Phone Banking

Today (well, technically yesterday) I was placed at APALC to phone bank! As much as I PREACH about voting, I have never done phone banking. For those of you who don't know what it is, phone banking is calling people from your community (voting jurisdictions) to ask questions regarding any upcoming election. For this specific event, we were calling Asian American and Pacific Islander people in Los Angeles to ask (1) if they're voting for May 21st, 2013 General Municipal Election (2) what are their top 3 policy concerns (3) do they need help with voting (translated materials, polling locations, etc).

As lucky as I am, I was assigned to call the TONGAN people of Los Angeles. Gahleeeee, you know we all know each other! If not, we know someone who knows someone else. I had a list of 65 Tongans to call, which was a speck of powder compared to the thousands of Asians my colleagues had on their call list. But anyways, I worked with what I had. I only had a handful of people who answered their phone and majority of the phones were cut. A good 5 people hung up on me, copped attitude, and straight lied to me (laughing that I'm calling). I just have a few things to say about my first experience. It was FUN! And to my surprise, I was never discouraged and embarrassed to call and talk to my Tongan people in a professional manner...even the fobs! ;) Just a few things had me thinking today:

(1) My TONGAN people! Please pay your phone bills! I forreal memorized the woman operator's voice memo *dial-up tone* THE NUMBER YOU DIALED HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED. ahaha..Nah, just jokes. But this was one repeating factor. Noone's phone was connected!

(2) I took on this assignment because I miss outreaching for voting! But I also did it because Tongans are not only underrepresented, but the very few of us who are representatives, we don't take callers seriously because they're palangi! I thought as a Tongan young woman, I'd be able to reach out to my people, talk a little fob, and connect them to political issues in the way Tongan people appeal to it! I was sad for people (and I remember yall names haha) who rudely refused to talk to me about voting. We (as outreachers) are not selling you anything! We are doing a public service to give our people a better understanding, and more knowledge about voting and how it affects you. If you don't know what I'm saying, but would like to, HOLLA AT ME! I'll get you to phone bank, and see how it goes. I have never appreciated survey people who call until I was calling around doing the same thing and I LEARNED A LOT! And I bet you would too :)

(3) Thank you to my home girl AMELIA SILI for taking time out of her day to answer my phone (she was on my calling list) call and willingly answering my questions. You rock! And I'm so happy to have you as a committed voter and CARING about issues that you are concerned about- education, healthcare, and immigration! Right on sister! And one inspiring man made my day. 65 year old Tongan elder from the valley. [cannot disclose his name] But I call him and tell him the whole getdown of who I am and what organization I'm calling on behalf of and to my surprise, he tells me he's got his sample ballot, knows where his polling place is, and is going to vote on TUESDAY! *tears of joy* Then our conversation goes on as I asked him more questions and he answered with what his policy concerns are and why he votes. He's not even a vote-by-mail! He said he likes going to polls. Now see, this was all I needed to hear to make me feel like my time phone banking was well worth it. Even though he is an elder, I respect him for being ENGAGED in his duties as an American citizen! I hope I get to meet this man one day so I can get to know more about him...we need more Tongan men proactive like him!

(4) I noticed something different in me today. I have no idea where it came from, or if this is just my first time noticing it, but I was very open to interacting with other people. I'm so Polynesian-oriented that I tend to isolate myself from mingling with other races. Atleast until today. I was talking with everyone in the room, made some new friends, and landed some new opportunities to further work with immigration reform projects! SCORE! I'm so proud of myself (not to toot my own horn) but honestly, my heart has opened up to new experiences and helping out my community.

I know this was a long ass blog. But I promise I only did this to vent because I don't have much friends...haha. JK! I'm super excited for what else YOUR VOTE MATTERS campaign has coming up. Shoutout to APALC for the great hospitality and new learning experience! If you ever get a call from a phone banker, please don't ignore them...it just might be me ;) lol

2013

Heyyyy! I know I've strayed away from blogging for a while, but for a good reason! Because I've stopped my "FOFREE" ways and am only doing it when necessary...like right now. Life has been a bit....busy. But I'm grateful for breathing and living another day! I'm still going to school, El Camino to be exact, and I'm finishing up before I transfer to a 4-year university. Ahhh, yes, the butterflies have yet to come. Right now I'm feeling a bit cautious. I feel stuck at where I'm at. I was accepted to one university so far, but I have yet to hear from that ONE school where my heart is really set at. And I hope and pray I make it there. God knows how much I need to go to school there. Of course, it's away from home. I need to BREATHE! But I say I feel stuck because if I don't make it there, I don't know how I will do if I do end up going to another school (closer to home). I have very bad habits I need to break and I feel I can break that once I break away from home. Anyways, that's my philosophy of self-improvement ever since my trip to Washington, DC last summer. I'm cautious because ANYTHING can happen. I may get denied, or not be able to afford school. But with the grace of God, I am gaining patience and understanding for anything that COULD happen. Anyways, other than my sob stories, I'm currently employed at a ghetto fabulous hotel. I would say the name but I don't want any of yall poppin' up over there asking for discounts and/or a free room. I'm getting my ish together, tryna make that PAYPAH. Nahhh, I'm just tryna keep myself busy while paying for my own fofree stuff. Soooooooo, what yall think about the Obama Administration pushing another 4-years? I know I'm late with the election last November, but I see Obama being a lot more proactive in his legislation and presidency. Or atleast since I've been paying attention. I hope you're reading this and saying you voted, team Obama or team Romney, as long as you voted. :) Other than that, I have yet to put up the juicy news in the upcoming weeks. PRAY FOR ME, YALL! Much Love and Respect!!

Marathon-Relay

I'm running a 13-miler next year, March 2013! I KNOWWWWW....GAAAAHHHLEEEE! Well for me, it's hard as heck because I can barely do a mile! But I'm training now...got 4 months to go! Usually I don't take myself seriously unless I have someone holding me accountable....so that's why I ask for yall support! If you have the time, please come out and show us some love! Next year, March! If you got the money, pull out ya wallets! HAHA! If you can donate a $1, it'll make all the difference! If not, say a little prayer for us! :) Thank you for your support. My sister, my family, and TCSC/APIOPA appreciates it! 'Ofa atu!

RANDOM

Hey yall.... I'm actually on here to look up some old events that have sparked my interest in community work. As I look through these pages I see how really long winded I am! And I LOVE IT! haha Anyways, it's interesting to see how much I've grown and how much I've learned from these past events. I'm humbled by it. But ummm...I have always been a fan of writing...free writing to be specific. I don't enjoy essays--too structured for me. I remember when I was in the hospital one time in high school, my mom brought me a journal and said, "Here, I brought this for you to write in." Little did she know, I had a school notebook at home that I already used as my journal. Later down the line I got another journal in Ta'ahine 'O Moana...just to encourage more writing. But my point is, writing is good! Writing is good for your mind, your heart, and (I feel) your soul. You let a lot out and you write things that you may not even say. To my surprise, I write totally different than how I talk--that is if I'm not textin' you. But it's something I enjoy...and when I'm too lazy to write in my journal I type. LOL. Such a lazy thing to do but hey! It's another form of letting things out. Anyways, this was such a random post and I just wanted to share it. Have a great day yall! :)

Pacific Islander Vote 2012

ELEVATE YOUR VOICE

I'm DONE with my internship in Washington, DC but started a whole 'nother chapter in Southern California with electoral activity. APIAVote, APALC, & EPIC started up a Pacific Islander (non-partisan) Voter Campaign, ELEVATE YOUR VOICE! Our efforts are going full blast with 5 different Pacific Islander Organizations trying to GET OUT THE VOTE with 1,000 new Pacific Islander voters! Check us out on facebook, instagram and twitter! Make a shoutout, post a picture of your voter efforts, or tell us WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO VOTE & ELEVATE YOUR VOICE! I'm looking forward for yall posts ;) Tau toki sio!

----I have an online voter registration widget on the side of this page---->>>

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pacific-Islander-Vote-2012/105462832939485

Instagram: @PacificIslanderVote2012

Twitter: @PIVote2012

My new adventures....

So I've been warming up to the east coast (no, not the weather) and it's not as bad as I thought! The heat wave is gone so now the weather stays in the 80s! YAY! Since the weather is good, our mood is good and we're more willing to go out and explore hehe.

Anyways, my organization APIAVote has been prepping for our Presidential Town Hall taking place next week, Saturday, July 21! We have some representatives of both campaigns coming out to speak on issues that they will address towards the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. What I've been doing was trying to get connections of Pacific Islanders AROUND THE COUNTRY who would be willing to host viewing parties of the town hall. The more numbers we show in supporting this event, the more likely the candidates would pay attention to us! Numbers SAY BIG THINGS! So tune in next week! I'll probably be popping my head in somewhere in the camera view so I can make a shoutout..hehe! Here's our link http://www.apiavote.org/presidential-town-hall. Check it out and spread the word!

Welp, when I'm off the clock I continue to do the random things that come to mind. So we heard there was a reception with free food so we went to that at the Capitol building. Then we got to see our big sister, Ursula Siataga! Thanks for coming out! It felt good to see our Cali people and kick it like Californians do-- sit outside the cafe and talk even after the shop closes :) Also told us successful (and funny) stories of UNITED PLAYAZ based in San Francisco! Would love to visit some day soon!

We attended the White House Initiative's API Youth Summit at the WHITE HOUSE! It was a cool event, but I'm not gon' lie, I wish more of the P.I. part of API showed up! A lot of our P.I.s don't know about these type of things...or they just don't care. We met a cool young activist from Utah named Lavinia Taumoepeau. She's an ambassador of the HYPE movement and a full time student at University of Utah--all while being a mother! :) Made connects and we've got a National PISA page to connect Pacific Islanders all across the nation. If you're not added already, add yourself to it: http://www.facebook.com/groups/npisa/ YOU WON'T REGRET IT! There's tons of resources on there that you won't get anywhere else! Join and share! :) That's it for now...will update you with my adventures soon enough! :) Tau toki sio!!

Awesome weekend...

This past Sunday (June/24) was King Kamehameha's Lei Draping Ceremony at the U.S. Capital Building's Visiting Ceremony. Native Hawaiians and many supporters from across the country came with their love and respect for the commemoration of King Kamehameha. This was my first time hearing about this event so I dressed up in my puletaha and kiekie (Tongan traditional wear). Faaputu and I met up with our elders from California like Aunty Sharon, Aunt Jane, Uncle Victor and more. It felt good in our hearts that we met up with our people from home. Anyways, Putu and I had close seats to view the lei'ing of King Kamehameha's statue. There were great speeches done by great representatives of Hawai'i. I met Congressman Faleomavaega of America Samoa and the first thing he seen was my kiekie. After identifying me as a Tongan, he asked me to present his tapa cloth (ngatu in Tongan) on behalf of him for the Tongan community. As he went up to deliver his speech on our Hawaiian cousins and Senator Akaka, I had the honors of holding up the ngatu and presenting it to Senator Akaka! All in respect with my kiekie. After attending the banquet, Congressman took Putu and I out to dinner(after we already ate at the banquet). In between all the jokes and laughter, I grew mad respect for a man so humble as he was. I felt honored to spend time with the Congressman and have him personally invite us to his luncheon on Wednesday with other Pacific Islander interns in DC. For the first time in DC, I felt comfortable to be myself off the clock! Congressman is very down-to-earth and reminds me so much of family because of the way he holds great hospitality for us islanders. He told me alot about his family and friends from Tonga and Vava'u. He reps HA'APAI! Overall, I'm thankful to have met Congressman Eni and learn how a great leader is a person who can serve others. As of now, I'm starting my week fresh with work! Still expanding my network of Pacific Islander organizational contacts and people who can hook me up with Pacific Islander contacts...other than that, I'm attending luncheons and networking events to enjoy others company :) I'm excited for everything coming up :)