http://www.filipeanut.com/ In the U.S people call me Filipino and in the Philippines they call me American. Just put a bolo knife in my hand and call me dark-skinned idiot and i'll be fine. Actually don't do that, i'll cut you. en Copyright 2008 Americapino hoy@filipeanut.com (Filipeanut) Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:58:55 -0800 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:58:55 -0800 The Generator http://filipeanut.com myspace.com/shortfilipino.

For photos on my current trip please visit my Flickr page.

Why? I've finally reached the hitch in my blogging life that i've been dreading.

Filipeanut.com needs some changing in the backend in order for me to successfully blog on this website. Im currently writing this post from my cousin's computer in Bohol and he has no Photoshop. In Manila, I used my laptop to transfer the template. In Bohol, I become lazy. Enough said.

The photos you see above each entry are made with a template I have in Photoshop. I've always asked myself what I would do if I wanted to post something without a photo, well, I found out that i'd end up posting on my personal MySpace blog (as opposed to my Filipeanut myspace that i hardly even bother checking anymore).

Plus, Filipeanut.com is not WC3 compliant. That needs to change, especially when I have plans to blog remotely even more in the future. I need to do the following things:

-Recode my site with total CSS.
-*Maybe* change my backend to Wordpress from Movable Type.
-Buy a QWERTY phone that i can take photos, video, and blog from. (Either Iphone or Blackberry Bold or even Windows Mobile).
-Learn karate

Hope to be back here in a month or two with an all new backend!]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/days_48_whoops_on_a_another_bl.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/days_48_whoops_on_a_another_bl.html Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:58:55 -0800 colostomy, Marjun who is 8 with a colostomy, and Gerald with a facial deformity and who tried pizza for the first time today.

After the lengthy but very informational doctor's appointment Tita Len asked me to stay with the kids and their parents while she went out to take care of some final errands for them. She went out to find a place for them to stay for the month while they proceeded with all their pre-surgery examinations.

I discovered that, although strangers to each other at first, they already had formed a brotherly alliance with each other on the boat ride here when I handed Gerald some tokens in the mall's arcade area. "Na hatag pud ka tokens para ni Marjun ug si Lester???" (Did you give tokens to Marjun and Lester too?).

I've been splitting up tokens among children all my life. I am the token token-splitter both in the Philippines and the United States. But his question was definitely a first for me so my eyes welled up. "Go ahead young man," as I cried tears of happiness, "go on and play like you've never played before!" And then he skipped off into the valley of fun and games as I sat down and cried.

That last part was made-up, but Gerald definitely displayed valor and I soon grew even more fond of the little guys and their families.

After some ice cream and checkin' out the ladies at the mall, the boys and I went outside when all of a sudden the ground shook. We looked up and noticed that one of the buildings in the area became disembodied by what it seemed to be a HUGE flying dragon waving a tail with a huge menacing sea urchin at the end!

Ok that last part was also made-up. That's what happens when you hang out with people who still have imagination (people without imagination just got served!)

Anyway, now that phase 1 has turned out better (and waaay faster) than expected, i'll be going to Bohol to visit my mom even sooner. Day 3 is done and 3 kids are about to experience the time of their lives. Off to bed.]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/day_3_my_3_new_nephews.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/day_3_my_3_new_nephews.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:23:51 -0800 aunt's website (warning website plug... epps too late).

The photo above is of Lester who needs a closure done on his colostomy. That photograph was taken when he was seen by a doctor last year. The photo on the right is of Lester and I annoying passengers, taken an hour ago on the pier after they arrived.

Tomorrow we'll all meet at the Ospital ng Maynila to meet with Dr. Troncales to start getting things running at the hospital in terms of pre-surgery visits and preparations.

Im finally getting used to the weather again. Earlier today we visited the flea market at the divisoria and had some rambutan. Why does rambutan look so damn freaky? Usually living things with odd protrusions are poisonous and deadly, like lion fish or ugly-ass caterpillars. Whatever.]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/day_2_the_kids_are_here.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/day_2_the_kids_are_here.html Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:17:17 -0800
My aunt decided last week that we'd be spending our first few days at the Manila Hotel, a very old hotel with huge wood-laden interiors preserved from the Spanish-era. This place reminds of the movie "The Shining" so enough of that.

The children whom she's been waiting to schedule surgeries for will be arriving tomorrow night. And we are very excited for that.

We spent our first 12 hours here making the usual post-arrival errands like buying sim cards, buying pesos, getting fat, sweating, and meeting our driver Alex.

As my aunt scoped the Malate area for cheaper hotels closer to the hospital, Alex "educated" me on some minor tidbits in the area. He pointed out the D.O.M's with their G.R.O's (Dirty Old Men with their "Guest Relations Officers") as my aunt teased that I should look for a G.R.O myself. No, I don't think so.

It's been a long time since I felt I was doing something novel. Soaking in all the new information, absorbing the new smells, directions, Tagalog words, way of life, sounds, and starting a completely different diet, helped me remember that a human being can actually withstand a tsunami of information to the senses. So this how its like to feel alive. Im also guessing that this was how it was like being born.

Im still debating whether to take an airplane (an hour ride) or a boat (a 24 hour ride) to Bohol for my 2nd and final leg of my trip (the boat ride is much cheaper). If there is anything I learned from my aunt today, a person I barely even know, its that finding out things as you go is way more productive than finding out nothing as you do nothing.]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/day_1_manila_hotel.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/09/day_1_manila_hotel.html Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:01:35 -0800
Today, im by myself and the weight limit is now down to 50 lbs. I wish I could bring back more but unfortunately im still broke. As long as the following life-giving necessities have been purchased for my mom and her immediate family, im in the clear:

1) Sheseido lipstick, color code P23

2) Oil of Olay lotion with SPF 15 for sensitive skin

3) Cavity-inducing Twizzler's and bubble gum.

4) Jack Daniels and Bulleit Whiskey.

5) The books Twilight and Sisterhood of the Graveling Pants or some shit for my nieces.

6) T-shirts, toy guns, and my old sneakers for my nephews.

Ideally, if I was a bit more affluent, I would have brought my cousins the hottest basketball shoes, authentic Gucci bags, and real guns, but that'll have to wait until next year's trip. And since when did Oil of Olay come in sensitive skin AND SPF 15?? That's like having your cake and eating it too!!!!]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/08/stingy_on_pasalubong_this_year.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/08/stingy_on_pasalubong_this_year.html Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:34:18 -0800
Today my real estate agent and good friend of my aunt had called me to congratulate me on the final recording that took place this afternoon (the house is officially sold). I don't even remember when I called my aunt to sell my house, but I remember hearing from her and Yahoo! that selling a house would be quite difficult. After all, it was a short sell, meaning that I wouldn't even be making money. Despite all that, getting rid of it would give me more time and money to do more important things. Lastly, im going to the Philippines this Monday to help schedule surgeries for 3 children from Bohol. It feels good to finally be of use again. So 2 of the 3 initial plans I made a few months before is pretty much knocked out of the way.

So I feel good, but im still bracing myself for any hitch in the road. The next big step is moving out of my beloved Uncle's house and actually fending for myself and cultivating my freelance career. Now that things are coming into play, i've also decided to document my trek in pursuing my life's purpose and trying to ensure that my plans and goals are met.

I kinda sorta feel like im Froto from The Lord of the Rings. Im pretty short and I only have a few close friends and family who are quite hairy but hilarious. But despite the "adventure" I am about to partake, it is a lonely road. And if all goes according to plan, I might die in a volcano. Which sucks. Yet im reminded of a quote everytime I think of such things... damn I forgot what it was. It was something like, "Life makes you, or you make life." Na that wasn't it. T minus 4 days 'til departure!]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/08/filipino_frodo.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/08/filipino_frodo.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:25:54 -0800
Im going back to the Philippines on Sept 1st to visit my mom and help out my aunt with her nonprofit. Im broke and might lose my job leaving for a month. Am I crazy for doing it anyway? Well i'd be crazy if I didn't! (Partial text above from Kent M. Keith).]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/08/do_it_anyway.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/08/do_it_anyway.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:35:26 -0800
I first heard about these children at our annual fiesta this past May. A family friend started a "mobile clinic" providing medical care and fundraising to help sick children in poor areas in my mom's home province of Bohol.

Cool idea right? Hits close to home and everything. But I bet I wouldn't be here right now helping her out if my mom didn't have her stroke. I ended up making the clinic a website and now im going to the Philippines to not only visit my mom, but to also volunteer for a week or so.

In 2005 my mom had a stroke that took her ability to use her left side. For the first time I realized how it was like to prolong the life of a loved one. I left school, my friends, family, and fun to take care of the one and only person who cared for me all 25 years of my life. Logically, I knew I could take her to a convalescent home, and I did consider it as a logical route. But because I knew no one else would care for her the way I would, I choose to take care of her myself. I ended up caring for her for two years until her Social Security kicked in and now she's back in Bohol with family.

Unfortunately, it took my mom's stroke to make me realize that you will do whatever it takes to make sure someone you love lives. Because if I had made the simple choice of walking away from my mom for one day, or skipping a dosage of medicine for her, she would have died. My mom depended on me and me alone for life. Literally. I carried her to the car. I carried her to the commode to urinate. I bathed her and I fed her. And I did it with honor, because I was caring for the one and only person who did the same for me when I was a baby. She cared for me for more years than I did for her. More than a measly 2 years of caregiving. And like most parents, she did it without pay and without condition.

Its one way to say, yeah, I have an idea of how its like to care for a sick loved one. But its a totally different life. I've tasted, however briefly, what mothers and fathers feel when the children they love and hold dear to them is dependent entirely on them for survival. With that said, here I am helping the sick loved ones of others because if there was anything I wanted most besides my mom's life returned back to normal, it was a sincere, authentic helping hand.



So uh, would ya like to donate?

(Shout out to Jo Anne, she's going home to help for good).]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/07/filipeanuts_kids.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/07/filipeanuts_kids.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:44:25 -0800
"Daemon Irrepit Callidus" by the Madrigal Singers

"Daemon Irrepit Callidus" by better off anonymous.
By far the best rendition i've seen yet.]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/06/daemon_irrepit_callidus.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/06/daemon_irrepit_callidus.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:57:31 -0800 Travis Kraft knows more tagalog than I do. hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/05/welcome_sa_kusina_koe.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/05/welcome_sa_kusina_koe.html Thu, 22 May 2008 19:30:46 -0800
Maybe my friend Andrew was right, he said I was going through a quarter-life crisis. Maybe my Uncle Skip was right, he said I had post-traumatic stress disorder after my mom's stroke.

Or I could be an alien from another planet who possessed my mom's only child at the age of 4, but forgot all about it's mission to take over the world because of my mom's salty-ass adobo that gave it a brain hemorrhage.

But after being couped up in a house for a year and a half, deprived of mangoes and shrimp paste, the alien within me is ready to commence with a job it came to finish. And that job is to either take over the world via 4 chilled shots of Don Julio, or to dance weekend nights away with women I don't know. Either way, taking over the world isn't going to be easy.]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/01/filipeanut_in_2008.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2008/01/filipeanut_in_2008.html Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:23:23 -0800 hookah bar to start the season with flavored cancer. The waiter recommended a flavored tobacco I never heard of before called "mary juana." It was weird because he'd look around and whisper in a low voice whenever he offered it to us; and he always had something in his eye, as if he was winking, but he wasn't though. ]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/12/secondhand_smoke_never_tasted.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/12/secondhand_smoke_never_tasted.html Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:06:28 -0800 Halloween sucks when your costume ends up looking like something entirely different. I was SUPPOSED to be a "doctor with blood on his lab coat." But I ended up looking like a "wannabe metrosexual doll house painter." Realistic fake blood my ass. hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/11/posthalloween_reflection.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/11/posthalloween_reflection.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:44:09 -0800 commodes. The other dark guy, with the glasses, is calling in sick for the 5th day.]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/11/mahjong_day_5_no_help_in_sight.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/11/mahjong_day_5_no_help_in_sight.html Sat, 03 Nov 2007 01:21:57 -0800
Top 5 anagrams for "Filipeanut":
5) I, flu pantie
4) A fine tulip
3) A flute in PI
2) Futile pain
1) Nut, if I leap

Thank you and tune in next time when we learn about the word "jer-jer."]]> hoy@filipeanut.com http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/10/welcome_to_filipeanut_and_frie.html http://www.filipeanut.com/2007/10/welcome_to_filipeanut_and_frie.html Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:25:13 -0800