More than just getting your nails done...

So I just read Julie's blog about the Vietnamese woman that was talking crap about her when she went with her friend to get her nails done at the salon, and it's so ironic because I had the same incident happen when I went to go get my nails done a few weeks ago in Stonestown. I don't like to tell people that I'm Vietnamese when I go get my nails done for the simple fact that if they're going to talk crap about me, I want to know. This often works because no one can tell that I'm Vietnamese because apparently, I don't look like I am. Go figure. Anyway, people talking crap about me when I'm getting my nails done don't usually happen, but it did this time. I mean, for as long as I have been getting my nails done, I have NEVER EVER EVER had such a HORRIBLE experience!

So when we came in, the lady that offered to do my nails seemed helpful enough... and then slowly she just became irritatingly pushy. It's like they don't understand the words NO THANK YOU. Goodness! So what happened was that she wanted me to do my nails with gel on gel, but I wanted gel on acrylic, and she was getting upset because the gel on acrylic is cheaper, and I tend to get my nails taken off and redone every 2-3 weeks so it wasn't worth it to spend $40 when I'm going to get them off shortly after. Then, she was complaining in Vietnamese about how I was CHEAP and about how she forgot to tell me that she was going to charge me $5 to get my nails taken off, and then she presented me with an ultimatum: either I do the gel on gel for $40, or I do the gel on acrylic for $32+$5 to take off my old set. I mean, seriously? You had to trick me into doing that?! And then she was muttering about how if I hadn't agreed, she would've just drawn a design on my finger, not tell me, and then charge me for it so that I pay the amount she wants me to pay. She continue to rant on and on and ON and make all of these rude comments and I just couldn't believe it. On top of that, she put my nails on TOO CLOSE, the shape was CROOKED (and no, it was NOT my finger, thank you very much) and the gel was put on unevenly so it looked like I had mole mounds on my fingers. GREATTTTT. She tricked me into paying more, and then in the end, made them look like shit.

Even though I'm Vietnamese myself, I do have to agree with everyone else when they say that nail salons consist of nothing but Vietnamese workers. Not only do they consist of nothing but Vietnamese women, but a lot of them are filled with ladies that are trying to trick you into doing things that you really don't want to do! For those of you who haven't seen Anjelah Johnson's Vietnamese nail salon skit - you absolutely need to! It's hilarious, and sadly, it's also completely and utterly true. I've never ever actually had a full on experience like the one Anjelah was commenting about until I walked into that nail salon in Stonestown. Anyway, for those of you who commonly get your nails done, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say Anjelah Johnson's skit hit the nail on the head.

The main thing I think I have to complain about though is that the women in the nail salons can either pinpoint that you're Vietnamese, or they just assume you aren't if you don't look the part. The way they determine if you're Vietnamese is if you dress a certain way, act a certain way, or have certain "features" that make you Vietnamese... well apparently I don't dress Vietnamese, or act Vietnamese, or have Vietnamese features because that lady didn't hesitate to say all these rude ass comments about me when I'm literally a foot in front of her. I bet she regrets not asking if I was Vietnamese to begin with. Would've saved her the trouble of me calling her out on it and her realizing I wasn't lying when she saw my credit card.

So FYI for you ladies out there - DON'T get your nails done at Stonestown upstairs. They suck.

--Kim [=

Judging a race by its face (cover)

In an article titled Judging Asian Americans by Our Book Covers, the author laments on the stereotypical covers, symbols, and etc. used for Asian writers. I for one have mixed feeling regarding the lack of genre diversification. More often than not, we make judgments based on the outlook that we ‘see’. After publishers saw the success of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, they continued to exploit the formula because it was profitable. The book should have served as a turning stone for Asian writers but that somehow went awry. Instead of acting as a stepping stone for expanding genres, writers became stagnant in their style and limited their ability to think outside a box. Many modern day writers need to diversify in anything else besides historical fiction and proverbs.

At the same time, it is difficult for another Asian writer, let alone any writer, to redefine a genre that has become a selling point for many. Critics complain about the ‘chinkiness’ of the novels because of the disproportionate parity found in the writing. To them, the cultural themes and images overplay the underlining message of the story. In defense of the Asian writers, they are merely adding their personal flare. There is no definitive manor in which to define ‘chinky’. Varying viewpoints will skew the stereotyping along a wide spectrum. In any case, the disparity between ‘normal’ writing and ‘ethnic’ writing is so pronounced because we base our criteria upon western literature. Consequently, the conflicts that critics have with the novels are often socially biased. They fail to see the nuances in western literature because they have been trained to turn a blind eye to it. Without a doubt, Americans writing and adapting their stories for Asian countries will have a ‘Yankee’ twist.

*Can someone send me the info as to where I send this letter to. I am totally clueless and don't have the syllabus on me.

**Just another shameless plug. I usually blog about less objective things there.

A stereotype as i see it...

i hate to generalize or judge books by their covers, but due to the fact that i work in a public place i have noticed that stereotypes and generalizations present themselves. i took notice to a stereotype just the other night, and i apologize for being the shallow, ignorant person to even take part in emphasizing this stereotype which is the white-asian couple. you know you've seen them too. most of the time i see an asian woman with a white man as opposed to an asian man with a white woman. i do see them too though. most of my cousins are in this type of relationship. my last relationship was this type of relationship. yes, yes, i lived 1 year and 8 months of my life being a stereotype, and i did not care one bit (at the time of course. i then realized later that he was a stupid guy. not because of his race of course.)

so i work at a restaurant. and like i said, generalizations and sterotypes present themselves. i'm a server and i get this table with an asian woman and a man looking at the menu, which was covering his face. my first thought: "i bet he's white." he puts down his menu, and he is. my next prediction: "i bet she has an accent." and they order their drinks:
the man: "i'll take a coffee"
me: "regular or decaf?"
the man: "regular"
me: "and for you ma'am?"
the woman: "i'll hab ur-ange joos"
me: "sure. i'll be right back with your drinks"

ok this blog is turning into an anecdote. lol. so i proceed into the kitchen where i tell my co-worker about my new table and he explains to me that he thinks his parents were like that once. and he told me how his parents married after a month of meeting. his dad his white and his mom is filipino. and my head jumped straight to the idea of citizenship. my mind is tainted so much with sterotypes, i'm embarassed to say i even think like that!

i think we need to break the stereotype. and this is just one racial stereotype to break. i don't know what i'm talking about anymore. haha i just needed something to blog about :P

-donna ;]

the nailshop

so this morning my friend and i decided to go to the mall because we had a long break. we got there at 9:30 thinkin that the mall opens at 9 but it opens at 10 instead. so we headed to micky d's for breakfast. (something that i havent had in such a long time because i cannot wake up for it) . after we had breakfast we went inside the mall and i bought my hello kitty lip gloss! yay. it was so so cute but they didn't have many selections. my friend wanted to get her nails done so we went to this one place called "super nail shop" somethin' like that i forget, but i thought i wanted a pedicure but then i changed my mind and it's so funny because the workers there didn't realize i was vietnamese so they were talkin shit about me!!!! i just laughed and listen to what they had to say. they kept saying why am i here if i'm not gonna get a pedicure and how they were gonna give me a discount if i did, but i didn't want to. i'm telling ya, vietnamese people tryna hustle for their money they will do anything. i'm pretty sure everyone has seen the comedian anjelah johnson "the nailshop" "Hi hunnay, what you u need today"? hahahaah. FOB. i know i shouldn't be capping on them but it's just so funny. But i rather get my nails and pedicure done at my nailshop that i've been going too for over a year now because they know how i like it. My friend got her full set for $45. I think that was too over price for a damn full set. After school, i went to the nailshop and got my nails, pedicure, eyebrows and lip for only $40. yup, come to KIMS NAILS in oakland if ya wanna get it done.

so i have a shitload of homework to do tonight and i havent even started. :( and i need the weekend to come by a little faster. cos i wanna party! :)

Remember D&B Thursday everyone! Happy Hour. Yayers!!!!

xoxo
Julie Joi

I'm a picky eater.

And so, my weekend was super busy all over again because of work and the weather kinda sucked, but we need the rain right?

Anyways, my cousin and I were talking a whole lot about food this weekend because... everyone else but me, has pretty much been out and about with the rest of the fambam. So it's been pretty hectic in the kitchen with the moms constantly stirring up some good homemade food from scratch. Once in a while, I get pretty curious about how my mom learned to cook our filipino food. Turns out, my dad taught her and his mom, my lola (:, taught him. I've been pretty lazy with keeping up with how to cook what we eat, so I haven't mastered those recipes yet. XD

But yeah, I thought it was pretty cool to learn about how recipes get passed down to each generation and so forth. & even though they're all cooking up the same type of food, each dish tastes sorta different. For example, my dad's dishes are more oily than my mom's and her dishes tend to be more sour and flavorful 'cause my bro & sis prefer them that way. I guess everyone has a different way of cooking things whether it be their personal taste preference or by accident, but at least it isn't like frozen food.. yuck.

Back to the whole 'recipies getting passed down' stuff, it pretty much reminded me of what Athem was talking about that one class day about how stories within our culture are passed down to younger generations not thru books and readings, but by ear, practice and/or experience. I feel that this way of preserving culture is more traditional and engaging where instead of reading boring history books about your background, you get to hear it from people you know and who've experienced life as an asian american. What influences me the most is seeing how our families' culture affect the ways we live - especially with how we pick our foods.

So, going off topic a little bit, I realized that I really disliked eating filipino food outside of my home, that is I don't like eating at Jollibee, Kadok's Goldilocks, or anything like that. Don't get me wrong, I love filipino food and everything, but whenever it comes to eating out, I never go out craving those delicasies. I guess it's probably because I have enough at home or maybe because I prefer the way my family cooks the dishes. Don't you ever go out to eat something you can cook and think that you can make it wayyy better? Well, I think that's how it is for me and filipino food. But other than that, I'm pretty much comfortable with eating any type of food cause it's goood (:

- angel (:0

What home tastes like...

So here I am, Monday morning at work, sitting idly at my desk. I am pretty sure some of you are asking yourselves, "What the hell is Josh doing at work?” I have taken the liberty of making a picture (Pie Charts = Win) of what I have planned for today's agenda. As you can see, I am very busy and have very little time to blog.

Anyhow, coming up with a topic to write about can be objectively difficult, but luckily Kim sent out an email about the upcoming Iron Chef challenge. As a result, I thought I would make an overly dramatic statement about the food exercise that Irene had us write about in class.

It is another dewy winter weekend with cold winds entangling the atmosphere. Every inhalation and breathe is accentuated with a fine white cloud that pierces the immediate surroundings. As the sun begins to fade into the horizon, the lights within the household turn on instantaneously. Sensing it is nearly dinner time, my mother glides down the freshly lacquered oak floors to exquisitely question my siblings and I what they want for dinner. One by one she asks us,”What do you want to eat?” My siblings, exhausted from their drive from Vegas respond with a conventional, “I don’t know.” Abruptly, my mother’s temper begins to flare and she glares at me the when she asks the same question. Unprepared to answer, I respond with the same response as my siblings. In an act of desperation, my mother begins to blurt out dishes: Kare Kare, dinuguan, bangos, sinagang, adobo. In an attempt, to prevent her from going into a furor, I simply reply the last item she mentioned, chicken adobo.

One by one, she pulls out the ingredients for tonight’s dinner from the freshly installed cabinets and the hulking sub-zero freezer. Scattered throughout the counter are the vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce, pepper corns, and other assorted seasonings. After, she proceeds to defrost the adamantine chicken in the microwave. She enters 10:00 onto the chrome input key and LED counter begins to drop. 10, 9, 8, …, 4, 3, 2, 1, beep. Within minutes, the chicken has been sliced, diced, and been thrown into a pot filled with a mixture of seasonings. As the dish nears completion, the pungent vapors of the vinegar become distinct, traveling to all corners of the kitchen and living room. To me and my siblings, it is obvious that it is nearly dinner time. We are in the living room, talking vigorously and boisterously while holding our whiskey glass generously filled with Seagrams and 7-up, while our father remains in his customary post-work slumber. Without any further warning, my mom inhales deeply and exclaims, “Chow time!!!”

*My siblings live go to school in Nevada and I live in the city so family meetings happen rarely.

**I chose adobo because it is what I had for lunch today =)

It tastes a lot better than it looks.

*Nom nom nom nom* ( "'\( ^_^)/"' )

Ooohhhh.....there's a Bay leaf at the top =D

rainy days !

So I'm suppose to be blogging for the past few weeks but haven't had the chance. Since it's raining outside and I'm stuck in the house, I decided that I would blog. Lets just recap on the beginning of my Spring Semester, it started off rough because I was not able to get some of the classes I need for my major so I'm stuck taking two classes that I don't need and to top it off, it doesn't count for GE. Well, I must say that this class is my favorite class I've taken throughout my college years. Sad huh? I actually don't want to miss class because I feel like I might miss out on something excited. We formed groups of 8 and I must say I L0VE my group and must say we got along just great. I love how our class is nice to everyone and get along with one another because most of my classes, I don't even know or talk to 75% of the class.

I went to Vegas in the beginning of February, it was FUN! kicking it w. the girls and the fellas. I think it went by kinda fast. And I haven't been on an airplane since I was 12 yrs old. I was scared in the beginning because the plane kept shaking and when it went up. I felt like that was the longest hour ride ever. Pictures are on myspace if anyone wants to see. :) && best believe I am going back in MAY!!!

To all the February birthdays: Wishing everyone a Happy Birthday. There birthdays every week of February and it's already a short month and all these birthdays are driving me crazy. hahah. To birthday dinners to birthday parties. A girl need to rest yanoe? *** NOTE: Never drink and party in the rain. LoL. I got so sick after doing that and I've been sick for over a week now and it is not a good feeling because I'm stuck at home while others are out partying without me :( Well, I'm getting a little better and need to get better by this weekend. It's gonna be one busy week for me but excited at the same time.

So I'm heading to Reno and Tahoe in the beginning of March. Excited because this will be my second time back this year. Can't wait for my road trip to so cal in spring break and Hawaii at the end of summer!!! Yes, I love traveling and plan to do more of it every year. Gotta live it to the fullest.

My boyfriend and I watched Friday the 13th and it wasn't all that great. I thought it was stupid actually. Everyone got me excited because they said it was hella good. Blah Blah Blah. That shit was whack.

The new Hello Kitty mac make up is out!!!! yay, that means to the mall. Yayers !!! I love shopping, I mean what girl doesn't right? And I love hello kitty!!! When I get my new car, I am definitely decorating it with hello kitty. Hahahahah.

Okay, gonna go eat now. Hungry ! ! !

P.S. Dave and Busters this Thursday- Happy Hour. Come thru everyone !!!

xoxo
Ms. Julie Joi