PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

Vallejo, CA • October 2015. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: 2016 Season Passes, Day One. six flags discovery kingdom, 2016 season passes, vallejo, jian, nica, chesca, filipino-american family, throwback, on this day, 10/4. ON THIS DAY • VALLEJO • OCTOBER 2015 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: 2016 Season Passes, Day One Jian, Nica and Chesca on a Sunday in Vallejo, four days before Ate Nica turned 15. An ordinary family day, kept on purpose. Left to right: Jian, Nica and Chesca at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, October 4, 2015. Facebook Memories handed this one back to me today: October 4, 2015, a Sunday, at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. Left to right, that's Jian, Nica and Chesca. My caption back then was short: "First time to use their 2016 season passes." I can't find the original post anymore, so I'm moving the memory here, to the archive I keep. It was four days before Ate Nica's 15th b...

Fairfield, California • August 2002. Four Days Before Tess's Birthday, I Found This. nica perseveranda childhood video, tess garcia perseveranda, chuck e cheese fairfield california, filipino american family archive, on this day pinoybuilt, august 12 2002. ON THIS DAY • AUGUST 12 FAIRFIELD, CA • AUGUST 2002 Four Days Before Tess's Birthday, I Found This Twenty-four years ago today, my late wife Tess held onto our not-quite-two-year-old at a Chuck E. Cheese in Fairfield. In four days, it would have been her thirtieth birthday. Placeholder hero — swap for the real photos once they're pulled from the archive. Twenty-four years ago at 12:30 PM, I had a digital camera in my hand and documenting my family and building my archive as always. My daughter Veronica — Nica — is sitting on a yellow-and-black coin-operated motorcycle at a Chuck E. Cheese in Fairfield, California, gripping the handlebars like...

Advance HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mama Helen! By J.F.R. Perseveranda This #OnThisDay flashback takes us to August 12, 2002 , when my eldest daughter Veronica — a proud second-generation Filipina-American born and raised in Vallejo, CA — just got home from cousin Ethan's birthday party in Fairfield, CA. Mama Helen was staying with us in Toni Ct. and would be celebrating her birthday in a few days. Advance HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mama Helen! Looking back, this photo is more than just an image — it’s a chapter in our family’s history. It’s a reminder that our stories are worth preserving, sharing, and celebrating, especially as Filipino-Americans raising the next generation. Do you have a family flashback photo to share? Join the Pinoybuilt.com community and keep our heritage alive online. For more reading: Asian Americans in the United States - Pew Research Center Vallejo Sister City Association ...

Veronica & her SMU classmates before pinning

Kapamilya DUC's 12th Annual Pilipino Culture Night Partially, due to COVID-19, this was my first time attending Pilipino Culture Night as a father. April 23, 2023. Dominican University of California. San Rafael, CA. Please drop us a comment below. Help us grow Pinoybuilt to be the number one Filipino-American online community in California, if not the USA. 🇺🇸 Please click this to follow www.pinoybuilt.com . Thank you! Maraming salamat po kabayan. 🇵🇭 

Kapamilya DUC's 12th Annual Pilipino Culture Night Proud papa poses with my three kids, with the nursing building in the background. April 23, 2023. Dominican University of California. San Rafael, CA. Please drop us a comment below. Help us grow Pinoybuilt to be the number one Filipino-American online community in California, if not the USA. 🇺🇸 Please click this to follow www.pinoybuilt.com . Thank you! Maraming salamat po kabayan. 🇵🇭 

Francesca's Kapamilya at Angelico Hall Waiting in line before doors opened at 1 PM in Angelico Hall, Dominican University of California. Please drop us a comment below. Help us grow Pinoybuilt to be the number one Filipino-American online community in California, if not the USA. 🇺🇸 Please click this to follow www.pinoybuilt.com . Thank you! Maraming salamat po kabayan. 🇵🇭 

Hanging out at Toys R Us with my first baby. Back when the current Best Buy was a Toys R Us. 2001 December 4. Vallejo, CA.  James Patrick Sullivan (better known as Sulley ) is the protagonist of the 2001 Disney•Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc. and the deuteragonist of its 2013 prequel. He was a renowned scarer at Monsters, Inc. where he works alongside his partner and best friend Mike Wazowski. GO NINERS! 3 straight, feels great #MINvsSF pic.twitter.com/HJexOxNrvJ — San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 29, 2021

Jay picked up Nica for a family housewarming in Hayward

Flashback when Apol was new in the USA  Nica was still an only child.  Jian would be born in two months and two days.

Nica was baptized at St. Catherine of Siena. The party was at Dan Foley Cultural Center. In loving memory of Tess Garcia Perseveranda. Happy birthday Ninang Marisa!

Walking down Embarcadero with Tess, Nica and Jian. February 2016.

Friday before Super Bowl 50, five years ago I let the kids skip school (but Chesca declined the offer) so we could party with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers fans in Super Bowl City in San Francisco .  Lots of people!  It makes me wonder what they have setup in Tampa Bay for this year's Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady?  I'm just going to root for the red team.  It's my favorite color. I've been wearing one of my SF 49ers jersey all week, so it's definitely  #WearRedDay . It’s #WearRedDay ! Share a pic using #WearRedDay to show your support and raise awareness that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. pic.twitter.com/asITRkRNGo — American Heart Association (@American_Heart) February 5, 2021

via Instagram

Nica at tennis practice at start of sophomore year Veronica was on the 2014-2015 Junior Varsity team.  The BHS Lady Panthers Tennis Team was SCAC Champions, as well as Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 Champions!

Nica requested sushi for lunch. Thanks Papa! August 24, 2018. Sacramento, CA -- Taking a break from Nica's move into her dorm room at Sacramento State University. Thank you for attending Tita Gigi! Left to right: Tess, Nica, Tita Gigi & Dad. Tess & her firstborn.

Papa Ronnie wanted to treat his grandkids to lunch before they went off to their respective colleges.  

Papa invited us to lunch in Chow King.  How can we say no?

I've got a junior and an incoming freshman this fall. Time flies.