Naturalized American - Part 1

June 23, 2010 was a very special day for my husband - this was the day he became a Naturalized US Citizen.  This was one of his father's dreams - to give his children the opportunities of living the American dream - a dream he fought for in World War II - he was in the US Army under the command of Rock Hudson, part of those who fought in Okinawa.  I am sure my father-in-law is smiling down at us from heaven - knowing that his son's family is now reaping the benefits of his labors.

The presiding judge said that she became an American the easy way - she was born here, but her mother was an immigrant too and she witnessed how her mother cherished her citizenship.  She congratulated the over three thousand new citizens after the oath-taking, acknowledging that they achieved their status the hard way - they had to wait years, complete the forms, pass the exams, prove themselves worthy.  She said she knows that citizenship earned is often valued more. She thanked the members of the armed forces who were willing to bear arms even before they were citizens - and there were quite a few swearing in that day!  It was a very touching ceremony.  The judge ended by saying now that they were Americans, they have earned bragging rights to the 1-0 US win against Algeria in the World Cup!

My loved ones are asking when my turn will come - I still have to take the civic exam and pass before participating in such a ceremony.  It is sad for me to think of denouncing allegiance to the land of my birth - a country that has been good to me.  But America has given me so much too - and yes, there is always dual citizenship!

Intense Summer Read: Shanghai Girls

I've had it in my to-read list for quite a while, but somehow delayed reading it until this June - Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. This is my first time reading a novel by Lisa See and I must say I was impressed!

I loved the way she described the sights, sounds and scents of Shanghai.  The rickshaw pullers, the vendor selling noodles - even the apathetic way the lead characters would step over dead babies in the streets.  There is something distinctly Asian about Lisa See's descriptions, I related her Shanghai streets to the village streets in the Philippines where I grew up.  We didn't have dead babies in the street, but the smells associated with food sold from a cart or a mobile vendor - the depictions of poor neighborhoods and affluent ones just living side by side together.  Lisa See took me to Shanghai and made me appreciate the city as the two sisters did.

And though I grew up several decades after this story was written, the relationships between family members: husbands, daughters, sisters and mothers - were very easy to relate to.  I have heard stories of how it was when our country was fighting the Japanese - and the lead characters' experience with Japanese cruelty was shocking yet my grandmother told me about this - she was a young girl during World War II. The apathy of the sisters to what was going on around them - I could easily understand - I lived through some parts of the martial law regime in our country and the terror failed to touch me until years later when I studied what had gone on.  Protected children of the middle class - shielded from the violence and the ugliness around by their parents - I actually lived that life!

The sisters' experience when they moved to Los Angeles - how different their lives were - was almost how I first viewed Los Angeles when I immigrated here. Their observations on how people who work so hard here - and live in poverty-stricken conditions - go home to China as though they are very wealthy men - are still true for some of my countrymen today.  How they work so hard, save up as much as they could, send money home so that they can retire there later on - that's the story of most overseas Filipino workers I know.

All the heartbreak - the poverty, discrimination, living in fear, losing a child and their parents - you will feel each painful experience with the lead characters.  But you will also survive with them - survive and triumph.  You will learn how inspite of everything they have been through they have no choice but to move on - to go on and live!

It's a very inspiring story that opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn't understand about the Chinese culture here in America.  It's an enlightening read - a bridge that may lead us to respect and admire our neighbors more.  I highly recommend adding this to your reading list this summer!

Disney Dining: Cafe Orleans

We came to see Fantasmic - Disneyland's summer spectacular featuring Mickey Mouse and his very vivid imagination.  We had arrived late in the afternoon, rode a few attractions then looked for somewhere to just relax before the show.

We knew that they were going to have the show in the Rivers of America so we stayed close in the New Orleans Square.  We found ourselves wandering into Cafe Orleans - initially intending to have coffee and crepes on one of their outside patio tables.

While perusing the menu, I was attracted to the three cheese monte cristo sandwich while my husband ordered the regular one.  We've never eaten here before so we quite honestly expected just a regular sandwich.  What they served us was a combination of sweet fritters and the monte cristo sandwich fillings!

It was good!  It tasted like pastry, but it was savory at the same time.  I shied away from their crepes because I prefer sweet fruit crepes to savory ones, but after having this sandwich - I think I would like to sample their crepes next time we dine here.  It was a great father's day treat for my hubby - he loved his meal as much as I enjoyed mine.

This is only the second time I've tried this type of cuisine and I have already developed an appreciation of their use of cheeses, meats and now fritters.  Their portions are big - with the monte cristo sandwich plate, you'll be full with just half so feel free to share if you want.

Quick Tip: If you want a table outside, indicate this when you place your reservations - it's a long wait if you try and walk-in to get a table there. And don't forget - Premium Annual Passholders get 15% off in Cafe Orleans!

Happy Disney Dining, my friends!

Some Scrubbing Therapy During Game 7

I was watching Game 7 of the 2010 Lakers vs Celtics saga last night - rooting for our home team.  Earlier that day my coworker asked me if I think the Lakers would win - I told him if they play like they did in Game 6 - definitely!  I was apprehensive though because I suffered through Game 4 & 5 - looking on as they fumbled, missed easy shots and lost.

The first three quarters were so frustrating - I spent the last minutes of the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter cleaning!  Venting out my frustrations on getting the tile and porcelain in my bathroom nice and shiny.

Many people have laughed at Ron Artest thanking his psychiatrist after they won, but I think his calm attitude and focus during the game helped the Lakers win big time!  And if he needs a psychiatrist to do that - good for him!

Cleaning works just as well for me.  When I'm frustrated or angry - I tackle the dirty pots and pans, work on carpets with my trusty Rainbow cleaning system or scrub my tub and tiles.  It's a very productive way of getting all of the restless energy out - plus I love the way my place looks after - not that I want to be venting all the time.

My grandmother taught me how to clean every nook and cranny of our home in the Philippines from a very young age.  Although I always try my best not to get stuck with washing the dishes - I learned to appreciate a clean home from her example - I didn't realize how cleaning has also become therapeutic for me until last night, but I guess everyone learns to deal with frustrations one way or another.

I'm just happy the Lakers won - awesome effort! Woohoo!

Gadget Crazy

Dear Reader,

I have a confession to make.  There is this new gadget that is driving me crazy.  It's the new Kodak Playsport video camera.  It shoots 1080p videos, takes 5 MP stills comes in several cool colors and it's inexpensive!

Now I know what you're going to say, yes I do have a Flip Ultra video camera - which is about the same size and my husband and I have used it to take video clips - and my Nikon D90 does take HD video too - and I love that I can adjust camera/SLR settings on videos I take here.  So why do I need another video camera?

Well, I am planning to get into a kayak this summer, go swimming at this beautiful resort down in Escondido, go snorkeling when I go home to the Philippines and spend as much time near bodies of water as I can during the hot months. This video camera is waterproof - up to 10 feet!  Yes, that's the primary reason I want it.  It can get wet and it can capture non-blurry underwater footage!

It has all the cool features of my Flip Ultra - plus it's shock proof and can take up to 10 hours of video.  I can easily share the videos I take on my social media sites.  And did I mention that it shoots in 1080p?  I'm supposed to be thinking of a father's day gift for my hubby, but instead I keep going back to this gadget! Argghh!  Will my hubby want this for father's day?  If only but no, I already know what he wants...

Have you tried this video camera?  Can you dissuade me from wanting to get one?  Please, please, pretty please?

Thank you for your help!  My budget appreciates it very much.

Sincerely Yours,

Gadget Crazy

Dear John: Autism and Relationships

Nicholas Sparks has a track record of making me cry.  I have watched most of the movies that are based on his novels: Message in a Bottle with Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn, A Walk to Remember with Mandy Moore and Shane West, The Notebook with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere and Diane Lane, and most recently, Dear John with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.

I think the brilliance of Nicholas Sparks lies in how his readers, or movie-watchers in this case, can relate to his characters and to what's happening in their lives.  His premises are not out of this world - love, death, loneliness, illness, and war - which is probably why it is easy for people to imagine themselves in the shoes of the characters.

In Dear John - Channing & Amanda fall in love while he was on leave from the military and she was on vacation from college. At the end of the whirlwind courtship of two weeks - he has to go back to war and she has to go back to school.  They promise to write each other so that they feel connected even though they are miles apart.

Before Channing is scheduled to finish his tour - the 9/11 terrorist attack happens.  His team is eager to extend their tour to help defend their country.  He tells Amanda - she does not approve, but lets him go back.

During this second separation Amanda does not write.  She gets married and he decides to make the military his career.  He goes back because his father has a stroke and eventually passes away.  He goes to see her and finds out that she had married the kind neighbor with the autistic kid instead of the jerk who liked her during their two-week courtship.  He also finds out that her husband is dying of cancer and they have lost all their money trying to prolong his life.  He sells his father's coin collection and donates the proceeds to the couple anonymously.  Amanda writes to tell him about this and to inform him that her husband had died two months after being able to come home.

The ending is vague - they meet at a coffee shop, she a widow and he still single.  My husband and I are debating what could have happened.  He thinks they will just remain friends because Channing's feelings have gone, but I think they will continue where they left off and get married.  What do you think?

Nicholas Sparks managed to explore another disease in this movie.  In The Notebook, he depicted how Alzheimer's could affect a relationship.  This time he explored the intricacies of Autism, the diagnosed type in Amanda's stepson and the undiagnosed mild case of Channing's father.  My father-in-law had a mild case of Alzheimer's and I was able to relate to what happened in The Notebook, but I had no experience with Autism - and the movie opened my eyes to what it would be like to have a relationship with an autistic person who was never diagnosed.

It did not make me cry as much as the other movies based on Nicholas Sparks' novels because it still had that inkling of a happy ending - the lead characters did not die here. I give it two thumbs up!  It's a great DVD to see with the one you love - a conversation starter that can deepen your relationship in the long run.

Have a great movie night, my friends!

Disney's California Adventure's World of Color

The World of Color show opened to the public at Disney's California Adventure Park last night. I knew we had to get a fast pass for viewing, but seeing as I was at work in the morning and my hubby didn't know how to get one - I just hoped for the best. There were two shows last night at 9:00 and 10:15 PM. When we arrived the 9:00 PM show had already started - the fast pass had sold out, every viewing deck available was packed with people - you could tell that the show was a big hit.

We wandered around the park until we came into this small section just beside the Zephyr ride at Paradise Pier. They had barricaded it, but had allowed this small viewing deck where we saw the 10:15 PM show at almost the same vantage point as those who had fast passes. I was going to take pictures, but I wanted to enjoy the show first - I can always come back to document it.

One warning though - while watching the show, it feels like it's drizzling the whole time. A light mist will hit you throughout so dress warmly! And if you're brave enough to stay in the Wet Zone - buy or bring your own poncho because you're going to get soaking wet!

If you like the fountain show at the Bellagio - imagine adding colored lights, cartoon video clips, pyrotechnics, inspiring songs and many more effects as only the Disney Imagineers can come up with to that - plus the water effects are much better at the World of Color. This is a great date night show or a cool place to bring the whole family this summer!

I found this video of the show in Disney's YouTube page - enjoy!

Making Your Property Work For You

One of the HGTV shows I actually love watching with my husband is Income Property with Scott McGillivray.  I love it because it gives me options on how a potential money pit can become extra income.

Home ownership is a dream that most people aspire to.  Before I learned about property taxes, association dues, bad loans and foreclosure problems, I aspired to it too.  It's still my dream - but I just don't want to be a slave of my home - saving up and denying myself treats like travel and gadgets just so I can own a home.

I want a home on my terms - with an affordable mortgage and fees that still allows me to enjoy life.  And most days it drives me to think of new income streams my husband and I can establish.  This morning as I was browsing through my visual motivation - aka homes for sale in Orange - I found an income property in the city I have grown to love.  It's a property that has been converted into three completely separate rental units - a 2-bedroom + 2 bath, a 2 bedroom + 1 bath and a 1 bedroom + 1 bath property.  It's gated and walled off, which I like - it's been upgraded to wooden floors, nice updated kitchens and move-in ready.  It even has a pool at the back.  It's out of my price range for a home at the moment, but considering the rental units - it's actually a great deal!  When we finally look for a home to buy - this would be the kind of property I would be looking for - or something with rental income potential then I can just have Scott convert it to an inhabitable space :)

Well, it's free to dream - I always say.  One day soon, I will buy a home!  For now, I just need the motivation to keep saving, keep working and keep establishing additional streams of income.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Alice - Take Two!

As a child, Alice in Wonderland was one of my least favorite stories.  Admittedly I enjoyed the fairytale types like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Snow White more than most - I guess you could say I was a very young romantic at heart.

I really did not appreciate all the strange creatures she encountered and her journey through Wonderland!  The new movie, although based on the original story, added a very clear life lesson - "You can not live your life doing what everyone tells you to do - you must learn to make your own decisions and stand up for what you believe in."

It was like a light bulb turning on in my head - the "Aha!" moment.  Alice was weak-willed, she followed directions all the time drank the potion in the bottle labeled "Drink Me" got really tiny, ate the cake labeled "Eat Me" and grew gigantic, and even believed what Absolem told her that she wasn't the right Alice - when she knew in her heart that she was!  She was a push over - people just walked all over her - no wonder I didn't like her character.

And like most of us in life, Alice needed to learn how to stand up for herself - her rights, her happiness, her beliefs.  She needed to undergo the metamorphosis from being weak to being a hero.  And she triumphs in the end - refusing marriage to an aristocrat in exchange for an apprenticeship in her father's company - becoming an independent woman of the world.

I loved the movie!  The characters were brilliantly cast and very colorfully presented - the mix of cartoon characters with real life ones in the scene was seamlessly done and very believable.  Johnny Depp was the perfect Mad Hatter - I can't imagine anyone doing a better job with that character - he was lovable and not annoyingly distant as I remember the written character was.  Helena Bonham Carter was a highly entertaining Red Queen - she gave the character dimension and depth - she was not just a silly woman screaming, "Off with their heads!" with no reason at all.  There was emotional damage behind the madness.

I wish this was the first Alice in Wonderland movie I had seen - I would have appreciated it more early on!

Good job on this movie - two thumbs up!  I recommend you all get the DVD and watch it now - if you haven't already.  It's a great new perspective on Alice.

Beach Volleyball: Surf City's Other Great Sport

Many times during the year, my husband and I enjoy strolling down the pier at Huntington Beach or biking along the shore.  Surfers are a constant source of entertainment from the pier - Huntington Beach is called Surf City, USA.  Another staple is the ever-present beach volleyball games happening in the many courts that constantly invite beach goers to go into the sand and indulge in a game or two.

My husband always tells me that one of the big events at Huntington Beach is the volleyball tournaments where Olympic greats come to play.  Until last Sunday, I have never been to one!

I'm not a big fan of beach volleyball, but I have watched a few games and the players that I remember most are Misty May and Nicole Branagh.  Lucky for us, they were competing in the AVP Huntington Beach Open Women's Finals that day against Kessy and Ross.  I was so excited to see these players that until that day I had only seen on TV.  Kessy and Ross took the championship in Game 3 after May and Branagh struggled in the last two games.

The sun was scorching hot!  I emptied out my sunblock creme bottle - and thought about how if I were a sunblock creme company, I'd sponsor beach volleyball tournaments for sure!  But the event sponsors got the crowd excited during breaks by throwing out souvenirs - my husband and I both got Rockstar Energy Drink caps plus the Bud Lime beads.  Out in the sponsor tents, there were free shirts, beach balls, souvenir fans, hairstyling from Paul Mitchell, pina coladas from Malibu Rum, and the Nivea happiness tent (the concept of which I didn't really get).  The sponsors definitely made the crowd happy!

Of all the outdoor sporting events my husband and I have attended - this ranks high in the Most Fun list.  Definitely a Huntington Beach must-see!  You can't really live by the beach and not watch an AVP tournament at least once in your life - it's one of the perks of living here.

Be an Early Bird This Summer

This was the line to get into last weekend's UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas.  For many who ordered tickets online, this was the second long line they had to wait in to meet and greet their UFC favorites.  Unlike concert tickets and even this weekend's AVP Huntington Beach Open (professional beach volleyball tournament) tickets that can be printed from home and then scanned when you go to the event - all UFC fan expo tickets needed to be picked up on a Will Call basis.

Fortunately, because I was procrastinating - and was not sure if my husband really wanted to go - I did not get e-tickets.

Unlike the Will Call line, there was virtually no On Site (which was how they labeled the area for buying tickets that same day) line. We filled out a form that became our official receipt and submitted it to the cashier who completed the transaction and let us into the line you see on the left.  Once the doors opened, we breezed through the zigzag maze, showed our red paper bracelet to event security and proceeded to mixed martial arts heaven.

The faster queue was the only good thing about procrastinating though.  This happened to me again with buying tickets for the AVP Huntington Beach Open - if I had bought the tickets a day earlier than I had, I would have gotten $5 off each one!  In this case, it pays to get your tickets early!

So much for spontaneity!  I guess you can be spontaneous two or so days before the event and decide to go instead of waiting for the very last minute before getting tickets.  Enjoy the beautiful summer weekends on a discount - don't procrastinate, plan ahead!

Dare to Dream, Dare to Believe!

When my husband and I are in the mood for a good laugh, we usually choose to watch comedies for kids.  Dwayne Johnson is one of the tough guys who is perfect for kids' movies.  He looks scary and mean, but he is great at portraying real softies.

In The Tooth Fairy, his character is a professional hockey player who after injuring himself playing in the major leagues transferred to the minors to recuperate.  He is known as The Tooth because of his ability to knock opponent's teeth out when he smashes into them.

He is in love with a single mother with two kids - a young girl who adores him and a tween-aged boy who is sulky and moody.  His girlfriend is looking for a father-figure for her son and tries to get Dwayne to get to know him.  Dwayne is egotistical and a pessimist at the start of the movie - a dream killer, if you will.

Because of the disillusions in his life, Dwayne's character does not dare to believe that dreams can come true.  He constantly extinguishes the starry-eyed, fairy-tales-do-come-true attitude in those he meets - including young children.  This attitude gets him into trouble with the head fairy played by Julie Andrews and he gets penalized to serve as a tooth fairy for several weeks.

It is during his fairy service that he is forced to face the reality that if you keep killing your dream then you have absolutely no hope of achieving it.  Even if it seems impossible, you must believe and work hard to achieve your dream - this is the only way you can succeed.  It's a great lesson - one we try to share with people every day where I work.

Don't give up on your dreams!  Don't kill somebody else's dreams.  Learn to say, what if.  Learn to build up instead of putting down.  You never know how far a person can go - and how much an encouraging word can affect someone's confidence in himself...  Help yourself or someone you care for today - just believe!