Quiet on the set.
Future Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient.
Current Film Student.
Director, Writer, Movie Goer.
All in a day's work.
I am.
I had a very cathartic experience while driving along PCH the other day. I was singing with my iPod, the windows were rolled down, and I could smell the ocean air as it drifted into my car. I was in complete heaven. I couldn’t have been any happier at that moment. It got me thinking, I am completely happy with who I am.
I am Francesca.
I like comic books and nail polish.
I love Star Wars and The Philadelphia Story.
I can quote Monty Python and recite Shakespeare.
I love reading and writing.
I can hold my own in a conversation about sports and athletes as well as I can in a conversation about fashion and designers.
I can throw a football and do a pirouette.
I think that the Civil War was the most fascinating time in history and I love learning about it.
Lemon flavored cake bothers me. I just don’t think cake should taste like lemons.
I think that ice cream is an acceptable breakfast.
My favorite book is Catcher in the Rye.
My favorite movie is The Godfather.
I really like pizza and cheesecake. But not mixed together.
I think elephants are the most wonderful creatures. I have a theory they are all very wise and if we could communicate with them, they would teach us so much.
I write poetry. Sometimes it rhymes, most times it doesn’t.
When I get sad or scared, I watch Pocahontas.
If I ever have children, I want to name them after characters from my favorite books and plays. Holden, Scout, Viola, Juliet, etc…
I am afraid of some things but the idea of facing them excites me.
I know my weaknesses and my strengths.
I know what I want to be when I grow up.
I am very proud of who I’ve turned out to be.
On Memorial Day…
I wish I could have met my grandfather on my dad’s side. I have so many things I would have liked to ask him. Unfortunately, he passed away a few weeks before my dad’s 18th birthday. He was 50 years old.
I recently heard a recording of my grandfather’s voice that my dad had from an interview he had with his father about their family moving to Arizona. It was really cool to hear what he had sounded like and listen to the detailed and eloquent answers he gave to my dad’s questions. I got really sad though, thinking about how I’ll never get to meet him and ask him all the questions I have for him that I’ll never get to ask him. I was also thinking about how my dad must have felt, listening to the sound of his father’s voice after not hearing it for so many years. When I was younger, I never gave much thought to never knowing my paternal grandfather. Now, I wish I could have gotten to meet him. I think I would have really liked him and I think he and I would have tons of things to talk about. Most importantly, I think that he would have been really happy to see how happy my family is.
While his death was not during his service in the military, it is still right to think about him tomorrow on Memorial Day. Neil A. Giuliano joined the United States Marine Corps shortly after World War II ended. This photo of him was taken in 1947 on the USS Coral Sea. According to all the stories I’ve heard about him, he was very proud to be a marine. My grandfather looks so happy in this photo and I’m sure he’d be really happy to know that we’ll be thinking of him on this Memorial Day and every Memorial Day to come.
Neil A. Giuliano
PFC United States Marine Corps
August 22, 1928 - October 15, 1978
Battle of the Haikus
Brentano and I have created a new game. Instead of adding “bro” to everything, we have been trying to outdo each other by making the most outrageous haikus we can think of.
Francesca:
Tiny scorpions
Crawl into my mouth at night
Fight them off with Raid
Brentano:
freaking pokemonforced to fight until they faint
animal cruelty
Francesca:
Dead zombie lovers
Hooking up, all fun and games
Don’t eat my brain please.
Brentano:
outcasts of the sea
swimming gracefully with glee
majestic narwhale
Francesca:
Mummies come unwrapped,
trying to put themselves back,
Its tough to be dead.
Brentano:
beautiful bovine
how i love to eat your beef
so tender and sweet
Francesca:
Gummy bears chase me,
I don’t know how to escape.
Say no to drugs, man.
Brentano:
xbox and ballpark
nothing else in life matters
ok and running
Francesca:
Majestic Grizzly,
and the ferocious Great White:
Which one would prevail?
And now a question and a response…
Brentano:
i have 5 dollars
what can i buy with this cash
probably not much
Francesca:
You could get BallPark,
A half loaf of garlic bread.
You can even add cheese.
Brentano:
there is a saying
you are what you eat in life
i am ballpark bitch.
Francesca:
Traveling through space,
To boldly go like he did.
Live long and prosper.
Brentano:
netflix is my life
movies and tv galore
i have zero friends
Francesca:
Watched a lot of Scrubs,
Turk and JD are the best.
Makes me yell, “EEEEEEEEEAGLE!!”
Brentano:
i am free to be
existentialism man
individual
Francesca:
Mufasa was rad,
Darth Vader was cool as well.
They had the same voice.
Brentano:
poop is very neat
constipation is the worst
diarrhea too
Francesca:
News shows are boring,
But not Anderson Cooper.
This is CNN.
Brentano:
living forever
not entirely difficult
going well so far
Francesca:
Clowns try to kill me,
They’re hiding in my closet.
I’m heavily armed.
Brentano:
two shots in the night
one boy changed forever on
i am the dark knight
Francesca:
Face painted pale white,
Hair dark green and smile bright red.
Why so serious?
Brentano:
puppies everywhere
the floor is lost underneath
little tails wagging
Francesca:
District Attourney.
Half of my face was ruined.
Wanna flip a coin?
Brentano:
my nose will grow now
pinocchio says to me
paradoxical
Francesca:
Snow White was a fail.
Tell those dwarves to learn to cook.
Stand up for women’s rights.
Brentano:
中文怎么说
i love eating yummy cake
我爱吃蛋糕
Francesca:
Cleaning house really sucks.
Cinderella needs a life.
Keep track of your shoes.
Brentano:
in case of earthquake
stand beneath nearest door frame
watch for falling things
Francesca:
Bats are super great.
Being nocturnal would rock.
Soaring through the dark.
Brentano:
hippos and lions
which one is more dangerous?
answer: chuck norris
Francesca:
Wimps like you make me
yell, “You play ball like a girl!”
I love The Sandlot.
Brentano:
so fucking tired
give me my rest, cruel sea wench
but really, so tired
Francesca:
Eating bugs is bad.
Some might be very poisonous.
But its your call, man.
Brentano:
its so beautiful
double rainbow all the way
he must have been high
Greatest Quote Ever.
“Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.
Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.
It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.
Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.
Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.
If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.
You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”
— Rosemary Urquico
This was beautiful. Reading and writing are my everything. Writing is my stress reliever, reading is my escape route.
Comeback Tour!/ I’ll have what she’s having…
So I kind of dropped the ball on the whole WW blog post a day thing… Turns out, writing a blog a day was really hard. Long story short, its been a while since I’ve had time to blog. Here’s my comeback tour:
This particular post is dedicated to my lovely “faux-lder” (say it out loud, it works phonetically) sister, Ariana Santoro.
The other day when I spent a lovely hour with just Ari (which has never happened before), she was telling me about this guy she knows/goes to school with/whatever. He tells her all about other girls, does the whole “resting his arm on her head because she’s short” thing, and I’m guessing he makes fun of her in an innocent and flirty way. It got me thinking about all of my guy friends and how I love to assess them (that’s a story for another day) and so I assessed him based on her descriptions of him and here’s what I came up with.
What we have here is a classic “When Harry Met Sally” situation. He shows disinterest in her and an extreme interest in other women in order to throw of the fact he’s actually interested in her. (For example: his stories about debating which girl to date out of the three he’s seeing…)
I bet that before the month ends, he’ll ask Ari to “watch a movie” or “hang out” just to see her outside of her normal school mode. I’m guessing he already expresses some sort of interest in seeing her outside of any school setting.
I’ll also bet that during the month of April, he’ll find more and more excuses to talk to her, and some of them will be outrageous. I’m not gonna lie, I’m hoping to hear that he’s reached the stage of drunk dialing her at this point.I’d like to bet that by May 1, 2011, he lets it slip that he’s falling for her and that they should go out. I’m hoping he has the cajones to flat out say it. This would probably be the only time Ari will ever be left absolutely speechless. Which, if you know Ari, doesn’t happen often. Like myself, she always has something to say.
I am counting down until my predictions come true. This is one story I cannot wait to hear!
So there it is, big sister face. Here’s my bets. I’m guessing I’ll go three for three… but honestly, I’m hoping its three for three :)
Two Days = Better than one.
DAY EIGHTEEN: February 4, 2011
Points Used: 17/29
Today was a weird day… I didn’t want to eat but I made myself eat. I exercised a little and it was nice to walk around. Other than that, I didn’t really feel like doing anything so I laid really low and just hung out all day.
DAY NINETEEN: February 5, 2011
Points Used: 21/29
A nice and normal eating day… except for the delish Indian food I had for dinner! I had dinner with Lauren tonight and per usual, we chose Indian food. If there’s one thing we love, its garlic naan. It was nice to take some time off of planning, cleaning, and getting everything ready for tomorrow’s big party. Happy Super Bowl eating!
I’m back in the game… for now.
DAY SEVENTEEN: February 3, 2011
Points Used: 30/29
I’m eating again! And I’m making a conscious effort to exercise! Today was awesome. I woke up and walked to the coffee shop that’s right next to my house and got myself a smoothie for lunch. Then I went to class and after I went to Joe’s Crab Shack with a few friends for a late lunch. After eating, we went back to school and went to film society… which I absolutely abhor. After that, Dro and I went to Del Taco because after all, it is Del Taco Thursday! Ok, so I didn’t eat super healthy today but the way I’m looking at it is, at least I’m eating again… Let’s hope for some happy eats this weekend!
And I was wrong…
DAY SIXTEEN: February 2, 2011
Points Used: 18/29
Today, I ate even LESS than yesterday! That may be the way to lose weight but it isn’t the way I want to. It freaks me out whenever I don’t eat. Me without an appetite is like a day without sunshine. Its not happy. I forced myself to eat a subway sandwich at lunch and I didn’t eat until 9 when I made myself eat some toaster strudels. Maybe its my lack of sleep that’s causing this weird eating issue. I feel like its not healthy for me to go without eating for a whole entire day. The whole purpose of my diet isn’t to just stop eating, its to learn how to manage portion control and becoming healthier through diet and exercise. I also found out today that I have almost the exact same measurements at Marilyn Monroe. Its freaky how similar our bodies are, down to our height, weight, dress size, bust, and hips. The only thing she has on me is I’m pretty sure her waist is a few inches smaller than mine. I don’t have that awesome hourglass figure but I’m working on it! Anyway, I haven’t been sleeping well so I took some NyQuil about an hour ago… and now its hitting me like a brick wall. Definitely bed time for me. Looks like I’ll have to finish writing my masterpiece in the morning for sure seeing that I typed this sentence with my eyes closed. Sweet (medicated) dreams and happy eating!
I love looking like this:
I’m not trying to look like this:
While I adore Twiggy and think she’s adorable, I love my Marilyn curves. This whole “not eating” thing needs to stop. I’ve played that game before. Its not fun.
Just one of those days…
DAY FIFTEEN: February 1, 2011
Points Used: 15/29
Today was one of those days where I was hungry but couldn’t eat. I’ve been so stressed about the damn public speaking project and I finally got to present it today. After I got that over with, I thought I’d regain my hunger… Nope. Not in the slightest bit. I made myself eat another turkey wrap (a few pieces of turkey in a corn tortilla with a tiny bit of mustard) and then finished the raspberries and blackberries that I got the other day. I watched a movie, thought about what I was going to write about later on and then watched a TON of TV. I never sit and just watch TV but today I did for some weird reason. I also was asked to do some modeling for one of Mackenzie’s classmates and I’m super stoked on that. I’m excited to model for her. I think its going to be an awesome shoot. She wants to do a boudoir shoot and I think it would be so much fun to dress up like a 1950’s pin-up model for the shoot. Soft curls and red lipstick are a must! Thinking about the shoot made me a little more conscious about what I eat and I began to think about what foods I like vs. what foods I should eat. I think I’m doing pretty well with the whole cutting down on the portions thing. I’ve noticed a change in my appetite. I’m not as randomly hungry throughout the day anymore. On a happier note, I had a wonderful conversation with a dear friend and it made me definitely want to have more great talks with him soon. Let’s hope tomorrow brings better luck in the food/hunger department. Happy eating!
Best. Weekend. Ever.
DAY TWELVE: January 29, 2011
Points Used: 26/29
DAY THIRTEEN: January 30, 2011
Points Used: 29/29
DAY FOURTEEN: JANUARY 31, 2011
Points Used: 17/29
Happy Two Week Anniversary, WW! Today was one of those weird, I don’t know what to eat or what not to eat days. I ate a lot of pasta but I still didn’t fill up my points. This weekend was absolutely glorious though. I spent it with Lauren hanging out at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. What an amazing experience. I got to listen to Christopher Nolan talk about filmmaking, hear James Franco talk about acting, I shook Warren Beatty’s hand, and to top it off, I did it all with my best friend. I am forever indebted to Lauren for this experience. I had an absolute blast. I ate tons of yummy food and had an amazing time. My favorite food from the weekend had to be the Octopus and Seaweed salad I had for dinner on Saturday night. So delicious. If you haven’t tried raw octopus, I highly recommend it. I also racked up a whopping 17 activity points from all the walking I did. That was also awesome. Still haven’t lost any weight yet but I didn’t think I would after the four cheese ravioli I had on sunday night… Let’s hope for happy eating this week!
I’m excited for guacamole…
DAY ELEVEN: January 28, 2011
Points Used: 26/29
Today was complete awesomeness. I went up to Santa Barbara to hang out with Lauren at the Film Festival. We saw this great film that was in french and the acting was fantastic. If you want to check it out, its called “A Life Begins.” The story was amazing and I liked everything about it. Before seeing the movie, we had lunch at FreeBirds, which is this awesome mexican food place in IV. Then we had this awesome crepe that had strawberries, nutella, and fro-yo in it. So bomb, and not too many points either. It was so nice to spend time with Lauren. I hardly ever get to see her and I’m so excited that I get to spend this weekend hanging out with her, seeing awesome films, and seeing ever more awesome actors. Like for instance, tonight I met and got Warren Beatty’s autograph. If you look up the word stud in the dictionary, you’ll see his photograph. Of course, Annette Bening was by his side. She wouldn’t sign autographs though. She looked so frail and thin. I almost wanted to offer to buy her coffee or something. Before they showed up to the red carpet, Lauren and I were interviewed by some news lady who made me repeat my name like three times. She better remember that name, I’ll be back soon enough. Only then I’ll be walking the red carpet, not standing on the sidelines wanting autographs…
But its Del Taco thursday…
DAY TEN: January 27, 2011
Points Used: 31/29
Yeah, I went two points over. Its Del Taco Thursday. I only went over two points though, not a big deal. I still have 47 of my extra points because I’ve been doing so well with staying under 29 points a day. I am really proud of myself this week, I’ve eaten less than 29 points everyday and I have 3 activity points racked up. I thought I’d have such a harder time doing this. So far, I’ve done really well. I can’t believe how much everything is sinking in. This weekend should be a good one. I’ll get to explore my future by hanging out on the red carpet at the SB Film Festival! Someday it’ll be me!
And the beat goes on…
DAY NINE: January 26, 2011
Points Used: 25/29
Today was a pretty good day, eating wise. I had in-n-out for lunch. Kept it simple. Nothing fancy. I drank a ton of water and then had a frozen single serving turkey lasagna for dinner. I love lasagna. Its my favorite food. I prefer homemade but in reality, I’ll eat any kind. My points would have been lower for the day but I’ll be honest, I needed a drink. I worked on my damn public speaking project for four hours straight and i literally built a mountain all by myself. Its the most beautiful diorama I have ever seen. I’m really proud of it and I hope I get an A on it. Having said that, a little bit of Jack Daniels and Coke Zero helped me unwind after straining my eyes and back being hunched over that stupid thing. Long story short, I enjoyed my beverage and finished up my dinner, read some Lolita, and now its time for bed.
I have avenged my cravings!
DAY OCHO: January 25, 2011
Points Used: 27/29
Literally, the perfect eating day. I had cereal for breakfast, a few small cheese quesadillas on corn tortillas for lunch, and Chipotle for dinner!! I had a burrito bowl with chicken and pinto beans and guacamole! Sooo yummy! I’m really getting the hang of this points counting stuff! I know I’m only 8 days in but I really feel like I’m actually feeling my body change and react to my new diet. I feel a lot healthier and I’m noticing that whenever I feel like I need to snack on something, I take a second to think about whether I really am hungry or whether I’m just bored. 8 times out of 10, I’m usually just bored. I think that resisting the urge to eat when I’m bored will truly prove to be the deciding factor in me losing any weight. I am doing well with the portion controlling so far, its the in-between meal snacking that’s ultimately going to be my downfall if I don’t start cutting that habit… As soon as this group project is done, I’ll start thinking about cooking for myself again. But until then, it looks like I’ll be eating a lot of turkey sandwiches and PB&J’s… which isn’t necessarily a bad thing :)
