I love myself but let me get fake boobies!

*** Yes, one day I may want bigger boobs and when that day comes, I sure will be upfront about it instead of pretending that FINALLY I have reached puberty at 44!!”

Why do women say shit like, ” I love myself unconditionally” then proceed to go get fake boobs or fake ass or fake nose or whatever body parts they want. It makes them look so stupid to say things like that when everybody knows what they got done! Instead why can’t they be honest and say, ” I love myself but you know what, bigger boobs and ass will make me even more  happier!”  Besides, some of us may want to know who did your boobs so we can get some ourselves!

Legacies of War

According to the advocacy site, Legacies of War, “During the Vietnam War-era, more than two million tons of unexploded ordnance were dropped on Laos. An estimated 30 percent of the ordnance did not explode on impact, leaving at least one third of the land across all 17 provinces contaminated by these deadly tennis ball-sized weapons.” Even though the Vietnam War ended n 1975, the unexploded ordnance is still wrecking havoc in the lives of the villagers in Laos. The fight to clear the UXO is arduous work and the organization, Legacies of War, are continuing that fight to raise awareness and take action. As a child of the Vietnam War, I support their effort in providing a safer environment and assistance for the villagers of Laos. I wrote this poem to raise awareness of the issue.

Fresh off the boat,
Are survivors, troopers,
Silent victims of the Vietnam War.
Displaced, homeless, country less.
Witnesses to the horror of,
Cluster bombs raining down on their homes.
Days of pounding, and heavy artillery rain,
Sad Legacies of War.

*** To find out more on how you can help clear the cluster bombs in Laos, please visit: http://legaciesofwar.org/.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

The first thing I would like to clarify is that I am NOT a photographer or an expert, but in this case I do not think I need any qualification to back up my opinion.  One of my favorite thing to do is take pictures, look at pictures and buy pictures!  I LOVE art of any form be it a sculpture, painting or photographs.  What I especially love about photographs is the fact that it captures a moment, a time, a history, a memory of something or someone without anybody having to say anything.  What I consider a good picture is one that inspires me to write a thousand word about it or verbally describe it to someone else with such clarity that they are able to ” see” it in their mind’s eye.  A good picture is one that showcases its subject in a revealing way, a way that sheds new light about the person or thing. Take for example, the picture of this cake on the front of her brochure.  I do not need or have to know whose wedding cake it is in order to imagine what kind of couple picks this nontraditional concoction.  I can write my own story about this couple.  That is the beauty of photograph, if it is well done, it will speak to us or invoke thought.

 It takes a talented photographer to be able to tell a story about their subject without having to say anything. Oubon Phommavong or you can call her MissPhom, is an amazing Laotian photojournalist who is an expert story teller. How does she do this without saying anything?  Simple, one click at a time or one frame at a time according to her.  She is definitely, “Capturing life one frame at a time.”

To see more of her work, make sure you visit her at: http://missphom.com/blog/.  If you are in Florida, give her a call and let her tell your story one picture at a time.

Introduction into an American School

Some  kids are lucky to have one or both parents take them to their first day of school.  In my case, it was my preacher, Brother Dale.  He was the one who took us to school.  I was seven years old when I started school in America.  I was put into Mrs. Bizzell’s second grade class.  There were no other Asian much less khon Lao in my class so I did not have anybody to interact with or ask questions. While the rest of the students were doing their regular classwork, I struggled to learn my basics…ABC and 123.  I couldn’t read, write or speak English so it was a challenge to complete the class assignments. It felt like I was deaf, dumb, and blind because I felt so lost.  What made it worse was the fact that I had to discover a way to over the language barrier so I could communicate with my teacher and classmates. I came to rely heavily on my ability to remember and mimic the other kids in class. Inadvertenly,I became an expert observer and imitator. 

Mrs. Bizzel and I eventually discover how we can communicate to each other by using hand motions and strong facial expression.  Looking back now it was like paying charade.  We were both trying to “guess” what the other person was saying with their hands, body language and dramatic gestures.  If we were students in a clown school, I’m pretty sure we would have been the head of the class! 

Learning the English language was my top concern because for me personally, I wanted to know what other people were saying to each other or to me.  There were times when the kids would point and laugh when they would glance my way and I would feel so frustrated because I didn’t know what they were saying. 

Everyday, my brothers and sister and I would be taken out of our class to a resource class where Mrs. Lennon and Mrs. Brown would help us learn English.  They were instrumental in us grasping the language faster which was not easy because we had to learn to use different parts of our mouth to speak.  The most important thing was, we had the determination to overcome our language barrier.