Sunday, November 27, 2011

Get Up! It’s Time

I first saw this video from Boys in Pixels. It was one of the best video I’ve ever seen that promotes equality when it comes to gay marriage. The video tells the story of two guys meeting at a cruise ship and started a relationship that eventually led to a marriage proposal.

The story is from the point of view of one of the guys. He’s taking picture of the whole thing – from their first meeting, to a date, argument, meeting the parents, until the proposal. At the end of the video, the guy taking the recording was revealed. It was a fantastic video. It has everything that a gay guy like me would love in a relationship.

The organization responsible for the video is Get Up! Here’s a brief description of this movement/organization from their official website:

GetUp is an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation giving everyday Australians opportunities to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues.

GetUp members are committed to fairness, sustainability and social justice. Whether it is sending an email to a member of parliament, engaging with the media, attending an event or helping to get a television ad on the air, GetUp members take targeted, coordinated and strategic action.
GetUp members make a difference.

GetUp does not back any particular party, but aims to build an accountable and progressive Australia - an Australia with economic fairness, social justice and environmental sustainability at its core.

GetUp is a not-for-profit and receives no money from any political party or the government. We welcome donations as we rely solely on funds and in-kind donations from the Australian public.

I’ve always thought that Australia’s constitution already accepts same-sex marriage. I’ve read Wikipedia and learned that not all the states/provinces of Australia accept same-sex marriage. To quote Wikipedia:

Australia bans recognition of same-sex marriages. The ban is somewhat supported by the Catholic Church and the two largest political parties. The current Gillard federal Labor Party government is reluctant to progress toward same sex marriage asserting that marriage remains the preserve of heterosexual couples only. In February 2010, the Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young's Marriage Equality Bill was rejected by the Senate. Senator Hanson-Young re-introduced the bill to the Senate in September 2010. The bill will sit on a notice paper until the major parties agree to a conscience vote on it. A Greens motion urging federal MPs to gauge community support for gay marriage was passed by the House of Representatives on 18 November 2010.

The Australian Capital Territory is the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise civil partnerships ceremonies for gay couples. However, they are not recognised in Australian jurisdictions outside of that territory. Registered partnerships are available in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. From 1 July 2009 Centrelink recognised same-sex couples equally regarding social security – under the common-law marriage, de facto status or unregistered cohabitation. There is a bill before the Tasmanian Legislative Council to recognise same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

I’m not surprised that it’s the Catholic Church who opposes gay marriage. It would do everything to retain its tradition and customs. I’m just surprised that Australia has a large Catholic population that it influences the government’s decision. I’ve always thought that Australia is similar to the US when it comes to religious freedom.

Anyway, going back to the topic of gay marriage, I could imagine how long it would take before same-sex marriage would be recognized here in the Philippines. It probably won’t happen in my lifetime. If Australia is still debating on the subject, in spite of the fact that Australians in general accepts same-sex marriage (in different polls conducted), how much more here in the Philippines?

Friday, November 25, 2011

I No Longer Know Where to Look for You

While I was reading some forum messages at Pinoy G4M, I thought of advertising myself in the format of a letter. I hope someone decent and serious would send me a message. I mean every word of this letter even though I typed this almost instantly. Whatever crossed my mind, I typed it. I think I typed this message in less than 3 minutes. I really hope someone notices.

gay marriage

I No Longer Know Where to Look for You

I'm referring to you, Serious Relationship a.k.a. Soulmate. You're one of the hardest thing to look for!

I've searched for you, sa pen pal ad. Hinanap din kita sa Yahoo! Group at Chat. Hirap mong hanapin.

Sumali ako sa mga text clan. Baka sakaling tumatambay ka dun. Sa mga bookstores, sumasaglit din ako baka book-lover ka.

Sa mga sinehan, sa mga parks. Grabe 'di ko na alam kung saan ka makikita. Sa Sogo ba? Wise Hotel?

Sa Friendster, gumawa ako ng profile para sa 'yo. You never left a message. Nung mauso Facebook, gumawa din ako ng account. Hoping that you'll Like me.

Gumawa ako ng blog for you, hoping you'll leave a comment that you're looking for me too. Sa mga Forums, iniwan ko number ko. I never got a txt from you. Sa mga gay sites, sa mga porn sites... hinanap kita. Sumilip din ako sa mga web cams pero wala ka sa mood for a show.

Sa YouTube, hinanap ko rin mga uploads mo. Sa GG Arena, nakipag-DotA ako sa 'yo. Pero hanggang "GG na sir" lang ang sinasabi mo.

Sa Ragnarok Online I met someone like you! Kaso, hanggang close friends lang talaga kami. It was the closest I could get sa 'yo.

I no longer know where to look for you. I'm approaching my 35th birthday na and I'm almost giving up. The flame of hope for that One Serious Relationship, ay unti-unti nang namamatay. Sometimes I feel na sumuko na lang at tanggapin na you don’t exist talaga sa gay world.

Swerte lang talaga si Neil Patrick Harris for finding David Burtka or si Mark ng Westlife for finding Kevin. Swerte nga lang din ata si Tiggah for finding Pooh, or si Rocky for finding Tobie. Swerte lang ata sila... at malas lang talaga ako.

Ilang beses na ba kitang hiniling kay Santa? Ilang beses din sinambit ang name mo as birthday wish. Pag nakakakuha nga ako ng wish bone sa manok, name mo pa rin sinasambit mo. Pati nga fortune cookie, pinapatos ko makita lang yung message na malapit na kitang makita.

Hayz... paasa ka talaga, Serious Relationship. Pigment of imagination ka ata. Pero thanks sa 'yo, mukhang nakagawa na naman ako ng Blog Entry. Salamat and I'm still hoping, na one day, magparamdam ka na.

P.S.

Wish ko lang, 'pag nakita kita, 'di ko pa need gumamit ng Viagra

For my foreign readers:

I'm referring to you, Serious Relationship a.k.a. Soulmate. You're one of the hardest things to look for!

I've searched for you, in pen pal ad. I also searched for you in Yahoo! Group and Chat. You’re hard to look for.

I also joined text clan. Hoping you’re staying there. In bookstores, I pass by. You might be a book-lover.

In cinemas, in parks. Great, I no longer know where I’ll see you. In Sogo (hotel)? Wise Hotel?

In Friendster, I created a profile for you. You never left a message. When Facebook became a hit, I also created an account. Hoping that you'll Like me.

I created a blog for you, hoping you'll leave a comment that you're looking for me too. In Forums, I left my (cellular phone) number. I never got a text message from you. In gay sites, porn sites… I’ve searched for you. I also peek at web cams but you’re not in the mood for a “show”.

In YouTube, I looked for your upload. In GG Arena, I played DotA for you. However, “Good Game sire” is all you can utter.

In Ragnarok Online I met someone like you! But, we’re really just close friends. It was the closest I could get to you.

I no longer know where to look for you. I'm approaching my 35th birthday already and I'm almost giving up. The flame of hope for that One Serious Relationship, is slowly dying. Sometimes I feel like giving up and accept the fact that you really don’t exist in the gay world.

Neil Patrick Harris is simply plain lucky for finding David Burtka or Mark of Westlife for finding Kevin. It seems that Tiggah is also lucky for finding Pooh or Rocky for finding Tobie. They’re just plain lucky… and I’m just cursed.

How many times did I wish for you from Santa? How many times did I mention your name as birthday wish? Whenever I got a wish bone, it’s your name that I mention. Even fortune cookies, I give a crack out of it hoping that I’ll get a message that I’ll soon find you.

(Sigh)… you’re just giving me false hope, Serious Relationship. You’re probably just a pigment of my imagination. But thanks to you, I’ve created another Blog Entry. Thank you and I’m still hoping that one day, you’ll make your presence known.

P.S.

I’m just hoping that when I meet you, I don’t feel the need for a Viagra

Christmas Party with South Border

We had our company’s Christmas Party yesterday at the World Trade Center Tent. Yes, it’s too early for Christmas. In fact, it’s more of a post-Thanksgiving Party. Thank God for Tuesday Vargas and South Border for the entertainment. Otherwise, it would have been a more boring Christmas party.

invitation

So our invitation says that registration starts at 6:00PM. I woke up around 6:45PM yesterday and played Ragnarok Online for about an hour (I can’t miss the daily quest). After that, I passed by SM Megamall to buy a gift for a child (which will serve as our entrance fee to the Christmas party). I arrived at the World Trade Center Tent at around 10:00PM and I almost missed the foods. The only foods left at the buffet table are rice and pansit (sotanghon).

I missed the dance competition but I was able to hear Ryan Asa Domagas sing “I Can Go the Distance “which I’m assuming, is his winning song in the recently concluded Contact Center Icons. He’s a good singer and he’s this year’s Voice Icon!

Tuesday Vargas hosted our Christmas party and she’s great! She’s also approachable and we even took pictures of her back stage.

The finale of our Christmas party is the performance of South Border. They sang their signature songs like “Rainbow”, “Love of My Life”, “Kahit Kailan”, among others .They also sang some popular ones like “Moves Like Jagger” and “Lazy Song”.

I’m not a fan of South Border and I don’t even know the name of the lead singer but I love their songs. Thank you guys for the wonderful performance!

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Tuesday Vargas

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South Border

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Orchids of Torres Ville

Torres Ville Pool Resort at Antipolo City has a decent collection of Philippine Orchids and other flowers. I don’t know exactly what breed or exact species of orchids do they have at this pool resort, but let me share with you the photos I took.

I can imagine how wonderful these orchids could have looked like if I used a DSLR. No worries, I can almost smell our 13th month pay. I’m sure, once I have it I’ll go straight to SM Megamall and look at some of the most recent models of DSLR.

For the meantime, I’m still using my reliable Canon PowerShot A495 which I’ve been using for more than a year now. This is the camera I’ve been using ever since I begun blogging at the old blog, Elmer Loves Oreo. I suddenly have a feeling of nostalgia. I posted a similar entry in that blog about the orchids of my friend in Nueva Ecija. I sure hope I could take more pictures of orchids.

How I wish an expert from the Philippine Orchid Society would stumble upon these pictures and identity the names of these orchids from Torres Ville.

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Food Photography Practice

I got a tip from a photographer about taking pictures of food. He advised me not to take a top view of the food but instead take a closer shot of the food to make it more enticing to the viewers.

I began doing so when we ate at Kamay Kainan and during our most recent team building at Torres Ville in Antipolo City. These are the food we cooked during our dinner and breakfast. Actually it was our Team Leader (TL) who cooked our breakfast. Yes, all of our breakfast!

I hope you like these pictures. Please let me know if the tip I got from that photographer is effective.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Reasons for Watching “Breaking Dawn”

Well, aside from the fact that I wanted to see how “Breaking Dawn” would transform from novel to movie, the other reason why I would love to watch “Breaking Dawn” is because of Jackson Rathbone.

sexy

Jackson Rathbone plays the character of Jasper Hale, love interest of Alice Cullen in the “Twilight Saga” movies. While most girls find Robert Pattinson the sexiest guy from the movie, my eyes are fixed on Jackson Rathbone. I simply find him the most gorgeous guy from these movie series.

Aside from playing the character of Jasper Hale (the blood-hungry-under-control vampire), Jackson Rathbone is also known for playing Sokka, from the movie The Last Airbender. I’m probably one of the few who would say that Jackson Rathbone is perfect for the role of Sokka.

I haven’t watched “Breaking Dawn” yet. I’ll probably watch it this weekend. I’m just waiting for someone who would treat me to the movie (I wish). By the way, here are his most recent pictures taken from Just Jared.

Who do you find the most sexy guy from “Twilight”?

 cute cute2

Monday, November 21, 2011

Torres Ville Pool Resort

Last Friday was our own team building. It was held at Torres Ville Pool Resort (119 C. Lewis Street, Tabak, Antipolo City). The place was quiet, relaxing and is ideal for events such as this. It’s has a single pool, a videoke court, a nipa-house-inspired cottage, a basketball half-court (which we never used), and a children’s playground.

My team mates stumbled upon this resort on the Internet and they were intrigued by their unusual advertisement. Even our team mate who’s from Antipolo City has never heard about this resort.

Their pricelist is divided into two: the one with table clothes and the bare essentials (with no table clothes in other words). The one with table clothes cost P6,000 and the other package cost only P5,000. This is between 8PM-6AM. There is an additional fee if it exceeds this time.

We rented the place from 1:00PM to 7:00AM the next morning and it cost our team P7,000. That package includes the unlimited rent of the videoke, which we enjoyed. This fee doesn’t include the bed sheets. By the way, they also sell fresh buko for P12 each. The place has a lot of coconuts.

Check out the following pictures of this resort. For inquiries, please send them an email at mullerswisspool@yahoo.com.ph or text them at 0999-460-7382. Their landline is 393-5253.

Just a reminder by the way. The city of Antipolo prohibits the use of Styrofoam and Torres Ville Pool Resort adheres to that. So if you’ll be bringing Styrofoam cups and plates, you’ll have to bring it along with you once you depart from the resort (like what our team mate did).

Also, the blue concrete house that you’ll see in these pictures is NOT for rent. It’s the house of the owner.

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