November 15, 2005

My Father

Aris and his birdie.

He is my father who lives in Los Angeles. He has a double black belt in Karate and an expert with the samurai sword. He always perform his martial expertise every time I visit him in L.A.....I call it showing off.

I don't really know my father because he left in the summer of 68.
He left for the US and it will take another 19 yrs to see me again. I don't regret having a single parent when I was growing up. Because I was smart enough to know that my mother was really taking good care of me.

If you are thinking why don't you know him now?

I don't have to because I already have another father that loves my mother and respect her. I only know one father that is my step-father.

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My Father's Father

My Late GrandFather.
The picture was taken in Melrose, Massachusetts before he past away.
He never speak to me in Tagalog and have an olive skin.
I never really knew him before he died. he lived in New Orleans and re-married an American. He was a very quiet guy and always listen to music.
That's all I know about him.

November 14, 2005

Pinoy Expatriate

What is a Expatriate?
The difference between an expatriate and an immigrant is that immigrants (for the most part) commit themselves to becoming a part of their country of residence, whereas expatriate are usually only temporarily placed in the host country and most of the time plan on returning to their home country, so they never adopt the culture in the host country. While Europeans or North Americans living in the Middle East and Asia may marry local people and have children, most see no advantage in adopting citizenship of their host countries, usually because they consider their stay only temporary. In countries like Saudi Arabia, expatriate are required to live in segregated compounds, meaning that integration into their host country's society is not an option.
Some Filipinos will say is a Filipino who lives in another country but still loves the Philippines. Some will say a Filipino that work so hard in another country to support his/her family.
Some say they hated the Philippines but they love the Filipinos. Some will bad mouth the Philippines but always visited the Philippines.
Some will say that they're an Expat but they don't know the meaning of being an Expat. Some will say they love the Philippines but never been back for 35 years.
Some will say that they are Filipinos born in other countries but still loves the Philippines even though they never been there.
Some say they love the Philippines but don't know how to speak the language.
Some married westerners and called themselves expat.
And the answers goes on and on and on.
I am not an Expatriate because I forced myself to Immigrate and live in America and become a citizen. Because my mother reminded me of the future of the Philippines.
I married a Filipino-American but doesn't know the culture for her Ancestry.
I wasn't born in a silver platter even though my Mother inherited 200 hectares of land in Pangasinan.
She thought me to work so hard for a bicycle that I asked her when I was 16 years old. Opened my first bank account when I was 7 yrs old. Ate my first dog when I was 5 yrs old and left my country when I was 25 yrs old.
Please just be a Filipino!!!

November 13, 2005

The Stamatelaky


First Generation of Stamatelakis in the Philippines in the early 1900's

Dionise 'Papa Nis' - 4th child, boy, dressed as a girl as Lola Bening wanted a girl so much!
Aristidis 'Papa Ting' - 2nd child, son, second one to leave Philippines and stayed in USA
Margarita Sr - the matriach, dressed in 'Maria Clara'
Katherine 'Mama Kate' - 6th child, 1st daughter (finally! - notice she's the only one smiling - spoiled brat heh!?)
Anastasios 'Tassus' or 'Papa Bec' - 5th child, son, also stayed in USA
Iannis 'Papa Johnny' - 1st child, son, first one to leave Philippines and go around the world
Solon 'Papa Solon' - 3rd child, son, one who took care of the family when Lolo Costa remarried
These are my GrandParents from Legazpi, Albay.
My Great-Great Grand Father was not in the picture.
A lot of them wanted to live and die in the Philippines but perhaps the clan avoided the rough and impoverish life of the island and moved forward to a different country or traveled all over the world. A lot of them are already past and will never see the Philippines changed to a great country but perhaps either for me when I die my country will be the same.
I wish that it will never happen and I will see the Pearl of the Orient rise to become again the great trading place of Southeast Asia.

November 07, 2005

Being a Filipino

Mr. Benjamin Pimentel Jr. doesn't know me and I don't know him. He doesn't even know that I posted his name in my Blog. I salute Mr. Pineda for his good skills as a writer for Filipinas Magazine and a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.
He is one of those Filipinos who is doing a great job for the Filipino community.
Allan Pineda and Benjamin Pimentel are two Filipinos in two different world. one is an entertainer and one is a Journalist and a Blogger but One race.
Being a Filipino in America is not easy, Some Asians think that we lost our identity because We were ruled by Nations and think different from other Asians. Some say we are just from a third world country that speak good english but not fluent in our own native tongue. Some say that we brag about being rich to other Filipinos but the food we eat is dried fish, We even forgot to be a Filipino in the Philippines but became a Filipino in other countries.
We respect other countries but made the Pasig River a public toilet. We voted for a President but we're the one who's destroying the administration, We love to be white but the whitener doesn't work for us.
Being a Filipino is to be one!!!

November 06, 2005

Black Eyed Peas

Born to Entertain Allan Pineda
Copy Right by Filipinas Magazine
In 1989 Allan boarded a bus to Manila and then a plane to Los Angeles.
Sapang Bato was just another remote barrio in Pampanga. The people of that barrio will never realized that there is a born entertainer from their town that will change the structure of hip-hop and to be a Filipino in America.
Allan Pineda like me loves Asin. A Filipino group that wrote folk songs against the Marcos regime and the suffering of the Filipino Muslims in Mindanao.
Allan Pineda hasn't forgotten his roots and still loves the Filipino People.
The Black Eyed Peas is Allan Pinedas contribution to us and that being from the Barrio is where your dreams start.
To read more about The Black Eyed Peas and Allan Pineda please read Filipinas magazine November 2005 issue and Benjamin Pimentel Jr's. Blog at

Makati


It's been awhile I haven't seen the Philippines.
They said the infrastructure, Tele-communication, jobs and more taxes were added to the economy. EVAT can create more of these if the Filipino people can afford the change. If the Philippine Government will increase the minimum wage so the chickens will stop scratching the ground and lay some eggs.

Still Jobless

Our New Home in Florida.

The house is almost a hundred years old I can't figure it out the architecture if it's Spanish or British.


I am still looking for a Job to support my family. I have been looking for work for two months since I moved from Boston. Should I regret moving in this Sunshine State or just keep looking until I find one. I have never been so Jobless for more than a month. Everytime I quit my job in Boston, I always find one but here in Jacksonville it will take some effort and sweat to find the almighty dollar. I wonder how the Black community is handling the job market in this city. I see a lot of poverty from different race. Should I sweat like a cow in Jax or keep my neck red.

Brigham Circle