A Glamorous Birthday Celebration

I am very fortunate to have good friends. I am blessed when it comes to that area a life. I ay not be the weathiest person on earth but when it comes to family and friends, I AM A BILLIONAIRE. 

I celebrated my 26th birthday with my friends in Singapore, away from my family. It's the first time I celebrated my birthday here. I wasn't expecting a glamorous birthday celebration, I just planned to take my friends out for dinner and that's it! 

Since my friends are all working, I invited them for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. It's two days before my birthday. We went out to check the IT Show @ Suntec Convention Center in the afternoon and the we're going to dinner. 

Instead of having dinner, we were invited by on of our friends to crash her place, little I know she prepared a small celebration. 

It's a surprise birthday celebration. and it turned out to be a GLAMOROUS Birthday Celebration!

ME and my birthday cakes

birthday cakes from SWENSENS

Strawberry Ice Cream Cake

Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream Cake

"our dinner"

with some fruits. this is actually for Mark since he's vegetarian. 

Mark, Anna, Me and Jaiza (Austin took the photo)

I never thought I would be so happy celebrating my birthday in Singapore. Because of my friends, I had one of the best birthday celebration so far. 

wait... wait.. wait.. that was Saturday night (September 1).

The next day (Sunday). we had the same routine. We planned to meet @ COMEX 2012 since we're buying some stuff from the IT Show. It was a very long day for me. I was tired walking around, bargaining and so on. I'm not in my best mood that afternoon, I just want to go home and rest but my friends decided to have dinner first before we went home. 

Sine it's the eve of my birthday I agreed. It will be my last dinner @ 25. In few ours, i'll be turning 26. We went to Tony Roma's for dinner. 

last dinner @ 25

After dinner, my friends handed my their gift. Look what I got...

an Armani wallet!

Yes! I love Armani. And since I lost my wallet twice here in Singapore, they decided to give me a wallet. I'll never lose this wallet. I Promise. 

and for my birthday, I got my self an Armani bag. 

I am really lucky to have good friends around me. LUCKY and BLESSED! I Love You guys!

The birthday celebration is a great thing in a man's life. Though he is quite merry over it, he should be seriously thoughtful to know about the year going out and the year to come. I too, on my birthday, think what I have done in the outgoing year and what I shall do in the next.

Count your life by smiles, not tears. Count your age by friends, not years. 

Happy 47th Birthday Singapore!

Singapore's National Day is celebrated every year on 9 August, in commemoration of Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. It is a glamorous birthday celebration,   a birth of a nation.

I had the pleasure of attending Singapore's National Day celebration, for the first time. This holiday features a National Day Parade, and fireworks displays. It also features acrobatics by police on motorcycles, the customary display of Air Force might and Navy boats weaving their way in the water.

The theme for National Day Parade 2012 is “Loving Singapore, Our Home”. “Loving Singapore” encourages Singaporeans to reflect on what it means to love their country, what they appreciate about Singapore, and how each individual can express their love for their nation. It is an invitation for all Singaporeans to join the NDP 2012 journey to rediscover and remember what they love best about their country.

photos above from  http://www.straitstimes.com/

It is envious to see Singaporeans gathered together to celebrate the birth of their nation, no rallies just pure celebration. I can't help but envy them for a while. I haven't seen something like that in my country, in our country. If only Filipinos have the same sense of National Pride as them, we would be a great nation.

I celebrated the holiday with Jai, Austin, and Mark C by watching a movie (Magic Mike) at Golden Village Marina, and later on Joey and his girlfriend joined us for dinner. It is simple but it's worth a celebration. 

Before going home, we dropped by The Fountain of Wealth and made our wishes. :)

again, Happy 47th Birthday Singapore! Majulah Singapura!

The World's Most Famous Filipino Dish

Adobo is Philippines national dish, at least, for me. Adobo is a tasty dish that leaves everyone, Filipinos or non-Filipinos, craving for more.  It is, indeed, "The World's Most Famous Filipino Dish".

Chicken adobo is the most well known, adobo can be made with pork, beef, fish, or other types of meat. Vinegar and soy sauce are the heart of adobo. You can't cook adobo without it. Some varieties include coconut milk, which mellows the strong flavors of the vinegar and soy sauce. Others include sugar or honey to add a touch of sweetness and an almost teriyaki like characteristic. The flavor of adobo can also be varied depending on the type of vinegar used.

Filipinos has a lot of ways to cook Adobo. In the Philippines, almost all provinces has their own version of Adobo. We have Adobong Tagalog, Adobo Flakes, Adobo Americano (CamSur) to name  few. 

But here's my special and tested way to cook pork adobo, guaranteed to have your family, friends and guests raving on their way out. 

Ingredients: 

2 lbs pork loin

2/3 cup soy sauce

2/3 cup vinegar

1/3 cup oyster sauce

10 cloves of garlic, crushed

Salt to taste

1 Onion bulb

1 bay leaf (known as a dried "panakot" leaf in Filipino)

Black pepper

Sugar

Steps: 

Cut 2 lbs , cut 2 lbs of pork loin into 2-inch cubes. Marinade it with soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, onions, bay leaf, salt and sugar for about 2 hours.

Fry the pork until golden brown then set aside. 

Place fried meat in a dutch oven, or heavy-bottom pan.

Add the water, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cloves of garlic, black pepper, and bay leaf.

Bring to a medium boil for 15 minutes. (do not stir. according to the experts stirring it wont cook the vinegar.)

Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce thickened. Stir once in a while to avoid burning the bottom.

It's best served with steamed rice. 

I think Jai (@jaizrc) and Austin (@austinUtal) enjoyed my Pork Adobo. It was a success! *smile*

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

it's parasitism, not love

One of the common misconceptions about love is the idea that DEPENDENCY is love. This is a misconception with which psychotherapists must deal with on a daily basis. Its effect is seen most dramatically in an individual who makes an attempt or gesture or threat to commit suicide or who becomes incapacitating depressed in response to a rejection or separation from a spouse or lover. Such a person says: 

"I do not want to live, I cannot live without my husband (wife, girlfriend, boyfriend), I love him (or her) so much". 

And when I respond, as I frequently do, "You are mistaken; you do not love your husband (wife, girlfriend, boyfriend)." 

"What do you mean?" is the angry question. "I just told you I can't live without him (or her)."

I try to explain. 

"What you describe is parasitism, not love. When you require another individual for your survival, you are a parasite on that individual. There is no choice, no freedom involved in your relationship. It is a matter of necessity rather than love. Love is the free exercise of choice. Two people love each other only when they are quite capable of living without each other but choose to be with each other."

Paminta Rules 101

According to the Urban Dictionary, Paminta is a Filipino slang term for closet gay, or someone who keeps his being gay a secret to people, even his closest friends. The word "paminta" is the literal translation of "pepper".

Photo Credits from www.prideinart.com

Yesterday, I received a message on BBM from a friend. It's all about "Paminta Rules 101". It's a list on how should "paminta" act in public and how to identify closet gays in the Philippines. I think the purpose of this post is just for fun, a joke. But, somewhat, some of these are true.

Paminta Rules 101 :

Kabisaduhin ang Jumbo Hotdog para ready lagi sa videoke kahit takam na takam ka ng kantahin ang Spaghetti Pababa.

Kailangan mo ng topless pictures sa facebook kahit isa man lang. Nako ipakita ang abs este curves pala.

Naka gym outfit with beats headset sa MRT “love on top” naman pinapakinggan.

Iwasan manood ng horror at suspense, once na nagulat ka…sira ang career. Ikaw pala ay isang soprano.

Umihi sa urinals and take advantage iikot ang mata like a CCTV camera.

Wag sasabay sa dinner ng family, baka buksan ni fader ang topic kung bat wala ka pang girlfriend.

Iwasan tumapat sa araw baka matunaw ang foundation at kuminang na parang bampira. Huli ka nyan teh!

Iwasan mo ang mga bekiming lantad. Iba ang gaydar nila, delikado ka. LUMABAN KA!

It's not easy coming out of the closet. I know how it feels being in the closet. The fear of rejection is very real. I am afraid to be ridiculed and discriminated. I'm afraid that the society will judge me. And most of all, I'm afraid that I'll lose my family and friends.

But I took the liberty of faith to come out. One night, during our family dinner, I just shouted, "Mom, Dad, I think I'm gay." Everyone was shocked. Silence filled the room, I can even hear a pin dropping. No one talked.

After that moment, my life started to change. The openness and freedom to finally express myself openly. It was a risk worth taking.

My family accepted me. For who I am. For what I am.

Just a thought

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?"

Life came at me fast and I had to grow up fast to cope. I hit a few bumps in the road, fell on my ass, dusted it off, and made a new dance move. Repeating mistakes because "we're young" is a copout. Even with time, you'll never get any better at fucking up and practice does NOT make perfect; practice makes permanent. Life is your dress rehearsal and show all at once. You can't associate maturity with age, or even experience, but instead with how you handle yourself at all times.

"People are like stained glass windows; their beauty only shows if there's a light within."

When karma comes around she tends to be on my side so that signifies I must be doing right. I'm waiting to meet up with her and kick "Life's" ass.

Do you feel so demasculinated by your own sexual orientation that you have to use the term "straight acting"? What a slap in the face, hypocrite. News Flash: Someone being femme doesn't make them gayer than you. You have no reason to not be comfortable unless there's something not right with yourself.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Flirting is fun and fine, but if you're giving the same impression to multiple romantic interests then you're diluting everything. Don't bark up my tree. I'm a one guy kind of guy.

"If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep in late."

TAG-LISH: Bulgogi Brothers, NLOS, Drunk, Sex

The original plan is a house"poker" party. This will be a celebration of Eren and Marga's birthday. But the house "poker" party is an EPIC FAIL!

Since we can't stay at Eren's house for the party I agreed to host it. Saturday morning, I asked my "kasambahay" to clean and do the laundry. Para naman malinis ang bahay. I was excited.

I woke up early Sunday morning to go to church since the party will be at night. Hindi na din ako nakatulog pa after kasi sa sobrang excited ko, nag palinis ulit ako ng bahay. Pinalitan ang mga bedsheets, curtains and table cloths. Since its Eren and Marga's birthday celebration, expected na sila ang bibili ng food at ako lang ang mag host ng place. Nag-usap na kami ni Marga kung anong food, then I asked them to buy 1 keg of Heineken and 2 boxes of S&R pizza. At dahil excited din ako, I wanted to share something. Nag pa-grocery ako sa "kasambahay" ko. I'm planning to grill some liempo and make my favorite dish. My very own, Killer Patataz.

The plan is 5PM, pero wala parin nagpaparamdam. Nabo-bore na ko. Mga around 5:30, Marga texted kakagising lang daw niya. Mag prepare na daw then magkikita na kami. At around 6Pm nagkita na kami ni Marga. I was not in a good mood that time na. So it turns out the "Pansol Crew" ditched us. They all the different excuses/reasons.

Anyway, since kami nalang ni Marga I asked her na mag Alabang Town Center nalang kami. Ayaw ko naman masira ang gabi ko.

We decided to have dinner at Bulgogi Brothers, a korean restaurant, and my favorite. Super nag enjoy kami ni Marga sa dinner. Ang dami naming na order at naka 2 cups of rice si Marga. LOL

While having dinner, kaBBM ko si Anna. She asked kung pwede magcoffee nalang daw kami in Starbucks BF Homes para makasunod siya. We agreed.  Nung nasa Starbucks na kami, Marga, Anna and Me, nawalan ako ng gana mag coffee since ang dami namin nakain. So niyaya ko nalang sila uminom sa NLOS Grill and Resto. Medyo good vibes yung sounds doon and chill lang. I told them na hindi ako uuwi nang hindi gumapang. We ordered their special vodka based drinks since sabi ng waitress walang hangover daw.

Inom. Inom. Inom. kulitan... then after few hours, I got drunk. We decided to go home.

then blackout.. wala na ko maalala!

I woke up, naked,  in my room cuddling with some random cute guy. I don't even know his name. Tulog na tulog pa siya. So dahan dahan akong nag punta ang bathroom cause I'm not feeling well. Nagsuka ako. [sabi ni ate, walang hangover?]

Pagbalik ko ng room dun ko napansin ung mga nagkalat na used condoms and lubes [sa table, sa floor, sa bed]. damn! maybe i was so drunk and horny last night? But I'm not like this. I'm not used to have sex with random strangers. Why did I let this happen?!

When the guy woke up, he started talking. He told me all the details of what happened last night and what made him decide to sleep with me. Unti unti ko siyang nakilala. His name is Richard. He's from the same village, few blocks away from my house.

We talked for hours. I found out that it was not his intention to have sex with me last night, gusto lang daw niya ako ihatid to make sure I'm safe. He tried to sponged me, para daw mahimasmasan ako but I started kissing him kaya nadala nalang daw siya. Nahiya naman ako sa kanya.

Before he left, he asked for a second round.. then third.. then forth.. hahaha!

from being so disappointed last night... now i'm wearing one of the most beautiful smile i had. 

While I'm writing this, I received a text from Richard asking me out. Will this be a new chapter for my love life? Let's wait and see. :)