5 Things Thursday

Hello people. How goes it?

So it’s nearing the end of Thursday and just now I’ve decided to sit down and write this post. I’ve been busy but not really. But I do want to make this a priority … so I write.

Here are 5 things going on with me (or in the world in general):

1  STUPID HOT BUT NOT SO MUCH ANYMORE - Last week was a crazy week of stupid hot weather in Los Angeles. Like stupid hot. The hot that makes you want to die. That’s a little much. It’s the kind that makes you wonder why you ever moved to LA.

Living on the westside is awesome but we don’t have AC. And the fact that I work from home … it was pretty much miserable all last week. But all is OK now. The weather has fixed itself. Praise God.

2  GAZELLE INTENSE - If you’re a fan of Dave Ramsey, then you know what I’m referring to. Lately, I’ve kicked it up a gear with the Gazelle Intensity. Envelope system, eating at home, saying “no” to a lot of things just because, and selling things.

The thing is … I started selling some of my coffee mugs on eBay (because I have way too many) and they’re actually going for a lot more than what I purchased them for! It’s crazy. Who knew people would pay so much for Starbucks City Mugs?  

(I’m going to keep my favs, but half of these are spoken for)

3  “YOU MADE IT WEIRD - I’ve been listening the crap out of the Pete Holmes podcast lately. I peeked onto it recently because Jesse Carey interviewed him for the RELEVANT Podcast. And it seemed interesting, so I downloaded a few episodes. Basically they’re interviews of various comedians and actors and they cover comedy, sex (relationships), and God.

So crazy weird hearing the interviews of some very famous people who just speak candidly on these things. Aziz Ansari, Jon Hamm, John Mulaney, Adam Pally, Ben Schwarz are just a few of the interviews that I listened to. Oh, and Rob Bell. Weird.  

Although a lot of it was super interesting - hearing about where they come from and how they got into the industry - a lot of it is sort of mind blowing but a little bit sad too. Because they need the gospel so bad. Sigh. 

And who do they bring in for that?! Rob Bell. Ugh. I was mostly frustrated when I listened to that episode.

My advice, skip that one and listen to the Aziz Ansari one. I really enjoyed that one. That dude is hilarious and sort of wise! In a down-to-earth kind of way. 

4  X-MEN COMES OUT THIS WEEKEND - And I’m excited. This may be one of the many ways I nerd out. I don’t know why. I just really like the X-Men movies. But worlds are colliding on this one. Both the new and original cast are going to be in the same movie because … dun dun dun - they go back in time! 

Minds blown. It’s going to be epic.

5  SPEAKING OF GOING BACK IN TIME - I’m watching the classic trilogy for the nth time just because. Well, it’s the best movie ever.

And well, I found this recently and now I share it with you.


5 Things Tuesday

You guys, I’m going to do something that I haven’t done in a long time … I’m going to write a 5 Things Tuesday post. Crazy, huh?

You’re like, “but Jo, where’ve you been?” 

I have no legitimate answer besides the fact that I was lazy and I just didn’t feel like writing. I mean, life got busy. Shoots were happening left and right and I just got caught up in other things. 

But anyways - enough of my hiatus. Let’s talk.

Here are 5 things that have at least happened in the last month that I was gone:

1  MAKING THE CUT - So big thing happened recently, I officially made a sale on ImageBrief. I haven’t talked much about this site but I’ve been submitting work to them over the past few months with the hopes that some advertising firm or publishing house would buy the rights to one of my photos.

Well, they bought two photos. And it’s frickin awesome. One of them is a selfie of my sister and me! It’s so crazy. But yeah … check it. I made the cut. Can you find my name?!

It’s super tiny, but I promise my name is on there. One day I’ll be one of the “big earners” I hope.

2  WRITERS GUILD WISDOM - Besides ImageBrief, I’m still doing my hustlin’ thing. Random photoshoots here and there. Assisting on a catalog shoot. Retouching some photos for another company. Etc etc.

All this fun stuff, I know. But I also got to shoot an event for the Writers Guild. And at that event was a bunch of TV writers who were taking their weekend off to mentor a handful of military vets on how to create great story. And I loved that. How awesome is that?!

But it didn’t stop there. We also had the opportunity to hear Glen Mazzara talk about life as a showrunner for The Walking Dead and what he learned from that experience.  

It’s very encouraging to know that the best piece of advice he could give is threefold: create great material (and keep at it), have the motivation and drive to really hustle at it, and have connections. Super legit, but it all ties in to everything in what makes a creative business flourish. You have to keep at. Whether you’re a writer, a musician, a photographer, an artist or whatever. When you’re creating, you just got to keep at it. But it also takes motivation and connections to really go anywhere. 

It was just really cool to hear it come from him, you know? 

3  EPIC RAP BATTLE - Speaking of The Walking Dead, did y’all see this epic rap battle between Rick Grimes and Walter White??  

Personally, I think Walt is more badass than Rick Grimes. But every time I watch this video I need to think that over. Rick is pretty ruthless too. I mean, seriously. 

What do you think?

4  BIZ BUYOUTS - So in recent news, Handsome Coffee Roasters officially was bought out by Blue Bottle Company. If you haven’t had their coffee, I’m sad for you because it’s crazy smooth. But it’s around for another month before it officially changes. I’m just glad I was able to snag a H/CR mug at Unique LA last weekend. It was expensive but worth it.

Also, another company was bought out recently. My friend Chase started this web-based Quickbooks/Shopify integration company about two years ago and he’s been working his butt off that whole time. I’ve never seen anyone work as hard within so many hours to get a company off the ground. But he did it. Because he and his partners sold the company last week to Intuit for $30 million. 

I KNOW. RIGHT!? Crazy.

Chase is now officially retired at 27!  

Why didn’t I get into the tech business? Oh yeah, that’s not my forte. S’all good though.

5  FRESH OFF THE BOAT - I really debated over this last one.  Should I talk about the fact that I ordered a case of east coast beer to enjoy with some friends … or do I talk about the newly released teaser of the upcoming Asian-American comedy?

It’s aptly titled Fresh Off The Boat, which seems a bit shallow but it works. it’s actually biographical since it’s about foodie and chef extraordinaire, Eddie Huang.  

Dude - I’m both excited and scared about how this might will play out. An Asian American family adjusting to Orlando, Florida? The sheer fact that it’s a real story, based on real-life experiences, that eventually churned out this incredible chef (he’s the founder of BaoHaus), and eventually became a writer and a TV personality.

I’m for it. Let’s hope it goes over well.  

Now that I’m thinking about it … this all ties back to #2 above. This all came from true life experiences and now is coming to ABC. Crazy. I love stuff like this. 


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