For those who know, my previous thesis advisor bailed on me due to some conflict/drama. Fortunately, thank God, I got Dr. Reza Aslan to be my new thesis advisor!

Looking back, this thesis project led me to new interests and active involvement in the following points:

Collegiate Life, Greek Societies, Service Orgs, Geographic Diversity, Gender Roles and Ideologies, Youth Gangs, Drug Underworld, Domestic Violence, Depression and Suicide.

Had I not taken this project, I might not have been aware of these realities. I've met several awesome people (and not so awesome people), but in the long road, I know all things worked well.

But now, I've been thinking of the future, especially after a Career Center event, I'm looking forward to the professional realm, since I'm graduating and pushing past college life.

This novel is my goodbye to the collegiate life, once I finish it, it either publishes or perishes.

My current internship and the year ahead will test whether I'm up for a job in the literary world. Everyone is practically encouraging me to go to grad school after a year of latency. But which program to choose?

Honestly, I'm a bit tired of the whole creative writing program, especially after the drama with my professor. I will pursue writing, but not in academia. I can't imagine myself in another workshop anymore. I will pursue writing through reading successful, published work--as other writers who didnt pursue MFAs have done.

On the other hand, I need a career that balances that life. That's when I'll need my master's degree.

A professor told me to get into film archiving and museums... I'll have to intern/volunteer and see whether that appeals to me. I've taken history and art history classes, and I'm good at analyzing media and art.

On the other hand, I've always been interested in counseling and helping out others. I've worked with teens suffering from all sorts of issues before, and I'll basically be extending my community service on a professional level. That is, if I pursue psychology or social work. My thesis helped me see through social and minority issues, and I wouldn't mind working with immigrants or delinquents.

Another area that interests me is video gaming, which now is receiving some hype. UC Irvine may soon have a masters in Video Game Studies, and I'm very much interested in it. Although I'm not an avid gamer as I used to be, the whole of idea of Representation entices me. Film and video game criticism has been my passion since my first English class. Game development is another story though. I have no idea what C++ is. lol. >_

1. Asian Americans and Suicide, Yet Again

In 2009, a total of at least 36 korean americans in new york took their lives.

New York Times: Suicides Soar Among New York Koreans

It's nothing new, really. It's been a long fact that suicide is statistically the top killer for Asians, especially for women in the 18-24 age bracket--topping cervical cancer and homicide . Asian American males, on the other hand, have different approaches to their depression, and thus evades the radar.

Awhile back, I've worked with teens suffering from depression, cutting and intoxication. My counsellees were mostly whites and chicanos, emo kids among them. I never encountered Asian Americans who explicitly state their disturbed states.

Now thinking back, if I were more aware of the situation, I could have prevented some.. I remember a few conversations I had with this particular female who wanted to study the arts, but her parents wouldn't let her. They forced her to study bio-- I assumed it was the typical Asian story, and I assumed nothing can be done. But perhaps..

For my novel, Buried Under Grains of Rice, I dedicate Elise Angela Tran and Mercedes Myung-sun Park to my peers who struggle with these issues. All of us have inherited some sort of culture and ideology, and as human beings, we constantly seek which traditions we keep, and which to alter according to our tastes. It's like in cooking, where we inherit recipes from our mothers and grandmothers--we change, we learn, we evolve.

2. Book Review and Asian American Masculinity

My friend Marvin recently recommended this awesome graphic novel, Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine, about a Japanese American man who feels inadequate in the whole relationship and love arena.

The story involves interracial relationships, Asian Man x White Woman and White Man x Asian Woman. While I find the story rather polemic, I enjoyed reading it (finished it in about an hour or two) even though it ends in a rather depressing note.

It involves the whole struggle of Asian American masculinity that mirrors the same issues raised by Wong Fu Productions' clips like Yellow Fever and Nice Guy

The main difference in Tomine's graphic novel, however, is the strong realism and potent Generation X feel to it--the dark sarcasm and cynicism and perceived inadequacy experienced by many males who do not fit the whole machismo ideology.

Lets face it, guys. Not all of us are 5'9+ tall, muscularly built and high-achieving breadwinners (News report that AA teens use more steroids nowadays). Not all of us can drink kegs of beer. And most importantly, guys, it's how you use it. The flower feels what it feels. It's a scientific fact.

My main character Loreto experiences similar issues

3. Journal Review on Drugs

Lately, i've been reading the Virginia Quarterly Review: Are We Losing the War on Drugs?

Several contributors offer potent stories, including interviews with former ganglords, mules and the whole Mexico-border business.

The city of Juarez, dubbed the murder capital, maintains a cartel that goes up to Texas and deliver cannabis (In So Cal it's thee Tijuana Cartels). In 2008, over 6,000 people have died in drug-related murders. It's crazy! The Mexican military and the actual cartels do not suffer any losses. Juarez makes money through these narcotics. Mansions and churches are built through drug money. People eat and survive through drug money.

And who funds all these murders? Easy. College students who smoke pot .

The fact is, the only reason why the drug business is booming and killing so many people in Juarez, is because Americans are so hungry for drugs and want to get high all the time. Think of blood diamond. Each time you get high, families get murdered. A gangster shoots a rival so as to be the only supplier. A $10 dime bag costs someone's life! SO STOP FUNDING GANGSTERS. DON'T DO DRUGS.

Although my novel doesn't directly tackle the whole American-Mexican drug relationship, the drug abuse among Asian Americans is veiled by the whole model minority myth, that we're nothing but a bunch of curve raisers and overachievers

Not so true among the street and underground gangstah culture, which many young AAs try to emulate/revive. The whole Asian gang scene peaked in the 90's, and soon became inactive or hid underground, except for maybe TRG, ABZ and school-related delinquent groups.

This is not to say Asian Americans don't bang no more. My novel is based on several events from 2008-2009-- in UC Riverside alone, 2 murders were perpetrated by Asian gangsters.

4. To Save A Life

To Save A Life Trailer

Someone help us get this show! It's really good. I wanna see it.

Hi LJers. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Winter is coming up, and I’d like to let you guys know that MY NOVEL is DUE on the Eighth Week of the Quarter. As a result, I’ve been toiling over it this break, 10 pages minimum per day. I’ve been doing a lot of editing for my major revision, and I think it’s going rather well.

Today, I revised the truth behind my fictional character’s death—and finally linked the frat to a gang (see UCLA frat stabbing for a similar story). Similarly, I have 24/150 edited pages for my initial draft due on January 8!! Pray that I finish it >_< (I really should be editing, and not blogging, lolz)

Also note that I’ll be having a PRESENTATION, as required by the honors system, and I invite you all to come. It’s going to be between 5^th and 8^th week, probably in the Honors Department at Muffin Morning Friday, sometime between 9-11am.

This work has been an awesome and stressful ride, and there are times when my characters’ emotions are quite overwhelming, especially when we’re dealing with the whole Asian American depression and hate crime stuff. But anyways, that’s my update!

---AJ Ong

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Hi LiveJournal readers,

It’s been awhile since I updated on my thesis. I’ve been bogged down by pledging and two other short stories I’ve been working on. I’m scheduled to finish the novel by Winter 2010, so I really need to get on it. In two weeks, I must finish half the book and hand it to my thesis adviser, Professor Susan Straight.

In the end, I’ll be working on a murder mystery novel after all. While the sectional cooking competition’s still there, it’s minimal plotwise. It’s the investigation of the crime that’s most interesting, as it reveals the darker side of Asian Americans. This story is loosely based on 2 homicide events that occurred around UCR in 2008 and 2009 which involved Asian gangs. It is also written in memory of students who ended their lives in 2006, and I will give my best to do justice on these issues.

My first 130+ pages, which were mostly characterizations and describing the school setting and events, would most likely be recycled into the new novel. Writing those pages helped me realize who my characters are, but after reading the novel Finding Nouf, I learned that the murder mystery genre could do so much, and thus I write with this new mindset. In two weeks I must come up with 60 pages that involve half of the project, as my honors term end next quarter.

As for the story, two students investigate the death of their beloved friend, and in the process they learn about the victim’s dark secrets and an underground world the body hides.

OMG! I totally, TOTALLY dig Christie's mystery novel, And Then There Were None (1939). I read it in less than 10 hours (albeit distractions from my roommate asking me to play dota and such)

Basically ten people are sent off in a deserted island and one by one, a person gets killed...and the murderer is AMONG them.

I enjoyed the suspense and the pacing of the craft. A completely different voice, which at first was difficult to grasp, but I fell in love with it after page 40 or so. This was the first detective/crime novel i've read/finished. (I didnt like the maltese falcon)

The novel reminds me of The Lord of the Flies...and the group/community/social psychology does change when there's a threat.

Humans accuse each other of wrong doing, each creating his or her own justice...and there's an inherent evil among us, just not exactly termed as such by the legal or religious systems we have.

***

In regards to my own writing, i don't think I can pull it off as Christie had done.. My own novel is so convoluted that the murder mystery component may not work at all.. I DONT EVEN KNOW WHO MY MURDERER IS YET. Hopefully I'll get there..

Dear LiveJournal,

I can't tell you how much I hated the day prior to this post-midnight rant, but I'll start anyways.

Basically I was looking for a Walgreens to buy the water filter pitcher for my apartment, right? According to Google Maps, the closest Walgreens was at Mt. Vermon Ave. I called their customer service and asked if they could do an item search for me....I was redirected for over 5 minutes, so I gave up and decided to go there myself.

Apparently, mt. Vermon was indeed a mountain, and I climbed all the way there with my car....all for nothing! No walgreens, just a desert! Wtf?!

So I looked for another Walgreens, the Magnolia Ave branch. To my GPS's stupidity (and mine), i used the freeway and got lost--stupid GPS cant figure out the 215's and 91 freeways. Keeps recalculating. So I ended up wasting gas and circling around the Riverside area.

When i eventually landed back on blaine. I cancelled the freeways and took street roads, to downtown, then magnolia...and guess what, extreme traffic. The stupid traffic light was broken!! So we all had to go crazy with the 6 way.

So in Walgreens, I bought the pitcher. BUT they didnt carry filter replacements!! So i called the other Walgreens in the area, as advised by the snobby cashier. I got redirected  3x just to make a stupid item search, which took 10 mins, and guess what?!

After the long chat of how many filters they have and their costs, she says "Sorry, you may have to take the long road to reach us. There's currently a FIRE blocking our street. You can try the backroad through mission inn"

I was like, Forget it. I've wasted enough of my life (I left 3:30pm and ended up in Riverside at 6. Stupid traffic and getting lost)

And getting back to Riverside was crazy because of the changing lanes. I had to make a change last minute (IN TRAFFIC) and this angry driver kept beeping at me.

FML
***
On the bright side, I saw a part of Riverside that was actually...dare I say, pretty. I passed by a suburbs with so many trees, and the sunset was nice. There was also a park-like suburb along Victoria, with a interesting/classy looking house

Oh yeah, the water filter has a strange citrusy  taste. if Im alive tomorrow, it means Im safe.

WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS

I couldn't sleep last night for so many reasons, but I guess I did sleep for about 2 - 4 hours this morning--and I know this because I had a vivid dream!! And it was a CREEPY Dream!

I dreamt that Rachel Ray cooked me a delicious pasta in white sauce, and I think I remembered tasting pesto and seeing parsley, so I'd just assume it was penne pesto or alfredo... her kitchen was pretty clean, with pans hanging on the wall. Different sizes. Counter tops very sparkly.

Anyways, she was spoonfeeding it to ME. And this wasnt teh chubby Rachel Ray of today, it was BACK WHEN SHE WAS POSING FOR FHM.
....Kinda like this picture:



Yeah...I might just be sick (not in a creepy way!) I'm currently recovering from a cold virus. *sniff* so be nice to me.

And also, i'm still writing my food novel, which is now 89 pages. I happened to reference Rachel Ray in Chapter 7, so maybe that's why?

Anyways, I have all kinds of weird dreams. It's one of the reasons why i decided to be a writer since i was a kid. I always had these vivid dreams, of people dying, people succeeding, or just completely random worlds, so i decided to write them down on paper. When I was 17-18, I really had these crazy vivid dreams that I'd have a notebook next to me on the bed (seriously, my brothers thought I was whack), but I'd write what I saw on paper before I forget any of the details.

Too bad most of my i-just-woke-up-from-a-nightmare handwriting is undecipherable...So I gave up that method. It would be kinda cool if my dreams came out like prophecies and shit, like Joseph the dreamer in Genesis...but most of my dreams are just random excesses of the creative juices in my brain.. Although I was able to predict rain and storms when I was in 5th grade! lawl. I'll shuddup now. Thanks for reading.


www.ajong14.livejournal.com

Thesis update,

Ok, I got 76 pages revised up to chapter 7. The murder mystery has not yet been triggered at the moment... if it occurs around page 100 (estimate) then he total pages of my novel will have to be at least 330 PAGES structurally!!

I need encouragement...and inspiration...but i'm still moving on. I have about 77/115 pages revised, and more creative juice must be squeezed out of me.

And I ask...what if I fail? What if I don't finish by the end of winter 2010? Nooo...I must finish! I shan't look back. Rawr!

This novel isn't for me. It's for all my friends who helped me be the person that I am. It's for the generations before me, and the generations to come. A recognition and farewell to my own past, and the transcendence for a future.

So i'll keep writing and keep you posted.


www.ajong14.livejournal.com

For those who don't know, my honors thesis/food and mystery novel (Apple Pie and Rice Cakes) is based on a 2008 crime that occurred walking distance from UCR.

Basically, three guys were shot at a home invasion. One of them's the suspect.

"A pair of suspects entered a home in the 3200 block of Celeste Drive at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The home was occupied by four people. The suspects fired on all four occupants, and two were shot. Their condition is unknown. One of the other occupants suffered serious head injuries, and the fourth has minor injuries."

"Officials say all of the involved individuals are young Asian males. The second suspect, who has not been found, is described as a young, Asian male in his twenties. He was seen fleeing the scene in a two-door, gray or sliver, Honda-type coupe"

Full report: abclocal.go.com/kabc/story

But guess what:

"The man killed Thursday during a home invasion and shooting in Riverside has been identified as Ryan Aron Casey, 20, of Garden Grove."

There's more:

"It remains unclear whether Casey was shot by one of the occupants of the home with a separate weapon or with his own weapon as he fought with one of his victims, Frasher said.

"Either of those scenarios is plausible," Frasher said.

Frasher said a search of the home on Thursday night turned up a small amount of drugs and more than one firearm, including the one believed to have been used in the shooting.

Investigators suspect the intruders were trying to get either drugs or money.

Steve Myers, who lives next door, said the young men had moved into the house less than a year ago and kept mostly to themselves. Myers said he would be awakened every night after 2 a.m. by car doors slamming and conversations in the driveway."

Full report: www.pe.com/localnews/publicsafety/stories/PE_News_Local_W_shooting29.4769542.html

....And I've been browsing around, too, and I have made a conclusion.

We have Asian gangsters in Riverside!! @_@

Well, it shouldn't be a surprise unless the model minority myth still clouds your mind. There are so many reports of crimes done by Asians. Race doesn't really matter.

Then again, would it be right to classify these college aged kids as gangsters? Well first off, why would they have guns and drugs? They must have anticipated stuff like that to go on. And to kill the intruder? They must be prepared. Though it seems weird because there werent any masks used and it was 3:30pm in the afternoon! It hadto be gangsters vs gangsters!

Anyways,

For the purpose of my novel...I already know who the culprit is...though his motive is pretty sad. He isnt a gangster, that's for sure, but his accomplices might. And it wasnt the intruder who was the victim.


Thanks for reading this. I love your support!
 

Wow, it's been awhile since I've updated my livejournal. So here we go... >_<

This summer I've worked on several stories, combining and revising old ones. And for those who don't know, I've been writing a novel about Asian Americans in UCR joining an intercollegiate food competition (fictional dates of 2009-2010). The novel is my upper division honor's thesis, to be completed on the quarter I graduate.

Sample:

Coach called roll today, and all went well until he paused, trying to figure out how to pronounce difficult names. “Hmm…Coo-kie Hay-man-o?” he looked around, his gaze stopping at Kou, the only Asian kid. Chuckles everywhere.

The boy looked down. “It’s Kouki Hamano.”
            “Oh. Do you have another name?” Coach said.

Kou shook his head.

“Your parents should’ve given you a better name.” Coach then told a story about how his cousin, whose last name was Knight, had named his son Jedi.  “So my nephew’s Jedi Knight. How stupid is that?” He looked at Kou. “I know. We’ll name you Johnny!” He nodded. “Now that’s a cool name!”

So Johnny became Kou’s name on court. He didn’t mind. He was used to this. And on the basketball court, it didn’t matter what race you were. All that mattered were your skills, and maybe your weight and height. And he thanked God every day that he was 5’9.

“So, where are you from?” Coach asked Kou.

“Petaluma, California.”

“No, where are you really from? Like, where your parents were born?”

Kou wanted to sock the Coach, but he knew there was no point. “We’re Japanese American.” He wanted to add the fact that his parents were born in New York and his father still owned a restaurant there.

-End-

So about APRC, I've completed about 8 chapters (around 60 pages unrevised). But I got stuck in writer's block just before the end of the fictional Spring 09 particularly because I lost interest in the story. The plot, defined by the set dates of the cook-off, seems too boring and mundane even when the main characters have friend-family-love relationship issues on the background.

As a result, I've added a third layer to the story: a murder mystery based on two events that did happen around UCR this year. Basically armed men entered an apartment and shot at the students. For my novel, this unsolved case becomes a mystery that could be attributed to a hate crime or an assassination.

I plan to kill off Elise, particularly because she's significant to the 4 protagonists and she's also the president of the Iron Chef Student Union club, and she's also the daughter of a rich businessman in Westminster.

Her death occurs just before finals week of spring 2009, wherein Kou witnesses the event while partying next door. Her death pushes him to further avoid racialized attribution and pursue a fraternity. (His apathy develops throughout until Loreto stops him.)

Elise's death pushes Mercedes to take over the club the next year, and she wants to find the killers of her roommate. In the process, she learns secrets about Elise that are both striking and terrifying. (By revealing herself in death, Elise becomes an agent of the past)

Loreto helps Mercedes seek out the living victims and to learn the truth behind the mystery and the possible involvement of other students.

Josie is further confused by the events. She tries to maintain her idealism, but the truth behind the murder pushes her to her own attempted suicide later in the novel.

In the final act, the characters create the all American dinner in memory of Elise.

Of course, food and food-related issues will be a significant motif in the piece. Fine dining versus rusticity, food poisoning versus food as medicine, anorexia/bulima and obesity versus what people deem is "normal," culinary art and artistry versus practicality and gastronomy, digestion, metabolism and excretion.

As for themes I'm working on, people think that race was a motivation, but it actually isn't. In the real accounts that happened, Asian males were the culprits, and in the novel, their motives are quite complex and morally ambiguous. Who would have thought Asians could be violent killers? (hint hint: 2007, immigration house, Asian American fraternity hazing).

This theme counters the model minority myth and the pattern of material success through education. Also, with the advent of racial gangs, can one seriously assume that the American dream is attainable, and the so-called model minority are truly models? In other words, the theme I want to work with is simply this:

We're flesh and blood
Like you and me
and skin and eyes can't dictate
what we want, what we do
or how we live.
Be we doctors and lawyers
or killers and rapists
we are here
shitting, sweating, breathing,
like you.
Americans.

And oh, as for joining food and death as a metaphor, I had the crazy idea wherein Elise gets shot in the bathroom while she's doing her business. Maybe it's something about art--that no matter how beautifully and deliciously one cooks, food is processed in the same way for every human being. Food then is a necessity and its existence is temporal. Elise's father runs a canning/processed food industry so that might further be a metaphor. And with the above poem I wrote,

As of now, I'm writing several scenes and almost on my way to the half of the novel (albeit numerous holes in the storyline at the moment).

I'm also researching the existence of much older Chinese, Korean, and Indian populations in Riverside. (Who would have thought they existed?) I've heard of illegal racing going on in Riverside, and I wonder how i could tie that in.

I saw a rendition of Jesus having blond hair today,
a sticker on a middle-aged Caucasian man's bible,
and I was like, Jesus is not white!
He looks more Arab than blue eyed long hair rockstars
with shoulder-length hair.
But no one seems to care any more.
The popular image of Jesus you see ubiquitously,
historically used to promote slavery and racism,
may never escape us, and no one would care.
But
What happens if we had an ASIAN rendition of Jesus?
What would he look like?
He'd look like:
This:
2.bp.blogspot.com/_6feZ7JLUEe0/RhvqNKUgEtI/AAAAAAAAAG4/INHnjwyJebM/s320/Asian+Jesus.jpg
or this
farm1.static.flickr.com/181/376439753_e0f040dc8f.jpg

Today, I went with Nichibei (Japanese Student Association) to Little Tokyo!

It was my first time going there, even though i've lived in Torrance for while and am used to Japanese culture around me, but it was a blast.

We had all sorts of yummy food. I had real takoyaki and white bean mochi for instance.






What's interesting is that Little Tokyo is quite modern, a lot like Tokyo. (Duh. Minus the traffic and tall buildings)



Compared to Chinatown, LA. J-town has a lot more American establishments, like Starbucks and Pink Berry. There's a Methodist church and a Buddhist temple there, as well as various plazas and the Japanese American National Museum.

And compared to Torrance, which is very suburban, the J-town continues to evolve despite its historical roots. There are establishments that have closed down, and I heard some plaza/mall was replaced by a Korean galleria? Yeah, there were a bunch of Korean restaurants there as well. Similarly, the Marukai here is so small compared to the one we have in Torrance.

More Pix here:


www.facebook.com/album.php

I've been reading about Asian American students being assaulted by racist assholes this past month. What the fuck is wrong with these shitheads?

Apr. 19, 2009, PA: "At about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, April 19, two Asian and one Asian-American Franklin & Marshall students were confronted and subjected to racial insults. Two were physically assaulted by members of another, larger group of young people on Nevin Street. It currently appears that some or all of the larger group were male Franklin & Marshall students. Neither of the assaulted students was critically injured, but one student received medical treatment"
www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090422_ap_pacollegereportsracialslursphysicalattack.html


April 10, 2009, MA: A drunk idiot harasses Korean American students during their culture show rehearsal.

"I heard him say, 'Oh, this dance is the gayest s--t ever,'" said freshman Doug Kim, one of the students -- all of whom were male -- rehearsing the dance.

One of the dancers approached the freshman and asked him to leave. At that point, according to the e-mail sent by members of the KSA, the freshman said, "F--k you. F--k you, I could take all of you. I'll kill you all." According to the e-mail, "He then threatened to get his fraternity brothers to help him retaliate."

www.tuftsdaily.com/alleged-bias-incident-against-korean-students-prompts-widespread-reaction-1.1652715

March 2, 2009, CA: "UCSB students Thanh Hong and Paul Elekes were attacked in front of the PIKE fraternity house. During the incident, documented as two separate counts of battery, the victims were attacked from behind and punched in the face; Hong sustained a lip laceration and sought medical attention."

www.dailynexus.com/article.php


***
On the side note, I'd like to let you know that as part of the Asian Pacific Heritage Month at UCR, I've invited Liberty in North Korea to come to UCR and screen"Crossing," a film based on the true story of North Korean refugees. On May 6, from 6:30- 10pm, they will be presenting significant information and help raise awareness of the dire situation in the often neglected country. Location of the screening shall be announced later.

Please, please, PLEASE FORWARD this message to those whom you think are interested in volunteering, and kindly spread the word to fellow students, friends, etc. 

About the May 6 Event:

A FREE Screening of "Crossing."
View Crossing Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27CDW0F1Yas

We will be discussing The Underground, the network of underground shelters in China and Southeast Asia. We will talk about how we are providing protecting and education for North Korean refugees and how we are trying to get them out of these shelters and into countries that will grant them Asylum. A refugee boy will be speaking.

Life in NK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAqKFltDqPU&feature=PlayList&p=7EBE44CF4C35FD21&index=0

We also have The Transition or the resettlement program both here in the US and South Korea. We help North Korean refugees plan for their future whether that’s scholarship money for school or helping them budget.

Lastly, we end the talk with the 9 LIVES campaign. This is a campaign we launched for this tour. We also produced a video for it, so please click below to learn more about it. Everyone will be given a 10 page magazine which highlights 9 different lifestyles North Koreans find themselves in.
http://www.linkglobal.org/donate/9lives

Thank you.

I'm out of rice...how will an Asian college student survive...?

So I like, went to Ralphs today and I was like wtf the rice is so overpriced. Not gonna pay that much for your Ralphs-brand rice.

So instead, I bought a couple of bread, pasta, cream, and turkey meat. I've decided that I'm FASTING RICE!!

That's right. I won't be consuming rice for awhile till all my groceries are near gone.

So today I had/will have:

Pancakes with berries
Calamares fritos
Alfredo Rigatoni with turkey and mushrooms.
And A&W Cream Soda (I'M ALSO OUT OF GREEN TEA)

Millennial Thoughts on Diversity Study

 

You are being invited to voluntarily participate in the above-titled study. The purpose of the study is to understand the perception and behaviors of millennials.

 

To qualify, you must be born between 1982 to 2009 (significant coming-of-age events include: Princess Diana’s death, Columbine shootings, the Internet and social networking sites, 9/11 and the war in Iraq, Pokemonization, the economic crisis and Obama’s presidency).

 

If you agree to participate, and are eligible, your participation will involve completing this short survey. By participating in the survey, you are giving permission for the investigator to use your information for research purposes.

 

Responses may be emailed to albertjeriahong@gmail.com or anonymously via my Guestbook at www.albertjeriahong.webs.com

 

Thank you.

A. J. Ong

 

Gender:

 

Generation (i.e. 3^rd gen Native Hawaiian American)*:

 

Ethnic Makeup (i.e. 30% Irish, 69% Italian, 1% Other)

 

Birth year:

 

What college are you attending or have attended?

 

Where did you stay during your teenage years (i.e. Koreatown, LA, CA)

 

Do you like food? If so, what kind?

 

What do you think about this idea: “Food Network will be hosting a College Cook-off Competition next year, and your institution is invited to join. Each college is to be represented by six undergraduates and will compete against other colleges.” ?

 

Would you participate in it?

 

How were you exposed to anime, manga, Japanese video games, JPOP, KPOP, CPOP, JDrama, Kdrama and other Asian popular culture? (i.e. T.V., Internet, Asian friends)

 

To what degree do you like these pop cultural products from Asia?

 

What type of music do you listen to? Do you own an I-pod or other portable music players?

 

Do you consider yourself an Extrovert or an Introvert? Explain. (i.e. “Extrovert! I can’t live 2 hours without talking to my people.”)

 

What was your high school like? What percentage of the student body and faculty were of Asian descent?

 

Did you ever experience racist comments or stereotyping? If so, how often and from whom?

 

What are your thoughts on the significance of diversity?

 

How old are your parents? Do you know their generation?**

 

Would your parents approve if you dated someone outside of your perceived race or ethnicity?

 

Lastly, what are your perceptions of UC Riverside (i.e. “Honestly, I think it sucks. I’d cut my wrists if I ended up out there.”)

 

 

* The generations are:

1^st (when you came to the U.S. at the age of 14+)

1.5 (when you came and lived in the U.S. at the age of 5 to 13)

2.0 (When you were born here or lived in the U.S. since your 4^th birthday, and your parents are 1^st generation or 1.5 generation Americans)

3.0 (Born here and your parents are 2^nd generation)

 

 

**Approximate cohort brackets based on several studies and conflicting theories.

Silent: born 1923 to 1943

Boomer: born 1944 to 1960

Gen X: born 1961 to 1981

Millennial: born 1982 to 2009

 

 

 

Fong describes how Asian American families are admired in the mainstream society, and yet in reality, many of these families suffer from domestic violence and lack of parental involvement with children. How did these “positive values” reach mainstream America in the first place when the media frequently portrayed Asian Americans in negative ways? How did the good Asian American family become similar to a model minority stereotype when their childrearing and disciplining habits tend to be “un-American” in reality? Are Americans aware that spanking tends to be prevalent in a traditional Asian family? Are they also aware that Asian families are not always nuclear, but often are extended families with adult children or other relatives? Where did these inaccurate assumptions and information come from?

            It is interesting how there are lots of Asian American women in the labor force, and yet it is sad how, according to a survey, children did not see or even spend time with their parents. Is this more of an issue for immigrant parents or do later generations also suffer the problems associated with dual working parents? Class and income level certainly play roles here, and for children with immigrant parents, they may grow up estranged from their parents.  It is interesting how 40% of South Asians, Vietnamese and Cambodian women experience domestic violence. Does this have to do with more women getting employment while unemployed men continue to expect their wives to do household chores and childrearing? Knowing this, I fear for my brother’s family—my brother had been laid-off for months now, but his wife maintains her job. I certainly hope the domestic violence studies are more like general patterns that proof of causality. Similarly, do women in Korean churches have support groups wherein they may express concerns of abuse or violence? Is it such a taboo? And does domestic violence diminish throughout one’s marriage, when one’s children grow up?

The current novel I'm reading is Min Jin Lee's Free Food for Millionaires, which starts of with a family scene with domestic violence. It was shocking how a father could hit his daughter twice, but I don't know...research shows that these things exist and happen, also especially among Asian Indians.

Basically, from Spring 2009 to Winter 2010, I will be working on my Honors Senior Thesis, a novel set in UC Riverside.

Rough Plot: Four Asian American UC Riverside undergrads team up to compete against other colleges in a college cook-off competition sponsored by Food Network.  More complex are the themes involving love, family and gender roles.

Chosen Point of Views are:

5th gen/Gosei Japanese-Am male
2nd gen Korean-Am female
1.5 gen Filipino-Am male
1st gen Chinese-Am female

This new project has proven to be quite difficult, I myself unaccustomed to the patterns of millennial Asian American thinking. Gen X popular culture patterns bleed unto my thinking particularly because that's what we've been fed in foreign countries. (details may be found on my website, on Millennial research).

So this is why Asian Americans my age say "High school here is not like what you see on T.V." As my own research on millennial culture confirms, cultural structures for those born after 1982 have shown great changes, and yet the media misrepresents them often.

Most of my research has been done on Korean and Chinese Americans. In order to complete the whole arc of my novel, I'll need data on Japanese and Filipino Americans..  I regrettably based my two characters on Gen X cultural patterns, which I'm not quite sure how it works.

I also doubt Strauss and Howe's interpretation of how millennials across the color spectrum are accepting of diversity and Asian popular culture, as I myself have been a target of racism and stereotypying before.

Hence, I request aid from anyone (regardless of ethnicity) to openly share his or her experience as a millennial. Particularly looking for representatives from CSA, KALCA, Nikkei and Katipunan.

It’s quite common that immigrants develop an American dream only to find that reality closes its door to them In Zia’s book, the author mentions her cousin Ziyoung who went back to China and prefers it there. It’s also interesting how distant cousins could irritate more acculturated Asian Americans, how Zia describes her old cousin who hangs laundry around an apartment. On my first year, my mom, who lives back in the Philippines, actually wanted me to hang my underwear around my dorm! To save, money she says. It took some time to explain to her how different the culture was here. Perhaps the same sentiment applies to the attitudes that middleclass Asian Indian and Pakistanis have toward new immigrant South Asian working class. It was interesting to learn about the sharp extremes of Asian Indian middleclass and the proletariat South Asians, who were like the Hmong in terms of not fitting the model minority stereotype. The lack of political interest the acculturated and well-off middleclass also shows how classism seems to be more operative than racism. I wonder if the caste system had anything to do with such sentiment, especially when an Indian woman from Zia’s book said something derisive about the South Asian taxi drivers.

            It’s interesting how Microsoft, Intel and other influential high-tech corporations lobbied for foreign specialists to come work for them. At first, I thought this was a good thing, but then, as Zia discusses how the Asian Indians were paid less and treated as “temps,” I wondered if this phenomenon may be considered an exploitation of cheap labor. How similar and dissimilar were their experiences to the abused, overworked taxi drivers?

            On Indian-American culture, I find it interesting how contradictory the first generation expectations were on their children, on how they want them to assimilate yet hold on to extreme traditions like arranged marriage. I’m also curious about the dynamics regarding domestic violence and spousal abuse.

            The statistics Timothy Fong offers in his book were quite confusing because the numbers were inconsistent in relation to race and jobs. With the addition of women, the statistics get more complex, and this just shows how complicated the issue is. It’s interesting how younger APAs in engineering, scientist and computer science positions earn more than their older cohorts. Thinking of the reason behind this, is youth and “tech-saviness” better than experience these days or is race an issue regarding the glass ceiling? Are the older people first generation and the younger 1.5 or second? Which group is more or less seen as less capable of leadership roles?

            Also considering that many qualified professionals choose to leave the country and work at the Pacific Rim for higher positions, could we say that the United States is experiencing a brain drain of its own? Similar to India and other countries, do we train professionals only to reject them of managerial positions?

            It’s also interesting how Abercrombie and Fitch stores again found offense in the Asian Pacific American community last 2004, just two years after they released discriminatory shirts. One would think why A&F would even make those shirts if their main consumers were whites. I just went “Wow” when Fong describes how Jennifer Lu was fired after a corporate official pointed at a poster with a white model and implied how there should be more white clerks.

            On language issues and accent discrimination, these once again seem to be first generation immigrant issues. Class plays a role in expanding the diversity of the pan-Asian American community, but fortunately, the second generation and some acculturated generations try to help the Asian working classes. Yet sometimes, like the Indian American middle class’s apathy toward South Asian immigrants, the same class conflict emerges. Fong describes how owners of Chinese restaurants exploited their waitresses, forcing them to work 80 hours per week and live in an apartment with seventeen other people. They even threatened the waitresses: “If you complain, we’ll have you deported.”         

At first I thought that it was mainly South East Asians who had big problems, but now I see that there are also Chinese, Filipino and other working classes who do not even come close to the model minority image.

It’s interesting to know whether Koreatown has evolved into a much better place in terms of socioeconomic standards and multiethnic foundations. Has that part of Los Angeles grown into a peaceful, multiethnic community or are there still racial issues even on subtle terms? When it comes to seller-consumer relations, were there many improvements because of the LA riots of 1992? According to Zia, the riots provided some positive outcomes for 1.5 and 2.0 generation Korean Americans. The mistakes of the elders could be fixed by more acculturated generations. Yet I wonder what the 1.5 and 2.0 generations were doing before the riot sparked. Even though some were part of the Black-Korean Alliance, were they hindered by the older “leaders” of the Korean community? What were these leaders like, and did they care about the situation before and after the riots? Similarly, were the conditions of blacks and Latinos enough to justify the riots, knowing that the event was also a “food riot”? And can we really look back and say the riots awakened America and provided some good results?

            How did Asian Americans and Korean Americans react to Ron Brown’s statement that not a penny would go to the Koreans? Did Korean-owned backs help out or did the South Korean government provide assistance? I find it sad that most of these businesses didn’t have insurance, and the lives of Korean Americans depended on these businesses that they carried guns to protect them.

            Another interesting information I got from Zia’s book is that Korean Americans married Latinos. I’m curious if such intermarriages were frowned upon or if they were the norm back then. What is the current societal position of such couples? Not much was stated in the readings about Latino Americans, except for the Immigrant Hypothesis, LBR and Latinos raiding Korean stores during the riot, so I’m wondering what the relationship of Koreans are to Latinos. And were Koreans less likely to marry newer immigrants? It’s also fascinating how there are more Latinos in LA that emerged from natural population increase than by immigration.

            I understand that Koreans, like the Jews of the 60’s, chose to put up their businesses at black neighborhoods because of capital issues, but how about neighborhoods with large Asian populations? Were they not available or was the competition already high? I’m also curious as to where the Koreans got their negative views of African Americans, and why were they “already programmed when they came to this country not to trust blacks.” Is it the media’s fault, similar to how they twist and manipulate information against certain minorities? Were there any attempts by the Asian American community and leaders to educate these new Korean immigrants about African American heritage? I understand that most Asian Americans preferred to be silent on those issues to avoid losing their allies, but in the end, after the riots, how did everyone view Asian Americans when Korean Americans were included in the definition? Now that APA has become quite inclusive, how could we build and maintain good relationships with African American and Latino communities while safe-guarding the equal rights of other, usually less fortunate Asian Americans? What if these interests clash with other peoples of color? Similarly, do African American and Chicano/Latino leaders care about their relationships to Asian Americans?

            In a survey of why Korean Americans were more successful at Opening Businesses than blacks, I found it interesting that African Americans themselves do not support African American owned businesses. In the Coalitions chapter of the book, I agree that a multi-identity focus to interethnic alliances would be beneficial. I was curious how women of color were doing. What coalitions replaced the BKA?