June 4, 2008

  • It is an exciting time in my life right now. Prior to this weekend, I had only been in contact with one family member on my dad's side, my cousin Cathleen from the Philippines. She had e-mailed me after my appearance on Speak Out. We have kept in touch and she indicated that my Uncle Roland wanted me to e-mail him. I did, and had a chance to speak with him on the phone on Sunday. We talked about his family, when he came to America, but did not really talk about my dad. I did manage to ask him if he thought my dad would want to meet me. He was not sure, because my dad has since remarried and has four children.

    Today I received a call from Uncle Rogelio, the eldest brother. Again, I asked him to tell me about when he came to America, and under what circumstances. It turns out that he joined the Navy and came in 1967. He has two children, both very accomplished. He even mentioned that I had lived in their home during my first year of life and that my Auntie Lette was the one who recommended the name Bobby. I tried calling her, but she did not answer. I did leave a message, saying thank you for the name. Hopefully I will get to speak with her at some point. After that, their son called me and we talked for a little bit. He mentioned that he remembered me from when I lived with his family, as he is older than me.

    So far, I have heard that my dad's brothers want to meet me, but have not heard much regarding my dad. They have told me about my grandparents and how my lolo was a veterano and how my lola passed away in the Philippines in 2001. They mentioned their prominence in Pangasinan, and I am very impressed with my cousins, who all seem very accomplished in engineering, management, and fitness. My sense of family has multiplied over the last few days. I only hope that it continues to grow stronger and that I can meet them all soon.

    I can not help but wonder if my dad wants anything to do with me, although I have proven that I do not need him. It would just be nice to meet my half-siblings. However, I also wonder if I would be the Rebecca Harper character in the show Brothers and Sisters. I do not want to complicate matters for his family.

    In other news, at this time the race for Assembly District 8 between Christopher Cabaldon and Mariko Yamada is still in the air, with Yamada having a slight lead of 51 to 48 of the vote. I hope it changes.

    I also congratulate Barack Obama. While I favored Hillary Clinton more, I will play the hand that I have been dealt. We have a White House to take back.