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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2016)
OPINION Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER June 6, 2016 Volume 26 Number 11 June 6, 2016 ISSN: 1094-9453 The Asian Reporter is published on the first and third Monday each month. Please send all correspondence to: The Asian Reporter 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, OR 97217 Phone: (503) 283-4440, Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com Advertising Department e-mail: ads@asianreporter.com General e-mail: info@asianreporter.com Website: www.asianreporter.com Please send reader feedback, Asian-related press releases, and community interest ideas/stories to the addresses listed above. Please include a contact phone number. Advertising information available upon request. Publisher Jaime Lim Contributing Editors Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo), Jeff Wenger Correspondents Ian Blazina, Josephine Bridges, Pamela Ellgen, Maileen Hamto, Edward J. Han, A.P. Kryza, Marie Lo, Simeon Mamaril, Julie Stegeman, Toni Tabora-Roberts, Allison Voigts Illustrator Jonathan Hill News Service Associated Press/Newsfinder Copyright 2016. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Member Associated Press/Newsfinder Asian American Journalists Association Better Business Bureau Pacific Northwest Minority Publishers (PNMP) Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon Correspondence: The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. 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MY TURN n Wayne Chan Ready for the sitting-still-in- a-lounge-chair challenge he social network thing? I’ve got it all worked out. From my observation, every post on Facebook and Twitter can be sorted into three categories: 1) Videos showing how to make various recipes that involve at least one of three ingredients — butter, bacon, or Oreo cookies. 2) Pictures and/or videos of your friends on vacation doing something far more entertaining than you since you are sitting at your computer watching them on vacation. 3) Videos of people being challenged to do some- thing in honor of a good cause, usually involving some form of humiliation or needless discomfort. It’s this last one that I’d like to talk about. I’m sure you’ve seen one or even been a participant. The most famous, of course, was the ice-bucket chal- lenge, which swept the country when celebrities, politicians, and everyday folks voluntarily poured a bucket of ice water on their heads in support of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) research. While I managed to escape that challenge (I decided to just donate to the ALS Association), I wasn’t as lucky with a recent challenge — a good friend of mine nominated me for the 22-day pushup challenge to support our troops. The challenge basically entails filming and posting a video of myself doing 22 pushups for 22 days. When I learned of my nomination, I thought: “Why not? I haven’t done any pushups for a while, but it’s for a good cause — and a little exercise never hurt anyone, right?” Add to that, the fact that I could show everyone I was a naturally gifted athlete. What’s not to like? Sure enough, my first day of pushups was a piece of cake. To give you a sense of what I was thinking while doing the pushups, this was my level of confidence: “These pushups are a breeze. If I wanted, I could T clap in between each pushup, but maybe that’s a bit much. No need to brag. But seriously, this should be the 72-pushup challenge because this really is nothing for me. Wow, I’m done already. Maybe I should breathe a little harder so everyone watching will think I had to try. I wonder if the rules say whether I can do handstand pushups next time …” I finished my pushups, stood up, looked and felt great, smiled to the camera, gave it a quick wink, and let everyone know I would post my second set of pushups the next day. The following day comes, and after playing tennis with some friends, I asked one of them to film me doing my second day of pushups. I had just finished playing a set of tennis without really breaking a sweat, so I figured why not just get this second round of the pushup challenge out of the way. I proceeded to drop to the ground to get ready. As I started my first pushup, here’s what I was thinking: “Gyahhhhhh!!! What the heck was that?” It was like someone shoved a garden hoe into both of my shoulder blades. You know how you can use a muscle in your body that you usually don’t use? How does that muscle feel the next day? Well, let me tell ya: “Holy Schlamole! Is somebody walking on my back with high heels? What is that!?! Ahhh!! For the love of all things decent, somebody make this stop! I’ll give you 20 bucks to turn off that camera! Yowza! I’ve got 19 more to do! I need a doctor! What sadist came up with this stupid challenge?!? This can’t be legal! I’m going to need a shot of B12 and an aspirin after this! I think my arms are going to fall off! Gyahhhhhh!” Of course, all of this was recorded for posterity and posted to social media. The only saving grace is that it’s hard to hear my screaming over the laughter of my friends standing next to me. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA Back issues of The Asian Reporter may be ordered by mail at the following rates: First copy: $1.50 Additional copies ordered at the same time: $1.00 each Send orders to: Asian Reporter Back Issues, 922 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97217-2220 The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. If you have a comment on a story we have printed, or have an Asian-related personal or community focus idea, please contact us. Please include a contact name, address, and phone number on all correspondence. Thank you. Give blood. To schedule a blood donation call 1-800-G IVE-LIFE or visit HelpSaveALife.org. n Polo Polo’s “Talking Story” column will return soon.