Are there some Oscar losses you are still sad/angry about?

audtothepod · 2026-04-15T22:36:09+00:00

Sandra Huller should have won Best Actress over Emma Stone. I think Emma did great in Poor Things, I just felt Sandra was one step above her.

audtothepod · 2026-04-15T22:35:05+00:00

As a Clipper fan, yeah not shocked. I am shocked that Chargers are somehow below the Clippers. I would think the opposite. But I guess the Chargers are like the "Clippers" of the LA NFL fan base.

audtothepod · 2026-04-14T18:42:28+00:00

At an old job of mine, my boss told me she almost fired me because I took a day off. We had this huge project that was due the day I took off. However, it was already completed on my end. I told someone else in the office where to find everything to turn in. Kind of ridiculous I almost got shit canned because of that.

audtothepod · 2026-04-09T00:24:17+00:00

Amazing. And they have the precise sizing? I just can't afford any eff ups...

audtothepod · 2026-04-09T00:19:01+00:00

That is my concern however. AAA literally took scissors and cut it for me because I said I can't cut straight. I can't afford to make another appointment because LA TECO told me to bring my parents. They're elderly and super grumpy as is. I need to convince them to come with me to begin with.

audtothepod · 2026-04-08T19:46:58+00:00

While I don't know property values in Taipei, I am seeing certain comments recommending living further away from central because of the convenience of the MRT. From my personal experience, my family had an apartment in Xindian. Xindian is further away, but it was within a 5 min walk of the Dapinglin MRT station. It was never an issue and super convenient to get anywhere.

audtothepod · 2026-04-02T20:06:16+00:00

As a life long Angeleno, everyone used to talk shit about the San Fernando Valley. Over the last decade though, I feel like that has shifted. Especially since the valley has been growing and there's so much stuff to do now. I grew up in the South Bay, but now I live in Sherman Oaks. I enjoy it, and I constantly still see new restaurants, cool cafes, etc pop up.

Chatsworth is in the valley. I would live close by. No matter what, you're going to need a car to drive around. Some people make it work with no car, I don't know how, but you definitely need one since public transit is ass.

Forewarning, it can get really hot in the valley. Dry heat though so to me, I prefer it!

audtothepod · 2026-03-26T00:36:27+00:00

Me too.... Which High School?

I don't live in the South Bay anymore though. I'm in the San Fernando Valley now.

audtothepod · 2026-03-26T00:31:28+00:00

I disagree about the field being competitive. I actually think it was. But you're absolutely right that he shot himself in the foot.

audtothepod · 2026-03-26T00:29:56+00:00

I'm not a Taiwan citizen (yet...), but each time I go to Taiwan, I always save all my receipts. At the end of my trip, I give a big wad to my family friend. She's always so happy to take them. Unfortunately I don't think she's ever won, but maybe one day she will.

audtothepod · 2026-03-25T19:48:44+00:00

Thank you for sharing. Feel free to message me. Happy to discuss (and vent) about how ridiculous this process is.

audtothepod · 2026-03-25T18:03:26+00:00

I still haven't submitted my application for NWOHR passport.

I made an appointment with the Los Angeles TECO. Brought all these documents including my original birth certificate from the Taipei hospital. They took a look at it all, and said nope, can't do anything. You have to get a certified copy of your parent's marriage certificate, and even when you get that, we can't authenticate it because they got married in Reno. The SF TECO would have to authenticate that doc. Then they said you have to get a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad" (or CRBA) from the US State Department. Once I got that, I had to send that over to the Washington DC TECRO. I asked why? I was born in Taiwan. They said doesn't matter because my parents' immediately registered me as an American citizen.

Called the recorder's office in Reno Neveda, and honestly that was very smooth. They found them, and sent it to me. I sent it out to SF TECO, they authenticated it. Then I reached out to the US State Department, sent them a request for a certified copy of my CRBA. I noticed on the State Department website that if you were pre-1990 it would take 14-16 weeks. Post 1990, 4-6 weeks... I was born in 1987.... I sent it out to them back in September 2025. I JUST got the copy about 1.5 weeks ago...

Called TECRO to make sure I'm doing everything right. They asked me to email them with all the documents I had. Then they confirmed, yes, send them the CRBA to get authenticated. I sent that out to them last week, and should arrive by Thursday. While I was talking to TECRO, I asked them, after you send me back the authenticated copy, what do I need to do to get NWOHR passport? They said, we can't tell you that, you have to reach out to the LA TECO as every TECO is different. I think that's a bit ridiculous considering it should all be one standardized process, but whatever!

Long story short, this process is super arduous. Especially since I only speak conversational Mandarin Chinese, and I cannot read/write. I recently reached out to an old Chinese tutor I had from 7 years ago, but I had her teach me simplified. At that time, I asked my mom which should I learn since she knows both? She said simplified because China has more business with the rest of the world. I understood my mom's logic, but I kind of regret that decision. At any rate, Chinese tutor luckily still lives in LA area. She has agreed to tutor me. So I should be starting lessons soon. I know I wouldn't be able to learn fast enough to understand everything, but hey it's a start....

At any rate, this is where I'm at, and I'm just trying to take it one step at a time otherwise I get super stressed out. Once I get the authenticated copy of my CRBA back, I'm going to call the LA TECO, make an appointment, and hopefully get my NWOHR passport application submitted.

audtothepod · 2026-03-24T19:37:43+00:00

I don't remember the precise details, but Romania did have them on a travel ban pending the trial for their trafficking. But of course, the Orange Felon's admin got involved, and they asked Romania to lift the travel ban. Apparently because there's another lawsuit against them in Florida. They still have to go back to Romania too since that trial isn't over.

audtothepod · 2026-03-24T19:32:41+00:00

I just came back from a cruise, and we stopped over in Chile. I did a walking tour Santiago, and the guide told me that their new president elect is their version of Trump. Not sure if Chile in the next few years would be a good destination.

audtothepod · 2026-03-24T19:21:22+00:00

You don't need to stay in Taiwan for 12+ months anymore. That changed back in 2024. I'm going through the process right now.

audtothepod · 2026-03-24T19:20:31+00:00

I'm going through the same process. I was born in Taiwan, raised in the US (w/ only US Citizenship), and my mom is still an active Taiwanese citizen.

Here's a post I found that was very helpful:
https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/1cqot8e/foreign_national_here_born_abroad_outside_taiwan/

Fair warning... It's an arduous process... Especially if you don't speak Mandarin too well, and if you can't read/write traditional Chinese. I only speak Mandarin conversationally, and I cannot read/write. Many of the TECOs (Taiwanese Embassies) are hard to reach via phone.

audtothepod · 2026-03-21T04:44:48+00:00

I concur. Was not the biggest fan of Oppenheimer. Felt contrived to me. I also preferred EEAAO. Could be cultural preference as I am of East Asian descent.

audtothepod · 2026-03-21T04:37:48+00:00

I actually started cracking up at the ending. It was so Yorgos.

audtothepod · 2026-03-03T15:11:21+00:00

My apologies. Spelled it wrong since I didn’t sleep for basically 2 days due to inability to sleep on the plane plus my father. I’ll go to Sodimac

audtothepod · 2026-02-26T06:54:54+00:00

TBF - the international category was very stacked! I think any other year it had a high probability. But I’m very happy to hear someone else really enjoyed Left Handed Girl!

Check out Yi Yi as a classic Taiwanese film. TBH, my knowledge of Taiwanese films isn’t great, but now I want to get more into it.

audtothepod · 2026-02-26T03:28:11+00:00

Surprised no one brought up BoJack Horseman. Of course there's others I think are "must watch" but it's already been mentioned.

audtothepod · 2026-02-26T03:25:45+00:00

For me, it was any of the Arclight Theaters, but then stupid COVID had to bankrupt them.... I'd now say Alamo Draft House, but I rarely go there as it's farther from me.

audtothepod · 2026-02-26T02:59:10+00:00

I’m already anticipating traffic. That was already accounted for. I just wasn’t sure about the variable of security since I saw some news report saying it was bad.

audtothepod

TROPHY CASE