Oblivious meets Lily Prijoles

Lily with DJ Kuttin Kandi

In 2003 I went to Chicago with Mike for the APIA Spoken Word summit. Mike had gone to the first summit in 2001. This Chicago trip was my graduation gift from my parents. Many things happened during this trip, but most importantly I got to meet so many amazing people. One of these amazing people was Lily Prijoles, who at the time was a part 8th Wonder, a spoken word group from the Bay area. Our paths would cross again when 8th wonder performed at FPAC.  

As I write this I can't believe that all that happened over 12 years ago! Many things have changed. We could probably track our relationships through our online profiles! Blogger to xanga to livejournal to friendster to myspace to facebook to instagram to twitter to tumblr to whatever the future brings. 

Filipino Food & Bakery, the restaurant that Lily runs with her family, is partnering up with DJ Neil Armstrong for a Brunch & a Mixtape pop up event at her family's bakery! Folks in the San Diego area should definitely check this out this Sunday, October 25th. Diners all get a copy of Neil Armstrong's latest mixtape on a mini Ube Taro Coconut USB drive from Nomad Donuts. 

I am so jealous that I have plans this Sunday. I would totally be there if I was free. Folks tell me how it is! I'm so excited to share this interview with everyone!

Oblivious meets Lily Prijoles. 

---

Filipino Food & Bakery, Lily's family restaurant

Affiliations (arts org, fun things you do, etc) :
I run Filipino Food & Bakery with my Kuya & parents, a co-founder/Ate-mus Prime of KAMP (Kuya Ate Mentorship Program - Education program teaching Philippine & FilAm History to Filipino Language Students of San Diego), indentured Crew member for Xylophone/Kid Heroes productions, Word sayer for 8th Wonder, etc etc...
For fun... I enjoy various forms of ice cream. I try to make things with my sewing machine, drive around to clear my head & look at stationary stuff from Staples to Daiso.
 
What's the one word you are guilty of using too much?
Like most people, I say "SORRY" a bit more than I should... I don't really mean to softly bump into your elbow or stand in your way when watching TV, there is just no other word that encompasses that inconvenience.  I also say "Hella Crazy"...like Hella a lot. Lately, I've been saying "Amazing" which is residual from Happy Endings' "Ah-mah-zing" & from that show I love saying "YIKES on Bikes". It's not 1 word, but it's not as fun of a phrase without the other words.

How did you end up doing what you are doing now? 
In terms of the restaurant, I'm in a mafia family and they finally found a way to "...pull me back in...". In regards to KAMP, it is my passion, passing on our community's his/herstory to the next generation, whether through presentations, movie screenings, open mics, etc...THEN combining those things! *Poof* that's how I ended up doing what I am doing now.

---

Interior of restaurant at an Open Mic called Mic Check

Which member of the Wu-Tang Clan best describes your personality?
According to buzzfeed's quiz, and the 2 times I took the quiz, I am either like Rza or Method Man.  I'd like to think I take on each of their personalities dependent on the day. Although, I wasn't as much of a Wu Head as I was a De La Soul head.

Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why?
No offense to my cat homies, but my bestie is my dog named Drogo (from Game of Thrones).  Therefore, I would have his back, & depending on the battle, dogs would have a slight edge on winning...as long as it was an ice cream eating contest...it is, isn't it?

What is the best part of any given day for you?
The part of the day where I get to eat ice cream...

In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team?
Based on Walking Dead characters, I would want Michone & Glen... and (from a different network) those Treehouse Builder guys.  As far as I can assume, I don't think Zombies can climb trees, unless they were parkour zombies... but I would like to try living in treehouses. Michone would cover security. Glen could do the scavenger hunts & be married to me. Being elevated like that would allow us to watch the herds movements. Farming is still a possibility, with walls around the gardens.  But until that happens...

---

What is the last thing you searched for on google?
W-9 tax forms 

If you could talk to your high school self, what would say?
Graduate early and go to college already. And always stay weird. 

What is the best thing or meal you ever ate?
I can't ever have a best thing or meal I ever ate, unless I have eaten everything in the world... so I can't put that cap on yummy foods yet, but what I can say I've been craving lately is my friend's vegan food truck No Worries.  Filipino Food is supposed to be meaty; chicken, pork, beef, seafood is kind of in that category, but to translate those meaty dishes into Vegan fare is pretty challenging.  And to some Filipino food purists, it can be blasphemous, but it's possible. Isagani Pugao captures all the flavors that are true to most traditional dishes, it's just the meat that's different. And his reason for creating his dishes makes the food even more delicious, to make something healthy for our parents, whose diets have to change due to health conditions.  I WORK in a Filipino Restaurant, and I CRAVE Vegan Filipino food from the Bay. That is good food! 
filipinoveganfood.com

What is a memorable project that you are working on or have worked on?
Earlier in my life I was/am part of a group called 8th Wonder.  A performance poetry group out of the Bay area.  Working with those 7 pin@ys, allowed me to travel & meet so many different people from all over the country & outside the country.  I never thought an introvert, like me, would be performing on stage on a regular basis like that.  I get serious stage fright. And to even have the privilege to perform/present in Singapore, I would never have an experience like it. 
A little later than that, I worked for the Debut tour, which took me all over the country as well (in my Honda Civic) and was privileged to meet even more people from the Filipin@ community and saw how those communities worked. To this day, those interactions influenced how I do work in the community here in San Diego.
 
Currently, we are underway with Lumpia 2 with Patricio Ginelsa, which is totally exciting and totally top secret. And 8th Wonder still keeps in touch, and are working on things...