These are the best things about being Filipinos on the point of view of one Filipino-American:

1. yelling pssst!……huuy! at a gathering of pinoys and watching everyone turn around

2. being able to cook rice without the measuring cup

3. cooking rice and having it come out perfect (not too wet or dry) after you measured just the right amount of water by using the “finger method”

4. the smell of hot, fresh pandesal in a Filipino bakery store

5. the smell at the pilipino store (whoa, i feel dizzy)

6. getting a glimpse at the look on your white neighbors’ faces when they get a whiff of the tuyo your moms just cooked

7. getting anything free

8. having relatives who you’ve never met visit and getting $40

9. new slippers

10. mango and bagoong (who would’ve thought)

11. receiving bootleg polo or guess shirts as presents

12. opening a new bottle of patis

13. bypassing the limit on sale 2-liter soda by bringing your whole family to the store to buy 4 each

14. crashing a pilipino association picnic at some park and getting yo’grub on….if questioned….claim your mom’s name is baby..or dad’s is boy

15. drinking alak with foods like raw goat or edible beef bile

16. soup with beef tripe

17. getting polvoron candies from friends who were vacationing in P.I.

18. tocino with newly cooked rice

19. rice

20. having a mini plantation of out-of-the-ordinary vegetables like upo and chayote and ampalaya

21. going to someone’s house who does have a mini plantation and getting vegetables for free

22. watching Filipino uncles suck the brains out of the bangus head

23. eating ox tail, beef tripe, green veggies in a peanut butter broth with fried bagoong on the side…(kare kare) [what were they thinkin?]

24. singing minus-1 vilma santos songs

25. seeing the excitement in the faces of your aunties and uncles as they dance the electric slide, macarena, or any other type of line dances

26. pointing with your lips

27. at parties being told incessantly that you are big now…and asked how many boy/girlfriends do you have??

28. flirting with opposite gender by raising your eyebrows rapidly

29. the ability to feel the underside of a mahjong tile and knowing the character just by touch….(oooh that’s skill)

30. one word… DINUGUAN!

31. tripping over shoes and slippers in the front of your house.

32. explaining to your white friends why your front door looks like a Foot Locker.

33. burning your f—ing tongue on freshly fried lumpia

34. Watching Filipino movies AND understanding them

35. talking sh-t about people in tagalog or Filipino language of your choice

36. that cool smell in the house after your parents fry fish

37. plastic outdoor runners INSIDE the house…looks cooool man!

38. SPAM, CORNED BEEF, and VIENNA SAUSAGE, the gourmet meats of Filipinos!!!

39. SPAM, CORNED BEEF, or VIENNA SAUSAGES on sale, and buying them by the case loads

40. when your parents come home from the commissary (groceries bought at mass quantities at a time)

41. desserts from “goldilocks”

42. eating solely with the use of your hands (no need for utensils)

43. that comfortable feeling you get by eating with your hands, having one foot rest on the chair you’re sitting on, and using that bent knee as support/balance for your elbow

44. taking food home from a party

45. going to a relative’s/Filipino friend’s house and their parents offer you food (ie. snacks, a meal, a drink) …actually they don’t offer it, they just kinda give it to you and you take it out of respect and to be polite (but you know you’re really hungry)

46. BALUT!! (mmmm..Yummy!)

47. being exposed to harsh weather (ie. rain, wind, snow, etc.) and your high aqua net hair sprayed hair is still in place (think back to those high hair old school days)

48. bibingka…hot or cold

49. arrozcaldo on a cold, rainy day

50. when an uncle offers you a beer

51. That sound you make when you run in slippers

52. turning over them plastic runners and watching a family member walk over the spikey side (ouch…hahaha)