“The One Where People Won’t Quiet the F Down” aka Reconnection: A 2022 Summer Soirée
INT. HOTEL BALLROOM - NIGHT
Cavernous room is filled with ASIAN PEOPLE, many of whom are wearing colored leis. Vibe is “Party like you haven’t left the house in 2.5 years.”
NANCY YAP, Executive Director of CAUSE, stands at the podium. She taps on the mic.
NANCY
If everyone could take their seats, we’re going to get started…
People form chatty groups clustering at the buffet line, bar line, and photo booth.
WOMAN (Offscreen)
Oh my gosh, you’re so much taller than I thought you’d be!
MAN (O.S.)
Have you seen any other folks from our cohort?
WOMAN (O.S.)
Tell me everything!
Impressive DIGNITARIES take turns speaking on the stage.
NANCY
Seriously, folks. We need everyone to quiet down so we all can hear the great program we have for you tonight.
Group of 2021 CAUSE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE ALUMNI approach a table in the front, wearing matching purple and white leis.
YOUNG(ISH) WOMAN 1
Are you sure we’re allowed to sit here?
YOUNG(ISH) WOMAN 2
Marlena is! And check it out-- there’s Champagne at this table!
Woman 2 lifts up her KN94 and takes a sip.
Group sits down, filling the table, and accidentally(?) stealing CA Senator Dave Min’s seat as he’s speaking at the podium.
NANCY
If everyone could stop their conversations and bring your attention to the front, our last speaker is Marlena Truong: 2021 CLI fellow, President of the National Women's Political Caucus of Orange County, district representative at the California State Senate, and pinned as Most Likely to be the First to Win Elected Office by her cohort.
2021 CLI alumni table goes crazy.
ALUMNI
You go, girl! Woooo woooo! Represent!
Hush falls over the room as all the heads turn to see what the commotion is all about. Marlena, with her signature dark-rimmed glasses and red lip, approaches the podium.
MARLENA
Who needs liquid courage when you’ve got friends?
FADE TO BLACK.
Although I’ve been part of the CAUSE community since March 2021, I had never met anyone in person before the Soirée. After my cohort’s graduation, some folks had a smaller, unofficial gathering, but my COVID anxiety and not-yet-vaccinated kids kept me home. I only knew folks from their 2D Zoom personas and YouTube intros.
We were so excited to be invited to CAUSE’s first big event since the pandemic. There’s 4 folks in my cohort who are on a text chain labeled “Frantic Text Crew”. The name is a reference to something a guest speaker said during the CLI session “Creating our Path: Women in Power”. Fellow frantic texter Janet McIntyre recalled “Their pro tip was to have a crew of women friends you can rely on for trusted advice, friends you can frantically text in the middle of the night when you have a crisis.” All of us came out that night for the Soirée.
Some moments that popped from the blur of excitement:
Discovering the secret talents of my fellow alumni: I saw pics of the incredible, human sized, paper mache Daruma doll Angie Chang made for Burning Man.
#WeAreIrvine represents: Dave Min, elected official for my district, told me about the amazing giant H-Mart that just opened in our neighborhood.
A Thank You hug: I got to meet Andrew Murphy in-person whose enthusiastic nudge got me to apply for CAUSE in the first place. He was CLI 2018, but this year he repped a blue lei as part of the CAUSE “Portrait of Power” -- the elected officials and political heavy hitters in the front.
Meeting a real life Pokemon trainer: At least, that’s what I told my kids when I got home, after meeting 2020 CLI fellow Charles Chen, who works at the Pokémon Company (as corporate counsel).
Learning about other CAUSE Programs: Like how the CLA college fellows get to go to Sacramento!*
But the biggest highlight of all was getting human time. After 2.5 years on Zoom, my relationships had become so disembodied. At the Soirée, I got to shake the hand of (the very tall) Ben Wong, the CAUSE Board member who gave us the real deal behind what it’s like to run for and be a City Councilmember; I saw that 2021’er Doug Yang is a buttoned-up lawyer by day and a goofball dad by night, with a killer Asian flush; and that CAUSE Program Director Steve Lin is just as patient and kind in person, and has an amazing arm tattoo.
The rallying cry of the night could have been Representation or Unity or Something Explicitly Political. But for me it was Friendship. The Friday after the Soirée, my cohort buddy Jessica Chang, showed up for me at the live screening of the East West Players production that I was a part of.
I left the Soiree feeling buzzed with the friendship of our community--- the kind of friendship that extends beyond a computer screen; the kind where when you hang out, you can’t shut up because you have so much to talk about; the kind that shows up for you, which is exactly the kind you need when you are running for office one day. (#Marlena2026)
#2021CLI: How it Started
(You can tell that’s Doug on the left.)
How It’s Going
*Nancy and Steve-- Just to be clear I actually was one of the people listening. :)