Month: October 2009

Aswang Ka Daw

I thought I’d share a funny story from October, 2003:

It was a Sunday morning, and I was in Intramuros.  I stopped by an ATM machine before going to church.  A couple of small children kept watching me as I punched numbers and made my withdrawal. They were clearly fascinated with the pale stranger before them.

One of them approached me for a short conversation:

Kid: “Sabi ng tatay ko, aswang ka daw.” (my father says you are an aswang)
Kevin: “Ano?” (what)

Kid:  “Sabi ng tatay ko, aswang ka daw.”

I was pretty good in Tagalog at this point, but I did not recognize that word (aswang). It didn’t sound too flattering. I later asked a friend at church about my mystery title.

Kevin:  “Johnette, some kid just said I’m an aswang.  What is that?”
Johnette: “It’s a monster–kind of like a vampire.”

Turns out that the aswang is the most feared creature in Filipino folklore.  It is a mythical, vampire-like creature that has wings but only half of a body (though descriptions vary greatly).

The kid didn’t seem the least bit afraid of me.  Maybe he didn’t believe his father, or maybe I didn’t look hungry.  

Book Update: Almost Done!


I’ve pretty much finished the manuscript for the second book.

I received two more submissions over the weekend.  I’ve edited the new stories and written a response to both.  I’m very pleased with the way everything has come together so far. 

I was at my “office” (Starbucks) this afternoon working on some of the final corrections.  I was sharing a table with a young woman who was studying something for her work.  We struck up a conversation and I ended up showing her the manuscript.  She kept reading it until her friend showed up.  “I love it,” she said.  I know this is very non-scientific, but it’s kind of cool to have a completely random person respond with such enthusiasm.