Labels

Kingspirit Travels: RV Pinay In The USA

Cameron Farmer is a background actor, fiction writer, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from Los Angeles. He came up with a travel show concept called "Kingspirit Travels: RV Pinay In The USA" based on his fiancee's experiences traveling around America. We have conducted an interview with Cameron.



How much hard work did you put into achieving your goal?

Too much, actually, and it's always ongoing since I haven't really reached my goal yet on some things. I do, however, have to add that while I got an RV for the travel show, RV Pinay In The USA, I promptly lost it to local law enforcement because I still didn't have the proper paperwork to update the registration and now have to somehow raise up to $500 to get "Jasmine" back. It's been a constant struggle to deal with issues regarding the minutiae of getting things legal and the seller of the 1977 Dodge Mobile Traveler has been balking on sending me the 'pink slip' for months now.

I have been in the Los Angeles area since December 2014 after a serious financial blow and the loss of two jobs. I came here after being evicted from an apartment back in Northern California that I rented for twelve years and Ivy Pagente, the focus of RV Pinay In The USA, whom I asked earlier that year to marry me (she said yes, by the way), said she was coming down here to live with a cousin (and her husband) while taking care of their child and told me we could live with them. I had a new job since 2010 and was good at it and asked for a transfer to the Los Angeles area and was approved.
Loading my old 1984 Toyota Tercel hatchback with as much as I could -- I had to abandon a lot of things behind that I couldn't take within the three day window to give up the apartment -- I drove the 500 mile southerly stretch to Azusa where I had made arrangements through a now ex-friend to stay with a relative. I was basically turned away after finding out that person had moved to the Pasadena area. Then the ex-friend contacted someone else here and I was refused a second time. I was relegated to living in my car with only $300 left.

There were also problems with the company I worked for as I tried unsuccessfully to reach someone to get my job transfered to retail establishments in the L.A. area. By the time March came around, I was given an email to get re-tested for work here. I passed 100% and then had to wait. In late March I then get another email stating that "no more hiring of merchandisers is going to take place after March 14." I was floored. I needed an income other than one company and there was a transition from another company that was taking place at that time (and did merchandising work for them as an Independent Contractor) and had to wait for that to be finished; when it did, it turned into an app-based work that never worked right and I kept complaining about it and got sacked for telling the truth.

Through all of these trials, Ivy kept me on an even keel, more or less. Not to say there weren't moments of testing my patience -- that happens in any serious relationship, of course -- and it tested my pocketbook, too. Since I had to support myself, Ivy, and her parents while Ivy herself was looking for work in Iligan City after her modeling/pagentry stuff was over, I was reconsidering my efforts with Kingspirit Travels: The Philippines, the original travel show. It was languishing and getting me nowhere despite my best efforts to promote it. I still want to get that initial $5,000 for two pilot episodes but had to reconsider my situation. I was living in my car and using all the tools I had to improve my own existence and get another job. The merchandising job I had for a while, after getting sacked, pushed me to other avenues like a greeting card company I tried getting into and the person flaked on hiring me as I had a ton of experience in the industry, then another flaked using another app-based program (I eventually wound up with this company with another app and it works beautifully), I tried getting into "sign spinners" and the person running it kept delaying any work for me so I quit, and retreated into my music as I'm a musician, a decent guitarist, and singer/songwriter.
Toying with my guitar I decided to get back into the entertainment industry in some fashion. I had a little success in getting acting and background work, even scoring an Open Mic Night event at a bar close by and performing some of my original songs, and trying to work on fundraising for the original travel show once more. Still getting nowhere with it, I had another devastating blow by July 9, 2016. My car got towed. Yes, there were citations on it but I was trying to get money to pay those until Ivy's problems started that year. I couldn't keep sacrificing my future for the sake of Ivy's. Otherwise, I was going to wind up destitute and living on the street while trying to work at the same time.



Nothing motivates you more than being homeless and living on the street. With nothing but the clothes I wore, my backup laptop, my phone, and my wits, I knew it was a "make or break" time. That's when I thought about getting an RV to live in early that year and tried selling my car to get one. Opportunity after opportunity slipped by as Ivy's problems became overwhelming and holding me back. I snapped on February 14, 2015 (yes, Valentines Day) while on a merchandising run for a former company when the brakes failed on the car. Ivy and I had a huge argument -- and she apologized much later because she didn't realize I was still struggling all these long years since 2009 to get back on my feet and promising a mere Valentine Day meal for her parents was petty and selfish when I had this emergency and couldn't do anything for two weeks because of it.

Later on, after Ivy's apology, I had wondered how was I going to get her over here when I can't even raise $360 for a K1 fiance visa or even have a steadier job and place to stay. If she only had a show over here... That clicked.

Looking for an RV to live in and Ivy having a show over here. That idea to have her travel around and experiencing America while living in an RV was a stroke of genius. My efforts to have my own show, spending one week with a social media acquaintance... turned around into a foreign national, a Filipino, a girl (or pinay), on an American adventure. The idea of the title came to me while listening to John Mellencamp's "R-O-C-K In the USA" one day and it stuck. So, RV Pinay In The USA was born.

Fighting to get off the street, I posted a new crowdfunder and cobbled together a hastily-written budget for a "first season" trip through California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. I needed the RV and in seven months (with the help of a Twitter friend), I got the first crowdfunder accomplished. Originally needing $1,000 for the landmark vehicle, I got $1,200 from my friend. I found what seemed to be the perfect RV for the show ("seemed" being the operative word here) and then the next day found problems with a brake line. I was essentially stranded in Yucca Valley for three months while trying to find someone to fix it (which I finally did) and had to cancel a ton of jobs because of it. From January to early March in a Walmart Supercenter parking lot, I looked it over and found issues that required a second crowdfunding project to fix the problems (and registration too).

In March 2017 I went back to Azusa. From that time until now, September 2017, I had been trying to initially raise $1,900 for "Jasmine," the RV. Ivy had allegedly given me a potential sponsor interested in the show and has now agreed to sending half of the monies while another sponsor (they are both Filipino companies that Ivy has been in negotiations with over the past few months) wants to give the other half. I realized a bit late that $1,900 wasn't going to be enough and that a revised estimate of $4,000 would be needed to get Jasmine legal but roadworthy as well to buy gas and food along the way. But with the RV impounded since Friday evening (9/1) I'm back to that hedge in the seven months on the street I found a tall, long hedgerow to sleep behind temporarily with the clothes on my back as well as my laptop and phone once more until I can pony up $300-500 to get Jasmine back. Again, it's a constant struggle to achieve something you're passionate about to come to fruition.

It's a pain to bring what you plan as life gets in the way. But I am determined to see it done. Not just Kingspirit Travels: The Philippines but Kingspirit Travels: RV Pinay In The USA.


What is your unpublished children's book series about? What do you hope to achieve?

The Honey Ducky Adventures began as a story between a father and daughter. It's loosely based on myself and a Filipina, Jarrah Halasan, an online "daughter" of mine for well over a year. I had known Jarrah (aka Darling among her family) since 2015, one of sixteen (16) girls I consider family. Yes, sixteen! I have online brothers, sisters, and a couple nieces too but Jarrah was special. She wished I was her dad "for real" and even though she does love her biological parents she actually latched onto me and made her feelings known that she cared about me as her real dad. When she asked "May I take on your name?" I was completely taken back! And thrilled, too.

I had never thought about adoption before and I knew I wasn't getting any younger too. I happen to be 55. My current situation notwithstanding, I checked into adult adoption and thought it fairly simple and straightforward to adopt an adult as an heir since I have no children of my own and with Jarrah on my mind and in my heart, I figured she would be the one I could really call my daughter. For real. And she is, regardless of anything else. As for her name, once I am on my feet financially and in a real home, let me show you her words to me in a text she sent:

 "JARRAH CAMRYN SKYE FARMER....hows is it dad? Hehehe..sounds great...Camryn for Cameron...Jarrah for my real name and Camryn is I get it on your name so I combine it as Jarrah Camryn..."

This was such a beautiful moment and I am still deeply touched. From her wanting to have my name as her own, something clicked in my mind: a book series about a father and daughter helping each other but dealing with their own hopes and dreams in an imperfect world very similar to our own. I started writing down street names to use as the basis for the series: Calera Street became Calera Forest, the last name Halasan became Halasan City and various locations like Halasan Lake, and many others. Then I needed characters but what kind? Ducks. I don't know why but ducks came to my mind. Thus, Darling Duck (Honey Ducky as dad calls her) and Thomas Duck (Daddy Duck as Honey calls him) were born. There are other anthropomorphic characters involved but I started out with the main characters and built them up.

Mama (Theresa, after a friend of mine) Duck wasn't in the story at all but I do cover her untimely passing in the first book, "In Mama's Memory," where she dies from a sudden illness. Yes, she has already passed when Honey Ducky was five years old but we start three years hence at age eight as Daddy and Honey walk a mile to Halasan Cemetery in a bittersweet yet poignant story where we also touch upon neighbors they run into on the way to visit Mama's grave. I can't help but tear up right now thinking of what's in my head when I lost my own mom in March 2005. I put what I felt then into both the main characters. I gave this story to a friend of mine who helped with getting the RV and she loved it. She said it has promise. In every last moment starting with the first book, Honey Ducky always says "I love you, Daddy Duck" and Thomas kisses the top of Honey's head and responds "I love you, Honey Ducky." It reinforces their familial connection and reminds us to care for each other. In A Honey Ducky Christmas, it starts out with Honey saying the first line, Daddy saying his, then Honey says "I love you, Mama Duck" and then Mama with "I love you, baby girl." I won't give away the real ending of the first book since that's a huge surprise for the readers and they'll cry their eyes out!

Two other stories I wrote were on my backup laptop and one evening while sleeping behind that hedge the sprinklers suddenly came on and got the computer wet. I lost Honey's Fever (Honey has a health scare and Daddy dotes on his only girl whom he doesn't want to lose) and A Honey Ducky Christmas (where it rains in Halasan Valley but never snows and Honey wishes it would snow). In the latter, Mama Duck is alive as it's way past Honey's birthday, May 17 (also Jarrah's birthday), and she's five years old. On an app called Periscope I read the story aloud and hopefully I have it on my YouTube channel as a backup so I can re-write it.

All the characters have dreams they wish to pursue. Honey dreams of becoming a cafe owner of "The Honey Ducky Grille" and publishing a cookbook of Mama Duck's recipes as she was a self-taught cooking expert and well-loved caterer in Halasan Valley. Daddy is a singer/songwriter with dreams of making an album. A skilled guitarist, he works as a merchandiser in a warehouse facility while composing tunes. In A Honey Ducky Christmas, Thomas gives Honey a song about her called "Missing Piece." It's an extremely loving tune that I dedicate to Jarrah and she loves it. It made her "happy cry" and it was a thrill to write and perform it. You can find that performance here on the Kingspirit Travels channel:



I have already planned out Honey Ducky's life and Daddy Duck even gets a chance at a second love, too. He writes a tune (already recorded) for his new love and another child he has, Honey's sister, Claire (who is also Jarrah's younger sister and someone I wish adopt as well and a song about Claire is already done as of last month). "You Make My Heart Skip A Beat" and "Hey Hey (I Don't Know)" respectively.


With these songs added to a book, I figured merchandising along with a story is inevitable. "In Mama's Memory" will have a plush doll of Honey Ducky herself, "Honey's Fever" will have a plush Daddy Duck, the Christmas book will have 'Missing Piece,' etc. I want people to connect with the characters and the situations relateable. It's a simple style, akin to a Winnie The Pooh series but for older kids, young adults, and adults. I want to be able to have teachable moments, too, to show people that although this is like real life, it doesn't glorify anything but emphasizes basic humanity in fictional characters. And Honey Ducky herself is on Twitter (with her dad's permission, of course) and I tweet foods they eat, and Honey calls me "Uncle Cam," which is sweet.

A new Twitter friend of mine is an illustrator and she's highly interested in seeing some of my work done on the artistic side. I'm not artist and I showed Randilyn my meager skills but she likes what she sees and I do hope she crafts something as innocent and inspiring as my words need to be in this series.

Why do you want to create a new kind of superhero? How unique is your superhero?

I had crafted two superhero concepts way before the movie Wonder Woman came out because current offerings weren't all that diversive. So I came up first with a Japanese-American boy adopted by a Vietnamese-American couple who becomes Luminarr, an energy-filled being, but it was a female Filipino with powers of two elements (fire and air) who becomes Lady Pinay. And a former writing partner, Joan, helped me craft her. I still will give Joan huge credit if or when I can get a script developed but right now I'm trying to write a short story version.

We never see any other culture represented in the mainstream film industry and I wanted to see the landscape evolve. I was enamored of comic books in general as a kid and really got into Ghost Rider. I wasn't impressed with the movie version with Nic Cage when I saw that later on. But we need to see how different cultures handle heroes of their own society. That's why I asked Joan a lot of questions and did my research into Filipino culture and decided that "sacrifice" would be the overall theme here. It starts out when Ivy Haye is five years old in 1997, tired, and going with her parents to fly in a plane to meet new vendors for James Haye's sari-sari shop (it's like a 99 Cent store in a way). It's a rainy day, going into evening, and wants to sleep. As the parents discuss about Ivy being five, they're worried. Jowanna, the oldest, didn't show any Hybrid elemental powers (the mom has them and usually skips a generation from time to time) when she turned five. Neither did their middle child, Michael/Michelle (who is trans and becomes a latent superhero Waverider), and now it's Ivy.

There are Elemental powers in this world. Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Metal. I know metal isn't an element but it's the basis for "hybrid" beings between the major elements. They're located in spiritual centers around the world and in ancient times these supernatural beings interacted with humanity. Ivy's mentor becomes the expositional voice and gives us the backstory.

Each family member has a purpose and has given up something to family and/or friends. James has a huge secret he keeps from everyone, the mom used to be a firefighter (with elemental powers now on the wane), Jowanna becomes a corrupt cop, Michelle has anger issues and is a brilliant clothing designer and electronic hobbyist (but evolves into Waverider later on), and Ivy wants to help humanity in some way as a doctor and sees Wonder Woman as her idol. But Ivy and Michelle love science fiction and fantasy shows as Ivy's mentor sees universal truths in these programs he enjoys watching as well. It's kind of like Independence Day between the two but it isn't overused.

Ivy Haye is loosely based on my Ivy Pagente, my fiancee. She's also featured as Ivy Luzonika in The Honey Ducky Adventures. Yes, my love for Ivy is deeply entrenched in wonderful characters I want to display publicly. Ivy Haye's evolution from innocent girl to superhero by saving science fiction/fantasy conventioneers from a collapsing building during an earthquake becomes something more with a strong support group in her family (except for Jowanna who won't know who Lady Pinay is until the second film if there is one) and cements her soul on her path to being a "Wonder Woman" herself. And she will speak the heart of the film when she confronts Mad Maxine (yeah, it's cheesy but intentional):

"You think you sacrifice more for your 'family' (the gang) than others? You're still part of our society where EVERYONE sacrifices for each other. Your sacrifices are meaningless if it doesn't help others. You sacrifice only for yourself. Do you want to know true sacrifice? Where a mother pawns a treasured object just to pay the bills? Or a father sells his Jeepney for a son's tuition so he can have an education? Or even to buy food for their own family? I pity you. Kinakaawaan kita!" Joan loved that bit of writing I came up with. It's that "ah-ha" moment that shows who Lady Pinay becomes.

Where do you get your inspirations for your writing?

They usually come out of the blue but mostly from inspiration like Jarrah with The Honey Ducky Adventures and song, "Missing Piece." Or Ivy, my fiancee, with her addition in the children's book, a song called "You Make My Heart Skip A Beat," and the title character, Lady Pinay. A novel could inspire me to write music or even a simple dream of me playing a guitar and singing will come like a flash. Creativity seems to be a gift that is appreciated by some and ignored by others -- and being in Los Angeles, there are tons of originality here I'm exposed to (including mediocrity which seems to be the chosen flavor anymore in mainstream music, movies, and TV) and it seems overwhelming to try to compete with that, including the mediocre or miniscule talents of people who are getting press and recognition. It's tough to get your voice heard in a sea of social media content but I have to believe that I am here for a reason. I know I am.

Ivy, Jarrah, and Claire mean the world to me and are my inspiration to be who I am without any pretenses or fakery. I tend to be brutally honest about myself -- I'm not perfect but I know I won't give up just because it's hard.


Who is Ivy Pagente? Is she in your travel shows?

Ivy was born and raised in Iligan City, The Philippines in 1992. She grew up extremely poor (even to this day, sadly) and her parents lived through the Marcos regime. Both got scared recently with the instillation of martial law in Mindanao because an ISIL faction destroyed the village of Marawi. Ivy and her family are Catholic Christians in a predominantly Muslim community and are friends with many Filipinos who are Muslim. She is a former model and pageant participant and has been in many jobs to try to take care of her ailing dad who has diabetes. She also supports the LBGTQ community as one of her cousins is gay and identifies as female. I even support the LBGTQ community too. Ivy's life has been full of hardship and she wanted to help me with the original project Kingspirit Travels: The Philippines in 2010 as she was one of the twelve people I wanted to stay with for one week. At the end of the week the "co-hosts" I stay with get a special gift from me; material or immaterial.



As for RV Pinay In The USA, Ivy is the focus of her travels through America, visiting places she's only read or dreamed about. And I want to give her that opportunity if I can get emergency funds to get our RV out of police impound and complete a now $4,000 goal for the entire first season run of the show that will air as a daily diary on YouTube.

At the moment, Ivy is getting trained for work while I'm sleeping on the streets again and trying desperately to get enough money to collect Jasmine and find a place to live and work on the vehicle's needs. We have two potential sponsors (who may or may not give $900 each) for the original $1,900 crowdfunding goal and I am up every day looking for work online, a place to park Jasmine, and getting the word out on the travel show we want to put together. Just being successful in getting RV Pinay In The USA together is a challenge and a risk.

Our sizzle reel is something I put together to illicit interest on our main crowdfunder on Fundrazr:



I really do hope people take an interest in seeing that Ivy and I deeply wish to pursue our dreams and give others the same hope and desire we have to fulfill our purpose here, despite our mutual situations of being very poor with a drive to survive and have our voices heard.
Email Post
Labels:
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Popular Posts