Yesterday on Showtime, Vice Ganda got to thank the “madlang people” for watching his successful concert last Saturday at the Araneta Colesium. He left an inspiring message to everyone, especially to the gay community:

Noong sabado po, noong gabi pong iyon, isang mahalagang kaganapan ang nangyari sa kasaysayan, isang kaganapan na nagpatunay na maaari namang palang mabura sa diksyunaryo ang salitang diskriminasyon. Noong gabing iyon, marami pong ang nagbago. Bukod sa buhay ko, nagbago ang pananaw at paniniwala. Sa modernong panahon, ang mga bakla ay hindi na ikinahihiya, pinagtitripan, kinukutya, at pinandidirihan. Sa modernong panahon, ngayon ang bakla ay maaari nang tanggapin, palakpakan, at hangaan.

Fantastic! More power to you Vice Ganda!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yesterday, Pooh had a chat with one of his college friend, a straight non-Catholic guy (I won’t mention what religion he belongs), which, will have his son’s dedication (Christening) next week. Let’s call him Smudge. Well, Pooh had a chat with the wife few days ago and asked if he can tag me (the boyfriend) along during the event.

And since today is Manila’s Gay Pride March, I would like you to read on the conversation he had with Smudge and tell me what you think.

Smudge: bakit walang pasok?
Pooh: taguig day
Smudge: ah ok
Pooh: kita tayo sa sat
Smudge: oks
Pooh: ei may isasama ko si martin,pinaalam ko na kay raqs
Smudge: sino sya?
Pooh: boyfriend
Smudge: pumayag si raquel?
Pooh: yep pumayag sya
Smudge: wala syang sinabi sakin
Pooh: if nde pede,it’s ok
Smudge: mark
Smudge: di pa kami naguusap
Smudge: ni raquel
Pooh: no worries, ok lang
Smudge: to tell you honestly, i want you to get out of that life you are living now
Smudge: i do believe it is not really you
Pooh: I appreciate your concern chunx but
Pooh: eto na ko ngayon…
Smudge: so, you’re willing to risk eternity for the sake of your present?
Pooh: I think God can understand my situation
Pooh: I tried living a normal but nde ko talaga kaya
Smudge: i dont think so
Pooh: *normal life
Smudge: I am 100% postitive that He wont understand you
Smudge: because HE design you to be a HE and not the other way around.
Smudge: hindi ko naman sinabing madali yan
Smudge: pero nasa desisyon mo yan
Smudge: kung magdedeicde ka, dadali yan
Pooh: mas sinful ang magiging buhay ko pag pinili ko magpakstraigh…
Smudge: pero kung gusto mo na talaga yang buhay na yan, mahihirapan ka talaga.
Pooh: righ now,I’m not hurting anyone.
Smudge: and so you think you;re not
Smudge: have you not hurt your parents? your tita? your FRIENDS?
Smudge: have you not hurt GOd?
Smudge: you are not hurting someone physically. but physical hurt heals fast than emotional one.
Smudge: being straight is not living in sin. being GAY is living A SINFUL LIFE/
Pooh: my family and some friends understand my situation…
Smudge: i have opened to you what the bible said about it before.
Smudge: I dont
Pooh: I respect your opinion…
Smudge: it is not an opinion, it is a belief system
Smudge: pero, bahala ka
Smudge: buhay mo pa rin naman yan
Smudge: at the end of the day, i did what i have to doi
Smudge: *do
Smudge: i have told you the TRUTH about God’s word
Pooh: I respect your beliefs then…again I appreciate your concern…
Smudge: there are things we understand but still, we cannot just accept them.
Smudge: just so you know, i wanted to be frank with you.
Smudge: i dont want you BF to be around my kid’s dedication.
Pooh: I understand
Smudge: i can accept you as a guest because of what we had back in college
Pooh: I’ll see you na lang in other occasion
Smudge: i hope you see the light out of what you have now.
Smudge: hindi porke masaya ka, maayos ang lahat.
Last message received on 12/3/2009 at 2:22 PM
Pooh: I understand..anyway,meet ko na lang si Red sa ibang time

For me, this is old school but still has an impact to the gay community, our community. We all have our own choices, our own life, our own identity to live in. So in this light, I think the word is respect. Whether it’s about our sexual preferences or not, or anything else, we people should respect one another.

So I say, “I AM NOT IMMORAL”. Respect our identity.

Last weekend was the bomb! I stayed at Pooh’s place in Cavite and get to meet his family for the first time. Though he never mentioned to his family that we’re committed, but I feel they can sense it. They gave me a warm welcome and made me comfortable. Their place is not that far as I thought, and I’m loving it! It’s where I would go if I want to escape the city life. The backyard is like a Farmville!

Anyway, the first night, we just stayed home and had a few bottles of Vodka Ice, well, who wouldn’t be surprised if you can get a bottle for just P84.00 compared to other clubs and bars which sell it double the price, or at any 7-eleven stores which sell it at P95.00. Hehehe.

The next day was a Tagaytay day for us. We went to Picnic Grove and experienced the well-known Tagaytay Zipline. Since it’s a weekend (or holidays), their rate is P200.00 for one-way ride, and P300.00 for the two-way. But the normal rate is P100.00 and P200.00 respectively. You could also get a photo while riding the Zipline in a wooden frame for just P100.00.

Tagaytay Zipline photo for P100.00

Me @ Tagaytay Zipline

Pooh @ Tagaytay Zipline

We had our dinner at Leslie’s. I just can’t believe we ate a lot: Ensaladang Mangga, Tortang Talong, Inihaw na Liempo, Kare-Kare, Strawberry Milk Shake, and Halo-Halo! Whoooahh! Hello calories! Then after, we had some hot coffee and tea at Starbucks, claimed my planner, and gave it to Pooh.

Us @ Leslie's

Then finally back to Pooh’s place, rested a bit. The question is, what would partners do usually if everyone’s sleeping and left alone in the living room? Well. Hahaha. I guess that sneaking factor made it even more hotter. LOL

So, it’s already Monday, I need to go back to the city life. I know this is just the start and I would really want to get to know his family more very soon.

So, people on Facebook just can’t get over Edward-Jacob fantasy. Another picture of them kissing. Enjoy!

Screw Bella

The hottest artwork circling around Facebook is a sketch of the New Moon hunks Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) kissing. Love it! Move over Bella! Hahaha!

Edward Cullen and Jacob Black kissing

The Philippine gay community was moved by the recent rejection of “Ang Ladlad Party” by COMELEC as one of the duly registered sectoral party in the Philippines. Team Pilipinas together with Jethro Patalinghug, one of the contenders of Mr. Gay World Philippines, and Niccolo Cosme, a renowned photographer, will be spearheading the “I AM NOT IMMORAL” photo and video project on December 5, 2009, after the annual Philippine gay pride march. Join the cause!

I Am Not Immoral

“I AM NOT IMMORAL!” by Jethro Patalinghug

It is OUTRAGEOUS! Every bit of the person that I am tells me that it is UNACCEPTABLE. For Ang Ladlad Party to be rejected to become a duly registered sectoral party by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) because of allegations of “IMMORALITY” is an abomination to humanity, an abomination to the LGBTI community… and I take it very personally!

The statement has gone beyond the sectoral party rejection arena. It has a potential to echo into the consciousness of the already confused and fragmented society about the value and relevance of the LGBTI community. Therefore it has a potential to go against all our efforts to become more accepted and recognized as a legitimate and respectable sector of society.

WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS!

We must join all our efforts to not only control the damage that has been made, but also aggressively attack the opponent head on! Our individual expressions and reactions such as the status messages and notes here on facebook are commendable, but if we do it together in one solid form might be a stronger backlash.

Presenting!

“I AM NOT IMMORAL!”

On the night of DEC 5, the night of the PRIDE March, let us all gather and express our reactions towards the issue. Let us make our voices louder as we each say “I AM NOT IMMORAL!” through individual head shot photos to be taken by renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme and individual video clips to be directed by Jethro Patalinghug. Together these photos and video clips, when combined into a resource website and a youtube channel, will not only become a living testament to our protest but also become a readily available media for people in the worldwide web to watch. The possibilities are endless, not only our fellow Filipinos will see it but also people around the world. Let us show them that our humble community here in the Philippines can and will assert their rights.

Join us on the night of DEC 5 at Maria Orosa St. in Malate. Look for the rainbow colored walls and have your photos and videos taken. Come as yourself, or if you are feeling it, come as fabulous as you can, be in drag if you may, do something different to catch every attention that you can for the cause.

It was another tiring run yesterday for me, Pooh, and his friends at Del Monte’s Dare to be Fit ‘n Right Fun Run 2009, 5K division. We got our race packs last week with a singlet, and a race bib with an electronic chip for time recording. We arrived at SM Mall Of Asia at around 5:00AM and had our breakfast at Starbucks, need the energy to get going and of course, for the Starbucks Planner stickers. Hahaha!

Dare to be Fit 'n Right Fun Run 2009

Anyway, the event started late, i think it was already 6:30AM when it started, well, gunshot supposedly at 6:00AM. Fitness First is one of the sponsors and I saw Andre Sunga, one of the Body Jam instructors, did the warm up of Body Jam 48, Ne-Yo’s Closer (Stonebridge Club Remix).

Then we started running. Whew! Sweat much. Can’t wait for the results.

After the run, the people was still racing to get their belongings and Del Monte products in the courtesy booth. No line. Go figure. Errrr. Anyway, there were also some performances, announcements, and raffles. A Lenovo laptop was also given away, but they tried drawing 10 times I think to get the winner, since the people they called left already. Too bad my number was not called. Hehehe.

Me @ Dare to be Fit ‘n Right Fun Run 2009

UPDATE (11/25/2009): Complete race results are now available at http://www.runningmate.ph/del_monte/result

Pooh and I turned a month old last week. We planned to dine at Kitchen Greenbelt 3 after his work shift. It’s where we actually made it official that we were exclusively dating then.

Anyway, I can’t think of a good gift for our monthsary, should I say, I can’t even go out alone and look for something since we go out together almost all the time. So on that day itself, we were chatting and told him that I’ll be logging off to sleep, though, instead, I dressed up and went to the mall. I thought of giving him his own dose of surprises which I blog about in Pooh and the Flowers, so I ran to Holland Tulips and got a nice bouquet for him. It’s weird to walk around Glorietta holding a bouquet of flowers! Oh well, I looked around and also got him a strawberry shortcake to remind him of what we had a month ago in Baguio.

I took a cab going to his office, and called him. He was a bit alarmed that I’m still not getting any sleep for our celebration. I told him to go down and meet me near the building entrance. He was shocked upon seeing  me holding these flowers for him. All he said was, “Oh my God”. Hehehe. Anyway, he went back upstairs to set it on his table and took a picture.

A Bouquet of Flowers for Pooh

We went ahead with the plan and had dinner at Kitchen GB3. We had two pasta dishes, Crowned King and Achi’s Indulgence, and of course, their very own Mint Iced Tea “Cool It!” Kitchen never fails to serve yummy dishes. We strolled around. Our feet lead us to Timezone and sang our hearts out with love songs. Then after, since we recently got this Vodka Ice addiction, we had a bottle of it at Ice Bar, just a few steps away from Timezone.

It was really a nice and cheesy weekday celebration!

Last Sunday, Pooh and I went to Megatrade Hall 2 in SM Megamall to claim our race packet for the upcoming Adidas King of the Road 2009 on October 25. The race packet is a brown envelope containing an Adidas yellow singlet, a bib number, and a gift card from Adidas which gives the bearer 10% discount on selected Adidas personal care products. A few more days to go!

Adidas King of the Road 2009 Race Packet

I went to Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig yesterday to meet with Pooh after his work hours. Yeah, his office is around the area. Anyway, since we are planning to join a fun run since last month, we then decided to finally join Adidas King of the Road 2009 to be held on October 25, 2009 at the Fort Bonifacio Global City. We went straight to Runnr, a sports store in Bonifacio High Street to buy our tickets and fit for our singlet size. We spent P500 each for our tickets, not bad, considering to get an Adidas singlet, isn’t it? Oh well, I really need to buy a decent running shoes for this event.

King of the Road 2009 Ticket and Claim Stub

Then after, we went to Conti’s at Serendra to have our dinner. I had Roast Beef with Mushroom Sauce and Baked Salmon for him, and a slice of Mango Bravo cake for our dessert. I was amazed with this slice of cake, it’s gigantic! I think the serving is for 2-3 persons. What a heavy meal but worth it! Love it!

Conti's Roast Beef with Mushroom Sauce and Baked Salmon

Conti's Mango Bravo Cake