James’ father passed away while he was in college. He left their trading business under the care of his mother, who ably ran it. It didn’t grow but they were able to live a comfortable life and all of them went thru college. James was from the University of the East, while his younger brother Joseph went to Mapua Institute of Technology, while their younger sister,Jenny, went to UST.
They have a small warehouse in Binondo, supplying plastic toys and other premium items to the smaller retailers in Divisoria.
James’ maternal aunt and family live in the Bay Area. His mom visited her sister every 5 or 10 years.
When James felt that nothing good was happening to him in Manila, he went to the US as a tourist, and never went back, and never looked back. He was also running away from the Chinese girl his mom wanted him to marry. Her parents were good friends of James’ parents.
He stayed with his aunt for only a few weeks then he headed for New York. He had friends in New York who were actually the ones who encouraged him to come, thru the same process. Tourist, then find someone to marry, then voila, American dream.
James had some money, he rented a small room in the basement of a house in Elmhurst, Queens. He always got sick because of the cold and damp caused by leeks in the garage. The house’s tenant is a Filipino family who rented out the garage, basement, and one room to pay for their monthly house rental.
On his first three years in NY, life had been in a survival mode. In between being sickly, he worked as kargador in an Asian grocery, janitor, driver. Then he moved to Manhattan, rented a bedspace at the back of a small office supplies warehouse. He found a job as an all-around grocery stocker, cashier, janitor, etc.
His Asian boss found him to be dependable and hardworking.
James gained more Filipino-Chinese friends living and working around Chinatown.
One of them introduced him to a Filipina-Chinese too, who’s an American citizen.
They liked each other, and in less than a year, they got married. For James, it was a double bonus. He’s now an American citizen, while being married to a woman he truly loves.
Things were very good for a couple of years. They were able to buy a two bedroom apartment near SOHO. But when the US economy crashed, James’ finances also crashed. He lost his job and his savings. His wife is a full time mom to their two children. After several years of trying to get back on track in NY, James gave up and went back to Manila to try his luck anew. He is going to put up a rice trading business together with his brother.
