Sophie, the owner was so super nice to everyone who attending. She offered 10% off all tokidoki merchandise and there was also a free gift for the first 50 people.  I was number 10.  Yeah, me!!!! We got a toki shopping bag filled with awesome goodies. There was a poster announcing the grand opening, signed by Simone :), a full size pack of toki buttons, a full pack of toki stickers and two really, awesome buttons from Happy Six that say “I love tokidoki and happy six” and “I partied with tokidoki at happy six”…oh, I just love them they are so darn cute.

With my 10% off I bought a toki bracelet and an orange onitsuka tiger (which I have been wanting so bad) and two boxes of the toki mirror mints. 

Simone Legno, creative director, tokidoki was available to sign one item.  I was so excited because he remembered me from previous signings.  He smiled and said “nice to see you again, I remember you, thank you for waiting” AAHHHHHH, I was too over the moon.  I always like to get a sketch from him, which btw totally rocks!

I have to say the event was just off the hook- Sophie and tokidoki hosted a grand event. Food, drinks, goodies, 10% off and of course Simone was the cherry on the sundae. 

Oh, new flash- Simone told me that a new tokidoki store will be opening on Melrose in March 2009!!!!  I can’t wait-

Thanks Sophie and tokidoki for an awesome time and a shout out to Quinton, the cool security guard working at “The Edge”

Pics to follow….

 I received this email today from one of the groups I supported during the Obama campaign: 

Many of us are still pinching ourselves today. But we did it, Filipinos for Obama. Your tireless support at phone banks, voter registration drives, and fundraisers, your passion for and belief in strengthening and uniting your community, and your commitment and determination to make a difference helped — in the truest sense of the word — change the world. Together, we made history.

From an idea that started over lunch less than four months ago, Filipinos for Obama has accomplished a great deal and organized an unprecedented movement within our own community. Together, we have grown 13 chapters across the nation, recruited over 400 volunteers, registered 450 new voters, organized nearly 130 events nationwide, and reached over 12,000 households through canvassing, phone banking and getting our own friends and family involved.

Our victory was in believing in ourselves and believing in an America inspired by truth, unity, and hope. As Obama said in his speech last night, “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change….So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.” Stay tuned for upcoming events. We’re going to celebrate…and collaborate, and we want you to join us.

Thank you for your people power. Thank you for believing. This is your victory, mga kababayans.

With heartfelt gratitude,
The Filipinos for Obama Leadership Team

Please get out and VOTE today—-let your voice be heard.

Barack Obama:

• Will Restore the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to Work Towards its Original Goal of Meeting the Underserved Needs of AAPIs
• Praised Passage of The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, which Provided Millions for Tribal and AAPI Serving Institutions.
• Will cut taxes to 95% of Americans (individuals and families making less than $250,000/year in income)
• Cosponsored Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act .
• Passed the DREAM Act in Illinois.
• Cosponsored the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007.
• Cosponsored Comprehensive Immigration Legislation, and Introduced Amendments to Reduce Immigration Backlogs.
• was Raised with Asian Culture in Hawaii And Asia.

 I wanted to share an email with you from the “Asian Americans for Obama” group I belong to on www.barackobama.com

As you may know, there are a lot of rumors, misleading e-mails, and suppression efforts out there designed to prevent voters from exercising their constitutional rights. These include everything from false claims that voters who have had their homes foreclosed lose their right to vote to the lie that voting a straight Democratic ticket does not include a vote for Sen. Obama.

Help fight the lies and misinformation - spread the word about the new Obama campaign website Truth.VoteforChange.com. If you encounter false information about voting, look up the correct information and make sure everyone exposed to the lie gets the real story straight from the campaign. There should be only one winner in this election - the truth.

Let your voice be heard- get out to the polls and vote on November 4th!

Vote for Change - Obama/Biden ‘08

Now that Barack won the final debate, there’s only one milestone remaining in this campaign — Election Day.

But it’s going to take a lot of work to make sure all of our supporters get to the polls. You can help support our get out the vote efforts right now.

Make a donation of $30 or more and you’ll receive a limited edition Obama-Biden T-shirt:

I received my “Yes we can” bracelets in the mail along with the two buttons I ordered. “Veterans for Obama” and ”Yes we Can”. It took a while to get them but I am proudly wearing them now. 

Don’t wait…get your OBAMA gear today….REPRESENT and DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!

I am a devoted Obama supporter who also happens to be a mother, wife, Veteran and Asian American. I do not have a lot of money to give to the campaign but I can give my time and use my blog as an outreach tool.  I found this letter on Sen. Obama’s website along with a famiily photo.

October 1, 2008

Support Barack Obama and Joe Biden and wear this button with pride. Go to www.barackobama.com and get your own button today- buy them for your whole family, while you are there make a donation of $5 to the campaign that will change America for the better.

Also available are:

Check out these cool tees from Sons of Liberty on www.karmaloop.com  make a statement and be stylish at the same time. What could be sweeter than that?  Support real change a make a donation at www.barackobama.com Be the change you want to see in the USA.

REGISTER TO VOTE! GET TO THE POLLS IN NOVEMBER!

We invite you to come back to the Festival, and bring new friends and family members to the beautiful seaside park Pt. Fermin, and enjoy the entertainment, food, marketplace and FUN for the whole family. If this will be your first time, welcome! Tuloy po kayong lahat!

FPAC is the largest and longest running annual Filipino tradition in Southern California -
…85 exhibitors…
…450 volunteers…
…1,200 artists…
and over 25,000 guests keep FPAC alive year after year. It is you, the community, who have supported this celebration, make it all possible.

This year’s theme is katutubong landas tungo masaganang bukas – “native ways toward a prosperous future.”

It is our native ways, our traditions, that anchor our community. It is also through our native ways, our human experiences, that we find common threads that interweave the diverse communities that make up our landscape. Whether we refer to “community” as the youth, the various groups that make up Los Angeles, or the community of Pilipinos worldwide, it is our native ways – of song, of dance, of art, of cuisine, of cultivating the earth – that we pass on to future generations, to continue to ensure a prosperous future.

Visit www.filamarts.org now. The festival runs from Sept 6-7m 2008. Admission at the door is $7.  Bring your sunscreen, folding chairs and enjoy the whole day!

 

This story follows Heaven, who at six months old, was the sole survivor of a deadly plane crash. The Press had named her Heaven, because it seemed that she fell from the sky. Soon after, she was adopted by the powerful Kogo Family and lived a very privileged life. But then, 19 years later, things take an unexpected turn, when her wedding is attacked and her brother, Hiko, is killed trying to save her, not before warning her that the Yakuza have infiltrated her family. So she breaks free from her family and begins training to be a samurai and fight back against the Yakuza.

I am looking forward to watching this mini-series and hope that it is a sign of the times. We rarely see Asian-Pacific Islander (API) faces on prime time television and this can only lead to more opportunities for API actors/actresses.  I am however a little ambivalent that the faces are being portrayed in this type of story line.   There is more to the culture and history of Japan then just a Samurai saga. It makes me wonder if the entertainment industry believes American audiences will only watch API faces wield a samurai sword in order to keep their interest. 

I hope that this main stream format inspires more people to educate themselves about the culture and may they find a new appreciation and respect for the country as well as the people of Japan. 

Samurai Girl is a six-hour mini-series set to air over a three-day weekend on ABC Family beginning on September 5, 2008. The event, which is based on the popular young-adult novel series will star Jamie Chung, Brendan Fehr, and Stacy Keibler. The premise is based on a series of fictional books written by Carrie Asai.

(pic above posted at www.seat42F.com, Samurai Girl cast at 2008 Comic Con in San Diego, CA)