Can't resist another one.

You Know You're Filipino When....

Your middle name is your mother's maiden name. Your parents call each other "Mommy" and "Daddy." You have uncles and aunts named "Boy," "Girlie," or "Baby." I DO. You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables like "Jun-Jun," "Ling-Ling," and "Mon-Mon." Mine by the way was "Che-Che." You call the parents of your friends and your own parents' friends "Tito" and "Tita." YUP YUP You have four or five names. UMM NOT SURE IF I DO. You greet your elders by touching their hands to your forehead. I STILL DO. You always kiss your relatives on the cheek whenever you enter or leave the room. You follow your parents' house rules even if you are over 18. NOT You live with your parents until and at times even after you're married. You decorate your dining room wall with a picture of the "Last Supper." You keep your furniture wrapped in plastic or covered with blankets. You have a Sto. Nino shrine in your living room. You have a piano that no one plays. You keep a tabo in your bathroom. You use Vicks Vapor rub as an insect repellant. You eat with your hands. You eat more than three times a day. You think a meal is not a meal without rice. You think sandwiches are snacks, not meals. Your dining table has a merry-go-round (lazy Susan) in the middle. You bring baon to work everyday. Your pantry is never without Spam, Vienna sausage, corned beef, and sardines. You love to eat daing or tuyo. ALONG WITH CHAMPORADO! You prop up one knee while eating. ou eat your meal with patis, toyo, suka, banana catsup, or bagoong. Your tablecloths are stained with toyo circles. You love sticky desserts and salty snacks. You eat fried Spam and hot dogs with rice. You eat mangoes with rice--with great GUSTO! EEWWW YUCK You love "dirty" ice cream. You love to eat, yet often manage to stay slim. You put hot dogs in your spaghetti. Everything you eat is sauted in garlic, onion, and tomatoes. You order a "soft drink" instead of soda. You hang a rosary on your car's rear view mirror. You get together with family at a cemetery on All Saint's Day to eat, drink, and tell stories by your loved ones' graves. You play cards or mahjong and drink beer at funeral wakes. You think Christmas season begins in October and ends in January. Your second piece of luggage is a balikbayan box. You've mastered the art of packing a suitcase to double capacity. You collect items from airlines, hotels, and restaurants as "souvenirs." You feel obligated to give pasalubong to all your friends and relatives each time you return from a trip. You use paper foot outlines when buying shoes for friends and relatives. You're a fashion victim. You can convey 30 messages with your facial expression. You hold your palms together in front of you and say "excuse, excuse" when you pass in between people or in front of the TV. You ask for the bill at a restaurant by making a rectangle in the air. You cover your mouth when you laugh. You respond to a "Hoy!" or a "Pssst!" in a crowd. You'll answer "Malapit lang!"--no matter the distance--when asked how far away a place is located. Goldilocks is more than a fairy tale character to you. You refer to power interruptions as "brownouts." You love to use the following acronyms: CR for comfort room, DI for dance instructor, DOM for dirty old man, TNT for tago nang tago, KJ for kill joy, KSP for kulang sa pansin, OA for over-acting, TL for true love, BF for boyfriend and GF for girlfriend. You say "rubber shoes" instead of sneakers, "ball pen" instead of pen, "stockings" instead of pantyhose, "pampers" instead of diapers, "ref" or "prijider" instead of refrigerator, "Colgate" instead of toothpaste, "canteen" instead of cafeteria, and "open" or "close" instead of turn on or turn off (as in the lights). You use an umbrella for shade on hot summer days. You like everything imported or "state-side." You love ballroom dancing, bowling, pusoy, mah jong, billiards, and karaoke. You have a relative who is a nurse. When you're in a restaurant, you wipe your plate and utensils before using them. You can squeeze 15 passengers into your five seater car without a second thought. You wave a pom-pom on a stick around the food to keep the flies away. You always ring a doorbell twice, assuming that the first ring was not heard. You let the phone ring twice before answering, lest you appear overly eager. Your other piece of luggage is a balikbayan box. You use a rock to scrub yourself in the bath or shower. You're proud to be Filipino - and you pass these jokes on to all your Filipino friends!

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old friends

Today i attended a Likha coco end of summer party over in Martinez. It was hosted by a good longtime friend of mine that I haven't seen in about 8 years or so. It was good to see her and her family and it was nice to catch up a bit on what has been going on. The Laxa's were also there and it was good to see the boys since I haven't seen them since before I left for Brazil.

Afterwards I headed out to Fry's to buy another external hard drive. It's a good thing I did cause they had a good sale for a 160gb hard drive that would cost $119.00 after all the rebates are done.

Last friday we had rondalla rehearsal again. It felt good, but then we were playing a lot in Brazil so the ones that went were conditioned to play a lot of songs and not get any finger cramps. Overall it was good. Randy and Beverly even tried duplicating the chocolate strawberry pizza that we had tried over in Nova Prata. It turned out pretty good, close to the real thing, if we can only match the dough that was used for the pizza.

Another quiz, courtesy of Ms Pernia

I know Maestro can relate to this one.

You Know You're Addicted to Star Wars When...

You can recite *all* the dialogue from the trilogy. You watch the entire trilogy at least once a month. You wonder why the SW theme never makes it into those "classical collections." Any time you pick up a walkie-talkie or two-way radio, the first thing you say is "TK-421, why aren't you at your post?" Whenever you went anywhere outside with your friends, you always walked single file, to hide your numbers. You've written several letters to the President recommending that he dissolve the council, put power in the hands of the regional governors, and let fear keep the local systems in line. In college, after several hours of poker, you got thrown our of the game for suggesting, "How about some sabacc?" When trying unsuccessfully to snare that last Cheerio floating in your cereal bowl, you remarked, "the Force is strong with this one." On Halloween, you would never dress as: Luke, Han Solo, Leia, Vader, Chewie, Threepio, Artoo However, you would dress as: Wedge, Porkins, Crix Madine, that spider droid from Jabba's palace that fat dancer from Jabba's palace, Sy Snootles, the Cantina bartender. The monster in the trash compactor, Boba Fett, An Imperial probe droid You've been pulled over by a policeman, and when asked to see your driver's license you replied, "You don't need to see my identification." And when he asks about your two friends in the back "They're for sale, if you want them." You have physically threatened anyone who referred to "Hans Solo" or "Dark Vader", confused Star Wars with Star Trek, or spellied Wookiee with only one "e." You have held up an onion ring and said, "Look sir...droids!" You've referred to Wedge Antilles or Boba Fett as "The Man." You've bought a white Isuzu Trooper, strictly because of the name. While sitting on the couch with your girlfriend, she comments about being cold. So, naturally, you slice open the side of the cushion and stuff her in. You insist on spelling Pizza Hut "Pizza Hutt." You dropped your religion and now live the way Yoda taught you. You recorded all the new Star Wars comercials. You frequently experience insomnia and, to counter this, begin counting nerfs. You answer the phone "Die wanna wanga?" Whenever you buy a new appliance, you make sure to get one that speaks Bacchi. You call your aunt and uncle Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen. Whenever you catch sight of cars behind yours, you say "Fighters, coming in, point three five." Someone else in your car says "What about that tower?" You respond, "You worry about those fighters, I'll worry about the tower", and moments later your car slams into the water tower the passenger was referring to. When a cop catches you speeding, you floor it, saying "I've outrun Imperial starships, and not the local bulk cruisers..." When someone apologizes to you, you choke him and tell him that you accept his apology. You ride your motorbike through the forest at top speed, and survive after throwing yourself off just before it hits a tree. You've 'wielded' a flashlight and made humming sounds. You wave your hand purposefully and 'use the force' to open and close automatic doors or elevator doors. You go over to a friends, go to his refrigerator, and crawl in throwing food and stuff over your shoulder and grunting. You walk into an optometrist's office and shout: You will PAY for your lack of vision! You have a Yoda figurine replacing the brand symbol on the hood of your car. When accelerating your car to enter the freeway, you tell your passengers to strap in and prepare for light speed. Your significant other dumps you because everytime she/he says, "I love you" you always respond, "I know." You quote Yoda to defend your political beliefs. You have so many SW Trilogy GIF's, JPG's, MIDI's, AVI's, WAV's, MPG's, icons and text files that you're rapidly running out of disk space and have to buy a bigger hard drive just to hold them all. You have so many SW posters that you can't see your ceiling or floor, either. You have so many SW toys that you can't see your SW posters anyway. When leaving a restaurant, you can't resist signing Boba Fett or Darth Vader in the guestbook. You went through a state of depression when Chewie died. You look at "big hairy carpets" with more respect than before. You speak Rodian. You punch out trekkies who say "Death star my ass, I'd like to see those losers take out DS9." With a blue-tinted plastic tube, a flashlight, two hours of a Saturday night, and 4 rolls of blue electrical tape, you finally complete your own working "Light-saber" You listen for Obi-Wan while attempting to parallel park 1Your father asks you how fast your car is, and you reply, "Fast enough for you, old man!" You could have sworn you saw bantha tracks during your trip to the grand canyon. Every time somebody sneezes, you say, "May the force be with you." The cinnamon buns in your hair start to grow mold. You call your friend who is a midget Wicket. You refer to money as credits without trying to. You respond to any mention of the legality of something with "I will make it legal." You start reliving the speeder bike chase on your motorbike. Someone tells you your car is old and beat-up, you reply "She'll do .5 past light speed..." You refer to getting off the freeway as coming out of hyperspace. You are POSITIVE you are force-sensitive and only lack the proper training. Someone says they will try to do something you automatically respond "Do or do not. There is no try." By intense study you have actually figured out the location of every gun implacement on a star destroyer. Your house robe is brown and extra large. You type in the terms for a search engine as if entering coordinates, then shout "Punch it, Chewie!" as you click on search. You argue about whether Star Wars is space fantasy or space opera. You're out looking for a Wookie for your school's wrestling team. You nickname your car the Millennium Falcon. The last time a cute guy tried to hug you, your hands were dirty. When your mom asks you to clean your room, you say "Leave that to me." Your friends share recipes for cooking Ewok. You have a long braid in you hair like Obi-Wan in E1. You call your boss/teacher "Master" You went to the nearest recruiting center and asked to be assigned to the 121st TIE squadren When asked if you want to be buried or creamated you say "I'll just vanish like the rest of the Jedi" You have a bad feeling about everything. While partying with friends, you do your Darth Vader impression. You try to get your car up to .5 beyond lightspeed, in a parking lot. You call your girlfriend, "your Highness." You keep calling your boyfriend, "Luke," "Han," or "Lando" by mistake. You believe John Williams is the best composer ever (which, of course, he is!), and George Lucas is a god (which, too, is pretty much true!) While listening to the soundtrack without knowing the name of the song you are listening to, you know exactly what's happening while it's playing. In foreign language class, you tell the teacher, "Hey! If I'm fluent in over six million forms of communication, then how come I'm getting such a bad grade in this class?" When your friends confide in you and tell you their deepest, darkest secrets, you say, "You are far too trusting." When your dad says, "I am your father," you begin to scream uncontrollably and shout, "NOOOO! It's not true!" at the top of your lungs. You have ever thought the world would be a better place if it were like the Rebel Alliance/New Republic. You now want to become an astronaut to see if there really is a Lando system. Obiwan Kenobi and Yoda come to you in your dreams and give you advice about tough situations you're dealing with. Yoda's little sayings have had a profound impact on your life, and you abide by them religiously. You've created lyrics to the songs in Star Wars. Instead of saving for college, you save up for Star Wars stuff you plan to buy. Anyone who doesn't like Star Wars you proclaim is an Imperial. When you are ticked off at somebody, you send bounty hunters all over the place to find them and then you encase him in carbonite for a new wall decoration. When your alarm clock goes off in the morning, your reply is, "Unexpected this is... and unfortunate!" When riding your bike, you look behind you and accelerate wildly by pressing down on the petal with your right toe. You've kept the "good" action figures stored separately from the "bad" ones. As a child, whenever you had broken something, your response was always, "It must've had a self-destruct mechanism. I didn't hit it that hard." You've refused to enter a cave/cavern/tunnel without a handgun and a large stick. When you waited for a friend to catch up with you, you told him to hurry up or he'd be a permanent resident. You've ever found yourself in a chat room, training Jedi. You've ever told your younger brother at the dinner table, "Use the fork, Luke." You've ever roped off your Star Wars Action Figure collection, claiming it to be an independent nation. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends who are addicted to Star Wars.

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Brazilian Name

This is supposedly my sexy brazilian name (this is what the quiz generated when I inputed my full name)

Your Sexy Brazilian Name Is

Antônio Tavares

What's Your Sexy Brazilian Name?

My Blogging Personality.

This one came out for me. .............What the......?........me...?

Your Blogging Type is Cutting Edge and Amusing

You're a legendary storyteller, and you amuse many with your anecdotes. In fact, you can turn the dullest part of your day into a colorful event. You're also up on what's new and cool - from fashions, to links, to gadgets. You're the perfect combo: down to earth, funny, and a little mischievous.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

More things about Brazil

The hot dogs at the crafts fair.

Coffee that tasted like kapeng barako from back home.

Nation's night was pretty cool, although the time frame sucked.

The really large pizzas you get from "Paradiso", including the chocolate strawberry dessert pizza....yummy

Not following the "no toilet paper in the toilet" rule.....Guilty

The guys taking "shifts" at night to make sure one of us is in the bathroom while our girls took their shower.

Finding out that the last shower stall has NO hot water.

Having everyone stare at you as you walk around town.

The all black uniform going there......who died?....looked like a funeral scene.

Seeing everyone that slept on the bus with their mouths open.

Ana "Banana"-nicest guide ever.

Ed and Paulino's playful banters in the bedroom......or was it?

Christian falling out of the top bunk and landing on Randy's leg, which made Randy scream like a girl....haha

A couple of people (no names) needing help getting back to their respective rooms after drinking on the last nite of the festival.

The huge massive ants that we found in the courtyard.

That's it for now.

Last day

Well, today is my official last day of vacations. I've tapped out for the year, which means that I will be working from here on out. uugghh, but hey the bills has got to be paid.

I am grateful though that I didn't get sick like the rest of the group. I guess that's one more good thing.

I think I'm going to watch the Great Raid tonight with the Laxa's before I start the work week.

Have a good week everyone, and here's to hoping for a fast full recovery to those that did get sick.

Random things

Who would've thought that it would take over 30 hours to get to Nova Prata from San Francisco.

The extreme weather change from sunny and hot to rain and extremely cold overnite.

The "rockstar" attention that the people of Nova Prata were extending to all the performers.

The truly international "feel" of the festival where the "Easter Island Group" were made up of people from that region and not by filipina-americans.

The Rondalla playing on the edge of the stage at Serafina Correa after the power outage, in order to keep the crowd entertained.

Churrascaria food-nuff said

Not once did I ever shell out money for food and lodging. (except for ice cream and cookies, they don't count as real food)

The uphill trek from the book fair back to the hostel, while carrying instruments on your back.

Staying in the same room with 10 other guys for two weeks, that's a lot of testosterone.

kj- incessant meddling with everything and anything. (wink wink Bry)

Thinking about Ernie while Randy and I scarf down on some very good tasting meat.

The 9 am rehearsal call everyday....uuugghhh

Bar Tupi-Raise the Glass.

$1.50 cigarette packs

Christian's capoeira moment on stage-way to represent brutha.

10 minute limit on the one and only internet computer.

The Lithuanian girls-NICE!

The Thai girls-NICE!

The peeps-OK Lang

The Brazilians-very friendly

The South Africans-very musical and somewhat rowdy

The Chinese-never mind

But the one thing I will take from this experience is the fact that everyone complemented our group, saying it was the best of the festival and the friendships, old and new that came out of this trip. I'm honored to be able to participate in this and for that I'm truly grateful.

I'm Back

Well, I'm back from Brazil, I was the last one to get home from group that left monday afternoon. I arrived last nite at 8:45 pm a mere 34 hours after we left Nova Prata. Never take American airlines, they're always delayed and they lose your luggage. As I was collecting my baggages from the carousel, I noticed that there was a lot of bags with a yellow ribbon on them (we all put a yellow ribbing on our bags so that we can identify them quickly) so I decided to check oout the name tags, and sure enough it belongs to my fellow likhettes, and there was at least 10 that I saw by the time I left. The thing was, I was the only one from likha that was on that flight. The rest of the group arrived a mere 5 hours earlier than me. So a word to the wise, never ever fly American Airlines, they are by far the worst and most unorganized airline in the U.S.

So the festival went well, as I'm sure my fellow bloggers have already started writing about it. There was a lot of performances that we had to do, but the people were so receptive and hospitable and that made it worthwhile. The cities that we performed in were, Nova Prata, Serrafina Correa, and Cotipura. Every town we went to we got treated like rock stars, I mean we had to go meet the mayor of the town, then we go on a small tour of the town, while getting fed every couple of hours (at least it seemed that way) and getting mobbed by children asking for autographs and trying to exchange brazillian coins for phillipine coins. I tell ya the experience was awesome and eventhough it was tiring, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything else.

I'm still tired so I will make my list of memorable moments from the festival at another time.

See ya

Alright folks, it's 1 day 'til d-day (departure day) and I just finish packing my suitcase. No matter how much I've thought about it, I still feel that I'm forgetting something, yet I'm also thinking that I'm overpacking myself. UUGGHH, you would think that for someone who has travelled extensively that this should be a piece of cake. But since it's my first time to South America, I don't really know what to expect, therefore I cannot plan accordingly. Oh well, if I forget something, I think I can just buy it over there.

Well, this will be my last post until I get back in 2 1/2 weeks. TTYL everyone.

Wish me luck.

signing off (for now)