This Boy's Life

Back in Manila

Hellllooooo!!!

I'm back in Manila. The C-130 we took arrived at seven thirty p.m. From the airport, we went straight to the Pahinungod office.

Of course, the first thing I do as soon as I get there is to go online, check my emails, check my blog, and make a blog entry.

The trip went really great.

I'll be dedicating the next few days to blog entries I wrote while I was in Jolo.

Will be posting photos too.

This is it for now. I'm hungry and tired. Haha!

Cheers.

Gone for the Next Few Days...


Photo via Jolo Site

I'll be out of town from tomorrow til Monday.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be flying to the province of Sulu, specifically to the municipality of Jolo.

I'm sure that from the name alone of the place where I'm going, you would have an inkling that this trip is no vacation. Do you know of any people who've actually said that they're going on a vacation to Jolo?

Anyway, the reason why I'm going to the infamous municipality is because Pahinungod will be having a health mission at the Sulu Provincial Hospital from Friday till Monday. What would I be doing there? I'm the official documentor and gofer, as well.

Back when I was still working with Pahinungod, in addition to taking photos and documenting surgeries and health training sessions, I would also hang out at the operating room to watch the procedure. After watching a bit, I started learning the names of the apparatuses. In fact, some surgeons would mistake me for a circulating nurse because they see the OR nurses asking me to give this apparatus or to get this thing, and they'd be surprised that I'm not... but since I can't remember the last time I was in an operating room, I've forgotten all those things already.

I'm quite excited, to be honest. I've never been to Jolo and I'm really excited about it. We'll be taking the C-130 plane of the Air Force. I hope that's a safe aircraft. Hehe! My Mom and Hunski aren't too much excited, and it's quite understandable.

From what I heard, Jolo is actually a peaceful city. Yes, there are some encounters but they happen in the far flung areas. Besides, I think the military will be with us at the hospital. (Uhm, I'm not sure if that's going to put us in more danger or if that's going to be of any help. Hehe!)

Anyways, I'll let you know how everything goes when I get back on Tuesday.

I gotta go now and do some last minute packing.

Something "New" To Get Hooked Onto...

I know the podcast has been present for quite some time now.

But since I don't have an iPod nor do I go online as much as I wish I could, I ignored the whole podcast thing.

Yesterday, while working for Icon and during some breaks from editing and proofreading, I asked Richie to tell me more about podcasts. I decided to check it out and after seeing how interesting it is, only then did I realize that I was missing out on this. Haha!

So I did some podcast search and so far, I found two very interesting podcasts.

The first one is Porn Star Talks with Joseph Fenity. It's a talk show hosted by Joseph Fenity (Duh! Who else?!) where he has porn starts as guests (Again! Duh?! What did I expect?). It's a relatively new podcast and the first episode just aired a couple of weeks ago.

Okay, before you start judging me, I have to tell you that it's an interesting podcast primarily because, I get to learn something new about the guests of the show other than the fact that they have a massive member or that they can do various acrobats.

The first guest of the show is Michael Brandon. The guy talked about how he started, how he got into drugs, how he got back on his feet again, what he thinks about the porn industry.

It's really nice to hear what the guy has to say, and it's good to know that there's something inside his "real head."

Of course, there are several parts of the show that are sexy (the podcast has an "explicit" rating) and I guess that adds to the interest factor of the podcast.

The other podcast I found was ModTv: Fashion Television's podcast. It is a really great podcast, because in addition to the fashion reports, it's a video podcast.

I got to download some video podcasts of a coverage of the Victoria's Secret 2005 show, the Proenza Schouler show, Rochas, and Marc Jacobs. It's really nice to watch. I enjoy it because I've always wanted to know what it's like to be part of a fashion show. I just think that all the backstage action (and I'm talking not referring to anything sleazy or anything unwholesome) is something that I would probably enjoy doing. Anyway, since I don't think I'll every experience being in the backstage of a fashion show, watching the video podcasts or any of those fashion shows coverages on TV is close enough. Hehe!

Alright, so those are the two podcasts that I'm listening to right now.

If you know of other interesting podacsts, please, please, please tell me about it.

Shopping Time...

My horoscope last Thursday said that this year would be good to me. (It's about time!!!) It said that I'd be earning a lot of money and that I'd be spending a lot.

I'm still waiting for the first part to happen, but the latter half has already begun.

Yaiks!!!!

In case you don't know, it's the end of season sale for a lot of stores. If I'm not mistaken, all Stores Specialists shops have a sale on selected items - 25% off and an additional 5% off for cash purchases. I checked out the stuff at Burberry and Prada and they were okay. The stuff at Burberry were mostly clothes while the ones at Prada were mostly shoes and bags. It's from the Prada Sport line though, which I'm not so hot about.

Anyway, I went to Shangri-la to look around. I wanted to go to Designer's Boulevard, but to my dismay it wasn't there anymore. I went to Homme et Femme and almost everything was on sale.

Oh gawd!!! Had I had any money, I would have purchased as much as I could. Helmut Lang footwear and clothes were there. (Again, if you haven't heard, Helmut Lang wouldn't be continuing with his line indefinitely.) There were stuff from Dior Homme, Y-3, Costume National, APC and Marni. It was heaven.

But since I couldn't really purchase anything from there yet, I left and found another heaven - Debenhams.

I've head about the opening of the store several months ago but I didn't really take the time to visit and check it out. I guess I found the name too funny, and I kinda guessed that it would be similar to Marks and Spencer.

Anyway,I saw a sale sign and I decided to go in to check it out. I wasn't unexcited and not expecting anything when I went in. I'm like, "Yeah,nice stuff." There were designer items but I'm not sure if you've heard of them - John Rocha and Jasper Conran.

Everything changed when I picked up one shirt and looked at the tag. It was 70% off and there was an additional 30% off on selected items. I got all excited and I started moving around.

It was a crazy sale.

I got to purchase some basic necessities, which I've been wanting to buy because I already need them, at really, really low prices. I got to buy a shirt or two.

I also bought a pillowcase from the Star line by Julien Macdonald, just for the sake of getting something made by the designer. You wouldn't understand why I did it unless you're really into fashion. Hehe! And if you are a lover of fashion and you don't know who Julien Macdonald is, then shame on you. Hehe!

I spent about two hours or so in the store looking around, trying on some pieces and making sure I got to check out every corner. Haha! There were more pieces that were nice but I just have to slap myself to remind myself that I am under extreme austerity measures. Huhuhu!

But if you're not in the same situation as I am, I suggest you go check out the store.

It's crazy sale where you're guaranteed to go crazy over the ultra low prices.

Trip to Quezon...















One of the highlights of the week was going out of town.

But it wasn't for leisure or recreation, it was for volunteer work with Pahinungod.

One of the programs I handled for Pahinungod was the Summer Immersion Service Program. Under the program, we'd deploy student volunteers to various rural communities where they live for almost a month.

My unofficial description for the program is it's similar to Survivor, except that in this case, everyone in the team is expected to work together.

I have to say that the program has changed me. I learned a lot of things that I would never have learned while I was in UP, or in any other university for that matter.

Anyway, I continued to be part of the program even after I resigned from Pahinungod. I would either help out with the pre-deployment training of the volunteers, or I would take the volunteers to the community, or I would help do site visits to assess potential deployment areas.

The trip last Wednesday was a site visit.

After working for Icon, (we finished about one a.m.) Hunski drove me to UP-PGH where I met up with Marian and Mang Yong, our ever-reliable driver. From UP-PGH, we drove to Quezon.

Since I haven't had any sleep yet that day, I slept all the way to Quezon. Besides, there was nothing to see along the way since it was a dark night.

When we reached Quezon, it was already a little before seven. The municipality we went to was named Real. We met up with a member of KUMARE, our local partner organization. KUMARE stands for Kilos Unlad Mamayan ng Real. It's a women's organization that has been in existence for about ten years now and they have done so much already not just for Real, but also in neighboring towns like Infanta.

(By the way, if you want to see really good examples of progressive people's organizations, go to the rural areas. You'll be amazed at what these people can do despite the financial and material limitations.)

Back to the site visit, from the office of KUMARE, we drove to Barangay Tignoan and Barangay Tanauan. These barangays were among those affected by the calamity that happened late last year. On the way to the barangays, we saw huge boulders along the side of the road. Our partner/guide told us of stories how these boulders fell from the hills and went straight to houses of people. It was scary and really sad.

One of our partners got so teary-eyed while telling the stories, and it wasn't because she lost a loved one from the tragedy, but because the tragedy could have been avoided had the people and the government took care of their natural environment.

When we reached the community, it was near the ocean already. I noticed that the houses looked new, and true enough, the community was where the survivors of the community relocated. You'd see some wooden crosses in some yards of houses and you already know what's there.

Anyway, we met with some of the barangay members to explain the summer immersion program, and they were very receptive and warm to us. It was really nice.

Looking around, one thing I observed was that the people were able to get back on their feet once again, and quite quick I should say. They're back to their normal lives once again and while I'm sure several of them are still healing from their losses, they recognize that there's no other thing to do but move on.

I cannot help but admire their resilience.

After the meeting with barangay members, Mang Yong, Marian and I started on our trip back to Manila.

Though the trip to Quezon was very short and very quick, not to mention very tiring, I'm happy that I was able to do it.

It was a good break for me. At least, I got to get some fresh air even for a couple of hours.

Brokeback on the Runway...


Tyson and Will

As most fashion-loving people would know, it's fashion week in Milan right now and the various fashion houses are sending their menswear collection for Fall 2006 on the runways already.

I saw several wonderful and more importantly, wearable pieces. So far, my favorite ones are from Dolce & Gabbana, Alessandro Dell' Acqua, Prada and Calvin Klein.

Anyway, I was just browsing through photos from the Valentino show and saw the nice photo above.

Tyson Ballou and Will Chalker, in full cowboy rig, walking hand-in-hand down the runway.

Nice, huh?

Mr. Valentino is the first one to acknowledge the success of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain on the runway.

Were these pieces really part of his ensemble? Or were they last minute additions?

Whatever, I loved it.

And the Golden Globe Goes To...





Okay, I'm sure the LGBT community is celebrating the fact that Brokeback Mountain won Best Picture (Drama) in the Golden Globes.

I'm sure that there are also a lot celebrating Felicity Huffman's win of Best Actress in a Leading Role (Drama) for her role in Transamerica.

Speaking of Felicity Huffman, I think she was the one who had the nicest speech that night.

"I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins, but I think as people our job is to become who we really are and so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are."

Having hear her say this make me all the more excited to look for a copy of Transamerica. I hope those "DBD, DBD" people have these films.

The First Stupid Thing...











The first stupid thing I did for 2006 was to take this ride at the Eurostar Carnival at the Fort.

After the shoot yesterday afternoon, Suki, Richie, Edsel, Hunski and I were having a dinner at Tiananmen when we decided to go and check out the Eurostar Carnival. Everyone was so tired from the shoot and we felt that going to the carnival would be a nice way to relax for the night. (Well, not really relax but have fun.) Richie called the rest of the gang to invite them.

From Tiananmen, we drove to the Fort where we met up with Richard and Chuck, and then Chari and Abi.

I'm not really a big fan of carnival rides. I love the carnival, yeah, but don't expect me to get on a roller coaster. Believe it or not, I've never ridden on a roller coaster ever! I guess I'm just so scared that I won't be able to handle it and I might have a heart attack while I'm on board. Haha! Heck, I even get nervous with the ferris wheel. Hahaha!

Anyway, the first ride we took that night was the huge ferris wheel and as I got on, my hands were really cold and clammy. Haha! I eventually relaxed and started to enjoy the ride. I felt so bold after it that I thought I could handle the more "difficult" rides.

Turns out I couldn't.

The only other ride I took for the night was the Flipper. It's similar to the Octopus. Even if I knew I would get scared and all, I decided to get on and take the ride. True enough, once the thing started rotating, I was already screaming my head out. Yeah, yeah. It wasn't a very good picture. I was yelling out all sorts of things and had people hear me, they would have thought someone was going through rigor mortis. (Good thing only Richie, Suki and Hunski were the only people who clearly heard what I was shouting out.)

Augh!!! It was really embarrassing. Haha! I should have been yelling, "Angelo, you're so stupid for taking this ride." Haha!


After that ride, everyone just took a seat to relax a bit before getting on the next ride.

Unfortunately, there were no more next rides. We all got so dizzy from the stupid Flipper that we decided to call it a night. By the time I got home, my head was still slightly spinning. I didn't like it at all.

The only thing I really enjoyed that night was the company of Hunski and my dear friends.

So that's my first stupid thing for 2006.

What's yours?

Rare Sighting..



At least for me.

I found this photo from one of the fashion websites I visit. It's a page from a fashion ed in the January 2006 issue of GQ.

There is nothing really extraodrinary about the fashion ed.

But what makes it special (at least, for me) is that my three favorite male models are on one page together. And I think this doesn't very often unlike with female models. How many times have I seen Daria, Natalia and Gisele all together in one fashion ed?

Anyway, introducing (in case you dunno them)...

From left to right, Marios Lekkas, Noah Mills and Will Chalker.

Woo woo woo!

Thirty-Seven Questions...

Got this from Cheacher Chowee's blog.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?

I went to a tarot reading session. I thought I was one never to go and have a tarot card reading, but I guess out of the need to see some glimmer of hope, I went to the guy. (I refuse to call him a fortuneteller, because he’s not. He’s way more than that. I can give you his number if you want.)

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t even remember what my resolutions were. Haha! Let’s see if I get to keep this year’s resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, Hunski’s sister-in-law gave birth to a cute baby boy. And I know two people who were blessed to be with child some time last year. They’ll give birth this year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, one more thing to thank God for.

5. What countries did you visit?

Uhm, I didn’t get to go out of the country but I did get to go live for two days in a remote fishing village by the shores of Taal Lake. That experience is definitely one of the highs of 2005.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?

Where do I begin? I feel like too many things, opportunities, possibilities were denied of me in 2005. A stable career. More time to read, to do volunteer work, to enjoy life, to have some peace of mind.

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

December 23, 2005. I received the best material gift so far – an iBook. And the way that it was given to me is a story that will be retold and retold and retold.

8. What was your biggest achievement/s of the year?

Uhm, besides keeping my sanity and making it through the year in one piece, I would have to say work in Icon. Specifically, I got to meet a lot of interesting people and write about them. And I got to give styling a try, which was really enjoyable.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I would have to say that my biggest failure is not having enough optimism when the world goes all wrong.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Uhm, nothing serious. Not even an asthma attack that would require me to go to the hospital to get nebulized. So thank you Lord for the relatively good health.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Uhm, if I say a really nice John Varvatos shirt, would you think less of me?

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

The people behind Icon – everyone from the writers to the stylists to the hair and makeup artists to the photographers – everyone involved in Icon even in the remotest possible way needs to be thanked.

13. Whose behaviour appalled you and made you depressed?

A bunch of people who had a limited worldview. I don’t blame them. It’s not their fault.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food, school, night-outs and in the last quarter of the year – to Rustan’s and Stores Specialists…grrr!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I got excited about the styling experience. I got excited about seeing the iBook box. I got excited by a banca ride in Taal.

16. What song/s will always remind you of 2005?

Uhm, aside from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album of Madonna, uhm, I don’t really know. Sorry.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

A. Happier or Sadder? Still the same. I’m not really answering the question, am I?
B. Thinner or Fatter? Still the same. I’m not really answering the question, am I?
C. Richer or Poorer? Still the same. I’m not really answering the question, am I?

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

I wish I’d been more positive about things. I wish I’d thought more of myself rather than putting others ahead of me.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Complain.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Christmas day itself was spent with my family. We went to Mass, then went to my grandfather’s house to have the annual family reunion with my Mom’s siblings and families.

21. Did you fall in love in 2005?

Been in love since 2002. Thank you very much.

22. How many one-night stands?

Let’s see. None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Desperate Housewives. Prisonbreak. Sex and the City.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nope. Hate is such a strong word. I don’t hate. I just stop caring.

25. What was the best book you read?

This is a difficult question to answer. For gay literature, I would have to say the Rainbow Series by Alex Sanchez.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Does Wicked count, even if every musical loving person probably knows about it?

27. What did you want and get?

Another birthday.

28. What did you want and not get?

Photo shoots that were on schedule. Article submissions that were on time. Hahahaha! I’m adjusting though. I don’t know if that’s good.

29. Favorite film of this year?

Another difficult question. I don’t remember all but my favorites would include The Interpreter, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, In Good Company, The Family Stone, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 26. On my birthday, I spent the day buying presents for someone else, and attended a birthday dinner for another person.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I just want to forget 2005 and hope that 2006 is way, way, way better.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?

A bit adventurous.

33. What kept you sane?

Friends, Hunski and faith in God.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

I don’t really care about politics.

35. Who did you miss?

No one.

36. Who were the best new persons you met?

I met a lot of great individuals in 2005 – gays, lesbians, transgenders, maybe a bisexual or two. All these people have taught me a lesson and have served as an inspiration.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.

You just have to keep on believing that something good is going to come your way, sooner or later. And no matter what, He is always there for you.

Still Learning Things...


Image via QAF Italia

I was talking to a transgender the other day and she was telling me that her dream is to be a "real woman."

What she meant by being a "real woman" is going under the knife and having the protruding member between her legs modified to look more like what may be found between the legs of a real woman, biologically speaking.

When I was younger (I can't believe I'm already using this phrase!!! Haha!), I was resistant to accepting the truth that there are some gay men who feel that they are women trapped in a men's body. I thought that it was just absurd.

Being queer myself, I always thought that I'm happy with who I am and just because I am queer, it doesn't mean that I want to be female. Yes, I may love women's fashion, but it doesn't automatically mean that I want to be female.

Fast forward to now and it is only now that I'm beginning to understand and marvel at how truly diverse and colorful being gay is. It is only fairly recently that I am starting to fully recognize and accept the fluidity of homosexuality.

There are gay men who want to be women. There are gay men who want to be with straight men. There are gay men who would never say "Prada" or "Fabulous." There are gay men who would want to take on roles that society has labeled "feminine." (And I haven't even mentioned about lesbians and bisexuals.)

No matter what, it's all okay.

I have been queer all my life and yet, it is only now that I am really beginning to see queer life as a bigger picture.

And I have to thank Icon magazine for giving me the opportunity to have met all the wonderful gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.

You think that after one year of working on a gay magazine and you'd know a lot about queer life already.

But really, you just learn something new every issue.

Four Kids and a White Witch



I finally got to watch Narnia last Saturday.

I joined Hunski and his friends Sharon and Lisa on their night-out. The four of us went to Greenhills, which is looking really great. While walking around, we saw that there's an advance screening of Narnia that night and since everyone was up for it, we decided to get tickets.

Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of people who bought tickets to catch the movie.

Okay, so what did I think of the movie?

I thought that the movie was a good adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic. I really enjoyed it and I liked everything about it - the cinematography, the cast, the location, even the make-up of the Narnia creatures.

Having read the novel, I noticed that there were a number of departures from the novel. The changes weren't really that big so I guess if you're not really that familiar with Narnia, you wouldn't care that much.

I kind of expected the movie to be more child-friendly than Lord of the Rings (I don't even think the two should be compared). That was how it was in the book and that was how it was in the movie. For example, the scene where Aslan sacrificed himself. C.S. Lewis didn't go too detailed with the sacrifice scene in his novel. If I remember correctly, he was concerned about how young readers would react if he wrote how exactly Jadis put the great Aslan to his death.

I'm not sure if the series was really meant for young readers and young adult readers. In the book, C.S. Lewis has a dedication for his granddaughter, Lucy. I'm not really sure if C.S. Lewis knew that Narnia would be the big hit that it was and it is now, or if he was just thinking of his granddaughter when he was writing the book.

In any case, it was a good two-and-a-half hour movie and everyone should watch it, whether they've read Narnia or not.

By the way, if you do watch it, make sure stay seated and wait till the end credits roll. There's an added scene.

Check out the movie's website here.

It's About Time...


Image via Made in Brazil

...that Brazilian goddess Gisele Bundchen becomes the new face of Louis Vuitton.

I was actually wondering how come she hadn't become the face of Vuitton, especially since she has moved from being a model to becoming a fashion icon (though not yet of the Kate Moss level. I think there will only Kate Moss will have that Kate Moss level.)

Still, I love Gisele and I still remember her early photos when she was just starting her way to the top. I think this ad campaign is a long overdue contract for her. Mr. Jacobs seems to have been in a celebrity endorser mood in the past few seasons - Jennifer Lopez, Chloe Sevigny, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Riccie and the latest one, Uma Thurman who served as model for two seasons.

Fashion reports write that designer Marc Jacobs said:" We just wanted a fashion icon more than the celebrity thing. I certainly feel that Gisele is iconic and recognised all over the world as Gisele. Also the clothes were hot and colourful, and we thought she would exaggerate the strength and heat of the collection."

The Brazilian takeover continues.

Rule No. 1 I Had To Learn...


Modified Image via Mac1.no

I was playing with my iBook this morning - reorganizing some folders, moving some files, and personalizing things. I was so into personalizing my new toy that I decided to rename the home icon on the sidebar from Angelo to Angelomilco.

I right click on the icon and seeing that there was an option to rename it, I go ahead and change the name to Angelomilco.

Happy with the change, I shut down the iBook and prepare to meet Hunski.

In the afternoon, Hunski and I are hanging out at the Starbucks in Rockwell. We both open our laptops. Hunski starts working on his laptop. As for me, lo and behold, after the iBook booted, it was no longer the iBook I had personalized this morning.

In fact, instead of being the familiar iBook, it became a total stranger.

All the settings were changed. My sexy Dolce and Gabbana wallpaper was no longer there. All my contacts in my Address Book were erased. The iTunes playlist was empty. The Mail account I set up was erased. All my widgets were missing.

The next thing I decided to check was whether my documents were also erased. Thankfully, they were still there. Had they also been erased, I would have gone hysterical. Those files are my life.

After seeing that my files were still there, I suggested to Hunski that I'll just erase another folder thinking that it will restore things. Thank gawd I didn't do it. Otherwise, that might have been more damage. Hahaha!

Instead, we brought it to the Apple Center at the 3/F of Rockwell and had a technician take a lookt at it. The moment I told him what I did, he already had the look on his face that clearly said "You weren't suppose to do that." After the technician restored things back to the way they were, we thanked him and left.

So for all Mac newbies like me, here's rule #1.

Do NOT change the name of your home icon on the sidebar.

Live with it. Hahaha!

Colloqium That May Be Of Interest

The UP College of Mass Communication holds a faculty colloqium every Wednesday.

Next week, January 11, Libay Cantor will be presenting a paper entitled "Lesbiyana, Lesbiyana, Paano Ka Isinapelikula?"

It will be held at the College of Mass Communication auditorium from 10 AM - 12 NN.

In case you are interested to go.

You can know a little about the speaker by reading her profile on the Brent Issue of Icon.

It's Now a Movie!!!



Some of you probably remember my entry on the wonderful, wonderful novel of Alex Sanchez - Rainbow Boys.

If you've read the story and if like me, you've fallen in love with it, then you would definitely want to see the novel turned into a film.

Well, guess what?! It has been made into a film!!!

I was surfing last night for gay-related news and I bumped into the website for Rainbow Boys the Movie.

The film adaptation of the novel hit theaters in Bangkok November last year. It was produced by Cyberfish Media. (I wonder if the fact that Alex Sanchez resides in Bangkok had anything to do with making the novel into a film.)

I've seen the trailer of the film, and I have a feeling that the story line didn't depart too much from the novel. The story involves Ek, the school jock who thinks that he's gay (Jason Carrillo in the novel); Tat, who's not out to his family (Kyle Meeks in the novel); and Nat, the out and proud best friend of Tat (Nelson Glassman in the novel.)

According to what is on the website, the movie shows that three characters go through their college life dealing with more than just passing their subjects and attending classes, but instead facing issues such as coming out, falling in love for the first time, and coming to terms with one's self.

Augh!!! I can't believe that this wasn't released internationally. I hope that the movie will be included in the 2006 Pink Film Festival here in Manila. If not, I hope that I can get a copy of the movie somewhere.

I want to see this movie!!!

Meanwhile, I can't help but notice that Thailand has produced successful gay-related films in the recent years. These include Iron Ladies 1 and 2, and most recently, Beautiful Boxer. And now, we have Rainbow Boys the Movie. I hope Philippine cinema can produce similar films, and start veering away from the stereotyped portrayal of the Filipino gay man as someone who's closeted, self-loathing, alone and miserable, okay with being made fun of, and has this boxed definition that to be "gay" means to be effeminate.

Check out the movie website here and the novel website here.

Good Start for the Year


Table Setting for New Year's Eve


Yum New Year's Eve Dinner


Hunskis and Friends


Happy New Year from the Hunskis

As I've mentioned in my previous entry, I spent New Year's at the Tagaytay home of our new friends, Sean and Romil.

This was the first time I am spending New Year's away from my family and together with Hunski and friends so it was a big thing for me. It makes me feel more of a grown-up, for some reason.

Hunski and I decided to bring vegetarian lasagna and mango cheesecake so we started cooking at four in the afternoon. We finished everything by seven in the evening.

By nine, Hunski and I were already on the road to Tagaytay. It was a very quick drive, which wasn't really surprising because very few people would travel on New Year's Eve. The trip which usually takes about two hours took only one hour that night.

We arrived at Sean and Romil's home at about 10.30.

When we got there, Sean was very preoccupied in the kitchen preparing the food. Romil, on the other hand, sat down with us and kept us company.

The two have a very lovely home. It's quite small (but in a cute kind of way) but I have to say that it's the best home in the village. The house is full of antique furniture and decors, and although it does look busy, it works for some way. Sean told us that it was Romil who fixed up the house. It was quite amazing because Romil is a rehab medicine doctor by profession and not really an interior decorator. Just outside the house, they set up a small canopy with a nice table, wooden chairs, and some candles where people could just sit down, have coffee or a glass of wine, and enjoy each other's company.

As we started our dinner at half past eleven, Richie and Suki arrived. It was really great. I was looking forward to spend New Year's Eve with these two as well so I'm really glad they made it in time. For dinner, we had roast lamb, herbed chicken with gravy, grilled blue marlin with lemon butter sauce, russian salad, two mushroom soup consomme, and the vegetarian lasagna we brought.

When the clock struck twelve, Sean poured wine for everyone and we had a toast.

It was a really lovely dinner.

Afterwards, we all went out to the canopy and had desserts and some drinks. A little after two a.m., Jigs and Vince arrived. We all stayed up till four in the morning.

Since we stayed up late, I was hoping I would wake up late as well. But guess what, I was already awake by 7.30 a.m. After I took a very, very cold bath, I was surprised to see that Sean and Romil were also up already and were already busy preparing breakfast. The others woke up an hour or two later, and we all had breakfast together.

For breakfast, Sean prepared the famous pesto and cheese bread (which you can get at Sanctuario in Tagaytay and Tiendesitas), some sausages and ham slices, cheese, leftovers from last night, and hot chocolate.

After breakfast, we all just hung out and talked and talked and talked. Unfortunately, Hunski had to leave by noon time because he had a family reunion to go to.

A little after one, Sean and Romil went out to get our lunch - seafood paella and pata tim. We had lunch outside.

When lunch was over, we all just hung out again. It was really relaxing and enjoyable.

I would have to say that the thing I most enjoyed during our overnight stay is the conversations we have had. We talked about all sorts of thing from rehab medicine to relationships to being gay. I learned some new interesting thoughts on some interesting topics, and those new thoughts just showed me how diverse and how fun, sometimes puzzling, being gay is.

We left back for Manila by five in the afternoon. We thanked our hosts for being such great hosts, and we promised each other that we would get together again soon.

I'm really happy that I got to celebrate New Year the way we celebrated it. It may seem so trivial to others, but for me, it would be the most memorable New Year's celebration I've ever had (at least for now.) Thank you Sean and Romil for being great hosts!

Happy New Year to you all!