Monday, February 12, 2007

Hello, my name is Tan-Tan


Before I became this phelgmy mess of a human being, I went to a remarkably fun party yesterday. I know what you're thinking, "Blue, at a party?" but it gets even stranger. The party's theme was "I Heart Filipinos." Yes, I went to a party, there were a lot of Filipinos there, my parents didn't drag me, and I went willingly.

In my defense, I was told that there would be a Wii and good food. Sold. In fact, I brought my own wiimote, because that's how Asian I am, and I even took party pics, which are flashing in the sidebar as I write this. Cute detail of the party: we thad to wear name tags with our Filipino names.

I've always prided myself in being a loner among Filipinos. I told myself things like: I'm different from them, I'm a first generation American, they don't understand me, and I'm not an effing nurse. Alas, I found myself in a room full of Filipinos who are just like me and it felt pretty good to not feel so original anymore.

I'm looking forward to the next party, which will be themed, "I Hate Filipinos," and the food will be from a range of countries that have colonized the Philippines at one time or another. Awesome.

Funny side story:

I attended the party with Moonie and her bf because I refused to go without them. About a week before the party, we first had to convince her bf to come, and especially to something themed "I Heart Filipinos." (We're one in the same in our self-hate.) Moonie and I were eating dumplings at the super cheap dumpling place when we were trying to convince her bf--via cell--to come to the party. At one point, she handed me the phone and the conversation went something like this:

Bf: I don't know. Where is this party again?

Me: Brooklyn.

Bf: Well, aren't there going to be a lot of Filipinos there?

Me: Oh, no. There are going to be BLACK PEOPLE too!!! (in my overexcited, terribly loud voice)

[two black girls turn around in the dumpling line and look straight at me]

I can only assume that I confused rather than offended those two girls, considering that my voice bubbled over with enthusiasm when saying the words "black people." Yes, I'm a social retard.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello my Filipino name is JoJo. Not the teenage pop singer.

Sounds like it was fun.

Oh, I love those awkward moments of innocent racial faux.

Speaking of race... The Daily Show's Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore just did a segment on Barack Obama and how being half black and half white is a difficult balancing act. Wilmore pointed out that Obama won't want too much of the African-American vote because "it's a known fact that for every 3 black voters he gets, 5 white voters will be scared away."

Colbert just wished Charles Darwin a "Happy Birthday...in Hell!"

Sorry for the long tangent...
I love my 11-midnight tv block.

hb

moonrat said...

Hello, my Filipino name is Mikinda, and I want to tell a side story:

About how at my goodbye party there was a beautiful, beautiful cake, and everyone paused to reflect upon it and there were voiced some sad comments that it was wished we had a camera, and forth stepped Bluenana to declare, "I really wanted to bring one, but I didn't want to fulfill any stereotypes."

Then the only other Filipino (or Asian) in the room said, "Me too!" (But luckily he'd brought his karaoke machine that day.)