oblivious nerd girl
hood chronicles

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 22. I heart Color Your Troubles Away. It's our one year anniversary event tonight. I can't believe we've done these events for a year. It's been a crazy journey. Thank you to everyone who's supported Color Your Troubles Away this past year. To Mike for always being there to help me set up. To my friends and family who come out and color with me. To the businesses who have graciously hosted Color Your Troubles Away over the past year (The Park's Finest, Eat Wanderlust, Tribal Cafe). 

Let's celebrate tonight!

#ColorYourTroublesAway | Super September
Thursday, September 22nd, 7-9pm
POT Lobby Bar @ The Line Hotel

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 21. Yes this is my calendar. Yes I have an annual reminder about Earth, Wind, & Fire September. Yes I have Mercury Retrograde on my calendar because I am a Virgo who gets worked up about retrograde and I need the reminders about mercury retrograde so I don't have a fit when life throws lemons at me. For folks wondering the calendar note says "Mercury retrograde - be patient." And yes I have notes on what bills to pay because like I said, I'm a Virgo.

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY! Your birthday has a theme song. That's so awesome. ​ Andy and I share a birthday month. One of my favorite memories is when we had a birthday party in the park. We played "pin the steak on Andy" and "pin the drink on Elaine." Thank you bff Jen for creating these games for us!

This is also the party where we had a giant Dora the Explorer piñata. There is a picture out there of me wearing said Dora the Explorer piñata head on my head. I recall it was claustrophobic and scary because of the many staples that were holding it together.

I appreciate Earth, Wind & Fire September for one of the best songs ever. I appreciate Andy for being born so we can celebrate our birthdays together. I appreciate Google Calendar for annual reminders of really cool songs.  I even appreciate mercury retrograde for continuing to teach me to be patient. 

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 20. I am thankful for Mike. It's our monthaversary. Yes we are those people who celebrate their monthly anniversary. It isn't anything super big. But we acknowledge it by saying "Happy Anniversary!" to each other. We say it to each other in person if we're awake at midnight or online on gchat.  I love how we both love soup (ie souplantation), and the outdoors, and for always being there for me when I need someone to talk or not talk. You are my favorite person to not talk with.

And for folks reading this if you got the movie reference just now we can be best friends forever. 

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 18. I am thankful for This Filipino American Life podcast. When Joe Bernardo approached me to a part of his idea for a podcast I was totally game. Having tried my hand at it with Lessons From Lola and Oblivious Great Idea, I was happy to co-host a project with friends. I've learned so much on this journey. The response to the podcast has been so dope. I'm so excited for sharing future episodes with everyone!
​ 
Thank you to everyone who makes TFAL happen! There are a lot of people involved and you all make us sound and look awesome!

Oblivious Birthday gratitude Day 17. I heart pins. There's a contest on @pinlord that I'm trying to win. I'm crossing my fingers that my birthday mojo will get me to win this awesome set of pins. I've been building my pin collection for the past year now. I'm so stoked that pins are making a comeback. I love flare. It's fun. And It makes me feel like I work at a TGIFridays. LOL  

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude - Day 16. Today I feel like this. 

Why? Because Dragon Quest VII is out today! I never played this game when it was out for PlayStation. So this game will be a new one to me. I regret selling the last Dragon Quest game. I have a tendency of selling games when I'm done playing them, however I didn't think there would be such a long gap between Dragon Quest games.

Birthday month has meant many things. I have appreciated my family and friends for all their love. I have appreciated podcasts and organizations. This, this right here, makes me SO HAPPY! 

I came to RPG gaming late. I was more of puzzle gamer. Tetris, Bubble Bobble, and Puzzle Fighter are my jam! Mike was surprised that I didn't try out RPGs. He introduced me to Golden Sun on the Game Boy Advance. I proceeded to fall in love with these types of games. I moved on to the Dragon Quest series, Kingdom Hearts, Fire Emblem, and others. But my favorite has been Dragon Quest. I like the style. I like the play. I like it all. And I'm so excited to head to the store and pick up my copy of this game! 

Oblivious Birthday Gratitude Day 13. I appreciate APASS.

I worked at USC APASS as a graduate assistant in 2007-2008. It was one of the best working experiences of my early Student Affairs career. I had the privilege of working with a staff (Sumi Pendakur, Jade Agua, and Jeymi Choi) who mentored me.

APASS meant so much to me because it allowed me to combine Student Affairs with my passion for working with the Asian American community in Los Angeles. Seeing students make connections with local non-profits or gaining an understanding of what their role could/should/would be in the community are memories I will cherish forever.

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. 

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.