Going back to my childhood, not long after moving into our first house with my family, I was with my brother and sister in the downstairs living room. For the most part, we were watching TV, then suddenly, my brother let’s off a fart. Like the kids that we were, everyone laughed. Shortly after, my sister would do the same. And again, more laughing. But not realizing then, I was put on the spot. I felt like it was my turn to take a fart. The only problem was I didn’t have one loaded up. But I didn’t want to disappoint everyone (which was just the 3 of us), so I did my best to release what I could. Pushing a little too hard, it was at that moment, I had to throw out my underwear. I completely shat myself!
I don’t know if there was a moral to this story. But who doesn’t like a good fart?! And just for the record, I was able to fart… it just came with bonus material.
In this phase in my life, I had a difficult time keeping my clothes on. It was just about 10 years ago, right around the time one of my buddies, Jerry, my neighbor who I grew up with for some time had gotten married, Magic Mike had recently been released. Since I didn’t really know his wife too well at the time, I decided to do something special. (oh boy, I’m really about to write this) The reception for Jerry and Janie was on a yacht that we took out in the lake somewhere just off of Detroit. Which by the way was incredible. I had made a request to the DJ to play Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 because you know, Magic Mike. It was at that time I proceeded to taketh off my top, dance and sing for Jerry. It definitely brought in quite the crowd. Not that this mattered or anything but it was open bar and I was not sober. But that doesn’t mean I was completely hammered either. Just making memories and having ourselves a wonderful time.
The rest of the summer consisted of house parties my roommates would have with one of our very own, Mario (an old roommate and friend), who was a DJ himself (DJ Fingerblast I believed), just having the time of our lives. More of my clothes would come off at these parties and I just did what I did best. Being half naked. This eventually led to me dancing in front of a crowd of people at an actual strip club towards the end of the summer. How this happened was the job I was working at, there was a guy there that did that on the weekends for a living who went by the name Phoenix. He showed me the ropes a little. My first night there I was only meant to spectate. With the lack of dancers we had, I was asked to perform. I agreed but was really nervous, and unintentionally got hammered and did my thing for 3 songs. This skinny but ripped little Asian guy shaking it for dollar dollar bills y’all for about 10 minutes making $11 in the process. Which by the way, not a bad turnover rate. I later knew I was in no condition to drive so without realizing it, I slept in my car until I had sobered up a bit.
My stripper name… Viper. I had asked some friends to help me with that. They knew I was a fan of Randy Orton and that’s how that came to be. Instead of RKOing people out of nowhere, I was taking my shirt off in front of people out of nowhere… just kidding. But not really. Overall, it was a memorable summer and there wasn’t a whole lot I would change about it. Just another story to tell. The story of how I became a stripper for just one night.
To go forward, you gotta go backwards. You’re probably wondering, “What is this guy smoking?” And I know! “What am I smoking?!” From what we do to what we wear, there’s a style behind that. Jean jackets. I like them. Or even a good old fashioned record player to take you back down memory lane… even if it’s not your memory. Adult content in the palm of your hand, and the other palm, well I’ll let you be the judge of that. I’m taking a step back from that and getting into magazines again. You won’t need to worry about clearing your browser history. And comes the classic arcade games. That is something I’m working on. So, what does all of this have to do with moving forward? I really don’t know. I was high when I first started writing this… maybe let’s start being off electronics to enjoy the moment of what’s in front of you. Because before you realize it, the moments passed and you might have regrets, mistakes in your life. But it may not be too late to make amends with that past. The choice is yours.
As long as I could remember, Christmas was my favorite holiday. Just something about the lights, decorations and movies to name a few. But probably most important, that time away from school. And as I got older and started working, I would save my vacation days for this time as well. I love the winter and the snow. Driving in it, not so much. Not because of me, but because of other drivers. I’m the type of person that will find an empty parking lot and do donuts and snow drifts in. Typically, at my place of employment. Seeing the snow fall and covering up the grass and roads used to be nice, until I had to drive in it. It’s not like I could hope for a snow day at work. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way as an adult trying to keep a roof over my head. And with that, my holiday spirit seems to get lower and lower as the years go by. My childhood memories about Christmas began to fade. I hardly remember anything when I was younger about the holidays. Work consumed me. It’s no wonder why I’m miserable.
To some people I’m sure, they’re just trying to get through the holidays and others are just excited about it. Me? Well… that’s something I’m still trying to figure out. I do see my family and when we get together, we end up watching basketball and of course, have dinner. I do remember I used to try to get everyone their own unique presents. Taking the time to see what each individual family member of mine’s interests are. And I know it’s not about the presents but being whole as a family. My holiday spirit was so high at one point. Lately, the older I got the more it went down and the less buying presents happened. We would just end up buying each other scratch-off tickets and hope for the best. After doing a little soul-searching, I knew hoping for a lucky hand of scratch-offs or winning the lottery wasn’t going to be the way I get my success. I had to work for it. I had to earn it. Which I’m still doing to this day. Looking at what’s out there that’s right for me to make a change that’ll make me happier overall.
My Christmas Tradition
Since about a while ago, I started this tradition every year around Christmas to watch holiday movies. Almost every day during December I would put on one of these festive movies to get myself in the spirit. And what better way to compliment that with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Life was pretty simple during these times. I did almost my best to try to fatten up so I could hibernate for a little bit while I would be off work for my winter break. That didn’t work out so well. But I’m not giving up! And to go back to holiday movies, or movies that take place during the holidays, I still have yet to see A Christmas Story and Die Hard. It’s funny I mentioned that because the only Die Hard film I ever watched was Live Free or Die Hard.
Movies like Home Alone which I’m sure I’ve watched about 50 times I recently did something different this last time around (that I know of). I watched it from another perspective. Nothing major. Just things that are more thought provoking. Like how the drivers kept running into the statue. That statue broke! At least when the van hit it. There’s a chance this could have been in part 2. And taking a crowbar to the chest with that much force would more than likely break some bones among other things. But then again, this type of movie was not meant to be realistic. With Christmas Chronicles, is magic considered what science will be in the future? Inside Santa’s bag is a portal to his workshop/North Pole. Using something similar to Pym particles to get in and out of chimneys and houses quickly. These are just some of many theories I have when it comes to watching movies. Specifically, Science Fiction. Something I’m looking forward to breaking down in future posts (or videos).
Anyway, whether you are celebrating the holidays alone, with friends, and/or family, try to look at the positives in life. It can be difficult with so much or little going on we forget to see things on a lighter side. As long as you’re healthy and capable, keep pushing forward to a better tomorrow. The year is almost over, so why not start now?
Planes, Airbnb and a wedding. None of this would have been possible if not for my friends Vincent and Eddie. If I went at this alone I’m certain I would have been lost at the airport and my flight would have left without me. With that, I would have missed out on a friend’s wedding and a hidden nightclub to say the least. So, to tell this story we’ll have to go back to 2015…
A friend of mine, Wae, recently moved to Texas and was soon to be married. Our history, he is the brother of my sister’s baby daddy. We knew each other already but when I got a temp job, not only did I work at the same location as him, but we ended up working in the same department. So that brought us closer together. Wae was a big influence during my early fitness days. He got me to workout with him at the gym he went to. And as we like to call it, we were getting “swole!”
So it was a traditional Lao wedding. An event that I believe goes on an entire week. But probably ended up being 2 days maybe. From preparations to having monks come and blessed those who are soon to be, and of course, the reception. Now, you know it’s an Asian wedding if there’s Remy Martin, Hennessey, Heineken and Corona involved. So, this wasn’t one of my most proudest moments, but when I was at the venue of the wedding sitting at a table, I noticed that the servers bringing out the food was wearing the exact same thing I was. A simple white button-down shirt with a black vest and tie. One of the guest at the wedding mistaken me for a server too. I’m sure they weren’t the only one. How embarrassing for me. Eventually, after a few drinks I was able to look past that and still managed to have a great time, even though I knew almost no one.
Posing before heading off to the wedding. (Photo by Eddie)Sangria bar?Art inside the Dallas museumCandy shop with a bouncer?Hidden nightclub. (All other photos complimentary by Vincent)
My Experience
Going back to the flight, I probably wouldn’t have even gone if I was by myself. Fortunately some of my friends wanted to tag along and experiencing the city of Dallas. The worst part about the flight for me was descending. Every time I flew my ears would pop, even when I would chew gum or tried plugging my ears. So the flight was taken care of for me as I set-up the Airbnb, which was a nice cozy apartment. Only like a 5 minute walk from downtown. Thank you Natalie for the listing! I would definitely stay there again if I find myself back in Dallas.
A lot of what we did was checking out dive bars, eating a really large pizza because, well, Texas. Found a nice Mexican restaurant with cheap margaritas, checked out the museum and a couple nightclubs. And I can’t say exactly how it happened but we somehow found ourselves inside a pretty cool nightclub, which was hidden behind or underneath a candy shop. Overall, it was a great experience for me with plenty more stories like this to come. Stay tuned!
Where does my story begin? That’s hard to say, considering there were many events in my life that were memorable. Having to pick just one is difficult to start with. But the least I could do is tell you a little bit about myself. I’m 33 years old and just recently celebrated Lao New Year with my family. For Thanksgiving I was in charge of making the turkey of which I burnt… just once. And there was another time I undercooked it… I’m getting better. Practice makes progress.
There was one time I had a shoe thrown at my head, going to a wedding dressed exactly like the waiters. Now I am one as of today. Sort of. Had an amazing trip to Florida with one of my previous employers to be a part of a thing they called Team Rally. I was a stripper for a night, escaped from a party we started and I farted in front of a girl I had just met. These are to name a few of many stories I’ll be sharing in detail, in the near future.
Lao New Year
Let’s start with one of my most recent memory. I went to my mom’s to celebrate the Pi Mai. We had the Sou Khaan(a blessing in having a happy and healthy life) which is where someone is saying good prayers for you while tying a white string around your wrist(s). The Lao Buddhist tradition has it where you typically have both hands together sitting flat, then you bow down to honor the one that prays for you. Or so I believe. I haven’t been paying as much attention to my ancestors religion the older I got. You do however have to sit in almost any other position than crossed legged or Indian style, which can get very uncomfortable after a long period of time. Normally during a Thuk Baht ceremony(people offering food for the monks for blessing them).
We then had ourselves some pho. Afterwards, I helped my brother-in-law move a mattress and dresser to his and my sister’s place. I spent some time with one of my nieces and one of my other sisters was later going to grill some chicken and fajitas, which told me only one thing… that I was staying longer. While waiting for the food, I got to spend some quality time with my sister’s boyfriend before heading home for the night. The conversations we had felt real. I had a great time talking to Derrick. We shared stories, had some laughs. I even told him and my sister about my fart story… Overall, it was exactly how Ice Cube explained it, “Today was a good day.” I got to spend some time with my family, bonded with my sister’s boyfriend and eat some really good food. As simple as it was, it was memorable.
The Takeaway
That night I learned a part of what it’s like to be a parent. Derrick has a kid with my sister. And that made me think of my friends with their kids, and understanding from their perspective what it’s like not having as much free time as they used to. Not seeing it from their point of view. I never understood until this night why it was so difficult hanging out. So the very few times we are able to get together for events and whatnot, I just want to make the most of it. Just cherish the moments with the people you surround yourself with. I hope you enjoyed reading this as I enjoyed writing it. Until the next one.
My Life Experience 
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