Nawlins and my People New Orleans (prounounced Nawlins) was so much fun. Everything was fantastic--the Southern hospitality, the amazing Cajun food, an excellent party (here are some of Rob's pics), lovely local girls, a kick-ass upgrade at The W, and more. I suppose the only thing that sucked was the incredible hangover I had most of Sunday. Oh well, that's what I get for staying out until 5AM. So yeah, I definitely want to visit again. If anyone's game, let me know. It would be quite an adventure. Now for a history lesson. Although Filipinos have been coming to America since the 1500s, Louisiana was the first place in (what would be) the US that had a permanent Filipino settlement. From 1565 to 1815, lots of Filipinos were forced by Spaniards to work the trade route between Manila and Acapulco. Many of them chose to jump ship in search of a better life. Some settled in Mexico, while a decent-sized group ended up in the bayous and marshes of Louisiana. I guess the climate made them feel like they were home. This brings me to my last point. I've been approached to be the subject of a feature by a journo in Manila. He's part of an organization called the Asian Gaming Journalists Association. He says the group's goal is "to unite Asian gaming journalists and encourage more publications to devote space to developments in the gaming industry across the region." It seems like a cool thing to do; I'd be helping my people and hopefully Reset would get some international viewers. Plus I'd get an honorary membership into a group with an acronym. This brings me back to my colleges days when I'd terrorize other kids with my memberships in the Chinese Students Associations (CSA), the Asian American Alliance (AAA), the East Coast Asian Students Union (ECASU), the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND), the National Filipino American Youth Association (NFAYA), and a bunch of other militant (not really) groups that I can't remember. Ha!