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Day 127: Din Tai Fung

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Din Tai Fung

You know a meal is good when you’re still thinking about it days later. Din Tai Fung does this to me every time. The xiaolongbao is perfect. The service is fast and efficient. The other food, from shrimp and pork shao mai to the sautéed string beans with garlic, is excellent.

It’s consistently great, but none of this matters if the company is bad, right? Fortunately, I’ve always found myself here with my wife, family, or good friends.

Outstanding food with amazing people: it’s the only pairing that matters.

Day 126: Delano Manongs

Larry Itliong

Larry Itliong

I learned something about my lolo (grandfather) recently, after watching the Delano Manongs, a documentary now airing on PBS as part of its Asian Pacific Heritage Month programming. I mentioned this to my mom and she said that lolo had worked those same fields. This was news to me, since I only knew about the time he’d spent serving in the U.S. Navy.

As I watched the short film, I was inspired by Larry Itliong’s drive and passion for protecting his fellow Filipinos. He fought long and hard for workers’ rights and partnered with Cesar Chavez. They formed the American Farm Workers union and led the famous grape strike that eventually led to better conditions and pay for the workers.

This history of workers’ rights was interesting and was in line with what I’d learned in college. I felt silly that I never asked mom if lolo had worked there. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense: there weren’t many job opportunities for young Filipinos back then, especially ones like my lolo who only had an elementary school education.

There’s a point in the documentary where many of the manongs (the older Filipino farm workers) decide to continue their work in the fields, while others go off in search of other opportunities. What if my lolo had been one of those that stayed in the fields? Would I be here, typing away on a laptop about him?

I only have a few memories of my lolo, but they’re all good ones. It felt good to add another one today.

Day 124: May The 4th Be With You

Light saber chopsticks

Light saber chopsticks

It’s great seeing how popular Star Wars Day (May 4th, as in “May the Force be with you”) has become over the years. Not that I need an excuse to wear a Star Wars shirt, discuss Star Wars, or use my light saber chopsticks to eat a meal. It’s the movie that defined my childhood, as it did millions of others, and I’ll never grow tired of it.

I made it a point to watch the original film today. I rented the DVD from the library, which is the non-special-edition version of Star Wars. It’s a shame that this (and the Blu-Ray version) is the only available version of the movie; no alterations were made, but no restoration was, either. Not until there’s a remastered high-definition copy with no special edition extras will I throw more money into the Disney coffers.

I used this inferior DVD for a live-tweeting session tonight. I kept my snarkiness to a minimum and learned a few things; mainly, live-tweeting a 38-year-old movie is tougher than it sounds. It was more fun than a farm boy shooting womp rats, though, so I’ll probably do it again for the sequel. Perhaps tomorrow, the Revenge of the 5th?

Day 123: Sailing Sunday

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My family and I spent our Sunday afternoon sailing in Santa Barbara, thanks to an old friend. Since the last time I saw him, he’s become an expert yachtsman and proud owner of a beautiful boat. He took us and a few friends for a quick trip around the Santa Barbara waters, educating us on all things nautical; by the end of our journey, everybody knew their port and starboard sides.

We also did some catching up, laughing about old times and cracking up over pirate jokes. It was one of those perfect afternoons, where the company and the location were equally enjoyable.

Day 122: No surprises

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No surprises in tonight’s “fight.” Floyd is the smartest fighter, no, boxer of this generation. Just like Sugar Ray Leonard waiting years for Marvelous Marvin Hagler to lose his best stuff, Mayweather followed the game plan to a T. The Manny of 2015 is nowhere near the Manny of 2010. Great job, “champ.”

Day 121: Ang Pambansang Kamao

Pacquiao-Mayweather weigh-in.

Pacquiao-Mayweather weigh-in.

We’re less than 24 hours away from the Fight of the Century and I’m bracing myself for a letdown. As I wrote on Day 28 of my Quest, both fighters are past their primes and no matter who wins, there will always be the “well, if they had fought five years ago…” question hanging over this fight. Millions of people are paying over $100 to watch on television, while others are forking over thousands and thousands of dollars to be in the arena. The revenue from the match will be half a billion dollars. Today’s weigh-in already had the crowd and energy of a superfight. There’s no way this thing is living up to the hype. It’s sickening, it’s insane …

And I’m fired up.

Pulitzer-Prize-winner Jose Antonio Vargas wrote a recent article on why Manny means so much to Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. It’s a terrific piece that doesn’t gloss over Manny’s shortcomings and Vargas, like millions of us, still root for Ang Pambansang Kamao (The Nation’s Fist). He’s forever tied into our identity, someone that Filipinos can proudly declare as their own, mainly because so many of us can relate to his rise from poverty to the pinnacle of his profession. We might not have gone days without food or received an eight-figure paycheck, but in Manny we see the struggles of our parents and grandparents. We see his hard work providing for the ones he loves. We see his smile and we see ourselves, our families.

No matter what happens tomorrow night, I hold my head up high. Just like Manny Pacquiao.

Day 120: Supply and Demand

Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao

My friend is out in Vegas right now for the big fight. He’s a huge boxing fan and even though he’s not going to the fight itself, he is going to the weigh-in tomorrow. The weigh-in takes place at the MGM and tickets were $10 each. My buddy posted earlier today that scalpers were selling them for $400 each.

That’s $400 to watch two men be weighed. Of course, you could fork out a few thousand more to actually watch them fight, so $400 to be part of the circus is a bargain.

It’s the perfect example of supply and demand. And sports-fueled insanity.

Day 119: The Sheik

The Camel Clutch

The Camel Clutch

Flipping through Netflix recently and stumbled upon The Sheik, an interesting documentary about former WWF star The Iron Sheik (Khosrow Vaziri). It’s like other wrestling documentaries with its rag-to-riches-to-rags storyline, tales of debauchery on the road, and gruesome injuries that limit the wrestler’s post-spotlight life.

Growing up as a WWF fan in the late 70s and early 80s, the Iron Sheik was one of my favorite heels (bad guys), along with Rowdy Roddy Piper. His tag team matches with the Russian Nikolai Volkoff were legendary and they were the perfect foils during the Cold War. No other tag team inspired the venom of the crowd like the Sheik and Volkoff.

The movie is sad, though, as the Sheik struggles with addiction and health problems caused by his life in the squared circle. He’s a proud father if not a perfect one, and he’s had to deal with the murder of one of his daughters. Thankfully, there is a bit of redemption for this former superstar: family friends help the Sheik become an Internet sensation, translating his unique Sheik-speak into 140-character blasts on Twitter.

I was filled with a warm nostalgia while watching the film and couldn’t help but root for The Sheik to find better health and happiness. I think it’s good enough to recommend to non-fans, but those who used to put their younger siblings in the Camel Clutch will find a lot to like about The Sheik.

Day 117: Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

Finally took the Game of Thrones plunge last night and it’s lived up to the hype. I’d forgotten it was an HBO show until the, oh, five-minute mark of the first episode, when the first of several beheadings took place.

Tonight my wife and I binge-watched until the midway point in the first season. It’s a violent show, but it’s well-crafted and I’m now a fan. It’s been awhile since I’ve binged on an HBO show. It’s nice to see the network putting out another excellent series. Will GoT join my pantheon of great television (Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad)? I’m looking forward to finding out.

And something tells me that the beheadings won’t stop any time soon.