Writing: Narrative Prompt

Note: This was just extra writing practice for World Literature. It's about being Filipino (and immigration and race in America!), so I tried to include history, books I read, and the experiences of people I've met. The prompt was pretty vague at the time, so I forgot what it was already. Looking at it now, it reads more like a speech than an actual narrative.

In 1900, they came in great white ships, cannons booming and flags waving. Their politicians’ promises of freedom led us to take up our arms in unity, our cause one– independence.

But after a quarter million were dead and gone and the war was done, they just wouldn’t listen. While Rizal said that “the Filipino is regarded as a fit citizen,” what did they say? They said that we were “big children, who must be treated as little ones.”

Still, we hoped that we would rise from the position of conquered. When they needed workers at the sugar plantations and canneries, we were there. When they needed labor at the farms, we were there. We were there as the maids and the bartenders and the busboys and the waiters and the pickers. But then, in ‘46, after another great war was fought and won, Bulosan overheard them say “why don’t they ship those monkeys back where they came from?”

As we became citizens, they continued to look down on us. That year, Truman denied 200,000 soldiers from receiving their military benefits because they were Filipinos. Decades passed, and the Filipino still held onto that hope that one day he or she can rise. But still, Domingo and Viernes are shot in ’81 after asking for the end of corruption.

Now, in 2016, Linayao says that the army is his ticket out. His parents never home, his school not working out, his dead end job going nowhere– he thinks the system’s failed him. Back home, Duterte tells the masses to shoot and kill the druggies and dope slingers, and the masses follow. Crabs in a bucket, they type, as they do nothing but watch.

In the pictures, Filipinos smile; their faces with tight lipped, thinly stretched smiles show that even though it can be bad, their dream still lives. Their smiles betray their reality in a land that has stripped them of their dignity and their rights.

Today, we continue to smile. Not because we are savages, but because we are men. In the end, we choose to keep smiling– because as we do, we defy.

Postscript. Reading this again, I realize I should add something that I overheard at a Christmas party, which is pretty pertinent to this essay.

“As immigrants, we only came here to better our economic status and make a better life for our kids. We've been held back by our skin color, but the thing is that it’s your job as the second generation in America to change our social status. We weren’t born with the ideals of the American Dream, but you were– and that’s why you need to make America a place where people like us are equal... Although you don’t see us marching on the streets or protesting, we're not passive about our social status. Everyday, we live the issues you talk about, and we want to change it, but we know what happens when you try to fight these issues head on. For us, we've had to find ways to game the system and go around it all... At my old job, my coworker was a Hawaiian Filipino with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a Masters in his field. He applied to a Director’s position, but they decided to take a white high school graduate over him, even though he was overqualified."

Review: Earl Grey - Tea of Life

Type: Flavored Black
Producer: Tea of Life (Amazon Teas)
Origin: Sri Lanka
Brewing Parameters: ~1.6 g, 100°C, 3 min.
Appearance: Small, white/bleached paper tea bags with black tea dust/fannings
Rating: B | 85/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Today's review will be a quick one, since it's just a tea bag and Earl Grey (which I consider to be a daily drink and should be gulped down quickly in the morning rush). I got this as a gift from a family friend for Christmas, and I've been drinking it ever since. While it does looks like kind of a cheap tea (nothing wrong with that), I will admit that it comes in a very nice gift tin with 50 teabags in foil packaging.

Usually, I drink this tea with a decent amount of milk and honey, but this review is going to be me drinking the tea straight. After brewing for 3 minutes (I originally planned to do 5), the color of the tea came out to be a dark amber caramel color, with the main scent being the bergamot oil (which was itself pretty standard - sweet, citrusy, slightly floral). The flavor itself is a bit sour, starting off with an earthy, slightly chocolate taste which transitions into the citrus of the oil. There's a vague sweetness which lingers after drinking, along with a dry sensation that grips the throat (most Earl Greys have this; I'm guessing it's the oil or the tea these producers use).

All in all, I enjoy this tea as my daily drink. Having it straight today– the first time ever, actually– made me realize that it's actually a pretty good tea, considering how sketchy the packaging/labels look (packaging itself looks nice; the labels look like its trying to be fancy but its just very low quality in general). Depending on your preferences, the tea is good either way, with or without sugar. I have no idea where you can buy this, though.

Other Notes

Today's album is the Promise EP by Mark Redito. Together with the Desire album, Mark Redito's music is great for relaxing (I use it to sleep sometimes) with catchy electronic synth and vocals. It even has Sarah Bonito from Kero Kero Bonito featuring in one of the tracks! I actually went to one of Mark's concerts back in August at the DNA Lounge, and it was super fun; there were lots of people dancing and talking with each other, and in general, it felt like a family even though none of us had ever met before. Mark is a very energetic DJ, too, which contributes to the hype (there were a lot of Jollibee chants, because Filipinos).

Anyway, here's what happened recently. First, I watched Moonlight; it's a good movie– a bit slow, but I enjoyed the themes and cinematography. Second, we're entering the final 2 weeks of preparation for the We the People state competition, and I have no idea how that's going to go. We were told by a judge that we're around 80% of the way there to becoming ready, but the issue is that my unit members don't use evidence to back up their points (reasoning is great, but there's really no point to reasoning if you can't give it ethos/credibility). I ended up taking a break from my jobs for the next few weeks in order to spend most of my time practicing for comp civics; I also plan to spend less time in mock trial since I'm the journalist and have more of just a auxiliary position.

Lastly, I actually got first and $200 for that oratorical contest. I didn't plan to; since there were only 3 people competing (me and two guys from Oakland Military Institute), I was guaranteed $75. I only came to present and get paid, but now it looks like I'll be advancing to the District round this coming Saturday. For some reason, I thought a discourse meant that it'd be a conversation; the judges would pick a random topic, ask questions, and I'd answer them. I didn't know it meant that it's a full 3-5 minute speech on a randomly selected topic; I got lucky, though, when they picked the 10th Amendment (since that was the focus of an entire unit for AP Gov). Now that I know what to do for that, I can prepare better; the main criticism I got was that I need to slow down– listening to myself speak afterwards, it was ridiculously fast. Nerves are a bitch. Also, for some reason, I got a Cobra-Kai (the rival school from Karate Kid) vibe from the Oakland Military guys and their teacher, which was kind of unnerving. People want me to become a lawyer, now, too.

So, today I'll just be working on homework for AP Chem, studying for an AP Macro test, reading the Warmth of Other Suns for African American Lit, and doing more comp civics stuff. It's mostly just a work day, since yesterday was comp civics practice in SF and that speech contest. I just plan to catch up and clear my schedule so I can do more practice/studying the rest of this week, woo!

Review: Stormy Night - David's Tea

Type: Flavored Black
Producer: DAVIDsTEA
Origin: Unknown
Brewing Parameters: 2.5-5 g; ~100°C; 4-7 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Thin, curled black tea leaves with chunks of chocolate and small, white pieces of dried coconut
Rating: B- | 80/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, this isn't my first time drinking a David's Tea tea, but I think this is my first review of one. I can see why some people say why David's Tea isn't really tea; to be honest, who would even think to put actual chocolate in tea? It's a weird combo, especially with the coconut, vanilla, and whatever else is in this. I got this tea as a gift from my sister, who picked it up during/after Halloween, since it was on sale (or a special?).

Anyway, after brewing, the tea came out a dark brown/amber color with a thin layer of oil on top (probably from the chocolate). The only smell I got from it was the coconut with a bit of sweet cinnamon. Essentially, that's what the taste is, too– slightly sweet with the taste of coconut and cinnamon. When you first sip it, it starts off with a little bitterness, followed the sweet and lightly sour taste of the coconut. It's a bit milky, and gradually dies off into the cinnamon taste, which lingers  in the mouth for a short period. I also noticed some soapy notes. It's very smooth with little astringency, but it does leave the waxy taste in the mouth.

All in all, I thought this tea was decent. It's nothing special (except maybe for what's in the tea blend), but I'd keep it as a daily drinker (which I've been doing for a while now). Personally, I'm not too keen on coconut flavored things, but it's not too bad for what it is. Try it with milk and honey/sweetener.

Other Notes

Today's album is the La La Land Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. I've already talked about how I felt about the movie in a previous post, but I ended up picking up the soundtrack after a friend recommended me to (you know, the one I watched the movie with). For some reason, the piano tracks remind me of The Apartment's soundtrack, which is nice. My favorite tracks are City of Stars, Someone in the Crowd, and Audition (The Fools Who Dream).

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. weekend! It's going to be more work, again, for me (mainly comp civics - we have about 3 weeks left until state, and we're getting to where we need to be but it's going to take a lot of effort). I also just have homework for classes and the speech for an oratorical contest about the Constitution. For fun stuff, I'm watching Moonlight today– it finally opened at a theatre near me– and yesterday, I got lunch with friends.

To be completely honest, I still think I'm going to burn out soon. Friday, I was up until 2 AM doing the work that my unit was supposed to help me with, and I ended up going to bed at like 8 PM yesterday because of the lack of sleep through the whole week. I woke up this morning feeling like I might become sick, and now I'm taking a ton of vitamins. We'll see, but hey– on the bright side of things, I'm exercising again.

Review: Soleil Levant - Lupicia

Type: Flavored Green
Producer: Lupicia
Origin: Japan
Brewing Parameters: 3g tea bag, 90-100°C, 1-1.5 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Rolled, dark green leaves (sencha) with yellow and purple flower petals and red spheres (no idea what they are– dried berries?)
Rating: B- | 80/100
# of Brews: 2

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, I got a sample tea bag of this tea in the mail since I'm subsribed to Lupicia's monthly newsletter. I'm reviewing this the way I used to during the 100 Days of Tea– just an easy Western style brew im a large mug. Now, onto the review.

Holy crap, this tea has a ridiculously strong smell. The moment I opened the sample wrapper, the aroma of grape sucker punched my nose; if you know what grape Hi-Chew smells like, it's definitely that. This tea is very similar to Lupicia's other grape teas (Budou Green is the one that comes to mind) in terms of the concept and smell– it's a sencha with grape flavoring and apparently some matcha.

Surprisingly, it brewed up as a nice, dark yellowish-green considering that it's a sencha and I used boiling water. The aroma was relatively the same as the dry leaf, and the liquid itself was cloudy, probably due to the matcha. As for the flavor, I'm actually really surprised at how sour it was; I'm not sure if it was the grape flavoring or the sencha itself, but the closest thing I can relate it to is a very diluted lemon juice. When drinking, the first thing you taste is the sour kick, which transitions into the somewhat sweeter grape flavor (which isn't artificial at all– the Japanese are pretty good at recreating fruit flavors) with some grassy notes. It leaves a slightly dry feeling in the mouth, but not the throat, with a floral and grapefruit aftertaste.

Overall, it's alright. It's definitely been a while since I've had a flavored tea (except for Earl Grey), so I'm iffy on this. One issue I've noticed with these types of teas–the ones with matcha mixed in– is that they become bitter if left alone too long. You can take the leaves out, but the matcha powder stays in and continues to brew. I wouldn't drink this as a daily thing, but if friends were over, I'd take it out.

As a side note, I decided to brew this tea a second time, and it was a lot better– sweeter and smoother (probably because most of the flavoring washed off). If you ever buy this, I suggest trying to brew it at least a few times to see how the flavor tastes.

Other Notes

Today's album is Scenery 1976 by Ryo Fukui. This randomly showed up on my Recommended feed on Youtube a couple of weeks back, and it's a pretty good jazz album (very piano oriented).

Talking about jazz, that leads me into my next point! I watched La La Land with my family and a friend last night and it was really good. Romantic movies aren't usually my thing, but, damn, the ending hit way too close to home for both me and my friend. We both went home feeling pretty down; I still love the movie though. The next movie I plan to see is Moonlight; I'm waiting for it to start playing at the local theatres, but I've heard good things about it. I'm excited.

Anyway, today is the last day of Winter break. I don't really have that many plans; I have comp civics practice again, this review, maybe a lunch with some friends, and studying for a chem quiz tomorrow. It's weird, thinking about how this is the last winter break I'll ever have (in high school, at least). I'm kind of worried because it'll be my last semester– I want to finish with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, win state for comp civics, and do so much more– but at the same time, it's nice to finally get back to seeing people and having stuff to do. Oh well. Five months to go.

Writing: The Foolish Brer Toad - A Folktale

Note: Now, this piece was written for African American Literature, where the prompt was just to write a folktale in the style of pre-Civil War African American vernacular (I promise I wasn't trying to be racist in the dialect I used in Brer Toad's dialogue). This was one of my earlier pieces, and based on the experiences of one of my friends, which I think is pretty funny.

Back in a time when humans did not roam the Earth, animals kept their own societies much like our own. In what was to become the Chesapeake, there was a young man by the name of Brer Toad. Born and raised in a quaint little town situated by the Potomac, he eventually married a young Missus Toad and together they raised a sweet knot of four little toads.

In good times, they could get by just from living off the land, which gave Brer Toad and the Missus a sizable crop of corn and wheat to sell and eat. But when hard times came– like when the droughts dried the land to a desert, or the floods drowned the crops in a sea– the determined Brer Toad had to resort to other means.

In order to keep his family afloat in these times of hardship, Brer Toad took over his late father’s business: a small general store near the center of the tiny town. Business wasn’t always easy to come by, but you see, Brer Toad was an honest man; he was always willing to hire someone who looked a bit down on their luck.

Now, one day, as Brer Toad was cleaning the windows of his picturesque little shop, the shifty Brer Fox walked over.

“Well, hello there, Mister Toad. As I’m sure you’ve heard, I’ve come into a bit of misfortune as of late. I was so distraught, I didn’t know who to turn to– until someone pointed me in the direction of your wholesome general store here. So, I kindly ask: would you please hire a poor old fox so he can have a little bit to eat for the season?” pleaded Brer Fox.

“Mistah Fox, come on board! I’d be rite happy ta help a feller man get back on ‘is feet if ‘e’s encounterin’ some hardships,” said Brer Toad, shaking the hand of Brer Fox.

Inviting him in, Brer Toad immediately set the newcomer to work in the back room.

“Naw, Missah Fox, I wan’ you to move these big boxes unner dat wooden table o’er there in da corna, and den put these small boxes on toppa da table. I’ll be back inna few minnits ta see how yer doin’,” instructed Brer Toad as he returned to cleaning the windows.

Less than five minutes later, Brer Toad heard a loud crash inside the store. Rushing in, he found the miscellaneous contents of almost all of the boxes scattered about the floor and a scruffy Brer Fox sitting in the middle of the clutter.

“I’m sorry, Mister Toad– I don’t know what happened! First thing, I’m picking up one of the boxes, and then before I know it, I’m on the ground and everything’s everywhere! I’m real sorry,” cried Brer Fox.

Taking a deep breath, Brer Toad said “Don’ worry ‘bout it. Alla us make mistakes, Missah Fox. Y’know wut? Hows about we just put ya ta work outside, cleanin’ da windas. Ya saw me do it, rite? It ain’ dat hard.”

“Alright Mister Toad, I’ll try my best,” proclaimed Brer Fox as he went outside, an empty bucket in one hand and a rag in the other.

An hour passed and no customers were in sight. Brer Toad had finally finished rearranging the stockroom which Brer Fox had destroyed. When he came outside and saw Brer Fox’s work, he almost fainted from shock.

“M-missah Fox! Whaddya do? Da windows were almos sparkly clean when ya started, and now d-dey’re pitch black! I can’ even see thru ‘em! How in da world didja get ‘em dirtier than dey were at da start?” Brer Toad stammered.

“Well, Mister Toad, I couldn’t find the water you were using, so I used the stuff in the barrel over there to clean the windows. I don’t see what the issue is here,” Brer Fox replied.

“B-but d-dat barrel sez tar right onnit! I can’t see how ya didn’t realize wut yer doin’.” Trying to control himself, Brer Toad just sighed and muttered, “I’ll jus’ fixxit m’self. Go back inside n watch the register or sumthin’ while I clean up dis mess,’ and picked up the rag.


When he finally finished cleaning the windows, Brer Toad looked through and noticed that Brer Fox wasn’t at the register– in fact, Brer Fox was nowhere to be seen inside the store. The only thing of the crafty fox Brer Toad could find was the cash register, open and emptied out, and the back door left wide open.

Review: Space Girl - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Sheng)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Multiple mountains; 2016 (?)
Brewing Parameters: 6 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Very tightly compressed square brick with light to dark green and yellow leaves
Rating: A | 94/100
# of Brews: 6

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
As my first puerh cake, I'm actually pretty satisfied with what I got. Taking it apart was more of a pain that I expected; it is extremely compressed, and the awl I have isn't the best thing to use as a pick. I'm doing this review during the second time I'm drinking this tea, because I ended up breaking apart or grinding most of the leaves into dust. It was much better this time, but I still need to practice breaking it apart. I think I've almost poked a few holes in my desk at this point, narrowly missed stabbing my hand, and ripped the wrapper a few times.

After I did a short wash and let the leaves open up a bit, the first brew came out a nice golden yellow. Unlike the Planet teas, there wasn't that much dust in the liquid. The aroma was similar to the other teas, with that slightly chocolate-y and and fermented soy smell (miso!). However, it also had more sweeter and floral notes, which found their way into the flavor. That's why I like this tea the most out of the set; it starts off with a quick sweet and milky taste, followed by a light, lingering citrus and jasmine flavor. It ends with a rose-flavored kick (it's very floral and somewhat cinnamon-y) which lasts for half a second, before slowly dissolving away. The texture, like the other teas, is slightly waxy, but unlike the others, it doesn't dry the throat too much (it still does, but it's not too bad).

Surprisingly, I got decently tea-drunk off of this in the first few brews– which I didn't necessarily experience on any other teas I had this review series (maybe Planet Yiwu was close). I think the closest tea I could compare it to that's not a puerh is a Jin Xuan– which is probably why I like it so much. I'm tempted to buy another cake just to store and age (they're relatively cheap– $20 plus shipping, but they're only 100 grams compared to the usual 200 or so grams), but I also want to save my money so I can buy a 2017 cake (like a bottle of wine, I want to have a cake from a special year: the year I graduate!). Oh, decisions. Anyway, I stopped at six brews, but it looks like this tea can go for a lot more brews, so I'll be doing sessions all day with the same leaves. It's a good tea to end this series on.

Other Notes

Today's album is Constellations by Dead Astronauts. For me, Dead Astronauts has always been a hit or a miss; in general, the backing tracks/beats/etc. are very good, but sometimes, the vocals can ruin the song. But, still, I like the album as a whole– my favorite songs are Weathered Wolves, Little White Lie, and Part Two.

Anyway, welcome to the last weekend of winter break, and welcome back to the grind! Today, I'm grabbing some lunch with some friends and watching Perks of Being a Wallflower with them. Then, I'll be going to a fencing club meeting (which is, surprisingly, working out decently well); I'm thinking of starting to learn epee since I like the slower pace and the freedom it offers. After that, I gotta do comp civics work and go to bed early because tomorrow, I have my first college interview with Haverford! I'm excited but have no idea what to really expect. I'll fill you guys in on how that goes.

On competition civics, I'm kind of pissed right now because that group member I've had issues with is still very hard to work with. She's one of those people who says you're wrong or pokes holes in your argument, but doesn't have a solution or alternative to help. She also expects us to work around her schedule, doesn't work nearly as hard as the rest of the unit (she says she does, but it becomes obvious in practice that she hasn't done much), and fails to show up to meetings or help write stuff. Tomorrow, we're getting judged by some of the toughest teachers/judges at a practice, and since I have that interview tomorrow, I won't be there (which is good! hopefully it shows the rest of the unit how much work we need to put in).

Lastly, I asked that girl to watch a movie. She said "that sounds awesome but I'm dealing with some things, so I'll text you when I'm ready". My friend told me to respond to that with "yeah no worries, good luck with those things" which I don't think went over that well because she responded with "thanks !". From my experience– and it might just be me overthinking things– when people put a space in between their message and the punctuation, it's them being passive aggressive. So, who knows what'll happen. At least I tried, so I have that peace of mind now. I just hope I didn't sound like an ass.

Review: Planet Yiwu - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Sheng)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Mengla, Yunnan; 2016
Brewing Parameters: 6-9 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Tightly compressed, yellow to dark green ball
Rating: A- | 91/100
# of Brews: 10

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Late review today! It's been kind of busy, and I'm in the middle of writing some testimony for competition civics, so this will also be somewhat of a quick one, too. I decided to save this planet as the last tea I'll be tasting, since I read somewhere that Yiwu is one of the most famous mountains for Pu'erh tea.

Interestingly, this tea had a strong aroma even before brewing. After the first wash (which opened the ball almost completely), there was a scent of peanuts and soy sauce with a hint of sweetness. Like the other teas, the color was a light orange-yellow (erring more on the side of yellow). Eventually, it turned to more of a reddish-amber, which was different.

Even though I didn't necessarily give that much attention to this tea while drinking, I thought it was surprisingly good. It was noticeably more floral and fruity than the others; however, it wasn't sweet. On first sip, there is a light berry taste, which has a hint of tartness to it. Then, it tastes similar to rose, ending on a bitter note. However, it leaves a dull sweetness in the mouth and some chocolate on the breath. It dries the throat and is a little waxy, similar to the other planets.

Overall, one of my favorite ones from this set (and I'm not biased, I swear! It's just a coincidence that I began to like each consecutive tea more than the last). To be honest, I think I might actually like it a bit more than Planet Jingmai– which was decent, compared to the other teas in this set.


Other Notes

Today's album is– there is none! I just put my playlist on shuffle and had random stuff play. However, if I did have to pick an album, I suggest Every Open Eye by CHVRCHES. I'm still particularly fond of pop/synth with female vocals, and CHVRCHES has been my fix for that. In fact, I actually bought the vinyl for this– but, alas, the motor on my turntable is wonky and it plays slightly too fast. But, regardless, I still have a few favorite songs on this album– Leave a Trace, Clearest Blue, and Bury It.

So, I started this review six hours earlier. Now, I just finished writing competition civics testimony, and now I'm doing this. Kind of pissed because the one person who was supposed to help me only wrote two paragraphs and left early, so I was stuck doing most of the work myself. Usually, my other partner helps out and it works out decently, but she's really sick (bless her heart), so I can forgive her. It sucks since that partner who was working with me today has consistently been subpar compared to the rest of the unit. She's doing too much stuff, and it shows; she constantly makes excuses and misses meetings. It's especially worrying, since she's doing another club (which is nowhere near as important) and she can only become free to do competition civics by the 14th– two weeks before State. So, who knows, maybe it'll all work itself out. I'm just worried because the team depends on my unit getting more points than the other schools to carry the rest of the team.

Also, I decided to ask that girl I met from the other team to go and watch a movie with me. Note - I said decided; I didn't ask yet. To be honest, I have no idea how to. I messaged her today asking about La La Land, since I heard it's a good movie and it's playing at the theatre I like to go to and the one she's interested in going to, but it turns out she's already seen it. So, no idea what to do. Will update when I get the chance.