oblivious nerd girl
hood chronicles

Many things have happened! We were on Kababayan Today on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. ​Thank you to G for giving us the opportunity to share our show with her audience. I'm so thankful to be on this journey with my friends! It was super meta watching the show while eating our Thanksgiving meal with Mike's family. 

Since my last post This Filipino American Life has posted two episodes of the podcast! We talk about our post election thoughts in Episode 6. And we talk about Filipino accents in Episode 5.5. 

Today is also #GivingTuesday! I like that there's now a dedicated giving day built into the shopping push for the holidays. Here are some organizations that I give the Oblivious Nerd Girl cosign! 
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• API Giving Circle

Founded in 2007, the LA API Giving Circle is made up of a group of community-minded friends who pool together our resources to support projects and organizations in Los Angeles County that are engaged in socially-innovative, grassroots ideas.

The Circle’s grantmaking goal is to invest in community-based organizations engaged in progressive change work that serve Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and to provide funding for organizations that may not have access to mainstream foundation funds due to their size or the nature of their programs.

• FilAm Arts

When I first graduated from UCI, FilAm Arts was the Filipino American non profit that gave me a community. Many of my chosen family have come from this organization. The folks I have met through FilAm Arts inspire me everyday!

• Standing Rock

The water protectors need our support. They need supplies and funds. First nation peoples from across the globe have shown their solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. 

• API Equality-LA

API Equality-LA is an Asian and Pacific Islander (API) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) organization. Your tax-deductible donation will go towards building grassroots community power and organizing for change in the Asian and Pacific Islander community. API Equality-LA is a fiscal project of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Audrey Kuo, friend of Oblivious Nerd Girl and a previous Oblivious Interview is the Executive Director of API-Equality-LA! 

• Advancing Justice

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (Advancing Justice - LA) is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI). Founded in 1983 as the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Advancing Justice - LA serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year.  Through direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building, Advancing Justice - LA focuses on the most vulnerable members of Asian American and NHPI communities while also building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice.  

• ACLU of Southern California

The ACLU defends the fundamental rights outlined in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These include the right to freedom of speech and assembly; the right to religious freedom; due process of law; equality before the law; and the right to privacy. The ACLU also relies on state constitutional provisions and federal and state laws that further these and similar rights.

• Planned Parenthood Los Angeles

For the past century, Planned Parenthood has transformed women's health and empowered millions of people worldwide to make informed health decisions, forever changing the way they live, love, learn and work.

• CAIR - Greater Los Angeles Chapter

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a nonprofit, grassroots civil rights and advocacy organization. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, with affiliate offices nationwide. Its national headquarters is located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. CAIR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations to CAIR are tax deductible as allowable by law; our tax ID number is 77-0411194.

The Greater Los Angeles Area chapter is one of the oldest and largest CAIR chapters across the country. Back in 1996, a group of dedicated volunteers in Southern California saw a need for a unique kind of Muslim organization – an organization that would work to uphold civil rights of American Muslims, foster a better understanding of the Islamic faith and its followers, and help find avenues for Muslims to integrate more fully into the broader society.
Years later, the chapter has grown tremendously, deepening its base in the Southern California Muslim community. CAIR-Los Angeles has, moreover, become a household name among Southland Muslims, and a reliable resource and partner for media, public officials and policymakers, advocacy groups, and the interfaith and progressive communities.

• Visual Communications

Visual Communications has been my outlet for utilizing my Film Studies and Asian American Studies BAs. For the past six years I was a features programmer for the festival. This year I'm taking a break and focusing on the short flags documentary. I love that VC exists because it is our space to create and showcase AAPI filmmaking. 

Yesterday I wore white. I voted for a biracial woman to become my Senator. And I voted for a woman who has devoted her entire life to public service lose to a man who has been the most divisive racist, misogynistic, bigoted cunt this country has seen. So as you can see I feel some sort of way about this. 

We are all figuring out ways to cope. Last night I ate and drank my feelings. As I think most people did. 

I tried to take advantage of the food but to be honest my stomach was topsy turvy last night

I went to bed like this. 

I woke up like this. 

And even though I'm mourning the loss. Several good things happened during this election term. 

And locally Prop HHH passed! This is something that Mike has been working on all election season. I am very proud of the work he does on Home For Good. I normally watch election returns at home because I don't like sharing my anxiety with strangers, but for Mike I celebrated HHH. 

I know that we will survive this. We will cope. We will organize. We will work. We will create dope ass shit. And in that vein this is the music that is helping me get to that point. 

My brother Bambu has been speaking the truth for years. I have bought every album a) because he's my friend, b) I want his family to be able to eat, and c) he makes good music. You can also listen to the full album here: 

I have also created a spotify play list called "How To Survive." 

This is my way of figuring out how to survive the remainder of 2016, which for all intents and purposes has been a real dumpster fire of a year. And if you think I'm being dramatic. Well yes I am. ​

​I am grateful that last night when I went to bed, Mike held me and said "We're going to be alright. We're going to be okay. It just means we're going to do the work. We have to work harder. And I'm thankful we have each other."  He put it so much more eloquently than my Jesse Spano sobs. 

Mike's post this morning elaborates on what we need to do. 

Also in a completely irrational turn I'm never eating Cheetos again. It's not Cheetos fault, but they remind me too much of someone I'd like to not think about. I'm pretty much going to spend the next four year's saying President He Who Must Not Be Named. I am grateful for Takis. Takis Forever