Sister, damn I really miss ya

so I've come to realize, how hard it is to keep up with this blogging thing and I be having some good ideas for blogs but I'm never around a computer when this ideas strike. This past week has honestly the best week of my life. I think I've come far in experiencing different types of things; college, community work, traveling, protests, and whole crap more. This past week, I spend it at SASC-SI and one of the most important people in my life decided to let up and go with me: my sister.

my sister and I have quite a difficult relationship. Growing up, I was asshole to her never letting her do anything and expecting way too much from her. Going to college, I finally realized how much she meant to me and how I should be there for her. We've started going out together to movies, we go out for dinners together and I play volleyball with her at her CRC class. This past week, we went to fusion night, the banquet, reflection night and the park outing for SASC. Miss Anna Ballin Nguyen took me and my sister out to a movie, the Frida Kahlo art exhibit and the gay pride parade. All of which was an amazing time and most importantly my sister was experiencing and learning new things with me at her side.

My sister is an amazing young womyn and she growing up to be a strong and smart individual. For the longest time, I didn't see that in her because I didn't allow myself to all of her potential, I only focused on her shortcomings and my expectations. She loves turtles (its like her batman), she likes yellow, she may want to be a math teacher, she has hundreds of chuck taylors, she starting to like fish tacos like I do and she speaks better Vietnamese than I do and she'll remind you all the time.

Who would of thought a week with my sister, would be the best thing about my summer! We got matching Kanye glasses and custom made writstbands that say: Bro Heart Sis in both our favorite colors: Black and Yellow!

its summer time...

my original plans for the summer were to go to New Orleans and work with NAVASA (National Alliance of Vietnamese Americans Service Agencies). They would of hopefully placed me with VAYLA (Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association) or CDC -MQVN (Community Development Corporation) which would of been amazing cause I saw some of their work for a week during my winter break and it was nothing less than amazing. I wanted to go back so bad but because their contract required me to be there for so long, I didn't want to be away from my family for so long and then proceed to go to Vietnam for 5 months right after.

so, I home with my family in Sacramento and it was all that I had asked for and more...the more part being the constant demands, the endless yelling and fighting, the stubborn sister, the conservative brother and me just caught in the middle of it all. Its been a long time since I've been at home for longer than 2-3 weeks. I've always had vacations and summer school in Berkeley to keep me away from home but this summer is different.

1. The first thing I notice being home, it how slow pace life is here. I'm so use to the intense atmosphere at Berkeley, I find it hard sometimes just to chill with friends and family without thinking about errands and responsibilities. Is this good or bad, I'm still trying to figure it out.

2. Second thing about being home is that I'm not the same person that I was but what exactly do I do with that. Berkeley obviously has had effects on me but when it comes to bringing it back to my friends, family and community; how do I approach it all.

3. This has been a time of reflection and thought. Being in the Berkeley bubble makes you constantly think about the community, school, and only things in between. I forgot how it feels like to stop and think over your life in a grander scheme of things. I forgot how to develop myself slowly in quality and not quanitaty.

My summers are usually short lived, crazy and just as hectic as a my school years and as this Sacramento life comes back at me, I realize a couple of things...

Batman Begins

so... this has been one of my most prolonged and procrastinated projects I've ever done. I've been telling myself over and over again to just slow down and write a quick blog but its so hard to find the time and energy to just reflect over a day. Plus all this blogging stuff is really new to me and I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing this, may it be for present self, my future self, others, whatever...All I know is that I got to start somewhere.

so... its been a long minute since my school year ended and my summer started. Half of me is glad to be home and living the kick back life again with family, friends, and 4 mile runs but the other half of me misses the community, Casa J, my EAOP students, the endless cupcakin, and the constant inspiration I was surrounded by. Even though I'm not done with Berkeley, I can't help but to think Berkeley will never be the same for me.

Summer Game Plan: so right now, I'm taking it really slow, day by day: I leave for Vietnam sometime around August 8th, 2008! Before that I will:

1. Take a Vietnamese Class at Community College (CRC)

2. Work off my 2 year long Berkeley Belly I've accumalated over the years and beat my boi David So to that "Body of Greek God" he always talks about

3.Watch "The Dark Knight" on July 18th

4. Celebrate my 21st B(at)-day on July 29th

5. Work at Summer School Program at Sullivan Middle School in Fairfield

6. Get good with the family and the little sister!

7. SASC-SI!

8. Remember who I was, who I am, and what I wanna be. Keep BLOGGIN!

9. August 8th - Vietnam. New Game Plan...fo sho