oblivious nerd girl
hood chronicles

There has been an insane amount of changes and growth in this past year. Figuring out my new role in a new department at work. Creating Color Your Troubles Away as way to build community and share my love of coloring with friends. Producing Walking With Grace with Form follows Function. Finding a love for Filipino teleseryes (OTWOL & TIMY are my favs). Enjoying spin classes and accepting that it is the most "LA" thing ever, which I don't mind because it's me taking steps for a healthier and stronger self. (Yes I've said Namaste at the end of Soul Cycle unironically.) Coming back to podcast land because valley twin Joe Bernardo had the genius idea for This Filipino American Life.

Thank you for bitmoji for expressing how I feel on my day of birth.

There's also a perfect bitmoji for how I plan to spend my day. Thank you for the birthday messages. I appreciate the love 😍

It only feels appropriate to post my favorite birthday song from the bard that writes with the pen name 2 Chainz

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 11. I am thankful for this new instagram account azn143637. It  is a side project of This Filipino American Life. We all are fans of Veteranas and Rucas, which documents Chicano/Latino youth culture. azn143637 is our way of documenting the Filipino American and Asian American youth culture experience in the 80s and 90s. 

On This Filipino American Life we talk about our lives in the 90s. We have these touch stones that scream this life. For guys its a fade with a high top and some long bangs which Joe and Mike have perfected in their pictures. For girls there was long, sun in drenched hair, with super thin eyebrows and dark lip liner with shiny glossy lipstick that was lighter than the lip liner. I think most pictures of me in that uniform are at my parents house, so thankfully I don't have that to share with you all. Instead I have myself doing the traditional "pogi" pose at my 8th grade banquet. 

I"m excited to see what submissions we'll get for this project. Can't wait to share your memories with everyone. Send your best aZn picture to thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com. 

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 10. I am thankful for Tsismis Council! Also to address my Pops, we are not just about "tsismis" the Tagalog word for "gossip." This trio of folks which includes myself, PR extraordinaire Eseel Borlasa, & my editing hero Kirby Peñafil. We met through the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival where we were all programmers in different areas of the festival. Eseel and Kirby were short film programmers, while I covered features.  These two humans keep me sane and support the creative projects we have in development. I appreciate their opinions, their friendship, & the tsismis! I am so thankful to be on this creative journey with them!

​Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 9. I am thankful for FilAm Arts and for the Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC).  

FilAm Arts & FPAC is home. As an undergrad I would attend the festival with friends. Then as a post grad FilAm Arts became my home. While Mike's organizing focused on Justice for Filipino American Veterans and organizing the annual Veteran's Day parades, I worked on doing outreach, selling tickets, hosting stages, or handling logistics for FPAC. 

This performance made me cry my eyes out. Mike and I were there shooting post wedding photos and I can remember being upset because my face would be puffy from crying!

Through FPAC I have connected with folks who have become family. I've watched babies grow into baby whisperers. Watched friends go from single to dating to married life. Been moved to tears at performances from amazing Filipino and Filipino American artists. Laughed at the sight of someone voluntarily consuming double digit amounts of balut. Rocked out as my cousin and his band performed on the Generation Stage. 

Join me this Saturday, September 10th from 5-9pm for Arts & Craft! $40 for a foodie event where you get to partake in The Park's Finest BBQ, Stoked California BBQ, SALO Series, with music by Gingee. It will be a night of good food, good times, and good vibes! Get your tickets now here: Arts & Craft: A Food and Beer Event

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 8. I am thankful for my brother Bambu. Yes Bam, I am thankful for you. I may boo you at shows, but you know it's all out of love LOL. 

I first met Bambu at the Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) when I was still in college. He was selling his cd and I remember thinking I guess I'll support this guy. I gave him my $5 and had to wait to listen to this cd because Babe, my old car, didn't have a cd player. Babe was the budget model 1999 Corolla. It didn't have much, but it got me around! 

After undergrad I moved back home to the Great-One-Eight. My transition from college organizing turned into volunteering for FPAC in various ways. Through FPAC I met a new family of organizers who were passionate about their community & about working for the empowerment and betterment of it's people. Bambu happened to be one of these people. 

I appreciate Bam for his work with the community and for his work as an artist. When he was living in LA, he was an instructor for Sessions LA and has continued to support the program. 

These records have been soundtracks to our lives. Whenever an album drops they end up on repeat in our cars, in our homes, in my headphones at work. While Mike is the dj in our family, surprisingly I am the one who buys Bam's records. ​There was even one point where I contemplated writing a musical using the Native Guns catalog. There is a notebook somewhere with an outline of this project. Maybe one day I'll revisit it!

For now we have Bam's current catalog of work. Prey for the Devil is currently on rotation. You can get your digital copy on iTunes, Amazon, Google Music, etc. For folks who want a physical copy of the record aka a cd or vinyl you'll be able to pick that up from Beatrock Music on September 11th. 

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 7. I am thankful for Bitch Sesh: A Real Housewives Breakdown.

I love garbage television. I have loved garbage television since I was a child. I can remember watching a talk show called The Richard Bey Show as a kid. It was hilarious to me that these people would go on this show and act like fools. Fast forward to 2016 and there are franchises that feed all my garbage tv tendencies. Bravo is my champion for this programming. I love all things Real Housewives, Shahs of Sunset, Southern Charmed, Flipping Out, Below Deck (but not Below Deck Mediterranean), Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles (but not New York), and whatever new show is out there I will always give it a chance by watching the first episode. 

After I watch these shows I want to do water cooler talk with people who share my garbage tv tendencies. It's hard to find people who love these shows or at least will admit to loving these shows. Then Bitch Sesh came along and Casey Rose Wilson and Danielle Schneider are my new queens of garbage tv. Their podcast is hilarious. Real Housewives is in the title, so they talk about that franchise but it also goes into general Bravo territory with talk of Shahs of Sunset and Southern Charmed. 

This podcast helps me get through my commute, lunch walks, and life in general. It's introduced me to the magic that is Whispering Angel. I bought this bottle for a bachelorette weekend. There was other booze consumed, so this bottle is now waiting for me at home where I plan to open it up for part 2 of the Real Housewives of New York Reunion tonight.

Thank you Casey Rose Wilson, Danielle Schneider, and my new Whispering Angel family that understand my needs for safe space, no tagging, and garbage person tendencies. 

So excited for this episode. It's preceded by by a recording by producer Mike made for the “Songs We Carry,” a joint project of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, The Music Center Los Angeles, and Christine and Gary’s Super Astig Blog.  You can listen to the entire project here. I also participated in the project and was totally stoked and honored to be a part of it! Mike's piece excellently fits with our podcast on OPM!

Each new episode of TFAL is so neat. I love that this brain child of Joe's has turned into a monthly thing. Plus for my own selfish reasons, I enjoy spending time with Joe and Ryan and learning about all these topics! 

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Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 6. I am thankful for Tuesday Night Cafe! 

Tuesday Night Cafe is a public art & performance series held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month in Little Tokyo. Tuesday Night Cafe takes place in the courtyard of East West Players which is located on 120 Judge John Aiso St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. 

Tuesday Night Cafe is home for both Mike and I. He was the resident dj for several years. I was a featured performer when I was living another life that involved me writing poetry. For many years I have staked out a corner of the courtyard with the other loud Filipinos who brought camping chairs and coolers of beverages as we saw something magical take place on stage. There is a show tonight. I plan on being there. I will probably be in that corner of the courtyard once more because old habits are hard to break and that spot feels like home. Tuesday Night is family. Tuesday Night is home. Tuesday Night is something special and I'm grateful to have it be a part of our lives. 

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 5. I am thankful for Disneyland. Yes the mouse house!

When I was at UCI I got my first annual pass. I saved up my Borders barista money and hunkered down for a Deluxe Annual Pass and Parking. Back in the day when you could buy parking separately.  It's an Orange County/South Bay thing to have an annual pass and to study at the parks. I frequently studied at Disneyland. I would bring all my books, my discman because I needed music, and a small cd folder with my most favorite of emo band cds which most likely was all the Dashboard Confessionals I owned. 

Moving back to the Valley after college meant I let go of my annual pass. I couldn't rationalize the drive. It was the early 00s and I needed to figure out my life. After a few years as a corporate meeting planner I became a Trojan and started my journey as a Student Affairs professional. Once I got my first post grad job, an annual pass followed. Mike was on board with my love for the mouse and we've had annual passes ever since.

Disneyland has been our happy place. Whenever I need a pick me up or have been having a rough week, trips to Anaheim have saved me. The park is also where Mike proposed to me. I love his caption of this picture because it's true. 

From my first trip at three years old with my parents and cousins to our last trip for our anniversary, Disneyland is special to me and my family and I am thankful for the memories made at the happiest place on earth. 

As a kid vacations meant road trips. My family only traveled by car. In fact the first time I was on a plane I was in my 20s and it was my college graduation trip to Chicago. One of my fondest memories is driving from California to see my family in Texas. My parents and I were in one minivan, while my aunt, uncle, and cousins were in their minivan. We caravan'd from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon to New Mexico to Houston, Texas. You would think that trip would mean a break from driving, but then our family in Houston planned an adventure to New Orleans. So on the road we went for a day trip to a city that I remembered was very pretty and ungodly humid.

On Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 4 I am thankful for road trips. A tradition that Mike and I have continued. We have driven up and down California in a quest for National Parks stamps in our National Parks Passports. Now that Mike has a jeep, I foresee more road trips in our future and I am quite happy about that!