Obamarama has responded to Latina Lista’s invitation to guest blog. He took her up on her offer.
Rebecca Walker is commenting on BFP’s space as well.
So….when will Helen Zia come forth and admit she’s a Sudy fan?
Just for the Record
We were rooting for the Giants.
To say we’re ecstatic would be an understatement.
If you ask me, the city jinxed itself when it said we’d have the victory parade on Super Tuesday.
I mean, SERIOUSLY? We’re prioritizing tissue paper floats and Tom Brady glimpses over our constitutional right to vote?
Serves Boston right.
Updates
The city after a snow storm.
Me and Kristie
Nick and I out with my co-workers/support system
(left to right, Dan, Nick, me, Leanne, Alexis)
Random Update:
I got my nose pierced with my friend, Kristie, while we were in Cincinnati over Christmas break. That’s a picture of us above that was taken right after we had them done. If you look closely, you can see a small red swollen spot on our noses. Yep, that’s because a gargantuan sized needle went through our nostrils about 3 minutes previously. Shh – don’t tell my parents.
I got my nose pierced with my friend, Kristie, while we were in Cincinnati over Christmas break. That’s a picture of us above that was taken right after we had them done. If you look closely, you can see a small red swollen spot on our noses. Yep, that’s because a gargantuan sized needle went through our nostrils about 3 minutes previously. Shh – don’t tell my parents.
City Updates:
- The city is crazy for the Superbowl which starts in 6 hours.
- The city is crazy for SuperTuesday which starts in 48 hours.
- The city is crazy because if the Patriots win the Superbowl, they’ll have a parade on SuperTuesday.
Other Updates:
- I finally got my Massachusetts drivers license.
- Last night we found a Filipino restaurant! SCORE!
- We saw the movie Juno this weekend and give it two very big thumbs up for its one liners.
- We potentially have found a parish that we’d like to belong to: St. Cecilia which is an energetic and booming community in downtown Boston.
- Nick’s 2nd semester classes are going well is schedule is a little less stressful with one less class.
- My job is consuming my life and have made a decision to at least begin job hunting for next fall.
- My brother and sister-in-law just found out they’re having another boy! That’s four kids total! 1 girl and 3 boys. God love ’em.
- Nick and Kelly Hartings just had their baby girl, Emma Jeane, on Friday morn – CONGRATS!
- I’m playing with the idea of applying to a masters program at Simmons College. It’s a masters in Gender and Cultural Studies. I figure while I’m surrounded with academics why not jump in, too, you know? Not to mention, this is my area of specialization.
And there you have it – a small glimpse into our lives for the week. Don’t forget that February is when I celebrate my birthday month. * Along with the start of Lent, Mardi Gras, Presiden’s Day, and Valentine’s Day, February holds one of the most treasured days of all time: my bday.
*Ask Nick, I am not exaggerating this statement.
Hunter Mountain
Hunter Mountain
Nick and Vanessa
(Tom, I’m sorry there are no pictures of you and I watching Lethal Weapon IV)
Last weekend, Nick and I spent a gorgeous weekend with our friends, Tom and Vanessa, at a condo located at the base of a beautiful Hunter Mountain. A skiing mountain was the perfect backdrop for a restful weekend with friends. A lot of talking, laughter, good food, lots of alcohol, and nature’s restorative energy embraced our time in New York.
Tom and Vanessa live in New Jersey and this was the perfect midway point for all of us. Nick and I were Hunter-bound by Friday evening and got stuck in city traffic. The elevation messed with our heads a bit, but that didn’t stop us from getting there, ready to relax.
The no-skiiing rule was put into effect rather quickly as Nick retold his skiiing stories of when he ventured this sport two years ago with his brother Keith. If you’re surprised that Nick is not a good skiier, that means you haven’t heard his skiiing stories. When a skiier has no ability to shift to the left, this poses signficant navigation problems. This happened to be Nick’s problem. As he tells it, his fear of runing over the children at the bottom of the hill forced him to “slide like it’s second base.”
Ineffective theory for skiers.
I hardly have room to talk. To prove my ultimate badass coolness, I joined the Ski Club in highschool. In retrospect, why in the world would I join the Ski Club when I have never skiied before? To make a 6 week story short, just know that falling off the ski lift, almost having my legs amputated from frost bite, and crying while face down in the snow is not my idea of a good time.
I also tried cross country skiiing about 6 years ago. Yeahhhh, that didn’t turn out so well either. That adventure resulted in me taking OFF my skis and WALKING the rest of the journey with my friends cajoling me the entire way home.
Regardless of our inept skiiing skills, we had a tremendously wonderful time at Hunter Mountain. We owe a million thanks to Tom and Vanessa for their generosity, friendship, and warmth. When’s our next visit?
Top 10 Things on Being Filipino
Welcome to Filipino Friday where everything celebrated is Filipino.
Being Pinay, a Filipino American womyn, is a secret treasure that not many people know much about. Often, Pinays get thrown in under the Asian American umbrella, as if China, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Sri Laka, India, and other fine countries can be swiftly held together with one flimsy string.
Welcome to Filipino Friday.
Why I Love Being Pinay – the TOP TEN REASON WHY BEING A PINAY/FILIPINA ROCKS:
10. My expandable stomach.
You try eating rice everyday for three meals and see how wonderfully expansive your stomach can be. Rice with breakfast food, rice for lunch, and of course, a hot steaming pot of rice with whatever is being served for dinner.
9. Mixed Identity
Filipinos have a beautifully complex history. The Spaniard colonization and American militarization have influenced the culture, but nothing takes away from the beauty of the Filipino culture that celebrates hospitality, fiestas, and laughter. I see parts of my culture in the Latino community, the African American community, and in my White/Euro communities as well.
8. Relax!
Filipinos are all about relaxing. It may be the fact that our mothership is a collection of tropical islands. It may be al the rice we eat. It may be the fact we’d rather talk and eat than do anything else. I struggle with punctuality, procrastination, and organization, but I’m getting better. Hey, there’s always tomorrow. Or next Wednesday.
7. Belly Up Laughter
If Filipinos ever get headaches, it’s because we’ve been laughing too hard. And I’m not talking about the hahaha jokes at the table. I’m talking about cave-wide open mouths with a sound coming out you wonder if a laughing whale is stuck in our bellies. Filipino laughter is the clap and hands grasped, gasping for air and then say it one more time kind of enjoyment that most people do not enjoy. I’m often the last person laughing because it takes a while to fully enjoy the throttle and then relive it again in my mind.
6. Cousins You Never Had
I have never met half my family. They live on the other side of the planet. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think about them or pray about them and hope someday that I will greet them or be greeted in an embrace. Extended family also includes random filipinos who I’ve never met. My parents’ friends, their children, and any filipino family who end up gnawing on a piece of lechon at the Filipino summer picnics are considered family. That’s the hospitable, loving family way, so that’s the Filipino way.
5. Language
English is my first language and the Tagalog I do know mixes with the Spanish with which I am more familiar. The Philippines has several languages of the Islands and while I do not know all of them, it brings me great pride that my parents can speak so many different dialects. As a Fil-Am, I also have the comfort that I can navigate through my ancestry with my first language – English. At times, I do still feel my waves of rage that I am not fluent in Tagalog. Teaching their children English so they can easily assimilate is a commonly heard priority among Filipino immigrants who have children in the US. A sad testimony, I believe, in losing our native tongue.
4. Parties that NEVER End
I mean this in the best way. Not only do weddings go well over the time and not only do parties last until the wee hours of the next day, but they NEVER end because we keep talking about them and reliving them in memory. “Remember when Uncle Shall took off his shirt during the dance off?” “Did you see Kat doing the tinikling?”
3. Hospitality and Warmth
It may be the natural spirit of the people or the breeze of love that seems to endlessly blow in Filipino windows, but Filipinos are generally an extremely generous and warm community. Sure there are issues of pretenses, class, and general over the top gossip, but overall, being Filipino means understanding the spirit of giving to others.
2. Passion and Temper
Faster than a microwave or a rising summer sun, Filipinos are emotional folks. Often times, we don’t make a lot of sense because we’re too busy laughing, eating, or talking. And if you interrupt us – even if it’s with a plan to solve global warming – we’ll wonder what could be more important than a good conversation and quality time with a beloved. There’s great passion and devotion to relationships, love, friendship, and understanding. Filipinos are deeply feeling people and while that is not always the greatest quality to have, especially when we’re pissed off, it generally emanates a welcoming atmosphere and genuine pleasure to spend time – hours – together.
1. Family and Culture
There’s God. Then Family. Then Everything Else. If you can learn that, you’ve got a lot under your belt. It’s not just church, mass, and prayer. “GOD” encapsulates rosaries, novenas, altars in your living room, prayer groups, night prayers, prayers before meals, and all the sacraments throughout your life. Then there’s Scripture readings, contemplating what the Gospel meant and then we have to think about how that plays into our lives. Then we have to watch “The Passion of the Christ” and then call our brother in California to talk about what he thought of it. It’s all spiritual. It’s all about God. Don’t mess with salvation. Don’t forget the meals afterward either. Then there’s family. Family is central and God holds everything together. Have trouble knowing what you want to study in college – family conversation. Don’t know what restaurant to choose – family conversation. Who’s paying for Lola’s funeral expenses – family conversation. Everything revolves around family and, like anything else that brings you pain, it is usually also the deliverer of most joys.
Everything else – anything else – comes in third, at best.
These are my Top Ten and by no means should assume that all Filipinos are just like me. These are my observations of my own field study – my own life. While many other Flips may see some truth in what I wrote, these are also like my fingerprints – absolutely my own.
Reconciling Feminism and Religion
I am working on a piece that is taking me much longer than I anticipated, but it will be well worth it because it is a topic I feel is so large and a part of my identity that rushing feels wrong. I am responding to external and personal requests to address how I identify as both feminist and Catholic.
Here’s a sneaky peak. This is a quote that is driving much of my writing. It is taken from “This is Not Your Mother’s Catholic Church,” an essay published in the indomitable anthology Pinay Power. This essay was written by Rachel A. R. Bundang.
For all its fault and limitations, though, the Catholic theological, verbal, and spiritual idiom has made itself a home deep within me; maddening as it is sometimes, in its obstinacies and inconsistencies, I respect tradition even as I contest it, disagree with it, and subject it to critique….My experience of the Church cannot be encapsulated in a single sticking point and is greater than one sole controversy….Allen Figueroa Deck’s characterization of Latino theology [is] similar to my own stance and project. He writes, ‘Among Latinos the unity of the Church does not revolve around the resolution of differences of creed and doctrine. While Latino theologians are generally not disloyal to the normative teachings of their respective faith traditions, the commitment out of which they write and teach is not so much the confessional, doctrinal faith-stance typical of their mainline religion as much as the cultural and social class commitment of their communities, their gente, their pueblos.'”
More coming!
Our Competitive Sides
A random moment caught when we’re both talking smack to each other, aka making fun of each other/challenging the other to an absurd opportunity to compete against each other to prove one’s superiority. This competition has included: bowling, wrestling, corn hole, geography trivia, rumicube, beer pong, and tripoly…just to name a few.
Nick’s Going Deaf
Nick’s right ear has problems.
For the past few years, it has rung more than Sunday church bells and gives him annoying headaches that require zoning out in front of the TV, which happens to be the #1 life pet peeve of mine. I hate 90% of television.
I try not to be an annoying wife. I never say anything about his white holey socks or astronaut shoes. I think he looks great in those shirts he’s worn since 1992. I participate in sporting events, learned how to play poker (albeit, with a cheat sheet), have decreased shopping trips and never drag him along unless it’s absolutely necessary.
However, with concern to his hearing, I have been nagging him like a horse. This last episode where his ear was ringing like a schoolbell, I yelled at him to get to the damn ear doctor before he goes deaf and can’t hear me anymore. He consistently argues this is fine with him and will just wander around in his own world. UNACCEPTABLE.
The thought of how much work it will take when I’m 89 and will have to hobble around to his left ear so I can blast my latest thought into his noggin motivates me to get him to the doctor NOW.
He makes an appointment.
Basically, the words internal pressure, balance, fluid, and inevitability were used doctor to explain why he inserted a new tube in Nick’s ear that will help drain whatever needs to be drained. A small sliver was cut into his eardrum to support the new tube, but otherwise it’s a relatively uncomplicated process. I was impressed with the simple procedure because he had a tube put in about 3 years ago and was entirely put out for surgery. When I came to get him post-surgery, they warned me he might be “a little off.”
His behavior was indeed “a little off” after surgery. Nick was flirting with the 60 year old lady nurses and laughing his head off. He kept saying, “HI BABE! WHAT’S HAPPENING?” about 9 times in 10 minutes and picking at his hospital gown. The nurses loved him. I had a headache.
So, now that the procedure is done, I am grateful for two things:
1) Nick’s hearing is preserved (for now)
2) I didn’t have to live through the nurse flirting again
Bring on the Fire
Nick and I have been married for 2.5 years. In that time frame, I’ve begun to forget the rage and hectic stress that came with planning a wedding. As Kelly, Nick’s sister, is now engaged, we are often talking about our own experiences with vendors, catering, DJs, space, money, photography, guest lists, flowers, music, ceremony, dress, priest, gifts, time, programs, court, rehearsal, readings, petitions, aisle runners, hair cuts, honeymoon…you get the idea.
As I told Nick last night, I am “reliving the fury.” It’s absolutely appalling at how much CRAP you have to do to get married. It’s insane! I joined The Knot when I was newly engaged. The Knot is a site for planning the big day and it has more tips and buttons on that thing than anything else on the internet. Brides from all over go on that thing, ask each other questions, compare rates for vendors, and gather ideas for themselves. To get an account, you must have an ID.
Mine was FieryBride27.
Whenever I am reliving the fury, Nick nods in agreement but then punches, “FieryBride’s back!”
This FieryBride is definitely fired up for Big Fun, but hope that all of our friends out there who are planning this special sacrament are able to really step back and ENJOY the sacrament, the sanctity of your love.
So for Bella and Anderson, Megs and Dave, Kerri and Chris, Tom and Vanessa, Geri and Jim, Greg and Maura, and of course Tim and Kelly – we are keeping you guys in our prayers as your special day inches closer and closer.
Contact FieryBride 27 with any questions!
Anticipating the Impossible
We’re over the Sugar Bowl.
I know that we’re officially over it when Nick proclaims, his eyes round like huge UFOs, “You know something? I’m excited for Ohio State football next year!”
My mouth is full of my burger, “You are?” Except it sounded like, “YHO AH?
“Yes! They’re going to have everyone back next year except for two guys.”
“Ok.” I am contemplating the level of danger to emotionally invest in the 2008-2009 OSU football season so soon after the Sugar Bowl.
“I THINK THEY’RE GOING TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT YEAR!” He’s nearly jumping from his seat.
I remain calm and contained my emotions by maintaining distance to that prediction. It’s like we switched life roles or something.
Nick continues, his eyeballs fixated on something far far away into the future, his voice drops in thoughtfulness, “As long as they beat USC. As long as they beat USC, we’ve got a chance.”
Well, I’m glad we’re healing and Nick is planning next year already. As I finished my burger and watched his face begin contemplate how the Fall 2008 schedule will unfold, I began fearing what might happen to the Bucks in about 48 weeks should they advance that far.
Our fanhood cannot be questioned.