Hi From Ging!!

Hi Family! How is everyone? Hope everyone has recovered from jetlag and morning-sickness respectively :) We are now going into the second weekend of Saigon, and I am having such a wonderful time. The cast is great - a good percentage of them, not to mention the majority of the leads are from the national tour, and I am so grateful to finally be part of this show. I go in for understudy rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, so I get to sing through the entire score for the first time - well, the first time onstage and not in my bedroom, anyway ;)

Below are some production shots . That's me in the back right-hand corner in the black dress in the second picture - they didn't put me in a bikini afterall, but they did make the front of that dress - and all of my hooker dresses for that matter - as low-cut as they possibly could. So, once again, I am the cleavage girl. Yeah.

Hope everyone is doing well! Looking forward to being home for the holidays!
Much Love!
-GING

Catching up

Greetings everyone! I haven't read the blogs lately and it was nice to catch up with everyone's posts. Roze, you were a beautiful queen! My parents and I enjoyed looking at the pics Jo posted. We're doing fine here in Pensacola. The tornados (8 touched down in the area) that struck last Thursday caused alot of property damage but no deaths. We were fortunate to have great weather for Lee's visit. They arrived Thursday afternoon and left early this morning. The weather started clearing Friday afternoon and we were able to get beachtime on Friday and Saturday. Noah and Sadie also got to meet their cousin King Louie Chumley aka Houdini. He's a cutie. Mikayla and Lucas are growing so fast! It was a great visit!

Congratulations, Leah & Aaron! We'll pray your pregnancy goes smoothly. For now, the Ohio River dive is postponed, right? ;) That's all for now. Take care and hopefully we'll see everyone for New Year's. It looks like we'll be spending Thanksgiving & Christmas here. ~Nene Lourdes

We're Home. . .

I have to say going home is always a wonderful thing to do. I met a lot of family and friends and was very surprised to see your Lola's best friend in church. She's in her 80's, still walks to church and alert as can be. She was your Lola's partner in going to church everyday and always together in any church activities. So, it brought back some memories to me. I couldn't leave without talking to her, so I waited for her and gave her some grocery money that brought tears to her eyes. I told her I feel like Nanay is telling me to do this.
I also found your Lolo's hat that I think is about 70 years old. He used wear it when he would go to the farm. I had it cleaned up and will hang it in the kitchen where everybody stays most of the time.
Roze's coronation was a success and she did look like a Queen. I have all the tapes and will show you all when you come visit Silverbrook. The fiesta celebration was so much fun. Old friends and family came and we met your Lola's only surviving male cousin (Tatay Bartol) who found out that we were there. Your Uncle Nito flew in for the festivities. We were invited to so many houses for lunch and dinner and I'm sure I've gained some weight, but food is always delicious. Our short trip to Boracay was not enough, but we did everything we could. We did the snorkeling and jet skiing and swam inside the cave.
Shopping was another thing. Their malls are bigger than ours, some are 5 stories high and our dollar goes farther, so that was fun. Bingbing (ni Alex) was our guide in Manila and again we stayed at Fernandina's Condo by Ali Mall. Our last night, we were invited to Alex's despedida party and there's so much singing and dancing.
Our stay in Duenas was so much fun. Grandchildren from Capuling came every night to do their nightly massage to us. It bonded us better with them.
Anyway, Phils. is fun, but I'm glad I'm home. We were able to finish our transactions with your Lolo's land and we have laid the foundation for our "Lanceta subdivision". We stayed in Day's Hotel in Iloilo and their Chow King restaurant that is open 24 hrs. So, Lilibeth, your Auntie Norma and I would have our halo halo at 11pm.
I'll see you all soon and get ready for a great New Year's celebration.....

Hola Familia!

Hola familia! Chris and I are finally home after a 10-day trip to Florida/Alabama. Other than the heat, we had a wonderful time with Jim, Inday, Chloe and Ethan. The kids are growing up fast...Ethan turned 4 the day we arrived (like the homemade birthday cake?), and Chloe will be 6 in about 2 weeks! Disneyworld and shopping at the outlets with them were an experience! They're so sweet! We'll be home for Christmas and possibly New Year...so, hope to see everyone then. Take care and miss you all.

Hi Everyone... It's Leah.
I just wanted to finally make the formal announcement that Aaron and I are expecting our first baby on April 6th, 2008!!! I'm finishing up my fourth month and I FINALLY feel like myself again. I don't see how people can deal with multiple pregnancies. It is horrible!!! I was nauseous for like three months straight and I never vomited. Soooo... I ended up gaining like ten pounds my first trimester. The books say you are only supposed to gain like four, so yes I am now chubby. It it worth it, though!
Aaron and I are very excited and cannot wait until we find out the gender (in four weeks!!!).
We will keep you posted.
I can't wait until everyone can see my little belly!!!

Love ya,

Leah

thoughts...

hey all,

it's joy. before i start, i want to say two things:

1. janice, i'll boycott h&m. what a terrible thing.
2. roze looked BEAUTIFUL at her coronation. i got a little teary eyed just looking at pictures. she's grown up so much. i wish i could've been there.

ok, so the real point in me writing this entry....so i'm winding down from rehearsal and i just really have to express to all of you what i'm currently feeling. sorry if this seems like a downer.

as most of you know, i'm in a show called "anon(ymous)" about a young refugee boy named anon who is trying to find his way back to his past. the story is: anon and his mother was separated during a sea storm when he was just a little boy , and the entire show is anon's journey of finally finding her. he searches for his identity and mother throughout the span of the play. i play the asian goddess "naja" who helps anon reunite with his mother.

...after all of this work on the show...i can't help but think of mommy betty every single time i'm in rehearsal. the girl who is playing anon's mother had to learn a chinese accent...and every time she sings the lullabye, i really just think of mommy and her singing to me when i had to wake up for kindergarten. "wake up, wake up, chirps the SPAH-ROW...don't you know it is TO-MAH-ROW." that's what she sang to me every morning.

i'm not quite sure how this play parallels with the story of mommy and me, but it's somewhere there. it's hard to do these rehearsals and not get sad about it. it makes me miss mommy alot.

i don't know. that's depressing, right? sorry. i just had to say it. this play means alot to me and because i have this connection with mommy through it, it means even more. it's an extremely special experience to do a show and to have memories of my family incorporated in my acting.

...anyway, that's all. i just had to say it.

here's some info on my show:

Anon(ymous) By Naomi Iizuka


A cutting-edge adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey by award winning dramatist Naomi Iizuka, Anon(ymous) tells the story of Anon, a young refugee on a journey to a new life in America. After surviving a boat wreck and being swept ashore, Anon survives one absurd situation after another by wit and instinct, offering a rich sensory exploration of the many different ways in which we search for home and identity in a multicultural America.

Dates:

Oct. 24, 8 PM ($10) **Preview Night
Oct. 25-27, 8 PM ($27, $15 students)
October 27-28, 2 PM ($25, $14 students)

RESERVE TICKETS AT CCM BOX OFFICE: 513-556-4183

--NOW onsale--


---joy

Boycott H&M (sorry, Joy)

Hey guys,

(It's Janice) This is my first post on a blog ever. It is so cool to be able to use this site to stay in touch!!

Congrats to Roze - I want to see pictures!!

Anyway, I wanted to share a press release with you guys since this concerns a racial discrimination lawsuit by a Filipino nurse (a friend of one of my friends) against H&M. When I heard about this incident it made me so angry that I wanted to go to H&M and yell at someone. Fortunately, the victim in question acted more calmly and decided to involve the press after her complaints to the store went unheard. (See press release below):

September 24, 2007Contact: Myron Dean Quon, Esq.AAI Legal DirectorCell: 773-865-6742Work: 773-271-0899myron@aaichicago.org
(Chicago, IL) - Asian American Institute filed a discrimination complaint with the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations, seeking redress for Frannie Richards, a Filipino American nurse who suffered anti-Asian and sex-based harassment at the Magnificent Mile H&M department store. The harassment included "mail-order bride" comments, ridicule concerning Ms. Richards' ability to understand English, as well as mocking "ching, ching, chang" noises by an H&M employee."Anti-Asian, xenophobic, and misogynist verbal attacks still happen on a daily basis," said Asian American Institute Legal Director Myron Dean Quon. "Asian American women, like Ms. Richards, should never have to deal with this type of harassment, in Chicago no less." This past month, when Ms. Richards entered H&M to go shopping for clothes, she had no idea that she would be the victim of a hostile and threatening environment. "As a registered nurse and retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt., I knew that I had to enforce my civil rights, for myself and other Asian American women. Because H&M refused to discipline this employee, I immediately thought of my own female relatives and friends. The workplace usage of disparaging anti-Asian slurs should require the termination of that H&M employee." Quon noted that Asian Americans should be able to visit retail establishments and other businesses without having to endure a humiliating and offensive environment. Asian American Institute will represent Ms. Richards based on her claim that H&M violated the City's Human Rights Ordinance, when the employee harassed Ms. Richards and also when in it refused her request to file a formal complaint. Chicago's anti-discrimination ordinances guard against discrimination, including anti-Asian and sex-based discrimination, when the discriminatory incident takes place in Chicago and involves employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, or bonding..

I tried to call Andrew to see if he knew the guy who made the ignorant comments since he (at least used to) work at this very same H&M but haven't been able to reach him yet.

Anway, until H&M publicly addresses this issue and fires not only the guilty employee, but changes its corporate policy to take stricter measures against this type of behavior, I refuse to shop there!!

Last Partings from Duenas

Hey! So I got coronated last Sunday. And it was pretty interesting. 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at the social hall, I was the only one ready. People starting getting on my side - I was pissed. But then during the coronation, I was on cloud nine. And then after the coronation, I was completely miserable because everyone left me sitting all by myself and I wanted to dance but I couldn't dance due to my 15lb dress. Yep. Well, me, my Nanay, and Jojo are leaving for Manila tomorrow and we will be back in the States on October 6. Can't wait to see you all. I have soooo much to talk about. Jojo took a bunch of pictures from the coronation and Boracay and will download them as soon as the connection is not like irritably slow.

Hugs and Kisses,

Roze