Rien n’est plus dangereux que le travail discontinue; c’est une habitude qui s’en va. Habitude facile a quitter, difficile a reprendre.
~Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), Les Miserables (1862)
Fifteen Years Now
9 months ago
Andami nang nangyari. Andami nang mga naganap. Sa dinami-dami nakalimutan ko na ang detalye ng karamihan pero tamad pa rin akong i-blog ang mga kaganapan.
FTC had its first meeting a few weeks ago. Pero since Rocky already blogged about it, I won't get into the details na. To sum it up, we had wine and cheese and games and lots of fun!
Last weekend, we visited our lolas at the Home for the Golden Gays. Dahil may blog entry na rin si Jade about it, hindi ko na rin ide-detalye (and because I'm really just lazy). Happy naman. Happy not just because the program was fun, but because it really feels very fulfilling helping out other people. Happy kahit hagas at walang tulog tulog.
Saturday morning right after my work shift, I went straight to Ortigas to have a breakfast meeting with Lanchie, Jade, Bern and Acee to plan the outreach. Walang tulugan 'to! Kinaya pa naming rumampa sa Megamall after the breakfast so katanghalian na kami nagsiuwian. Sunday morning, I woke up really early to prepare breakfast. I had to have a big breakfast kasi I was very sure 'di na ako makakakain afterwards. It turned out I was right. Alas tres na ang sunod na kain ko.
After the outreach, we went straight to CA for a debriefing. Actually, we just wanted to eat so we ordered some pizza but the delivery took too long we decided to get a start on the alcohol. By the time the pizza arrived, we were all so hungry the four boxes were wiped clean in 4 minutes.
After a few more glasses of alcohol, Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adele Blanc-Sec, Les Miserables' 25th Anniversary Concert, and halfway through The Phantom of the Opera (at pagod na rin), I fell asleep. It was more of a power nap, really, that lasted for just roughly 30 minutes. Which I was already thankful for because if I hadn't, I'd have been awake more than 24 hours.
We left CA at a few minutes past 5AM. More hungry than tired, we decided to grab some breakfast at R&J's. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw the food but I attribute the 2.5 cups of rice I downed more to the bulalo and hito tasting great.
By 7:30AM we were already on our way home. At last!
This 20th of November, Akei and PinoyG4M will visit the Home for the Golden Days.
For more information, you may visit the event page on Facebook or join the conversation in the PG4M forums.
PinoyG4M and the Akei LGBTIQ Working Group is teaming up to aid the Home for the Golden Gays!
Choose one or both ways to help:
I want to sponsor:
You may donate cash by contacting us below or you may opt to give slippers, colorful shirts, fans, combs, handkerchiefs and/or toiletries. Pledges & donations will be publicly listed but you may request to remain anonymous.
Click here for instructions on how to donate via GCash.
Click here for a list of Internation GCash Remit partners.
I want to volunteer:
Join us for a fun afternoon at the Home!
1:00 - 5:00 PM
November 26, 2011 | Saturday
Home for the Golden Gays
#108 David Street corner F.B. Harrison, Pasay City
For more information, visit the event's page on Facebook.
You may also join the conversation in the PG4M forums
The Home for the Golden Gays is "a refuge for the elderly and vulnerable gays of Manila. A home for those, who have nowhere else to go, for those whose families have rejected them, and for those who simply want to be in the company of other elderly gays."
PinoyG4M: Straight Talk for Gay Men
PG4M (Pinoy Guys4Men) is an online message board for Filipino and Philippine-based gay and bisexual men. This site aims to provide a venue for conversation and exchange of ideas among its members, providing a venue for friendship, a sense of community, and a sounding board for opinions and concerns of gay men regarding the current issues and trends facing not just the LGBT people, but the society in general.
Contact:
Lanchie Abanco
+63 917 365 9620
lanchie@gmail.com
The LGBTIQ Working Group of Akei considers the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual & questioning/queer (LGBTIQ) peoples as one of the last great civil issues of our time. In countries around the world, LGBTIQs face issues on multiple fronts--in justice systems, workplaces and even among their peers. Akei plans to concentrate on improving movement tactics, social networks and cultural capital in the LGBTIQ community through harnessing intellectual resources so as to create systemic changes in how LGBTIQ people are treated in society.
Contact:
PJ Salenda
Akei LGBTIQ Working Group
+63 918 942 8513
prsalenda@gmail.com
Suddenly you were out of my reach
And I was an infant without my rattle
Then I was a baby without a bottle
Suddenly you were out of my sight
And I was a child without my mother
Then I was a kid without a father
Suddenly you were no longer beside me
And I would feel the cold of winter
Then I would sweat in the heat of summer
Suddenly I could no longer feel you
And I am a man with just a memory
Then I am someone living in reverie
Suddenly I will open my eyes
And I will see I am one and alone
Then I will not see why I am alone
The “ber” months hath come indeed! It’s the time of year when I struggle to stuff everything in my calendar. These are the months when there seem to be an endless stream of parties to attend and parties to plan.
The battle to fit all the events in one calendar for one persona has actually started, a few weekends ago. There’s the inuman with officemates, the inuman with friends, the inuman with old friends, the inuman with more officemates, the inuman with more friends and more old friends.
I had wanted to write about all the activities I’ve done so far, but there’s just too many and most of the time, I get too intoxicated in alcohol to come up with a sensible piece to post.
Just last Friday night, I and two of my officemates finished off 4 pitchers of a drink called bad trip. I got home from that session at around 4 or 5 in the morning, wasn’t even able to take my contact lenses off and slept with my stinking clothes. I was too intoxicated that I just fell on my bed and caught all the Z’s I could.
Up to now, I still can not come up with anything more sensible than this.
In celebration of Manila Pride 2011, PinoyG4M and Akei will hold an Outreach Program to Home for the Golden Gays.
Much like Golden Acres or Home for the Aged, the Home serves as a refuge for the elderly but is targeted towards the elderly gay. What better way to celebrate this Gay Pride season than to give back to help those who were there before us.
This is an open invitation for anyone who wishes to help us help the Home. Anyone who wants to pledge any amount, you may contact Lanchie at (63) 917 365 9620 or send an email to lanchie@gmail.com.
For more information, you may visit the links above.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
~Dr. Seuss
What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires — desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.
~Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970), Proposed Roads to Freedom: Socialism, Anarchism and Syndicalism (1919)
Last Sunday, our very dear friend who has been absent from our gatherings in the past couple of months finally decided to show up. He was terribly missed, of course, by his doting T'yang and Ninang, and so after several rounds in Megamall critiquing the window displays, we decided to drag him to my place for dinner.
I cooked penne ala puttanesca sans the anchovies and chili pepper but with ground beef instead while enjoying a bottle of burgundy that we just bought along with a bottle of moscato. The moment we purchased the two bottles, I knew it was going to be another night of pouring wine. It was proven true when we were not quite content with the burgundy and decided to go for the moscato after the dinner.
The moscato was a very good dessert wine. It was sweet and silky smooth, perfect companion to a cheesecake...
I just wished we had an actual dessert, but for people like us a good conversation with friends more than makes up for the lack of sweet treats. The conversation was so good, in fact, that we decided to go for a third bottle - a California red - and the merry-making went on until three in the morning. Our poor friend ended up not being able to go to work because of it, but I know he still loves us anyway.
***
In vino veritas.
Indeed under the influence of alcohol, most - if not all - of what we speak are words we mean, and thus, the truth as we believe. That simple paradigm got me thinking about the time my ex called me on my phone...
I could tell he was drunk. He called and all he had to say was I love you.
As usual, my defenses activated automatically and all I could reply was you're drunk, get some rest.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking that I'm applying that belief to that scenario. Maybe... Who knows?
I will not deny the possibility that I may still have deep feelings for him. Try as I may, I cannot explain why so I won't even bother with an explanation. Maybe the only thing to note in our situation is that I took a chance on him after almost 2 years of being unattached and that, before him, I was dating someone else for over 8 months but never committed.
I always said I was trying to be spontaneous when I committed to him and I know it definitely wasn't love at first sight. I also realize that the feelings I had for him weren't as strong as when we began as it was when we ended. He grew on me.
In vino veritas.
I should move on, I know. Friends are trying to tell me to. At this point, though, I don't even know whether or not I want to do just that.
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