a place close by to get some food.

My boss hates non-Asian food and so we go into this Thai restaurant which is run by Thai people but serves absolutely disgusting food. Darn it. Oh well. Food is good whether good or bad tasting, so never mind. All I'd really wanted was coffee but well, I am not in the position to say to the boss man - yo, let's go get coffee - because he doesn't drink coffee.

At two, we are in the screening room to watch the movie, and all the other people are beginning to arrive in dribs and drabs. The producers saunter in with their shades on and we all shake hands and hug like we are old friends while I am just thinking about coffee and can't stop thinking about how much I would love a coffee...

After the screening, we head to the producers' office and can't park our car in the parking lot there because the car is too big... hahahahahahahaha. I found it hilarious, my boss wasn't too pleased, and neither were the producers. Anyhoo. Finally we park on the street and head up to the office where I am asked if I want a coffee. YES, I literally yell, YES!!!

I translate the meeting where oftentimes there were five people speaking at once and am so tired by the end of it that I really just want to be able to take a breather and frigging drink my coffee. But hey. I'd also thought that maybe I would be able to get online in the office but no time at all. The good thing about the States though is that everyone is looking forward to when they are supposed to get off work (that would be 6pm) and so by quarter to six, people are beginning to talk about what will happen the next day.

My boss and I head out of the office and back to the hotel, not sure about what exactly our next step was. And then his manager calls and we have to head over to their house in Santa Monica... where we have a snacky dinner of bagels and cream cheese. I loved it hahahaha, don't think my boss ate too much though. The house - flat actually - was right up by the sea and they had a stunning view of the shore and all. It was great. I coulda stayed out on the balcony forever. Except it was pretty darn cold...

Back at the hotel, I find a new cellphone waiting for me (thank God) although the internet still doesn't work. But I am so tired (from the translating and having to listen to my boss and his manager badmouth this other guy... and having to find my way back to Sunset from Santa Monica...) that I just pass out.

Next day we start work at 9:30 and I sit through a day of arguments and try to translate it all for the boss man. The editor took us to a Thai place for lunch, thank God the food was MUCH MUCH BETTER and I actually ate a whole plateful of rice and curry and stuff. Yay. My boss was much happier too haha. We leave the editing room at about four, and the boss decides that I HAVE TO see more of LA while I'm here and so he decides to take me back to Chinatown for some good Chinese food. Ahem?! I don't understand the logic either. Never mind.

We go to Chinatown for some good food - lamb pot! - and as we head back to the 101 North, we get a flat. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. How many things can go wrong, one wonders. The only good thing about the situation? We weren't on the freeway yet. Thank God. We call the rental company and they send someone along but they also say that the guy who rented the car had to be there, so I have to call the poor dude to get his butt all the way out to Chinatown to save us. Hahaha.

We get home and I am actually feeling better about the whole being in LA thing, and after my customary night time smoke, I'm in my room and passed out.

Next day we head into the editing suite and again a whole day of arguments between the producers themselves *shakes head* The conclusion? That the editor work with the notes that we came up with after the discussion and debate, and we would talk again on Friday. It was good for my boss because he hadn't slept the night before (jet lag, he blamed)... and so he and I and the editor head out to have lunch. The editor takes us to this really neat cafe inside the cinema close by and I jump for joy at the sight of Brokeback Mountain. I tell my boss he should go back to the hotel and take a nap cos he's looking kinda beat and then sneak off to see the gay cowboy movie as it is known.

After the movie, I hang with one of the guys working on the movie... and he drives me around to buy a CD for Khalil (whose own debut CD is doing very well in HK. It's called Soulboy, and it's one of the best albums I've heard this year. Definitely the best debut album heh) and also to drop off a big bag of meds for my ex-flattie's grandma who also lives in West Hollywood. After that we head over to pick up my boss and we take him to see King Kong. I have to say, I've never liked the King Kong story cos I hate the fact that the big ape has to die in the end, and well, this one was so darn long... maybe it was because I'd just seen Brokeback? I don't know. The movie wasn't my thing.

We leave the movie theatre and look for food, and right opposite our hotel is a 24 hour IHOP (International House of Pancakes) so I look forward to some good ol' pancakes. For various reasons - mainly that my boss didn't want pancakes - I had to resort to ordering fish n chips *eyes roll* What a bummer. I'd really been looking forward to pancakes but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

Anyhoo. Next day we have no work because the editor is working off the many notes from the past two days, and we had to Monterey Park which used to be known as Little Taiwan. We have lunch there, meeting with a friend of my boss', and her nephew who is a TV/indie film producer, and staff at the restaurant recognized my boss as someone who worked in film, but couldn't remember his name. It was funny when she named him Director Lau... who is actually a very good friend of my boss'... From lunch we go to San Gabriel (which if I am correct is still part of Monterey Park) and have shaved ice and passionfruit tea. Yay.

I then receive a call and we are told to meet with this director for another film in the evening. I received the script about two days ago but had not had any time to read it, so we head back to the hotel and I leave my room for Starbucks (finally! I get to go to Starbucks!) taking the script with me. I get through three-quarters of it and it's time to head over to my boss' manager's office in Santa Monica. It's a really nice office and we meet a really nice director... and then we are late for the dinner the producers are throwing in honour of my boss.

So we rush back to West Hollywood only to get off at the wrong exit - or rather it was the right exit, just the wrong direction... And end up being about 45 minutes late. The dinner takes place at this very hip place, where there are girls all dressed up because, I am told, they know producers and directors often frequent the place, and they want to be the next lead girl. Hm. These things really do happen.

Anyway, I order gnocchi (yay!) and my boss orders steak, and neither of us like our very expensive food very much haha. Finally we are about ready to pass out and we can finally leave the table and we had back to the hotel. I once again pass out as soon as I sit down on my bed. I kid you not.

The next day we head over to the editing suite to check on the editor and make sure he's doing okay, and we have lunch with the boys at this Peruvian place. Funny how the highlight of my days in LA seem to be lunch n dinner. Honestly, hanging with my boss 24/7 is not my idea of fun. I understand that he tried his darndest to show me around LA and make sure I wasn't bored but half the time, I just wished I could be left to my own devices. I am such an ungrateful bitch. Hmph.

Lunch was okay, the boys were happy to be able to talk to my boss but I could barely eat because I was translating so much. I had to apologize to them for not having finished my food... because I was talking so much. But anyway. After that they headed back to work and my boss took me to Beverly Hills. Hahaha. He said I HAD TO GO there or else everyone would laugh at me for not having been anywhere in LA. So off we went, and got lost in the process, but finally found it again. We parked the car and walked around... we saw reporters outside Dior and saw someone who very much looked like Paris Hilton. Hm. My boss walked into LV where he told me to get a suit for my boyfriend (?!!!!). Ahem. We then walked into Prada where the interior design was absolutely gorgeous. Gorgeous. Hm. Anyway, we had to go to this other meeting with another producer for something completely different so we left after about half an hour and headed towards this deli for the meeting.

Oh I forgot to mention, it was my boss' birthday. He wouldn't let me pay for lunch dinner or coffee so I gave up trying *shakes head* I tried again the next day but he again refused. He almost took my head off when I paid for gas. My boss is very sweet that way... even though he takes up all of my time and I never even had time to go into a bookstore, and bookstores are the loves of my life!! Argh.

Anyway. We had some good coffee at the deli, and my boss recounted the last time he'd been there - it was to meet with Luc Besson - and then the big guys showed up to talk about this future project that got me really interested. Little did they know that I had already quit and would be leaving my boss' side after this LA trip. Oh well.

After the meeting we headed back to West Hollywood to see Jason - of Transporter fame - who seemed very happy to see my boss. That was good. Jason is shorter than I expected and really you know, quite cute. That was very unexpected. Har Har. And after that we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then back to Santa Monica to have dinner with the manager and his wife. Birthday dinner. Heh. It was good. They had Veuve Cliquot. I had Evian. Heh.

We got back to the hotel and I passed out again - my nights in LA were all about passing out I have to say haha - and then the next morning I got up to an early morning phonecall... We headed out to watch Jason do a really cool stunt for his movie, and then back to the hotel to await the arrival of Chad, who had worked with us on the movie, to have lunch.

Anyhoo... we've just come back from lunch - dimsum again but very good dimsum this time yay! - in Rosemead which is just off Monterey Park, and we are headed for The Grove now. I guess I shall see whether I have time to update again later. This has been a most boring post I think hahahahahahahaha.... And by the far the longest I'll ever write. Ew.

God bless. Take care...