A Modest Proposal

When you're pregnant your emotions are on a crazy tilt-a-whirl. Right now I'm feeling a lot of hatred.

I think they should have a 9 month (free) farm that pregnant women go to. They can bring their other children and have 24 hour daycare. Husbands are only allowed to visit, but can't sleep over. Then you give birth and stay for a year. After that year you return to your normal life.

The pregnant women can make arts and crafts that they sell at Michaels, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby etc. So it's kinds like slave labor, but relaxing. We can do jobs that aren't too stressful emotionally or physically. I was thinking some type of call center job, but too many stupid people call call centers.

Or we could do some kind of instant messaging tech support. We don't have to talk to anyone just type. We could keep those jobs in America and technically it would be cheaper than outsourcing it to India or wherever. The companies don't have to pay a salary just maintain a nice living environment for pregnant women and their other kids.

Plus it would be awesome because women are always getting pregnant so it's not like the workforce would die down. It's also not a concentration camp because you have the choice of going there and leaving anytime you want.

It would keep pregnant women away from general population since it's not like they're wanted there anyway. The benefits for Non-Pregos:
- The random courtesy parking spaces for pregnant people will no longer exist. Even though those rarely exist anyway.
- You won't have to worry about covering for that lazy pregnant person on maternity leave because she ain't going to be there anyway.
-People won't have to deal with hormonal pregnant women anymore. Eww emotions.
-That tired pregnant woman running around with a screaming toddler won't be there to annoy you at Starbucks, the grocery store, the DMV, basically anywhere.
- The divorce rate would most likely go down.
- It will cut down on the chance of seeing gross displays of public breastfeeding.
- Strollers on sidewalks will not be as frequent.

There are so many positive things that pregos and non-pregos would gain from this. I could make this list go on for days. Who wants to help me bring this to the attention of our federal government???

Why Hunger Games is not a ripoff of Battle Royale

Yay, children as killers!

I remember when the Hunger Games movie was coming out people were saying it was a ripoff of Battle Royale. After finally seeing Battle Royale I really don't think it is. The only thing they have in common is children killing children which in this case they're both ripoffs of Lord of the Flies.

Then people were saying how can Suzanne Collins have never heard or seen Battle Royale?? Well Battle Royale came out in 2001 and I only heard about it last year when Hunger Games was coming out. Battle Royale never came to the US, it was banned. Also, how many foreign movies come to our mainstream theaters? You would have to actively look for it. It just came to Netflix this year so you can't use the Netflix excuse. In order to know about this movie, you would have to have a passion for Asian cinema or foreign cinema. I really don't think that the average middle age woman from the US would have the opportunity to see this. It's not as if it aired as movie on Lifetime. It wasn't even on our premium channels like HBO, Cinemax, or Starz.

I've read the Hunger Games and seen the movie. I have only seen the Battle Royale movie. There is a book, but I haven't read it. There are major differences in theme. The first being that the Hunger Games is a book set in the future of a dystopian society. In BR a group of classmates are gassed and taken to a remote island. In HG the games are used a punishment for an uprising that happened 75 years ago. In BR this is a way to control rowdy youth who stopped going to school and are becoming out of control. The games in HG aren't a way to control the youth, but to stop the districts from trying to up rise again. Clearly there are two very different reasons why children are being forced to kill each other in these stories.

Then there is a countdown of each child being killed. This is normal for both authors to come to this concept separately. It's called reality TV. We are always counting down the people being exiled or voted off in these shows. In HG the images appear in the sky at night. In BR dramatic irony is used to convey the number of children left. The children are never aware of who is dead, but the audience is told the numerical order of each child dying.

One huge difference is how each child receives supplies. In BR each child is given a backpack with a weapon ranging for machine guns to the lid of a trashcan. In HG they were given nothing. They had to run to the cornucopia to grab an assembly of supplies and risk getting murdered. Later on they might get a sponsor to send them things. They don't have sponsors in BR.

I think the biggest difference in these two stories is that HG used the games as reality TV fodder where BR didn't. The only person shown watching the action in BR was their former teacher Kitano. In the HG every person in the districts and in the capital is forced to watch the games. The capital citizens treating it more like entertainment than those in the districts.

I liked HG better than BR, but that's because I read the book. Perhaps if I read the BR book my opinion would be different. In terms of the movie I personally didn't care for the HG movie. I've seen better YouTube remakes with beanie babies. The BR movie was a typical Asian slasher fill full of high drama. Tim only watched the first 10 minutes and then he went to bed. He wasn't impressed, but he's not a fan of subtitles. He made me switch it to the dubbed version which I find annoying. I'd rather read the movie than watching peoples mouths not match up with what they're saying.

Anyway, I just wanted to be one of the millions who pointed this out. Next blog will be how Suzanne Collins plagiarized herself! If that's possible.

To Vaccinate or Not Vaccinate...

This is a hot topic among parents today. There is propaganda on both sides and people are really starting to feel the pressure. Driving into Atlanta the other day I passed a billboard about childhood obesity and one for vaccinating children. I need to make sure Logan becomes a vaccinated skinny kid, in order to show the world I'm a good parent.

I never really thought about vaccines growing up because what kid does? You got your shot, cried a little bit, and got over it. Then vaccines started bounding into the spotlight because of the rise of autism in children. It seemed to make sense. Vaccines are becoming more routine and autism is becoming more common. We have a correlation, but do we have a cause and effect?



Apparently, I don't love or protect Logan

In 1998 Andrew Wakefield conducted a study and his findings stated that vaccines may cause autism. After this article, everyone was in an uproar. It was like the scene in Beauty and The Beast where everyone storms the castle to, "Kill the Beast." There was a lot of negativity aimed at vaccinations and people were starting to veer away from them. Then two years later the study was discredited and retracted. The pharmaceutical companies rejoiced and started their pro vaccination crusade.
When you make the choice of not vaccinating or delaying vaccination people look at you as if you said, "I beat my kid with a canoe paddle everyday." It's not that I think that Logan will become autistic once he's vaccinated; I just think we're not fully informed.

Have you ever watched a commercial about a new drug on the market? During the commercial they show happy bouncy people doing fun things; while in the background, in a subdued voice, you hear the horrible side effects. They start off with normal side effects  like dry eyes, itchy nose, and trouble sleeping. Then later, you hear the more disconcerting side effects like anal explosions, suicidal thoughts, and death. Sometimes your ailments sound better than the side effects. Now if there are these side effects with regular drugs. What could be the side effects with vaccines?



Roseola makes for a fun Easter!



I believe the reason drug companies are pushing so hard for vaccinations is for profit. They make a shit load of money on vaccines. This is another article that shows the tremendous profit that vaccines make. This article states that Gardasil is predicted to jump to $3 billion in profits by 2012. I also found another article by Dr. Sears that states that Md's sometimes get financial incentives for the number of patients they vaccinate per quarter. Now if you were a greedy bastard with no moral compass would you care if your product could potentially harm people? Look what the cigarette companies did KNOWINGLY to their consumers. I'm afraid that what happened with the cigarette companies is what the future holds for pharmaceutical companies.



However, I do not believe that all vaccines are terrible. Logan has gotten some on a delayed schedule and will continue to get more as he gets older. There will be some that he will never get unless for some reason he wants to when he gets older. I do think that some vaccines are necessary. I think the Gardasil vaccine is a good idea when your child reaches the age where they become sexual beings. I also think the Hep A & Hep B vaccines are a good idea at the same age as the Gardasil vaccine. Some vaccines do not need to be given right at birth like they currently recommend, but can wait till the child is older.
One thing I should mention that most people probably don't know is this: you generally don't need all the shots you're given during a series vaccination like the Hep B. Usually you're immunized after the first shot, but you could be the 50% that isn't. It's cheaper to just give you the three shots than to test your immunization after each shot. This is not opinion, but 100% fact. Our pediatrican actually did this with Logan. He tested him after every shot to see if he was already fully immunized.



I'm a little biased...



With the type of vaccine schedule that we have done with Logan. He has only been sick twice since the day he was born. He had roseola Easter of 2011 and he had a minor cold this past year. Now I'm not 100% sure if it's because we delayed vaccinations. There are other factors as well. I breastfed him exclusively till 6 months and he weaned himself at 15 months. He has also never been to daycare, but he has played with groups of children. I also know that some of the children were sick because I got sick after seeing them, but he did not. I hate to give the day care example because people say that is the main reason children get sick. Yes one sick child will expose the sickness to a group, but it's not limited to a day care setting.  Another good example is my mom was sick and a week later I got sick. Guess who didn't get sick...Logan!

I remember talking to our former pediatrician in Rhode Island and we discussed Andrew Wakefield. We talked about how his name was tarnished and his medical license was taken away. Our pediatrician also mentioned that in his readings he found that Wakefield might not be as wrong as everyone thought. I have to remind you that our pediatrician is a holistic one because a mainstream pediatrician would probably not agree with me. Now when I was looking up the information about Andrew Wakefield, I found an interesting tidbit. The other doctor in the studies was given his medical license back. If you read the article it's an interview with Andrew Wakefield that is pretty interesting.

When I was face booking, like I do every 20 minutes, I found a great post on my friend Audry's wall. Our other friend from high school Cecily mentioned a book, Saying No to Vaccines: A Resource Guide for All Ages. I have been dying to read it, but it's kinda expensive. I want to read more about Dr. Tenpenny before I buy the book. I did check out Dr. Tenpenny's website and there is a lot of vaccination information listed.



I find that the pro-vaccination information is becoming much like propaganda. There was a Law & Order SVU episode that made me really notice how crazy it was becoming. In season 10 the episode Selfish (nice title right?) starts off much like the Caylee Anthony case with Hilary Duff playing a Casey Anthony like figure. The twist is it wasn't the mother who murdered her child, but a NON VACCINATED child. Tim and I sat there like what the fuck just happened? Did you seriously blame a non vaccinated child and his anti-vaccination mother for murder?

Logan is a filthy heathen unworthy of a hug

My question to people has always been if your child is vaccinated how would my non vaccinated child effect you? Shouldn't the vaccine be 100% effective against the disease? Isn't that why you vaccinated your child? Now the child in this episode wasn't the appropriate age for the MMR vaccine because she was not quite a year old. However, in most cases shouldn't the vaccine work? I thought vaccines were infallible and I was a horrible psycho for not vaccinating. Oh wait, vaccines are actually not infallible that's why you keep having to get boosters and they are never 100% guaranteed to work. This article I found, discusses a study that found that eating microwave popcorn lessens the efficacy of vaccines. First of all, what the hell is in microwave popcorn that this actually happens? Second,  I thought vaccines were indestructible. In order to get a vaccine to work you have to put your child in a plastic bubble in order to avoid other children. They can only drink filtered water and eat unprocessed food (which I have to admit is not the worse thing).

 

The pro-vaccination crusade has really done a number on those who go against them. I am not really into conspiracy theories, although I really did like the movie Conspiracy Theory. I just think it boils down to greed. Drug companies keep getting richer and they don't care who they step on to get even more money. The way they prey on your fear is a sick way of convincing you to vaccinate your child. The billboards, commercials, and articles I see make you feel as if you belong in a psych ward if you choose non vaccination. I'm sure there is anti vaccination propaganda that makes the pro vaccinators feel like crap. I haven't found one, but if you do let me know. One last thing that I found interesting, was the post I read on the Vaccine Times website. It's a pro vaccinator commenting on a post by an anti vaccinator. It's about the 5 worst misconceptions that pro vaccinators have in regards to anti vaccinators.

In previous blogs I've always taken a you do your thing, I do my thing approach to parenting. I feel the same way when it comes to vaccines. You do your thing, I do mine let's not call each other horrible parents.  When my child kills your child just make sure you're the trashy Casey Anthony type. Then I can win the courtroom case against you like in SVU. We spend so much time lecturing and arguing with each other about how our kids should be raised. Meanwhile, who is actually raising our kids?

One question I want to leave you with is this: I believe drug companies are the new tobacco companies. Will it  be another 40 years till we finally figure this out?

There's something to be said about "3rd world" baby care



Avert your eyes from the "gross" photo

I feel that in America as we became a more developed nation we threw away old methods and practices in child care. We labelled them barbaric, uncouth, unseemly, and in doing so we disregarded great methods of childcare. When formula came around breastfeeding became "gross" and we dismissed the benefits to become a more "civilized" culture. I personally don't care how you decide to feed your child, but don't judge my choices. I got a lot of negative comments in my choice to breastfeed and personally I think it's ridiculous. I've heard how aggressive breast feeders are in their quest to make everyone breast feed, but pro-bottlers can be jerks too. I think there are jerks on both sides of the argument, but how about we agree to let everyone make their own choices? I won't comment on your bottle feeding and you don't comment on my breastfeeding.

Here are two articles that explain the benefits from both sides of the spectrum. One is an article from a surgeon general's view point who is very pro-breastfeeding. This article titled I formula fed so what explains the benefits of  a pro-bottle feeding approach. Whatever you chose to do, be comfortable with that choice. Don't try to ridicule someone else because they went down a different path. I do have a bone to pick with religious people that say breastfeeding is unnatural and disgusting. Guess what, YOU just called God unnatural and disgusting you hypocrite. Who made the human body? Who made it so that breasts develop milk for your children? It surely wasn't Satan so stop trying to pretend God had nothing to do with it. It just really irritates me when religious people critique something that God designed and made. If you love God so much stop insulting his work.

So freaking cute!

In less developed parts of the world baby wearing is something that most mothers practice. It's something that has found a resurgence here in America and they are many types of slings to chose from. When Logan was born there were recalls of baby carriers because of infant related deaths. Everyone called me and told me to make sure my sling wasn't one of them. It wasn't, I have this annoying habit of reading and researching before I buy something. 





Baby Bjorn



I really wanted to practice baby wearing because it looked practical and made sense. First I used a Baby Bjorn because I bought one off of a friend. He and his family liked using it. It also wasn't part of the recall. Baby Bjorn's I feel I are the most well-known of the baby carriers. I remember seeing a lot of celebrities being photographed with it and seeing it in movies.You can find it easily in Babies R Us or other stores. It was very easy to use and figure out. You could have the baby forward facing or facing towards you. Logan liked being in it which is obviously one of the more important factors. If your kid doesn't want to be in it then move onto to anther carrier. Tim and I liked using it the only problem was it killed your back. We could only wear it for a short periods of time. Afterwards, we would have to stretch to get our backs to feel slightly normal again.







La di da

Moby Sling in turquoise

I then decided to get a sling because I saw other moms using it and I thought it might be better for our backs. I was scared of trying to get a wrap because it seemed too complex. One of my friends used a Moby Sling. It looked comfortable, but it took her five minutes to wrap the baby in it. She wore it to a fair all day and didn't complain once. Her baby liked it too he didn't cry or try to get out of it. It's hard for me to read instructions. I physically need someone to step by step show me how to do it (in person). I didn't know about the store Bellani in Warwick, RI, where I could have gotten a sling/wrap demonstration. They actually have baby carrier rentals now so if you wanted to try one out before buying it's a great idea. I wish they had it when I was trying to figure out sling options.The only complaint I've heard about Moby wraps is that they stretch out. They are cute and I think if you can figure out how to use it, then it's a good choice.

Tim hotslinging it at the beach

I decided to use a hotsling because it looked easy and the reviews looked promising. It wasn't bad at first and it was easier on our backs.



It was hard for me being a fatty boom batty to use it. I think if I was thinner it would have been easier for me to use. It does come in different sizes depending on your weight, but it was awkward at times.Tim had no problems using it. He liked it better than the Baby Bjorn. It was easy to wash and we took it everywhere. It didn't take up much space in the diaper bag.



Logan loves the sling!

The bigger that Logan got the harder it was to keep him in it. He didn't mind it, but he wasn't too thrilled with it either. If his mother weren't so fat maybe he would have found it easier lol.

I then decided to get the Beco Baby Carrier (Gemini). I saw that you could sling the child in four different positions and I was hooked! I wanted to be able to go for walks with Logan and not severely strain my back.



He loves the Beco Baby Carrier!

When I finally got the carrier I tried it out for a 30 minute walk and I could barely feel it. My back didn't hurt for one second. The longest I've walked with Logan is an hour and a half and my back felt fine. I've gone uphill, downhill, winding roads, and I've never had a problem. I've walked in the blazing Georgia heat and Logan is the only one who has an issue. He's not a fan of being that close to my soaked back lol. He tries to pull himself away, but eventually he just deals with it. Logan falls asleep in this carrier sometimes within a matter of minutes.



Great for running from zombies!



The Beco Baby Gemini Carrier has been the best so far. I would highly recommend this to any family that wants to practice baby wearing. There are some amazing benefits to baby wearing and I feel that it's something that every family should explore and see if it's an option.There are many animals that practice baby wearing, click on the link to see some adorable baby animals pics. Check out this website it gives 10 reasons why baby wearing can be a good thing.

I think advancing as a society can be beneficial. We have found cures for diseases, some diseases aren't quite the death sentence they use to be, the technology we have to day is amazing. However, we must not forget what got us to this place. We can't turn our back on all old traditions because sometimes they are more useful than what we currently have in place.



Horn rimmed glasses don't make you smarter...asshole



I'm pyschic and annoyed that these glasses will become cool



This Hollywood trend of black horn rimmed glasses to make you appear intelligent really aggravates the shit out of me. When I was little I actually wanted to wear glasses. I have no idea why I wanted them, but I did everything in my power to make sure I could get them. I would sit as close to the T.V. as humanly possibly. Every time my mom would tell me to back up I would, then when she walked away I would press my face against the glass.





"Scorned woman" glasses



My plan worked at the age of 9, I was told that I needed glasses. My first pair of glasses were plastic horn(ish) rimmed ones. My Aunt Karen told me that wired rimmed glasses were dorky and plastic ones were what was cool. Honestly, I think she just wanted to make sure I wouldn't break my glasses because wire rimmed ones are more fragile.

My first pair of glasses

I decided to get plastic purple ones and I still can't believe she let me get them. They were the epitome of "this kid should get beaten up for these dorky ass glasses" glasses. When I find a picture of me wearing them I will post because WOW they were really bad. However, I did find this awesome picture of purple horn rimmed glasses that were very similar to what mine actually looked like. I really do think that these might have been the ones I did wear.



  

"Fake bake preggo" glasses



"I cheated on my wife" glasses



In middle school I decided to switch over to the wire framed ones because I realized how freaking dorky the plastic ones really were. The wire rimmed ones weren't that much better I looked like an owl with my huge round wire rimmed glasses. I think my plan of wanting glasses was starting to backfire. I didn't realize that when I got older I might not want to have any. Especially since I wanted to wear make up and feel pretty. Plus, it was a pretty well known fact that you couldn't be pretty if you wore glasses. Whenever, the dorky girl gets made over in movies the first thing to go is her glasses at least that was the case in the 90's. Now she's the leading character and only puts on her hipster glasses when she's doing something smart in a movie. 





"Smuggy Mcsmuggerson" glasses



When I finally did get contacts in middle school vanity won over. I wore them all the time because I could use eye make up. I went through a period in middle school where I would only wear contacts. It got to the point where I lost the contact for my left eye and would only wear one contact for about 6 months. I didn't want my mom to get mad at me for losing the contact, but I didn't want to wear glasses again. I finally admitted the truth, got in trouble, and stuck with glasses.

  

"Guido wants to be taken seriously" glasses



Sophomore year I decided to get black horn rimmed glasses. This tiny screw always popped out of the wire rimmed glasses and the lens would come out. I would have to hold my glasses together till I could find a really tiny screw driver to fix them. It was a pain in the ass and that's why I decided horn rimmed glasses would be less maintenance. I always kept a pair of contacts in case I wanted to go swimming or dress up.



"Hip-Hop moguls need to appear smart too" glasses

For a brief time in high school I wore contacts because I wanted to try something different. Then laziness won over vanity because I realized it takes a minute longer to put contacts in than to just put my glasses on. The up keep also became too much of a hassle for me. I would sleep with my contacts on all the time because I was too lazy to take them out for naps or just before bed. I would wake up with them glued to my eyeball and it would take hours to peel them off. I always had to remember to bring the case and cleaning solution with me everywhere I went. It was way too much work to deal with.



"A sex tape made me famous" glasses







"I'm actually a lesbian" glasses



Now, whenever I have to get new glasses I stick with something similar to what I always get. It's easier than trying something new which is a very boring way of life.I think I've gone through 5 pairs of black or tortoise shelled glasses. I think maybe I'll branch out next year and get those awesome purple plastic ones again. They probably only make them in child sizes so I may have to get them customized. Maybe, add some bling to it in the form of rhinestones or if I wanted to be really classy, Swarovski crystals.

"Can I be a bigger douche?" glasses





What really irritates me is that you hardly ever see these celebrities with glasses on. I wonder if these glasses are even prescription. Some of them don't even look like there are lenses in the frames.Usually celebrities only wear them when they're trying to appear less mainstream. It's so stylized and phony. They all know that "geek-chic" is in and what spells geek more than black horn rimmed glasses? Then you have all these hipsters hoping on this bandwagon like with those fucking mustaches. I want to commit glassescide and start wearing contacts, but I'm way too freaking lazy. The only time I'll wear contacts is when I want to be pretty and wear eye make up.

 

I'm shocked that a thing called hipster glasses exist







I guess I'll just have to go back to my owl wire rimmed glasses, but those will probably be next year's cool thing...fuck.







 

 

Mushroom Lasagna

I was watching the Barefoot Contessa one day and she made a portobello mushroom lasagna. I love lasagna and finding different ways of making it always appeals to me. She, of course, used a lot of heavy ingredients so I decided to make it a little bit lighter since I'm doing Weight Watchers. I also added onions and used pecorino romano cheese because I didn't have any parmesan cheese on hand. Instead of using traditional lasagna shells that you have to cook first; I used no boil lasagna shells because it's quicker.

Ingredients:

• Pre-heat oven to 375
• 28 ounces of mushrooms (I used regular button mushrooms and portobello mushrooms)
• 4 cups skim milk
• 1 medium sized onion
• 9 tbsps light butter
• 1/2 cup all purpose white flour
• 16 no boil lasagna shells (I used the Barilla brand)
• 1/2 a cup of pecorino romano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:

• In a sauce pan add the milk and let it simmer be careful not to let it burn stir occasionally
• Cut the mushrooms and onion (you can remove the stems and just use the tops I use the stems)
• Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray, add 1 tbsp of light butter, then add mushrooms and onions, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper
• While that's cooking add 8 tablespoons of light butter into a sauce pan, once that's melted add garlic, then add the flour
• Stir the butter, garlic, and flour, then add the milk keep stirring to remove the lumps, (I use a whisk to stir) keep stirring till sauce thickens. Once the sauce has a thick creamy consistency remove from burner.
• Set up a lasagna making station I do sauce to the left, then mushrooms/onions, then cheese then right  next to my right hand I put the shells
• Put down a layer of sauce, then three shells horizontally,then another layer of sauce, mushrooms/onions, sprinkle cheese, then put another layer of shells and repeat till done
• On the top layer I add sauce and the remaining cheese
• Then spray one side of aluminium foil with non-stick cooking spray, cover the lasagna, put into the oven cook for 50-60 minutes

*You actually end up using only half of the sauce I put that on the table so you can add more sauce once the lasagna is cooked.

Serving size 6 pieces at 6 WW points per piece

I always add broccoli because it's zero points and I don't mind eating it plain. Enjoy!

Why I'm obsessed with zombies and not because Hollywood told me to be

I know that Zombies have become such a cliched niche of the supernatural genre, but I've always loved them. Here's why:



Tim (my husband) as a zombie Halloween 2009, those are my handy make up skills



I'm Filipino and not in the sense that I'm a million generations removed. I lived in the Philippines till I was four and my mom was born and raised there. I still understand Tagalog and can speak it like a 5 year old. Now if you don't know the culture then you can't possibly understand why this would make you a zombie expert. I'm going to beak it down for you and give you some helpful tips when, not if, a zombie apocalypse happens.

Filipinos are seriously a superstitious group of people. I believe this happened because here they were fun loving island people living in the Philippines (minding their own business) when BAM; Spain is all like hey I'm going to colonize you. Along with the colonization they decided to introduce Catholicism. Now here you have a bunch of superstitious jungle people and you're going to teach them about Jesus. A man who was the son of God, who walked on water, who turned water into wine, who rose from the dead, and is the savior of humanity. Do you see the juxtaposition happening here?

Spain colonized the Philippines in the 1500's and 500(ish) years later Catholicism is still one of the most practiced religions. Whenever I speak to white people who have a met a Filipino or two they always tell me how crazy Filipinos are. My answer to that is: "No shit." This article about Filipinos imitating the crucifixion pretty much sums it up. Also, what other country has a zombie race? In America we have zombie crawls where people dress up in zombie drag and stumble around, but no one is actually chasing you. Yes, we at times can be a messed up group of people however, we can sing, and dance better than you. Have you seen the Filipino prisoners dancing to Thriller and other songs?

This also goes to show you that Filipinos care so much about dancing and preforming that it's not taken away from their hardened criminals.

When I was growing up my bedtime stories from my mother didn't involve Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty they were about exorcisms and possessed people that she knew in the Province. She would tell me about people who were possessed by the Devil and had to get exorcised.

She also told me about the time her and her niece saw an Aswang and chased it down. Aswangs are the the most well known of Filipino folklore this list gives a great example of Filipino monsters. Aswangs are basically a mix of a vampire and a shape shifter. The Aswang my mom saw, was in the shape of a cat. These stories were always combined with Bible stories as well. Clearly, the Bible and demonology go together. Anytime you ask my mom for a scary story she always has a true story that's sincerely creepy. Tim always asks her to tell him a story and when she's done talking he always asks me if it's true. How would I know? I wasn't there.  



Example of an Aswang

 This is what I grew up hearing and for some reason my family thought it would be okay for me to watch horror movies at a young age. I saw IT (the movie about a creepy ass clown, based on a book by Stephen King) at the age of four. I also remember watching Pet Semetary, Nightmare on Elm Street, and numerous Filipino horror movies before turning the age of six. I was also handed a Bible and told to read the book of Revelations (which details the apocalypse) so that I could get ready for the future. I remember being handed a Catholic pamphlet, at the age of 9(ish), which gave specific instructions about what to do during that time. I wish I still had it because it had scary pictures of demon type figures surrounding a house, and the people inside were kneeling in prayer.

Now there are many other examples that I could give you as to why my fascination with the supernatural occurred from a young age, but I don't feel like typing a 2000 page book. This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my supernatural education.



Nicole and I (normal) during our Simmons heydays

 As you can see I'm not a bandwagon(er) when it comes to zombie paraphernalia. I just don't discuss it unless you're one of my close friends because then you would most likely think I was nuts. I know this for a fact because Nicole, my roommate at Simmons, and I would play a zombie game on the T all the time. When we were bored we would play, "What are your personal strategies on surviving a zombie attack at X location". The side-eyes we would get from fellow commuters behind their Boston Globes and Wall Street Journals, couldn't be more blatant. It was a fun game to pass the time and a good way to get some nice strategy tips from a different perspective.