TRUCKS hahahhahaha

Well my trip back home was nothing as dramatic and exciting as my trip to Kuwait. I did not get rerouted to some exotic country this time around hahahah.

I haven't blogged at all in Kuwait, so I have some catching up to do... The best thing about this break was that I had some of my extended family from my mother's side visit from overseas. My uncle and his wife visited from Russia, my auntie and her husband visited from Dubai, and my cousin and his girlfriend also came from Dubai. Pam was also there!! :) So it was quite a packed house, but it was so much fun! Plus, my mom's side of the family are the best - they are all so funny and educated! The big event that we had planned for this big reunion was a New Years Eve party at our place.

As usual, it started it off as a family gathering and then my mom kept adding people to the guest-list, thus resulting in a guest-list of 100 people! I really enjoyed the party, met a lot of great people and also good to spend time and enjoy it with my friends and family! Although we had a DJ at the party, he was pretty crappy... most arrogant DJ you will ever come across. He doesn't have the common sense to switch up the music when the dance floor is pretty much empty! HELLOOOOOOOOOOO MR. DJ, WOULDN'T IT MAKE SENSE TO CHANGE THE MUSIC AND TO TRY AND GET THE CROWD UP AND GOING???? The sad part of it was that he didn't even do a New Years countdown... my brother took over the mic and did one! Oh well, we still managed to dance to some of the tragic tracks. Gotta make the best out of the worst sometimes lol

The biggest surprise of the party was the graduation cake that my mother and father had planned for me (you can see a photo of it above - the idea was put together by my creative mother!). My dad gave a mini-speech before the cake was brought out, which was cute hahahaha hahaha speaking of my dad I can't help but laugh when I look at the construction truck on that cake. There is an inside joke going on between him and my uncle from Russia. We always give my uncle a hard time about his food, because we are generally worried about his health. After the party he claimed that he didn't eat anything except for the truck on the cake. The truck is actually plastic, and was the only uneatable thing on the cake. So this "truck" has become a joke. When we went out to have dinner at a Lebanese restaurant, my father told the waiter to go up to my uncle and tell him that they have a "special dish of the day" and when my uncle asked what it was the waiter said, "trucks" - hhah I am only documenting this so that I will not forget it in the future!

For the New Years, I have decided that my resolution be to have a wide knowledge of Geography and have a better understanding of the cultures of the world! I usually don't like to meet someone and not end up knowing anything about their culture, or even where on the atlas is their country placed. I have a general understanding, but I want to delve deeper. So if anyone wants to join me on this journey, then let us begin!

I have decided that every week, I will test myself on the general placement of countries in the world. However, every 3-4 days I will pick one country and do more in-depth research about it. I will post my research and findings on my blog, separate to my "ramblings".

Sadly everything has an ending..... I had to leave my family and come back to NY to continue my acting education. For some reason, it was really painful for me to say goodbye to my father this time. I know I am going to be seeing my mother here next month, because she is coming for some business deals, so saying goodbye was much easier. I will really miss my uncle from Russia as well, we barely get to see him - but he has such a big heart and a great sense of humor.

Alas, I am back in NY and it is snowing today- perfect day to stay in and catch up on some movies and reading. I am SUPER excited about meeting Kevin Spacey at my school next week, I better prepare myself on everything Kevin Spacey!

It was wonderful to see all my friends at school yesterday... they are amazing! Peace for now my dear bloggers! Please leave me any feedback you may have, I always appreciate reading them!

To see some photos of New Years please go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2651853&id=935305

A Long Journey - And more to come!

Hello Blog and Readers,

Its time for me to check in and ramble on.... Where do I begin? Well, first and foremost I am in Kuwait... WHAT A RELIEF.... I only say this because it took us 3 days to get to Kuwait from NYC. A 1/2 journey turned into a 3 day trip around the world hahahahah. I left with my brother from JFK in NYC on Saturday the 18th, and finally made it to Kuwait the morning of the 22nd on Wednesday. So many obstacles on my way to home... let us begin by the check-in counter at British Airways in NY. I've been having an issue with my U.S passport, since I lost my previous passport and had to issue a new one.

The problem is, since my lost passport has been cancelled, they have also banned the carrier of the old passport - which in effect, is me..."Liana Afuni". So I usually have to get cleared for travel by British Airways and the Kuwaiti authorities. Let me tell you, IT IS A HEADACHE TRYING TO GET BRITISH AIRWAYS TO UNDERSTAND THAT KUWAITI IMMIGRATION HAS POSTED A NOTE ON THE B.A SYSTEM ALLOWING ME INTO THE COUNTRY! So it usually takes me about 40 minutes on a check in counter, since my passport is usually denied when swiped. The lady at the counter was pretty helpful but wasn't sure whether I could travel or not. HOWEVER, I insisted I would get on the plane to London, and then deal with the British Airways people in Heathrow regarding my second leg of the trip (Which was the part of the trip where my Boarding pass wouldn't print due to restrictions). Little did I know that getting on that airplane was a BIG MISTAKE!!!!

I slept for the majority of the first leg of the trip, until just before landing when I all of a sudden hear, "something-somthing-something We are landing in ICELAND." I immediately wake up with a WTF look but accepted this landing because I'm usually a little moody when I wake up.. so it took time for the matter to sink in.

So... Iceland.... hahahahahhahahah WOW what an experience. I have to THANK British Airways for NOT LOADING our LUGGAGE ON THE FLIGHT FROM JFK - WHAT KIND OF EXCUSE DO THEY HAVE FOR THAT??????. Not only do we have to land in a strange country, but me and brother were 2 of about 6 passengers whom did not have any luggage arrive. And the most frustrating part is none of the British Airways staff greeted us at the airport or even communicated with us after we landed, so our bags were a lost case.

We arrive in Iceland about 9 PM Icelandic time, and were picked up by a bus with the other passengers and taken to a hotel. The hotel was not bad at all, except that it was in the middle of nowhere although it was in the capital of iceland - Reykjavik. Funny thing is, I find out that 2 of my Cypriot friends are at the same hotel I was staying at - they had arrived on the Boston flight about 2 hours before we did and were also rerouted to Iceland. WHAT A SMALL WORLD I TELL YA! It was nice to see them though, at least I felt we had company.. and I was not alone!

Being in Iceland was bitter sweet - it was cool cause we got to go to a very unique place in the world. In the winter time, they only have 4 hours of daylight - from 11 am to 3 PM. They also have a population of 300,000 which is tiny for the area of land they had. So I got to learn a little about the history of Iceland! Although, we couldn't do much touristy things because we had to be in the Hotel to keep checking on the status of our flight out of the country. The next morning we we woke up and ran to the nearest shopping mall because we were told that all flights on Sunday to heathrow were CANCELLED. So we were screwed, cause we had no clothing!

We kept being told by the hotel to check to the status of the flight - once at 3 pm, once at 6 Pm, another at 11 Pm. Until finally, we were told that those going to NYC were not going to fly out at Midnight on Sunday as the Boston people were to. They had told us to wake up 7 am on Monday to check the status of our flight, but instead received a call from the hotel staff at 5 am instructing us to wake up because a bus was going to pick us up and take us to the airport for a flight out at 10 am.

We were further delayed in Iceland in the airplane for 2 hours because Iceland NEVER expects Huge airplanes on their grounds, so they don't know how to lay out the luggage in the airplane such that everything is evenly distributed for safety purposes. So B.A had to go through all the safety measures via phone to London - hahahahaha.

So we arrive to London but are basically screwed because we missed our original connecting flight to Kuwait on Saturday, and there were no seats available on the Monday flight to Kuwait. Heathrow was a commotion and NO ONE could help us rebook our flights, and furthermore our bags were still nowhere to be seen. All they would ever tell us in the airport was to call a "number" and try to rebook through that - WHICH WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE THAT NUMBER WAS ALWAYS BUSY. We decide to leave the terminal, in which my dad then books us a hotel by the airport to spend the night in. We then decided to book a flight out the next day through Emirates Airlines via Dubai to Kuwait.

We woke up the next morning and found out that some seats opened up on the British Airways direct flight from Heathrow to Kuwait. So my brother heads to the airport to confirm our seats on the British airways flight, to sort out my passport problem, and to sort out the luggage issue. Nonetheless, I then had to follow him to the airport because my passport issue was being a pain in the neck. ANYWAYS, THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE HAD 3 PROBLEMS IN ONE - My passport, our rebooking, and our bags! hahahah It took about an hour with the lady at the check-in counter to resolve all - which were all taken care of except our luggage which was deemed, "LOST".

Screw the luggage, we just wanted to get home!!!! We finally made it home on Wednesday morning but were very anxious that we were not gonna make it because the forecast predicted "snow" Tuesday night in London. So we just escaped by the skin of our teeth. Alas, all is well and the adventure was quite an experience.

On a sidenote, we are celebrating Christmas tomorrow. Pam is fixing a Turkey and we are exchanging Secret Santa gifts - SHOULD BE FUN!

Oh and yea my Bag arrived today :D We're waiting on 2 more bags!!!

Also, I may be traveling to Qatar and Lebanon for 1 day each next week!! WOOT WOOT - My World Traveller status will not be overthrown :D

LATEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Please Forgiveee meeeeeeee

Hello Blog!!!! It's been a while since I've rambled on and on.... but here I am!

It is 1 am EST in New York.. and I basically just got through a day of doing much of nothing. I get demotivated sometimes.. and unfortunately this is one of these days! I've been reading the play O Leanna and trying to select a monologue from there...Pretty ironic huh? My teacher suggested I read this play and search for a monologue.... The irony is in the name in case you haven't realized! I've picked out an excerpt and been working on it so that I can truly get down to the meaning of it. It is quite an interesting play... to summarize it is about a student and a college professor.. and basically the student understands nothing of what the professor is explaining so she goes to his office in fear of failing the class... blah blah blah the play goes on and she ends up accusing him of sexual harassment... she finally gains power and stands up to herself and gets the teacher FIRED. So even though I haven't gone through the "sexual harassment" part... I have definitely come across know-it-all professors who just pissed the hell out of me in college.... and NOW I can finally reenact my true feelings in this monologue!!!

Otherwise, I finally partied last night.. something I haven't done in AGES. I must say, I did enjoy getting to spend some fun times with friends... some people were totally nuts though.. but it is very amusing! I shall not pick on anyone in this post, cause I know some of you have nothing better to do than read my junky bitchfests hahahaha

One thing I will reveal in this blog post is that I am a little bit hurt. I won't say why... let this one be a mystery.. but it's probably something that won't cross anyones mind. But it's basically been something that has been recurring in the last few years of my life.. and this time it's like deja vu all over again. The good thing about me is that even though I get hurt very easily, I learn to forget and move on quite quickly as well...... so let's bury this one!

I have a few things that I need to accomplish in the next few days..... SHOPPING OF COURSE.. I need to look somewhat presentable when I go back home on Saturday! I also have a small filming gig tomorrow, and a consultation with one of my awesome teachers... so busy/fun day ahead!

Oh you're probably wondering about the title of my blog... well this song has been stuck on my mind all day:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, ok ok... I don't want to be negative.. really I don't!! But it's just been a long day, and I didn't get much of a chance to sleep the night before. Furthermore, it doesn't help that I'm having these painful feelings in my stomach.. like there's an invisible baby kicking in there or something.. but it sucks.. i've had to take meds for my stomach the past 2 days. But I woke up this morning not wanting to focus on the negative - and actually going to class and seeing all my wonderful classmates really brightens up the mood. But maybe I'm just getting a little bit used to this "routine" we are in, and I have a part of me that is YELLING and ITCHING for something new.. especially when we do some of the same exercises in some of our classes.. I just want to rip my skin off, somehow step out of my body, and then probably come back in hahahah

Nah ok I will talk some sense now. It didn't help that there were too many bimbos to deal with this morning in Performance Analysis Class. Some people are better off just not speaking.. it really is sad to see that there are people out there who think a certain way.. it just amazes me. It's quite comically tragic actually.

The rest of my day went fine but by 5 PM my internal system started to shut down, and my brain slowly deteriorated. I don't even know what the teacher in my Shakespeare class talked about half the time - Mind you, he is an amazing teacher.. but I could process up to 20% of what was being said - that's how brain dead and off this planet I was lol

After 8 PM I had to go for a shooting. Don't get me wrong, everyone involved in the shooting process is nice but I just HATE, HATE, HATE being rushed through something. I don't feel I had the energy to give this performance my all. But I tried, and that's all one can ask for, no? Furthermore, my brain-shut-down did not help me in remembering some of my lines. I was literally having a BRAIN FART. Stuff happens though, and I must accept it and move on.

I have 2 more shootings tmorrow, and a long paper to start writing. I guess life faces us with challenges.. and I shouldn't be complaining about my life... so I'm just gonna let this day go by and start out fresh in the morning with a brand new attitude!

.

And The Ramblings begin......

So this is my first actual "rambling" session.

I have so much going on in my mind right now. I think sometimes the fact that I think too much really interferes with my ability to act. I am currently in a phase where I am experimenting with letting my "head" go. Its kinda hard to explain for those who are not really into acting. But who said acting was easy anyways? It's very fun indeed.. but can also be very frustrating for those who are just beginning the craft. I always enjoy when teachers or even students give me NEGATIVE feedback to work off of... cause it is those comments that make me grow as an actress. TELL ME THAT SUCKED, DON'T HOLD BACK....... IT WILL FUEL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, its better than being told something was "great" and then having to watch it back on a screen and realizing what a fool you've made out of yourself. That's kinda how I felt about the last film I shot... not that I was a complete fool... but I had overdone some parts... and wish someone on set had told me to tone it down.

On the up side,... on Sunday I had a performance at Columbia University... and I had tons of fun doing it. It was a performance for a Masters Directing Class. The professor in charge of the class is amazing, every adjustment he made to the scenes I had watched filled a "void" in the scenes and made it THAT much better. The adjustment he made to my character in the scene made it so much more powerful. I also met a lot of of cool people.. it's crazy how everyone who is in NY has a story to tell. I also enjoyed working with my co-star, and ofcourse my very kind-hearted and awesome Director! I'm looking forward to going back to Columbia and collaborating with the talent over there.

Besides the whole acting thing, my brother has been quite sick for the past 5 days... never seen him like this. He has a complete loss of appetite, due to his inability to swallow food. Thankfully though, he is getting better by the day with the help of antibiotics! Also, i thank his wellness for my Ginger tea and honey remedies hahahahahaha Poor guy never drank tea in his life.. and this time he had about 4 mugs!! On Day 4 after I had made him some tea he said, "I will not drink it, I don't care if it's just sitting on the table... I told you I'm not gonna drink it." LOL

My parents are heading back from Spain right now, they are in London Heathrow airport. They seemed to have had a blast, seeing as they sent us photos every step of the way, and kept in touch via BBM and phone on a daily basis. I am super excited to see them in about 2 weeks from now.. that is really the only reason I go to Kuwait besides seeing my best/friend brother Omar, and ofcourse some of my dear friends back there. I think my trip to Kuwait will be a good time for me to begin brainstorming some ideas for a web-series that I want to launch that will include all of my classmates. It is also a good time for me to work on my Monologue, that I will be presenting to NYFA on January 19. I will also be doing a lot of reading and movie-watching during that break.. so I think Kuwait is a good place to do all that since I wont have much distraction!

It's time for me to get productive! I have a lot of writing to catch up on.... DEAR BRAIN FART: PLEASE GO AWAY!!!!!!!!! Also, DEAR RAIN GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burlesque!!

Directed and Written by Steve Antin

Commentary on the Director: I am not very familiar with Steve Antin, but I've done some research and he seems to have been more of an actor before he got into directing. Interestingly enough, days after watching this I wanted to watch the Harry Potter films, so I researched the directors since each film was directed by a different person. Funny enough, Chris Colombus directed the first 2 Harry Potters, and ironically enough he co-wrote The Goonies with Steven Speilberg, whom Steve Antin starred in. The Goonies was probably one of Steve Antin's biggest film roles.

NOTE TO SELF: MUST WATCH THE GOONIES! I'll report back on that once I see it!

Now, back to BURLESQUE! Nothing earth shattering, but it wasn't half bad. Actually, for what it was, this movie is actually pretty good! I actually thought Christina did quite a nice job on this one. And I do have to say, I LOVE her look in this movie! And her vocals gave me CHILLS... damn, she will always be my favorite female vocalist!

RATING: 6.75/10

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

Just got done watching, "The Boy With The Striped Pajamas." Directed by Mark Herman. It is based on a novel written by John Boyne, but was adapted into a screenplay by Mark Herman.

I love the concept behind this movie - shows you how innocent children just are. The quote in the beginning of the movie not only sums up the movie but it is also reality: "Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason crows."

I thought the acting was incredible, it's always brilliant to see such young actors able to take on roles.

RATING: 9/10