A Wedding and My First Step on Leyte

If Kuya Rauy were there, it would have been perfect.

Last November 5, I together with four of my friends (we were officemates in a small audit firm we call BCH) have again squeezed our tight schedules to attend another friend’s (also from the same audit firm) wedding in her hometown Isabel, Leyte. Ef, short for Efemar Kristine is finally getting married after feeling desperate of finding her one true love. And before this desperation shatters her sanity, she found the man in the name of Rex, a classmate in gradeschool, who I believe is the perfect man for Ef’s rocker personality. I may not have known this guy personally but I think he has a good heart.

The wedding rites went on as usual except that I did not hear any Regine Velasquez songs played in the church which I think is one of the nicest I have ever been to. Well of course, it was Ef’s wedding not mine. The reception followed immediately after the ceremony. The food was great and the short program was fun. What was even funnier was when Cass and Dailou joined the rest of single ladies in the hall in a game where the winner will be partnered with the single guy who happened to be the winner as well of a previous game. (we all know how that goes in the wedding, right?) We wanted badly Cass to win so she can have this chance of meeting this guy. We almost rigged it so she can have him but unfortunately, she lost willingly to this sexy girl in a nice white dress.

Overall, I am very happy to see Ef and Rex, now husband and wife, and I wish them nothing but the best in life. And that God will continue to bless them with years of love, joy and togetherness and of course beautiful, intelligent and healthy children.

And since it was also my first time to step on Leyte, we did not waste time in visiting the must-sees of the province. We spent the first night strolling the streets of Ormoc City in the hope of finding a victim. The city is peaceful and very clean. Since I have been wanting to sing this Whitney Houston song All The Man That I Need wholeheartedly to Kuya Rauy, we ended up in a videoke bar called Vivo. And yes, I did sing the song but without the man that I need. (Lou, spare me some consolation, okay!) After some cup of melted sugar, I mean coffee mixed with a can of condensed milk, we walked towards their baywalk for some camwhoring and finally went back to hotel for the night’s rest.

The following day, a Sunday, we headed towards Tacloban City to see the Leyte Landing Monument, the exquisite Sto. Nino Shrine which was Imelda Marcos’ ancestral home and of course the infamous San Juanico Bridge. I was not really impressed on the Leyte Landing Monument primarily because it was noontime when we were there and it was scorching hot. What really amazed me was the Sto. Nino Shrine. For me it was a place of luxury and extravagance. The interiors of the house was simply stunning, not to mention very expensive. San Juanico Bridge on the hand may just be a normal bridge connecting Leyte and Samar for Maricel who happened to pass by it everyday during her college days, but for me it was historical. It was something some people only see in books and television. I also had my first step on Samar courtesy of that bridge. Time has flown so quickly that we need to get back to Ormoc to catch the ferry back to Cebu.

It was indeed fun. But like I said, it would have been more meaningful if Kuya were there. But there will always be next time. And next time, I will be singing You're Still My Man.

The adventure that was Camiguin...

While most people commemorate the sufferings Jesus went through to redeem us from our sins, I, together with my closest friends from high school, celebrate life and that little freedom from our busy careers as we invade the astonishing Camiguin on Black Saturday until Easter Sunday.

For me, this trip has been the most unplanned I ever had. Simply because with the tons of work to be done in the office, I do not actually have the luxury of time and resources to have a vacation. I planned to initially work during the holidays but my friends insisted that my absence from the trip would be unfavorable for them because as usual, I bring out most of the fun side.

Camiguin is a paradise. With seven active volcanoes, this tiny island province just few miles north of Cagayan de Oro City, boasts of its hot and cold springs, old churches, the infamous White Beach and many more. Two days is clearly not enough to see everything the island has to offer.

Here are the captured moments. I hope we did not annoy God in such holy time in any way.

But I have to thank Ricky, George, Noel, Cristy and Jornel for allowing me to join and for taking part on the expenses.

Next stop is Boracay!

God loves all...

The Catholic Church in the Philippines has finally opened its doors to people who are either blessed or cursed with this thing called homosexuality when Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines launched a book called Homosexuality and the Catholic Church by Fr. John Harvey, OSFS.

There were varied reactions from the public. And even the subject of the book itself, the homosexuals, have different views on the launch. Some saw it as a relief because for them it was recognition but not necessarily acceptance. Some view it contradictory because the book suggests that there is nothing wrong with being gay as long as no homosexual activities are involved. But how can you exactly separate sex from being homosexual?

I come from a very strict Catholic high school for boys and any light sign of homosexuality is practically conspicuous for a very large all-male group. Most of these homosexuals including myself tried very hard to hide the signs and control every move we make so as not be sanctioned with termination. As for me, in order to gain respect and acceptance from others, I focused on my academics and I prayed a lot. But the sidekicks of Satan have always been in the works for people like me especially when I started feeling attractive to a very few of my mates. Extreme control of this feeling has to be in place but unfortunately for some of my friends, this sort of ordeal was too much. Looking at it now as somebody who has survived, I realized life is really unfair. And even at times, I think God is unfair.

The nuns who run our school share the same principle as Fr. John Harvey, OSFS. Homosexuality without sex is okay. But is there really such a thing? Yes, there are priests who are gay but are we sure they are happy about that? Are they really living life to the fullest by being that? The other question now is why do we have to suffer like this in the first place?

As for me, there is nothing wrong in loving someone. I think I have the fundamental right to love anybody I want. And if sucking and fucking could make the person I love, love me better, nobody can hold it against me.

Janver and Michael Wedding: A Reunion

“What God has joined, let no one separate it.”

I, together with some of my closest friends, have become living witnesses to that testament. Last March 19^th, Janver, portmanteau of her real name Janice Veriña finally tied the knot with her long-time boyfriend Michael in Dumaguete City Cathedral. It was a simple yet very heartwarming ceremony not just for couple’s family but also for us, her friends who took a break from work and came all the way from Cebu and Iligan. It sort of became a little reunion for all of us.

I first came to know Janver when we were assigned by the auditing firm we used to work for, in Victorias City, Negros Occidental. We did not initially click because she was very silent. But when I discovered that she was from St. Paul University Dumaguete (I was from St. Paul University Surigao), the closeness became imminent. Even if our assignment was short-lived, the friendship that was created has obviously lived on.

Here are proofs of that friendship that I think will last forever.

Clearly, the time and distance did not hinder us to catch up with each other. The wedding became an avenue to reminisce the past and laugh at moments of sheer stupidity and plan and dream for the future. I am happy that I found such company with these kind people because I know that no matter what happens, we would always be there for each other.

I would have wished Ef , Janice Banal and Aimee were there. It would have been more fun and exciting if the entire gang was complete. But there will always be another wedding to attend to. The question now is whose?

As for the new couple, I just wish them lifetime of joy and togetherness and of course healthy and beautiful kids. Congratulations Janice and Michael!!!

Living alone...

Almost a year ago, I had the opportunity of living alone when my officemates left permanently our Cebu staffhouse for an Agusan work assignment. Finally, I had all the freedom I so long desired because for most of my life, I have always been living with my family. Living arrangement like this would not surely make my adult life prosper. (You know exactly what I mean about that.) But that is not the only thing I was ecstatic about initially.

Living alone gives me all the time to watch my favorite cable channel because there is no one else trying to switch it. I don’t have to rush doing my thing in the bathroom because I know there is no one knocking on the door. When coming home late from gimmicks, I don’t have to worry anymore whether the main door is double-locked or not. Simply, I was very happy having all the freedom to do everything I want just because I am all alone.

But this happiness that freedom brought seemed to be so fleeting. Two months or so have passed, I started to feel empty. I missed the food that Yanyan and Mark prepared for every dinner and the funny conversations that ensued. I missed those times when we had to sleep all together in one room basically because it’s air-conditioned. I felt that the two-bedroom apartment became a creepy mansion that sometimes in the midnight silence, I could hear whispers. In other words, I was alone and was starting to feel lonely.

I am a naturally loquacious person that coming home from a day’s work without anyone to talk to drives me crazy. This leads me to a deep thinking about the lives of some people who remain single, either out of destiny or rather out of choice, as a consequence of a painful break-up, on how they seize their every day. Would it really matter if we have someone we can sleep with at night? Does it make any difference if we have someone to eat breakfast with the following morning?

Of course, for me, it does.

There is not a single day when I had not wished that maybe I would find that someone. Someone to hold, someone to lean on, someone to laugh with and someone who makes me feel alive. That I can just shrug off the depressing idea of growing old alone because I know someone’s gonna be here to stay by me. And that someone could just be anybody because after all, love is not about genders.