So, I've been a dual citizen for almost a week now (It was made official on Friday), which means that I can stay in the Philippines for up to a year, rather than only three months at a time with my American passport. Hell, I could probably work there now. Or maybe go to school. I don't know. My mother is probably going to spend half a year at a time there, now that she can; we've got a condo in Eastwood, a carehome in Sunnyvale, a house in Daly City, two farms, and two passports [each], so she's pretty much ready to roll son.
Then I came across this link - ironically, I was reblogging about the crab mentality - which I hate - when I found this fun clip instead (20 Reasons Why Two White Dudes Walter and Jeff Love The Philippines). I decided to come up with my own reasons, but as I am a Libra and need balance, I made two lists: ten things each of what I like and don't like about my birth country, the Philippines. And true to my Libra self, they're often mirror images of each other. I may expound on them further; we'll see.
10 Things I Like About The Philippines
1. Food 2. Fresh and/or Convenient Everything 3. Island Hopping 4. Family 5. Getting Shit Done 6. It's Inexpensive 7. Instant International Support System 8. Drinking 9. Manila 10. Stargazing/Fun Times in the Bukid
10 Things I Don't Like About The Philippines
1. I'm Usually The Fattest Person There 2. Lack of Environmental Friendliness 3. Traffic 4. Family 5. Not Getting Shit Done 6. Sweatshops 7. Crab Mentality & Cronyism 8. Sexism 9. Manila 10. Snakes, Mosquitoes & Other Scary & Annoying Organisms
So lately my friends and I have been trying to come up with analogues to San Francisco and various cities (mainly New York). Then, idly, I thought: What parts of San Francisco can correspond to parts of Paris? Of course, every town is different, so one will never completely and perfectly overlap with another. But San Francisco is always being called the most "European" city in America America meaning, of course, the most the U.S.; the residents of Buenos Aires, however, would probably argue with me over that claim and often, indeed, "The Paris of the West." Does this hold up? Having spent time around both cities, there are parallels but each city is near and dear to my heart for different reasons. Still, here's some matches I tried to make. Also, do note that Paris and San Francisco are sister cities.
The analogues are listed by Parisian arrondissement (and neighbourhood/landmark, if necessary) and San Francisco neighbourhood/landmark (or other Bay Area communities as needed)
This is definitely a work in progress.
1e - Downtown - Chatelet - 5th and Market (SF Shopping Centre/Westfield, Powell Station, Cable Car Turnaround)
2e - Geary Street + Civic Center - Pyramides - Japantown - Opera - Theatre District + Civic Center - Palais Garnier - War Memorial Opera House
3e -
4e - The Mission/Castro, but with a little bit of the Civic Center - Le Marais (Jewish part): Mission - Le Marais (Gay part): Castro - Notre Dame - Mission Dolores - Hotel de Ville - City Hall
5e - Berkeley (not in SF, yes, but much more suited to St. Germain/the Latin Quarter than Anza Vista/USF) - Sorbonne - UC Berkeley
6e -
7e (I went to school here!) - - Eiffel Tower - Golden Gate Bridge - Champ de Mars - Alamo Square (which is nowhere near the Golden Gate, but they are analogous for the postcard-pic factor)
8e - Downtown - Boulevard des Champs-Elysees - Market Street
12e - Hayes Valley - Opera Bastille - Davies Symphony Hall
13e - Chinatown/the Sunset - Les Olympiades - the Sunset (except Les Olympiades rises up where the Sunset spreads out)
14e - Haight-Ashbury - Montparnasse - Haight-Ashbury
15e - Dogpatch/Potrero/SoMa - Javel - industrial parts of SF (Dogpatch, Potrero, SoMa)
16e (I lived here!!) - Pacific Heights/Nob Hill - Auteuil (more densely populated with homes) - Nob Hill - Passy (mansions) - Pacific Heights - Bois de Boulogne - Golden Gate Park (even if Pac Heights is nowhere near GGP)
17e - Seacliff (quieter and lesser-known than the 16th but still rich)
18e - North Beach + Fisherman's Wharf + the Tenderloin - Montmartre - North Beach-Fisherman's Wharf - Pigalle - the Tenderloin + 6th st (red light district) - Goutte D'Or - the Tenderloin (large concentration of working-class immigrants) - Boulevard de Clichy - Broadway (through North Beach, i.e. the part with the strip clubs)
19e
20e - Colma (what? SF has no cemeteries within city limits lol)
Neuilly-sur-Seine - Marin La Defense - Financial District Seine-Saint-Denis - Bayview/Hunters Point
Today is the eighteenth anniversary of my arrival in the United States. If my American experience were a person, she'd be a full adult today! :D And indeed, I'm finally beginning to feel like an American adult. I'm stuck here now, I've got a job (again - the Census Bureau called me up for the second phase on Saturday), and I can do all the things most adult Americans do (except run for president).
America has been good to me, even though there are some horrible things about it: the job market, the war, the imperialistic past and present, racism, how the entire world hates on you when you're overseas... Still, it's offered a home and a good life for my mother and me even though she never even wanted to go to America before the divorce, a decent education (yay for graduating before Cal Grants were cut!) and a passport that will take you almost anywhere in the world without the rest of that bureaucratic red tape (example: going to Japan as a Filipino, even for like a day, results in reams of paperwork; this might have more to do with illegal immigration and Japanese xenophobia more than anything, though). Oh, and as said before, I have a government job again (but only for a few weeks). Whatever gets me through the month, I guess.
I honestly liked growing up American - before September 11 and the war and the entire Bush administration I was proud, happy and grateful for the chance to have come here. I still am happy and grateful to have reached America, but the war (and just growing up in general) has made me a little cynical about this country. The stereotype of America as the fat, blond, hostile, arrogant cowboy the cute chibi from Hetalia notwithstanding sort of makes me hate being from America, but compared to the average Philippine experience I can hardly complain. I guess it's up to me to prove the stereotypes wrong - whether conversing with foreigners or fellow residents - and show what a real American woman is nervy, brunette, only slightly overweight, gracious and polite, belligerent only when directly provoked and/or cut off on the freeway
I guess I was always a bit of an outsider, wherever I was... but now I feel comfortable that way. You might not realize it, but everyone feels like an outsider on some level, especially when you're growing up." - Utada Hikaru
Was reading an interview with Utada on aramatheydidnt and these words just spoke to me, because I was always the outsider myself. Too Filipino for my American friends, too American for my Filipino family, too different from my Filipino-American friends... unfortunately, although I understand and feel Utada's words, my Daly City upbringing wasn't as exciting as her Tokyo-New York childhood.
I especially felt that awkwardness during this vacation, with Adriaan as an added external factor - as the mediator between him and my family (my world, more like) I felt a lot more Filipino than I used to, especially as I had to explain everything about the Philippines to him (not that the one-month vacation was enough). I also used my native dialect more, and even began to ease back into Tagalog. But after he'd left, it was so much more apparent to me how awkward and in-between I am, pinging between cultures, vacillating between jet-setting and provincial, and speaking this bastardised jumble of Tagalog, Kapampangan and English with bits of French, Spanish, and Italian (and Japanese mixed in for my Arashi-obsessed nieces).
But you know what? I like being this mixed up. Sometimes I wish I was more mixed up, actually - I would love to have had a crazy, globetrotting existence (well, more than I already do now). And considering the history of the Philippines itself, I think the Filipino people fit this extremely international/multicultural life better than anyone else in the world. (Just ask the Filipino janitors in Antarctica.)
Just something for me to ponder as I leave one home for another... and shiver in anticipation for the Utada concert next week!!!!
It's midnight in the Philippines! Church bells are ringing all over the Islands (and all over our part of Asia) as we welcome the anniversary of Christ's birth.
Am listening to Josh Groban's "O Holy Night" (my favourite version) as my cousin Mayeth is doing my hair - I'm slated to sing La Cantique de Noel (aka O Holy Night) in about four and a half hours... and I'm getting over a cold. Wish me luck.
I've been in Hong Kong for the past few days, and I'm leaving in about twelve hours. I'm writing this from the hotel lobby's computer terminal (it's about 2:32 AM lol) and I just had to say that I'm kind of sad to go. Adriaan (who was partly raised here) was right; you can live here your entire life and never run out of things to do. This is so far the only city that has tired me out this much (four nights out of five I fell asleep before midnight, and I'm a night owl) and I enjoyed almost every minute of it (even though I got a bit snappish when my feet hurt/I got dehydrated from walking around so much). Oh, and we also went to Macau (the Venetian and the part of town around St. Paul's) - I can cross those off my "Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers" location list XDDDDDD
I really don't know why I'm still awake, especially as I've been so tired at night these past few days, but I just felt like checking in haha.
After one lovely flight (Adriaan and I got one row away from business class because we were so early and he is so tall) I am now in Hong Kong. The ride to HK Station from the airport was beautiful, and the airport has been voted Best Airport several times since it opened. I'm in quite a nice area - right on the edge of nightlife and shopping. Adriaan and I have already checked out Wan Chai, which is the part of the nightlife area on the Island, and will soon be going down to see the races at Happy Valley Racecourse, which is down the street from us. In fact, our (23rd story) room overlooks the course, as well as a lovely Catholic cemetery. Right now we are on the fifth floor of our hotel, which has a patio enclosed by a bamboo fence and rattan furniture. The air is balmy, and just right now that we've stopped walking :D I've been up all day, but HK just has so much energy - tonight, just on our block, the weekly races are on; traffic is bustling on Queen's Road East and Wong Nai through the tunnel; and across the street at Queen Elizabeth Stadium the East Asian Games are going on (I've been seeing a lot of athletes go in and out of our hotel, in addition to the normal swanky looking tourists) - so I don't want to crash just yet.
in the NAIA Centennial Terminal for four hours because my mom and Uncle Jun have to get out of Metro Manila before coding hours start (and today's our unlucky day). I love travel and I love sunrises and I love airports and I love that I'm going to Hong Kong and I love that I have free Wi-Fi AND a place to plug in but I HATE GETTING UP EARLY.
I'm in the Philippines!!! I've been here since the third (left America on the first and landed at 3:30 AM Thursday). This is quite an interesting trip because I'm finally taking someone who's not related - my friend Adriaan from college (dude in the pic) is here with us for a month before he goes to Thailand for his TESOL certificate.
So far it's been pretty chill - we went to SM for two straight days, I relaxed at home a lot, and got to hang with family again. They're pretty amused by how game Adriaan is with everything - he isn't picky for the most part, so he's just been trying everything and seeing a lot of the sights (although we were a little freaked when he went walking without a cellphone for an hour lol). I'm still concerned about their true thoughts about him, though - everyone's been saying he's at the mercy of my grandmother and her razor-sharp wit XD and there's always the novelty of having a white guy around. Tongues must be wagging about me/him >_<
I got a new nephew and two new nieces/goddaughters, with another on the way, so I've just been playing with the kids. I feel soooo domestic lol. Carlos is so cheery (and heavy aaaargh) while Lian and Vikki are adorable, although the poor girls have got their share of health problems. As Vikki is Mayeth's daughter, I've been looking after her most. Yeth and I have a running joke that Vikki took after me (skin problems, can't live without aircon, always wanting to go out) because I'm her best friend LOL.
Also, this sounds totally dorky of me but I'm so excited to be in the Philippines for the last week of "Lovers in Paris" (although I'll be in Hong Kong the last three days...) XD
This week we'll be jetting off to Hong Kong for five days, so look out for more updates soon!
Found this clip while randomly looking at the typhoon footage and it reminded me of when I was little. I lived on Piy Margall, a street that runs straight into UST, and this part of Manila floods easy. Our block had raised sidewalks... that the floods still reached the top of. I was four when I moved to America, so every flood looked epic to me when I lived in Sampaloc - my feet wouldn't even have reached the ground if I ever dared to wade through the water, wee little thing that I was. Now, I'm twenty-two, and know the scope of the (unprecedented) damage that this typhoon has caused - and it is truly epic.
But the best thing about this clip is at the end; now I know that it isn't proper to make light of the storm, but the ending is priceless. The water is waist-deep, the damage catastrophic, and the storm victims... begin singing "Nobody."
Gotta love the indomitable Filipino spirit.
This couldn't have come at a better time, because the song has been on infinite loop in my head for the entire month of October thus far.
Just watched "Lovers in Paris" starring KC Concepcion (AUP '07, woot woot). Ordinarily I hate Filipino soap operas (too cheesy and melodramatic, or at least more so than is tolerable for my taste in Asian dramas) but of course this one interests me because of its setting- Paris! I haven't watched the Korean version, even though they showed it (dubbed) on TFC, but I think I might watch this one. My mother is always hooked on her telenovelas, but especially this one because it's (1) Paris and (2) Sharon Cuneta's daughter XD. Thus, she made me watch it and as cheesy as it is, I enjoyed it, especially observing the little quirks.
First, the movie little Vivian is watching is "Sabrina," starring Audrey Hepburn - one of my favourite actresses and one of my favourite films, especially in the "American in Paris" genre. (My favourite of the "American in Paris" films is, of course, "Funny Face," because of the fashion, the dancing, the singing and the protagonist, named Jo.) Next, watching KC playing a poor girl is mildly amusing (if you're into Asian dramas/manga, she is much more of the Shizuka Todo type: rich, beautiful, lives in Paris). Also, it's fun trying to figure out where they shot - of course the Eiffel Tower is a main focus, not only because it's probably the only thing most Filipinos can identify about Paris, but also because KC went to AUP... down the street from the Eiffel Tower :D The stock characters are way too obvious, but that's part of the fun. The subtitles are all right, even though they don't always match (I think it's for convenience's sake). Sadly, I tried avoiding the subtitles and my French listening comprehension has gone WAY down since I left T_T The awesome part, though, is that Vivian is a Manilena, born of a Kapampangan mother... just like me ^_______________^ My mom and I were laughing at the random Kapampangan interspersed between the Tagalog, English and French.
... Yeah, I think I just got sucked into a telenovela. But as my main extracurricular activity in Paris was acting, I'm happy to support a fellow performer; KC was also part of White Mask when she studied at AUP :)
BUT, ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE: my birthplace, Manila, is underwater from the tropical storm. Please do what you can to help... the death toll is rising and apparently the physical damage is worse than Katrina. Considering the quality of life in the Philippines, this is much, much worse than Katrina; The people are much poorer and the city will probably take longer to recover.
This has nothing to do with traveling, but I've been sucked headfirst into the world of Japanese television for the past year and a half, and so I wanted to share that in a way that wouldn't be embarrassing (because I usually am about my fangirling). And just in time for the end of my favourite J-actor's birthday, I present thirteen of my favourite Matsujun moments. There were a lot, but I narrowed it down by a. which ones stuck out the most to me b. what represented him most and c. whether or not I could find the clips online XD
The Best of Jun Matsumoto (in no particular order)
1 Yabai Yabai Yabai
Matsujun's solo from "Time," Arashi's 2007 album. This solo marks the birth of the (in?)famous "MJ Walk," in which Jun, suspended by wires, walks upside down on a beam high above the stage in Tokyo Dome (after giving the illusion that he is walking on invisible stairs). Then he drops down a hundred feet, bounces back up and flies around for another minute and a half before touching down onstage and breaking into his song and dance, which includes another famous MJ Walk - namely, the moonwalk. Jun is often compared to Michael Jackson, either lovingly or mockingly, and this performance (among others, especially after Jackson's death) shows that he is definitely in on the joke.
2 Sirius
A song from "Dream A Live," Arashi's 2008 album. A sweet ballad, it is also probably Jun's best vocal performance. To those who say he can't sing, I rebut that he is capable of expelling air from his lungs and through his larynx in the form of tones and words (and thus he is technically able to "sing") and hold this as an example.
... but this is pretty much all I've got.
3 Jun meets Janet
Janet Jackson's appearance on Utawara, a show that Jun used to cohost. Being a huge fan of Michael Jackson, it would make sense that he's a huge fan of MJ's imouto. I love this because it shows that even Jun is capable of fangirling (and fangirl he does, especially after Miss Jackson tells him his eyes look like her nephew's). I'm a huge Jacksons fan so it's awesome that someone I fangirl over regularly has something in common with me.
Throughout their career, Arashi has taken care of animals, senior citizens, the environment, and children (among other things). Jun is famous for being short-tempered... so what does an idol do when he's faced with annoying children and a camera in his face? He's got a reputation to uphold, you know.
Also, I will never not laugh when he gets hit by the ball. There's a longer version where he gets kicked in the face by a little girl, but I can't find it anymore.
5 Jun vs Jin
Jun has a very, very, very sharp tongue, and is one of the more formidable products of the boyband factory Johnny's. One of his favourite targets is his junior (and alleged drinking buddy), Jin "Bakanishi" Akanishi. These two always go head-to-head in popularity polls and it's fun to see Jun dig his perfectly manicured claws into poor Jin.
I'm Team Jun all the way, and I think he won all three rounds.
6 Jun's perfect body
A beautiful figure rising out of the sea; very "Birth of Venus" (or Baywatch, even if Jun's too scrawny to run with Hasselhoff and company). Jun really, really loves the sea - he apparently surfs - and it shows in his lean dancer/swimmer's body. He might be a bit too skinny for Western standards, but I covet his lanky figure. Also, Sho and Ohno choking on their own tongues trying to pronounce "perfect body" is hilarious.
7 Kaze no mukou e (Music Station)
Being Johnnys, Arashi are regular guests on the Japanese program "Music Station" (three guesses as to what the show's about). Their performances on this show are pre-taped, beautifully staged and professionally done (both on the part of Arashi and the show editors) but the boys can't help but have a little fun with the performance. The best part at 1:35-1:45 - pure Jun, given his diva reputation.
8 M no Arashi
A segment in "D no Arashi," one of Arashi's old shows, in which the goal is to get Jun to yell "mendokusai" ("bothersome"). Here, each member harrasses Jun at a concert by forcing him to do tasks. Nothing's particularly strenuous or embarrassing, but the point is to annoy the crap out of Jun because he's the baby of the group and they love him in a twisted way (especially Nino, that little brat).
9 Ideal bad boy
A guest on "Arashi no Shukudai-kun" is asked to provide her ideal guy, and she says "an irritated, wild, white-shirted guy"... which makes up about 80% of all the roles following the name "Jun Matsumoto" in a Japanese film or TV show. (Even when he's playing himself.) But for most J-pop-culture fans, it all boils down to one word: Domyouji.
10 Singing in different styles
Masaki Aiba, one of Jun's bandmates, has a knack for creating hilariously stupid and stupidly hilarious games (a lot of which actually resemble acting or voice exercises that I've done). Here, the object of the game is to sing a mundane Japanese phrase (anything from "I'm sorry" to the narration of a soccer game) in a given style. Jun sings the news operatically at 1:50-2:30, proving that he actually has decent power and pitch if he'd stop being so damned nasal in songs.
But then again, he is in a boyband.
11 A.Ra.Shi with blindfolds
Arashi's very first song, which they have performed for ten years under every circumstance from charity telethons to sold-out audiences at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium. They could do this blindfolded... and that is exactly what they do. I'm sure Jun knows it just as well if not better than the others, but his headphones kept playing the song even when everyone else's were delayed. Whether that was intentional or not, it caused him to stick out painfully (and hilariously).
Also, for you old school fans, the boys wore their infamous see-through plastic suits for this song at Kokuritsu. Because there's no better way to spend Matsujun's birthday than singing and dancing A.Ra.Shi in the same see-through plastic suits worn for the official debut. During a storm.
12 Storm on the Seven Seas of Rhye
Another vintage Arashi show, "G no Arashi," in which the boys take on all sorts of high jinks. Here, they create an "air band" - instead of jamming to just air guitar like most people, they add air keyboards, air drums, and a lipsyncing Freddie Mercury (the perennially funny Satoshi Ohno) and proceed to perform - costumes, lights and all - in front of an audience.
Can I just add that Jun shredding on Brian May's blistering solos is really, really sexy? Even with the tragic Domyouji outfit (permed hair, leather pants, leopard-print coat and no shirt) and an imaginary guitar.
This clip disabled embedding, but it's worth checking out because it
begins with Matsujun's "audition" - love his O guitar
This was the role that endeared me to Jun; although everyone who watches Gokusen (and ends up a Jun fan) crushes on him, I didn't really fall for him till watching this show. I've been trained in dance since the age of seven, so Momo's dance scenes always strike a special place in my heart. Also, he's adorable as Momo - who wouldn't want those beautiful puppy-dog eyes staring at them all the time? - and the marked difference between Momo and Takeshi attests to Jun's potential as an actor (he was nineteen when he did this, and it was his second real lead role).
Being that he is a dancer, his sometimes unnerving thinness actually works to his advantage here - he is ethereal and beautiful as Perseus, and his angular body is suited to modern dance. As is my own less-than-angular body, which is why modern dance is AWESOME.
Bonus: Smile episode 1 - Vito's arrest
Embedding is disabled here, but I wanted to stick this in at the end to give a different side of Jun - some people didn't like his performance as Vito, especially with all the crying involved, but I thought he did really well, and I am proud that he took on the role of a Filipino guy (one of us!!) and had the balls to appear in a show that faced the issue of Japanese racism head-on even when he is one of the most heavily marketed faces of modern Japan himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoDgfyIwv4g
I am watching the funeral procession for Corazon Aquino, the former president of the Philippines. They are alternating between shots of Makati, EDSA, and Manila Cathedral. The Cathedral, to which the procession has yet to arrive, is empty, in stark contrast to the thousands of people that line the streets of Makati. This is one of those events that I would've liked to be a personal witness at - you can feel the spirit of the people through the screen, even from half a world away.
I wasn't old enough to "know" Cory the way Filipino adults do - indeed, I was born during her administration - but I have much, much respect for her. For the non-Filipinos reading this (and the Filipinos who just need to revisit their histories), she was the first female president of the Philippines. Her term ran from 1986, when Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown by the People Power movement, to 1992, the year that I left for America (I was born in 1987, a year into her term). The dates are just for reference; while I may not play a part in Philippine history, hey, you're reading my blog. XD Anyway, she was renowned worldwide as an icon of democracy and truly loved in the Philippines as a mother of sorts for the country. She had immense humility, always considering herself a simple housewife who just wanted to further her dead husband's wishes for the country's freedom. Funnily enough, even with my Philippine birth and all her publicity in the late 80s and throughout the 90s, my first memory of Cory is from a Women's History Month presentation in elementary school. I think they chose her because she was an important female political figure, but in retrospect it's a lot more special because I grew up in Daly City and thus my school was about 80% Filipino. I feel honoured to know that such an important modern historical figure was one of us.
While I may have a tenuous connection to Cory, only knowing her through textbooks and news programs and her annoyingly ubiquitous and high-voiced daughter Kris I will always admire her. She did the best she could in the times that she had; she had to deal with seven coup attempts, a massive earthquake, a volcano going off, the deadliest typhoon in Philippine history and a vast deficit left by her predecessor, who spirited the money away in untouchable Swiss banks. Even though she couldn't completely pull the Philippines out of third world status (if it wasn't Third World by the time she was in office, it would get there soon enough anyway, to no fault of her own), she still did quite a bit for her country. For her work she got thirteen honorary degrees, armfuls of awards, was Time's 1986 (wo)Man of the Year, and just narrowly missed getting a Nobel Peace Prize. She was a brilliant orator and a courageous person. A devoted wife (seriously, running for president in your dead husband's memory) and good mother (no matter how annoying you find Kris), she was a world-class leader, and an inspiration to Filipino women everywhere.
Oh, and she had a degree in French. I would've liked to have talked with her, from the standpoint of both a sociologist and a Filipino woman. She would be full of fascinating stories and insights, I think, and our conversations would have been interesting both in the subject matter and the languages used. We would've been able to understand each other in four languages: Tagalog, English, French, and our regional dialect, Kapampangan.
... I would've been most interested in the French and Kapampangan.
As I speak, the World's Fair is happening at AUP. I wish I could be there - it's fifty bajillion times better than any other school's multicultural fair because of all the nationalities there (about 100 in all), all displaying their culture's food, music and alcohol. It's about 4 PM in Paris, so people are probably pretty buzzed and slowly making their way to get totally wasted under the Eiffel Tower. Good times.
I should probably be going to sleep now because I have to get up at 6 AM, but for some reason I felt compelled to look through my Europe pictures (probably because I was looking at some EAP stuff). While I flipped through them I noticed that over there I looked and felt my best - I lost weight like nobody's business, and even though I had a bit of a skin problem I felt beautiful and chic and was having the time of my freaking life. I want that back. This is why I want an international job - I want to just comb the world for God knows what reason and take it all in, doing as much with my life as I can. I just don't know what to do. But I love traveling and playing at global citizenship... Santa Barbara is much too boring for me (and the public transportation SUCKS). Of course there are little joys here and there - for example, I had a gospel choir concert earlier and was having so much fun just screaming my lungs out for the Lord - but in the four years I've been here I've always had that misfit feeling.
I'm a big city person (especially a big European city person) and a traveller, so UCSB feels kind of like a bubble - two hours to the nearest big city (which I don't even like) and its own little self-contained environment. Some people love it here, and while the beach is nice, there's only so much you can do here. I'm dying to get out, but I know that once I get out of here my future is really, really, really uncertain. My bachelor's degrees can't really do anything by themselves without graduate school, so I'm going to be working crap jobs for a while... I was so lucky to have had that experience last year and I wish I could keep it going. But how long would it be till I got tired of travelling? Maybe it's better that I had that brief glorious time when I was twenty... although I would love to go back and do another proper Grand Tour (you know, one including Italy and longer than TWO WEEKS) before turning twenty-five because of all the sweet deals you get in Europe. And before the Real World leaves me too jaded. It'd be nice to go back to Europe in a headspace somewhere between the naive twenty-year-old I was then and the cynical, bitter late-twentysomething I am destined to be; old enough to know better but young enough to enjoy.
Every time the subject of me going to AUP came up in a conversation with anyone Filipino (well, besides Fil-Am kids) the words "KC Concepcion" were, without fail and without exception, involved. Doing a random google search (for Filipino wedding gowns, of all things) I accidentally came across her blog. It's interesting to read her thoughts, especially as she posts so unreservedly (and in a mixture of Tagalog-English-French) on the site - she truly is just another Filipino girl in Paris. And it's funny to think that I went through a lot of the same things (for example, she posts about World's Fair, an AUP tradition that is basically your school's Multicultural Night on crack). I think she's awesome - she's beautiful, famous, somewhat intelligent, humble, RICH and globetrotting to the max - and I kind of get the feeling that she is the girl I was supposed to be.
(Although Sharon ain't got nothing on my mama. No one can outdo my mama. LOVE YA MOM.)
Well, for those of you who know me in Real Life I am obviously not in Paris anymore, but I've been thinking of continuing to document my travels. I am now sitting in the Rose Reading Room of the New York Public Library (the one with the lions, and the one from "Breakfast at Tiffanys" - or that very crucial plot point in "Sex and the City" for all you girls. LOL. This is such an epic library - it is like a museum and library smushed together and OMG WALL OF BOOKS. Love it. I've always wanted a library like this one.
The library is closing in a few minutes so I'll sign out now. More to come later.
Happy Mother's Day! This post is dedicated to mothers.
So those of you who know me personally know that I have a somewhat twisted sense of humour... which means, among other things, that I go around telling Yo Mama jokes on Mother's Day.
- Yo mama's so fat when she gets on the scale it says to be continued. - Yo mama's so fat she's got her own area code! - Yo mama's so fat she's on both sides of the family! - Yo mama's so fat that when she sits around the house she sits AROUND THE HOUSE. - Yo mama's so fat she fell in love and broke it! - Yo mama's so skinny, she turned sideways and disappeared. - Yo mama's so skinny, instead of calling her your parent, you call her transparent. - Yo mama's so skinny, she only has one stripe on her pajamas. - Yo mama's so skinny, she has to run around in the shower to get wet. - Yo mama's so old her social security number is 1! - Yo mama's so old that when she was in school there was no history class. - Yo mama's so old that she was alive when the Dead Sea was only sick. - Yo mama's so old, she knew Mr. Clean when he had an afro. - Yo mama's so old, she has an autographed bible. - Yo mama's so stupid, she put lipstick on her forehead because she wanted to makeup her mind. - Yo mama's so stupid, she climbed over a glass wall to see what was behind it. - Yo mama's so stupid, she took the Pepsi challenge and chose Jif. - Yo mama's so stupid, she thinks socialism means partying! - Yo mama's so stupid, she ordered her sushi well done.
And when I have children I am sure they'll say this: - Yo mama's glasses are so thick she can see into the future. - Yo mama's glasses are so thick that when she looks at a map she sees people waving at her. - Yo mama's so short, she be jumping off curbs talkin' bout "Weeee!" - Yo mama's so short, her homies are the Keebler Elfs. * and maybe the Yo Mama So Fat ones too. We'll see.
And if I decide to live in Europe... - Yo mama's so poor she can't afford the O or the R. - Yo mama's so poor when I ring the doorbell she says,"DING!" - Yo mama's so poor she can't pay attention.
But more importantly, I recorded a solo for my mom just for kicks. This is one of the solos I didn't get in "A Chorus Line" because they switched my role out (and I didn't get any solos, ha ha).
5 Things found in my bag 1. Homework 2. Usually my laptop 3. Water bottle (all this running around Paname will make you thirsty, and they have NO water fountains anywhere) 4. Highlighters 5. Plus all the stuff you would find in my purse (I carry my life around with me. Literally.)
5 Things found in my purse
1. Keys 2. Cell Phone (this and "keys" are always the first two things on my checklist when I pack for anything) 3. Wallet 4. Moleskine (I love this book so much) 5. Digital Camera (because this is PARIS, for God's sake; there are a million things going on at any given time.)
5 Favourite things in my room
1. My giant sacred heart pendant (which my aunt Ruth bought in Paris seventeen years ago) 2. My malong (which has travelled the world with me, which will continue to travel the world with me, and in which I plan to be buried, according to Southern Filipino tradition.) 3. The giant print of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, which was put there by my host sister Marlene 4. The view (it just looks out onto a courtyard with nondescript buildings around it, but the fact that this courtyard is in PARIS makes up for the boring view.) 5. Nick (I mean, really. If you know me, I don't have to explain this at ALL.)
5 Things I always wanted to do
1. Go to Paris (and I'm heeeeeeeeeeeeeere!) 2. Dance competently en pointe. (I did one dance en pointe when I was seventeen, which links to the sub-wish that I had started ballet earlier. If I had, perhaps I might be able to do fouettes en pointe now... or be able to do fouettes period.) 3. Bartend. Not only do you make friends over alcohol, but it is good training for a psychologist (the listening, not the drinking). 4. Meet a celebrity that I liked (so far I've been lucky with Josh Groban, Andy Samberg, Orange and Lemons, and Carine Roitfeld. I'm still holding out for Nick Carter, though - it would be such a laugh to see him now after all those years of adolescent crushing. While I am not madly in love with him anymore, he will always hold a special place in my heart.) 5. Pretend to live a glamorous and luxurious life, like I like to do now, but NOT HAVE TO PRETEND.
5 Things I am currently into
1. Japanese television, especially the series "Nodame Cantabile" 2. Fashion (haute couture as always - especially since my friend Shanna and I bummed around during Fashion Week here - but especially the awesomeness that is H&M because it is all that I can afford) 3. Camille Dalmais (a French singer who goes just by "Camille"; I did a report in French class on her, and as she has just released a new (and BRILLIANT) album she is very in right now. I actually got to meet her 4. Hermes (which is linked to the first two things on this list) 5. Travelling the world and butchering everyone's language (so far I've slaughtered Dutch, Czech, German, Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog and Kapampangan.)
Sitting in a park in Paris, France Reading the news and it sure looks bad They won't give peace a chance That was just a dream some of us had Still a lot of lands to see But I wouldn't want to stay here It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here
Oh, but California California I'm coming home I'm going to see the folks I dig I'll even kiss a sunset pig California I'm coming home
- Joni Mitchell, "California"
According to Wikipedia, UC Santa Barbara is:
- Holder of he #2 best school psych program in America as of Winter 2007, the quarter when it was obvious I would have to change out of the psych major - The approximate location of the Hellmouth - Ranked 94% selective, on a scale of 1 to 99, by the U.S. World and News Report - The only university in California to offer an undergrad degree in Pharmacology - Home to six Nobel Laureates (although any good tour guide will tell you that right off the bat, lest you think your precious darling is going to a good-for-nothing party school) - The fourth most selective UC in admissions in 2005, the year I got accepted (I'm guessing the other three were Berkeley, which rejected me, LA, which I refused to apply to, and Davis, which accepted me) - Third in applications to the UC system, behind LA and SD (neither of which I ever wanted to attend) - Giver of Pell Grants to 25% of the student body (including my own lucky self) - The 35th university worldwide (and the 27th in the United States) in the 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities - One of sixty American members (including Canada, sixty-two in all) of the Association of American Universities - 44th best university (13th public, fifth UC - behind Berkeley (DUH), LA, San Diego and Davis) in America, according to US World and News Report in spring of 2008 - The #4 party school in the nation as of 2005, the year I entered - The #10 party school in the nation as of 2007, and tied with the #3 party school (University of Austin) for highest-ranking party school (#44) according to US World and News Report - Home to the only Freebirds outside of Texas besides Norman, Oklahoma (the newest branch), the first of the chain, and founded the year I was born - Probably the only school whose mascot is named for Argentinean cowboys (which, coincidentally, lend their name to a style of pant popular with its female students) - Second only to UC Berkeley (those hippies) in antiwar activity during the Vietnam years - Associated with (although not located in) a city which is a sister city to where I was born - Site of the first Kinko's (well, kind of - it's in IV, right at the border of campus where the bike path ends) - One of a few universities in the United States with its own beach (which is why I chose it over Davis, har har). - About a mile away from the first McDonalds to serve an Egg McMuffin, the McDo version of my favourite American breakfast food (Eggs Benedict) - Going to have Nas play at Extravaganza this year (YOU BEEZIES. I LOVE NAS. Nobody stands between me and Mr. Jones.) - Now home to Santa Catalina Dorms, the off-campus halls formerly known as Francisco Torres (and affectionately as "F--- Towers") - Where I will graduate
You know, I don't feel that bad for being rejected by Berkeley a second time. I don't hate Santa Barbara as much as I used to, especially now that certain people are gone going to Berkeley would throw a wrench in my plans to graduate in 2009 with a double major ANYWAY, since they use semesters instead of quarters. Also, I can always find a place on the beach to be alone and just SING. I can't do that in Paris because the walls are so freaking thin, the music room at AUP is always reserved when I am free, and the parks are filled with tourists (or creepy people).
I love Paris (in the springtime!), and I don't want to go home yet (if ever, haha)... but I kind of do. If, for nothing else, you can eat wherever the hell you please without someone making a comment (French people look at you funny if you eat outside your house, a park, or a restaurant, even though everyone does anyway) and there's always someone to walk you home at 4 in the morning.
It's the weekEND before "A Chorus Line" opens (we begin Wednesday) and my French project is finally done (my teacher and classmates were very impressed, AS THEY SHOULD BE because I worked for about two months on this freaking project), but there's still projects in three other classes to tackle. After a couple of weeks where I was shuffled around due to some girl quitting the play, I am officially playing the role of Bebe. (Before the girl quit, I was Tara, a cut dancer who isn't even a real name - I'm serious, I looked through the script - and Vicki, a cut dancer who had some parts but is supposed to be a tall, sexy blonde...lol. After she quit, I was asked to replace her as Maggie, who has the most singing parts besides Cassie, the "main" character, and Diana, who gets the show's most famous song, "What I Did for Love".) The part of Bebe has been drastically cut down because (1) she doesn't speak much to begin with and (2) before I had been called to fill in the cast they had given Bebe's solo to someone else, and Maggie's solo to the girl who was playing Bebe at the time. The girl playing Bebe had told the directors that she had played Maggie before, and so she got the solo (and eventually the part of Maggie after the directors thought they were cutting up the role too much). I don't want to be catty, but I just wanted to point out that I already knew Maggie's part better than this girl did RIGHT OFF THE BAT... apparently my voice was "not strong enough" for Maggie, which makes me laugh (I'm sure it would make everyone who knows me from church laugh too, because they know that couldn't be farther from the truth... when I have MORE THAN ONE DAY TO REHEARSE A SONG, THANKYOVERYMUCH). My friend Ignacio (also in the play) gave me his word that everyone had been gunning for me to keep the role, but the girl playing Maggie had TOLD them that she had already played Maggie and could just step in. (However, everyone thinks she told a lie because it took her forever to learn her part.) ANYWAY. Long story short, I am now Bebe.
For the uninitiated, "A Chorus Line" is a play, originally performed in 1975 (and the longest-running Broadway show until "Cats" came along), about an audition to get into the chorus of a play. From the huge audition ("I Hope I Get It"), the director chooses eighteen (now seventeen, in our play) people to examine further before whittling down his (her, in our play) choices to four men and four women. During the play, we get to know these seventeen people and their life histories in a Tony Award-winning extravaganza of song and dance incorporating all styles from disco to rock to funk to Motown to classical to music-hall to burlesque. At the end of the play, the eight are chosen, and get their final bows before melting into the chorus line. However, the frightening thing about this is that those eight people, who have poured out their hearts and souls onstage for an hour and a half - and who become almost like old friends by the end of the play - become just eight more people in an anonymous chorus line. Despite their fascinating personalities and histories, in the end they sing, dance, act and become just like everyone else. The piece they sing, "One," is very well-known and a classic Broadway-style strut with a kick line at the end and everything.
Backstory on Bebe: Bebe Benzenheimer ("I know, I gotta change it!") is a somewhat neurotic modern dancer from Boston, Massachusetts. According to "At The Ballet," her mother told her she would be very attractive when she grew up because she would be unique and "different." However, this made her hate her mother because she wanted nothing more than to be just pretty. "Different is nice," she sings (in my solo that they gave to someone else, but the girl they gave it to is awesome so I can't hate on her), "but it sure isn't pretty." Thus, she sought refuge in dance, because the graceful movements of ballet made her feel beautiful. She seems to be a Broadway rookie, because in the one scene (besides introductions) that she talks, she begs people to stop talking about the decline of Broadway because she just got there.
Now, although I am not a Jewish East Coast girl like Bebe (and I certainly do not hate my mother), I can see a lot of myself (or I put a lot of myself) in Bebe. The way I see her, she's always a little nervous and shy because she's a rookie (and in fact, she feels kind of excluded from the rest of the cast, which is how I sometimes feel in big groups of people whom I may or may not know). She's got a bit of a beauty hang-up, like me, but LOVES to dance (and CAN dance), like me, so that ameliorates everything. Neither of us is ugly (I hope), but our looks are unconventional and that's what makes us feel a little bit like outsiders. Also, she just seems like a nervy character, and I have been told (to my face) that I am too uptight, so I can see how I can fit the role. Plus I'm relatively new when it comes to theatre; as I never got into plays in high school (what, I wasn't good enough? ... okay, probably. I know I can't act.) this is only the fourth play I have been in, and the third musical. Everyone else has done years and years of school plays and such, and I feel like such a n00b compared to them.
I also like that her name sounds like my mother's nickname, Bibi (which means "duck" in Kapampangan). It's like a giant circle of nomenclature: Bebe sounds like Bibi which means Duck which is modified to become Duckie. And here I am.
The only problem I have, though, is that with my leggings and jazz shoes and red lame American Apparel baseball jacket and the pleather (or, as my castmember Kyle calls it, "pu-pu-pu-pu-pu") fedora they gave me to practice with, the costuming girl has essentially made me Michael Jackson.
hair: brown.
eyes: brown.
height: 5'3''.
weight: do NOT go there.
blood type: as far as I know b.
religion: Methodist.
ethnicity: Asian. (I mark the bubble for Filipino.)
Literally, the title means "American Duck in Paris," but "canard" is also French slang for "newspaper," so it could also mean "American News in Paris." See what I did there?
