He took it!

I got around to getting back to Just Like Julia Child. Howard decided to take the job offer. He made a plan with his boss at the camera store that he can take a few months of absence to work for Nathan until his regular head chef can come back. And when Howard goes back to work, he'll finally be in the photography studio that he's been waiting for.

So that makes Howard happy for both scenarios. He's helping out a family friend and he gets to receive the promotion he's been waiting for.

And I have a plan for later in the film. I'm going to have Joanne go out to Nathan's restaurant to check it out and have her convinced that Howard's going to meet her there for dinner. And when Joanne likes her entree, she's going to go and make compliments to the chef which she doesn't know is her husband because Howard's not going to tell her. Then when she does meet the chef, she'll get a surprise that her husband kept from her and then a marital spat's going to happen resulting in a climax.

Once that's written, I'll post more JLJC updates.

And I'm still waiting for Julie Powell to see this.

I want to give up.

There's something I never thought I'd say.

Something tells me to cancel my blog. No one seems to care, I can't get Julie to read it, I'm running out of ideas for Just Like Julia Child, and I'm already unhappy with stuff right now. And to think things were looking up.

The pros of canceling my blog is that I impress other people by giving up and can decide a new field to look for jobs in and become educated for.

The cons of canceling my blog is that if cancelled, Julie may decide to read it but there's nothing to read.

I'm leaving my account up because just incase I cancel it, and Julie does want to read it, then everything I wrote is gone. So I won't cancel it. After all, I would've even have started this blog if it weren't for her. She said she didn't know what a blog was and neither did I. And we both started one. Julie is an important part of my life even though I can never meet her, but I really want her to see what I wrote for her.

I always have trouble of thinking of ways to promote this and getting Julie to see it and just feel that nobody cares on how much Julie's book touched me.

I might have to be remembered as the unhappy and unemployed 21-year-old who still lives with his parents and goes to community college while his brother already has the life he wants and I have nothing. At least I have a name.

If I have to, I'll try even harder. I'll keep figuring out ways to get Julie Powell to see this. It won't be easy, then again, nothing ever is.

Should he take it?

I got to a point where Howard really struggles with the decision to take Nathan's job offer. All he's told are Ben, his friend. Not even Joanne.



If Howard takes the job, he becomes the head chef and the master and gets promoted to manager after Ryan, the regular head chef, comes back. It's only for a few months that Ryan can't work.



If Howard gets promoted at the camera store, Howard finally gets the chance that he's been waiting for since college. He finally gets to be a photographer rather than camera salesman and does something he cares about.



Although there are disadvantages based on Howard's decisions.



If he becomes a chef, the other sous chefs ridicules him and can't work with him and without Ryan. And Howard gets made fun of and teased.



If he becomes a photographer, he would have let Nathan down and disappointed him. Even though, Nathan had other people to consider to be a chef temporarily, he really wanted Howard.



There are both advantages and disadvantages for Howard taking the chef job or getting promoted for the photography job.



This is one where I really need comments. And nothing like "This sounds really good. I can't wait to [read] it. etc." I kind of need advice myself for what I should write Howard to do. Comments would be well appreciated.



PS: I'm still working on getting Julie to see my blog. It may not be easy, but I'm still trying at it.

Answers to the Discussion Questions

Now here come the whole point of why I started the blog. I get to reveal my feelings about how Julie's book affected me. The discussion questions in the back.

1. "Julie has such a remarkable with Julia Child, despite never having met her. What do you think of the relationships that Julie built in her mind? And why does it not matter, in some sense, when Julie finds out that Julia wasn't an admirer of hers or the Project?"

Cary: I think Julie had some sort of imagination of meeting Julia in person. Although it's not like she ever could have in real life. And I don't think Julia was into Julie's Project because at her age, 80-90, she wouldn't really care about much. I'm just saying. Or maybe it was because Julia thought that Julie would have better things to do instead.

2. "Throughout the book, various people become involved with the Project: Julie's husband, her friends, and several family members. Discuss the different roles each played in the Project. Which people were most helpful and supportive? Who was occasionally obstructionist?"

Cary: Knowing the personality of Eric Powell, he seems sarcastic and kind of dorky, but he's also reliable. In a way, he was supportive for Julie by raving about her meals and complementing her on almost every one. And her friends didn't seem to show support for Julie. I think they were just ignorant to let Julie cook. It was something she liked and cared about but they didn't even say anything positive. And her mother - I noticed how Julie's mother was very critical and nagging. So Julie wanted to also master the art of French cooking. Her mom could've been a little nicer.

3. "Did you find Julie to be a likeable character? Did you relate to her insecurities, anxieties, and initial discontent? Why do you think it is that she was able to finish the Project despite various setbacks?"

Cary: Of course Julie's likeable. I can relate to her in may ways. I even started a blog because of her. She inspired me to write this when I didn't even know what the term "Blog" meant. I felt sorry for her when she had the problems with those dinner parties (like oversleeping or the big dinner with Amanda Hesser) and even the Beef marrow and German guy. I wanted to get sick as Julie was. It's like I'm empathic to her - in a way. I felt sorry for every problem she had, and totally understood how she felt when she got the news that Julia died. I feel that I'm there for Julie and that she's there for me...hopefully.

4. "The Julie/Julia Project is obsessive and chaotic, yet it manages to bring a sort of order to Julie's life. Have you ever gone to obsessive lengths to, ironically, make things more manageable? Why do you think Julie does (or doesn't?") succeed in this?"

Cary: I wanted to see Julie & Julia even before I heard about it. Once Amy Adams went on the Late Show With David Letterman, and she said that she was making a film about a woman who cooked her way through Julia Child's book. So I briefly read about it and already I wanted to see this. There was even a clip of Meryl Streep at the end of the Academy Awards and I was like "I am so seeing that". Then after the first time I saw the trailer, I knew. So when I could, I got the book from the library in the town I used to live in and got right to reading but had to return the book (explained in another post). And when I finally got the book back, I didn't even put it down. The Friday night before J&J, I skipped dinner to finish the book, and even woke up later that night with the book open on my chest. That Saturday morning, I had to quickly finish the book. So yeah, I wasn't exactly obsessing, but I was in a big rush to finish reading the book before seeing the movie. And I wouldn't give up.

5. "If someone were to ask you about this book, how would you describe it? Is it a memoir of reinvention? A homage to Julia Child? A rags-to-riches story? A reflection on cooking and the centrality of food in our lives? Or is it all (or none) of these.?"

Cary: All of the above. It's basically everything besides a novel. When I first got it, I thought it was a type of cook book, but it was even better. Julie is a great writer and a stunning lady. I actually recommended this to my mom and then another friend of mine. Out of the choices given in the question, I'd say this is more of a reinvention. Julie was basically recreating her life to make it better. And she did. She really improved on herself. And Eric has grown to be more proud of her and more supportive.

6. "Did Julie's exploits in her tiny kitchen make you want to cook? Or did they make you thankful that you don't have to debone a duck or saute a liver? Even if your tastes may not coincide with Julia Child's recipes, did the book give you a greater appreciation for food and cooking?"

Cary: I actually was into cooking even before I heard about J&J, I liked cooking. But I wouldn't want to cook a Julia Child meal. Maybe in her other "Baking With Julia" book, but not MtAoFC. Those seemed too complex for even Julie to make. However, even if a recipe calls for it, I am not going to learn to debone a duck or saute a liver. I already learned that you have to rub your hands all over raw meat to get the herbs on it.

7. "At various points in the book, Julie finds that cooking makes her question her own actions and values. What did you make of her lobster guilt, for example, or her thoughts on extracting bone marrow? Have you ever encountered these issues while cooking, or while going through other everyday motions of life? Have you come to conclusions similar to or different from Julie's?"

Cary: Like I said in the previous question, I had to learn to rub my hands all over raw meat. But I don't plan to ever extract bone marrow or commit lobster murder. I have lots of love for animals that I don't think they should be tortured or killed to serve people. That's what makes me sometimes question "How would you like it if someone killed and cooked you and served you to people?". It reminds me of the German guy, but anyways, it's hard for me to see a turkey shot and cooked for Thanksgiving or think of the mysterious things that I don't even want to know about that makes a hot dog. So, it's hard for me to do what Julie did. And not because it's gross, which it is, but mostly hard to see an animals sliced right in my hands.

8. "When Julie began the Project, she knew little to nothing about blogging. What do you think blogging about her experiences offered her? Does writing about events in your life help you understand and appreciate them more? Do you think the project would have gone differently if the blog hadn't gained so much attention? Who was the blog mainly for, Julie or her readers?"

Cary: Just like Julie, I was new to the blogging thing. That's when I realized, "You know, if Julie puts her experiences about cooking into a computer, then so can I.". I felt that if I take the time to blog about how Julie's book affects me, then I might become as popular as she did. (Although that never happened for me, yet). I started blogging two months ago, and obviously, Julie's popular didn't start as quickly as to months, so I thought I should maybe wait as well. I think eventually someone's going to read my blog and wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?". I feel that out of the many people reading Julie's book, I'm one of the few to actually read for something meaningful, and not just because a move was coming out, but to read the book because I want to tell the world and Julie how much I want to be like her. Marriage and Popularity are two things I'm looking forward to. And I think Julie's blog was more for her. If it was for her readers, I'd have to say that I'm one of the few. Even though it was hard for Julie to cook, she still managed to get through it with Julia Child watching over her.

Julie, I hope you eventually read my posts and think I'm doing a good job by looking up to you. Even though there will be many posts to come, I still am waiting for you to check me out.

Howard's Job Offer

I wrote the birthday dinner scene in Just Like Julia Child. So Nathan talked to Howard and said he needed a head chef because his HC Ryan got a hand injury involving a bread knife and then it nearly became a whole Sunshine Cleaning Thing. Nathan had to clean up some of Ryan's blood. And now that Ryan is taking a few month break, Howard starts pondering about which job to do. Photography is something he loves and is passionate and excited for, but he's only been cooking for a week and for his wife, Joanne.

This is where Howard begins to make the choice. I'm not even sure what he should do but I'll eventually find out. And I wrote Nathan to not have it be a problem if Howard declines the job offer.

When I have more details on Just Like Julia Child, I'll post the updates here. This is the same film that I'm dedicating to Julie when I'm done writing it.

Any promotional ideas?

Lately, I've been thinking of ways to promote this until Julie sees it.

I posted it a few times as my status on Facebook and wrote a note about it and tagged people. But a friend of my dad's from last night, suggested I make a page about it. I'm already a fan of several things so far? So last night I made a page for it and got some people already a fan of it.

And I started a Twitter account and posted it there. And the only one I know personally on Twitter is Calvin.

But Facebook and Twitter are the only things I can think of and I don't think Julie has one. I don't do My Space or Google or any other thing like that.

But just this second, I set it as my signature that shows up whenever I make a post on an IMDb message board.

So if anyone has any promotional ideas on how to promote my blog, please let me know. People even found Julie's when she first started but not mine. After all, my blog is based on a book that's based on another book. I'm creating a chain.