tiff of the 'burbs.

Photo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:05:10 -0700

Welcome Home & Congratulations, Betty! Cheers to friendship...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:04:03 -0700

Welcome Home & Congratulations, Betty! Cheers to friendship & life accomplishments!

djphatrick: brilliant.

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:05:53 -0700

djphatrick:

brilliant.

As of last Monday, Norman & I have been together for 1 1/2 years. It’s true what...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:18:00 -0700

As of last Monday, Norman & I have been together for 1 1/2 years. It’s true what people say, time really does fly when you’re having fun. I’m blessed enough to be in love with someone that is one of my best friends and that makes me very happy.

Some things I am learning, have learned, or relearned:

Relationships don’t have to be complicated or hard.
Picking your battles is essential. No one likes nagging, nitpicking, and arguing over unimportant BS.
Taking a moment to breathe, collect your thoughts, and ask yourself “What is the most loving thing to do/say?” does wonders.
Affirmation and appreciation should be expressed often.
Respect each other’s free time and hobbies. I may never fully understand Norman’s love for video games and collectible toys, just like he may never understand why I like YouTube make up tutorials and fashion blogs.
Solve problems and come up with resolutions right away. Norman is so good at this and I’m so glad he challenges me to do the same!
Being able to share our faith through prayer & participating the sacraments together brings our relationship to a different level. I don’t even think Norman knows this, but some of the moments I value the most are when we go to church and pray together. I think we need to do this more often.

Now, excuse me while I melt into a puddle of cheese.

Photo

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:33:46 -0700

Can’t wait to see this woman at the end of the month!

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 23:26:53 -0700

Can’t wait to see this woman at the end of the month!

Photo

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 23:21:10 -0700

Yesterday, I went on my first work trip to Oakland for this job. It was such a tease to finally be...

Thu, 30 May 2013 22:04:21 -0700

Yesterday, I went on my first work trip to Oakland for this job. It was such a tease to finally be back in the Bay Area for work…and only for a day! I attended two long meetings with other members of our children’s health coalition (from other organizations). It was interesting to finally meet people in person, after I’ve been on phone conferences several times a week with them for the past 2 months. I finally know what people look like! It’s really inspiring to be around people that are passionate about the work they do. One thing that I am learning and experiencing more as I develop as a nonprofit professional is the reality of struggling to stay relevant, especially in a sector that is saturated/crowded. There are many advocacy groups that focus on improving the lives of children, specifically. How can an organization stand out, be a key resource, have a voice, and —let’s be real, this is true— continue to stay funded?

I don’t think I like single-day work trips that include flights, but I think there’s more of those in the future with this job, such as Sacramento in a couple weeks. Everyone knows how crappy LA traffic is. I think it’s both funny & sad that my flight durations between BUR and OAK were pretty much the same as my normal commute between Hollywood and Santa Monica (12 freakin’ miles!!!!).

One of the definite perks of this trip was that I finally got to meet & have dinner at a Laotian restaurant with Jenn (grilledcheese)! Yay, my first IRL Tumblr friend and my first time having Laotian food! :)

18mr: Okay this is pretty much perfect. Happy Friday!

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:09:44 -0700

18mr:

Okay this is pretty much perfect. Happy Friday!

HOW I LOVE HER <3

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:25:15 -0700

HOW I LOVE HER <3

6 Tips on How to Avoid Being Screwed by a Non-Profit by Jade(d)

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:49:00 -0700

6 Tips on How to Avoid Being Screwed by a Non-Profit by Jade(d):

This is really good information, though I think the tone is really cynical (especially #1). Perhaps I’m just one of the lucky ones in a small intermediary organization with decent pay (though I know I could be making more at a hospital or for-profit entity) & pretty good benefits…

Happy Mother’s Day to my awesome Mom that I love very...

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:33:01 -0700

Happy Mother’s Day to my awesome Mom that I love very much!

Small glimpse into my office space. My Mom bought me a succulent...

Mon, 06 May 2013 19:30:52 -0700

Small glimpse into my office space. My Mom bought me a succulent over the weekend :)

18mr: Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: 2013 is...

Sat, 04 May 2013 22:06:10 -0700

18mr:

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: 2013 is the 250 year anniversary of Filipinos living in North America.

The village of Saint Malo, Louisiana (pictured) was settled in 1763 by Filipino sailors who deserted Spanish trading ships. It was one of several Filipino communities that existed on the Gulf Coast in the early years of the United States. Saint Malo was destroyed in the 1915 New Orleans hurricane.

Louisiana Filipino Americans served under Andrew Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans (1815) when 1500 American troops defended the city from a British force of 8000.

18mr: Asian/American Labor Leaders for May Day: Larry Itliong...

Wed, 01 May 2013 23:17:01 -0700

Cesar Chavez & Larry Itliong hold the charter of the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO, in 1966.

Pete Velasco, Larry Itliong, and Cesar Chavez at the Filipino Hall, Delano, CA, Christmas 1968.

18mr:

Asian/American Labor Leaders for May Day: Larry Itliong (1913-1977)

Larry Itliong was the president of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and led the 1965 grape strike. Later, he would go on to serve as an assistant director of the United Farm Workers under Cesar Chavez, and was instrumental to organizing Filipino American farmworkers.

This early wave of modern Filipino immigrants were known as manongs and often lived in segregated “Little Manilas” and were offered poor wages for very hard work. After the manongs voted to strike, Itliong approached Cesar Chavez, asking the National Farm Workers Association members not to cross their strike lines. Chavez and the NFWA agreed, forging an alliance that would lead to the United Farm Workers’ formation in 1966.

Itliong was born Oct. 25, 1913, immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1929. He passed away at the age of 63 in 1977.

Read a great profile of Itliong’s son, and his work to have his father remembered in the New York Times.

Filipino Hall photo from the Walter P. Reuther Library’s digital archive.

Isang Bagsak

brofiling: white privilege radically changes the appearance of...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:00:51 -0700

brofiling:

white privilege radically changes the appearance of Tsarnaev bros

This is how brofiling actually works in real life. The Week Magazine ran with this image as their cover sketch.

Just so it is said, clearly and unambiguously: the Tsarnaev brothers are white guys. They are white. The FBI’s own wanted poster for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lists his race as “white”, but you would never know it from the cover image on The Week.

Hold up the cover to someone else, and ask them how many white people they can see on the cover. Chances are they will identify Gabby Giffords on the top left and the image of the Boston policemen (all white men) on the top right, but how about those two guys in the center? Nope, not a chance that anyone would say these caricatures look white.

Why? Because in addition to being white they are also “Muslim”, which is the current dehumanizing “Other” that whiteness has constructed as a sanctioned target for violence in US popular culture.

This is how white privilege works in media representations and everyday life: when the criminal suspects are demonstrably white men, seize upon any aspect of difference and magnify it such that they become Othered, non-white, and menacing. If it is too hard to do so, simply dismiss them as aberrations and isolated cases of insanity. This is also how white culture, specifically the process of whiteness in conjunction with white privilege, portrays several non-white identities, including those that are now considered white but at one time were decidedly not so. For example, see here for how the Irish were depicted as violent apes or lazy drunks in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Random Thoughts 4/25/13:

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:51:57 -0700

I’m not sure if it’s the stress of work & commuting, but I’ve been easily annoyed lately (more than usual). I think I need to make a conscious effort to find balance & peace in my life.
Related: Sometimes my passion for social justice issues takes a toll on my sanity. I can get super riled up over a particular issue that I feel consumed, angry, and bothered (see: Angry Asian Man). One of my best friends, Betty (who is even more passionate about these issues), always tells me that taking a “break” every once in a while is necessary. I should probably stop checking Twitter, social justice-based blogs/sites, and news sites as the first thing I do in the morning & the last thing I do at night.
Higher education is so important and is a huge component to shaping an individual’s worldview and critical thinking skills. If you have the means/opportunity to pursue higher education, do not take that for granted!!!

think-progress: The women’s magazine we really need vs. the one...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:09:41 -0700

think-progress:

The women’s magazine we really need vs. the one we get.

I’m starting my 4th week at my new job, so I think it’s time to give a little update. So...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:57:18 -0700

I’m starting my 4th week at my new job, so I think it’s time to give a little update.

So far, I really like my job. I’ve been wanting a policy job where I actually learn about legislation and advocate for the public good, so I think the position I have now is an ideal position for me to get the experience I’ve been seeking. One of the many challenging aspects of working with public policy is that everything is fast-paced and can change from the beginning of the workday until the end. My job specifically deals with Health Policy, advocating on behalf of children. Our country is in a very unique place when it comes to public health, especially with the Affordable Care Act set to begin at the beginning of 2014. I’m constantly reading, researching, and writing. It honestly feels like homework sometimes, but I’m getting paid to do it. Speaking of pay, I got my first paycheck & to be honest, my first thought was “where’s the rest of it?” haha. Okay, my pay isn’t bad and I know I’m blessed to even have a job to begin with. The commute between Hollywood & Santa Monica is really bad. Getting home in less than an hour is considered a “really good commute” for me…and it’s only ~12 miles. But again, at least I have a job and especially in the field I intend on pursuing a career in.

I’m still trying to transition and get used to working from an office from 9-6. I used to be able to see Norman pretty much anytime I wanted to, but now it has become more difficult. I now have two jobs, while Norman has 3. We are lucky if we get to see each other once or twice a week, even just for a couple hours. It’s hard (for me, at least), but I always keep reminding myself that we’re both trying to pursue our individual dreams and aspirations of working in public policy/nonprofit administration and the film industry.

Anyway, I just spent all this time writing about work. I should probably take advantage of feeling very awake at 9PM and do something fun and exciting…but I’ll probably just watch Netflix :)

Congrats, @mjuloya & @laarle! #mikeheartarle (at Saint...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:37:18 -0700

Congrats, @mjuloya & @laarle! #mikeheartarle (at Saint Denis Catholic Church)