Five things Friday is a post where I share five things that either made my week, what I am thinking about, or would like to share with all of you!
1. Listening to lots of podcast around the Asian American experience.
Why am I spending my week listening to podcast about Asian Americans? Because I know my experience as an Asian American is not representative of all Asian American experiences. I want to learn about learn about other Asian American experiences. I am currently listening to Asian American History 101, Rice to Meet You, Code Switch, and Feeling Asian, and Asian Enough.
2. Supporting those doing Doordash and Postmates and other gig roles
I had a former volunteer who still keeps in touch with me. She was suppose to finish her first year in P.A. (Physician’s Assistant) school, but she had drop out in the middle of Fall semester just because she could not do online learning. It was a frustrating experience. What sucks is that she still owes them money for that incomplete semester. She is taking a gap year before returning for the following Fall Semester. She told me she’s back to working fulltime, and on her days off she doing Postmates and DoorDash to start paying off that debt and save up for place to live closer to school in the fall. I love using Postmates, DoorDash, and Instacart! Hearing her situation reminds me about the people who make the conveniences I enjoy happen. When I buy groceries using Instacart, I am probably helping somebody get out of their situation.
I know S-Town is so 2017, but I very busy back then. I finally got a chance to listen to it over a weekend. You don’t really hear stories that take place in the Deep South or the middle of America. The series was like a character study on John McLemore, a man full of contradictions.
4.Hollywood Played a Role in Hypersexualizing Asian Women
In my senior year of college, I made the decision to not pursue graduate or professional school right now. I decided I was going to look for a full-time job in a lab or biotech for at least a year. At the time, I was so sure I was going to pharmacy school, medical school, or work in biotech for the rest of my career. As graduation got closer, and with very few bites in the job pool (it was the Great Recession) I got really anxious. My friends suggested to me, maybe instead of pursuing a professional job I should pursue something fun like become an actress. This article reminded me the reason why I never wanted to pursue acting as an Asian-American. I’d be expected to play characters with an accent or be pigeon-holed into stereotypical Asian characters. If I don’t take those roles, I would not get a lot of work. I would spend more time demanding for better roles. Don’t get me wrong, there have been many Asian American actors who have paved the way for better characters and better stories but that just too long.
For people who don’t have milk to make bechamel sauce, this cheater recipe is for you.
Eat, Play, Live 