The Hurry Up the Cakes Podcast

This is for the cynic, the optimist, the disenfranchised, the rebel, and the Filipino voter.

My anxiety and trepidation concerning the 2022 National Election (and the one from 2016, for that matter) have been bubbling to the surface recently, so I decided to hash them out with my dear friend Mia Marci. Mia is an educator, a writer, a cynic at heart, a foul-mouthed Christian, and one of my favorite people in real life and on the internet, where she chronicles her journey of “decoñofication” and, more recently, her thoughts and feelings about the pursuit of justice alongside the Laban ng Masa coalition. We talk about our struggles during the 2016 Election season, we articulate the journey of choosing her candidate in Ka Leody De Guzman and mine in Leni Robredo, and we attempt to process what it might mean if the villain wins next week. All of this and more in this very special one-off episode of the Hurry Up the Cakes Podcast!

This episode was recorded on Star Wars Day 2022.

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This is for Max, 20 or so years from now.

It’s the season finale of the Hurry Up the Cakes Podcast! Special guest Maximus Finn is the valedictorian of the Squishy Days Preschool, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and just such a trooper. He joins me on the last episode of the show to share some tips on how to protect yourself from COVID-19, and to really just be a goofball. Also, I tell the story of our COVID scare, and reflect on the adventure that has been this podcast.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much.

This is for the feminist, the ally, and the accidental misogynist.

Special guest Jenn Lazo is a feminist in the truest sense of the term—she has taken on various roles throughout different stages in her life in which she advocates for gender equality. She is also endlessly entertaining, and one of the people that I always wish to hang out with more often. I’m so glad we got to do that in this episode. Jenn shares her journey as a feminist, and she shows me around the different battlefields in the fight for gender equality—helping me navigate my own battlefields in the process. Also, she introduces me to the BTS rabbit hole.

This is for the wrestling fan, whatever that means.

Special guest Romeo Moran is the wrestler formerly known as SANDATA, the Editor-in-Chief of SmarkHenry.com, and still actually one half of the current Philippine Wrestling Revolution (PWR) Tag Team Champions, despite having recently left the promotion . We explored the experience of wrestling (pun intended) with his identities as a wrestler, a fan, a journalist, and a human being, and we inspect the narratives of the recent fallout across the Philippine wrestling industry. Plus, we argue about whether or not wrestling is evil!

This is for privileged kids, the teachers of those kids, and anyone engaged in international education.

Special guests Samantha Andico and Meira Furuki-Chua were in the first group of students I ever taught in a formal education setting. I’ve had the privilege of teaching wonderful people through the years, but Sam and Meira stand out not just because they were in my first class, but simply because they cared—about being excellent, being honest, and making a difference. It made my tumultuous rookie years easier than they should have been.

Sam and Meira share their stories of how their fancy International Baccalaureate education—and my involvement in it—helped (and didn’t help) them in becoming the kind, wonderful, and difference-making women that I see them as today. In the process, they also let me share my stories (and screwups) as a rookie teacher. I'm grateful that Sam and Meira redeem them.

This is for the ‘unchurched’, the Christian, the seeker, the LGBTQ community, and their allies.

Special guest Bebo Bharwani is the pastor of Arc: a Church of Cross and Table. He walks me through the mind and soul work he experienced to become the man I see him as: vulnerable, truthful, wise, incredibly humble, and a staunch ally of the LGBTQ community. This one hits close to home. It’s my bleediest episode yet.

This is for the frustrated wrestling fan, the podcast snob, the tech enthusiast, and privileged folk affected by the pandemic.

Special guest K Sawyer Paul is a novelist, podcaster, designer, one of my favorite wrestling and technology critics, and one of my favorite people in the world to talk to. In our first conversation since we put our podcast on hiatus four years ago, we talked about podcasting, how stupid wrestling is nowadays, how quitting Twitter is a lot like quitting a church, and how important (and challenging) it is do the right thing, in any context.

This is for the Chinese-Filipino, the Filipinos who married them, and the children they will bear.

Special guest Stan Sy is a Chinese-Filipino radio DJ, pro wrestling performer, voice actor, podcaster, and an outspoken cultural critic. He joins in me a conversation that is too big for a single episode. Stan shares his experience as a Chinese-Filipino, the intricacies of what the Chinoy community calls "The Great Wall", the implications of the use of certain Chinese terms, and how the Chinese-Filipino community is exactly like J.K. Rowling's "Potterverse".

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This is for the Chinese-Filipino, the Filipinos who married them, and the children they will bear.

Special guest Stan Sy is a Chinese-Filipino radio DJ, pro wrestling performer, voice actor, podcaster, and an outspoken cultural critic. He joins in me a conversation that is too big for a single episode. Stan shares his experience as a Chinese-Filipino, the intricacies of what the Chinoy community calls "The Great Wall", the implications of the use of certain Chinese terms, and how the Chinese-Filipino community is exactly like J.K. Rowling's "Potterverse".

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This is for the artist, the critic, and those who miss their fathers.

Special guest Celine Fabie is a theater actor, workshop teacher, member of the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS), and an award-winning author. She joins me in an indulgent conversation in which she shares her journey as a modern Filipino performance artist, and along the way, she helps me try to make some sense of the state of Philippine Theater and the role of criticism. We also update each other on our experiences as members of the Dead Dads Club.

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This is for the teacher.

Special guest David Esteban is the Deputy Head of School at Australian International School in Manila, Philippines.  He’s also a mentor, a friend, and a heck of a teacher. David shares the “superhero origin” story of how he became a teacher (I swear, that alone makes this worth listening to), and what he believes makes a good teacher nowadays. In our conversation, we try to make sense of the role of the teacher in these modern times. 

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