Jamie Hilao

I cannot believe 3 months have passed since Inauguration Day, the last time I journaled online.

I have been pretty swamped the last few months (yes, even more so than usual), and unfortunately blogging has taken the backburner amidst the chaos. A few friends have even commented/complained that I’ve replaced blogging with mini-updates courtesy of my Twitter plug-in (to my friend Chris’ dismay).

So… what have I been up to?

Throw in the usual work & non-profit activities, mix in some socializing, weekly yoga classes, & fellowship preparation, and top it off with some unexpected drama and you’ve got a recipe for 3 months of adventures, Jamie-style.

Some highlights:

• I went to Chicago to celebrate my lola’s 95th birthday. Unlike her 90th, this celebration was intimate, with only immediate family in attendance. It was touching to hear her speak of how blessed she is to have migrated to America and have so many loved ones present almost 40 years later. I felt the love in the room and left with a newfound appreciation for my relatives.



• After my grandma’s event, I met friends at a lounge, rekindling friendships with grade school friends and reconnecting briefly with the usual Chi’ers I see while I’m in town.
  
• J$ & I had a blast at the V-Day fundraiser & USC Production of the Vagina Monologues. This year, the event featured V-Day creator Eve Ensler as a guest speaker. She introduced Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist who painfully spoke of treating countless numbers of women and girls raped beyond repair. It inspired me to get more involved with V-Day, and next year I may look into organizing a congo teach-in.
  
• In mid-March, I hosted the European Marshall fellows for the Spring program at Sony Pictures. I planned a day on the lot for them, which consisted of panel discussions featuring executives from the Sony Motion Pictures Group and a screening of Fuel with a Q&A by its filmmaker Josh Tickell. It was rewarding to meet the fellows and observing their participation during their time at Sony provided insight into what kind of fellow I want to be for my upcoming fellowship in June. I plan to write about my fellowship prep in detail, so more on this later…
• No weddings yet this year, but I attended another family celebration, this time in SoCal. Congratulations to Michelle and Alfred, who are expecting a daughter in May!
  
• April has come and (almost) gone, complete with a few nights out on the town. Also, in honor of Earth Week, I planted my first tree via TreePeople at Sony’s Global Volunteer Day.
  

Before I leave for my month-long European adventure, I am off to DC for the Marshall Forum, volunteering at AWBW’s Art in the Afternoon fundraiser, and hosting one more book club meeting.

I’ve got A TON to do to prep for my trip, but I will make the time to write once more before I leave. I’m going to be sending updates from abroad and blogging about what I expect to be my most amazing, educational experience to date.

Brussels/Hamburg/Barcelona/Skopje/Berlin… and Greece… here I come!

This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Jamie, Chicago, Family, Events, Non-profit, MMF. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.