Wednesday, October 22, 2014

thoughts of a yellow sponge

shared by Joshua Chow, her childhood friend and neighbor

This entry has been written and re-written until the point where the blinking cursor was the only thing on the page. I have stories of Cyn from helping me to plan for college, to rollerblading around Falcon with VJ and Nanook, or talking to her on the phone instead when she was really calling for my brother. Those will eventually be written, but my first thought of Cyn will be about the last time I saw her and a little yellow sponge.

It was the summer of '02 before I graduated from Kennedy and I was in my driveway just starting to wash my car. It's June, it's hot, I have no shirt on and the radio is bumpin' some wise words being quoted by 2pac. On that evening, the California sun was setting an amazing hue of an orange-purple haze and from around the corner I hear a "oh holla!"


In all honesty I got giddy because I recognized this voice that I hadn't heard in person in over a year. Even thinking about it now puts a smirk on my face. As far back as I can remember, when Cyn came to the house she always made time to chat with me about my life and the things that mattered to me. For those twenty minutes, I ignored everything and caught up with a dear friend.

She just drove up for the weekend and told me about her life at UCLA and how her upcoming plans for Japan looked. I let the water droplets dry onto my car and the soap suds in the bucket fizzle out with each word being exchanged. Amidst the conversation, I realized it was the first time she had come by the house not to see my brother, but to give me a few minutes out of her day just like old times.


After she was done buttering me up, she finally spilled the beans on what she actually came for. I forgot how good she was at charming men into doing things for her. The whole time I thought "wow, I feel special", but she ended up saying how many bugs she had put onto the Volvo windshield and she wanted to wash the car. (I felt like one of those bugs for a second.)


She had everything except a sponge and extra time because she was running late for a dinner date. So in a swift incantation of Cyn's charisma, I gave her my yellow sponge with the promise she would bring it back before she left for LA.

I didn't even finish washing the other half of my car, but it didn't matter.

Cynthia did so much for me in my life, this was the only time she had asked me to do something for her, and I was more than glad to help. As promised, the sponge was delivered the next day and we exchanged what would be our last hugs before she headed back to LA.

'Til this day I have an old moldy yellow sponge that has been wilted down to a nub, hidden by me somewhere in my garage. On numerous accounts my mother would try to throw it away and I wouldn't let her, for reasons I thought she would never understand.


This nub is my last keepsake; it is my time capsule of a moment when I fell into the cunning trap of this gummy-smiling, candy loving, and 90's R&B mixtape-inspiring-type of pinay from Ardenwood.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

thoughts of a splash sister

shared by VJ Rabuy, her sister

I know I have blogged about sports in the past, and about Cindy being good at them; so at this time of the year, I am especially reminded of her talents. 

Here in the Bay Area we are lucky enough to have the backcourt duo of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. For the past three seasons, they have lit up highlight reels like no other. Curry scored 54 points in a loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. I've been to a game where Klay hit 7 three-pointers in the 2nd half.

When Cindy played for JFK during her junior and senior years on the varsity squad, it was not uncommon for her to hit a three every couple of games. With that in mind, I wonder if she follows the talented duo from up above, and if she would be reminded of her own skills beyond the arch.