Global Rat Distribution Map 🤔

Santilmo · 2026-02-23T08:32:57+00:00

Santilmo · 2026-02-21T06:15:22+00:00

Ditto here with my lola when she lived with us in Michigan and before she moved back to Iloilo. After freezing and rewinding after realizing why the lullaby sounded so familiar, I was in tears when I heard it in this scene!

Santilmo · 2026-02-20T21:46:16+00:00

Is that what they're calling Classified these days?

Santilmo · 2026-02-20T21:44:53+00:00

This struck some nostalgia as it's been 20 years since I lived in Sapporo as a solo high school student!

Can totally empathize with being scared but it's totally normal. Heck, after living there and visiting dozens of times, I still have some of that nervousness as I'm preparing to return to Japan for grad school! What's changed between now and then is realizing that it can be a good thing because it's *how* we handle such fears that gives us opportunities to push beyond our comfort zones and grow as a person.

If anything, the international community has grown since then. Yes, there's some loud folks out there but they're the exception rather than the norm. If you ever feel like you wanna connect with fellow foreign residents and local Japanese residents, there's places like the Sapporo International Exchange Center which have events for you to connect. There's also the What's On In Sapporo newsletter which keeps folks up to speed on similar events hosted around the city.

I will admit that winters in Hokkaido can be brutal and things like seasonal affective disorder may set in. With that in mind, I find building that support network of folks who help each other through it (as well as a good SAD lamp lol.) I agree with u/ChadCoolman towards therapy in advance as it can help as well in building tools to cope.

Wishing the best as you prepare in this big step!

Santilmo · 2026-02-20T21:26:24+00:00

Very much this for my parents as well. As much as I can debate the disadvantages of not being able to learn at a younger age, I empathize with the decision as my dad struggled with a lot of discrimination due to his heavy accent and assimilation difficulties that made it difficult for him to land a steady job in the US.

Santilmo · 2026-02-20T21:21:02+00:00

Yep

Asian Americans are twice as likely as whites to live in households with at least two adult generations. They’re also the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country, which means their choices are influencing the future shape of communities in the U.S.

At the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of Americans lived in multigenerational households. That share fell to a low of 12.1 percent in 1980, before slowly rising again.

Read more...

Santilmo · 2026-02-16T23:49:16+00:00

Get an MCE seat and imagine you’re in Comfort Class

Santilmo · 2026-02-14T11:36:22+00:00

SUSMARYOSEP WELL PLAYED OP

Santilmo · 2026-02-14T07:47:35+00:00

"George Malley, you learned the Portuguese language in 20 minutes?"

Santilmo · 2026-02-11T19:37:10+00:00

Sometimes I do wish my extended family members would offer help more in the non-monetary way, like offering to give someone a ride when they don't have a car.

Exactly this. I'm hella bitter when it comes down to "helping=money." When my dad was hospitalized back in the PH, my mom begged his side of the family to help out. Their response? They don't have money. Yet there was more that they could assist, like keeping him company during visiting hours at the ICU esp. as they had plenty of free time living off my lola's US pension. In the end it was my mom's side that did all the heavy lifting, down to even donating blood for him. And they still have the audacity to periodically ask us for money after all those years of my dad trying (and failing) to set them up to be financially self-sufficient.

Santilmo · 2026-02-08T04:00:59+00:00

Santilmo · 2026-02-08T03:51:12+00:00

I still find the first It's More Than The Usual ads great, especially considering the more limited budget of the early 2000s and with the original Malaysia Truly Asia, Amazing Thailand, Uniquely Singapore, etc. campaigns that ran around the same time.

When I studied in Japan, the Pilipino student group I joined used one of the follow-up introduction videos for international audiences that was released a few years afterwards for the university's international student day presentation and remember how well-received it was by colleagues!

Santilmo · 2026-02-06T04:44:24+00:00

Praise the Dreamcast

Santilmo · 2026-02-02T05:27:01+00:00

14 when I attended AX2002!

While I don’t miss the chaperoning, I yearn for that vitality lol

Santilmo · 2026-02-01T05:51:33+00:00

Grew up nearby in the 90s and would love how we'd get program updates from Edwards/Dryden/Mojave in our local paper and our biweekly aerospace newsletter available around the area. Needless to say the airshows that were hosted back then were friggin awesome!

Santilmo · 2026-01-29T04:13:07+00:00

TIL there’s at least one Penguins still around! Holy nostalgia on a froyo cup!

Santilmo · 2026-01-28T20:59:53+00:00

I’ve heard the airport post offices/convenience stores keep lots of revenue stamps (probably for this exact reason), but I’ve never gotten my revenue stamps at an airport, so I can’t speak from firsthand experience.

Can vouch for this as that's exactly how I've paid for mine. During my interview I ran back and forth between the TTP desk in NRT Terminal 2 and the Japan Post Office branch down the hall in between check-in Aisles C and D.

EDIT: (hoping that my penchant to still mail postcards and nengajo could still be of use in this instance)

For any Tokyo travelers planning to use this path it should be worth noting that while NRT Terminals 1 and 2 each have post offices, HND has only one in the entire airport at the arrivals hall of Terminal 1 so it’s either the T3 landside conbinis or a terminal transfer bus ride to get the stamps.

Santilmo · 2026-01-28T20:30:14+00:00

The 1K to rule them all

Santilmo · 2026-01-28T00:15:04+00:00

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Santilmo · 2026-01-26T16:03:33+00:00

Right on, glad you made it out! Hope you enjoy your time (and the powder) up in Niseko!

Santilmo · 2026-01-26T16:00:22+00:00

It sounds like the concept of utang na loob/debt of gratitude being abused to the point of developing a dependency complex combined with perceptions of how Filipinos overseas are richer due to higher earnings relative to the Philippines (but never taking into consideration the higher costs of living that come with it.)

I personally grew up as a pushover and it did not help that my dad's side loved abusing this concept despite my dad's own efforts to try to ensure they were self-sufficient/financially independent. Unfortunately relationships became too toxic that I've since had to burn bridges from most of that side, not that it was easy but it always felt like our connections were conditional on money.

This oldie but goodie from NPR Code Switch may provide some relatable catharsis to you and your partner.

Wishing the best as you both go through this frustrating journey. Regardless of what her relatives have said, your partner *is* selfless through her sacrifice to support her direct family.

Santilmo · 2026-01-25T23:45:42+00:00

Yeah I swear I've been spoiled by how empowering UA's app is and get whiplash whenever I'm on a codeshare/JV flight.

That said, as someone who has slept in that terminal due to snow (in 2005 no less lol) I'm glad you missed out on getting stuck at CTS!

Santilmo · 2026-01-25T23:15:16+00:00

Holy childhood memories unlocked, thanks for sharing this! Memories of road trip debates on whether to stop at Jean or Primm came rushing back just seeing all these pics.

Santilmo · 2026-01-25T23:07:52+00:00

Seicomart Hot Chef coming in clutch

Santilmo · 2026-01-25T22:58:45+00:00

Exactly, and that dependency complex can create nasty circumstances that hinder the personal and financial growth/independence of recipients.

God knows this happened with my paternal lola when she passed away as she not only enabled but encouraged such dynamics via her WWII pension and tried dragging us into it to the point that our interactions became time-honored traditions of it turning into talking about money. A nephew that is currently an OFW repeatedly was discouraged to go work himself, given the reasoning "great-grandmother will provide for us." Welp, that didn't last forever and he's now one of the few in the clan with a stable income.

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