It's the holiday season. Everywhere I go, whether it's the supermarket or the mall or the gas station or the nearby Target, Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa (although there's less obvious representation of Kwanzaa than the other two) is in your face. And, I love it! This is my favourite time of the year. I'm one of those nerds who can get in a mood in the sweltering humid summer months, think about the cool late autumn and early winter days, their sights and sounds and pop Christmas music - whether a CD or through my iPod - into my car and sing along with them. Sure, the Christmas season does have its stressors - getting things decorated nicely, buying all the presents, enduring all those unresolved issues from childhood, trying to avoid the annual holiday weight gain - but, overall, it's the best time of the year. Everyone is nice to one another, they're polite, generous, you name it. I wouldn't want Christmas to be all year long becaue that would diminish its meaning and I'm not going to be corny and say everyone should have Christmas spirit all the time but this is really a special time of year.
This was further brought home to me when we took our son to The Radio City Christmas Spectacular a couple of weeks ago. He's three and a half so he's more aware and articulate than ever and he's really becoming his own person. When we walked into the Music Hall he looked up, amidst the crowd of people - we'd literally just stepped into the main lobby - and said, "This is amazing!" Granted, The Radio City Music Hall is an amazing place. With its grand stairway, which one can imagine has seen its share of entertainment legends walk down it, brings one back to The Golden Era. The Hall's fantastically high ceiling is another impressive and intimdating sight; the kind of ceiling you don't see anymore. And, of course, there are the brightly coloured Christmas decorations. I like to think, though, that it wasn't just the spectacle that is The Music Hall that awed my son. I like to think it's the amazingness (is that a word?) that is Christmas. I'll admit that we did play up the show and we've been talking about Christmas and showing him ornaments, movies and other Christmas-themed things but if Christmas weren't brilliant by itself already I doubt I would feel the way I do and I don't think Jude would respond the way he does.
As far as the show went, he loved it. The next morning I asked if he'd dreamt about Santa and the kings and camels and the baby Jesus from the Nativity part of the show. He nodded that he did and then he asked about the "superhero green ones," referring to a new addition to the program. Obviously, he remembered the show - his memory and recollection of things from day-to-day and even of things from, say, a year ago has really skyrocketed - which brought warmth to my heart because, in addition to A Chorus Line, The Christmas Spectacular is one of my favourite shows I've ever seen. During the show, when The Rockettes were kicking up their heels, he turned to me and said, "I love Santa." It was so cute and touching and a memory I will not soon forget. He was sitting on my my lap,with his lighted spinning Wooden Soldier flashlight toy in hand, pressed against my chest.
The other day, though, was something else. After the sun set and dusk had turned into night, we hopped into my wife's car and drove through our town and the neighbouring towns to enjoy the different Christmas lights and other decorations people have put up. My wife and I would point them out. At first, Jude was smiling. Before leaving our house, he'd looked out the window and excitedly pointed out our neighbours' brightly lit tree outside their house.His smiling turned into nodding. Then he said, "Mommy, Daddy. What are we doing?" I couldn't help from laughing because, generally, I am the same way. I have a hard time just hanging out or just driving around. I need to have a purpose; getting somewhere for something then back home. So, when Jude said that, while I was a little disappointed that he didn't get excited about the lights the way my wife and I do, inside I had to say "That's my boy." Eventually, Jude fell asleep on the drive.
Today, we plan on getting Jude early from day care and getting our Christmas tree. We've talked about it all week so hopefully he'll be into it, enjoying the background Christmas music, the smell of fir trees and stadning toe-to-toe with lawn Santas, Snowmen and manger sets. I'll let you know how it goes in a future post. For now, enjoy all of your holiday festivities and decorating. And, even though there's still two weeks to go, Merry Christmas everyone.
About Me
- Juan Rader Bas
- Mabuhay! I'm an Asian American writer (Back Kicks And Broken Promises, Abbott Press, 2012), martial artist and teacher who was born in The Philippines, raised in Hong Kong and ended up in New Jersey.
09 December, 2011
23 November, 2011
Encouraging, I Suppose
Every now and then, usually after I post a new entry in this blog, I check my stats to see how many hits I've been getting, where they're coming from and so on. It's what we - bloggers and writers - do. I suppose there's a certain amount of vanity to it but there's also a sense of wanting to know who gives a you-know-what about what I have to say because it can have a bearing on who's going to go out and buy my novel when it comes out (which should be sooner than later). There's a certain validation too when I see my stats growing - as humble as they are - and to see that I have readers from places I'd never even thought I would to have them.
I suppose with the internet I shouldn't be completely surprised. After all, one can simply do a keyword search and come up with millions of links relating to that keyword. In fairness, I'm sure many of the hits I've gotten must be incidental ones; someone checking out my websites and this blog to see if it's what he or she is looking for and leaving when they discover it's not. However, as happens to me when I do a search, others may have stumbled upon my sites, gotten intrigued by them and stayed. Perhaps they even check them semi-regularly or bookmarked them.
It's just fascinating to me - and I'm grateful for it - that I've had hits from all over the world. I personally know three people in Germany and I have regular hits from there. I even have hits from India, Russia, Malaysia, Poland and Hungary. I don't know anyone in these countries so the hits from these places are from people who just like what I write. I'm getting regular multiples visits from some of these countries, which means they're regular readers.
I write about all of this because it tickles me. It shouldn't. After all, getting my work read is what this is all about but it's a hoot that strangers in places I've never even been to - not even made a transit stop in an aeroplane - have read my work. And for that I say thank you. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving and, in addition to my family, friends and the cool things that have happened this year (like winning a State Championship, getting my sixth degree black belt, coming tenth a the US National Taekwondo Championships, my novel getting closer to being published, my wife's parents' 50th wedding anniversary), I'm thankful for my readership. It's small, to be certain, but I have one. And for a writer, any readership is better than no readership.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I suppose with the internet I shouldn't be completely surprised. After all, one can simply do a keyword search and come up with millions of links relating to that keyword. In fairness, I'm sure many of the hits I've gotten must be incidental ones; someone checking out my websites and this blog to see if it's what he or she is looking for and leaving when they discover it's not. However, as happens to me when I do a search, others may have stumbled upon my sites, gotten intrigued by them and stayed. Perhaps they even check them semi-regularly or bookmarked them.
It's just fascinating to me - and I'm grateful for it - that I've had hits from all over the world. I personally know three people in Germany and I have regular hits from there. I even have hits from India, Russia, Malaysia, Poland and Hungary. I don't know anyone in these countries so the hits from these places are from people who just like what I write. I'm getting regular multiples visits from some of these countries, which means they're regular readers.
I write about all of this because it tickles me. It shouldn't. After all, getting my work read is what this is all about but it's a hoot that strangers in places I've never even been to - not even made a transit stop in an aeroplane - have read my work. And for that I say thank you. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving and, in addition to my family, friends and the cool things that have happened this year (like winning a State Championship, getting my sixth degree black belt, coming tenth a the US National Taekwondo Championships, my novel getting closer to being published, my wife's parents' 50th wedding anniversary), I'm thankful for my readership. It's small, to be certain, but I have one. And for a writer, any readership is better than no readership.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
22 November, 2011
Innocence Lost
I watch my son and he amazes me. I watch him play with his toys and see him make his superheroes fight and fly. I see him make his cars, bobble head Superman and my Chapstick have conversations about being best friends and having to fight the "bad guys." I watch him mimic my Taekwondo moves and his mother's dance moves and when we ask him if he wants to learn either, he simply says, "No. I want to fly." Then he proceeds to run, jump and land on one knee the way Robert Downey Iron Man does in the movies.
Recently, we were at The Disney Store in Manhattan where we picked up some Christmas presents, taking advantage of the sales and to have a family day out. I watched my son run around and look with desire at every Cars 2 toy and every Captain America doll and all the stuffed plush dolls of his favourite Disney characters - Mickey, Special Agent Oso, Buzz, Woody, Handy Manny, you name it.
Naturally, with lots going on and money being tight (when isn't it?), he ran around and looked at the toys with joy and wanted everything without concerning himself with how much things cost and what it means to wait, be patient and earn something. I wished then, as I always do, that I could get him whatever he wants whenever he wants it but I know that's not a possibility and that would, if I could do that, only spoil him. However, watching him was such a joy but it also broke my heart.
At his age - three and a half- of course he doesn't understand things about money and such. Of course that made me feel sad that I couldn't just get him everything. What really made me melt and broke my heart, though, was knowing that one day, when he's older, he will lose innocence and that the proverbial and not so proverbial, real life will catch up with him; that he will (have to) worry about money, patience, taking care of things and not just playing and laughing and having fun.
It's a shame that the purity and joy of the innocence we possessed as kids has to diminish, vanish even, as we get older. It disappears, too, not just with age but with experience and time. I look back at my Taekwondo life. As much as I love it still, and relish in the fact the I am not a novice anymore and can say that I am somewhat of an expert, there are times I miss when I didn't know so much and wasn't the teacher or highest ranking student in the class. I also miss the sights, sounds and smells of my early days living in America and the excitement and uncertainty that came with not knowing the place. Now, on some level, it all feels so 'old hat.' Just today, I was having a chat with one of my closest friends and we were talking about how long we've been doing what we do - teach - and how we're wiser and getting into the ranks of the older, longer serving staff members at our school.
I don't know about anyone else but, at 42, I feel that the last 26 years - the time I've lived in the United States - has flown by way too fast. At times it feels like I just landed at JFK and now I'm here, typing at my dining table in my Millburn rental. There are things I remember having done but I recall them happening at different times from when they actually happened. That's how fast and jumbled the years have snuck up on me. Sometimes I feel the time has been wasted. If not wasted, definitely lost. And with the lost time has come lost innocence and growing cynicism.
Thinking about my son and his joy at the Disney Store, I just hope and pray that we - my wife and I - can prepare him for the reality of what is to come and that, when he's 42, he can recall every moment of his life with a smile and that he never feels that his life has been wasted.
Recently, we were at The Disney Store in Manhattan where we picked up some Christmas presents, taking advantage of the sales and to have a family day out. I watched my son run around and look with desire at every Cars 2 toy and every Captain America doll and all the stuffed plush dolls of his favourite Disney characters - Mickey, Special Agent Oso, Buzz, Woody, Handy Manny, you name it.
Naturally, with lots going on and money being tight (when isn't it?), he ran around and looked at the toys with joy and wanted everything without concerning himself with how much things cost and what it means to wait, be patient and earn something. I wished then, as I always do, that I could get him whatever he wants whenever he wants it but I know that's not a possibility and that would, if I could do that, only spoil him. However, watching him was such a joy but it also broke my heart.
At his age - three and a half- of course he doesn't understand things about money and such. Of course that made me feel sad that I couldn't just get him everything. What really made me melt and broke my heart, though, was knowing that one day, when he's older, he will lose innocence and that the proverbial and not so proverbial, real life will catch up with him; that he will (have to) worry about money, patience, taking care of things and not just playing and laughing and having fun.
It's a shame that the purity and joy of the innocence we possessed as kids has to diminish, vanish even, as we get older. It disappears, too, not just with age but with experience and time. I look back at my Taekwondo life. As much as I love it still, and relish in the fact the I am not a novice anymore and can say that I am somewhat of an expert, there are times I miss when I didn't know so much and wasn't the teacher or highest ranking student in the class. I also miss the sights, sounds and smells of my early days living in America and the excitement and uncertainty that came with not knowing the place. Now, on some level, it all feels so 'old hat.' Just today, I was having a chat with one of my closest friends and we were talking about how long we've been doing what we do - teach - and how we're wiser and getting into the ranks of the older, longer serving staff members at our school.
I don't know about anyone else but, at 42, I feel that the last 26 years - the time I've lived in the United States - has flown by way too fast. At times it feels like I just landed at JFK and now I'm here, typing at my dining table in my Millburn rental. There are things I remember having done but I recall them happening at different times from when they actually happened. That's how fast and jumbled the years have snuck up on me. Sometimes I feel the time has been wasted. If not wasted, definitely lost. And with the lost time has come lost innocence and growing cynicism.
Thinking about my son and his joy at the Disney Store, I just hope and pray that we - my wife and I - can prepare him for the reality of what is to come and that, when he's 42, he can recall every moment of his life with a smile and that he never feels that his life has been wasted.
24 October, 2011
Author Pic Contest
Hi guys. Again, I've been away from blogging for too long. This time it's only been about three weeks but, really, if I'm going to call myself a writer I really do need to write. Life really gets in the way doesn't it? What I really long for is for writing to become my life. It is in my head and in my heart but there are things like bills, insurance payments, car payments, rent, etc that have to be paid so I have a teaching job and coaching jobs and other jobs to get those things covered and to sustain my writing needs.
But where's the writing? I'm supposed to be going through a final pass of my mansucript for my publisher but with everything going on, including raising my 3 year old and spening time with my wife, the time is gone from one day to the next. I'm starting to feel that I need to take a day off and shoot into NYC or somewhere that I can find a spot and write all day long.
As for the mention of a publisher, don't get too excited. As I may have mentioned in a previous blog, I've decided to self-publish. Maybe I'm selling out or maybe I'm just getting tired or impatient but after getting praise followed by the word "but" I don't have the energy to write a bunch of queries and wait and wait and wait. Actually, I'm still waiting to hear from an agent I pitched last January. She asked for my entire manuscript. When I followed up with her, she said she hand't gotten to it yet but told me to be patient. Knowing my luck, as soon as I've finished payments and the production team and I have gone over all the proofs and my book is set to go to press, she'll probably email me with an offer from someone. Now, wouldn't that be something? I do believe in my work; not just because I've spent ten plus years working on it and because it's mine but because there is a story there that people will enjoy, relate to, get support from and even learn from. I also make myself feel better self-pubbing with the knowledge that Walt Whitman and other fantastic authors self-pubbed their first works too. So, if it was good enough for them to start out, it's good enough for me.
Well, since self-publishing is the equivalent of independent filmmaking in the book world, I've decided to give the world a say in the publishing of my novel. In my website, filamkickingscribe.com, I've posted a contest where you can help choose what photo I'll use for the author pic of my novel. You can win one, or even two, free copies of Back Kicks And Broken Promises. They'll be signed too! Click on this link to the Back Kicks And Broken Promises page of my site and follow the instructions.
Read the excerpt too and get excited for my book's launch. ;-)
06 October, 2011
Balancing Act
So far, I'm managing but I feel that something inside is going to break. Then, something happens and things seem so easy and doable.
What am I talking about? Life, baby. Life.
Since the middle of August things have really taken off and by that mean it seems I don't stop moving and I'm jumping from one thing to another and back again. Yes, I do manage to have down for myself and for time with my wife and son but I always feel like I should be doing something - one of the things I'm working on.
What am I working on?
Well, I'm a teacher and there are lesson plans to write, classes to teach, assignments to grade, reports to write and meetings to attend. I'm also a volleyball coach and we're - the team and I - are deep into our season. So, there are practices to plan for and run, matches to coach, reports to file, local newspaper articles to write (at least I'm writing), college coaches to contact for my potential college-level student-athletes and meetings to attend. Then there's Taekwondo. I teach two nights a week and I may be competing in November so I've got my own training to do. I'm registered, too, for a 5 miler race in Central Park on the last Saturday of this month. Have I been running to train? In my mind, yes. In reality, no. Haha.
Writing. There's that too. I'm trying to work on my next novel - Sage of Heaven. It's a YA, fantasy about a Chinese-American boy who's a descendant of The Monkey King. Have I written anything lately? Nothing concrete but a lot of thinking about my story; what The Gotham Writer's Workshop calls 'soft writing.' I'm also doing, yet again, revisions on Back Kicks And Broken Promises for my publisher. Yes, it's getting published but, I'll admit it, I've given in and am self-pubbing. I'm getting some praise for Back Kicks but no agents are biting so I'm self-publishing with Abbott, the print-on-demand division of Writer's Digest. Honestly, I'm tired (and maybe too lazy) to keep sending out queries and I just want to put Back Kicks to bed so I can fully focus on Sage.
Then there are my own workouts. I've lost more weight and am getting back to better health and fitness but I need to do more. At least I'm losing and not gaining.
And, then, of course there's home - the daily chores that have to get done and having family time.
I still haven't found a way to completely juggle everything and be efficient in how I juggle it all and in getting things done. I just plod along and hope for the best I guess. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Anyway, thanks for reading and letting me vent. At least, by venting through my blog, I'm writing. Haha!
What am I talking about? Life, baby. Life.
Since the middle of August things have really taken off and by that mean it seems I don't stop moving and I'm jumping from one thing to another and back again. Yes, I do manage to have down for myself and for time with my wife and son but I always feel like I should be doing something - one of the things I'm working on.
What am I working on?
Well, I'm a teacher and there are lesson plans to write, classes to teach, assignments to grade, reports to write and meetings to attend. I'm also a volleyball coach and we're - the team and I - are deep into our season. So, there are practices to plan for and run, matches to coach, reports to file, local newspaper articles to write (at least I'm writing), college coaches to contact for my potential college-level student-athletes and meetings to attend. Then there's Taekwondo. I teach two nights a week and I may be competing in November so I've got my own training to do. I'm registered, too, for a 5 miler race in Central Park on the last Saturday of this month. Have I been running to train? In my mind, yes. In reality, no. Haha.
Writing. There's that too. I'm trying to work on my next novel - Sage of Heaven. It's a YA, fantasy about a Chinese-American boy who's a descendant of The Monkey King. Have I written anything lately? Nothing concrete but a lot of thinking about my story; what The Gotham Writer's Workshop calls 'soft writing.' I'm also doing, yet again, revisions on Back Kicks And Broken Promises for my publisher. Yes, it's getting published but, I'll admit it, I've given in and am self-pubbing. I'm getting some praise for Back Kicks but no agents are biting so I'm self-publishing with Abbott, the print-on-demand division of Writer's Digest. Honestly, I'm tired (and maybe too lazy) to keep sending out queries and I just want to put Back Kicks to bed so I can fully focus on Sage.
Then there are my own workouts. I've lost more weight and am getting back to better health and fitness but I need to do more. At least I'm losing and not gaining.
And, then, of course there's home - the daily chores that have to get done and having family time.
I still haven't found a way to completely juggle everything and be efficient in how I juggle it all and in getting things done. I just plod along and hope for the best I guess. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Anyway, thanks for reading and letting me vent. At least, by venting through my blog, I'm writing. Haha!
Steve Jobs
RIP Steve. I never met you but I feel I knew you. As an avid Apple user since the early 1980s and an Apple junkie, not just because of the sexiness of the newer Apple products but because of their simplicity and efficiency, I will miss you and your innovation. You, literally, changed the world. How many people can say that? Your ingenuity touched us technologically, intellectually, socially, stylistically and emotionally. Thank you for all you did and gave us, the consumer, to make our lives simpler and more enjoyable. You were a man ages ahead of your time and an inspiration to many. From my first Apple II to my Apple IIe to the first suitcase-sized "laptop" IIc to my MacBook to my iPod to my iPhone and, soon, to my iPad, I will always be an Apple man. Thank you and God speed. RIP Steve.
Filipino-American Heritage Month
Well, it's October (has been for a week now) and that means, among other celebrations, it's Filipino-American Heritage Month. As a Fil-Am, I am proud to celebrate it and share our culture with others. One way I do that is to post a display outside my classroom at work. I've put up a Filipino flag, recipes and printouts on the history of The Philippines, its relationship and history with America, some contributions The Philippines has made to popular culture and other topics. I didn't post a display last year because we were in a contract negotiations impasse and our union said we, the teachers, were not to display anything on any of our bulletin boards.
It's funny, though, how my students have reacted to the bulletin board. With the exception of 2010, I've put one up every year. My eighth graders saw the last one I put in wen they were in sixth grade. Maybe I'm expecting too much but with globalisation and the growth of mixed-race students in our district - many of whom are Asian and, particularly, Filipino - I'm surprised to still get questions from students if I, as a Filipino, am Asian and why I'm not Hispanic. What's most interesting is that some of the students asking me are Asian-Americans too.
In the twenty-six years I've lived in the United States, I've grown to genuinely love the country and to call it home but I still feel that its very ethnocentric. Social studies classes do little to teach American history is it pertains to the world, especially to The Philippines. I'll be honest. That statement is emotionally based and I haven't looked at a Social Studies curriculum recently but from the ignorance I hear I have to think that I may be on to something.
How many generally educated Americans know that The Philippines was a US territory like Puerto Rico is? How many of them know that the largest rescue mission in American military history took place in The Philippines? The United States is a country born from immigrants. How many people know that Filipinos were the first Asians to come here, long before the Chinese of the Gold Rush era. They were on various Spanish galleons that ended up in California and on Napoleon's French armada that landed in Louisiana.
I love that October - it could've been any month - has been officially recognised as Filipino-American Heritage Month but more has to be done to recognise us. I'm speaking for Filipinos, naturally, as a Filipino but every recognition has to be reinforced through media and education. September 15-October 15 is Latino-American Month, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, etc. If we're going to recognise these things, and other months recognising other worthy causes, we need to educate people on what and why we're celebrating.
It's funny, though, how my students have reacted to the bulletin board. With the exception of 2010, I've put one up every year. My eighth graders saw the last one I put in wen they were in sixth grade. Maybe I'm expecting too much but with globalisation and the growth of mixed-race students in our district - many of whom are Asian and, particularly, Filipino - I'm surprised to still get questions from students if I, as a Filipino, am Asian and why I'm not Hispanic. What's most interesting is that some of the students asking me are Asian-Americans too.
In the twenty-six years I've lived in the United States, I've grown to genuinely love the country and to call it home but I still feel that its very ethnocentric. Social studies classes do little to teach American history is it pertains to the world, especially to The Philippines. I'll be honest. That statement is emotionally based and I haven't looked at a Social Studies curriculum recently but from the ignorance I hear I have to think that I may be on to something.
How many generally educated Americans know that The Philippines was a US territory like Puerto Rico is? How many of them know that the largest rescue mission in American military history took place in The Philippines? The United States is a country born from immigrants. How many people know that Filipinos were the first Asians to come here, long before the Chinese of the Gold Rush era. They were on various Spanish galleons that ended up in California and on Napoleon's French armada that landed in Louisiana.
I love that October - it could've been any month - has been officially recognised as Filipino-American Heritage Month but more has to be done to recognise us. I'm speaking for Filipinos, naturally, as a Filipino but every recognition has to be reinforced through media and education. September 15-October 15 is Latino-American Month, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, etc. If we're going to recognise these things, and other months recognising other worthy causes, we need to educate people on what and why we're celebrating.
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