Su Li

So I was having a discussion with a coworker at the WWN the other day about character names in shows and how they can predispose a person to like or dislike a character before they've even heard the character in action. All it would take would be one bad experience with a bloke called, say, Daniel, and you might be cheering for the bad guys in a show rather than the hero, because names can have a sort of power like that.

Which is funny, because considering their power, sometimes they just seemed to be picked arbitrarily. Mine pretty much was. My parents wanted my brother and I to have Chinese names to be 'unique' and to go with our last name, and I'm told they decided on Su for me because it fell in a nice name successions of Susana-Shoshana-Su (even though Su doesn't mean the same thing as the first two at all). As for my middle name - it came from a wife of King David who had a soap opera-ish life and they chose it because it was Hebrew and sounded pretty.

Nothing extremely deep there.

So out of curiosity, then, where did your names come from? Did your parents actually look into meanings to find something perfect or whatnot, or did they fall into the 'pretty and unique!' trap like mine did? Food for thought.

PS: It's my birthday.

I love surveys! So I'm taking this from the delightful Wendy Potter.

Year: 2004
Age: 24!
How was your birthday this year? My birthday was forever and a day ago. I remember it was cold, though.
Make any new friends? I did! Especially through the rest of the contestants on Sky Search.
Lose any friends? Probably. Shifting around workplaces means you tend to lose track of people.
And how was the world of romance for you this year? It's best not to ask, darling.
Occupation: An actress! And not also a waitress.
Residence: 228 Euphoria Lane
Pets: No time, alas.
Get any taller? Heh. I wish.
Hairstyle for the year? I don't think I could manage one hairstyle the entire year! It changes a lot.
Best outfit of the year? I rather liked my Halloween costume.
What did you do for New Year's? Unfortunately, I was scheduled to work.
What did you do for Valentine's Day? Ditto.
What did you do for St. Patrick's Day? And this is why I'm glad I'm not at the Club anymore.
What did you do for Easter? Nothing special. I don't celebrate Easter.
Where did you go on Summer Holiday? Edinburgh for the play festival.
What did you dress as for Halloween? A Cuban Salsa dancer!
What did you get for Christmas? I don't celebrate Christmas, either - but the 25th is my mum's birthday, so I got some of her cake and ice cream.
What are your plans for this New Year? Like Wendy, I have performances. And I'm sure I'll stop by Anthony and Vicky's party for a bit (because I don't have to waitress this year!)
Who are you going to kiss at midnight? That remains to be seen.
How do you want the new year to be different from this one? A bit more romance wouldn't be amiss.
How do you want the new year to be the same as this one? I started gaining more success in my career this year, so if that keeps on that would be wonderful.

And as Wendy just wrote, please do think about supporting the WWN and the community theatre this week to help the victims of the tsunami.

( Warded to Ernie Macmillan )

All this talk of birds and rampant proposals has made me glad I decided to go back to Potters Bar for Chanukah (although I am just an Apparition away if anyone needs or wants me for anything).

( Warded to friends )

( Warded to Mandy Brocklehurst )

I think I'm going to go blonde again.

( Private )

I'm at the Temple Beth Shalom, in case anyone needs me today.

It's opening night and I'm very excited, although I have to admit I'm also completely petrified a bit nervous since I have the first line in the entire play it's been a while since I've done stage acting - voice acting on the wireless is completely different, and I know this won't be at all like Sky Search even if that did have a studio audience.

My grandma Weiss gave me a hard time about this when I last went to see her since it's on the Sabbath and she says she won't come to opening night because she needs to go to her service which is all well and good except I'd've really liked her to At least Yul has no issues coming.

I hope to see some of you there!

Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten those scones. They're going to go straight to my hips.

Why is everything so bloody frustrating lately? I put in all those hours and hours of training and practising for Sky Search only to be knocked off fourth and I can't believe how gutted I was over that since I've always wanted to be an actress and not a singer. But it was fun and I liked being recognised just a little bit and now it's like I've completely faded into obscurity again and I practise for MacBeth and do my voice bits at the WWN and wonder if I'm ever going to get my lucky break or I really am a 'talentless hack that uses her wiles to skim by' like that bloody American judge said when Paul got kicked out of the competition instead of me back in week five. What am I even doing?

And it doesn't help that I'm so lonely lately. Where's someone who wants to shag me to bits? I'm just about ready to attempt to pull a one nighter just to break this dry streak. And here we have Lisa married and Padma shagging Stephen and I feel like the only girl from back in our dorms that can't seem to do the relationship thing right for whatever reason, and with Morag off being such a busy pop star sometimes I feel like I just don't see anyone anymore.

I need a punching bag.

I bought the absolute most adorable mittens today off of a street vendor today. I'm absolutely charmed! Plus it's starting to get nippy out, so it's the perfect time of year to get some new ones.

Merlin, I've been so busy with recording and rehearsals lately, I've barely had time to take a peek at this. Has anything important been going on?

The Sky Search high is quickly fading. I need glamour in my life again.

Congratulations, Donny! I was voting for Naomi. Just to hear the applause was overwhelming and to see all the reactions was breathtaking. He's got a wonderful career ahead of him if he already has this many fans!

It's so hard to believe Sky Search is completely over, though. I mean, I know it's been for me for a couple weeks, but I've still been going to the studio to watch live, and so I still felt like I was a part of it all sitting there in the audience.

Enough of this - I think it's time for me to go join the contestant celebration!

A Chinese proverb states: "The journey is the reward", and tonight, that rings incredibly true for me.

As those who were listening know, tonight ended up being my last night on Sky Search. I can't even begin to express my gratitude for all the support I've had throughout the season. It's been an honour and a surprise, quite honestly, to have made it this far in the competition, and I know I couldn't have done it without all of you who Floo called in for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you're interested, you'll be able to catch me on WWN2 tomorrow morning with Juliet to talk more about the show, just as my predecessors have.

Oh, and regarding the final three candidates? I'm keeping mum on who I'll be voting for, but I would like to say that they're all extremely qualified and wonderful people I'm glad I've had the opportunity to meet.

( Heavily Private )

( Private )

What with it being the New Year (at least in the Jewish community), I thought I'd take some time to write out a few resolutions, hoping that having them down in print will make me more likely to follow them.

1) Go to temple more often than I do now which...is whenever Grandma bugs me to go, so anything could be more than that, especially as there's one right here.
2) Take an acting class or two to hone my skills
3) Continue to branch out both with voice and stage acting.
4) Keep in better touch with old school friends
5) Try something that I've never done before.

There, that seems to be reasonable. Now to see how I do over this coming year.

( Private! )

Opinions please! I've become bored with my natural colour again, and I can't seem to decide if I would rather go full blonde again, or a lighter brown. Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

I also need a shopping spree. Anyone want to come along?

Merlin! I had no idea Sky Search would be so hard on my voice! I don't know how you do this singing thing all the time, Morag, love. Not that this hasn't been absolute fun so far, but unless I win and make it as Britain's next popstar, I think I'll stick to acting. Much simpler.

In that vein, thanks ever so much to everyone who's been Floo calling in for me thus far! I am completely overwhelmed by your support.

Note #1:

I auditioned for Sky Search, and assuming things go well and I get on, you should all Floo vote for me!

Note #2:

Vicky...

Guess who got some parts?!

I can't even begin to say how terribly excited I am! I have a supporting role as a Loch Nessie Quidditch team member on My Brother, the Keeper and I'm being featured in an episode of Horror-Scopes in November! I'll also continue to show up here and there in Gryphon Place as well as being on a 'call me when they need me' set-up for Which is Witch!

I think I'm moving up in the world of the WWN though I am a bit disappointed I didn't get that main role I auditioned for on Which is Witch.

In other, more important topics, I have decided to take a poll.

Who is prettier:
Su Li (me)
or
Fergus Finnigan?

(Lisa, it is not a slam against your husband if you don't choose his cousin - we all know Seamus is the more dashing of the two anyway.)

Your input is very much appreciated.

So I went to visit my grandma last night to watch the opening ceremonies because for one, she has a telly and I don't, and for two, I like to remind her who I am sometimes so she doesn't forget I exist. (to be fair to her, she does have thirty-eight three grandkids. If I were her, I'd need reminders who all of us were once in a while, after all. I certainly can't name all my cousins)

Of course, visiting grandma is always an interesting experience. First I got to hear all about how my hair looks much more natural black than blonde (it's probably good she didn't see the purple), and then I had to field the questions about Yul and his girlfriend and 'when are they getting married?' (answer: not any time soon knowing my brother), and how are Mum and Dad doing and am I remembering to eat kosher and am I remembering to eat enough and do I have a real job yet? I guess probably the things most people hear from their grandmothers.

I heard a lot about Manila as we cheered on the Philippines' sixteen whole athletes. I think she's getting homesick, to be honest. I guess she hasn't been back since her mum died and since my grandpa really has no desire to go back to Germany ever again, he might not quite realise how much she wants to visit again. I think I need to have a talk with him about splurging for a holiday for my grandma. And bringing me along.

The fall line up looks really good, though! And when I stopped at the Wok'n'Roll after I heard about all the strange fortunes, mine told me to be expecting a few parts. So I hope it's right!

Wèi shén me shì wǒ jiǎng de pǔ tōng huà? Wǒ xū yào jiǎng Yīng yǔ yǐ biàn wǒ kě yǐ gōng zuò. Tā shì lì, dàn shì zhè bù shì hǎo hé

...

Wait. I have no idea what I just wrote there. I was speaking Mandarin all afternoon, but it seems to have just...disappeared on me.

In between this and the hair, I feel like the Lane is telling me to get in touch with my cultural roots. Just watch, next I'll be speaking Hebrew.

But speaking of hair, since I know there was a mess with it on Sunday...would anyone be able to tell me why my hair now looks like this?

( photo )

I mean, I don't mind terribly - I think it's a good look on me, but I'm not quite sure what they're going to say at the New Moon...

( Private to Vicky )

I am seriously tickled pink right now.

Allow me to explain. This morning, I woke up to find myself looking...not quite like myself. For those of you who haven't seen me recently, here's a picture taken of me at the studio a few days ago so you can see what my latest hairstyle is.

( photo 1 )

Today, however, I woke up, looked in the mirror and thought "My god, I look like a Su Li." Allow me to demonstrate.

( photo 2 )

I don't recall my hair ever feeling so silky and smooth before. It actually rather reminds me of Cho Chang's hair, and back in school, I thought her hair was quite lovely.

I think the dark look works for me - it's been a long time since I've had it close to its natural colour - if I ever get my own hair back, I think I may try it out again.