October 12th: On the Road to Recovery Part II

 

Hey everyone,

(This is part two of on the way to recovery If you would like to read part one first or if you haven't read part one yet here's the link: 

I know this update is later than what I had said. However, life is different. Adjusting to this new me is difficult. Alan told me that I have been acting different despite the medicine.

Currently, I am on 10mg of amitriptyline to help with my anxiety and depression. It is also supposed to help with lowering my blood pressure. From what I gather from my visits up until now my blood pressure has gone down in general. However, based on the visits with my physical therapist my blood pressure is sensitive.

This week, I went to the concussion doctor (October 12th) but we had to do a phone call meeting due to the fact that my sinus issues have flared up. I then called my physical therapist and asked what they wanted to do and they said to go ahead and cancel this week's appointment and to get back with them next week.

Sinus issues used to be a monthly problem for me. When I went to the Philippines and came back, however, my sinus issues disappeared. I know that if I eat dairy or gluten products that my sinus issues flare up again and I have done that recently due to me having a "fuck it" attitude.

Alan has been upset with me because I have been reckless due to this 'fuck it" attitude. I know that he is concerned and is watching out for me. However, he can only say so much and it boils down to what I decide to do. Especially, when he is not around. 

What led up to this attitude was because of the stress load that I have acquired in this last week. Last week on the 8th I got fired. I knew that they would eventually fire me for some reason because I was on worker's compensation. My brother explain to me that workers compensation is expensive and he explained it from a business point of view why people get fired due to the compensation. He said it's not right, but there are reasons for a business to fire someone because of that. And I get it. Right now, they are paying my physical therapy, they are paying for my medicine, they're paying for every single doctor's visit that has to deal with this concussion. I'm going to neurotherapy but I'm also about to go to speech therapy due to the issues in the speed in which my brain processes information. These bills add up and I'm glad that they're pairing it. On top of that, they have to pay me weekly. They have to pay me 70% of my manager pay when I was working there.

I have appointments until the end of November. So, I know that I have at least these checks to get me through. At the same time though, I can't work. The concussion doctor said that they have a program they can put me through that will help me get myself rehired through whatever job that will accept me.

When I told him that I got fired, he said, "...Yeah...That happens sometimes when people get on workers compensation. But don't worry, let's get you better, think positive. after you're fully recovered, we can put you through a program and we'll help you get rehired." 

This concussion doctor is what I expect a doctor to be. The same goes for the neurotherapy therapists that I've seen. They don't belittle me, they explain what's going on, they don't jump hoops or not listen to what I have to say. These people, if I didn't have them, I would be a wreck. If I had doctors like the first one I had to go to I know that I would not be okay right now. And I wasn't for those first two weeks. So I'm really thankful for these doctors that I've had to interact with. They don't treat me as if I'm faking it. They listen to me. They take my opinion into account after that.

This whole situation is frustrating. They know that. And I'm really glad that they don't tell me, oh you'll get over it. Instead, they say, "We're here for you and it's okay to be frustrated. It's okay to not feel yourself. Yes, it will take some time but try to think positive." 

When I go into these doctor visits they always have to check my symptoms. they have to ask these questions and I have to put a number to it. And both places (whoever the nurse may be/therapist may be) they always say, "It's hard to put a number to it." 

Alan said that I am acting more emotional and when the doctor asked me about it I gave him a lower number. Personally, I don't see myself getting as emotional. But Alan is around me most of the time. So, if he says I'm being more emotional then... I believe him. 

I'm not one of those people who likes asking for help. I know what I'm capable of. Right now though, I'm not the same person as I was on the 7th of September. And I have to constantly remind myself that I am not that person. honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be the same person as I was on the 7th of September. In a way, maybe this is a journey to understanding who I'm going to be once this is over.

The physical therapy doctor told me that I need to walk 10 minutes a day twice a day. Today, after the concussion doctor, I took Rylla (chihuahua rat terrier) and Dexter (Chihuahua wiener dog mix) out for a 10-minute walk. When I was at the physical therapy doctor last week, I got tired after 10 minutes of us walking. Today, that happened again.

It is so frustrating to know that I can't even walk 10 minutes without feeling tired. However, I know that this is part of the recovery phase. I know that I can do this. 10 minutes will become 20 or 15 by next week. Or, it'll stay the same because they don't want me to push myself too much and that's okay. But the amount of frustration that I feel more than anything else is unbearable. Being told that I am not able to do something because of my condition is equivalent to being told that I can't do something. That, I am not allowed to do something.

My body however, heals at its own pace. And, it's not about my body. It's about my brain. I want to laugh about it. I want to laugh because I don't want to feel bad about this whole ordeal. And eventually, I'm sure I will. But right now, I can't find myself laughing. sometimes, I can make a joke about it. Like right now I can't listen to music. All I'm listening to right now is 'nature sounds' as a playlist. And I told my coworker before I got fired when he came in and heard me listening to it that, "I can't listen to music. It says off my anxiety. so all I got are these waves. These ocean waves these forest crickets these... You know, I'm like outside but I'm not outside. But hey no Lady Gaga right now lol just water. Waterfalls... Listening to a forest that I probably will never meet. For the flow of a river. That's all I got." 

It's good to know that there is an end to this. It's good to know that eventually, I will be able to build up my tolerance again. These imaginary barriers and stop signs will eventually go away. One day, I can feel not slowed down. I can walk outside for longer than 10 minutes and not get tired. I can go to a restaurant which is playing music and has the rush hour. I can ignore what's going on around me, but I can still process it. Right now, I can't process everything. All my brain does it shuts it out, it's still there, I hear the noise but I can't understand it.

Right now everything is white noise. But, it'll clear up. I know that How I feel about this condition will only hinder the healing process. If I don't go out for those walks, if I don't do the exercises that they told me to do, then this is going to take a lot longer for me to heal.

Normally, I don't write a thank you letter to my doctors. But, I haven't really had to go to the doctor consistently in a long time. At the end of this, I think that that I'll write all of the doctors and nurses a letter letting them know that I really appreciate what they do. That I've had bad experiences with doctors before and I know other people have. However, these people that I have met through this hard time in my life are not those people. But they are what I expect doctors to be. And I'm so grateful. Because, in order to get better there needs to be a support system. These people are part of that support system. 

There are people that go into the profession for the money. then there are people who go in because they actually care about people and these people that I've met are those people who actually care. It says a lot to me, personally, Because I've met both. And I know I'm not the only one. The letter may not the super meaningful to them. I may be just another number. But I'm going to let them know that I don't feel that way with them. But I'll remember who they are, and that's a lot to me.

In the last post I'm pretty sure I wrote that I was frustrated about the first doctor. I am positive at least that message was clear. I explained that this whole thing was frustrating and it still is. 

For those who are seeing this and do not understand what happened, I explain what happened in the first post.

Thank you for listening everyone, last time I checked which was the day after I posted the previous post, there were 25 views and a comment. People reached out to me and I want to say thank you to those people. for those people who read it and didn't say anything, who kept me in your thoughts anyway, but didn't say anything to me, thank you anyway!

I know that not everybody is going to talk to me about it, and I know that I can only handle talking to so many people, which is why I'm thankful for people reading what I have to say in the first place. Thank you for reaching out to me, and thank you for reading what I have to say. I appreciate every single one of you even if I don't know exactly who you are. But, I do know that you know me, even if you know me through my words because you've met me through Wattpad, or if you're a person I added because you were willing to listen to me when I needed someone to be there (yet we haven't met). I'm thankful for those who read what I have to say because you actually know who I am. You've met me, and you know how I feel, But we haven't seen each other in years. That's okay, because I know we have our separate lives. No matter how you know me and how I know you (or of you) in the end, you are here right now reading what I have to say, You're listening, you're thinking about me, you care about me, and because of that, thank you.

This is a time in my life I never thought I'd have to go through. People have told me, that they would be afraid. And I'm not. But, I know that other people are afraid for me. And that, makes me aware of the fear that I could have. Slowly, I will get better. All I can do, is move forward

Thank you all again,

DJ, Nar, Cho

September 29th 2020: On the Road to Recovery Part I

 Hello everyone, 

I know that I haven't been posting and I don't know if I'll continue to do this but I do believe it is time to update everyone on my whereabouts. I also think this would help me in get through the situation that I'm in. I may not do videos but I am thinking of doing a podcast sort of blog. I'm not sure yet.

Let's get down to it then. On September 8th, I got a concussion due to the lack of awareness of others. It was a simple mistake but one that cost me. Yes, the company may be paying for all the doctor's appointments but in reality I'm the one taking all of the heat from it.

Now that it's been some time, I can laugh about it but at the same time... It's so frustrating to think about it. Something so simple... took me out. I am currently speaking to the phone and having it type for me because I'm having issues typing at the same speed as I would normally on September 7th.

So what happened? Well, I was taking down a soda bib from the shelf that was above my head. I'm only 4' 10 1/2". The bib was on the part of the shelf that was 5 ft tall on the biv itself was a 5 gal bib. On top of that babe, was a hammer. Now, when you look at the video, because they made me watch it, you see the hammer. And oddly enough most of my coworkers aren't over 5'5". So, they hadn't seen it as they walked by it. In the video, you see me reach for the box and as I'm sliding it down the hammer comes down on my head on the left side and falls to the floor. After you see it hit the floor, you see me lean into the box and stand there for a second.

What the video doesn't show you, is how I felt. When the hammer came down on my head, I was thankful that it was the flat side. At first, I was like... I'll shake it off I'll be okay. So you see me take the bib to my boss. Then you see me go to the register. Thirty minutes later, I'm making stupid mistakes on this register. And suddenly, the right side of my head throbs. I tell my coworker, that I'm not okay. That I'll go fill out the incident report. She says okay I got it up here.

What I wasn't expecting, was when I started to fill out the incident report that I would have so much trouble. by the middle of it I had to ask my boss to fill out the rest. Due to the fact that I kept messing up. I told her that I needed to go to the doctor and she said okay go ahead. But I insisted that hey, I can do another task before then. She kept telling me that she would do it and I told her why can't I? I'm leaving anyway. And so she finally agreed and said okay. As I was leaving she was like... Are you sure you can drive yourself? And I told her, "Yeah." 

Now, the company told me I had to go to a certain clinic due to me using their workers' compensation. Or workers' comp for short. I ended up calling a friend when I got to the bank to deposit the money. Then, I went to the hospital with them on the phone. I texted my family that something had happened and all of them were upset that I was driving. They said it was dangerous. I told them that I was fine but because I told them what happened they they were freaking out. And honestly I'm glad they did. All I wanted to do was take a nap.

I'm really thankful to the friend that answered my call. I know that other friends of mine would have done it. But I also know that everyone has their own lives to attend to. So I'm glad that they took the time to listen to me when I needed them. (Thank you, Lucas). 

So I get to the clinic. And, I hang up the phone with my friend. I go in, and find out that I've gone to the wrong location. At this point, I'm more tired and it's harder for me to focus. The longer I have to drive the hard drives is to understand what's going on with myself. All I know, is that I have a headache and that my focus is lacking. getting back into the car, I call my friend again and tell him that I went to the wrong one lol. He stays on the phone with me once more and I get to the correct clinic. I walk in and explain the situation. I tell this receptionist that I'll go to the bathroom real quick. She asked if I'm all right. And I tell her that I am.

After I go to the bathroom, I think about what she said. I wonder, why didn't they she think I only needed to go to the restroom? Why is my family freaking out as much as they are? Why does my head hurt this badly? 

Finally, it's my turn to be seen and this male doctor comes in and asked me what happened. He runs a couple of tests, tells me I have a concussion. Then tells me that I need to get a CT scan over at a different building. He also asked me if I'm going to drive myself. I told him that it was difficult driving over here so I asked my family to come get me. I don't fully remember all the details. Currently, my short-term memory is the worst but my long-term memory seems to be improving.

Thankfully, the CT scan came out negative. However, due to the fact that it came out negative, the doctors took my condition lately. They said, "Here are some restrictions you'll be fine." 

After I tell my family what happened, my family jumps in and tells me to not go in tomorrow. They tell me that due to my condition, I need to rest, I need to take it easy, and I need to be with someone with all times. 

It's hard to talk about. I don't like sharing what happened in the past. But it is a huge factor in the fact of why I haven't recovered as quickly as someone would. A normal person, would heal faster than I am. However, I had a surgery done on my head when I was little. If you want to know more about that, you can message me personally and I will tell you. As of right now though, I don't feel comfortable telling everyone. I have posted it in the depths of my Wattpad so if you do want to look for it or if you want a link to it, I can send you to it. Message me for it.

I didn't think this would be so difficult. Letting the phone tell everyone how I feel. However, it seems that all this weight is there. And it's also hard to look at my phone and watch the words come up because apparently, reading is difficult.

There are so many regular actions that I would normally do that are hindered due to this concussion. And due to the lack of urgency, and the type of doctors that I had, I am still suffering from this concussion. No, I don't want to blame them for what's happened to me. However, due to the lack of urgency it seems that I've had to push myself farther than I've I was capable.

Since the doctors saw my CT scan and saw that it was fine, I was fine. I told them that I didn't feel fine and their response was to take it easy. Now, if you've met me and maybe you can see it through my post or through my videos, You know that I'm not a person to sit down "take it easy". So this past month has been difficult for me.

What do you mean I have to walk slower? What do you mean it makes me feel dizzy to watch a TV show? What do you mean I can't read? I can't enjoy laying there and looking at words? No, because the words get blurry. The words move. I lose my place. Why is reading so difficult?

On the 9th, I go to see another doctor. She's the one that I thought was nice at first. But, after seeing the restrictions she gave me and after going through the days that I had worked. I felt like she wasn't taking me seriously. At first, my family kept telling me don't go into work. But knowing myself, I know that I'll try to do what I can if I can. What I didn't anticipate, was feeling as if I was a different person. And I've had to tell people that. "I'm not the same person as I was on Monday." 

My coworkers got it on the spot. However, my boss who is similar to me and won't sit down, thought I was overreacting. And I told her, You know that I don't sit down. You know that I would cover you if I could. so believe me when I say I'm having trouble. That I can't do something. Understand that this hurts me to say that I cannot do something. 

The restrictions I got from the lady doctor, was no lifting anything heavier than 15 lbs and no bending. I don't quite remember the first day but I do know that the 6th hour hit and I started shaking. My family was upset with me because I tried to go to work and they told me that I would only make my symptoms worse. I stubborn as I am, like my father, I went to work anyway again. However, the same result happened, I had to sit down and it was hard to do certain duties.

On the 14th, I went to the doctor again. This time, the lady doctor didn't listen to me. She looked at me, told me that I have anxiety issues. That it's all probably in my head. And that I'm fine. The first thing that I told her when I walked in was, "I feel worse." 

What does she do in response? She likes my restrictions. Tells me that I'm okay. And due to the fact that she lightened my restrictions, the company took her side and said that I was fine. And I told them, that I'm not okay. Their response? The doctor says you're fine. So you're fine.

Due to this, The company schedules me for 8 hours. I tell my boss that I know that I'm not going to be okay. She tells me, it's out of her control, because she's not doing my schedule they higher ups are. And it's frustrating. I know that she understands that I'm not okay but I also know that the higher-ups turn to paper. And because the paper says, I'm fully functional, then I'm fully fractional.

As I expected, I get to that 5th hour and I feel awful. So I call the doctor, and I ask her... Is there anything that you can do? Is there any way that you can limit my hours because the company says only you, can restrict my hours. So what she say? No. I'm not allowed to do that. But I can give you 5-minute breaks per hour. 

Happy to hear something from her, I tell her thank you. However, when I look at the restriction sheet that she sends me, right above where she wrote that I need a 5-minute break per hour there is a section that says "limited amount of hours of work per day". And I'm furious.

In fact, I'm so frustrated and angry that I tell the people around me how I feel. And I throw myself into a loop. I'm feeling so much emotion that I'm putting too much into my thinking that I make my headache worse. I get tired because I'm so full of emotion. Which doesn't help my frustration.

Needless to say, I'm frustrated. And I have been since the incident. I've only heard about bad doctor experiences. I've had a few. None, compared to this. I'm not one of those people that leaves zero star reviews at restaurants or leaves hate comments due to bad service of some sort. However, if I do get treated poorly in a restaurant or at a place I don't go back. And I know that if I'm ever assigned to this person again, I will tell them that personally I would rather see someone else. 

What I want to do is tell the full story but I also know what the way that I blog that that I will limit each post. There's much more to tell y'all. As of right now, I'm working on recovering. If you want to hear more about my experience, tune in tomorrow. 

Thank you for taking the time to listen. In this post there is a way, to connect this with culture I haven't even thought of how I would be treated in the Philippines. But I guess I have time to think about that. Again, thank you for reading and as I said, if you want to hear more tune in tomorrow. You may also message me on my social media or you can email me. I wouldn't mind telling you myself. However, it may be easier to read it all when I post it all. Due to the fact that speaking of this post has actually taken a lot of wind out of me. 

Till next time, Nar/Cho/DJ 

P.S: If some of you are willing to read through some of my Wattpad content and leave comments on mistakes you see or how you felt about it that would give me something to do in the future. No, reading isn't easy but when I am able to read again, I'll have those comments to see. And I'll be able to work on my Wattpad again. Please, thank you. If you don't that's all right. Reading this is enough for me. Your wreaths don't go unnoticed. Thank you for being here for me.

Thursday's Pic: Vigan City: The Dancing Fountain (Daytime)

Location: Plaza Salcedo 

Learn more about the dancing fountain on their facebook page!

At night, around 7pm people start to gather in the bleachers around the dancing fountain. Around 8pm the show begins!

November 24th: Traditional Thanksgiving

I'm posting this with last week's video because this is still referenced to last week's video but it is still relevant for this weeks. 

Hello Everyone!

  This post will be about a 'Traditional' Thanksgiving. In the video I call it generic only because I couldn't figure out the word I was looking for but my brother-in-law who is also white said that I wasn't wrong. The way he put it... "At my parent's Thanksgiving I know exactly what we're going to have... with a few exceptions." Whereas, at my family Thanksgiving the dishes vary because to us, we're celebrating a holiday with a few themed items. For example, I wouldn't be surprised to see Pumpkin pie or Christmas cookies when I go meet up with my family in two weeks because we're celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Outside of that, it boils down to who's cooking and what's available.

  If you want to read more about Thanksgiving here's a link to an article from the history channel! Basically, Thanksgiving started as a holiday for the harvest but wasn't officially a holiday until later. However it was celebrated consistently each year!  Thanksgiving, to me, is a time to be thankful and to spend time with your family and/or friends.

  When I talked to my boyfriend and brother-in-law about their family traditions I learned that there's always a Thanksgiving football game. Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving. Due to this, Thanksgiving 'dinner' usually occurs around 3PM rather than 7-10PM because the Dallas Cowboys play at 7PMish. My boyfriend's family prepare for Black Friday which is a holiday that comes after Thanksgiving that has many sales to steal.

  Black Friday and Cyber Monday: On Black Friday is the first Friday after Thanksgiving. Many stores open early and release deals that push their sales. Black Friday isn't exactly a holiday, it's a day that many businesses decide to release deals at once and people then go shopping for anything and everything for a low price. This day is usually heavy in traffic and is very dangerous depending on when and where you go. There have been many cases of death and injury on this day because of the intensity of greed that people have. People are willing to do anything to save money or to get what they want.

  Cyber Monday is the online version of Black Friday. It occurs on the following Monday after Thanksgiving and consist of online deals that people can order and have shipped to wherever they please. An example could be an online purchase to a store within the city. They can then have the items shipped to the store and they can pick it up then. Or, they can ship it to their home or to whomever they are buying the item for.

  I suppose I can do another post over this section but for now I'll leave those at that. In my boyfriend's family, during Thanksgiving when they're sitting around the table and eating, they all take a moment to name one thing they're thankful for. My  brother-in-law's family doesn't do that but everyone has their own traditions!

  Now onto the food! My boyfriend and bother-in-law's family both had a similar list. My brother-in-law added like two items to what my boyfriend has listed so here are the dishes that they eat during Thanksgiving!

Turkey or Ham

Ham

Turkey

Stuffing/Dressing

A Stuffed Turkey

Stuffing - Dressing

What is it?

  Stuffing is bread soaked in broth and seasoning then rebaked.

Fun fact: Stuffing used to be stuffed inside the Turkey which is why it is called stuffing. However, both my brother-in-law and my boyfriend have told me that it's not the best way to cook it. Instead, the process is done separate which is what makes it Dressing. This item goes with the Turkey/Ham.

Mash Potatoes and Gravy (brown or white), Sweet Potato

Loaded Sweet Potato

*When I looked up 'loaded sweet potato' I got many different types of images. Apparently, people make their loaded sweet potatoes all different! In my boyfriend's family they use caramel, marshmallows, and cinnamon, and butter!

Sweet Potato

Mashed Potatoes - White Gravy

Mashed Potatoes - Brown Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Casseroles: Cream Corn, Green Bean, Broccoli Cheese

Creamed Corn Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce

Squash

Squash

Bread Rolls

Bread Rolls

--

  I want to point out that even though these look DELICIOUS... As someone who can't eat dairy or glutton all I can eat is the turkey, ham, sweet potato (without butter), and the cranberry sauce. I suppose I can eat the squash if they make it without butter but I have yet to eat squash on Thanksgiving. 

  Thank you for tuning in! For those of you who are from the U.S I want to hear about your thanksgiving traditions in the comments below or in the video comments. If you're not from the U.S then I want to hear about any harvest holidays or festivals that you have in the comments below or in the video comments. 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Dj/Cho/Nar

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Nov 21st, 2019: Filipino Thanksgiving

Hello All,

  This week I wanted to talk about Thanksgiving since it’s next week. This time I wanted to cover my experience in America and then I’ll write about Thanksgiving in the Philippines. My family celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas together mainly because we’re spread out and we all have our different schedules so we’ve made Thanksgiving our ‘all holiday meet up day’. That way, even if you can’t make the celebration in San Angelo or Dallas or wherever we plan to go, everyone tries to make it to the Thanksgiving meet up (which as I’ve mentioned, I have yet to attend).Hello All!

  When my family celebrates in general, we have food and we usually drink. In the mornings of the celebration usually the women are cooking unless we’re using the grill, then my brother-in-law, dad, uncle(s), or aunt are the ones cooking on that. We have a variety of dishes but my family always includes at least one or two pizzas for my one uncle who doesn’t eat the food we make unless it’s steak.

  At first, when I started to bring my boyfriend around the family, my parents and my aunt freaked out and would make him a separate dish so that he wouldn’t have to eat the food that was made for ‘us’. My boyfriend, however, likes to eat crab and is willing to try the dishes as long as they’re not very intense smelling or have onions in them. I tell my family to skip the ‘what’s in it’ description and I also warn him about it because I want him to try it without thinking about it. I’ve learned that many people don’t eat certain foods because they think about it and they don’t try it. Basically, they’re judging it before they give it a chance and I told my boyfriend that he can’t be like that if we’re going to be together.

  I don’t mind if he doesn’t like the food after he tries it. Generally, I tell him to try it three times at separate occasions and if he doesn’t like it, then fine! However, he can’t simply look at it and say that he’s not going to eat it because of what’s in the food or what it looks like or how it smells so I’m glad that I got him to adjust to at least trying the foods.

  If we’re not using the grill or killing a goat or chicken or pig (whatever it may be) then my brother-in-law and my job is to run the errands. If my sister(s) or mom are missing an ingredient or we need ice or sodas one of us goes and gets those items. Other than that, in the morning, while the food is being made, me and my brother-in-law are usually watching T.V to pass the time.

  Now, if we’re using the grill then the situation is different! This also applies to when we have a goat, chicken, or pig to kill. Now that I don’t live with my parents I’m not usually around early enough for this process but when there is an animal to kill my dad, brother-in-law, and uncle(s) are the ones to kill it (Not butcher it. What we do is make the process quick. We respect the animal, we’re not heathens).

  Up to a week prior of the celebration we go and buy a goat, pig, or chicken off of a farmer and take care of it until it’s time for us to eat it. Next time we kill an animal I’ll take notes and post it for you all but at the moment I can’t quite remember the whole process besides that we take care of it and kill it quick. When we have a chicken we usually use the blood and let it drip into a pot of uncooked rice and let it set in there to flavor the rice. Not everyone eats it but I think it’s good once it’s cooked. This dish is called dinadaraan

  Normally, we buy a baby up to a young goat. We don’t usually go for the older goats and we don’t always get adults because it depends on the amount of people that are showing up. The dishes we tend to make are

Goat: sinigang* (IL), kaldareta(IL), pinapaitan(IL), and kilawin (IL)(lightly cooked)  

*Sinigang means sour soup and can be made with any meat including shrimp

Goat: Kaldereta

Goat: Pinapaitan

Pork: Kilawin

Chicken: tinola (Tag/IL), pinakbekan (Igorat), and dinadaraan/dinuguan(IL/Tag)

Chicken: Dinardaraan

Chicken: Pinikpikan

Pig: Lechon

Chicken: Tinola

Pig: sinigang ng baboy and lechon

The Image for Lechon messed with the coding of my post so I'll show you all a picture through my video instead.

Pork Dish Sinigang na baboy

We also have cassava cake or bibingka and lumpia.

Lumpia

Cassava Cake

Bibingka

Alcohol wise we tend to drink whiskey, rum, scotch, rye, gin, and beer.

The Beer selection usually consist of Corona and Dos Equis. Sometimes, there’s a craft beer of some sort.

  Now that you all have read/seen what my family does for Thanksgiving, the next post will consist of what my boyfriend’s family makes as well as their traditions. I also asked my brother-in-law for some help because he is also white and he added a few bits of information to what they do. I’ll make sure to take pictures of the food they make this year and share the recipes (as well as share the same info from my thanksgiving party).

  I also want to point out that most of the dishes are Ilocano dishes as well as an Igorat dish that Ilocano speaking people know as that word. 

  Generally, my family celebrates this way for every holiday. Our main focus is to meet up, have a good time, have good food, and drink, then deal with the hangover the next morning. If you’re Filipino and want to share what foods you eat on Thanksgiving please do! Also, if you can, please share the recipe with me as well so I can post the picture and the info!

Thank you for tuning in with me this week, tune in a few days to read about the generic Thanksgiving my boyfriend’s family and my brother-in-law’s family have. See you soon!

DJ/Cho/Nar

   

October 10, 2019

October 10, 2019

  Magandang Umaga sa inyo! (Good day, everyone)

  Today I talked about a common misconception that Filipinos have when it comes to understanding what ‘American’ means. In the Philippines, everyone’s race, nationality, and language are the same. Their race is Filipino, their nationality is Filipino, and in general all languages are ‘Filipino’. While in America, people’s nationality can differ depending on their situation. There are Americans, Canadians, and even Mexicans. Some, are duel citizens where they can be, say, American-Filipino.

  In America, people categorize themselves by their race and the state they’re from rather than the nationality or the language they speak. No one says that they’re ‘Spanish’ because they speak Spanish. Most say that they’re Mexican or Latino or Hispanic but many don’t declare that they are Spanish. More commonly, people who speak Spanish say that they can speak the language.\

  How exactly does one describe themselves then as an American? My personal description is that I’m a Filipino who’s from West Texas. Unless a person goes out of state, there’s no reason to mention that you’re from the state that you’re currently in. If anything, people say ‘I’m from here’ which usually indicates that they hometown is the location that the two people are currently having the conversation in. I would say that I’m from West Texas because there are five sections of Texas since it is big enough. The parts of Texas are: North, South, East, West, and Central. Each of these sections are separated because they have different biomes or different trees, plants, animals, and such.

  An outside example would be if someone was from New York and they moved to Texas. They would then say, “I’m from New York.” Most of them won’t mention which city specifically because they don’t expect people from another state to know which city they’re from unless it’s one of the popular locations like New York City or Boston. They’re say their race, we’re going to go with Black for this example. I wanted to say Black because not everyone who is that race will describe themselves as ‘Black’. It all depends on the context. The safest way to describe someone who is ‘black’ is to listen to who they describe themselves and go with that description for that person. Some may say that they’re African-American which is also not a wrong description. (I could probably do a whole article over this but I’m going to leave those two examples for now. If anyone has any questions, leave them in the comment section of either the vlog or the blog post.

  Whereas, in the Philippines people will describe themselves by province or go even father and add a specific location to help indicate where they are from.  I’ll use myself as an example again. I’m Igorat/Ilocano. My family descends from the Kankanae tribe. My mother’s side is from Paltoc, San Emilio, Ilocos Sur and  my father’s side is from Labayug, Sison, Pangasinan. Some people from the city area (like say Vigan City or Candon City) don’t like the word ‘Igorat’ or use it as a vulgar term to describe people who are illiterate or snobby because people who are indigenous tend to have more land.

  The fact is, people who are indigenous have lineage to land that was claimed before the Spanish arrived and because of that, the family was able to keep the land over time. It only means that their ancestors protected what was important to them, not that they’re snobby or rich. A misconception that I’ve run into is that people who are Igorat or Indigenous are considered snobby because of the amount of land they have (this converts to how much money they would have to buy the land). But, if the land was bought or claimed for cheap or nothing at all in the past and was well protected over the years then the land would not have been bought for an expensive price to begin with. It could be sold for a higher price if it lasted generations but most Filipinos are protective of their birthright and would not sell off their land that they’ve had in the family for generations.

  As an example of someone who isn’t Indigenous, let’s say that someone is from Candon City. Their mother is from Candon and their father is from Bantay. Both families have Spanish last names (Let’s go with Garcia). They wouldn’t say that they come from a Spanish background. Instead, they would indicate which language they speak the best. Whereas, my cousins would say Itneg (the language of the municipality), someone from Candon or Bantay may say Tagalog/Filipino or Ilocano.

  More people in the Philippines tend to describe themselves with their language (since it is regional) rather than saying that they’re ‘Filipino’. If someone were from Pangasinan they wouldn’t say they’re Pangasinan, they’d say that they’re Pangalatot (or a language that is spoken over in that province) where as someone from Ilocos Sur or Norte would say ‘I’m Ilocano’. There have been fights over whether the term ‘Iloco or Ilocano’ is correct and I’m not going to fight people over something they feel so strongly about. It doesn’t matter to me whether someone is Iloco or Ilocano as long as they’re not a bad person. In my personal description I’m not considered Ilocano, I’m considered ‘Itneg’ since it’s the language of my family. However, is more than one type of Ilocano language as well as more than one Itneg language so even if I were to say that I’m ‘Itneg’ it wouldn’t meant that I can understand someone who speaks a variation of the language.

  I hope this helps clear up some confusion in either of my audiences. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions that you want me to cover! Thank you for tuning in this week and I’ll see you all next week! Also, I made a chart to help compare last week’s conversation. I hope it helps both my audiences understand each other better.

  Click here to read the original post about what I missed while I was in the Philippines!

  Click here to view the chart that compares the toilets of the two countries!

See you next week!

DJ/Cho/Nar

Keep up with me at the following:

Youtube

I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

 Facebook

      This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.

 Instagram

       I follow anyone who follows me! This is mainly pictures of where I go!

 Wattpad

       Writing has always been a passion of mine. Interested in reading what's on my mind? Read up on a more emotional perspective of my life here!

How To Relieve The Self: A Comparison between a Western Toilet and a Filipino Toilet

Western

What to say when going to relieve the self:  "I'm going to the bathroom."  "I'm going to the restroom."  "I need to pee."  "I need to take a piss."  "I'm going to use the John."  (There are more ways to ask but basically this is it.)

Parts of the toilet: Toilet Tank (The Back) Toilet Seat (What you sit on) Toilet Paper (Yes this counts) Toilet Bowl (When you flush, it goes down this)

How to Pee: Female: Sit Male: Stand. Lift toilet seat up and aim.

How to Relieve the Anus: Both: Sit, Don’t hurt yourself. Use Toilet Paper.

In Public, the same rules apply because the toilets are the same.

Sinks: Are required to work and have soap so you can wash your hands!

Trash cans: Will be provided, use them.

Filipino

What to say when going to relieve the self:  "I'm going to use the C.R" (Comfort Room)

Parts of the toilet: Toilet Bowl Water Bucket Pail

How to Pee: Female: Crouch (You’ll build those thigh muscles) Lean forward if you have to. Male: Stand. Aim. Don’t Miss.

How to Relieve the Anus: Both: Stand on toilet edges (it’s wider so it’s designed for this) and crouch. Relieve the self. Those baby wipes I mentioned? Hope you brought some. If without baby wipes… Traditionally… Use water and hand to clean the self. Then use soap bar to clean the hands.

In Public, some places that have the finances will provide a toilet that is more ‘western’. Use the instructions on the left side for those details. However, the toilet paper may or may not be provided despite the bathrooms being public.

Sinks: Most likely don’t have water IF there is a sink. Bring hand sanitizer and or as most Filipinos call it, rubbing alcohol.

Trash Cans: May or may not be provided. Do not flush your toilet paper down the toilet, if you bring your own baby wipes or toilet paper, have an extra plastic bag with you to throw these away in. Or, hold onto it until you find a trash can.

Vlog Week One: What Did I Miss About the U.S? Read the post here!

Learning something? Keep up with me so that you don't miss a post, video, or pictures!

Keep up with me at the following:

Youtube

I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

 Facebook

      This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.

 Instagram

       I follow anyone who follows me! This is mainly pictures of where I go!

 Wattpad

       Writing has always been a passion of mine. Interested in reading what's on my mind? Read up on a more emotional perspective of my life here!

October 2nd, 2019

This week's vlog

  Hello everyone!

  This week in my vlog I focused on my American audience. This post will take the details that I mentioned in the vlog and expand on it! In this week’s video I talked about the three things that I missed the most while I was in the Philippines.

  Of course, I missed my friends, family, and my puppy while I was gone but there were certain items and concepts that stuck out. Those items were toilet seats and air conditioning while the concept was the time it took to get anywhere. Being in the Philippines opened up a new perspective in life that I didn’t think I would see. Since being home, there are little concepts that stand out to me about either the states or the Philippines.

  In the past three months of me being home I’ve seen the lifestyle that I live in the states is adjusted to my needs in the states. Here, I go to work and I plan for my bills. I pick a friend or two to go see on my off days and I schedule what else I need to do on those off days. Before work I’m usually sleeping if not I’m cleaning or fixing the house up and after work I either go to sleep right away or go on a few errands with my boyfriend.

  Here, I schedule myself because I have to and I need in order to meet a certain time constraint that I mentally prepare for myself. I know how long it takes to get to work, I know how long it takes for me to get ready to go to work. My hours at work are set. I know my off days. I know that I need a certain amount of sleep and that I need to eat at a certain time of day or at least around a certain time of day.

  While I was in the Philippines time wasn’t constricted. To my surprise, for people who have to wait around for vehicle for hours, the people were very impatient. It amused people that when I had to wait for hours at a time that I would have a book in my hand or I would be writing. When I was in school I would plan to do my school work first then I would figure out what I would do after that.

  This concept of scheduling wasn’t a part of the culture in that country which angered a few Americans that I ran into. There was a white American that would go to the bus stop every weekend that I would go and if the bus wasn’t there within ten to fifteen minutes, he would be angry. Which, in an American mind set, I do understand that. However, when a person lives in a country for a certain amount of years (which is what I gathered from his rants) than that person shouldn’t expect the country to adjust to him. Rather, the person should adjust to the country.

  Only a few students that I went to school with scheduled a study time for themselves. I had an issue with setting a study schedule because I couldn’t study the same way as the students were taught. In their culture, it is custom to sit in front of a paper and memorize notes for an hour. Which can work for some but I know that I needed to find another way to remember what was being taught during class.

  When I was over there and not studying or doing school work, I was on my Wattpad and writing. It reminded me of my senior year in high school when I spent more time in my creative mind set than anything else. Today, I still have at least two journals that I need to type of from the time that I was writing almost every day.

  Being in the states has brought my attention to how the speed of time seems faster than it does in the Philippines. There, no one is in a hurry to get anywhere, and if they are, there’s still a limitation to their version of a ‘rush’. Filipinos don’t skip meals if they’re late. They think, well, they’re already late so might as well eat since they’re late. They don’t think ‘I should eat before I go to where I need to go’. This is where the concept ‘Filipino Time’ comes from.

  To the people who have met a Filipino, they know that Filipinos don’t show to up to a party or to an event until at least, a half an hour late. Which, is why the tactic around that is to tell the Filipinos to show up two hours early so that by the time they decide to show up, they’re on time instead of late. I’ve also notice that the culture of Filipinos is different in the states than it is in the country itself.

  There, families are close and sit around the table and talk to each other about their day. They push the essence of a family and responsibilities. While in the U.S many Asian families (not only Filipinos) tend to abuse the concept of family and focus on academics and/or work. It’s more important to make money so that the family in the Asian country is in a better living condition rather than focus on having a healthy family at home and across the sea.

  For a future video, I’ll touch up on this concept of culture but I also want to provide pictures of a Filipino building and the toilet that I mentioned. Down below is a picture of a traditional American toilet verses a Filipino toilet. I suppose I could do a separate continuation of this post since I’m sure how the toilet seat works.

                         Source

     Source

  I’ll be sure to add the link below if I do decide to write them out for you. For those of you who have kept up with me since 2018, thank you! And to those of you who are newer, I’m still thankful. Tune in next week to watch my next vlog and to read more about it through the blog!

Click here to look at the chart comparing the two toilet seats and customs

  Thank you, and see y’all soon!

Nar/Cho/Dj

Keep up with me at the following:

Youtube

I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

 Facebook

      This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.

 Instagram

       I follow anyone who follows me! This is mainly pictures of where I go!

 Wattpad

 

September 2019 Announcement

September 2019 

  Hello Everyone! 

  For my stay in the United States I will be attempting to upload videos instead of writing out post. I will try to make time to write post but my goal is to upload a five minute video every week talking about the culture of the Philippines and the culture of being in the United States. This is a personal vlog (similar to what I was doing with my written post). The only difference is I will try to touch up on my video making skills. Please subscribe to my channel for more uploads, I'm planning on uploading a video every Tuesday CST starting this coming week!

  It's good to be back in the states. I can't wait to share my experience with both my Philippines audience as well as my American Audience (as well as those of you around the globe who have found interest in my blog. I'm am grateful to you all and I hope that all of you continue to follow my blog and also watch my vlog :))

See you all next week!

DJ/Cho/Nar