Pupdate: Not A Flying Toy.

  Originally, I wanted to draw an astronaut, but that

was too hard... but it was no time to panic.

Doing good

Sometimes I feel like it's really easy to be considered as a nice person. The bar is set pretty low, and the basic criteria for being good can be defined as not being obtrusively bad. For the most part, I'm considered nice because I'm not a racist, homophobe, or any other variation of a close minded, judgmental human being. And in a lot of ways, I attribute being good to sheer laziness and the lack of a social life; being mean or intrusive seems like it would involve a lot of effort and people need to go out of their way to say something mean or push others around. Sometimes, you should open a door for someone or pick up something someone drops, but if they're too far away or it's not within arms length, it's not required or even preferred. Throughout my life, I've been very fortunate, and even though it's debatable whether I've done anything worth noting this past week, I've spent a little time and effort that could be construed as proactively being good.

I don't want to jinx it, but I have a fairly stable job and I'm currently living with my parents who provide food and shelter, and except for a mound of student loans that I'm paying each months, I don't really have any financial responsibilities. It's just going into the bank, and since it's directly deposited into my account, I don't even know when I'm being paid. Even when I was younger, I've never been particularly interested in money because it's either been sparse or my mom worked so many days a week that I felt guilty spending it. And even though I have a steady job, my thrifty tendencies tend to prevail, and let's be honest, I have everything that I need. So when I received my tax return several months ago (and after I lost it underneath the clutter on my desk for a few months), I decided to lend majority of it to entrepreneurs in less fortunate countries through kiva.org.

If you're not familiar with kiva.org, it's a website where people can loan money to groups or individuals in less fortunate countries. And through their personal and business description, you can determine their intended repayment schedule, the risks of default and losses through money exchange, and the group's or person's intentions with the loan. In essence, it's a site that promotes entrepreneurs across the world and provides loans to small businesses who wouldn't normally have the chance to acquire loans from conventional banks, an opportunity that's very common in North America. And even though you're not collecting interest, it's not actually a donation and we shouldn't necessarily pity the people who use the site's services. If anything, they have more drive and ambition than a lot of Americans, and certainly more than me. These are the people who are providing food, jobs, and services to sustain their communities. It's not only necessary for their economy, but it's needed for their community; people need food from restaurants and grocery stores, and restaurants and grocery stores need meat and produce from farmers. It's a network that extends as small or as large as you want to look at it from services to food to transportation, and these are the people attempting to make it happen with the lowest amount of resources.

It's hard to not provide loans based on guilt. As a second generation American, it's hard for me to communicate with my grandparents who immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii with seven children. At a young age, my parents decided not to teach us their native language and moved to Texas, which further distanced the cultural disconnect. And even though I don't blame my parents for their difficult decisions, I don't have a lot of ways of honoring my grandparents or heritage. The only way I can represent my past is to attempt to work half as hard as my grandfather must have worked to provide for seven children as a farmer in a third world nation and later as a dishwasher in a new country. And it's maybe out of guilt, but I want to provide my small part in providing opportunities for people who want nothing more than to assist the lives of their children and the community around them.

I don't have a segue.

While I was at the mall with my dad, I noticed there were an abundance of puffy white clouds, and when my dad mentioned that it might rain, I scoffed because we live in Texas and it's still summer. Seriously, we're constantly in droughts and it's been a record number of days above 100 F (>37.78 C). And when we left the mall, it was pouring. Even though the heavy rain only lasted a few minutes, the wind and lightning continued into the night, and its damage was apparent on the next day. My parents decided to walk around the neighborhood in the morning, and they noticed several trees had splintered branches and trash was scattered across our yard. Moreover, the neighbor's tree had toppled against our fence, crushing the two sheds bellow it and scrunching a bird house post that was two stories high.

With some concern, my stepfather knocked on our neighbors door, and found out that our neighbor had returned from her three month stay at the hospital. She recently broke her knee cap, and she was unable to maintain the house and daily activities without a 24 hour nurse. And through it all, she seemed well, even bubbly with grace and easy. If the tree had swayed the other way, it would have tore apart the ceramic tile roof, but as it stood propped against the two mangled sheds, its branches appeared to be engulfing the miniature house-like structures like a barn trapped in the tide of branches.

Since we were already cutting the branches on our side of the fence, my stepfather attempted to cut as much of the fallen tree as possible to reduce the amount of labor it would cost to remove the tree. It was a big tree, and since it had mangled itself across the sheds, it was liable to roll if we cut the wrong branches so we essentially did the grunt work and left the sump and supporting branches for the professionals. And even though it took the better portion of two days until the heat became nearly debilitating and my arms and legs were be littered with cuts and bruise, it was nice to know that we were helping our neighbor. At times I can can be a disgruntled helper while my stepfather comes up with random construction projects around the house (e.i. the master bedroom hasn't had carpet or wood floors for the past five years because we've been busy replacing the windows, installing new sinks, and repainting the walls), but it's different when it's for someone else. Maybe it's a latent response from catholic school when I was in the third grade or the heavy handed message to treat others the way I'd like to be treated, but I always feel like my time and effort is more meaningful when it's spent helping others instead of just improving our house, a place I doubt most people will see or appreciate. Plus, our neighbor's caretaker gave us frozen popsicle bars, and I'm pretty sure that's a form of curacy to kids and teenagers during the summer.

More than anything, I think it's important to be kind to one another and attempt to be as empathetic as possible. If I couldn't spare any money or if I didn't have time to help my neighbor, I wouldn't want someone to judge me on something that's beyond my control, but at the same time, I should try to do as much as I can to help. Sometimes it's appropriate to transcend the word 'nice' to mean more than just 'not mean' or 'good' beyond the boundaries of 'not bad' and proactively provide those words with meaning and substance.

Lists: Favorite Movies

Movies. Originally I planned to write a short paragraph about each movie and post a different genera each week for the next several months, but ... that involves a lot of work and I'm pretty sure no one would be particularly interested. If you're curious about any of the movies listed (which you should be), I've linked the movie's imdb page for more information. Enjoy, and I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Drama

1. American Beauty (1999) 
 

2. Good Will Hunting (1997)
 

3. Forest Gump (1994)
 

4. Dead Poets Society (1989)
 

5. Memento (2000)

 

Family

1. Remember the Titans (2002)

2. Homeward Bound - The 

Incredible Journey (1993)

3. October Sky (1999)

4. Pleasantville (1998)

5. We Bought a Zoo (2011)

   

Chick-flick

1. Before Sunrise (1995)

2. Elizabethtown (2005)

3. The Princess Bride (1987)

4. You’ve Got Mail (1998)

5. Serendipity (2001)

 

Action

1. Matrix (1999)

2. Kick-Ass (2010)

3. Kill Bill (2003)

4. Zombieland (2009)

5. Batman Begins (2005)

 

Comedy

1. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

2. American Pie (1999)

3. Superbad (2007)

4. Meet the Parents (2000)

5. Groundhog Day (1993)

Science Fiction

1. Primer (2004)

2. Jurassic Park (1993)

3. Gattaca (1997)

4. Harry Potter and the 

Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

5. Super 8 (2011)

 

 

 

Disney

1. Beauty and theBeast (1991)

2. Lion King (1994)

3. The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin  (1981, 1989, 1992)

4. Bolt (2008)

5. Tangled (2010)

 

 

Pixar, because it’s not the same as Disney

1. Up (2009)

2. Wall-e (2008)

3. The Incredibles (2004)

4. Finding Nemo (2003)

5. Brave (2012)

Pupdate: He has a flag.

Sorry, I felt like my first draft was a disservice to 

my middle school Texas History courses. 

On a lighter note, he has a shield.

Lists: Favorite Web Series

Web Series. Over the past few months, I’ve been watching more web series than conventional television shows because they’re usually shorter and readily available via YouTube. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m really like YouTube. These are just a few of my favorites, and since a lot of them are older series, you can watch several episodes at a time instead of waiting for the next one to come out. If you're interested, you can watch a playlist of each series if you click on their titles.

Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog. The series is narrated by an aspiring villain who has fallen in love with a kind and gentle citizen who attempts to find the good in everyone. As the series progresses, the narrator is forced to choose between being in love and defeating his arch nemesis. And there’s singing. It was one of the first mainstream web series that proved the internet could be used as a medium for episodic content, and unlike most web series, it's structured more like a movie instead of a television show, which means its only one season with a clear, definite end. Also, it doesn’t hurt that it was written and directed by Joss Whedon with a cast that includes Neal Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion.

 

The Guild. Speaking of Felicia Day, she’s also the writer, producer, and protagonist of The Guild, a web series that follows her nerdy, socially awkward MMORPG guild IRL. In other news, you don’t have to understand my previous sentence to enjoy the web series, it’s hilarious. Essentially, the protagonist befriends the band of internet strangers who she’s only met through a World of Warcraft like game in real life. The series is on its sixth season with commentary videos on its first five seasons so you could potentially waste hours of your life if you feel so incline. I mean-- in a good way.

VGHS. Freddie Wong has recently concluded the first season of VGHS, a web series about a boy who gets accepted into Video Game High School where students study to become professional gamers. And honestly, the producers of the series could have just slopped the episodes together and packaged it to the video game obsessed counterculture because even if it wasn’t great, it would still be every pre-teen boy’s wet dream to go to a school devoted to video games. Fortunately, it’s great. With its amazing cast, every character is rounded and witty, and the pacing and control of the story is better than most shows available on television. And of course, the visuals are so stunning and realistic that you’d want to transfer to VGHS before school starts.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Created by Hank Green, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austin. And although major modifications include using a webcam instead of pen and paper and minimizing the family to three Bennet sisters instead of five (Mary's their cousin and Kitty is a cat), it still remains faithful to the source material in both story and character development. The series also provides an accurate portrayal of the current generation of young adults. Not only does the protagonist maintain a vlog on YouTube, but all of the significant characters regularly update their Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook accounts in character. Even Kitty the cat has a Twitter account. Through the comment section, viewers are able to interact with the story and its characters while providing an outlet for fans of the series and Jane Austin alike.

Malice – The Webseries. Last but not least, Malice revolves around a dysfunctional family who recently moved into a creepy house with a cemetery across the backyard. Within minutes of their arrival, peculiar events start to occur, and it’s apparent that they are not welcome. Even though it probably has the lowest production budget of all the web series mentioned, the director never compromises his vision, and each episode delivers an air of suspense and surprisingly creepy and realistic special effects. With every scene, you can tell that it’s a labor of love from everyone involved, and the series is reminiscent of a classic episode of ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark.'

Pupdate: Pup Pup Cheerio

Dharma always has props that I'm pretty sure

he can't use with his paws.

Trip to Abilene, Texas: Redux

Yesterday, my mom and I visited my sister in Abilene, Texas. And I don't want to generalize our family ventures, but they usually stem from my mom's regressive attempt to compensate for missing majority our childhood. Although I usually enjoy our vacation trips, they usually focus more on the location instead of the element of family. Don't get me wrong; our last trip was to Universal Studios Orlando was amazing, and it felt great to geek out over Harry Potter and the sprawling shops of Downtown Disney, but it was a vacation. On one of our last days, we sat on the Universal Studio's lawn and watched the sunset along the theme park's silhouette, and we knew in just a few days, we would be pumpkins. We were mutually sharing an experience meant to savor and romanticized for years to come, but in most regards, it lacked substance. To some extent, our trip to Abilene wasn't just a condensed vacation, but it was a glimpse of the present, the convergence of our childhood and upbringing meeting the cusp of our plans and future.

If you want, you can stare at this picture for

three hours and feel like you were there too.

Along the three hour drive to Abilene, my mom discussed the matters of change in the imminent future, which would have seemed a little heavy if it wasn't for the rolling hills and trees that littered across the stretching highway. Within the next year, my parents will (finally) pay off the house, and she mentioned different cities where they would prefer to live. With each new vacation, my parents immediately decide they could move there, which has led to several potential cities scattered all across the country. Afterwards, we talked about my job, which led into the inevitable lecture about increasing my 41K and the prospects of getting a new car depending on the cost of repairs on my old one. Eventually, we talked about the blue skies and puffy white clouds and the desolate but calming appeal of small towns and open pastures. The roads were smooth, the traffic was minimal, and for the last couple hours, my mind was free to wander.

After we arrived in Abilene, we drove across the highway, past the retired fleet of airplanes, the rural back roads, and a city wide pet cemetery across the railroad track until we were officially in the heart of Clyde, Texas, where my sister works as a paramedic. Although the ambulance station lies in a small town, where there were two hour lines and a prestigious ribbon-cutting ceremony by the mayor for the recent grand opening of a Chicken Express, their services stretch across Callahan County, which encompasses 901 square miles and nearly 13,550 citizens. Regardless of whether you're naive or unimpressed by the size and scope of things, you'd be glad to have their services when you're having a heart attack or you're involved in a traumatic car accident in the rural fringes of nowhere. Despite the fact that they deal with life or death situations on a moment to moment bases, it's surprising how collective everyone seemed, both in composure and as a group. And even though my sister shutters at commitment and the very idea of hugging someone, she considers it her home and its members as a second family.

Inside my sister's home away from home... away from home.

Essentially, my mom wanted to take it easy, and she was adamant about walking through Abilene's downtown. Theoretically, downtowns are meant to be places of activities, the place where people walk around and shop and bask in the condensed masses of people, but now we have malls. And I probably don't need to remind you, but malls have air condition. In any case, we strolled around the series of historic red brick buildings with their wide open side walks and charming light posts. We browsed through a flag strutted Texas shop, where my mom preceded to act like she's never been inside a Texas store with it's mini longhorn purses, Texas sized [insert anything], and redneck birdhouses, wineglasses, and literature. To be fair, it was a large, impressive building with a variety of Texas memorabilia that far exceeded most Texas stores in malls, and they supported local and state wide wines, jams, and sauces. Eventually, we stumbled upon the downtown park, and we took pictures along the different art sculptures.

I would eat them in a box. I would eat them with a fox. Maybe.

On our little stroll, we noticed different Dr. Seuss banners, which was hyphenated by the downtown children's library display of the original pictures and colorings of 'The Lorax' by Dr. Seuss. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but each page was neatly framed and the book's entirety stretched along the open room's three walls, and since there was no one else around, my sister read through the entire book. And I listened. It's easy to marvel at the original pages, the prints of a book that's sold millions of copies and inspired an environmental movement, but even just witnessing the broad black strokes and the initial crayon palette made the children's book seem like highbrow works of art.

 Truth.

Afterwards, we visited the center of contemporary arts where they displayed different artwork by Theodor Geise, Dr. Seuss, throughout his lifetime. And even though his earlier work seemed more abstract, they were recognizably seussical. It's interesting to envision a cultural icon as a man and a method. Beyond creating art and advertising, he created a way to inform people, whether it was illustrating pamphlets about malaria during the war or teaching the essential lessons and guidance for children. Also, it's interesting to see the influence of World War II through his work such as Yertle the Turtle's characterization of Adolf Hitler. It's an adult writing for children on adult themes, and it's almost mind boggling to analyze the book subjectively since I, along with millions of other children, grew up with these books and lessons. And since I'm an adult, those lessons seems so intertwined with my upbringing that I couldn't imagine my life without them.

Unorthodox Taxidermy. Unfortunately, all of these species 
are either endangered and/or fictional.

Also, they had free 'Green Eggs and Ham' buttons, and I'm not sure if they were free, but I donated a couple dollars to compensate.

Since there weren't any interesting movies, besides 'Brave' which I've seen twice, we leisurely browsed through a book store and eventually watched television at my sister's apartment while we played on our separate tablets. It's easy to enjoy different vacation spots with families since there are so many different activities marketed toward children and teenagers and adults, but if we were honest with ourselves, the most we could hope to accomplish with our families would be to spend time with each other. And while we casually laid together on my sister's pullout futon watching the first two episodes of Gilmore Girls, I couldn't imagine a better way to spend time with my mom and sister or if I would change anything from my past if it meant compromising the people we've become.

---

It doesn't really fit into the context of this blog post, but on the next day, we went to the zoo and the prairie dog enclosure at the park. It was awesome, and more pictures were taken.

To be completely honest with you, my mom was so excited about feeding 

the fish that children and other families cautiously backed away from us.

Nom nom nom...

It's like he was trying to speak to me...

Ironically, my sister was sorted into Slytherin.