Lao Tzu: A man with outer courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.

-

Comments

Post a Comment

Hi! Thank you for dropping by. Please leave us a comment. Sige na!

Popular posts from this blog

Learn Tagalog: Exploring the Soul of Destiny with "Tadhana" by Up Dharma Down

-
Image
Learn Filipino • April 2026. Learn Tagalog: Exploring the Soul of Destiny with "Tadhana" by Up Dharma Down. tadhana, tagalog, opm, up dharma down, armi millare, destiny, filipino values, learn tagalog, grammar, linkers, markers, fil-am. Learn Filipino • April 2026 Learn Tagalog: Exploring the Soul of Destiny with "Tadhana" by Up Dharma Down From indie breakout to pambansang anthem: how one OPM song became the gateway for Filipino Americans rediscovering their roots—and what the word tadhana reveals about our deepest values. Now with three grammar lessons for Fil-Am kids and adults who never had formal Pilipino classes. Tadhana — the Filipino concept of destiny — captured in one of OPM's most enduring songs. I was driving on I-80 through Vallejo with my bunso when I first really heard it—not as background noise, but as a full reckoning. She was playing DJ from her iPhone, tapping through Spotify, which I love for h...
Read more

Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry

-
Image
Vallejo, CA • March 2026. Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry. hiraya manawari meaning, ancient tagalog phrase, filipino manifestation, reach your dreams filipino, baybayin tattoo hiraya, decolonize filipino identity, pre-colonial philippines language, hiraya manawari tv show abs-cbn, filipino words of power, fil-am cultural reclamation. DECOLONIZE • MARCH 2026 Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry How an archaic Tagalog phrase meaning "may the visions of your heart come to pass" survived colonialism, powered a beloved 90s TV show, and is now reclaiming Filipino identity — one tattoo, one graduation caption, and one whispered prayer at a time. There are words in every language that carry more weight than their syllables suggest. In English, we have "freedom." In Japanese, ikigai . In ...
Read more

Marks of the Ancestors: Mel Orpilla and the Filipino Story of Vallejo

-
Image
Vallejo, California • March 2026. Mel Orpilla: Historian, Martial Artist, and Keeper of Vallejo's Filipino Memory. mel orpilla, vallejo filipino history, filipinos in vallejo, balintawak arnis, island warrior fighting sticks, manong generation, mare island naval shipyard, fil-am history, ifugao, ilocano heritage, pamana, filipino american history month. Vallejo, CA • Filipino American History Month 2026 Marks of the Ancestors: Mel Orpilla and the Filipino Story of Vallejo Historian, martial artist, and cultural keeper Mel Orpilla has spent decades ensuring that the Filipino presence in Vallejo—one of the oldest in Northern California—is documented, honored, and passed on. Mel Orpilla — historian, Balintawak Arnis master, and keeper of Vallejo's Filipino memory. 📍 Vallejo, California In the city of Vallejo, history lives in unexpected places. It lives in faded photographs tucked into family albums, in stor...
Read more

San Diego State, A.B. Samahan, and Fall 2026: What Filipino-American Families Need to Know

-
Image
San Diego, California • April 2026. San Diego State, A.B. Samahan, and Fall 2026: What Filipino-American Families Need to Know. sdsu admissions 2026, ab samahan, filipino american college, san diego state university, california university admissions, fil-am students sdsu, socal, national city filipino community. EDUCATION • CALIFORNIA • APRIL 2026 San Diego State, A.B. Samahan, and Fall 2026: What Filipino-American Families Need to Know SDSU is not a backup. It is home to one of the oldest and largest Filipino-American student organizations in the country — and for many Fil-Am families, it is the right school for reasons the rankings will never capture. April 2018: Nica's senior year in high school. My kids Francesca, JianCarlo & Veronica pose in front of Hepner Hall with Diego, an SDSU student (and son of my next door neighbor in the Philippines). Every spring, Filipino-American families in Califor...
Read more

MAHARLIKA: GENESIS — Chapter 1: What Is My Truth?

-
Image
Los Angeles, California • 1991. MAHARLIKA: GENESIS Chapter 1: What Is My Truth?. Filipino American fiction, poker, identity, decolonization, post-Marcos diaspora, Vermont Avenue Los Angeles. FICTION • MAHARLIKA: GENESIS • CHAPTER 1 What Is My Truth? Los Angeles, 1991. He can read every man at the table — the surgeon, the dealer, the kid with the gold chain. The one face he can't read is his own. MAHARLIKA: GENESIS — a Fil-Am who can read every man at a 1991 LA poker table except himself. MAHARLIKA: GENESIS is the novel I've been carrying for years — a mystery about a man who can read everyone except himself, set in the Filipino diaspora of 1991 Los Angeles, in the shadow of a dictatorship we were still learning how to talk about. I'm serializing it here, chapter by chapter, the same way I've tried to write down everything else that matters on this site: for my kids, and for anyone else still asking the same question Miguel is...
Read more

5 Years Later: Wrestling, Resilience, and a Fil-Am Journey

-
Image
Fremont, CA • January 31, 2026. Half a Decade of Growth: A Senior Year Reflection: Five years after the Mission San Jose Invitational, we reflect on the grit of the Fil-Am journey and building a future on Turtle Island. wrestling, benicia, high school, student-athlete, turtle island, fil-am, heritage, january 31 Fremont, CA • January 31, 2026 Half a Decade of Growth: A Senior Year Reflection Five years after the Mission San Jose Invitational: Building grit on the mat and a future on Turtle Island. Looking at this photo now, I don't just see a wrestling match; I see a pivotal moment in the journey from student-athlete to adulthood. In the Filipino-American experience, we often talk about "building"—building a life, building a legacy, and building a future on Turtle Island . "Wrestling is a metaphor for our collective experience. It’s about finding your footing, staying grounded, and facing ev...
Read more

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Kalea! | Vallejo Fil-Am Milestones | PinoyBuilt

-
Image
Happy Sweet Sixteen, Kalea! By J.F.R. Perseveranda | February 28, 2026 | Gear: Sony a7III + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Kalea, Paul & Keona at the Perseveranda Birthday Party © J.F.R. Perseveranda Event Highlights 📍 Location: Vallejo, California 📅 Date: February 28, 2026 📷 Photography: @PinoyBuilt Update : Proud to share that this story was featured on NewsBreak ! Explore More View related event photos — February 28 Archives More with the Sony a7III — Sony Alpha Collection J.F.R. Perseveranda Founder of PinoyBuilt. A Filipino-American writer and photographer documenting heritage and grit in Northern California. The Story Behind the Lens → Mabuhay! Join the Conversation. PinoyBuilt is more than a blog—it’s a living a...
Read more