Her career is just taking off

THE movie she’s in is “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” but Michelle Lee’s career is only beginning. In addition to the third installment of “Pirates,” which opens today, the unmarried martial-arts expert has two more films coming out this year, “Trailer Park of Terror” and “Dead Reckoning.”

While Lee’s looks haven’t hurt her career, hard work has played a major role too. In fact, she’s a self-described self-improvement junkie. Read on if you want to feel lazy and inadequate.

Cook your own

On Friday afternoon, I like to go for my wushu workout, which is kind of like shaolin kung fu. After that I’d be ready for dinner at Shabu Shabu in the Japanese Village in Little Tokyo. Their sauces are key, and you can get slices of beef, vegetables and noodles, and then you have this big pot of boiling water to cook in. And there’s a boba place nearby, so after dinner I’d go get a green-tea flavor. I might stop at this cute little Japanese-style clothing store nearby called Pop Killer. It’s got all kinds of trendy, fun stuff.

Hit and run -- to eat

On Saturday morning, I train with some of the top stunt guys in the movie business in Inglewood. We do everything you could possibly see in a movie -- tumbling, flips, jumps, kicks, fight choreography. I get to beat up two or three guys at a time -- or girls! It’s what I do instead of going to the gym and being bored for an hour on the treadmill and lifting weights. I hate all that stuff.

After that I’d stop at Ranch 99 in Monterey Park and get all my Chinese food. They have a great fruit selection, sweet and ripe. And I’ll grab a hot lunch there too, like the roasted duck or pork and fried rice. That’s comfort food for me.

In the evening, there are a lot of great restaurants, but my favorite is Manpuku on Sawtelle and Olympic on the Westside. A lot of other people like it too, so it’s usually very crowded. While you’re waiting, though, there are some great shops close by, such as Giant Robot, which has trinkets and art books and art T-shirts. There’s also a cool clothing store called Black Market. Then I’d rush back to the restaurant and have some of their great, grill-it-yourself Japanese-style food. I’ll have the marinated beef, chicken and vegetables. Then for dessert I’d go hit up Pinkberry, the eight-ounce original with two toppings of mochi and one topping of Fruity Pebbles.

In the evening I love to go with friends to the drag revue in West Hollywood at Rage. They put on a great show, singing, dancing and it’s funny, a real good time. Or I’ll go to the burlesque show at the El Cid. Like the old-time strip shows, but classier.

A walk in the park

On Sunday, if I’m not too stuffed from the night before, I’ll have dim sum somewhere in Chinatown. Then I’ll drive to the Valley and take my acting class with Gary Austin. He was one of the first guys with the Groundlings. We do improv exercises; it’s kind of like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Then I’d take my dog, a Bichon Frise and poodle mix named Bruce Lee, to MacArthur Park and just relax.

Then I’ll come home and play games. I’m a big videogame freak -- I have Xbox 360, PS3, I’ve got ‘em all. Right now I’m playing Guitar Hero 2 and God of War. I also spend time with my website and a MySpace page. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.