Lady GaGa Monster Ball

lady gaga's little monsters at the monster ball...

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Look for me on TONIGHT's episode of NBC's Trauma 9/8c

In tonight's episode "Stuck," an explosion at a Chinese restaurant puts lives in the balance and exposes a secret...

I had *SO* much fun working on this episode of Trauma and got to meet a lot of really cool people. I'll blog more about my experience on set - but will do so at a later date so I don't give away the plot =)

Day #1: Chinatown Outdoor








Day #2: Indoor Set

It was fun being able to watch the directors do their thing


We also got to goof around


our faces are dirty from the 'soot' from the 'fire'


that's me with some of the stars of the show.

Featured Extra Role on Trauma for Chinese Man in 30s. Anyone Interested??

Beau Bonneau Casting is seeking Chinese Men in their 30s that are available both 10/20 & 10/28 for a featured extra role on NBC's Trauma. The Director will be choosing one man from photos to portray a cardiac arrest victim. He along with his Mandarin speaking girlfriend are airlifted via helicopter (special effects). Selected extra will be visible on camera working with speaking actors.

In order to submit, you must appear to be of full Chinese descent and be available for the 2 non-consecutive shoot days: Tuesday 10/20 & Wednesday 10/28. Must be available All Day BOTH days from early am i.e. 6AM into late evening hours without conflict for typical 10-12 hour shoot days. We never know exact start time until the night before. Tues 10/20 will shoot at Treasure Island for green screen work, and Wed 10/28 will be in SF, maybe Chinatown.

Pay rate depends on Union status. If Union member, rate is AFTRA scale $139 for up to 8hrs plus overtime. If Non Union, the rate is $78.32 for up to 8hrs plus overtime = SF min wage $9.79 per hour. There is a possibility of the AFTRA wage for Non Union on 10/20 due to small number of background needed. I-9s will be filled out on set. US citizens must have a current US Passport OR both a valid Drivers License with either Social Security card or original birth certificate. Non US citizens must have valid Permanent Resident Card or valid Green Card.

Submit ASAP only if you fit the description and are available both days. How to submit:

You can submit online via Direct Cast Extras Roles if your sfcasting photos are current OR email recent but basic color pictures to photos@beaubonneaucasting.com ASAP with your Name and 10/20 & 10/28 in subject line including Contact info, Height and Weight in the body of the email and attach 2 or more recent color photos: close up & full standing view.

Keep in mind that simple digital photos are wanted, so we can see what you look like presently. Please do not just send links to your website, facebook or myspace photos; we need ready to view submissions with photo attachments to forward. Photos will be sent to production by Monday afternoon for review and selection. Beau Bonneau Casting staff will contact you if chosen.

Beau Bonneau Casting
www.beaubonneaucasting.com

More Dog Photos!!

I finally got the chance to upload some more dog photos this weekend. YAY!! To see the larger versions, please check out my flickr

I've been meaning to post these pix of Bella for a while now. Bella loves soccer! She absolutely loves that little ball. It can keep her entertained for hours.


Love that smile! Bella is one of the happiest and friendliest dogs I know!




She's also a cuddly sweetie pie!

A while back, our housemate had a bday party and invited some cutie pies over. I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots of them:


look at those puppy dog eyes. awwwn.


Dirty Faced Lou was one of the sweetest little boys you'd ever meet. It was so cute because there were 5 dogs at our house, and he was the only boy. He was really alert, smart, and also very interested in the ladies!

More recently, I swung by the dog park to take pix of my friends' doggies. Kuma is an incredibly friendly and energetic dog who knows how to play!






This is Kuma challenging the other dogs to play fight =)

Last but not least, here's is shy little jackson. Jackson reminds me of my Beverly a little, he's a lot more cautious about playing with other dogs, but very friendly to people... and loves his mommy.





ok folks. That's all for tonight =)

At chris and amy's wedding

TV is my current obsession, what’s yours?

Hello world! If you don't already know -- My name is Sandy, and I am a primetime TV junkie.

It all started when my hubby got me a shiny new remote control and…. DVR. He laughed when he said it was a present that was going to change my life… but WOAH, it really did.

I’m the type of person who likes to keep really busy. I’m socially active, and I can sometimes be a work-a-holic. So up until that point, it took a great amount of effort for me to follow even one or two shows.

Enter DVR…

… comedies, medical dramas, mystery/suspense, teenie bopper high school shows, model reality, chef reality, clothing designer reality, dancing reality, even MTV reality... yeah, I’m totally serious – I watch all of the above haha. Believe it or not, the shows all somehow found its place to serve a purpose in my life. Whether it was comedic relief after a stressful day, something suspenseful to leave me on the edge of my seat, or even simple mindless reality tv to fill the void in the background as I work away on my laptop… TV became my comfort blanket. Something I could always count on to get me through the days.

All of a sudden, I found myself getting sucked in more and more -- attached to the story lines, the characters, and the people who play the characters. As if all this TV watching didn’t suck up enough of my spare time… I found myself always wanting to know more. Thank goodness for the internet!

Before I had the time to second guess myself, and question whether I was taking my TV obligations too seriously, I soon discovered I was merely a miniscule spec of dust amongst the massive number of people who were also passionately engaged in all the shows I loved, and more.

There’s something uniquely fascinating about the discovery that not only are you not alone in your thoughts, but surprisingly amongst the masses. That was one thing I found incredibly powerful and captivating about Twitter. Hundreds of people I don’t know, and will probably never know in my lifetime, are all on Twitter sharing similar thoughts as me, in real time.

I tweet a random thought, and an anonymous stranger replies. Yet, I am not obligated to respond back or get to know that person… it’s just a simple momentary discovery of common interest at a specific time, and no more.

This is how Tweetswirl came about. There are many twitter content aggregation sites out there – and they’re either quantity focused with shallow search filters, or they rely on the users to set their own search feeds. Tweetswirl takes a different spin on things. We are dedicated to creating customized pages by researching to find all the right filter terms and valuable content that fans are truly interested in, and serving it in a clean, user-friendly interface. Sure, it will take some more time and effort to build out our site, but it will result in a much more rich and engaging experience, allowing people to discover more relevant content they are interested in.

It starts with TV (and some of my favorite shows), and we will continue to build out more pages based on popular request.

However, TV is not everyone’s obsession… and we are planning on adding more categories in the future (i.e. sports, technology, news, interest groups) … each category with it’s own customized pages and filters.

Please note that we’re just starting out. We decided to launch our site with only three shows, and minimal features -- to give people a taste of what’s to come and gather early feedback and suggestions. We have a lot more features in the oven, and we’re also working hard on fixing the technical hiccups (i.e. the login is acting a little funky right now). We’re a small team, and this is our very first start up together. Thank you for your support and patience as we push this site out.

Please check it out, and check back often. We are working quickly to enhance the experience and add new features.

www.tweetswirl.com

My morning cup of 'happy'

My Self-Employed Lifestyle

It's been well over a month since I quit eBay, and I've been enjoying the spontaneous life of self employment. I think it's kinda been one of the best months of my life!!

JT and I finally finished cleaning out the last unused room in our house, and made it into my 'office' so I've been alternating between working in that room, upstairs, and and at a local cafe w/ free wifi to keep the atmosphere fresh and interesting.

My daily work schedule is somewhat unplanned. Some days I'll pop up in the morning and be dying to jot something down or get going. I find the best times for me to work is when I'm feeling pumped and inspired. Some days, I work 10-12 hours straight because I'm *so* in the zone... and once the momentum slows down I can just call it a day, and retire to my couch where I'll watch hours of DVRed shows. =)

Since the fall season TV shows have started, I've been watching TV like a mad woman.... and I LOOOOVE it. I love the fact that the start-up I'm working on encompasses SO many things I am super passionate about, and allows me to be involved with so many aspects of the job. Working within the online social media and entertainment realm, while managing to wear so many different hats including design, business, PR, marketing... if all works out - it will truly be my dream job. Somehow this job brings it all together for me -- my years of interning at different PR firms, working in the entertainment industry, online journalism, and the web industry. No matter how it turns out, I feel more and more confident everyday that this is the right next step for me.

There has not been a 'normal' work schedule for me. Other than meeting with my startup counterparts in the evenings, daytime work hours are completely flexible. The flexibility has also allowed me to indulge in many of my other creative hobbies. I was able to play a small roll in NBC's tv show "Trauma" which will be airing October 15th! woohoo. I was also able to take part of bunch of fun photo shoots (I will post more pics soon). And... I'm spending some more time expanding my photography portfolio and photographing more happy dogs which brings me so much joy! I have a doggie park date with THREE dogs this coming Sunday! wooohoo. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, working doesn't actually start until after lunch because I have a pilates/gym date w/ my buddy Emmy.

Late starts in the day doesn't ever hold me back, because I am feeling so much more inspired these days. I'm able to work into the night and not feel like I'm working. I'm working towards my dream ... a fun product I'm passionate about. And if it doesn't work out, I'll know I at least tried, and I've been learning so much through this experience... not just about the how to do a web start-up (since this is my first time), but I am also learning so much about myself.

Of course with the unknown, there are always feelings of anxiety that make you second guess yourself. I do a lot of that... so I am so grateful for my awesomely supportive hubby who has truly been my rock. He's been cheering me on since day one.

We are gearing up to LAUNCH a simple version of our site THIS month, and I am feeling PUMMPPPPPED!

Live Like We're Dying

I LOVE THIS SONG!

American Idol's Season 8 champ Kris Allen released the first single from his debut album recently, and it's a remake. Originally recorded by the UK group The Script, "Live Like We're Dying"

Here's the original:


Here's Kris Allen's version:


Sometimes we fall down and can’t get back up
We’re hiding behind skin that’s too tough
How come we don’t say I love you enough
Till it’s to late, it’s not too late

Our hearts are hungry for a food that won’t come
We could make a feast from these crumbs
And we’re all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you
What would you wish you would’ve done

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

And if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbyes
Should be so careful who we live out our lives
So when we long for absolution
There’ll no one on the line

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

Like we’re dying oh - like we’re dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live - like we’re dying

We never know a good thing till it’s gone
You never see a crash until it’s head on
All those people right when we’re dead wrong
You never know a good thing till it’s gone

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start livin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

Like we’re dying oh - like we’re dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying
Live like we’re dying
[Fade out]

Which one do you like better?

To be without an employer...

So, this is the first time in the last 9 years I've been without an employer! It definitely feels strange to me. When I decided to leave eBay, I though I was going to thoroughly enjoy sleeping in, maybe relax and do some reading by the pool -- but that hasn't really happened yet. I've been feeling so anxious that I keep waking up in the mornings in a frantic panic. It has been three weeks already and although I've been making great progress with my web app and catching up on a lot of personal things, I still feel like the days aren't long enough. My daily to-do lists just get longer and longer.

I'm hoping I can accomplish most of what I want to get done in the next couple months and get it to a manageable state where I can start thinking about next steps and moving forward. In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to refrain myself from job hunting. I've been crazy busy planning things, and then making sure I don't overbook myself. As the days go on, I am more and more certain this was a necessary break for me ... to really allow me to catch up on the rest of my life. I just have to allow myself to fully enjoy it and give it a chance enough to see where it can go. It's just hard not to stress about my financial situation a few months down the road.

Startup 101: Should You Form An Inc. or LLC

After much research, I've decided our best option is to form an LLC initially in Delaware through an agent. Why Delaware? low cost, tax savings, and less regulations which gives your llc more flexibility. When the time comes, if necessary, we can always convert to an S-corp or c-corp.

Here's a useful article I found online:

There are three primary kinds of entities most startup founders in the U.S. will consider:

1) LLC
2) C-corp
3) S-corp

There are a number of primary factors when trying to make the choice between these: (a) will you be seeking outside investors – and if so, when? (b) will the company be generating a profittha anytime soon?

Lets compare and contrast the three types of entity.

An LLC is very easy and cheap to set up. It is also, contrary to popular belief, an entirely legitimate corporate entity. You define who the "members" are and how much each member owns as a percentage. I believe you get the same protection from personal liability as you would get from setting up a full C-corp. One of the great features about an LLC is that there is almost no regulatory BS to deal with. You are not subject to the same arduous rules /disclosures/expensive accounting that a C-corp has to adhere to.

Another big advantage is that the LLC is not taxed as an entity. The members are taxed, usually in ratio to their ownership percentages. Why is that an advantage?

A) When you are a startup, you will be losing money. Your prorated portion of that loss can be applied to your personal tax return. If you have no personal income, the IRS gives you a choice. You can roll your loss forward and use it to offset future income, or you can go back through the last three years of tax returns and apply the loss retroactively. That reduces your adjusted gross income, often leading to a refund. It can be quite beneficial in some circumstances.

B) If you are a C-corp the company is a tax paying entity -- it pays tax on all income. If the company pays you, you pay personal income tax. i.e. money coming in to the company is taxed twice by the time you get it.

Sounds good so far? LLC is a GREAT structure and is perfect for many situations. However, it does not really allow for shareholders, so if you have outside investors, an LLC is probably not going to fly. Some type of investors (particularly VCs) have structures that do not permit them to invest in an LLC.

2) The C-corp. This is your full blown corporation (e.g supasoft inc.). A C-corp is a legal/tax entity in its own right, so you get maximum protection etc. C-Corps are often incorporated in Delaware as Delaware has a great legal framework for corporations, boards and shareholders. The issue with a C-corp is that you have to have a board of directors, adhere very carefully to certain reporting requirements and generally keep your finances and operations in good order. A C-corp has shareholders, can issue stock to anyone and is a respected and expected structure for most investors. You'll have the double taxation issue mentioned above, but if you want investors to put money in your company, you need to be a C-corp, unless you meet the requirements for an S-corp.

3) The S-corp. An S-corp is really a C-corp with special permission to behave differently. The "s" refers to a subsection of the U.S. Tax (IRS) code. You form a C-corp and then take an S-election if you qualify. You have all of the regulatory side of a C-corp, but the tax pass through advantages of an LLC. The caveat: there are significant restrictions on the type of investors. Your investors cannot be corporations (i.e. VC's) or persons non-resident in the USA. There are some other restrictions too as to the number of shareholders etc.

My personal practice has been to create an LLC (they are simple, avoid double taxation and still support multiple classes of stock if needed). If and when the time comes to “convert” the LLC to a C-corp, the process is not that difficult. Whatever costs you’d incur in the “conversion” process, I think are offset by the upside you get during the time that you can benefit from being an LLC. An LLC can be setup for a few hundred dollars and likely meets the needs of most early-stage entrepreneurs.

Any other insights to share?

Goodbye eBay, Hello Startup

After over 3½ years at eBay, the time had come for me to move on. It was an extremely tough decision to make - especially given the fact that I have a mortgage to pay, but in the end - I knew it was the right decision.

Despite the ups and downs, my time at eBay was an incredibly rewarding one. My time at eBay started off as a one-month contract. At the time, I had plans to move -- but I was contacted by a recruiter about the position, and told myself, "Hey, a one month contract can't hurt!" Working somewhere new, even if just temporarily, is a great way to learn. It's why I loved doing multiple internships while I was in college.

Little did I know, it wasn't going to be a short pit stop. One month became two, then six.. and somehow ended up being three years and nine months! Besides my awesome teammates, I think what really pulled me in was the fact that I was given so many opportunities to learn, challenge myself, take on new responsibilities, and continuously evolve my role.

Some of the highlights of my time at eBay include:

- Leading creative production for the Canadian French site launch -- working from the Toronto office for 5 months to train a designer and work collaboratively with a team of French linguists while being the UED liason between Canada and US eBay offices.

- All the awesome conferences (AdobeMAX, Web 2.0, Mix09, etc) I was able to attend to keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest with web technologies and innovations. I was always able to come back from one of those, feeling even more inspired.

- Putting together a training program for Experience Engineering team, and traveling to Chennai, India to train a team of 20 developers

- Traveling to Shanghai to give presentations at eBay's China Development Center, and meet with potential vendors.

- Taking part at Skunkworks (eBay's employee innovation competition) multiple times, and actually winning. Who doesn't like to be a winner?!

- Being a part of the awesome concept club / vision typing / innovative team and working with the most ambitious, creative, smart and talented designers and developers.

- Working with people I can truly consider friends...

These experiences, and the relationships I've built over the years - are things that definitely made it difficult for me to leave eBay. However, over time, I just felt I wasn't challenging myself as much as I could be. I weighed my options and decided that taking a leap into the startup world would be my best next jump. =) I had already started working on this as a side project with a couple of engineer friends... but decided I really wanted to focus on it full time. WIth doing this startup, I'm able to wear SO many hats, which really allows me to experience the type of growth I need right now. I'll be managing the requirements and content, designing the site, doing the PR/marketing and handling the business aspect of things. How exciting is that?! =)

I definitely know it's a big risk, but timing-wise it is the best time for me to take a risk -- before JT and I decide to have kids. Whether or not it works out with an ideal outcome, I'll still walk away with the experience and the piece of mind that I really gave it a shot.

As for making money - just to make things clear for all of those people who say "ooh it must be nice that you're married and you can do this..." eck No, I would not be so selfish to quit my job and expect him to cover my part. No way. To bum off my hubby is just against everything I stand for. I put myself through college on my own by working a lot of side jobs and gigs - and I plan to do the same to put myself through entrepreneurship =) It keeps things interesting to take part in a lot of different fun, creative projects anyway! It's like getting paid for doing stuff you'd do for fun. Married or not, I'd make the same decision to go for it! After we get things off the ground, I can re-evaluate my situation later this year and decide whether or not I should go job hunting.

So although I won't be discussing the details of my startup until we actually launch the site, I will be blogging about my progress and adventures along the way.

Five Days in Washington DC

JT and I went to Washington DC for a five day vacation to visit my brother and cousin! It was an amazing vacation -- to say the least.

Here are some highlights:

-Watching American Idol Live on Tour at the Verizon Stadium... and screaming with all the teenage girls when Adam Lambert came out. haha


-Touring the city by Segway!


-Meeting up with Han Hong for some oysters! Thanks to facebook, we realized we were in DC at the same time!


-Getting to ride the secret underground subway on Capitol Hill w/ cousin Jonathan ... even though we got kicked off after one stop.

-Seeing the monuments and memorials in person!


-Being able to stand at the spot where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

-Taking awesome pictures with my kickass camera!



-Celebrating JT's 31st bday at brazilian bbq restaurant Fogo de Chao! Holy smokes! We ate 15 different types of meat. My fav was the bacon wrapped filet mignon! Happy Bday Hubby!


-Chillin at the rooftop of a building at night with an amazing view of the city.

-Checking out the Museums! I truly wish I had more time to see them all. We were able to check out the International Spy Museum, American Portrait Smithsonian Museum, Air and Space Museum, and the Holocaust Museum.


-Pigging out!


-Hanging at busboys and poets, the non-profit bookstore/bar/poetry slam cafe inspired by langston hughes

And here's the kicker...
-Seeing President Barrack Obama HIMSELF board the Marine One right on the south lawn of the white house. How freakin lucky are we?! THank you Jonathan for hooking us up with the white house tour! We got a video of it!

-The making of my first youtube video ever:



Five days at our nation's capitol... being surrounded by all the history, passion, and hope ... left me feeling inspired. =) great trip! Thank you Jason and Jonathan for hosting us! family rocks.



For more pictures, check out my flickr site

American idol live from DC :)

change is in the air...

Lots to look forward to in the near future. (=P)

Booked my tickets for DC to visit my brother Aug 4-9th! Not only are we going to see American Idols on tour LIVE at the Verizon center on the 4th, we'll also be celebrating JT's bday on the 8th! I scored TWO round trip tickets to DC and back for a grand total of $340. woohoo. Thanks to the combo of rapid rewards, and kayak.com

Booked my tickets for HK October 20 - November 3rd! I'm looking forward to spending some time with friends, shopping, eating, and attending my girl Raylene's wedding! Got my tickets for a grand total of $35.00!! woohoo thanks to my united mileage plus card. It has taken JT n me to Hawaii, and Paris... now HK. love it!

Tweets on Shirts!

Get your "Having an iphone has completely changed the way I poop" t-shirt on threadless!

LOL nap time !

I <3 DOGS! =)

I recently decided to combine my love for dogs and love for photography into one awesome hobby - DOG PHOTOGRAPHY!!! woohooo

BEVERLY CHANG

This is the face that looks up at me and melts my heart everytime. She has the cutest under-bite ever.


Beverly loves to relax on her little plush cushion... in this pic she was bummed out because bela was stealing our attention




Happily chewing away at her rawhide stick!

INU MOK
Inu joined our household less than two months ago, and has already warmed her way to my heart. Her mommy Caroline loves her very much and spoils her with baked chicken and walks in the park daily! Although she is a cautious dog, you can't help but fall in love with her cute face and sweet shyness.











Inu is such a photogenic dog!

PRINCESS BELA
Bela is a happy, bubbly pomeranian who LOVES attention. We've been dog sitting her for a little over a week and she has been so much fun!








gorgeous smile!

This post is dedicated to little miss Poppy who was a sweet beautiful Lhasa Apso - my first dog ever. To this day, I still miss her soooooo much and find myself constantly talking about how cute and sweet she was. I like to recall all the quirky little things she did, how playful and energetic she was, and how she always knew how to comfort me and put a smile on my face. Although she will always be in my memories, I do regret not getting enough pictures of her. this is for you pop!


poppy and young beverly at play =) we miss you poppy!