My Life at Chapman

A New Semester and a Lot of Rain

2009-02-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Once again, it's been too long in between posts, but I promise I have good excuses. Things have been really busy. Here are some updates on my life:

Interterm: I didn't take an interterm class last year, so it was pretty fun to finally see what it's like. The class I took was incredible: Advanced Workshop in Genre Writing with Jeff Phillips, one of our part time professors. We had nine class periods and learned nine different genres. Some were more difficult than others, but as a screenwriter, it's important for me to step outside my comfort zone and try new things. And I even found out that I love writing horror films... I started one that hopefully will become a feature script by the end of the year.

Work: I'm still enjoying my job at the film school, but I needed to make a little more money. I was fortunate enough in this economy to find a second job at Jamba Juice! Free smoothies make me very happy. I just hope that two jobs, full time classes, and sorority involvement don't make me too crazy.

Apartment: Finally furnished! I've lived there since September and I finally had time over interterm to furnish the rest of the living room. It looks awesome, if I do say so myself.

Sorority: Gamma Phi is still treating me very well. I just took on a new position as our House of Reps representative. House of Reps is a part of Associated Students, which is our student government here at Chapman. I will go to the weekly meetings to represent Gamma Phi. It'll be a good way for me to be more involved at Chapman and see firsthand how our government works.

Spring semester: Unfortunately, screenwriting classes were a little full this semester. So I'm not taking any required classes for my major, but I do have two classes at the film school that I already love. One is Actor's and Writer's Workshop. Screenwriters write the scenes, screen acting students act them out, and we all learn how they can be improved. I think it will honestly be one of the most useful classes I take here. I'm also taking Prime Time: The Game of Television. It's a giant role-playing game to learn how TV works. There are network executives, producers, and advertising agencies. Right now, I'm a network exec for CBS. It'll be a lot of fun.

I'll let you know more when it happens. I know it's Admissions time and those of you who are high school seniors have a lot of important decisions to make. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know!

Katie

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. - E.L. Doctorow

6 Days Away from Christmas Break!

2008-12-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

I am T-6 days from finishing the semester and it couldn't come soon enough. It's been really hectic last few months and I can't believe it's done already.

FINALS: I know everyone talks about Finals like its the Apocalypse, but they aren't that bad. I'm sure for some people they are, but it's definitely doable. This year, mine aren't too bad. For Psych, I had a paper and presentation, but I got it out of the way already so I'm set. Film History and Sociology are the only ones that I actually have tests, but the Film History final is open note so i really don't even have to study. For Acting, I have a two person scene with my friend Carl and we're using one from the show Californication. It's on Showtime, and if you haven't seen it, you should. ASAP. Last but not least, for Screenwriting, the "final" consists of turning in my screenplay, and I've been done for a couple weeks.

REGISTRATION: I registered for classes next semester. The bad news of college is that Sophomores tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to graduating. Because of that, you don't always get all the classes you want. I was relatively lucky... I'm only waitlisted for one class. Unfortunately, it's the one I want the most: Feature Screenwriting II. The good news is that it's not usually TOO difficult to get signed it. Aside from that, I'm talking Actor's and Writer's Workshop, Environmental Ethics, Religion, Prime Time: The Game of Television, and Abnormal Psychology. It'll be another busy semester, but hopefully a fun one too.

THE HOLIDAYS: If you ask anyone that works in the Front Office, they will tell you I'm a Christmas nut. I'm totally obsessed. I've been playing Christmas in the office for over a week. Right now, it's Frank Sinatra's version of "Jingle Bells." I think I have over 200 Christmas songs on my iTunes at this point. It's embarrassing. Tomorrow is our Front Office bake-off and we all go into a sugar coma testing desserts and listening to music and playing Secret Santa. There's even prizes, so naturally, I can't wait. And best of all, I'm going home in 6 days and I'll be there for 3 weeks before I come back for Interterm. Washington is cold (as it should be for Christmas)... I'm over this California "winter" where it's still 70 degrees. Palm trees and Christmas lights don't belong together. But I'm thrilled to see my family and friends and get a break... at this point in the year, I need it.

I hope Thanksgiving was amazing and your holidays are too! I'll update you all at the start of Interterm :)

Katie

Change

2008-11-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

There have been a lot of things happening lately... my life has turned into somewhat of a whirlwind. First and foremost, the biggest thing to occur were the elections a few days ago. I won't get involved with politics in my blog, but there are definitely some things to be looking forward to. And I am proud to say that my first participation in a presidential election came for this historical one.

Even though I can hardly believe it, the semester is about to come to an end. We only have a couple weeks of school until Thanksgiving, and then another week and a half until Christmas Break. I'm finally doing interterm this year... I just don't see the point in paying a month and a half of rent if I won't be there and not taking advantage of an amazing (and free) opportunity.

The class I'll be taking is Advanced Workshop in Writing Genre with Jeff Phillips. Interterm will be incredible because it will still give me three weeks at home and time while I'm at school to write more, make a little extra money, and take a few small weekend trips (like to Palm Springs to see my grandparents).

Unfortunately, in order to be able to afford my rent and utilities and food (all that fun grown-up stuff) I have to get a second job. Hopefully, having two jobs, being in a sorority, and taking a full load of classes won't completely overwhelm me. And in theory, I can work the second job for a few months to just save up some extra cash.

That's all the major updates for now :) Take care!

Katie

"If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative." Woody Allen

This is what procrastination looks like...

2008-10-14T19:29:00.001-07:00

So right now I am supposed to be working on a Sociology paper. Don't doubt me, though. I'm almost done with it and I'm actually very interested in the topic... I just need a break and I'm kind of stuck with the conclusion. The paper is about legal and illegal immigration in America and looks into its benefits and problems from a sociological view. I also have a Film History paper to be working on, but that will come later.

I'm in the middle of midterms. This year, mine are very spread out. I had one a week (or two?) ago, have one this week and one next week. On Friday, it's Acting for Non-Actors. We got to select a monologue to act out in front of the class with costume and prop and all the words memorized. I'm doing Regina's monologue from Mean Girls about Janis and how she thinks that she's a lesbian. It's fun because I would say that I have exactly the opposite personality of Regina-- that is the appeal of acting after all, right? You get to be someone who you aren't.

Screenwriting is going really well. I didn't get chosen for Location Filmmaking -- I'm only a little bitter =D -- but I think I'll submit it on the Dodge Information Group (DIG) and see if it would make a good Advanced Production or Senior Thesis film. The DIG is a way for students to exchange information (crew calls, scripts, head shots) online.

For my Feature Screenwriting class, I'm working on a script that I like to describe as Knocked Up with alcohol instead of marijuana and marriage instead of pregnancy. It's fun to write... I've been enjoying writing comedy over drama lately.

Interterm is coming up and I can't really decide if I want to take a class or have a 6 week vacation. I didn't do it last year, so I'm probably not the best person to ask questions, but it would be a good opportunity to get some credits out of the way. And now that I have my own apartment, I don't really want to pay a month and a half of rent when I'm not staying there. Also, one of the adjunct professors has been talking to me about a Screenwriting Genre class he is teaching over interterm and it sounds super interesting.

Okay... I think I've put this baby off long enough. Time to get back to work. I have a favorite analogy about procrastination, but it's probably not appropriate for the internet. If you know the one I'm thinking of, good for you =D

"The act of writing is an act of optimism. You would not take the trouble to do it if you felt it didn't matter." Edward Albee

September already?

2008-09-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

As much as I can hardly believe it, it's already over a week into September, which means I'm super busy.

Here's what's been going on:

- I moved into my apartment! It took forever, but I'm finally no longer homeless. And since I didn't have any big, strong men laying around, I had to assemble ALL of the furniture by myself. So far, so good. I haven't broken any chairs by sitting in them, so a huge success in my books. It's really nice having my own place, but to all of you who are wondering whether or not to live on or off campus your freshman, live in the dorms. You'll meet so many people and it's so much fun (most of the time).

- Location Filmmaking is coming up! It's this really exciting opportunity within the film school and it's open to everyone, regardless of your major or class standing. It's a screenplay competition for Dodge College students. In the end, six will be chosen to be produced by Chapman -- 100% fully funded and crewed. There's no entry fee so no harm, no foul. If you have a short script under your belt, there's no reason NOT to participate.

- Classes are pretty good this year. My screenwriting class is a lot to take in right now. We had to come up with three feature ideas that we'll be working on over the next year. I like what I came up with so I'm hoping my excitement about writing it will carry on over this semester (and next).

- I went skydiving this last weekend! I know, I know... "Weren't you supposed to go in August?" Well, the engine fell out of the plane the day before my birthday and all six people that were in the plane ended up in the ER. I don't believe in bad omens, but I had to wait until this last Saturday until I could go. It worked out for the better, though, because my friend Chad and I went to Pacific Coast Skydiving, which is INCREDIBLE! We flew over Mexico and the San Diego coastline and jumped at sunset. Absolutely fabulous. I even have a DVD of the jump, which is so fun to watch.

I think that's all the updates you need for now. Have a good week :)

"Writing eases my suffering... writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence."

- Gao Xingjian

Coming up on the end of summer... Good news and bad.

2008-08-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it's August 1st today and I'm going back to Chapman in two weeks. A huge part of me can't wait to see all my friends and get back to my film classes and start moving into my apartment. (However, I'm semi-homeless for a week and a half because I'm not allowed to move into the apartment until August 30 and I'll be in Southern California August 17th. Oops?) Yet another part of me is really sad to leave Bellingham because my summer here has been one of the best.

At my full-time job here, cashiering at Joe's Sports and Outdoors, I've met a ton of people and have spent a lot of my time with my new friends, all of whom I'll have to leave in a couple weeks. To ease this inevitable pain, a few people from work are throwing me a birthday party. (It's my birthday on the 4th, by the way! 19 years has been a long time coming). The party is on Sunday, and on Monday (my actual birthday) I'm going skydiving with my best friend Frances. I'm terrified, but it will be worth the horror and the fat wad of cash.

As far as Screenwriting goes, writing for the TV show Reel to Real has been an incredible experience. I'm starting to think that I'd rather write for TV than for film, at least initially. Frank, Myles, and I are trying to find a location to film our short story in, but that will hopefully get on its way. It's been in pre-production for months. And months.

Speaking of Frank and Myles, you should support me by supporting them and checking out their newest video, "Flushed." It's the style that OUR film will be in, but ours will be a little less silly. The youtube link for that is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvJX-uyBR3o

Myles is also on Fox Searchlight (http://my.foxsearchlight.com/profile/Myles), where all of his other videos, and eventually the one I wrote, are posted. He's not currently a Chapman student, but will be after he transfers.

Hope all of you are doing well. If you have questions, as always, feel free to write.

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." ~Ray Bradbury

I'm bad at keeping this updated...

2008-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

Whew. It's been quite some time since my last blog post. Sorry about that. Believe it or not, I got swept up in finals -- and the week or two leading up to them -- and getting everything together to move back home. This blog, by the way, is coming to you from beautiful Bellingham, Washington (my hometown). I'll be here for the summer until, of course, I head back to move into my apartment. The dorms were great for a year, but it's time to try something new. I'm moving into the Terrace Apartments with my good friend Trina. Until then, I'm working full time at a sporting goods store at home (Joe's) to save up for the big move.

Aside from work, writing is keeping my busy. I have Feature Screenwriting 1 next semester so my goal is to write, or at least outline, a feature by the end of this summer. I would say it's The Island meets Children of Men... you know, a futuristic, end-of-the-world, triumph-of-the-human-spirit kind of thing. In addition to working on said feature, I'm still developing a script for my friends Frank and Myles, which will hopefully get produced sometime in August (in case you're reading this, no rush, boys!) And last but not least, I was asked to be a writer for the show Reel to Real, which my co-worker Kai is co-producing. He's talked about it in his blog, too, so that'll have more details.

I've never written for TV before, so I'm learning a lot as I go along. The episodes are all on a very specific timeline, which is good for me because it keeps me working. John Irving once said, "The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you don't behave that way you would never do anything." For those of you that are planning on being screenwriters or even write just for yourself, I've learned the most important thing is to just keep writing. Always. Even if nothing comes of those specific words, the practice is invaluable.

That's all for now. I'll be better at keeping you all posted.

Peace and be easy,

Katie

Almost done with the school year!

2008-04-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that my freshman year of college is almost complete. It became more realistic two days ago when I had to register for next semester's classes. If all goes according to plan, I'll be taking:

History of Film (to 1945)
Intermediate Screenwriting
Acting for Non-Actors
Critical Thinking
Social Problems

The first three are for my major, Critical Thinking is a Psychology class (for my minor), and Social Problems will be my last G.E. (as long as I do Study Abroad, which is the plan as of now). My earliest class any given day of the week is 1pm, so there will be a lot of sleeping in.

I found an apartment to move into for next year. For those of you who are wondering whether to live on or off campus, I think that living in the dorms for the first year is a really important experience. It's a good way to meet people and be part of different events that are going on around campus. I've done my time, though, and I think living off campus next year is a good choice for me. I'm moving in with one of my current roommates, Lauren, and my friend Trina. The apartments we settled on are the Terrace, which are actually pretty nice and affordable. Not to mention that we have friends that are moving in there, too.

I think that's all I have to update you on for now. Admitted Student's Day was this past weekend at Chapman and if you attended that and still have questions or are trying to make your final decision, feel free to ask me anything. Have a good week!

<3 Katie

"I lived to write and wrote to live." Samuel Rogers, English Poet

2008-04-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

I spent a good 10 minutes trying to think of a witty (or at least relevant) title for this blog post and couldn't think of anything, so I decided to quote someone else. So now that I can actually get to the actual post, here we go...

I’ve been working on a lot of projects lately. I said I’d update you on the Delta Queen Pageant. On the bright side, Delta Tau Delta raised an astonishing amount of money; in fact, the most that has been raised by any fraternity or sorority in their first philanthropic event. Overall, I think the total was close to $32,000, all of which went to the Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach, CA. On the slightly more negative side, the Teleprompters broke and everything was improvised, so practically none of the script was actually used. But it’s okay. Jonathan and I are proud of our accomplishments anyway.

For Screenwriting Fundamentals, I settled on writing a short instead of a feature. I’ll have plenty of features to write over the next few years of classes (and for the rest of my life). So for now, my logline is:

Seventy-year-old twin brothers, Cosmo and Joe Randal, are inseparable. After getting their hearts broken at a young age by two twin sisters, they swore off women for the rest of their lives. However, when they move to a retirement community and are surrounded by a multitude of happily-married couples, Cosmo and Joe rethink their lifestyle and try dating for the first time in decades.

The title (as of now) is "Yoked." By definition, it is "a device for joining together a pair of draft animals, esp. oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces" but alternatively it means "oppression or slavery" as well as "a coupling, union, or marriage". So if you look at those two, the title is perfect.

I also have a side project coming up. My friend Frank, who is a Film Production major and his friend Myles (who goes to San Jose State, but wants to transfer to Chapman) have a story concept that they want to produce. They’ve made a ton of shorts and more recently have been working on amazing music videos. Frank, Myles, and I are getting together this weekend to work on an outline because they’ve asked me to write the script and I’m really excited. If and when that gets finished, I’ll send you the link so you can watch it.

I think that’s it for now. Have a great rest of your week!

<3 Katie

What's been going on lately...

2008-03-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since my last post (for those of you who hang on to my every word. I know there are SO many of you...).

Spring break was this past week. I worked for the first half of it, but my sister came from NorCal to visit. We went to Newport Beach all day and stayed for the sunset and watched two or three dolphins swim by, which was amazing. Apparently it's a regular occurence, but it was the first time I had seen it. For the weekend, I went to Long Beach to stay with my friend. One night, we ended up at a really fun 18+ club in Hollywood and got in for free because someone in our group knew the bouncer. That was pretty cool... things like that haven't really happened while growing up in Washington. I even had crème brulée for the first time (not at the club...obviously), which was delicious.

Lately, I've been working on something called Delta Queen. It's a pageant, similar to Mr. University, which Lauren wrote about in her blog, but for girls. Delta Tau Delta, one of the fraternities, hosts it to raise money for the Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach. I was asked to co-write it (with the fabulous Jonathan Katz), which involves writing the speeches, the introductions, the host banter, and basically every that's said. It's been really fun writing as a team and making revisions. We finished the final draft the other night and the pageant is on Saturday.

Speaking of writing, for my Screenwriting Fundamentals class, the next big thing we have coming up is our final. For that, we get the choice of writing a short or a feature. I think I'll write a short because I'll have plenty of time to learn how to write features over the next few years. Learning how to write a short is more manageable and a good skill to have at this point.

I'm also looking in to getting an apartment for next year and a job while I'm home for the summer. That's an interesting process. I'll keep you updated.

Now it's back to school. I had a speech yesterday and it was good to get that over with. But as of now, I have a test tomorrow, a quiz Friday, and a midterm next week. Welcome back, Katie.

Reasons why I picked Chapman (over the "other guy")

2008-02-22T17:36:00.000-08:00

TOP 5 REASONS WHY I CHOSE CHAPMAN

5) THE LOCATION

So as I think you know, I'm from north of Seattle... AKA, it's really really cold. Yeah, we'll have beautiful summers and of course lots of rain means lots of green, but let's face it... 18 years of cold is a little much. Moving to Southern California was perfect. I went to the beach in the middle of November and about a week or two ago when it was 80 degrees.

4) THE CAMPUS

There's a lot of money circulating through Chapman, so the University is beautiful. Everything is new and green and there's art and fountains all over the place. I thought it would be all dry from being so hot all of the time, but it's gorgeous. The dorms are great, too. In comparison with other schools, they're actually pretty nice.

3) CLASS SIZE

I could have gone to a school closer to home (and probably paid less), but who wants to be a face in a crowd in a class of two or three hundred? It has a lot to do with personal preference, but I knew when I started applying to schools that a small school could offer a lot more for me. I like to walk around campus and actually recognize faces. Professors, for the most part, learn your name and know who you are. You can see them in passing and actually say hi instead of having them walk by you like they've never seen you before. Also, you don't have to drive in between classes or spend 30 minutes walking. Everything is close by and centralized... it takes me 10 or 15 (tops) to walk to the film school from the dorms and that's probably the farthest point.

2) VICINITY TO FUN STUFF!

Newport, Laguna, and Huntington Beach, L.A., clubs, Hollywood, Santa Barbara, Anaheim, sport and concert venues, Disneyland, great shopping, better food... I could go on forever. Chapman is in a cute, quiet town but there is TONS to do nearby.

1) THE FILM SCHOOL (OBVIOUSLY)

I could spent pages on this, but if you're on the website and thinking of applying, you obviously have your own reasons to be interested in Dodge. Between famous faculty members, amazing, industry-standard facilities, great programs and people, and tons of opportunity to do what you love, you really can't find a better place to learn about film and media arts. It's the main reason I'm here and I love it. I know a lot of people that regret their choice in school who end up transferring, but I haven't regretted my choice once since I've moved down. I love it every day.

I hope this maybe helped with some reasons you're thinking of coming to Chapman. If you have any questions, just let me know.

Ready for the weekend...

2008-02-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

It's been kind of a long week... I've had a lot of work, homework, and studying to do over the past few days. If you're wondering how many classes to take and whether or not you can handle a job, it's been my experience that 15 credits (usually five classes) and a part time job work well together. You obviously have to be organized, but it's definitely not impossible. An on campus job (like I have) is a plus because they work around your class and finals week schedules. I'm also in a sorority and have plenty of time for a social life, so don't think that you can't handle it.

But moving on from my schedule rant, this weekend I finally don't have (a lot of) homework so I'm going to Disneyland. I think Lauren (another student "blogger") was going to write about why every Chapman student needs an annual pass, so I won't ruin the surprise, but let me just say that she's right. It doesn't get old. Also, I heard about this 18+ club in Anaheim that I might check out tonight. The nice thing about Chapman is that it's in a cute, quiet town but it's surrounded by stuff to do. Whether you have your own car, bum rides off your friends (like I do), ride a bike, or take a bus, there's plenty that's close by. L.A., Disneyland, concert halls, beaches like Laguna, Newport, or Hunington, nightclubs, sporting events... the list goes on and on. The weather makes it all happen... I'm used to rainy days in Washington but yesterday, I went to the beach... in the middle of February. Love it.

Oh, and as a side note, the Writers' Strike is over! Win-win for me... I get to watch The Office again, even though it won't be back until April 10th, and the conditions of my (hopefully) future profession are improving.

That's all for now... Have a good weekend! <3

"Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals."
- Don Delillo

The first month of Spring Semester

2008-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

So I'm finally into the "swing of things" with Spring Semester. I didn't do interterm (2 weeks for vacation just didn't cut it) so it's been awhile since I've actually had to do anything productive with my free time.

Screenwriting Fundamentals is amazing, and I'd like to think that it's not just because I'm a Screenwriting Major. If you ever have to take the class for your major, take it with Jessica Scott. I've heard really good things about the other professors, but she's definitely a lot of fun. Our most recent viewing assignment is Silence of the Lambs (yikes) and writing assignment is to write a scene in which one character has to ask another for something difficult. In mine, a 17-year-old virgin asks a hooker for (you guessed it!) sex after he's endlessly pressured by his friends for being the only virgin in their group. It's going okay so far... we'll see how it turns out.

History of Film (1946 to present) isn't my favorite class, but who can complain about watching a movie once a week in the Folino Theater? That definitely isn't the worst three hour class I could have. Intro to Psychology is incredible, so I've decided to make it my minor. It'll probably help with writing better characters in my screenplays. Philosophy of Religion and Human Physiology are not the most thrilling classes I've ever taken, but hopefully they'll pick up soon.