Moronic Individuals.

So today was another field trip lunch at OCA... we went to a place called Panini Cafe on 9th St (it was delicious, but that's not what this is about) and we were talking about a grant that we had been trying to get from Group W. (anonymous... the w stands for wanker. ... am i allowed to say that?) My boss got a call from somebody with the group, and they said "I'm sorry, we aren't funding any Asian American groups right now. Because we don't know enough about it, and don't want to make any mistakes."

Now, if this wasn't my LEAP blog, I would use a host of colorful and remarkably explicit choice phrases and exclamations to describe how I felt about this comment... however, seeing as its LEAP I have to keep it PG.. Lets just say that I can't believe the imbecilic and completely inane things that people still say these days.

I guess I'll have to leave it at that and let your imaginations run wild with my rather large vocabulary of fanciful expletives.

LEAP Gala

The Gala was a pretty crazy extravagant event, I must say. Scott was never really able to convey the crushing crowds, explosion of silent auctions or vastness of a tabling nightmare.

It was a very impressive event, albeit intimidating. All the interns were split up, which I think was a good and bad thing. Personally, it was a little hard to socialize at my table; everybody was familiar with each other from work, and it was difficult to cut (*makes cutting motion with hands, fatima style*) into a conversation. Especially when they were droning on and on about work or whatever. When they did give me 30 seconds of their time, it seemed like they were looking right through me and into the stripey-giraffey-pink colored chair I was sitting on. They looked right through everything that I've achieved and ever done. I was a nobody, and they made me feel that way. Actually, that's unfair. A few people were kind to me and made a point to introduce themselves and ask a few questions. But I did get the icy feeling from a few, and it got me to thinking about what their first impression of me might have been. It also made me very aware of how certain people make distinguishes in the way they treat each other. They were pretty distant and cold to me, but very animated with talking to a well-known fellow who sat at my table. All I can say is that you should be kind to everyone.. who knows, one day i'll be the bigger person, and maybe i'll see right through you. through your blank eyes, cold smile, and boring demeanor.


anyways. sorry i went off on the tangent. while some people were offsetting (haha to say the least...) i did have a great time. many of the speakers were inspiring and great to listen to (especially our key note speaker duy-loane le!!!!!! SHE WAS AMAZING!!!! and very sweet!) and I got to see a lot of familiar people from the community. i was very surprised and greatly pleased that brian takeda of the nikkei federation remembered me. i probably would not have been able to pick him out from a hole in the wall, but i must have met him through NSU in the near past... so that was a very exciting moment. See Mean Person from Table ## (aka my table), I am rememberable and worth something!

SHOWED YOU!!!!!!

also. i was very happy i got to take home so many pretty centerpieces... haha ^_^v thanks hann li and kirstie for helping me take so many!!! (PS christable i hope your mom likes all the orchids you got for her!)

oh yeah!! (so many things i'm remembering.. it was such a long day) the interns and i had basically a free day and ran around with our pants off. .... so to speak. =] we went to the MOCA which was an epic fail (we basically waited around 30 min outside the door in the shade waiting for it to open... only to realize there was no exhibit currently on display. lol) so we saw the mike shinoda & ikebana exhibit at JANM. that was really fun. we made the worst group ikebana ever. and we also took lots of fun jumping pictures outside. =] (PSS hann li/fatima can you send them to me?)

i love my fellow interns =] i'm so happy i get to see them tomorrow too, instead of waiting until next week!!! :D

he shall be my squishie.

baby fishie i've been workin on for the invitation design for work... =]






















strange... he was def orange....? o_O

my new slogan

the other day i attended an info meeting with clara for this mentorship program hosted by the AAPA... and it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.

everyone there was on the older side.. "my name is so and so and i have been working at Southern California Edison for over 20 years" ..... Uh you have been working there longer than I am old. Great. So I got there before Clara and went inside by myself... and was scared to death. everybody was older and i knew nobody. i just prayed that i wouldn't be so nervous i'd pee myself or forget my name. after i got food i sat with the youngest looking people i could find... thinking maybe they were in their 20s. ahhhh the deceptive youthful faces of asians. they were 30 something. oh well, they were actually OCA board members so I was in good company and got to meet people i saw yesturday at the board meeting.

anyway. the point of the matter is that my old mantra made no sense ("showed you" courtesy of scott chan) AND SO!!! i came up with a new one.

I am going to be the I that I know I am.




PS. (I refering to that DISC thingy.. i don't even remember what the I stood for besides dolphins...)

dimsum with clara

after a long week, we took a break from work and went out to dimsum, just clara and i. we went to a new place in chinatown (or atleast new because i had never been there), and i loved the familiarity of the atmosphere. it was fun having one on one time because we got a chance to talk about careers and the pros and cons of going corporate vs non-profit, and what possibilities i would have after i graduated next year. since she has been on both sides, she shared the ups and downs for both and gave me lots of food for thought. on the drive home, she said something which i really really liked.

"everyone has a novel in them. its just whether or not you choose to write it."

i wonder what the next chapter in my novel will be..

beepbeep

So much has been happening recently at work! I'm starting my second full week at OCA and it has been crazy. I'm putting together a grant proposal for WaMu for OCA's annual Image Awards which is held every October. It's a really interesting process that I've never really done before, so I'm learning a lot from it. I also seem to be doing a lot of free-lance art work sort of stuff for another org in the building during my down time.. it's pretty fun, just letterheads and that kind of thing. Hmm.. everything else at work is going well, I'm starting to get a lot of things ready for the convention in DC (yay home!) and it's this monster of a schedule that will probably eat me alive sooner or later... o_O haha its cool though.

on another note, i met with the APADRC, Leap (scott and fatima!!!) yesturday to discuss this hate crimes coalition event (LAAPAHCC??) that will be held in the fall.. it's sorta like APC's Where Is the Love? so that is a new fun thing to be a part of; the topic is a lot more familiar to me too, as is the planning process.

oh yeah and other random fun stuff, the interns had a meeting on sunday to discuss our project, and then afterwards a bunch of us went to kirsties (sorry no soccer hann =( sad day) and watched breakfast club. interesting movie, it really makes you think... i really like hanging out with the other interns though, i'm glad we have such a fun, easy-going group; i miss not hanging out with them all the time like we did at retreat =(

oh yeah, one more thing...

Happy Birthday Hann li!!!!!

(yes i know.. what a great use of time while i'm taking my break at work... but isn't it pretty?!?!?!) .... note to self use fun colors more often in my posts....

Week 1

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind of activities, but the retreat was well worth it. It was in a beautiful cabin up in the mountains somewhere in Lake Arrowhead. Through a combination of leadership workshops, team building activities (Acid River & Promises, Promises!!) and free play time, I got to know my fellow LIA-interns and the LIA coords. I had a really fun time and am excited about the upcoming group project! We get to explore the meaty issue of gentrification in various API communities... through food!! What better way to do it right? I'm excited to start "researching" and visiting all the different restaurants in the different ethnic enclaves.

My first day at my CBO on Friday was pretty laid back. I got the run-down on OCA-GLA and what sort of things they've done within the community recently as well as a brief overview of what I'll be working on here this summer. My boss Clara is very sweet and has a bubbly personality, so I think we will be able to get along quite well.

To be continued!!

PS I wish I had a picture from the retreat... =/ That would go here.

.:edit:.
















Thanks for the picture scott!