Oh how I wish...

I wish I could be in NYC right now because you'll find me first in line for this exhibit:




Click Here to learn more!

I Miss her...

Some days are harder than others.. today was a hard day.

I'm a bad blogger.. =(

I'm sorry blog for neglecting you for so long. I know it's been a while, but I think about you everyday. Life's just heading off a new road and I need a little bit of time to get back into 4th gear (that's the gear where you just cruise right? or is it 5th?).

Anywho.. needless to say, I've officially moved to San Jo-Se.. and school has started. It's all very exciting and I'm loving school this time around. Many stories to tell of my recent experiences and the cool things I've learned in school, but tonight.. homework awaits me. Can I just say that I am soo very excited to become a teacher? Can't wait! =)

Until my next post, which I promise will be very soon.. I'll leave you with my recent obsessions:








and..

Never Gonna Let You Down...

Some people are so talented... AND have so much time on their hands!

Ong Ngoai...

Ong Ngoai means maternal grandfather in Vietnamese. He is to be the head of the household, the breadwinner.. he is to be the one that knows all and the one that no one defies or dares talk back to. Well.. in my house, Ong Ngoai ain't really all these things. We definitely wouldn't dare talk back to him simply because we fear the wrath of Ong Ngoai. He's definitely old skool in his beliefs and chauvinism, but hey.. he's Ong Ngoai, there ain't nothing anyone can do to change him.

As a police officer in the South back in VN, grandpa used to collect tolls from civilians passing thru the city. If toll was 5,000VND, he'd take 10,000 VND to support his compulsive gambling addiction. That's right.. my Ong Ngoai was a corrupt po-po and hung with the likes of Denzel Washington in Training Day. OK, maybe he wasn't THAT corrupt but his corrupt ways got him out of Re-education camp. See, once the communists took over Saigon, all men who didn't follow communism (along with my dad, uncles, and grandfather) were sent to Re-education camps (think internment camp meets grueling physical labor, meets prison). Well.. Ong Ngoai's corrupt self was drinking buddies with some of the communists guards at his camp, and after a striking a monetary deal w/ some of the guards, he was let out of camp after only 3 months. Once he got out, he didn't really change his ways.. so in grandma's words, "She had to get rid of him". And rid of him she did.. she sold her gold and collected all her money to send him off with the first wave of boat people who left in the 70's. See.. I always thought he was the first to go because he was to find a way for them and get settled before the rest of the family came over. However, the reality was that grandma sent him away so she could focus on selling her beetlenut and saving money to get the family out!! Now that's some true independent woman shizzz! Beyonce ain't got nothin on my grandma! Just wait til you read the stories about her..

**Funny side story: grandma confessed that she PAID grandpa 35,000VND (which is equivalent to $2.50 USD now, but was a lot for back then) to get a vasectomy!! That's how she managed to only have 6 kids while other folks during her time were having AT LEAST 10 kids +!

It's Official!

Ms. Evelyn's 4th graders

August 25th will be my first day in the SJSU Teaching Credential program! After over a year of going back and forth about it, and ultimately quitting my job to follow my heart, I'm finally going to be able to take the next step to becoming a teacher. I always thought that a job in the music/entertainment industry was what I wanted, but actually working in the industry helped me to come to an epiphany. The glitzy-ness and fake-ness, the cold-heartedness.. the do-whatever-it-takes to beat out the competitor-ness of the industry frankly disgusted me and I wanted out as fast as possible. Call me a dummie but I guess I just don't got it in me to be the ruthless type of person the music industry seeks. So.. I decided I'd go back and do what I do best.. work with kids!

There's one thing that's been irking me since I've decided to make the career change. It seems like every time I tell someone I want to become an elementary school teacher, they shake their heads and reply with "But teachers don't make any money!" And every time I get that response, I want to in turn ask them "It's not about the f*ckin money! If I didn't want to be a teacher and no one wanted to teach.. who would teach your kids?" Some folks are just so hypocritical in saying that shit.. everyone stresses the importance of a good education, but when you have someone who is willing to do the job - and do the job well I might add - they try to steer you away because of monetary reasons. I know I ain't gonna be living a life of glitz and glam.. but hey I'm willing to accept that. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to take because teaching and working with kids gives me that butterfly feeling in my tummy.

So... I'm off to start a new adventure in my life. I feel truly blessed because at the tender age of 23, I can say I've followed my heart and was able to accomplish the goals I set out for myself. My move date is August 16, so those in the Bay.. I'm coming back! and those in L.A.- we gotta kick it before I leave!

That's all for now folks. Heading to Vegas tomorrow with the fam bam and Mark so more posts when I get back!

Those that come by sea...

I was browsing the internet when I came across the cartoon above. At first, I was unsure of whether this was a cynical stab at the Australian government or a disgustingly unsympathetic jab at Vietnamese refugees. Shocked at what I was seeing, I decided to dig a little deeper into this Aussie cartoonist "Nicholson". What I discovered was the truth of an Australian government that crushed my utopian idea of the land down under. Below are a few snippets from www.safecom.org:

- The Howard Government created a sub-class of refugees through its policies and treatment of those asylum seekers who come by boat. Many of them go to "Woomera, the Detention Camp in the desert. And at Project SafeCom Inc. we are repulsed by the government's human rights abuses; we suspect that many of the direct abuses happen in Woomera, far away from other people.

- On October 19, 2001, a boat laden with asylum seekers en route to Australia from Indonesia sank, killing 353 people. Despite ever more evidence to the contrary, the Australian government claims it has no responsibility regarding the deaths.

- Bullied through by the Commonwealth government of John Howard, without approval from the Shire or the community - because the Howard government does not need it - without taking heed of, or being subject to, environmental assessment - the population of rare crabs or the breeding Booby did not ask for the centre - the Christmas Island detention centre 'protects' up to 800 men, women and children from the rest of Australian society. [most of the 800 men, women and children on Christmas Island are Vietnamese boat people]

Below are some other cartoons I found from the same cartoonist:



"We're desperate to start a new life in a country that respects human dignity"

Being that the generation before me were boat people themselves, the inhumane treatment of refugees utterly disgusted me. I know my family went through hell and back to get to America, but imagine finally getting here and being immediately booted off to some secluded island where you're held in secrecy. BULLSHIT! I'm still unsure of how to feel about the comics I've posted but to make light of any situation, I'm glad that I discovered it because it lead to me finding out about a truth that I would not have known otherwise.

So.. I was going to write about why my grandpa actually ended up leaving Vietnam today -as told by my grandma, of course - but that cartoon put me in shock so stay tuned for the story of my gambling, corrupt, gangster ass police officer grandfather.