So, due to my lack of greens this year, many of my presents this year will be "hand made." One of those things are CD mixes. So I'm going through old CDs I've bought over the past few years (when I still bought them, heh). At the risk of her not "getting it" yet, I'm making a spoken word (with touches of hip hop and R&B music) mix for my cousin, mostly from Two Tongues, Isangmahal, and (probably the last CD I purchased) the Debut soundtrack. I included one song by PIC, that I could swear they were playing when I had just started college nearly 10 years ago (ok, scary thought that must be dismissed!). Ahh, such memories. The pieces by Two Tongues still have that emotional effect on me that it did the first time I heard them perform years before. Isn't it funny how not just sights, but smells and sounds can evoke such strong emotions? Hayy, feeling so senti tonite. Anyways, I made one mix for my girl friends, a collection of all women music artists ranging from Emm Gryner, Macy Gray and Norah Jones to Aretha Franklin, Fiona Apple and Cassandra Wilson. The mix I made for my cousin, I hope she does appreciate, but I think I should probably write a note to tell her to please hold on to the CD til at least college. If she doesn't get it in highschool, hopefully she'll be ready for it when she's in college:)
It took me a few days to recover from this semester. On Wednesday, after my last class, I thought I would feel this huge sense of relief and have such a nice long pleasant sleep when I got home. When I got home, I began to feel the pain like never before. My shoulders, back, arms, neck felt so damn heavy all of a sudden. My brain was not functioning. I was so damn tired. It was like I had been speeding for the past 4 months and now that I finally stopped, I suddenly realized how fast I had been going. I realized how much I energy I had been exerting these few months. I swear, sometimes I would wonder where I got the energy to do all the things I did this semester, I really did. My last burst of brain energy was on Tuesday and Wednesday where I managed to crank out 4 mini-papers that were fairly decent. Then the end came and whatever spell I had somehow spinned upon myself sorta ran out. The energy was gone. My body was in so much pain that I could not even get a decent night of sleep. Oh, boohoohoo, right? I don't want your pity, silly. Naah. I'm just amazed that I managed to get through this semester realtively unscathed. Not bad for going through one of the toughest academic semesters of my life. And so, I gave myself an early Christmas present. With money that I do not have to spend, I treated myself to a luxurious aromatherapy massage. All is better. Me happy. No complaints. Just utter gratitude to the positive energies that lifted me through the past year. Whatever that was that has been carrying me, THANK YOU.
Tune in tonite 8-9 pm Eastern Standard Time for the ASIA PACIFIC FORUM on
WBAI 99.5 FM, New York City or listen on http://www.asiapacificforum.org/
Vestiges of War: The Legacy of the Philippine-American War
Exploration of the legacy of the Philippine-American War with two
contributors to a new, landmark book, Vestiges of War. with a
conversation with writers Luis Francia and Rene Ontal about the aftermath
and aftereffects of America’s forgotten imperial adventure.
Luis Francia has written several books, including Eye of the Fish: A
Personal Archipelago of the Philippines (Kaya Press), which was a 2002 Asian
American Literary Awards winner. He is an editor of Vestiges of War: The
Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream (NYU Press).
Rene G. Ontal is a writer and community organizer. He has written a
feature-length screenplay based on the life of David Fagen, an African
American soldier who defected to the army fighting for Philippine
independence.
One of my earliest online buddies/stalker/stalkee, Jake, Mr. Insomnia, Mr. Boodelicious, Mr. Grace (kidding!!!!) is back! Haaaaaay, thank heavens. Online life is slowly coming together again. Now, where's Gracie?
Vestiges is finally out, by the way! In the midst of finals hell, I forgot to mention that I tried to attend the booklaunching party for the long awaited book which was held at the Asia Society, a hop and a skip away from school. I arrived while Luis Francia was at the mic and the auditorium was packed! B was able to drop by during the reception and see the usual APA crowd of folks. Good thing I didn't whip out my credit card to buy one. R (who has an essay in the book I helped him edit) said he'd get me one as a thank you. If you look hard enough, with a microscope (hehehe) you might even see my name in acknowledgment. Kilig:)
Today was my last day at the Guild, and the first day of the Christmas show! The last day was sad, the first day was hilarious! Pictures with my favorite kids:
C and me from the morning group.
