This Boy's Life

The Devil Pope Wears Prada...


Image via The Bosh.com

We've seen the big switch of major fashion houses in their campaign ads from having supermodels to celebrity actresses as the endorsers. Where as before it was just Cindy, Linda or Kate, to name a few, now we see Uma, Christina and Nicole, to name a few.

But...

Wouldn't it be weird if you suddenly find Pope Benedict as the new face of Gucci or Prada???

It was reported that the new Pope has a thing for high-fashion. The news reported that the Pope actually is into Prada shoes and Gucci sunglasses.

The report further said that Pope Benedict would not be getting the services of Vatican's long-time tailor, Annibale Gammarelli, who has been serving since 1792. (I wonder who he's getting.)

Read the report here.

Here We Go Again...

The past few weeks have been spent preparing for a major photo shoot next Saturday. Coordinating this photo shoot has been taking most of my time and giving me all the stress. Haha!

Just to give you an idea, I had to write to, text and beg twelve people to make their Saturday free for the photo shoot. The afternoon photo shoot is the one that’s really critical because those who are scheduled for that photo shoot need to be at studio on time (!!!) for a “special” project. I’m just praying that this is one occasion where people would actually be on time. Otherwise, I’ll go crazy. Hahaha!

On top of just making sure they all attend the photo shoot on Saturday, Suki, Ivan and I will be styling these people.

Given this, I had to go to the mall yesterday to look for clothes, shoes and accessories that we would borrow for the photo shoot. I started looking for stuff around three in the afternoon. I was so engrossed in what I was doing that by the time I looked at my watch, I have already been in the mall for three hours.

I guess you don’t really notice the time go by when you’re having fun, eh. I’m really excited about styling these people because it feels like shopping for myself when I choose what accessories to get, what shoes to pick and what clothes to select. Plus, we’re also going to borrow from this shop and I’m really excited about it. I do hope they lend us their stuff, because they would make a big difference in how the people are styled.

In the evening, Suki, Ivan and I went to this furniture shop to borrow some stuff for the shoot.

Of course, now that I think about it, we’re talking about dressing twelve (!!!) people here. Hahaha! Here we go again.

But it’s okay.

It’s always a good experience, and I really want to try other things aside from writing, given the opportunity.

Let’s see if I’ll still say “It’s okay” once all hell breaks loose on Saturday next week. Haha!

Go Pinoy!!!















Eventhough Monday was a holiday, Hunski and I woke up at a very early six in the morning.

We were meeting his friends Darwin, Michelle and Ria in an hour and a half at the Shangri-la Mall in Ortigas.

It wasn't for an early breakfast or coffee. Instead, we took a road trip to Los Baños, Laguna to watch the South East Asian Games diving competition. Hunski used to dive back in college, and the friends we were with were his fellow divers.

The venue for the water sports was at the TRACE Computer College in Los Baños. I wasn't really hopeful that the venue would be that great. I've been to Los Baños quite often and I was quite sure that there weren't any water sports facilities complex that would be beautiful enough to serve as a venue for the SEA Games.

When we got to the place, our jaws just dropped and we couldn't stop ourselves from saying, "Wow!" I was so amazed by the venue. I didn't expect it to be that grand and well-equipped at all.

So the whole day was spent watching the diving competitions. The Philippine team did well, bagging the gold three times (I think).

The diving competition ended around five in the afternoon, but we stayed for about an hour more or two. Hunski and his friends had a sort of reunion with the coaches and divers.

We got back to Manila at eight in the evening. And even if it was still early, I felt so tired and drained. I dunno. It must be because of the heat and the travel.

In any case, I'm happy that the Philippine diving team won several medals.

Cue in Pinoy Big Brother theme...Haha!... Enough of that song. Please.

The Editrix and The Fashion Designer





For as long as I can remember, one of the first impressions people have of me is that I'm a big snob.

I don't know why. Do I have this cold look on my face? Do I give off the impression that there's a wall around me? Do I have the words "Don't talk to me" written on my forehead? Haha!

I'm sorry, I don't do it on purpose.

If you went with us to our gimmick last yesterday, you would have seen that I am a fun person every now and then, and that I'm not really cold and icy like the woman I adore. (But then again, she's also one misunderstood person.)

Saturday afternoon was spent in Tagaytay.

It was the birthday of Icon's editrix, Richie, last Friday and we decided to go on a roadtrip yesterday to celebrate his birthday and to do some work for Icon.

It was just birthday boy Richie, his Bunnee Suki, Hunski, our friend Rupert, and I. We were scheduled to meet someone for dinner but since we were quite early in Tagaytay, we headed to this restaurant near a gas station. (I forgot whether it was Caltex or Petron.)

The name of the restaurant is Titania (read as Tita Nia).

There we spent the time just having a good conversation over some wine and cheese. I swear, who does wine and cheese at five in the afternoon??? Haha! I have sworn off alcohol right after the Tali Beach disaster and I have been able to avoid alcohol since then, but I told myself that wat we're having is wine anyway, and that it's actually good for the body. (Yeah, two glasses of wine and my head is already spinning.)

An hour or two passed and then we left Titania and headed to this fantastic, fantastic restaurant. I'm not going to tell you which restaurant it is. You'll know which one it is in the next issue of Icon. The owner of the restaurant was there and we had dinner with the guy. The dinner was fantastic. Forget about diets and pass me that seafood dish! Hahaha!

The dinner took about two or three hours. We weren't eating the whole time. We spent most of the time just chatting and enjoying each other's company.

A little before 11, we thanked the owner for having us and we left for Manila. There was one more commitment to go to.

From Tagaytay, we headed to the birthday celebration and the shop blessing of fashion designer Frederick Peralta. (His new shop is at 308-B Tomas Morato, right beside Burgoo.)

When we reached his place past midnight, there were still several people and we still got to enjoy the company of the birthday celebrant. It was actually good that we came late...errr, really late...because Frederick got to sit with us and chat with us.

I swear this guy is one of the most down-to-earth and nicest people.

We left Frederick's house around two in the morning. We were jokingly daring one another to still go to Government to party more. But who were we kidding? We're all tired, and we're all getting old. Waaaahhh!!!

Happy Birthday Richie and Frederick!!!

Books...Books...Books





When not occupied with studies, or Icon work, or some other thing, these babies are the ones that keep me company.

Acquired as personal purchases and at other times, as gifts, the book collection is one of my most treasured possessions.

The first-ever gay literature that I had was Tony Perez's Cubao 1980. I was in grade 6 when fellow acolyte (he was already in high school and up to now, I'm not sure if he's gay) showed me the book. I got interested by the audacity of the author to come up with such a book, during a time when Queer as Folk was still a million years away from being showed on television, when the only available LGBT-related reading materials were sleazy magazines.

So I bought a copy of the book and after reading it, hid it underneath all my clothes inside my closet.

When my brother and I had a big fight one time, he told my parents that I had the book. I defended it to my parents, and that was the first time my Mom asked me with a very angry look, "Are you gay"

I vehemently denied it, but deep inside, I already knew the truth.

After that incident, I immediately took the book out of its hiding place and tore every page to piece. I then placed it in a trashbag and made sure that it was picked up by the garbage truck the following day.

When I think about it now, I was so stupid for doing that. That would have definitely been one of the best pieces in my LGBT books.

On the other hand, the first foreign gay literature that I bought was Andrew Tobias’s The Best Little Boy in the World. National Book Store had a sale and I found the book hidden in a corner. One had to dig up the book to find it. Upon reading the cover, I purchased the book and read it immediately.

It has got to be one of my all-time favorite LGBT books, and it is a must-read for any gay guy struggling with his sexuality.

After TBLBITW, I just started purchasing other LGBT books. Hunski also has his own set of books and we share stuff. My new friend, Zand Man, has also sent a number of books as presents. Danton Remoto also gave me a copy of Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story and Ladlad 2. This was back in college. After having read his interview in a newspaper, I sent him an email. The guy gave me the books. (Who would have thought that we would meet again several years later?)

Now that I’ve taken a photo of these books, I'm surprised how much the collection has grown. (You know now what's another gift to give me, if you can't get anything from Greenbelt 4. Kidding.) You’ll see a mix of LGBT-books and some of chick lit, which may also be considered as somewhat “gay”. Haha! Any guy who's reading the Shopaholic series of Sophie Kinsella must definitely be gay.

Sometimes, I leave them lying around and I’m sure that my Mom or my brother has seen one or two.

I don’t really care anymore.

One book has already been sacrificed. There would be no more books to be torn.

Feeling a la Mark Manning...


Body Language

I've been reading Body Language, the third book in the Mark Manning series of mystery novelist Michael Craft.

I'm enjoying it so far. Would be done with it by the end of the week. I think it's quite fast since I just started on it last Tuesday, and I only get to read at night before I go to sleep. I'm actually a bit surprised that I've been able to keep on reading Mr. Craft's novels, because I thought I wouldn't be interested in it since it's more of a mystery novel rather than a gay novel. But here I am, on the third book already. Mr. Craft certainly knew that including certain ingredients would make the novel appeal to any gay lit fan - drama, romance, erotica, to name a few. Hahaha!

Anyway, I went to my old office, Pahinungod, this morning. Upon arriving, the first words that were uttered to me were, "Have you heard?"

I'm like, "Heard what?"

Apparently, someone broke into our office and stole a bunch of stuff. The culprits managed to take about P17,000, the video camera, and an SLR camera.

Just a month or two ago, another item was stolen - a digital camera. That one was left unsolved as well.

Feeling a la Mark Manning, I ask, "Who could have done it?"

Actually, the list of potential suspects couldn't be that long. There were some carpenters renovating the neighboring office, but it would be impossible that one of them is the culprit. The culprit is someone who's familiar enough with the office.

I say this because the money is kept in a locked drawer in a particular room. The video camera and the SLR camera are also kept in boxes in a particular room.

The culprit knew exactly where to get the stuff. So far, those were the only reported missing stuff. There were no signs of searching because all the other tables remained organized, to think that there were probably other valuables in those desks. The only thing that was broken was the door in the basement which was used as the entry and exit point of whoever stole the stuff.

And the suspects can't be any of my former officemates - there are only five of them, and I am betting my life that not one of them has the capability to do such a thing. So that means the only possible suspect are volunteers or the cleaning people who substituted for our Manang these past few days.

The police have already gone to the office, and an incident report has already been filed. Forgive me for saying this but I really doubt if this case would be solved, if the culprit would be caught.

Hah! That's something Mark Manning wouldn't have done. He would have probably continued doing some investigation on his own. That's his life. That's his passion, anyway.

Right now, all my former officemates could do is wait and hope that the person responsible gets caught.

Oh, I hope they change their locks too.

Il Mare...Il Cassetta Postale


Image via Han Cinema





A friend of Hunski and mine gave us a Korean movie to watch. That friend has also been hooked to Korean telenovelas (blame it on Lovers in Paris…haha!) and from telenovelas, the addiction started to include movies. (I, on the other hand, stopped with Lovers in Paris.)

The movie’s title is Il Mare, which I think is Italian for “The Sea.”

Personally, I think the title should have been Il Cassetta Postale or The Postal Box. You’ll understand later on why.

To give a gist of the film, the story begins with a shot of Eun-joo (Jun Ji-hyun) leaving a house to move to another place. She leaves a Christmas card in the mailbox intended for the next occupant of the house. The card then reaches the hands of Sung-hyun (Lee Jung-jae).

And that’s where the story begins.

The thing is Eun-joo is living in 1999. Sung-hyun, on the other hand, is still in 1997. How did the lives of these two people intersect if they’re two years apart? That is left unanswered.

But the two people get to communicate via the mailbox. (Thus, the reason why I think the title should have been Il Cassetta Postale.

The two of them decide to meet, although both unsure whether they would actually meet since they’re living in different time periods.

I could write the ending, but I guess I shouldn’t just in case someone intends to watch the movie.

But I guess this much I can say. I’m glad the ending turned out the way it did. Otherwise, I would have really been in low spirits the entire night.

The movie seems to have been inspired by two other movies – You’ve Got Mail and Frequency. If you got to watch both films, then you would have an idea about the tone of Il Mare.

The lead guy, Sung-hyun played by Lee Jung-jae, is actually cute. For some reason, I tend to find some (emphasis on the word "some")chinito-eyed guys attractive. Hahaha!

Anyway, check out the film if you're a fan of Korean films.

Makes Me Want To Cry...



I love bookstores.

To be particular, Fully Booked and a little of Power Books and lately, National Bookstore.

The first two are well-loved because they have really great titles, and I can spend hours and hours at these bookstores just going through the different titles. As for the third one, I'm starting to really like them because they've been stocking on LGBT titles. And we're not talking about self-help books, but pure and authentic gay literature.

But as much as I love bookstores, a trip to these places is like a trip to a Louis Vuitton store. There are so many things you wish you can buy, but you just can't...at least at that particular moment. And by the time you have the money for it, the stuff you want would have probably been bought by some other person. Some other person whou would leave the book lying around at his or her house, gathering dust, the pages getting folded or something.

The two titles above are two titles on my wish list. Last Sunday, I went to Power Books and upon seeing an open copy of Tom Ford, I immediately took it to the side and slowly went through it, making sure that I enjoy every single page. On the other hand, I saw the Chanel book this afternoon when I went to Fully Booked in Rockwell. There was only one copy on the shelf. If you remember, this book was released as part of the Chanel anniversary a couple of months ago.

The Tom Ford still costs P6,000 while the Chanel book costs P2,500. The prices may be shocking but if you're a true book lover and collector, you wouldn't mind paying the said amount because you'd know it'll be worth every cent.

Both books are quite historical in nature, in the sense that they chronicle certain periods in the houses of Gucci and Chanel, and both have a selection of photos that have probably never been released in public. Plus, these books are really worth investing on, not just because they would make great coffeetable books, but because ten or twenty years from now, people would be looking for these books and they'll be nowhere to be found anymore. (Maybe Ebay and they'll be overly priced.)

Sigh.

I left Fully Booked and Power Books with a heavy heart. It makes me want to cry. Haha!

When in Alabang...

Almost the entire Sunday was uneventful.

Things only started to be more fun late in the afternoon. Hunski and I met up at Shangri-la mall, and then went over to Suki's place in Makati. From Makati, we took a trip to faraway Alabang to visit the bazaar at Ayala Alabang. Richie couldn't join us because he was busy with school stuff.

Thankfully, the drive to Alabang was quite fast (probably because it's a Sunday.) The only slight traffic was near Alabang Town Center and the entrance to the village. When we entered the village, finding the venue of the bazaar was the other thing that took some time. The village is so huge that you may run low on gasoline just to get to one place and to leave the village. Haha!

When we finally found the bazaar, we met up with Icon's baby Franco. Later on, we met up with Kate, Pam, Ton, Raymund and Gerry. The bazaar wasn't so great. The stuff that were sold were stuff that I could find in just about any other bazaar. Franco however said that the "mother of all bazaars" would be on December 6 and 7 and that's the one we should really go to, because it'll be really huge. So I guess that's something to look forward to.

After the bazaar, we decided to head to Kate's house which was just in the next village. We met up with her twin, Kina, and Maricar, Pam and Ton. They were just hanging around in the garden, talking about stuff, having a drink, with the iPod providing the background music.

Apparently, this is what Alabang people do (or this is what I've been told) - house parties. And you know what they say, "when you're in Alabang, do as the Alabang people do." Haha!

We spent a good three or four hours just hanging at Kate and Kina's home. Some were playing poker, while the others just chatted. It was such a refreshing thing to do. When you live in Makati or in Quezon City, the usual get-together place is the mall.

So a trip to Alabang is really a nice thing because the get-together was actually different and really relaxing. You don't have the noise of the city, you don't have the pollution, you don't have the headache caused by being around a highly crowded area.

We headed back to Makati a little before midnight. I hope your Sunday was as relaxing, or maybe even more.

And They Said She Was Icy...


Image via Style.com

US Vogue Editrix Anna Wintour has often been described as cold and icy.

And it's not difficult to understand why. In most of her photos, one would hardly see her showing her pearly whites.

So I guess the photo above is such a rarity. Not only is Anna smiling, she is holding hands with a guy.

From the photo, one could say that Anna is just lieve everyone else, and that hard is it may be to believe for others, that she is capable of being warm, and I even daresay, loving.

If you're wondering who the guy she's holding hands with, it's J. Shelby Bryan. Mr. Bryan's a powerful business executive from Texas, if I remember correctly.

How did the two get together?

I think the two met at a party. Anna was still married to her psychologist husband, while Shelby was also married to someone. News then broke out that the two were having an affair. The affair led to the divorce both for Anna and Shelby.

Alright, I got all this info from Jerry Oppenheimer's unauthorized biography on one of the fashion world's most powerful women.

Trip to UP Los Baños...

Nothing really new and exciting happening this week.

Yesterday was spent at UP Los Baños for some sideline.

Woke up at five in the morning to be at the meeting place by six a.m. The vehicle and other people I was going with arrived thirty minutes late (grrr!!!) and then we started our trip to UP Los Baños.

The whole day was pretty uneventful. We just went around interviewing people and taking footages of students studying, at the laboratory.

Highlight of the day was a trip to the Animal Husbandry division because we had to take some footages of farm animals. When we arrived at the place where the cows were, what we saw was something that would have made Hunski and PETA go there and protest.

I'm not sure if it was a class or a training for farmers, but this was the scenario.

There was a calf that had its legs tied and was on the floor. Two people were holding the calf while the others stood around and listened to the trainer. (Well, I just assumed he was the trainer.) The class was on how to keep the horns from growing, and how to mark them.

To do this, you take a steel rod and leave it on a fire to until it gets really, really, really hot. When the steel is already red and almost flaming, you take it from the fire and you stamp it on the poor animal.

The trainer did it, and you could hear the sound of flesh being burned and if you listen closely, the cry of the poor animal. There was nothing the calf could do. It was probably in such great pain but all it can do was jerk its body.

I couldn't stay and watch so I left, went back to the car and waited for the others to return.

Poor thing.

Solving World Problems...

A friend is working for this international European organization aiming to help improve the quality of agriculture and rural communities in various Latin American nations through research. (At least, that's what I think they do.)

A couple of weeks ago, I sort of helped out this friend of mine in an international conference that the organization he works for has organized. The participants of the conference were from the Philippines and other foreign countries. There were several people from the academe, and most of the speakers and those who presented papers were from the academe. There were also a number of people from the organizations where I want to see myself working in, hopefully in the next five years. The theme of the conference was related to ideas and paradigms in the pasts few years that are relevant to the agricultural sector.

While I wasn't really paying attention to the speakers, I did get to hear some bits and pieces of the lectures. I couldn't help but think, "Here are these people giving all sorts of ideas and proposing solutions to problems of great magnitude, as if the problems at hand are something so simple and so easy to resolve." I wanted to ask, "How many among you have actually gone down to the level of the poor farmer or the struggling livelihood entrepreneur?"

I thought I was being a bit judgmental again. Well, maybe I am but I was open-minded enough to think that these people must have spent some time in the field and, that the theme of the conference is actually about ideas and concepts.

But what surprised me was when my friend, who was sitting beside me and was listening to the speakers, looks at me and whispers, "You know what? I don't believe at all in what those people are saying. Here they are saying all those things as if the problem is that easy to solve."

I wanted to say, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

And he continued, "What they're doing is just intellectualizing things. Those people don't understand what the poor farmer really goes through. How many among them have really experienced a life where you have to worry about what to eat for the night, where you have to worry about where to look for money for your children's education after a typhoon destroys the entire field?"

I was really surprised but what he was saying because all this time, I thought he believed in the thrusts of the organization.

After hearing him say what he said, I somehow asked myself if I still wanted to work for such an organization.

The answer was yes.

Sure, there may be some procedures that probably need to be thought about again or should be done in a different way, and that's exactly the reason why I think those who see these things should stay. Otherwise, where would the change begin? Certainly not from the people who have grown so comfortable with their concepts and beliefs no matter how ancient those concepts may be.

A line from Prison Break comes to mind, "Be the change you want to be."

To improve things and to solve the bigger issues, I guess what needs to be done is to continue believing in the thrusts of your organization, and if you see that there are things that need to be changed, it is up to you to make that happen.

Whew!

Still, things are easier said than done.

Spot the Difference...



Can you spot the difference? Haha!

Okay, you're basically seeing a before and after photos. The one on the left is the old Angelo - the Stepford Wife shirt, the over-gelled hair, basic white crew neck undershirt, no buttons left open. The one on the right is the Angelo after the haircut and after the shopping. Hahaha! You can quickly see the differences I guess. Notice the absence of the undershirt and the resurrection of the venetian link bracelet, to name a few. Haha!

Augh! I feel so guilty by making this entry. Am I being narcissistic by making this entry? Sorry, I don't mean to.

I guess I just wanted to see for myself if the differences are that obvious.

Well, the real challenge here is keeping up the "new" look. Haha! If in case you see me going back to the over-gelled hair and wearing the white undershirt again, please don't shoot me.

Cue in Carpenters' "You've Got to Love Me for What I Am..." Hahaha!

Confessions on a Dance Floor Launch Party...


Confessions CD Jacket


Government Pays Tribute to the Queene


Her Royal Highness's Followers


More Followers of the Queen


Hung Up on Madonna

As I have mentioned in a previous entry, the other excuse for me to go shopping was the Launch Party of Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor album at Government.

So clad in a nice new shirt (thanks Mom for tjuzing it! Haha!) paired with the usual jeans and shoes, I headed to Government and got there a little before midnight. Almost everyone was there - Richie, Suki, Jigs, Vince, Franco, Nick, Jofer, Edsel, Omar, and Hunski.

A little after midnight, Government's Henry Lim had a very short program, primarily thanking the sponsors of the night's party and getting the people ready to dance to the new album. Just this one night, I haven't seen SO many straight people in Government. The funny thing was they were at the mezzanine while almost all gay men were on the ground floor. Hahaha! Anyway, Government gave out some gift certificates to a couple of people for answering some trivia questions. There was also a prize for the person who was in best costume for the night.

When the DJ started playing the first track, Hung Up, everyone went wild and started dancing. Some of the guys on the dance floor were even imitating the dance moves Madonna made in the video of Hung Up. The crowd just continued dancing, although taking a break every now and then, until all the cuts in the new album have been played.

In general, I think it was a good album. It really is a return to the dance roots of Mrs. Ritchie. Favorite tracks included Hung Up (of course!!!), Get Together, I'm Sorry and Isaac. I have to listen to the whole album again, but I'm quite sure I would like almost 80 - 90% of the songs. Haha!

Other than the new music, there was nothing really exciting about the party. It was the same old crowd, the same old gimmicks, the same old atmosphere.

The only other thing I enjoyed during the night was a very early morning meal at North Park together with the gang. But that's another story.

Can't wait for the new album of Mrs. Ritchie!

Shu Uemura Party

So yesterday was the first of the two big parties of the week that I’m planning to attend.

The Shu Uemura party launching its cleansing oil was held at The Loft at Rockwell Makati yesterday evening.

In the early afternoon, I met up with Hunski to borrow a coat. Due to some last minute changes in what I plan to wear for the party, the need for a coat came up. After getting the coat, I went over to Richie’s place.

I brought the new shirts, my new jeans and my new shoes and proudly showed them off to a laughing and amused Richie. Hahaha! Richie told me, “You’re really on a roll, huh! First, it’s the hair and now it’s the wardrobe!!! You and Suki are putting too much effort in dressing up for the party.” I told him, “I don’t know but this Shu party is really such a pressure. I don’t want to wear the same Stepford Wife shirt and it’s just about time I update my wardrobe since the last time I bought something new was ages ago.”

After explaining myself, I said, “Okay, now help me decide which shirt to wear tonight? There are two shirts contending for tonight. This one is nice and can go without the coat so the embroidery may be seen but it is very casual and tapered, which means I have to keep myself from breathing and moving too much. This other shirt goes well with the coat because the floral print pleats in front would stand out against the black coat.”

Being the quick thinker that he is, Richie offered his much welcome advice.

A little before seven, we started preparing for the party. We then went over to pickup Suki at his place.

At the risk of sounding arrogant and narcissistic, I have to say that we were all looking good that night. When you’re hanging out with people almost everyday, you almost already know what their wardrobe consists and what they usually wear. I’m sure you understand what I mean.

So the Shu Uemura party actually served as a venue to see two of my closest friends in a different attire. They looked so dashing!

Choosing to come in Fall attire, Suki wore this basic crisp white shirt, coupled with pinstriped pants and a jacket. The key item of his attire was the very nice velvet jacket. The cut was very good and it made him look slimmer.

Richie, on the other hand, came in Sping attire. His ensemble consisted of linen drawstring pants, blue Adidas sneakers, a floral sleeveless shirt, and an aqua blue long-sleeved cotton shirt left open. The attire was very spring with all the vibrant colors.

Meanwhile, I decided to wear the striped pink tuxedo shirt whose center pleats and cuffs were in floral pint, and paired it with distressed jeans and white rubber shoes. I threw on a jacket to give it a more formal but relaxed look. Again, it’s not me. It’s something I have to get used to.

From Suki’s place, we drove to Rockwell. When we got there, the party has already started but the program hasn’t. We met up with Icon’s adviser and photographer extraordinaire Raymund Isaac and proceeded to the registration table.

At the registration, we were given a black fan each with the Japanese character for a season painted on it. Attached to the side of the fan was a number which would be used in case we wanted to bid on an auction item.

We then proceeded to the function hall where the party was underway. After greeting and congratulating Jigs and Shu Uemura boss Tina, we were asked to stand behind a Shu Uemura backdrop to have our photo taken. Four or five photographers competing for our attention, the flash of light bulbs which seemed like forever, the tiresome effort to keep smiling – whoa! So this is what it feels like to be Gisele or Nicole. Hahaha! It was quite an experience actually.

After having our photos taken, we moved around and joined our other friends. Surveying the people in attendance, I wasn’t surprised to see who attended the event. Editors from local fashion magazines, social butterflies, models, sponsors – the usual people I see in Sunday’s society pages.

The highlight of the night was the auction for the benefit of a foundation. There were a number of limited edition Shu Uemura items and four pieces of artwork that were up for bidding. I’ve never really watched an auction so getting to see one that night was nice. The auction hosts weren’t really auction hosts though, but local TV hosts so I’m quite sure that someone else could have done a better job. What was entertaining to see though was that most of the top bidders for gay men. I wish account managers and media buyers from all ad agencies were present to witness the power of the pink peso.

For example, the starting bid for one particular painting was at P10,000. Increments were at P500. Once the bidding started, one gay guy raised his fan and immediately bid P30,000, like it was the most natural thing to do. The guy fought with another guy (I’m not sure if he’s gay since it’s hard to tell who’s gay and who’s not at these events…Haha!) but the bid for the painting ended at P55,000!!!

When the auction was over, people went back to their drinks and socializing. We decided that we can actually leave the party already, since we all had appointments the following day. Before parting ways though, we decided to head to the nearby Brother’s Burger to have a bite and hang out a little bit more.

In general, the whole party was such a great event! I don’t even want to think how much the Shu Uemura people shelled out to stage the event, but you’d really have to congratulate them. The venue was great. The food was delicious. Drinks were continuously flowing. The party giveaways were fantastic. Goodie bags containing a watch, 2006 calendar books, postcards and Shu Uemura sample products were given out.

So that was it for the first party of the week. Were the clothes and the efforts put into dressing up worth it? Absolutely.

Shopping is Fun Again...

That’s what it says on the Old Navy carrier bag.

I can somehow say the same thing because after such a long time of not buying a piece of clothing or footwear or accessory or bag for myself, I decided to go shopping the other day.

The excuse for shopping: There are two parties I’m attending this week. One is the Shu Uemura party this Wednesday at the Loft at Rockwell. A big thanks to Jigs for inviting us to this event which will surely be graced by several of Manila’s socialites, socialite wannabes, among others. The party invitation read, “Come in your favorite season.” I wanted to go in Fall attire, but I also wanted to go in Spring attire.

The other party is the launch of the Madonna album at Government this Friday. The invite said to come in pink or fuschia so I guess I can bring out my Stepford Wife shirt again, huh? Hahaha! But I decided that I’ve used that shirt a million times and it’s about time that I add a couple of more pieces to my wardrobe.

Besides, I deserve to have some new clothes since I didn’t buy anything at all for myself during my birthday.

So last Sunday and yesterday, I was on a mission to find some new pieces.

My friend, Eden, was kind enough to go with me in my search for some pieces. We went to Glorietta. We spent the whole afternoon going to shop after shop checking out shirts, pants, jeans and shoes. Luckily, there were several good stores on sale and I got to buy some really good stuff, which included a pair of distressed jeans, a black long-sleeved party shirt and a nice pair of rubber shoes, which I think is very much Marc Jacobs inspired. Haha!

The following day, I went by myself to Shangri-la to check out whether there were some nice shirts.

I thought that I needed some options, just in case I feel that the shirt that I bought wouldn’t work. There were several nice shirts that I saw but they were all so oh-my-gawd expensive. I found this nice embroidered long-sleeved shirt at FCUK but I fought so hard against getting it because it probably would go out of style after a while. I found this baby blue floral printed long-sleeved shirt at 4You but again, I pushed myself away from it. At U, there was this almost perfect brown long-sleeved shirt with flowers patterns (kinda Paul Smith-inspired) and the pricey wasn’t so bad, but the thing was the size was large. If and when I do shed some pounds, it might be too loose already (basing what’s fit and what’s not fit on gay standards).

I even went to Paul Smith because there was a huge Sale sign screaming out of its window, and I just had to check how low the prices would go at the store during sale periods. Apparently, not that low. The long-sleeved shirts, though very classic and would probably be used forever, still cost an arm and a leg even at its discounted price. I had to leave the store before I start crying because of the gorgeous shirts. Hahaha!

Just when I thought that all efforts would prove to be futile, I find a piece of heaven in one of the corners of Rustan’s. Hanging on a rack was this crisp, striped long-sleeved cotton shirt. It was really simple. No embroideries, no pockets, no prints, just the vertical stripes. The color was fabric was light marron and the stripes were pink and gray. These are the kind of shirts which you know would stay in style forever because of its classic structure.

To top it all off, it is John Varvatos.

Alright, before you start saying “You won’t buy Paul Smith, but you would buy John Varvatos!!!” I have to say that, believe it or not, the John Varvatos shirt was way, way, way cheaper than the Paul Smith shirt.

Besides, it’s not everyday that one comes across an affordable John Varvatos shirt, right? Trust me, it was affordable and worth every centavo.

So that was basically the whole shopping adventure. I would probably be short of breath for a second or two when I see my Mastercard bill, but I’m sure I’ll be okay. Haha!

So I have a new haircut, and a whole new set of wardrobe. Now it’s time to party!!!

Pinoy Ako...Pinoy Tayo...


Edsel, JB and Me


Richie and Suki


Hidden Studio Audience...Haha!


Waiting to Go On-Air


Studio Audience

Aside from getting the haircut, another exciting thing we did over the weekend was watch Pinoy Big Brother at the studio.

Our friend, Edsel who works for ABS-CBN, got tickets for me, Richie and Suki to watch the show. (Hunski couldn’t go because he had office stuff to do.)

We arrived at the studio past eight. There were already a lot of people – crew members, evicted Pinoy Big Brother housemates, audiences, and family members of nominated housemates for eviction Jason and Sam, among others.

The reason why we wanted to watch Pinoy Big Brother was because we had a good feeling that this Fil-Am model Sam Milby would be the next one to be evicted. The guy is really cute and talented. Surely, his career would soar when he leaves the Pinoy Big Brother house.

But the reason I went to watch was I wanted to see evicted housemate Rico. If Sam Milby is cute, I’d say that Rico Barrera is hot. Suki, however, thinks otherwise. He says that Rico’s neck is too wide. As if I would care about his neck. Haha! However, I didn’t get to see the guy because the person who’s supposed to bring us to Rico was waiting for this other housemate who took his sweet time taking his dinner. And by the time the guy finished eating and Edsel and I were brought to where Rico was, there was no more Rico. Grrr! That was such a downer. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll see the guy somewhere.

So with no Rico, Edsel and I went back to the studio where Richie and Suki guarded our seats. We just stayed on the side where the camera wouldn’t see us, but we did have good front row seats. Haha!

The show started, and everything just happened so fast. The announcement that Sam was the one to be evicted was made. The old lady beside me felt like crying, being the huge Sam fan that she is. We were watching Sam leaving the Pinoy Big Brother house (which was right across the street) on the TV screen in the studio, and the next thing we knew, he was already at the studio. When the audience saw a glimpse of him before he went on cam, the crowd just went wild and cheered for the guy. There is no doubt that Sam has captured the hearts of several Filipinos, and I’m sure several gays (and probably, lesbians) find him to be really charming.

After the show, the guys headed to Government while I decided to head home. I just wasn’t in the mood to go out anymore.

Anyway, it was such a good experience and I think we’ll be wanting to be studio audiences again when the one to be evicted will be housemate Uma.

New Haircut...

I have to blame Suki for this (but later on, thank him a million). He’s been criticizing my hair for always looking the same.

So yesterday evening, I picked up the evening and set an appointment at the salon.

My hair has grown so thick again and it’s about time I get a haircut. However, instead of going to Piandre, where I usually get my haircut since I’m under austerity measures, I decided to go back to the salon where I used to have my haircut when the days were better – Toni & Guy.

Suki and I met up a little before one and then we headed to Toni & Guy. After having my over-gelled hair shampooed and washed, together with a very soothing head massage, I went back to my seat picked up a magazine and read. Suki, on the other hand, told the stylist what the problem with my hair was and what could be done about it.

Haha! I feel like I’m on Ambush Makeover.

After what seemed forever, the stylist was SO slow and had several interruptions, it was done and when I looked into the mirror, I was a bit surprised with the new cut. It’s something that I have to get used to, and I’m sure it’s something I can get used to. One of the first things Suki told me after I paid and we left the salon was, “Dump the gel and get a hair wax!”

So when we met up with Richie, who also had his fantastic haircut that day, we headed to the nearby Watsons to get hair wax. The couple debated whether I should get the hard one or the light and natural. I just stood aside and waited for one of them to give me the product to bring to the counter.

Light and natural won.

That’s it. I could probably post the before and after photos. Haha!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ei-Suki, for going with me to the salon, and for the new hair!

Highly Recommended: Rainbow Road



I managed to finish two books in the past week, which I guess is surprising for me because it means that I’m either running out of things to do or that my reading speed has increased. Or maybe the books that I’m reading are just too good that putting them down is not an option.

The two books I’ve just finished are Michael Craft’s Body Language and Alex Sanchez’s Rainbow Road. This entry is dedicated to the latter.

I’ve been a huge Alex Sanchez fan ever since I got hold of his first book Rainbow Boys. After finishing the first book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel – Rainbow High. Just like the first book, I tremendously enjoyed Rainbow High and Alex Sanchez instantly just joined Michael Thomas Ford, Noel Alumit and Andy Tobias – some of my favorite, favorite authors.

In a blog entry a couple of months ago, I excitedly wrote about Alex Sanchez’s third book in the Rainbow series – Rainbow Road – which was due to be out October of this year. I knew that the book wouldn’t be available locally, but thankfully, a new friend who has been so good to me told me that he would send me a copy of the book as a birthday present. Woo woo woo! To make things even better, he got to have the book autographed by Mr. Sanchez. Woo woo woo!

As soon as the book arrived, I just couldn’t wait to start reading. Before I knew it, I was already on the last page of the book.

Here are some thoughts about the book.

Rainbow Road was an enjoyable read because Jason, Kyle and Nelson go on a road trip. Jason has been invited to speak at the opening of an LGBT high school in California, and instead of taking the plane, he embarks on an unforgettable adventure with boyfriend Kyle and semi-friend turned best friend, Nelson. Reading the book made me feel like I was part of the road trip. I liked it because for someone who has never been to the US, I got to learn about other US states. It is actually very refreshing to learn a little about Alabama or Texas, having been overly exposed to New York and California thanks to cable TV.

Aside from the varying locations, what I also loved about Rainbow Road was that Alex Sanchez also showed different faces of gays and lesbians and the reality that there are still several parts in the US where homosexuality is frowned upon. Again, for someone who’s been watching a little too much Western TV shows, reading about the three boys’ challenges along the way breaks the much common notion that Americans across the US tolerate homosexuality.

These are the two main things I enjoyed about the book. I’m not going to write about the other things that I loved about it because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who’s currently reading the book or planning to read this wonderful book.

The only thing I don’t like is that there has been word that Rainbow Road would be the last of the Rainbow series. Augh man!!! One of my to-do things before the month ends is to write Mr. Sanchez to tell him how much I loved the series (as if that would make him change his mind) and to beg, plea, appeal, humbly request that he write two more Rainbow books, at least in the next five years. (Why two more books? It’s the OC in me. Five books would be a nice set.) I swear I already have some possible plots in my head for the next two books and I’m thinking whether I should dare tell Mr. Sanchez, “Here are some possible plots. Just please write two more Rainbow books.”

Hahaha! I’m like this because I’m just such a Rainbow series fan. Like I have mentioned before, this is the kind of book I wish I had read when I was in high school. Having this kind of literature to read surely would have changed a lot in the way I was growing up. But even if I’m 26 years old now (waaah!), I still have to say that the Rainbow series has been such an influence to me. And if you have read any of the books, I’m sure you would understand what I’m talking about.

By the way, Rainbow Road is available at Fully Booked Rockwell. Hunski and I saw some copies a couple of weeks ago. I’m just not sure if there are still some copies left. I do hope they order more, and I also hope they’d order the first two books.

I love the Rainbow series!!!

Hell Ball...


The Master, The Nun and A Devil


Scary and Not So Scary


Nuns from Kampanerang Kuba?


Who's Best in Costume?


Some People are Lost

Saturday night was the Halloween party - Government's Hell Ball.

This year's Halloween party is different for the gang since someone (I think it was Suki) had this crazy idea that we should go as nuns. Hahaha! Had everyone been here in Manila, it would have really been a riot. Just imagine about 10 or so gay men in nun's costume walking down the streets of Malate or tearing up the dance floor at Government.

But since the others were out of town, there were five of us (Edsel, Suki, Richie, Hunski and I) who dressed as nuns while the other one (Omar) dressed up as a priest. Haha! I swear while we were getting dressed at Suki’s place, we were all laughing our heads off. It was really hilarious. This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this and it was really enjoyable sharing the experience with my friends.

When we were all dressed, we took Suki’s car, which looks more like a van, and went to Malate. The drive to Malate was crazy because the people in cars that passed beside us were surprised to see this van filled with men as nuns and a priest. Haha!

Inside the car, we were playing some songs from Sister Act just to get really into the mood.

Upon reaching Malate, we were all so disappointed the there were hardly any people in costume and that the gay population seem to have gone out of town. Hahaha! The six of us really got stares as we walked down the streets of Nakpil and Orosa. The obviously straight people were shocked by our arrival.

Deciding that Malate would really be dull, we decided to go to Government, which turned out to be a really good decision as the atmosphere of the dance club was the complete opposite of Malate.

Several people came in costumes. The dance music and the performances were really fantastic. The crowd was really great. It’s the same people, but still it was such a good night of partying.

By three in the morning, we left Government and headed to the nearby North Park for some good Chinese food. Dining people must have been scandalized when they saw men dressed as nuns enter the restaurant. The waitresses just couldn’t take our orders because they kept on laughin. Hahaha! We enjoyed about an hour of chitchat over some nice wanton noodles, siopao and dimsum. After that, it was already time to call it a night.

So that was it, really. The weekend parties were really fun but I have to say that wearing the nun’s costume was really uncomfortable. I was sweating inside and it was just difficult to get stuff from the pocket of my pants, or to take a leak. Haha!

Stil, the night was really a fantastic one and I think everyone had a great time.

Hope your Halloween was just as great, or even greater!