September 2012
1 post
7 tags
CHAT & CHOW: Writers Erin Maher & Kay Reindl
Welcome to CHAT & CHOW: a Q&A series. My one request for a writer who agrees to participate — the person has to either a) meet me at a food truck or b) have boba with me.
Today’s guests, writing team Erin Maher and Kay Reindl.
Check out their IMDB pages here and here.
Kay: “It’s not a writing team unless there’s a phaser stand-off.”
I met up...
August 2012
2 posts
10 tags
CHAT & CHOW: Anne Marie Becker
Welcome to Chat & Chow: a Q & A series.
Confession: I’m beyond excited about today’s guest, writer Anne Marie Becker, for two reasons.
1. I’ve known her since the eighth grade.
2. She’s letting me do a giveaway!!!
Anne and I survived not only high school together, but also JROTC (shout out to the TX782nd), driving school (their motto: “We taught a burro to...
8 tags
Chat & Chow: Jeff Greenstein
Welcome to CHAT & CHOW: a Q&A series.
In honor of the Season Two Premiere of HUSBANDS… Today’s guest: writer/producer/director: Jeff Greenstein.
Check out his IMDB page.
While ideally we would’ve caught up at a foodtruck or for some boba, when Jeff suggested we get together at his wife’s bakery, Big Sugar Bakeshop, my first thought was, “Your wife owns...
June 2012
2 posts
7 tags
CHAT & CHOW: writer Sheila Lawrence
Welcome to CHAT & CHOW: a Q&A series highlighting a different writer each week. My one request for a writer who agrees to participate — the person has to either a) meet me at a food truck or b) have boba with me.
Today’s guest, Sheila Lawrence.
Check out her IMDB page here.
Sheila and I first met working as writers’ assistants on a very successful television show....
4 tags
When NOT to ask someone to read your material
When I first meet someone and tell him/her that I’m a TV writer, I pretty much hear two responses.
1) “I don’t watch television.”
2) “What shows do you write for?” (go here if you were curious)
Followed by a, “Cool,” or the more common “Oh.”
Every so often, however, I’ll get asked by the stranger/person I’ve just met,...
May 2012
1 post
6 tags
CHAT & CHOW: writer Lisa Klink
While I’ve written a bit about being a mom, and a bunch about food, I’ve barely written anything about writing.
I’ve decided to remedy that.
Don’t worry, I’m not neglecting food. In fact, I’m combining the two. Introducing…
CHAT & CHOW — a Q&A series highlighting a different writer each week.
My one request for a writer who agrees...
April 2012
1 post
2 tags
Thank you, Linda McCartney
I’d like to thank Linda McCartney.
While there are numerous reasons to honor her life (accomplished photographer, passionate animal rights activist, adored wife, beloved mother, etc), I’d rather celebrate her death. And, no, I’m not one who delights in someone’s demise.
Back when my Mom had been diagnosed and given a bleak prognosis, I would always tell people she had...
March 2012
2 posts
5 tags
Republic of Pie - A coffee/cafe review
After my last cafe review, a friend suggested via twitter (@pangni) that I should check out another spot in North Hollywood: Republic of Pie.
I decided to follow up on her lead because…
a) I’m always open to suggestions and
b) if you haven’t figured it out by now, I will never turn down going to a place with “pie” in the name.
My usual caveat: I know nothing...
Ode to the Drive-Thru
That thud you just heard? That was me. Falling off my high horse.
It was pretty loud because that horse was pretty high.
The subject of my erroneous highfalutin-ness? Drive-Thrus.
I used to believe that Drive-Thrus were the bane of our existence. “How hard is it to get out of your car?” “How lazy are we?” “No wonder this country’s fat!”
Then...
February 2012
2 posts
4 tags
Moby's (aka a new writing spot) - A coffee/cafe...
Walk into any coffee house in the Hollywood area and you’ll inevitably encounter an annoying writer (or two, or a gaggle) hogging a table next to an electrical outlet while furiously typing away on their laptops.
I’m one of those annoying writers.
Because of this, I know how hard it is to find a spot where
a) they don’t mind you hanging out for a few hours
b) you don’t have to fight...
3 tags
Happy Happy, Joy Joy
Because I now get most (most, not all) of my news through social media, I’ve discovered enlightening information such as: which of my friends have gastrointestinal issues (next time, skip the chili); how I can work on a script no matter the device; and that purple squirrels quite possibly exist. So when a friend recently posted that “Today is the second day of the second week of the second month...
September 2011
4 posts
2 tags
Mossie Lee's - A Food Truck Review
Armed with my food truck review guidelines —
a) I have to order a truck’s signature/most popular dish.
b) the bill can’t total more than $10.
— I decided to try:
Mossie Lee’s Southern Cuisine: Tastes so good, makes you wanna kiss ya mama!
website: www.mossielees.com twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/mossielees/ facebook page
They accept Mastercard/Visa
$10 minimum credit...
4 tags
Once more, with GLEE!
I have a confession to make. I know I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve recently become a Gleek.
Oh, I’d watched an occasional “Glee” episode here and there (Sue Sylvester remaking Vogue? Hi. Larious. A mash up of Singing in the Rain/Umbrella? Genius) but they weren’t enough to make me a fan.
But then, after listening to my friends go on and on and ON...
1 tag
Ready, set, SPRINT!
If you don’t follow Jane Espenson on Twitter — appropriately enough @janeespenson — you should. Especially if you’re an aspiring writer (television or otherwise).
I suggest this not only because she’s groovy and you’re probably a fan of at least one of the shows she’s written on (ie: Buffy, Gilmore Girls, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood: Miracle Day) but...
3 tags
A Peacock? Punch?
Not sure what a fruity beverage has to do with iridescent-plumed birds, so I’ll go with both. I’m proud as a peacock AND punch to announce:
1) The theatre company I helped co-found, SeaGlass Theatre, is opening its newest production, KVETCH, by Steven Berkoff on Saturday, Sept. 17th. Described as “an absurdist look at those secret thoughts that brew within us all,”...
August 2011
1 post
2 tags
Thank You, Linda McCartney
I’d like to thank Linda McCartney.
While there are numerous reasons to honor her life (accomplished photographer, passionate animal rights activist, adored wife, beloved mother, etc), I’d rather celebrate her death. And, no, I’m not one who delights in someone’s demise.
Back when my Mom had been diagnosed and given a bleak prognosis, I would always tell people she had...
July 2011
6 posts
5 tags
My own mini 'Con
When my Facebook and Twitter feeds went all aflutter and atingle this past weekend, I knew it had arrived. Comic-Con. Or, more accurately, “Comic-Con International: San Diego… home of the largest comic book and popular arts convention in the world!”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t go. Although, I REALLY would’ve loved checking it out. Not only were a bunch of my friends...
1 tag
WatchPURE. JOY. (note to self: figure out how to get a puffin bird)
3 tags
Date Night Hangover
My mother-in-law’s in town.
While this strikes fear/rage/paranoia into the hearts of many a friend in regards to their own MILs, I, on the other hand, delight in her presence. Seriously. I adore her.
In addition to being able to chat it up with me for hours (much to the hubs’ chagrin), she’s a hoot to be around, she CLEANS (so that thing you’re doing is called,...
2 tags
Bool BBQ - A Food Truck Review
A couple of weeks ago I attended a nearby food truck festival. That’s right. A festival. With nothing but FOOD TRUCKS.
Yes, I did a happy dance. No, I don’t have it on video.
Because of the plethora of choices, I decided this would be the best place to try out my new food truck review guidelines:
a) I have to order a truck’s signature/most popular dish.
b) the bill...
2 tags
Aw, cr@%.
NOTE: Probably not the best idea to read this while eating. Just sayin’…
As I listen to the otherworldly sounds emanating from my dog’s stomach (afraid of what will eventually come out), I’m reminded of how, yet, again, my life centers around… waste.
Anyone who’s been a caregiver/parental figure/animal lover, feels my pain. What goes in must come out, and...
2 tags
Let's Get this Party Pumping!
I recently enjoyed a much-needed Girls’ Night — an event that had been on the calendar for months. Which meant I had plenty of time to plan ahead. My goal? To show up early and to resemble my pre-kid self (don a cute, yet saucy, outfit, style my short, sassy ‘do and paint my very neglected toenails).
The reality?
I arrived twenty minutes late (I went to the...
June 2011
6 posts
1 tag
Such a Mom...
The other day, I found myself doing something I SWORE I would never do: I reached over and scrubbed something off the kid’s cheek using just my finger and my spit. Like other parental units before me, I now believe my saliva can defeat any food remnant/dried mucus that dare mar my child’s face.
And I’m a bit of a germaphobe.
That’s when realized… I’ve...
2 tags
Are you sweating?!! (aka Happy Father's Day)
This Sunday marks the hubs’ first Father’s Day. While the kid and I work on his present, I can guarantee what he won’t be getting: a home cooked meal.
Trust me, it’s better this way.
My lack of culinary skills wouldn’t be so embarrassing if
a) I hadn’t worked in the food industry for ten years and
b) two of those places weren’t restaurants OWNED by...
3 tags
Mighty Tasty: A Food Truck Review
Meet the truck that started it all… No, not the one that launched the current explosion of gourmet specialty food trucks, but the one that triggered the craze for me:
FOOD TRUCK:
The Mighty Boba Truck WEBSITE:
www.mightyboba.com TWITTER PAGE:
http://twitter.com/#!/mightyboba
What on earth is boba? Sweet, chewy balls made of tapioca. Why would anyone put a bunch of them into a...
1 tag
Father Knows... Guns
You know how fathers jokingly threaten to sit on the porch with a shotgun to ward off any teenage boys their daughters bring home? That was my Dad, except he actually had guns (military cop) and I’m pretty certain he wasn’t joking. His copies of Guns & Ammo and Soldier of Fortune magazines, which had adorned our coffee table for years, gave him away. That and the fact that starting from when I...
3 tags
I love you more than bacon.
Apologies in advance to all my veggie/vegan/swine-loving/grammarian friends but…
I loves me some bacon.
If I could start every day with it, I would. Let me rephrase, if I could have bacon with every meal, I would. The way it sizzles in the frying pan, the way it smells (and how it wafts through the house), the way it crunches…I love it. All of it. Even the fat.
When I was younger, my...
1 tag
What's that crunching sound? Oh, wait. It's me.
While it’s pretty safe to say I’m a fan of Mother Nature… Change over to CFL bulbs? Done. Recycle? Every chance I get. Hybrid vehicles? Can’t wait to get one… I wouldn’t necessarily describe myself as being “one with nature.”
Words the hubs never has to worry about me uttering (because if I did he’d know we were, indeed, in the midst of an...
May 2011
6 posts
1 tag
'Til Death Don't Us Part
My parents died three weeks apart. Nineteen days, to be exact.
Yeah, those were good times.
Before anyone thinks their love had been so great that they couldn’t have lived without one another, know this: they couldn’t stand each other.
So much so that after my Dad passed, while my friends tried to comfort me by saying things like, “your dad died of a broken heart,”...
2 tags
Bliss, thy name is Waffles: a Food Truck Review
I have a sweet tooth. Well, more like a sweet mouth (wait, that sounds a bit pornish… sweet teeth?). At restaurants, l decide my entree based on the dessert I know I’m having later — because there is always dessert later.
So when I discovered the existence of a WAFFLE FOOD TRUCK (?!!)… I couldn’t stalk their tweets fast enough.
FOOD TRUCK:
Waffles de Liege...
1 tag
Why, yes, that is 3 days worth of laundry on my...
I’ve had my share of tough jobs.
Nothing in comparison to, say, defending our country or catching crabs off the coast of Alaska, but they were challenging nonetheless.
In high school, I worked at a Chinese restaurant where my Mom was my boss. That woman made sure to schedule every free weekend/spring/summer break I had until I left for college (which could explain my nonexistent dating...
2 tags
Move over, Gisele...
I’m the first to admit I’m not a fashion plate.
In high school, all of my t-shirts had some kind of writing or logo on it. Every. Single. One.
It wasn’t until college that I discovered the garments I had always called, “sweaters,” were, in fact, “sweatshirts,” and that, no, they actually weren’t the ideal go-to outfit for any occasion.
...
2 tags
What the #$%'s up with your name?
Here’s the quick and dirty: my name’s a typo.
Kinda like Oprah’s. Except unlike hers, mine’s not said the way it was misspelled.
My given name? Bonnie. The typo? Pang-Ni. Just a tad bit off.
In fact, “Pang-Ni” didn’t become my legal name until we made the move from Taiwan to America. It was at that time when my name, “Bonnie” —...
1 tag
“If he belongs to you, he belongs to you. If he doesn’t belong to you, run...”
– The force of nature known as my Mom. Happy Mother’s Day. 我很想你. 