Contest Result

So a few weeks ago, I shamelessly posted about this contest I joined and here is the result:

My entry won third place out of 18. Not bad I guess.

Boracay!

As a surprise-spur-of-the-moment-trip-thing, Gregory and I went to Boracay back in July. Yes I know, it's suuuuuper late and it took me forever to post this but I will explain in another blogpost why it took me this long and where the hell have I been.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:20 in the morning so I stayed at their house the night before. His sister offered to take us to the airport but on our way there, we kinda got lost so we reached the airport 15 minutes before 5AM. So to make a long story short, we weren't allowed to board our flight because the check-in thingy was already closed.

I was not happy about that. We re-booked our flight and had to pay an extra 2k. I left Gregory in the check-in counter to go smoke outside because I was upset for missing our flight.

After a few minutes, I called him up and asked where he was. He said he was still at the check in counter waiting for me because he wont be able to check in without me.

"Don't leave me again like that ah" he said looking at me with those puppy dog eyes. 

I felt bad for leaving him there. I completely forgot that he can't check us both in. I have to be there for the entire thing. 

So our flight was re-booked and we got our tickets. From a 5:20AM flight, we booked the next which was at 11:45AM. So what did we do the whole time we were at the airport?

Take pictures and magkulitan :D

Almost all of the pictures had him in them so for obvious reasons, I can't post them YET. 

Anyway, we finally managed to board the plane. We were both very sleepy. Because of the rain, our flight was delayed for about an hour and a half and the entire time, we were just sitting inside the plane.

Here I am getting annoyed.

We reached Kalibo Airport at around 2pm or something and we managed to find a van to take use to Caticlan port. 

After a missed flight, a re-booked flight that was delayed, a 2 hour van ride and a 20 minute boat ride, we finally reached the island of Boracay.

We stayed at this place called Bonzai Resort which was located in Station 2. An officemate of mine who frequents Bora suggested we stay there because it's affordable and close to the beach. True enough, the place was better than what we expected.

We walked around the island for the rest of the day.

A Father's Letter To His Gay Son

The letter above was posted by reddit user RegBarc and has now gone viral all over the internet and social networking sites.

I feel sorry for him for the pain his father has caused him because of this letter which was given to him 5 years ago. His father does not deserve the title of being called a dad and there is a special place in one of the nine circles of hell for people like him.

Coming out is the hardest thing a gay man can do and to be disowned by his own family is just unbearable. When will people learn that being gay is not a choice. It's not like we wake up one morning and think, 'Hmm... I'll probably be gay starting today.' Shit doesn't work that way.

As all my readers and friends know, I grew up with a broken family but I still consider myself lucky because even though my parents are not together and have their own separate lives, I was lucky enough to have been born to such loving and understanding parents.

My mother, crazy and sometimes-annoying as she may be, accepted me and was happy when I came out to her. My dad, I know it took him a while but he accepts me for who I am and who I choose to be with.

Not only with family, but also with friends. I feel blessed to be surrounded by people who love me for me. They don't care if I'm gay. The have open minds. They don't see me for my sexual orientation. Also with work, my officemates are great especially my boss.

What more can I ask for?

I count my blessings, not the material ones but the ones that make me realize that there is still a lot of good left in this world.

Support for the LGBT community has grown over the years and I dream that one day, society would not see gays or lesbians as second class citizens. I dream that one day, there would be equality for all, all over the world. 50 years ago, gays were looked down upon by society but now things are different. Hopefully the future holds a better world for all of us. Who knows, 50 years from now, things will be a lot different than they are now.

To 'James', props to you for being strong. You deserve better and you deserve to be happy.

Even though there is still a lot of negativity and hate in this world, there is more love and understanding available to everyone. We all deserve to be happy.

This article by John Kinnear on the Huffington Post is a perfect example that the world, still has a lot of good left in it.

"Our home is a place of safety and love. The world has dealt you a difficult card. While LGBT people are becoming more accepted, it is still a difficult path to walk. You're going to experience hate and anger and misunderstandings about who you are out in the world. That will not happen here. You need to know with every fiber of who you are that when you walk in the front door of your home, you are safe, and you are loved. Your mother is in complete agreement with me on this." - Dear Hypothetically Gay Son by John Kinnear

Shameless Plugging

Hello my dear readers. Sensya na if I haven't updated my blog in a while. Kagagaling ko lang kasi ng Bora, blog posts to come VERY soon.

Anyway, for the meantime, I would like you all to know that I joined this contest in the office. Yes, I am shamelessly plugging myself. Wait... that sounds wrong...

Anyway, here is the video I made:



If you wanna watch it it's fine para makita ninyo ang kalokohan ko hahaha.

Just like this page muna: http://www.facebook.com/courtsideservices

Then look for my entry. It's Music Entry #3. To do that, you'll need to click on the box that says "see more recent stories".

Sensya na, magulo ang fezbuk eh.

Love niyo naman ako diba?!

Comment narin kayo kung gusto niyo.

Mwah mwah tsup tsup!!

EDSA Traffic

Hindi mo talaga masasabi kung ano ang magiging takbo ng traffic sa EDSA. For those who take this route everyday, I'm sure you know what I mean. 

Kaninang 2:15PM nasa smoking area ako at eto ang traffic sa EDSA. Ang kyut kyut. Parang mga langgam  yung mga sasakyan.

Kaninang 4:30PM pagtingin ko sa EDSA eto naman ang nakita ko.

Traffic parin but under different circumstances.

Traffic, more fun in the Philippines!

Slightly Awkward Moment

Half Day At Work

Kahapon, pagdating ko sa office, medyo masama na ang pakiramdam ko. Kaya pa naman ng powers ko kaya ako pumasok sa office. Pero habang tumatagal medyo nanghihina na ako.

Pagdating ng 2pm, tinanong ko ang boss ko kung pwede akong umuwi ng mas maaga dahil medyo hindi ko na kaya. Naintindihan naman niya kaya keri lang daw. May mga tinapos lang ako and by 3pm, umalis na ako ng office. Oh diba? 10am ang pasok pero by 3pm lumayas na ako.

I don't really go home early even if I'm not feeling well pero kahapon medyo di na kaya ng powers ko kaya kelangan nang umuwi. 

Dumating ako sa bahay ng mga 4, kumain ng konti dahil in fairness gutom na ako nun. Tnxt ko si Gregory at sinabing nasa bahay na ako at masama ang pakiramdam. By 4:30, borlogs na ako.

Nagising ako ng 9:30. Ang una kong ginawa eh chineck ang phone ko. May mga txt si Gregory sa akin. Medyo nagaalala.

Nagreply naman ako para malaman niyang buhay pa ako.

Nagtxt siya at sinabing pupuntahan ako sa bahay at magdadala ng food. Alam kasi niyang pag may sakit ako, wala akong ganang kumain at kesehodang 3 days pa yan, pag wala akong gana, hindi talaga ako kakain. Promise, kung every week lalagnatin ako na tatagal ng 3 days each. In  one or two months, siguro dose na ulit ang bewang ko.

Dumating siya, magaalas onse na. Galing office, nagovertime, bumili ng food, at traffic pa.

Ang nirequest ko eh mushroom soup from KFC. Eto ang binili:

Ang sweet niya no?

Instead na umuwi na at magpahinga, dumaan muna sa bahay at sinamahan akong kumain.

After naming kumain, nanood kami ng RuPauls Drag Race, ang isa sa aking bagong addiction ngayon nang dahil sa kanya.

Magkayakap sa malamig na gabi dahil umuulan. After one episode, kailangan na niyang umuwi dahil gabi na at may trabaho pa siya kinabukasan.

Pero bago siya umalis, yumakap siya ulit sa akin ng mahigpit at sinabing ayaw pa daw niyang umuwi talaga.

Mas gusto daw niyang kasama ko na matulog.

Lagi niyang sinasabi sa akin na hindi daw siya sweet at malambing.

Ang sagot ko naman sa kanya lagi, hindi lang niya napapansin na sweet siya at naglalambing. It just comes out naturally.

RUB Ribs & BBQ

For several weeks, Gregory has been talking about a place called RUB which is located in Tomas Morato. He said that they serve ribs there and he knows that I like ribs. My favorite are from ClawDaddy's. 

We decided to have dinner there during our last 'date night'. 

I've never heard or seen RUB so I didn't know what to expect. When we got there, I was surprised because I though the place would be huge and packed with people. I was wrong about one thing. The place was small BUT it was chalk-full of people having dinner.

We were given a number and we waited outside. Now, I am one who doesn't wait in line for anything (I'm maarte that way) but I was intrigued about this place. So while waiting, Gregory played some games on my phone while I smoked.

In fairness, the price of their food is affordable. It's cheap especially if you're with someone.

I must say, I love the service at RUB. The waiters are very courteous and they moved really fast. Very good. Two thumbs waaay up. I will always go for a place where the service is impeccable because what's the point of spending good money on food if the service crew people are rude and slow. Catch my drift?

We placed our orders and in less than 10 minutes, the food arrived. We had potato-corn chowder which was actually really good. It was creamy but not too heavy and the potatoes they used were the good kind.

We ordered the Family Brunch which comes with two slabs of ribs and 3 side dishes of your choice. My personal suggestion, go for the Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes. They taste great. The other side dishes we got were so-so although I did like the Bacon and Potato Salad.

The ribs were really good. They're not the best ribs I've had (I still prefer ClawDaddy's) but they're good. I just wished they were grilled longer because I like my ribs to cut like butter.

There are these portraits around the joint which I like. I like resto's like this. They just have something so relaxing about them.

And this is the aftermath. That was a big meal and we were both full.

My verdict? 4.5 stars.

Why the .5? Like I said, I want my ribs to cut like butter. But I love this place. For less than 1k, we were both full.

RUB Ribs & BBQ is located in Tomas Morato Avenue. It's beside Serenitea in the alley across the street from Papa Johns.