Paskong Pilipino

This was like a mini-mini Fiesta Islands-Christmas gathering of sorts that was held in a school cafeteria of a middle school. We had heard of this event through some newfound friends of ours and decided to check it out. Don't mind the cold 36 degrees- heck, that's 4 degrees warmer than yesterday (and YES, you CAN feel a difference, believe it or not!). The last major Filipino event that hubby and I attended was the Pistahan down at Yerba Buena in downtown San Francisco. If ya'll have been there, you know that it's jam-packed with Pinoys, the smell of barbecue and lumpia in the air, and vendors trying to sell everything from videos, posters, barrel men, books, music to downright pinoy conscious clothing and anything alibata. Paskong Pilipino was nowhere near that, but still cool nonetheless. Turns out that the majority of active Filipino organizations in the Minnesota area were there- all 15 of them. Hubby and I met the acquaintance of many new faces, most wondering who the heck WE were! 'Course, these same people and organizations basically work together and know each other in one way or another. For hubby and I to walk up in there, you definitely know who the newbies are. But we DID know some people...fellow dancers from CSFA, the Philippine Students Association (PSA) crew at University of MN, and fellow Cutting Edge-r, Ibalik. Food-wise, there were some yum food AND it wasn't the $7.00+ that we'd pay back in da City...no, no, no. For a mini-plate of palabok and two lumpia, we paid only $3.00! Then again, there was a table who was selling tiny leche flan for $5...man, imagine if Mare DeJesus started up her catering service- she'd make mucho! For entertainment, they had a talent show of lil' kids...these are the kids whose proud parents like to thrive on attention. Not to be mean, but there was nothing American Idol-ish up there nor was it that cute to have preschool age kids supposedly bopping to the beat...'twas more like jumping up and down! Then there was a Santa giving out gifts that took forever! In any case, there was a choral group with two of Ibalik's kaibigans getting their Temptations-style moves on. Hubby and I did get to meet more people...lol, okay, we did get to meet more people OUR AGE!

Minneapolis Nightlife

Hubby and I got ourselves invited to one of Ibalik's friend's early birthday celebration. We were to meet up with them at this Thai place called Swatdee for drinks. While we were looking for parking, there was a definite "get-yo'-freak-on" vibe in the air, er, winter air. We saw all these hootchified ladies with mini-mini skirts, sleeveless dresses, no jackets, and you just know they're freezing their asses off! How can you not?! It's freakin' 30 degrees! Pshhhhh....I don't care how cute they think they look, but I'm not about to get pneumonia wearing backless, sleeveless attire. Too crazy! All the bars and clubs that we passed had lines full of people, windows all fogged up by all the groovin' bodies within, valet guys working hard to accomodate what we thought were probably football players (we saw the "bling, bling!"), and we even saw two security police on horseback. Dayamn.

Met Ibalik's group of friends...very cool people. Birthday boy was busy downing his share of gifts of whiskey sours. After the drinking, some (um okay, just Wendel!) wanted to move the party elsewhere to a club so they could get their dance on. Now the people back in da City would probably freak when they hear that most clubs and bars DO NOT have a cover! If they do, it's nothing more than $5-10. We were originally supposed to go to "The Empire" (bring 5 people and drink free all night!), started heading to "The Local" (but was way too far to walk to in the cold), and ended up at "The Imperial." 'Twas a teeny tiny place full of, as hubby put it, a bunch of frat boys. Hubby and I didn't stay long and plus, it was getting past our bedtime....NOT! lol! It was cool to meet more new people and it was great to finally see what the nightlife of downtown Minneapolis had to offer. There was a quick moment that made it seem like San Francisco downtown...as we were walking, some dude started asking, "Hey my Asian brutha and sista, you got a dolla?" Dude...we're NOT Asian. LOL! Aahhh....just like home! In all seriousness, I wouldn't mind heading downtown again. It was lively, it was bumpin', it was cool.