No Words... I love the Philipppines!

A Scary Day in Manhattan

It was like 9/11 all over again in New York yesterday, July 18, Wednesday. As most of the work force in Midtown Manhattan were on their way home, a big explosion happened on 41st and Lexington. A lot of people got scared as it was reminiscent of the terrorist bombing back in 2001. But it wasn't. It was one of the underground 83-year old pipes that burst, causing hot steam to burst into the street and debris flying around. Sad to say there was one person who died and about 30 other people injured.

"Loneliness"

"More than any other human problem, loneliness, the absence of meaningful human connection, drains the joy and sense of purpose from our lives. It explains why people go to shopping centers when they have no intention of shopping. They just need to be somewhere where other people are, hoping that among the hundreds of strangers passing by, they will find one familiar face.

It explains why people come home from work or school and immediately switch on the television. They are not interested in the program much of the time, they do not even know what is on. But they are desperate for the sound of another human voice in their lives."

-- Harold Kushner, a prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism

Don't Ask...

... 'coz i also don't know why i wore this horrendous outfit. Oh wait, halloween in west hollywood! There you go, that's a great excuse!

* thanks to Jorell (the homeless guy) for sending me this photo!

Someday by Nina

Finally! Pancakes!

I finally was able to experience partaking in the most exquisite palatal adventure! I have achieved the most elite status of having the privilege of Francis Galasi cooking pancakes for me! Hail to the heavens!

Woohoo!

Ms. Tessie Tomas

07-07-07

Last saturday, Robin celebrated his birthday at the Glass Lounge in Chelsea. Here are some photos of the night:

blast from the past...

i really don't know why. but the past few days, ive been on emo mode. thinking about love and all those mushy stuff. it might be that im in love or it might be the really hot and humid new york summer weather thats getting into me. anyways, i've unearthed an email from my ex when he left the philippines to go on a vacation here in the states. we were apart and doing the long distance relationship set up for almost eight months. he ended up staying and that's why im here.

an excerpt from an email dated november 19, 2001:

"to be quite honest, i think about us a great deal.
can we withstand this? the distance is just
unbearable at times. and you just don't have an idea
how happy i am when we get to talk. i guess i'm lucky
to have you. you've helped me big time. how do you
handle it? how do you accept the fact that we're
apart and we have no idea when we will see each other
again? it drives me nuts thinking about us. it
scares me sometimes. i'm sure you know that i ain't
really the best when it comes to long distance
relationships. i'd like to believe that things will
work out. i'd like to believe that i've finally found
the right person. but the thing is we really don't
know what will happen in the future. it's just too
bleak like everything else is for me right now."

i guess my relationship with him was the only real feeling of love that I could go back to. During the low times when i feel sad and alone, i am lucky to have a handful of great friends that surround me. i also have my family back home to talk to. their love is amazing. but when i think of relationships, i need something to hold on to...something to let me know that i am capable of loving and being loved...again. and that i was once considered "the right person."

coincidentally, he recently assured me that it will happen again.

Huh?

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."

-Brooke Shields -

I just HAD to...just had to post this...

All Asians Look the Same!

I was catching up on some entertainment news this morning on different blog sites. I was outraged by the comment that a certain Mr. Brad Williams made. He is a stand up comic and a comic collaborator with Mind of Mencia on Comedy Central. He is also afflicted with dwarfism.

The article was talking about one of the media outlets mistakenly calling him "Weeman" from the show "Jack Ass" which according to him happens a lot. He emailed the media site, "All dwarfs do not look the same. What are we, Asian?"

Its ironic that he was trying to correct a misconception with another misconception. This is one of the stereotypes for Asians that really makes me angry. There are a lot more out there and I am hoping, in my own little way, maybe through this blog I can make a difference in changing certain stereotypes regarding Asians.

Book: Finding the Boyfriend Within

I recently came accross this book at St. Mark's bookstore in the East Village on my way to going shopping with Francis G. I wasn't reading anything at the moment and I wanted to try out some self help books regarding relationships. Not that I needed any help of course. I mean of all people, I would be the last one to admit that I have a problem with relationships. Being that its been eons ago since I last had one.

Brad Gooch, the author, wrote something that really struck me. And I wanted to share with your exerpts from the book:

"It was the simple truth that love, happiness, and respect come from within. What we often mean when we say, 'I'm looking for a boyfriend,' is that we're looking for that warm feeling of happiness, or contentment, or peace and inner satisfaction..."

Of course this sense of love, happiness, and integrity traditionally arises out of a relationship with someone else...But the basic, often-mouthed-yet-still-true paradox is that we're only good at loving and being happy with others to the extent that we love and are happy being with ourselves."

Wow. I am in the process of finding, making myself aware and hopefully listen to my boyfriend within. He continues:

"What we often do not realize is that this imaginary lover is inside of ourselves. And it's one of the standard mysteries of life that when we locate that tall, dark, wise, and handsome lover within ourselves, he's more likely to materialize...and be an actual three-dimensional good guy in our lives..."

Think about it.

Lacoste Essential

I have been using Davidoff Cool Water for 100 years now. It seems like I couldn't find something close to the great scent that it has. But when I got a sniff of the new Lacoste Essential on one of those magazine peel and sniff things, I went out and bought one to try it out. Its a great scent. Its not too overpowering and it has that "you-smell-so-fuckin-good-i-want-you-now" feeling going on!

Gay Prince

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India shocked his family and nation last March when he gave an interview to a local Gujarati newspaper outing himself as a homosexual.

The Prince is the first openly gay Indian royal. Unfortunately, though, since coming out a year ago - he has been disowned from his family.

It is sad and just wrong, but homosexuality is illegal in India and can be punishable with up to ten years in jail. As a result, it is estimated that 80% of gay men in India are married to women.

Many argue that the widespread denial of homosexuality inhibits education of safe sex practices, resulting in a rise in HIV and AIDS.

Says the Prince, “I came out because I wanted to show to the world that even a prince can be gay. I wanted people to discuss homosexuality, which was always considered taboo and a stigma…it’s been existing in India but no one talked about it.”

*Applause for the Prince*

Waiting

i am here waiting
eager and hopeful
to see the ray of light
my heart beating faster,
faster than it ever did before
as the clock ticks
and the time fading away
the feeling suddenly getting less alive
eyes turning red
as the ones i had before
the innate patience is dying
as my hopes are for your love
the soul weakens
as the tears are about to fall...

...still you were not there

- prince of magic

An Orgasmic Reaction

"Yes, right... arguing about cheese brings the relationship to a whole new level. No longer in the realm of wine or bread, or even cologne or clothes but cheese, dammit! And when you find that perfect cheese that you both enjoy, no matter how stinky, flaky, spongy, creamy, rancid, indespicably pungent it may be, you will savor every bit of it... because good cheese, like a good man, is not about being sweet or soft or easy to slice... it's about waking your senses with intoxicating smells and filling your mouth with tastes and textures that you'd keep coming back for more..."

- francisquito, jaded sensitivity (http://francisquito74.blogspot.com)
in response to "It Will Happen"

Quotable Quotes: Yousaf karsh

"If there is a single quality that is shared by all great men, it is vanity"

- Yousuf Karsh, a Canadian photographer of Armenian birth, and one of the most famous and accomplished portrait photographers of all time.

Emergency Eye Cream!

I just can't get over this eye cream from Kiehl's! Its great after a long night of partying. It just gives that part under your eye an extra jolt so that your entire eye area won't look like its been up all night. It also comes in a small tube that you can carry around in your man purse a.k.a. the "murse" or the in thing - the man tote. Aside from that, after using it for a while, it can also reduce fine lines along the eyes. Woohoo!

Thanks...

"Love is, simply put, a force few people understand. I can only hope that you take comfort in the fact that, I suspect, he was simply confused. Moreover, as I'm sure you know, I'm sure he never meant to cause you any pain, and cared for you quite a bit; to that end, you should know that I'm sure he thinks about you often and hopes that you are well."

- a comment from http://franceux26.blogspot.com/2007/03/here-we-go-again.html

I miss Musty...

I miss my car. We've had great times together. Musty the Mustang! Even though you made me poor by using up gas like there's tomorrow. Those years we spent together were the most fun I've had. People always look at me whenever I drive along Santa Monica Boulevard! I miss you!

My Trip to Poughkeepsie

It Will Happen...

That's what my ex told me today. It will happen. Just wait. Watch it unfold before you. It will happen when you least expect it. Uh-huh. He just told me that he and the guy he's seeing are together already. It was during their weekend getaway that they sealed their commitment to one another. I'm very happy for him. I am really. I know that he deserves to be happy. But I couldn't help but ask myself, when will it happen to me?

It has been almost four years that I have been single. Not alone, but single. I've always believed that it took me the first three years to really move on from my last relationship. Now that I am going on my fourth year, I am ready.

I've always been the strong one. I've learned to be fully independent through the years of being single. I've decided that I really don't need anyone to be complete or to be truly happy. But there are times that I admit that I could be happier if there's this special someone who I can turn to in the middle of the day just to bitch about how mundane my tasks at work have become. Or someone to go grocery shopping with and argue which kind of cheese to get (right G?). Or someone to cuddle with on a Sunday afternoon watching Notting Hill for the 897th time, then mock me because I still cry at that one scene where Julia Roberts would say..."After all, I am just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

Mushy.

Sometimes I just have to believe that it will happen...again. That there is that one special someone who will be just the right fit. That when the time comes that we are both ready, it will happen.

Tonight I chose to believe. Tomorrow, I might not.

CIA Madness & Friends

CIA Madness & the Frozen T-Shirt Contest

I spent the weekend with my friends at the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York. You guys should come and visit also, they have an amazing campus, and the restaurants are awesome! Since they are a culinary school, uhmmm, they should have great food! Which I haven't tried yet (uhmm, reservations Yang?). So they have a Pre 4th of July fair, where they had food and game booths. They also had this "Frozen T-Shirt Contest" wherein 15 teams of 2 will be given a folded frozen t-shirt. The object of the game is to thaw out the frozen shirt and then one team member would be able to wear it. But the rule was, you can use any part of your body or face but not your hands. So me and my partner, the ever talented Mr. Yang, rubbed that faithful shirt until it melted. I mean, come on...we're hot! So the pictures are here...oh and of course we won!

My New Model - Muhsin

I met Muhsin while I was working out at Crunch. He really is quite a looker and we became gym buds. I found out he's 22 years old, studying Architecture in Spain, a part-time model and currently in New York to study English.

Everyday - by Francis Galasi

- photo by Francis Aquino-

Everyday –
Under the tired grey sky,
the biting wind on my face,
The random noise of people walking by,
The deafening siren of a hurrying ambulance,
The mosaic colors of thousands of billboards,
street signs
restaurants
little, big shops
The cries of hungry babies, hushes of comforting parents
The drowning, lifting smell of kitchens in motion
The barks of restless dogs in their afternoon walks
The honking of impatient taxi drivers
The indecipherable woven blanket of sounds,
smells,
visions,
unvoiced thoughts,
of plain living,
The restless momentum of passing existence,

The lunches and dinners,
The shadows and the sunlight,
The cold and the sweat,
The high noon and the dusk,

My standing up and sitting down,
My rest and my movement,
My waking and my sleep,
My hunger, my thirst,
My passion, my numbness,

Everything –
in every thing,
I find you there.

New York Gay Pride 2007