Latest / PHLV Radio / The Shape of Love with Carren Jao at On The Dot

Transcript

The Shape of Love with Carren Jao at On The Dot · PHLV Radio

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  Speaker 1: Hi there, I'm Gary Valenciano. And you know, for decades,
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  Speaker 1: I've sung for Filipinos across the world. And behind every
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: OFW journey is a story of faith, hope, and love
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  Speaker 1: for family. Well, together with Send Wave, we are launching
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Between Here and Home. It's a campaign dedicated to honoring
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  Speaker 1: the heart and resilience of overseas Filipinos everywhere.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Between here and home, send money.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: That keeps life moving.
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  Speaker 3: On the Dot is presented by Benjamina Mia Casino, licensed
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: real estate.
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  Speaker 4: Professional since 2008.
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  Speaker 5: License number S01669991, LLC.
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  Speaker 2: It's lunch hour in Vegas, and we're On the Dot
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  Speaker 2: with Dot and Mia here on PHLV Radio.
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  Speaker 4: Okay. Welcome to On the Dot. Welcome, welcome back to
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  Speaker 4: the channel, PHLV Radio. And you are at On the
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: Dot with Mia and Dot. I just reversed the name
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: because I'm a grime. On the Dot with Mia and Dot.
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: My name is Dorothy Tone. And for short, you can
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: call me Dot. And my partner here is.
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  Speaker 3: Mia Casino, welcome to On The Dot. Glad to be back.
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  Speaker 3: We were absent last week.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, we were absent. So, I'm glad to be back
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  Speaker 4: and it's Filipino American Heritage Month. Is that correct?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, correct.
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  Speaker 4: Do I have all my words correct?
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  Speaker 3: Correctamento.
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  Speaker 4: Okay, pwede na magpuno.
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  Speaker 3: Uno, dos, tres. And we want to congratulate. Over the weekend,
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  Speaker 3: we had a lot of celebration. It started. First of all,
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  Speaker 3: we had the Filipino American Heritage Foundation Gala Night on
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  Speaker 3: the 10th. We're in co-host CNO, CP. our very own CEO,
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  Speaker 3: Johan Saison, with Ms. Gloria Kawili. And congratulations to all
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  Speaker 3: the Golden Pearl awardees, and one of which is one
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  Speaker 3: of our members, St. Miguel Fidole. Congratulations to all the
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  Speaker 3: Golden Pearl awardees. To Jackie DeJoya, to Sunny Benuya, Alex Peña,
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  Speaker 3: Amy Belmonte and Leah Belmonte, of course, Mikael Fedolik, and
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  Speaker 3: Miss Josie Harrison for the Presidential Award. And congratulations to
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  Speaker 3: Lisa Feddick and Anne V. Fuller for the Pinoy Festival
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  Speaker 3: from October 9 to 11 over the weekend. It was
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  Speaker 3: very successful. The Gold Coast is the same.
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  Speaker 4: A lot is happening there.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah.
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  Speaker 5: Very good.
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  Speaker 4: So congratulations. And part of our celebration is having a
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  Speaker 4: Chinese Filipino for our guest today that Mia will introduce.
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  Speaker 3: Yes. Our guest is an award-winning Chinese Filipino, as Dot said,
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  Speaker 3: a storyteller born and raised in the Philippines. A long-time
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  Speaker 3: Angeleno and now a Seattle resident, she wrote The Shape
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  Speaker 3: of Love, inspired by a distinct smell of freshly opened
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  Speaker 3: balikbayan boxes and the happy memories of digging through these
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  Speaker 3: cardboard treasure chests. May alam may amay na yan dat.
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  Speaker 3: awarded the New Voices Honor for the Shape of Love,
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  Speaker 3: a book and a love letter to the Filipino immigrant
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  Speaker 3: experience and ultimately how families stay connected even across vast distances.
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  Speaker 3: It follows the story of Celia, a nurse in L.A.,
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  Speaker 3: who lovingly packs a balikbayan box with specially chosen items
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  Speaker 3: for each of her family members back in the Philippines.
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  Speaker 3: To tell us more about the book, our guest, Ms.
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  Speaker 3: Karen Zhao. Zhao? Is it Zhao or Howe?
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  Speaker 2: I'm saying how. But I've definitely had Jao. I respond
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  Speaker 2: to everything.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome to the show, Karen.
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  Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
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  Speaker 2: I so appreciate you guys, Dad and Nia and the
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  Speaker 2: PHLV team.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, and we also appreciate Y Solano for introducing you
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  Speaker 4: to us. Absolutely.
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  Speaker 5: So glad we got connected.
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  Speaker 2: It was a wonderful trip to Las Vegas and got
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  Speaker 2: to see a lot of different things.
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  Speaker 5: I think I could have probably seen a lot more.
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 4: So maybe the next time when you're in town, you
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  Speaker 4: can drop by the studio and we can talk some
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  Speaker 4: more if you have other projects.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, that sounds like fun.
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  Speaker 4: Sounds like fun. So your name is pronounced as Hao
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  Speaker 4: because it's Chinese, correct? Correct. Yeah. All right. But you
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  Speaker 4: are writing about the Filipino culture, the diaspora and all that.
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  Speaker 4: So tell us a little bit about this book that
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  Speaker 4: you launched in September 22nd. Yes.
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  Speaker 5: Freshly, fresh off the presses.
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  Speaker 3: Banginipan.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, it's getting its way to different bookstores. So hopefully
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  Speaker 2: you find a copy in your neighborhood bookstore as well.
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  Speaker 5: But yeah, the story was really.
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by my childhood because my dad used to travel
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  Speaker 2: a lot for work and he would send these Balikbayan
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  Speaker 2: boxes home a lot and For me, they were always
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  Speaker 2: kind of really magical things. They were very humble cardboard boxes, right?
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  Speaker 2: Like when they get to your door, they've definitely been
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  Speaker 2: through a lot. You've seen like tapes and sometimes the
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  Speaker 2: corners are messy. But inside, there was like a lot
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  Speaker 2: of different things that just made.
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  Speaker 5: You feel like there was something.
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  Speaker 2: amazing and there was an adventure that's outside and it
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  Speaker 2: also reminded you of the person who wasn't there so
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  Speaker 2: um my dad wasn't there a lot but the objects
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  Speaker 2: that he brought back reminded me that you know he
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  Speaker 2: thought of us constantly and then those are the things
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  Speaker 2: that i think make you feel loved and cared for
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  Speaker 2: even if that person's not.
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  Speaker 4: There yeah How did the box look like before? Aside
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  Speaker 4: from the box, I mean, did LBC exist before that?
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  Speaker 4: Because we have a few more Balikbayan people in their careers.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, freight forwarders. They actually... I don't remember what the
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  Speaker 5: branding was.
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  Speaker 2: Like right now, it's LBC seems to be like the
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  Speaker 2: big one. But I see like XYZ Express or like Logo.
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  Speaker 5: There's so many cargo freight forwarders.
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  Speaker 2: So honestly, I think it was what was available or
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  Speaker 2: what was nearby.
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  Speaker 5: That's what my dad used.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: It got me. Did you receive any inboxes when you were?
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  Speaker 5: Younger?
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  Speaker 3: From my titas and titos in Canada. So they would
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  Speaker 3: send balikbayan boxes, tapos I would get mga lipstick, tapos
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  Speaker 3: I would send them yung size ng paako. Oh, yeah.
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  Speaker 3: From my size of feet.
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  Speaker 4: And you would draw?
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  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
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  Speaker 4: You would draw your foot on paper. You would trace it.
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  Speaker 3: As I would grow up, my feet would get bigger
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  Speaker 3: and bigger.
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  Speaker 4: It's still effective.
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  Speaker 2: I think that way you know it's a physical object.
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  Speaker 5: Because sometimes if you measure in inches, which I do
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  Speaker 5: now with my kids, it's really hard to tell. You're like,
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  Speaker 5: where did you measure that?
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  Speaker 4: From the tip of the toe?
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  Speaker 5: Or from the big toe? From the pinky toe?
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  Speaker 4: You know what I mean? For me, I did not
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  Speaker 4: receive Balikbayan box. Maybe just one. Because I didn't Very
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  Speaker 4: vague memories. Isa lang. Isa lang ang very clear for me.
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  Speaker 4: Kasi may titos and titas in California. Pero, now, I'm
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  Speaker 4: the one sending to the Philippines. To my friends, my former,
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  Speaker 4: I don't know, people who used to work for me. So,
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  Speaker 4: it's fun packing. And it's apparently it's fun unpacking. Unboxing
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  Speaker 4: is what it's.
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  Speaker 3: Called, right?
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  Speaker 2: There's a whole genre of YouTube videos now just for unboxing, right?
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  Speaker 4: Unboxing.
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  Speaker 3: It's an art now. It's an art to pack. It's
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  Speaker 3: like this.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, it is. And they call me the mother packer.
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  Speaker 4: It sounds bad, pero tama yun, diba? The mother who packs.
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  Speaker 4: But I remember receiving boxes, na hindi balikbayan box, yung
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  Speaker 4: ordinary mail lang.
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  Speaker 3: Diba? Their sizes now, diba? Yung mga junior packers. Junior boxes.
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  Speaker 5: Which they didn't before, I think. Kasi dati it used
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  Speaker 5: to be just one size in my mind. It was
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  Speaker 5: just big. Now it's like small, medium, large.
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  Speaker 4: And I was like, oh, my size is big. And
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  Speaker 4: it was way cheaper.
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  Speaker 3: Diba may bag na yun?
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  Speaker 5: Bags?
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  Speaker 4: I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: Parang may, or siguro sa ano yun, parang... Parang cover siya.
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  Speaker 3: Siguro when you travel lang, not when you make.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah. So you were inspired, Karen, by the boxes
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  Speaker 4: that you used to receive when you were young. And
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  Speaker 4: you mentioned the smell.
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  Speaker 5: Oh, that's right.
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  Speaker 4: Ano yun? Talk to us about the smell that you
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  Speaker 4: can remember.
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  Speaker 5: Oh, sure.
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  Speaker 2: Because when you opened it, parang the air was a
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  Speaker 2: little cooler and then it smelled of like Something else.
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  Speaker 2: Like you can tell it was a different smell from
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  Speaker 2: the room. So I always used to think, oh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: it got trapped in the box and then it traveled
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  Speaker 2: all the way across.
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  Speaker 5: The Pacific with this particular smell. And you're like, ah,
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  Speaker 5: how nice.
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  Speaker 2: There's a physical or visceral experience apart from actually receiving
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  Speaker 2: the boxes, right?
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  Speaker 5: And sometimes the sense of smell is very visceral. Like
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  Speaker 5: you can feel it.
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  Speaker 2: So that's what, when you first open the box, there's
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  Speaker 2: that smell of the box, which now that I'm older
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  Speaker 2: and probably a little bit more logical, it's like, oh,
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  Speaker 2: it's the smell of compressed air.
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  Speaker 5: Compressed air. I think so.
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  Speaker 2: But now to the young me, I was like, oh,
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  Speaker 2: that's what it smells like. If you step out of
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  Speaker 2: your airplane and you're for some magic reason, in Los Angeles,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the air is cooler and maybe, yeah, has
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  Speaker 2: a distinct.
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  Speaker 5: Smell versus like being in the Philippines.
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  Speaker 3: I know what it is. I call it, you know,
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  Speaker 3: when I was younger, Amoy States.
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  Speaker 4: Amoy States. Amoy States.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: See, you know, an author, Bienvenido Santos, he wrote about
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  Speaker 4: the scent of apples. The scent of apples is like,
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  Speaker 4: it's related to what we used to receive from abroad.
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  Speaker 4: The scent of apples, parang ganon. And his story is
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  Speaker 4: inspired by that. His novel is inspired by that. So now,
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  Speaker 4: we're more distinct now. Baka hindi apples yun. Baka sabi
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  Speaker 4: mo nga, It's compressed air from abroad, from the plane,
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  Speaker 4: from the cargo.
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  Speaker 5: That's the logical part.
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  Speaker 4: Yes. So why did you relate that to the shape
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  Speaker 4: of love? Or why is the shape of love related
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  Speaker 4: to the boxed?
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  Speaker 5: You know, so I was thinking a lot. I think so.
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  Speaker 2: Those early childhood memories were really a seed. As you
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  Speaker 2: grow older and you grow up, I kept encountering Balikbayan boxes,
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  Speaker 2: of course, as like you and I do, like probably
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  Speaker 2: in the airports, you see a whole airport full of
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  Speaker 2: carousels filled with Balikbayan boxes. You see, yeah, you see
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  Speaker 2: relatives constantly have them.
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  Speaker 5: Some of, one of my favorite quotes or anecdotes was from,
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  Speaker 5: from an anthropologist.
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  Speaker 2: And then she was saying in Filipino families, sometimes the
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  Speaker 2: balikbayan box felt like a piece of furniture that is
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  Speaker 2: part of your living room.
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  Speaker 5: It's constantly there.
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  Speaker 2: It's something that people always feel and it's there to
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  Speaker 2: remind you of the people back home that you miss
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  Speaker 2: and the people who aren't there. So for me, I
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  Speaker 2: think over time, if you can imagine layer upon layer
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  Speaker 2: of experience, those all added up to this idea that
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  Speaker 2: this balikpayan box was really just a physical manifestation of love,
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  Speaker 2: you know, love that's built over time. Because it's one,
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  Speaker 2: actually filling a box takes that much time. It's not
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  Speaker 2: something that you buy in one trip to Costco, although
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  Speaker 2: maybe you're lucky if you can.
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  Speaker 5: But usually it's over months, right?
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  Speaker 2: And then you pick out things that you know your
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  Speaker 2: daughter would like or you're thinking of your husband or
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  Speaker 2: something like that. So it's this gradual act of adding
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  Speaker 2: to and putting things into the box.
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  Speaker 5: And then there's this whole trip.
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  Speaker 2: It's a two-month to three-month trip across the Pacific Ocean.
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  Speaker 2: just to make it to the people who you're thinking
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  Speaker 2: of and who you're missing. So for me, it was
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  Speaker 2: just this accumulation of love that gets.
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  Speaker 5: Set over the Pacific. That's why I was like, oh,
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  Speaker 5: you know what?
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  Speaker 2: A love isn't shaped like a heart, which is the
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  Speaker 2: traditional shape that it does take. And I don't have
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  Speaker 2: a problem with that, but it can be this humble
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  Speaker 2: cardboard box as well.
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  Speaker 4: Ang galing. It reminds me of the song of The
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  Speaker 4: Shape of My Heart by, is it by Sting?
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  Speaker 3: Sting, yeah.
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  Speaker 4: The Shape of My Heart is the shape of a
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  Speaker 4: box ngayon. Through the eyes of Karen. Do you still
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  Speaker 4: send boxes sa Pilipinas, Mia?
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  Speaker 3: No, actually, when I first, when I got married, I
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  Speaker 3: didn't have that notion. And then my husband then said, oh,
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  Speaker 3: don't send boxes, ha? Parang winarn ako. And then I said,
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  Speaker 3: I didn't have that idea na why would I send boxes?
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  Speaker 3: Parang ano pa yun unfamiliar sa akin na why? So
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  Speaker 3: may question pa ako na anong box? Oh. Okay.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 4: And then?
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  Speaker 3: Parang, yeah, yun yung question ko nun. Parang, what box?
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  Speaker 3: Because I would send, I would send to my family,
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  Speaker 3: if may uuwi, yung ganun, I would send like.
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  Speaker 5: A small package, padala.
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  Speaker 4: Okay. But not a box.
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  Speaker 3: So, to me, when he said that, parang question yun
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  Speaker 3: sa akin, ano? Anong kahon? Ganun. But, parang sa kanya, oh, Parang, don't, ha?
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  Speaker 3: Parang ganon. And to me, parang, what box?
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  Speaker 2: Ganon.
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  Speaker 5: Talaga, why not?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 5: I mean, we make it pretty easy.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know of anybody who's like, who
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  Speaker 2: would go to your house to pick.
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  Speaker 5: Up a box, and then, you don't really have to
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  Speaker 5: do too much.
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  Speaker 3: Kaya sa kanya, ano lang, ayaw lang niya gumastos. Makes sense.
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  Speaker 4: So did you not? So you didn't send any box?
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  Speaker 3: You know, what I do was, ano, pag merong uuwi,
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  Speaker 3: I would send small lang, o padala, ganon. Yeah. Not
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  Speaker 3: the regular, I guess.
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  Speaker 4: I really love the idea of packing a box and
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  Speaker 4: stuffing everything there. Like it would jam. Not literally jam.
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  Speaker 4: Like it would fill a shoe box. It would fill
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  Speaker 4: a shoe with socks. or something to keep its shape.
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  Speaker 4: At the same time, maximize the space in the box.
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  Speaker 4: Because boxes don't have a weight limit. Ah, they don't
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: have a weight limit. Yes, just fill the box. And
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  Speaker 4: it's a fixed rate to the region that it's going to.
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  Speaker 4: We have a lot of regions in the Philippines. So
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  Speaker 4: it's fixed. And I have seen, for example, Yaya Nidanban,
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  Speaker 4: my kid's Yaya before. I would send her and her family.
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  Speaker 4: She has a family of her own now. And she
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: took videos of her and her children unboxing. And it's
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  Speaker 4: such a delight for them. And a delight for me
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  Speaker 4: to see their happy faces when they see cereals, you know,
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  Speaker 4: like toys, crayons, whatever, school supplies, socks, more than that.
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  Speaker 4: And John says, my husband, he says, it's the least
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  Speaker 4: we can do to make someone happier. Is that how
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: you feel?
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  Speaker 3: I remember my tita would send lipstick.
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  Speaker 4: Lipstick.
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  Speaker 3: And I would be so happy with just, you know,
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  Speaker 3: that small item.
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  Speaker 4: Yes.
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 4: And now I send to artist friends because they, I have,
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: which reminds me, I need to see this person here.
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  Speaker 4: He conducts workshops on comic writing, comic illustrations. And he
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: asked me for certain things. I said, I will send
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: in a box, dalawang artists who are exhibiting here. And
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: it's not just for them. It's for the children that
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: they help to draw, paint, and all that. So it's
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  Speaker 4: like a ripple effect, right, Karen? Yeah, absolutely. Is that
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  Speaker 4: what you have in mind in your story?
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  Speaker 5: Yes, absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: I think, yeah, once you are the recipient of the
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  Speaker 2: love from other people, it is also something that you
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  Speaker 2: that fills you up and then you're able to pass
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: on to all those around you.
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  Speaker 4: So I think that Right, right. So this is your
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  Speaker 4: initial children's storybook. Am I correct?
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 5: This is the first one that I've published.
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  Speaker 4: You were a journalist before. Yes. You're an award-winning journalist,
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  Speaker 4: an Emmy nominee journalist. And what was your field? What
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: topics were you covering? Okay.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, I actually covered a lot of arts and culture.
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  Speaker 2: So when I was in the Philippines, I talked to
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  Speaker 2: a lot of different artists as well. A lot of
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  Speaker 2: contemporary artists because as you know, Filipinos are so creative
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  Speaker 2: and their artwork is so beautiful. I think for me,
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  Speaker 2: I was really just curious about how these artists thought
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: of the things that they did, what influenced those things.
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  Speaker 2: And then I was very lucky in the sense that
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  Speaker 2: There was a lot of great talent, but not a
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  Speaker 2: lot was written about them. So I had this opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to be really one of the first to talk to
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  Speaker 2: them and to kind of really dig deep into the
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: story behind their artwork and to talk a little bit
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: about why they do what they do. I think I've
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: heard afterwards, though, it's helped them kind of build a
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: name for themselves because sometimes the story helps tell an
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: artist's kind of vision as well. So I'm very glad
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: to at least be part of their creative journeys in
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: that small way.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: Yeah, so from there, I actually built a.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: Whole career out of arts and culture and eventually became
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: like one of a local PBS producer in Los Angeles.
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: And my job there was fascinating.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Like my job was to really go and talk to
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: a lot of different communities, Asian American, Filipino communities, Vietnamese communities,
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: about the artwork that they did and what influenced them.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: And a lot of the times it's just really fascinating.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: And the artwork, of course, was just so beautiful. So
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: I felt very privileged to be able to be in
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: this position to talk to a lot of creatives about
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: the work that they did.
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: Thank you.
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: Yes, Mia.
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: And then the illustrator for your book, Shape of Love,
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: who is it again?
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: It's Corrine Caro.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: She's actually also based in the Philippines. And she's, yeah,
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: she does concept art, I believe, for a company abroad.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Pero I think she's able to do it from the Philippines.
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: But so she's able to.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: Draw based on her own experience and then being from
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: the Philippines as well.
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: So there's some really interesting details.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: Like you can see in one of the spreads, there's
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: a statue of Mother Mary.
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: And I'm like, yep.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Only a Filipino illustrator would know to put that in.
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I wish I could show that. I did like
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: the illustration. Maganda. Very vivid. Painting. Very, very professional. So
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: your artist is a professional artist. Hindi siya struggling new artist, right?
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: No, she's done a couple of other books as well.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: Let me see. I don't know if I can name
• 24:33
  Speaker 5: them off the top of my head. Sorry, Karine.
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: It's okay.
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: But yeah, this is not her first project.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, she's done work. And then she also does concept art.
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: So she was showing... I sent it to Kuya Yo.
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: Yes, yes.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: The Shape of Love. Um... It reminds me of Walt
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: Disney's drawings of Hercules. Oh my gosh!
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: I will make sure to tell Corrine to listen to
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: this portion.
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: Is Celia based on an actual person?
• 25:11
  Speaker 5: Actually, I borrowed my mom's name.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: It's Celia. yeah uh old school old-fashioned name but i
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: was like it's a classic and i i.
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: Don't know if my mom is happy to be like
• 25:26
  Speaker 5: why did you borrow my name.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: Without permission without permission i just put her name uh
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: and then but the the idea of having um a
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: nurse as a main character actually was more inspired by
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: a lot of the different people that I knew who
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: were in the healthcare industry.
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: And I also had a cousin.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: Who worked in healthcare and then she had to be
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: away from her family for a long period of time.
• 25:57
  Speaker 5: So I think with.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: All of those things in mind, that's kind of why
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: this character ended up to.
• 26:03
  Speaker 5: Be a nurse.
• 26:06
  Speaker 4: The details are beautiful. The colors are beautiful.
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: Where is Mother Mary?
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: Where you can see they're having snacks.
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: Let's see. Okay. But you have to find it.
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: Yes. Where's Waldo?
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: Oh, yes.
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: You know, the effort of where these boxes travel through.
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: I know. Diba? Ang ganda that you put it there.
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: And so, what are the reviews so far of your
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: digital copy, Karen? They've been really very favorable.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: So, we've gotten Kirkus reviews and also reviews from Booklist.
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: Hang on.
• 27:03
  Speaker 5: Let me see if I can.
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: Bama bata ba who reviewed this?
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: Well, those are the professional reviewers. For the kids, I
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: feel like they really enjoyed it. And then they feel more,
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: it's more.
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: Soft, soft measures, really.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: But like, I think by the end of it, they
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: feel a bit more understanding about like the different kinds
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: of love and then how it's shown. Because you always
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: see like parents hugging their children and Maybe kisses and
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: all of those things. But in this book, you can
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: see how love kind of manifests in different ways. You
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: see it sent through the objects in the book. But
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: there's also the father figure in the book. The father's
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: preparing dinner. The dad is also with them while they are.
• 28:01
  Speaker 5: They are doing their bath times and also spending family
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: time together online on video calls.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: Which I still experience to this day. I think for
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: many of us, that's really.
• 28:14
  Speaker 5: A common experience.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: You're not there physically with the people that you love,
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: but you just try to make the effort to be
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: with them in the many ways that you can.
• 28:27
  Speaker 3: So this book is available here in the U.S.? Yes.
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: It's available anywhere where books are sold. It's in Barnes
• 28:36
  Speaker 5: and Noble. It's in Amazon. If you're able to go to.
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: Your local bookseller, indie bookseller, I'm sure they would really
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: love the local business as well.
• 28:47
  Speaker 5: But yeah.
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: Is it available in the Philippines?
• 28:51
  Speaker 5: Yes. So that's actually more challenging, I've found. So in
• 28:57
  Speaker 5: the Philippines, the.
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: Best way people can purchase it is actually papasabay sa Amazon.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Like if you're buying anything on Amazon, isabay niyo na
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: lang yung book. Or maybe in the classic Mia style,
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: you can do padala also.
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: Kasi I think the children sa Philippines would appreciate it more.
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: Kasi sila yung receiver, di ba?
• 29:22
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I would love that.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: I think we have had initial talks with like National
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: Bookstore and Fully Booked if it's a possibility for them
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: to carry it. Pero that's also kind of seems a
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: little bit out of my control in terms of what
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: are the things that they're looking at.
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: So that they can carry a particular title. Sana. Crossing
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: my fingers. If there's a way.
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: Baka, you know, later on, diba?
• 29:51
  Speaker 4: Later on. Sana all. Yun ang sinasabi nila. Sana all. Manifest.
• 29:55
  Speaker 3: Manifest it.
• 29:59
  Speaker 4: It's beginning to be fascinating for me when you were talking, Karen,
• 30:05
  Speaker 4: about the video calls. That's another shape of love, you know,
• 30:10
  Speaker 4: this rectangle that we're talking through, the Zoom calls, the phone,
• 30:17
  Speaker 4: the tablets that we're using to communicate with our loved ones.
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: That's the shape of love.
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: Absolutely. And that's really effort, especially with time zones. I'm
• 30:29
  Speaker 5: sure you know, right?
• 30:30
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: Pagpatulog na isa, pagising na yung isa, and you'll have
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: to figure out where can we meet and, you know,
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: what time can people be available. But their presence and
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: even just 10 minutes of their time, I think, is
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: really so precious.
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 30:47
  Speaker 4: Kindle.
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: Oh, Kindle copy.
• 30:50
  Speaker 4: May ano? Kindle copy, yeah. Do they have access to Kindles?
• 31:00
  Speaker 4: Pwede na ba yun?
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: At least digital copy.
• 31:03
  Speaker 4: Oo nga.
• 31:05
  Speaker 5: Nothing beats physical, to be honest.
• 31:10
  Speaker 3: For the meantime, habang hindi pa na-figure out.
• 31:13
  Speaker 4: Okay. Sabi ni Adele Ordinary. Hello, Adele. Adele is our forever,
• 31:24
  Speaker 4: ano yan, tawag dyan. Anong tawag ni Adele? Hindi naman
• 31:29
  Speaker 4: siya fan. She's a supporter, family. She says, wow, I
• 31:35
  Speaker 4: need to meet Miss Karen Howe.
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: Hello.
• 31:39
  Speaker 4: Hello, Leonida. She says, God bless everyone and take care everyone.
• 31:43
  Speaker 4: Thank you. and Dr. Flora Sison is watching. Adele says,
• 32:00
  Speaker 4: do you guys want to have Trader Joe's Halloween? Talk back.
• 32:05
  Speaker 4: Why not? Yes, Adele, why not? Hello to Kuya Johan, Mia, Dorothy,
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: and to your guests from Adele, you, who, everyone. So
• 32:17
  Speaker 4: for our viewers who want to avail themselves of your book,
• 32:23
  Speaker 4: you mentioned Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Facebook, and what else,
• 32:28
  Speaker 4: and all the other bookshops.
• 32:30
  Speaker 5: Yes, correct. You can also purchase directly from my publisher,
• 32:36
  Speaker 5: and I believe they said that they have a 25% off.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: And so, as Filipinos, we're like, we always buy on
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: sale if we can. So lienlo.com lienlo.com lienlo.com and then
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: you can search for the Shape of Love on their
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: website and then I believe the code is just double
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: checking fall26 it's f-a-l-l-26 they said they would.
• 33:08
  Speaker 5: Be offering a 25% off from the website.
• 33:15
  Speaker 4: And then when we see you, we get to have
• 33:17
  Speaker 4: your autograph, correct?
• 33:20
  Speaker 5: Oh, yes.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: If you see me, I'd be happy to sign the
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: book as well. Yeah, and if you need me, you
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: can always send me an email. Let me know if
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: you purchase a copy, and then I'm happy to send
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: a book plate if that's something of interest.
• 33:38
  Speaker 4: If we buy directly from you a signed copy, can
• 33:41
  Speaker 4: we buy that? Yes.
• 33:43
  Speaker 3: That's a nice Christmas gift for children.
• 33:47
  Speaker 5: It is. Yeah, absolutely.
• 33:49
  Speaker 4: It is. I like supporting local artists. I like supporting
• 33:53
  Speaker 4: Filipino artists, creators, and just the quality.
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: Is it hardbound or paperback?
• 34:02
  Speaker 5: It's hardbound.
• 34:03
  Speaker 3: Oh, nice. How many pages? Yes.
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: Well, the typical pages for a picture book is around 32.
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: But I believe this actually got to around 40. But
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: it's not that thick. As for signed copies, yeah, they
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: can reach out and get in touch with me for
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: a book plate. Or I'm talking right now with our
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: local Seattle bookseller.
• 34:30
  Speaker 5: And maybe they can offer.
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: Personalized copies from their website that they'll ship out. But
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: still in talks, so tingnan natin if they'll say yes.
• 34:40
  Speaker 5: If they do, I will make sure to let Ms.
• 34:43
  Speaker 5: Dot and Ms. Mia know.
• 34:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 34:47
  Speaker 4: Alam mo kasi, Karen, so my mother just died last week.
• 34:56
  Speaker 4: She passed away, no? And we are... My daughter and
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: I were digging through her stuff for arranging. We're looking
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: through her jewelry, her trinkets and all that.
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: And.
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: And the same thing that I did when I came
• 35:17
  Speaker 4: back home. So I mean, right now, looking through my
• 35:23
  Speaker 4: father's writings, his poetry, he has a lot. And so
• 35:31
  Speaker 4: my thought now is the treasures that we keep now,
• 35:37
  Speaker 4: you and me, Mia, our friends here who are listening,
• 35:43
  Speaker 4: will they stand the test of time? When we're gone
• 35:47
  Speaker 4: and our grandchildren will see through our things, will they
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: find them valuable? So I was able to, we were
• 35:56
  Speaker 4: able to create a mini library of my dad's books.
• 36:03
  Speaker 4: And our children's books and my drawing books when I
• 36:08
  Speaker 4: was 12 years old. So isn't that fascinating? So will
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: your books stand the test of time? Because in literature
• 36:19
  Speaker 4: and in art, there are the hallmarks of true art
• 36:27
  Speaker 4: or true literature, literary work. would be timeliness and timelessness.
• 36:35
  Speaker 4: To be timely is, say, 10 years from now, it's
• 36:38
  Speaker 4: still timely. It's still relevant, right? And timelessness is, it
• 36:44
  Speaker 4: doesn't matter whether it was 10 years ago or in
• 36:47
  Speaker 4: the next 10 years, the values, the contents of your
• 36:52
  Speaker 4: creation would still be relatable, right? So that's the impact
• 36:59
  Speaker 4: for me of listening to you, Karen, and, you know,
• 37:05
  Speaker 4: you're creating something. Will it stand the test of time?
• 37:08
  Speaker 4: Will it still be precious? Will you keep on creating?
• 37:11
  Speaker 4: Will you keep on writing? And what will be the
• 37:15
  Speaker 4: evolution of your topics, of your focus? So maybe you
• 37:20
  Speaker 4: want to delve on that.
• 37:24
  Speaker 5: Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I think that's the goal.
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: I was a journalist, as I mentioned, but all the
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: stories that I wrote appeared in magazines and on the
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: internet and on print. But I think Ibarren, when it's
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: in a physical book form, it really has more of
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: a quality of being.
• 37:44
  Speaker 5: More timeless in a way.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: And then I hope with this story, it's a story
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: of families that are.
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: Not always together, but I think, especially for Filipino families,
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: so many of us are just everywhere around the world.
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: There's always going to be somebody who is not there
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: with you, but you're still thinking about. So in a way,
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: that's the element that is timeless about this. But in
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: my writing, I definitely want to make sure that I
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: keep writing about things that feel true to me and
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: that I want to pass on to my kids.
• 38:19
  Speaker 5: Like, in fact, I think that's, really the best way
• 38:22
  Speaker 5: to be.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: Able to share a little bit of yourself with your
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: children if they can hold it in their hands. So
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: in my personal, like my personal motivation is, you know,
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: just imagining my kids having something in their hands that is,
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: like written by me and something that was created with
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: the help of so many people for sure.
• 38:40
  Speaker 5: But this beautiful.
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: Object that they can kind of glimpse into your or
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: my inner life. Because all of us have all of
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: these wonderful inner lives and there's only so many opportunities
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: to be able to share it. So I think this
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: is just one way to be able to share it
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: and thoughtfully and beautifully, Sana.
• 39:03
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 39:04
  Speaker 4: I think you should keep writing, Karen. You should keep writing.
• 39:10
  Speaker 4: While you have the ideas. Because I can't write stories
• 39:15
  Speaker 4: because I don't have, I cannot imagine plots, you know, characters.
• 39:21
  Speaker 4: I can write essays and all that, but not different
• 39:24
  Speaker 4: kasi ang story, diba? Mia, do you have any stories
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: here in Britain? Mia?
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: No, I like, even sa books, I like mga instructional books.
• 39:36
  Speaker 4: Ikaw mismo. Ikaw mismo. Do you write?
• 39:41
  Speaker 3: No. And even sa reading, I like instructional books. I
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: don't like fiction.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: Something that you immediately apply to real life.
• 39:55
  Speaker 3: But fiction, when I read it, it's not true.
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: But I would say, I guess for those who are
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: listening who might have a story in their hearts, I
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: would really.
• 40:09
  Speaker 5: Encourage you to write it down. I think sometimes it
• 40:12
  Speaker 5: doesn't have to.
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: Be like, oh, it's for a book and it needs
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: to be published. But I think the physical act of
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: writing down makes it real.
• 40:20
  Speaker 5: Like actually, there's.
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: Nobody that can, you know, it's there in a physical
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: form already.
• 40:29
  Speaker 5: When I was.
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: An arts and culture editor back in Los Angeles, One
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: of the things that I told you about, I used
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: to work with a lot of different communities in terms
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: of telling their stories. One of the biggest challenges that
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: I faced was actually not to find the stories, but
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: to find the people who are willing to write them down.
• 40:47
  Speaker 5: And to tell their stories.
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: So one, you are a precious person and you have
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: wonderful stories to tell. So if you have them, I
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: think that's... I would definitely encourage writing them, not just
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: for you, but for your whole community and for the
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: people that might benefit from those stories.
• 41:08
  Speaker 4: Is this your first book? Yeah, very good.
• 41:10
  Speaker 3: Is this your first book?
• 41:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it's my first book.
• 41:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it is. Very relevant. I've seen that before, Karen,
• 41:22
  Speaker 4: because right now it's Filipino American History Month. It's history.
• 41:27
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: Okay, so let's say we play with the word history.
• 41:31
  Speaker 4: We play her story. So if you're a woman and
• 41:35
  Speaker 4: you have something to write about, go ahead, write it.
• 41:38
  Speaker 4: It doesn't mean getting published. You can write wherever. I
• 41:44
  Speaker 4: write on my hair, for example. I write, and I
• 41:48
  Speaker 4: want to show this because this might inspire people. I
• 41:53
  Speaker 4: write on.
• 41:57
  Speaker 4: Little sheets of paper. These are my gratitude notes, Karen.
• 42:03
  Speaker 4: I've been doing this for, what, since 2016. How many
• 42:07
  Speaker 4: years has it been? 10 years.
• 42:09
  Speaker 5: Wow.
• 42:10
  Speaker 4: 10 years, okay? And then I just store them in jars,
• 42:15
  Speaker 4: you know? So one a day. So 365 times 10, right?
• 42:24
  Speaker 4: ano na yan? These many pieces of paper, okay? So
• 42:29
  Speaker 4: someday when I'm gone and my children say, oh, nandito
• 42:33
  Speaker 4: pala yung sinulat ni mami. Thank you for, I'm grateful
• 42:37
  Speaker 4: for on the dot. On October, ano ba ngayon? October,
• 42:42
  Speaker 4: ano ngayon? 15, 20, 26. And then, here's another one.
• 42:53
  Speaker 4: The love letters that my tatay wrote to my nanay.
• 42:58
  Speaker 5: Wow.
• 43:01
  Speaker 4: I compiled all of them. Two of these, Mia. Love letters. Wow,
• 43:10
  Speaker 4: so nice. Compiled from, I don't know, from 19-something-something. 1962.
• 43:14
  Speaker 4: I don't know English or Ilonggo. English. Si tatay he
• 43:24
  Speaker 4: wrote in English. May mga ano pa o may mga
• 43:27
  Speaker 4: stamps pa. Wow.
• 43:28
  Speaker 3: May yun mo baka may perfume.
• 43:32
  Speaker 4: So these are when we are mapping our culture, we
• 43:38
  Speaker 4: get ideas, we get facts and opinions and the what
• 43:45
  Speaker 4: happened during that decade. Nandito pa yung mga martial o
• 43:48
  Speaker 4: miya nakasulat. And so my daughter now is intending to,
• 43:55
  Speaker 4: I want to, what's the word, cultural mapping of Tatay's diaries,
• 44:04
  Speaker 4: his stories, his love letters, to see from his eyes
• 44:09
  Speaker 4: what happened in our history. So for the diaspora that
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: you mentioned, Karen, in your book, Bayo, yung diaspora ng
• 44:20
  Speaker 4: mga Pilipino, you could be doing that because you're a journalist.
• 44:25
  Speaker 4: You're mapping out the journey of the Pinoys. Not just
• 44:28
  Speaker 4: the Pinoys, probably the Chinese, no? How do you feel
• 44:33
  Speaker 4: about that?
• 44:35
  Speaker 5: It's a big responsibility.
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: I think I just try to be true to my experience.
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: And then eventually you'll see there's connections and threads to
• 44:48
  Speaker 2: the bigger picture.
• 44:50
  Speaker 5: But keeping that in mind, of course. And then those
• 44:54
  Speaker 5: love letters are so beautiful. I have to say....
• 44:58
  Speaker 2: And I wish I could remember right now, but there
• 45:01
  Speaker 2: are efforts, especially here in the US, there are some.
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: Museums or universities, especially the Filipino-American archives, they actually have
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: efforts to keep them, like scan the love letters or
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: scan yung mga artifacts, and then you get to keep
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: the actual original objects, pero they're part of their libraries.
• 45:24
  Speaker 5: So I don't know, if I can find that link,
• 45:28
  Speaker 5: I found.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: It somewhere and I thought that was just a beautiful
• 45:31
  Speaker 2: way to archive and to make sure that those you
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: know those stories get passed down because our objects also
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: tell a story about us the shape.
• 45:42
  Speaker 4: Of love no shape of love yeah and the smell
• 45:48
  Speaker 4: of love 1961.
• 45:55
  Speaker 5: They saved it so you were able to find it.
• 45:59
  Speaker 5: Was it all in like a box or?
• 46:02
  Speaker 4: Nana kept them in a box, in boxes. So I
• 46:10
  Speaker 4: arranged them chronologically. Here's one from October 19. He wrote, darling, 1961.
• 46:15
  Speaker 5: Oh, wow.
• 46:19
  Speaker 4: Darling, I love you. And if it were only possible
• 46:22
  Speaker 4: to write to you every day, I would gladly do so.
• 46:25
  Speaker 4: Why did he write? He was studying in Manila. And
• 46:28
  Speaker 4: he was writing to Nanay here. And I would gladly
• 46:31
  Speaker 4: do so. Please do not think less of me for
• 46:34
  Speaker 4: this delay. After all, I also want to please you
• 46:37
  Speaker 4: in my studies. I love you.
• 46:43
  Speaker 3: I was.
• 46:43
  Speaker 4: Do you.
• 46:44
  Speaker 3: Want to please you in my studies?
• 46:47
  Speaker 4: Yes. How does he do that? He said, I was
• 46:52
  Speaker 4: exempted in Philosophy 4 and Journalism 1.
• 46:56
  Speaker 3: Wow, college.
• 46:58
  Speaker 4: My classmates were all surprised to know that I was
• 47:00
  Speaker 4: not exempted in English 17. So, yeah, you know, these.
• 47:10
  Speaker 4: It's the history of the family, right? The history of your...
• 47:14
  Speaker 4: I don't know. At the same time, it makes you teary-eyed.
• 47:20
  Speaker 4: Oh my gosh.
• 47:21
  Speaker 5: How nice that they left. He was very eloquent.
• 47:27
  Speaker 4: He has poems as well. He has poems. Adele said,
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: I wrote a letter about my life and I'm going
• 47:34
  Speaker 4: to send it to Oprah Winfrey but I lost it.
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: I found it. So Cal State Dominguez Hills, they have
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: a Filipino American digital archive. So community members can contribute
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: their photographs and videos.
• 47:52
  Speaker 5: And I think it gets scanned.
• 47:56
  Speaker 4: Well, these are hundreds and hundreds of letters here. I
• 48:01
  Speaker 4: would gladly have them scan this. I don't want to.
• 48:05
  Speaker 4: Just not me. Don't let me scan anything.
• 48:08
  Speaker 3: Scan mo para at least digitally preserve.
• 48:11
  Speaker 4: Biro mo from 1961 till the day he died. No,
• 48:15
  Speaker 4: not till the day he died. Till the 19... Just
• 48:18
  Speaker 4: before the... 1983, I thought, or 1987.
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: Oh, wow.
• 48:20
  Speaker 4: They like each other. Yes, but Nanay, I don't know
• 48:35
  Speaker 4: what she did with her letters. She burned them. She
• 48:39
  Speaker 4: said she wasn't a good writer. We should have kept them,
• 48:42
  Speaker 4: you know. But I found a letter of Nanay to
• 48:50
  Speaker 4: the government in relation to a piece of land that
• 48:55
  Speaker 4: she'd Dear, you know, supervisor of whatever, whatever. Maganda yung
• 49:02
  Speaker 4: mga handwriting nila. Okay. So, balik tayo. Balik ba yun, Vox?
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: No, actually, it's really interesting kasi this whole conversation makes
• 49:13
  Speaker 2: me think about legacy and how things kind of.
• 49:20
  Speaker 5: Ripple out. Writing the book has also made.
• 49:23
  Speaker 2: Me curious about whether other people have similar traditions or
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: similar ways of showing their love. I've heard from people
• 49:32
  Speaker 2: who are Indian, I think also Vietnamese, that.
• 49:36
  Speaker 5: They have similar kind of practices. It's not probably as instituted.
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: But if anyone's listening, I would be curious to know
• 49:43
  Speaker 2: if like outside of the Filipino community, like, you know,
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: how if something similar happens also.
• 49:50
  Speaker 4: Right. It's just fascinating. Yeah. I never... there are countless surprises,
• 50:02
  Speaker 4: you know, and, and it just fascinates me that something
• 50:05
  Speaker 4: shows up every day and it's, Oh, wow. You know,
• 50:07
  Speaker 4: like you can just say, Oh, wow. Yeah. That's how
• 50:12
  Speaker 4: beautiful our life is. Even though people say, of course,
• 50:16
  Speaker 4: I'm sad that Nana passed away. She left a legacy of,
• 50:22
  Speaker 4: this is not about her, but you know, this is,
• 50:25
  Speaker 4: she was the first, who sent me a Balikbayan box
• 50:30
  Speaker 4: when she went to the U.S. and she packed something
• 50:36
  Speaker 4: and sent it ahead of her coming home. And in
• 50:40
  Speaker 4: that box, I don't know what you called it before,
• 50:44
  Speaker 4: kung meron na bang pangalan ng Balikbayan box, yung Mickey
• 50:48
  Speaker 4: Mouse na glass na yung mga... 1984 Olympics in LA
• 50:57
  Speaker 4: with Mickey Mouse and her visit to Universal Studios.
• 51:01
  Speaker 3: Right?
• 51:04
  Speaker 4: They're still there in her cabinet.
• 51:09
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 51:09
  Speaker 4: Right? 19-something-something. Or even before that. No, not 84 probably.
• 51:17
  Speaker 4: Maybe earlier. So anyway. My dates could be mixed up.
• 51:21
  Speaker 4: So that's how important it is.
• 51:23
  Speaker 3: Some people, they send their, not naman old, but some
• 51:32
  Speaker 3: of their clothes that they don't wear anymore, they send
• 51:35
  Speaker 3: it to the Philippines.
• 51:37
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 51:40
  Speaker 4: Medyo nakakaya, pero it's part of recycling. It's part of repurposing, reusing.
• 51:45
  Speaker 4: And Basta huwag naman gutay-gutay.
• 51:49
  Speaker 3: Hindi naman. Hindi naman yung haya. Hindi yung silap. Yeah.
• 51:55
  Speaker 2: I think that's really nice kasi syempre now parang there's
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: too many things being made.
• 52:01
  Speaker 5: It's nice that it's something that you wore and you
• 52:04
  Speaker 5: can pass on to somebody.
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: It also depends on the context.
• 52:09
  Speaker 4: There's a meaning. So Karen, this conversation is really about love.
• 52:17
  Speaker 4: In this form, in the form of gifts and letters
• 52:22
  Speaker 4: and boxes and all that. And I love it. It's
• 52:26
  Speaker 4: very nourishing to my heart, you know, and probably for
• 52:30
  Speaker 4: people whose families are somewhere else. I have a question.
• 52:36
  Speaker 3: Okay. I have a question. Why do you spell your
• 52:39
  Speaker 3: name like that?
• 52:41
  Speaker 5: You look like my mom and dad.
• 52:43
  Speaker 3: Because Karen is usually K-A-R-E-N.
• 52:48
  Speaker 5: Yes. Well, we're all in my family.
• 52:52
  Speaker 2: Most of us start with the letter C, so I
• 52:54
  Speaker 2: think that's right.
• 52:56
  Speaker 5: But the two R's... Maybe just symmetry. I'm just curious.
• 53:00
  Speaker 4: Sorry. Okay. No, no, no.
• 53:02
  Speaker 3: It's okay. I'm really happy.
• 53:05
  Speaker 5: My mom and my dad picked it. I actually really
• 53:07
  Speaker 5: appreciate it.
• 53:08
  Speaker 2: Because it does make for a very distinctive... Right.
• 53:11
  Speaker 3: I thought it was a coin. It's not. It's just
• 53:16
  Speaker 3: a choice.
• 53:17
  Speaker 5: Choice.
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 53:19
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 53:20
  Speaker 4: But I'm questioning, how come your name is spelled like that?
• 53:27
  Speaker 3: Jao is your name like that.
• 53:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Okay. So Karen, what would your message be for
• 53:36
  Speaker 4: our listeners and viewers?
• 53:40
  Speaker 2: Well, I think my message is that for whoever picks
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: up the book, I hope you enjoy it. For those
• 53:51
  Speaker 2: who are experiencing love across vast distances, just remember that
• 53:57
  Speaker 2: it can be seen and shown in so many ways.
• 54:01
  Speaker 2: And that I hope you appreciate it in whatever form
• 54:04
  Speaker 2: it does take.
• 54:05
  Speaker 5: It does sometimes take surprising forms, right?
• 54:09
  Speaker 4: Yes, I thoroughly agree with you. And we're not leaving
• 54:15
  Speaker 4: this show without a quote chosen by Mia.
• 54:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, our quote is actually from Mother Teresa. It's not
• 54:24
  Speaker 3: how much we give, but how much love we put
• 54:28
  Speaker 3: into giving.
• 54:31
  Speaker 4: Galing. Ang galing. Diba? It's so perfect for the box.
• 54:39
  Speaker 3: The box.
• 54:40
  Speaker 4: It's all about the box, about the box. It's all
• 54:45
  Speaker 4: about the box, and about character. Karen, thank you so
• 54:50
  Speaker 4: much for sharing your time with us and for being relentless.
• 54:56
  Speaker 4: Relentless in talking about love and the shape of love
• 55:05
  Speaker 4: and the surprising ways that love can show up. And
• 55:09
  Speaker 4: it's been a pleasure having you on the dot. But
• 55:13
  Speaker 4: before we go, baka nandito ka next year, Karen, because
• 55:17
  Speaker 4: we're going to have the Grand Reunion and Convention of
• 55:20
  Speaker 4: the University of the Philippines.
• 55:23
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 55:24
  Speaker 4: All over.
• 55:25
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 55:27
  Speaker 4: In America. In America. So, Mia, do you have other
• 55:32
  Speaker 4: things to share about the GRC?
• 55:34
  Speaker 3: Yes, it's going to be on September 30th to October 2nd.
• 55:39
  Speaker 3: at the Orleans. So you're invited if you're in town
• 55:45
  Speaker 3: next year, Karen, at the Orleans.
• 55:50
  Speaker 4: Baka you want to sell your books. Baka by that
• 55:54
  Speaker 4: time you have another book or two. Actually, meron.
• 56:00
  Speaker 2: There's a second i have a follow-up but this time
• 56:03
  Speaker 2: it's uh science related so it's um.
• 56:07
  Speaker 5: Filipinos we're still a filipino family.
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: Uh break dancing and uh computational thinking so it's a
• 56:14
  Speaker 2: stem science.
• 56:15
  Speaker 4: So again Can you say that again?
• 56:19
  Speaker 2: It's a book that combines breakdancing with computational thinking.
• 56:26
  Speaker 5: So, mathematical thinking.
• 56:27
  Speaker 4: Computational thinking. Breakdancing.
• 56:33
  Speaker 5: Oh, wait until July 13, 2027. Oh, tamang-tama.
• 56:39
  Speaker 3: Kasi there will be authors there to book sign. So,
• 56:44
  Speaker 3: magkaroon kayo ng ano doon.
• 56:45
  Speaker 4: Hilera.
• 56:47
  Speaker 3: Oh, that sounds good. Yeah, the bath. That would be nice.
• 56:54
  Speaker 3: Book of all, alley of authors.
• 56:58
  Speaker 5: Oh, wow.
• 56:59
  Speaker 4: Oh, that would be good.
• 57:01
  Speaker 5: I love it.
• 57:02
  Speaker 4: Do you have ties to UP, Karen?
• 57:09
  Speaker 5: Uncles and aunts.
• 57:11
  Speaker 2: I don't know if anybody can not have ties to you.
• 57:14
  Speaker 2: Are they based.
• 57:16
  Speaker 3: In the US?
• 57:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah, they're based in the US.
• 57:19
  Speaker 3: Oh, there you go. Yeah.
• 57:21
  Speaker 2: So chats are, I was like, I will text them after.
• 57:25
  Speaker 2: Do you know about this homecoming next year?
• 57:28
  Speaker 3: In Vegas.
• 57:29
  Speaker 4: Next year. Yes. All right. Galing.
• 57:33
  Speaker 3: I hope to see you.
• 57:35
  Speaker 4: Okay. So thank you so much for the Love-packed conversation.
• 57:46
  Speaker 4: It's love all over.
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 57:49
  Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you so much, Karen, for being with
• 57:53
  Speaker 4: us today. Mia, thank you also. And to all our listeners, Adele,
• 57:59
  Speaker 4: Kuya Yo. Who else? What's her name? Lunida. and um
• 58:07
  Speaker 4: doc flora and who else yes thank you so much
• 58:11
  Speaker 4: for being with us we'll see you again next week
• 58:16
  Speaker 4: happy film history month on the dot is presented by
• 58:29
  Speaker 4: benjamina mia casino licensed real estate professional since 2008 License
• 58:36
  Speaker 4: number S01669991, LLC.