Mika Update Episode 1

Hi all,

How has everyone been since the summer season is quickly closing behind us? How is the new semester for those of you who go to school? 

Like always, I stay busy with work, family, friends, and acting projects on the side. Oh, I have recently been talking to someone I met last year in the Nike Commercial that I was in about getting represented by their agency. This is the opportunity I have been working to achieve for the past year and someone has finally knocked on my door. Yay! We are in the talking stage of the prospects of working together to further my career, so no final decisions or contracts have been signed yet. I just want to update you all who follow my starlet journey of what is in the works for me because your support gives me the strength to do what I am doing. Thank you all for being there every step of the way and for being my unfailing support. Tell me what you think of my current situation in the comment section below or text me if you have my #. Do you have any tips for me to consider before I make a decision of signing with a talent agency? 

Tips for you: Always leave a good impression and keep in respectable terms with people you meet throughout your life. You never know when you will cross paths in the future with someone you met in your past who may be the key person who will help you move forward in life. 

Lastly, here are some of my recent acting projects: 

I was a background talent for a promotional video for some type of agency that will be working with the Hewlett-Packard (HP) call center in my metroplex. In the video, the other actors and I are acting as HP call center employees carrying out our everyday responsibilities. All the other actors and I were in the same stage in our careers, they were not represented by agencies but are working towards that goal. The crew who shot the video were some awesome and hard-working people who were from Austin, TX. 

 

That's me pointing to the equipment used to film the promotion. The equipment is called a Jib. Cool, huh?

 All the other beautiful lady background talents and I!

 This is the P&R Production company's new intern and I with the other crew in the background. 

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During the month of August, I was in a play called “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” adapted after Robert Fulghum’s novel and directed by Kevin Paris. The play consists of 24 vignettes (aka scenes) which give a funny, serious, insightful, and heartwarming look at what is profound in everyday life. These stories celebrate our very existence, from the whimsy of childhood to the wisdom of old age. This show was such a fun experience for me to work with a cast of 14 talented actors/actresses of all ages who are a part of my theatre family now! I miss you all! 

 Here was our Teaser Video! 

The entire 14 member cast and family in our show! The amazing Lee Anne Johnston of Dodici Photography captured this fun-filled picture. :) Lee Anne's contact info on bottom of picture.

I was the Orange Girl in this show! :)

 Kevin Paris (director) next to the Kindergarten Creed!

For more pictures, check out:
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Gallery

That’s a wrap! Until next time, have a great week!

Mika ♥

On the set of "Damage Joy"

Hi all,

What has everyone been up to? Summer is almost over, which is hard to believe. I hope you all are making the best of this season!

I have been keeping myself really busy with theatre, filming, working, and spending time with my family. Speaking of filming, I recently worked on the set of “Damage Joy”, a dark comedy produced by my friend Rosa Nichols. Check out and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MystisaFilms. 

In this film, I play one of the background talents whom you see in the background behind the lead actors/actresses. I was in a few scenes, but I will not tell you where just in case you all see the film. It will be more fun to see if you all can spot me. I don’t know when this film will release to the public, but will keep you all posted of what I find out. 

Overall, this filming experience was amazing and fun. I have Rosa Nichols to thank for presenting me with this wonderful opportunity; “Thank You, Rosa”. This experience was different from my previous projects in that the shooting schedule was really organized, coordinated, and planned. Rosa’s team of appointed crew members were on top of their game and kept everyone in line. Plus, everybody worked together professionally and respectfully without causing any drama which definitely made things move along smoother. Since the filming schedule was planned out so efficiently, we finished filming the whole project early that day and had time to enjoy dinner together from Ruth’s Chris Steak House at the closing of the day. For those of you who haven’t tried this steak house, you should because the food is flavorful and tasty! Good job everyone that contributed to making this film happen! 

While I was socializing with the other talents on set, I had a great time learning about how they entered the filming industry. All the actors and actresses I met were so down-to-earth and willing to help each other that it felt like we were all one big family. From experience, this is the best environment to have on a film set because everybody earnestly wants to do their best to film a great product. When competition between actors on set is minimal, more things get done efficiently and effectively without having to avoid drama. I’m so glad I met these people: Jamie, Kathleen, Michelle, Lorenzo, Eric, Gidget, Stephanie, Kaki, Sheila, and Sunny. You are all fun, talented, and wonderful; good luck to you all in the future! Hopefully, we will all meet again and work on other future film projects together. 

Another great project wrapped and hopefully more to come for me!

Have a fun-filled week everyone!

Mika

 *** Behind the scene pictures! ***

Nurse Cindy!!! :) 

  Sheila and I- Nurse Twinkies! All we are missing is the doctor, Eric! 

 Rosa (director/friend) and I. Rosa is amazing; love you!

Lorenzo and I. Lorenzo was so nice and sweet by giving me advice on how to get an agent! Thank you!

Eric (left), Stephanie (middle), Kaki (right). Looks like a costume party is brewing with some fun people!

 Gidget and I! Gidget is a hoot! 

 Jamie and I. Jamie was such as sweet and easy-going costume supervisor!

 Kaki and I. Kaki was fun talk to; thanks for keeping me company girl!

A "Shift" from Theatre to Film

Hi all, 

How have you all been doing? Are you enjoying the summer months? I hope so!

I have been having an amazing July gaining new experiences and meeting some great people in the acting industry. For the weekend of July 19-21st, I was blessed with the opportunity to be the script supervisor for a short film called "Shift" produced by Thicker Than Blood and directed by Steve Armstrong. A Script Supervisor is a crew person designated to keep record of internal continuity details for every scene filmed each day of filming to make sure all the scene details are continuous. This was my first time being a part of crew for a film, but my detail-oriented tendencies helped me make the best of my role. The details I had to keep track of included: make sure the set looks the same from scene to scene, how many good and bad takes were shot per scene, what scenes were filmed and what scenes were left to be filmed, and more. It's amazing how many details the script supervisor has to pay attention to in order to keep the scenes continuity in line. Overall, I had a blast being a part of this project and learned a lot from the whole experience.  

Thank you, Steve Armstrong and Douglas Alford for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this eye-opening and adventurous project. Although it was a hectic weekend for all of us and there were times where we wanted to kill each other, we survived it! I'm glad that I met everyone- Steve, Doug, Shea, Leah, Kevin, Carlos, and Patrick. All these individuals are talented, interesting, and fun people that I now consider to be a part of my film family. Although we are done filming Shift now, I look forward to our bright future together showing the world our love for story-telling and filmmaking.  

                                             Shift Teaser Trailer

For my readers, thank you for following my blog and reading my entries! I love you all! Please check out the teaser for "Shift" and the film's facebook page at "Shift" Facebook Page. Steve plans to submit this film to a few upcoming film festivals, so all your support is appreciated! I will be joining this group to produce a sequel to this short film too, so I will keep you all posted! 

Pictures from the Shift's film shoot! 

Me with the Fancy Camera Equipment

Kevin (Left of me) and Doug (right of me)

Shea and I next to the camera

Steve and I

Leah trying to take me to the other world!

Kevin, Leah, and Steve peaking from the other world

 

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Mika

Back in the Theatre Circle!!!

Hi everyone,

It's been a while! How has everyone been doing?

I have been loving life myself! Now-a-days, my time is primarily occupied by work, running errands, and being involved in theatre. Just last weekend, "The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild" ended its production run where I was the props master and lighters handler during performances. The whole experience was a blast! Tony Carpenter (the director) is so talented in both directing and acting and his chill directing style set the pace for everyone in the show. Everyone in the cast and crew are wonderful people that all loved the stage and earnestly wanted to work together to put on the best show every night! The unity in our cast made us a big family. I already miss everyone, but am hoping that I will work with these people again in other shows in the future. Here is a picture of the whole cast and crew below to give you all an idea who all I worked with! Can you find me? o.-

                                               Photo taken by: Lee Anne Johnston

Oh, I already have another show lined up too! Now I am in the rehearsal phase for a new show called, "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten" written by Robert Fulghum and directed by Kevin Paris (the director that directed Earnest which was my debut show in 2011). I am a part of the crew for this show, but will be making cameo appearances on stage. Although this is only the second week of rehearsal, I can already tell this will be an amazing show! I will keep you all posted on how the show progresses. Maybe some of you can come out to see it in August 2013!?

Enjoy every minute of this new week and make it the best!

Mika ♥

Everyday is a Work of Art

Hi everyone,

How was everyone's Valentine's Day? I hope it went well! Many of my female colleagues in the office received sweet chocolates and lovely flowers from their loved ones. Seeing their surprised and happy expressions upon receiving these gifts was so uplifting. :)

I had a great and relaxing weekend! Thank goodness for the weekends to give us breaks between each work week. Today's weather was beautiful too- sunny and warm in the 70 degrees fahrenheit. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to stay outdoors to enjoy nature's work of art. However, I know today's weather is the beginning of a new Spring season, so I look forward to the many more beautiful masterpieces to come.

Tomorrow is the start of another week, so make it the best! Live life going after your passions, goals, dreams, or whatever that drives you. Remember, everyday is your own work of art and the sky is the limit, so enjoy it!

* Picture I took while picking up my sister. Isn't the sky beautiful? I am so lucky to be able to witness such eye-opening moments!

Have a wonderful week everybody!

Mika ♥

Happy Chinese New Years

Hi everyone,

Happy February! Can you all believe that it is already February? January flew by...

How is everyone doing? Did you all have a good week? My week was pretty good. I have officially worked at this new job for 2 months and a week, which blows my mind. It doesn't feel like I have worked for this company for 2 months already, but yet it feels like I have worked for them longer if that makes any sense. Anywho, things are progressively improving at work and I feel like I am getting the hang of what I do now. After feeling distressed and disappointed two weeks ago, I am glad that I stuck it out and will continue to stick it out! To all of you who is going through the same situation, do not let the tough and unknown bring you down, face up to the challenge and do your best to overcome the obstacle(s). We are survivors!

Also, Happy Chinese New Years to those who celebrate this important holiday with your loved ones. I wish you all good health, happiness, and prosperity for the new year. As usual, my family and I had celebrated by praying to Buddha before dinner and had the traditional family feast with chicken, pork, vegetables, and soup after. If you are curious as to how we celebrate, I filmed our 2010 Chinese New Year celebration and posted it on YouTube. I will repost it here for all of you who wants to see it. Tell me what you think.

Lastly, Valentine's Day is next week, February 14th. Anybody have any big plans: romantic or non-romantic that you want to share? If so, comment below of what you will do! I will be working that day, so I will not be celebrating that day. That is a sweet holiday for lovers, but I normally do not celebrate it, so I do not plan to celebrate this year either. In summary, Happy Valentines for 2013!

 
Until next time, have a great upcoming week!

Mika ♥

A Step Forward

Hi everybody,

How is everyone doing this week? Did you all enjoy this week? I hope this blog post finds all my readers happy and healthy.

Since my post last week, my life has slightly improved in one area and went down in another. That is pretty much the formula that represents life; Happiness+Sadness= Life.

I feel like I took a mini-step forward at work, which makes me feel hopeful. Following a colleague's advice "Take it one day at a time", helps me do things on my own pace while trying not to compare to how my other colleagues are doing. We are all different people with distinctive personalities, skills, talents, and luck, so it makes sense that we all grow differently. After realizing this, I now feel content and more like myself while trying to advance at work rather than chasing after everyone else, which only made me unhappy.
 
On the other hand, I caught a stomach virus Thursday evening and am still suffering stomach pains on/off Friday/Saturday. I heard that there has been a big flu attack recently, so I make sure to keep a sanitizer with me at all times and wash my hands often to prevent contracepting the flu. I advice everyone who has not gotten the flu or sick in a while to do the same; it's better to be healthy than unhealthy. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and make next week a good one!


Mika ♥
 

One day at a time

Hi everyone,

Long time no update; I hope everyone is doing well. Happy 2013 to everyone and let's make this year a good one.

A little update about myself since my last post over 2 years ago. I graduated from college in late 2011 with a Bachelor degree in Global Business. Since then, I kicked off 2013 as a working woman trying to contribute to societal growth and stimulate the economy.

Acting: I participated in 2 commercials as extras last year. You can actually see me in one of the commercials, which is so cool!

This is my 1 month and 3rd week working full time and adjusting to the working life. As you often time hear from working professionals, the working world isn't all that it is cracked up to be, but I try not to think about the negative. Recently, I have been having a tough time moving forward at work, which made me really frustrated and stressed. However, after talking to some encouraging loved ones and colleagues, I realized that sometimes things are out of your control. That is my exact situation now, I have been doing my best to move forward at work, but many external factors come into play that contributes to how fast I grow. At this point, I know that maybe I am trying too hard to quickly move forward. Rather, I plan to take a step back and reassess what I am doing to see what other avenues I can take to excel. For all of you who are going through challenges that are keeping you from moving ahead, just remember to keep your head up and find other ways to continue living. The solution to your life problems may be just be right in front of your eyes, take a step back and get a better/clearer picture of the direction your life is headed. Once you figure that out, your life will naturally advance positively. Believe it and it will happen.

Do your best a day at a time, which will help make tomorrow and the future better. 

Mika ♥