A Few Good Men Part II

I wasn't really surprised that 2 of my friends would rush out to help. What made me really stop for a moment was that it was THOSE 2 of my friends.

There really is a whole spectrum of gaydom. On one end there's the totally masculine kind who works out at the gym and is into extreme sports and on the other end is the cross-dresser who wears make-up and fabulous clothes. There were none of the extremes in the group I was with but neither were we all the same.

Most of us prided ourselves on being more on the "discreet" end of the spectrum rather than on the "loud" side. Sad to say, even within groups of people like me, discrimination also exists. Those who were a bit more "loud" and "effeminate" usually became the target of jokes and were taken less seriously by those WITHIN the group.

But it was these 2 such members of the group who were "man" enough to go out and help the 2 beaten-up men. I don't know if they even considered the possibility that they could get beaten up also if the suspects returned.

Of course during the course of helping, 1 friend dropped the guy he was carrying because some blood got to his arm (I doubt he added to the injury), and when medical personnel arrived, the other friend started throwing up because apparently he couldn't stand the sight of blood.

The point is, they were brave and were "man" enough to show it

A Few Good Men Part I

It was almost 4am, and we had just finished celebrating our christmas party at a small bar. The few of us who had stayed until the bar had closed were walking to a nearby Burger King branch for an early breakfast. The store was located alongside a usually busy main road.

As we neared the store we noticed a some commotion on the other side of the road. It appeared that a group of men, who maybe had too much to drink, where beating up 2 other men (who also had too much to drink). One guy fell to his attackers while the other managed to cross the road to the side of the store (by this time we - about 12 of us - were already inside the store). Unfortunately, the group of men caught up to him at the parking area and beat him up badly before leaving.

There were about 30 patrons inside the store and we were all looking at the guy lying just in the parking lot. I was looking, too, but I just didn't care. I kept thinking that it was their fault that they drank too much... then 2 other patrons went out to check on the guy lying in the parking lot. "Good for them", I though. They still had enough humanity in them to be concerned. Then, 2 of my friends rushed out to see if they could help. This time I felt ashamed of myself.

Not only did my 2 friends do whatever they could to help the man (which wasn't really much buy hey! they did something), they also went across the road to the other beat-up man and carried him to the side of the store.... (to be continued)

The Sword of Truth

It was 1995 when I was introduced to the 1st book, "Wizard's First Rule", of the Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind. That started the epic adventure of Richard, Kahlan, Zedd and many characters I really have become fond of through the years.

I know I sound overly dramatic but I've read other books and Mr. Goodkind is the first I have come upon whose books aren't hard to get into. I mean with other books it's usually read-visualize-imagine then read-visualize-imagine ... ... but with the Sword of Truth series I literally could picture the words I was reading. It was as if I was watching a movie.

Today, I finished the last book, Confessor, of the series. I actually feel sad. I know its a bit corny but in a way, I felt as if I was really a part of the epic journey and not just a reader. I hope someday, I come across another book or series that will allow my imagination to fly again.

Goodbye Richard & Kahlan.

Starting Over... and Over... and Over

Have you ever had those nights where you lie in bed thinking about all the things that you wish you could change, and then decide that, "Hey, starting tomorrow it'll be a whole new me"? You convince yourself that you'll learn to have a positive outlook, be content with what you have, learn to appreciate small things and be grateful for everything... and then before you realize it, it's the end of another day and you're exactly the same as yesterday.

That's been happening to me a lot of nights lately... I'm just glad that we all get sunrises everymorning... hey, maybe this will be the day.

Here We Go Again

2003 - then Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV took control of Oakwood Premiere Ayala Centre Hotel in Makati City, the financial capital of the Philippines. He was allegedly frustrated with the way the Philippine Government took (no) care of their own armed forces - inadequate equipment, inappropriate training, and poor compensation. After negotiations, the "Oakwood Mutiny" ended peacefully.

2007 - despite still ongoing court hearings because of his role in the "Oakwood Mutiny" Trillanes was allowed to run for a position in the Philippine Senate - he won.

November 29, 2007 - during one of the court hearings, Trillanes and his men suddenly walked-out of the courtroom and soon walked into the Manila Peninsula Hotel, just a few meters away from Oakwood and setup a "control center" there.

This latest incident, although had more action - teargas was used, ended up peacefully a few hours later.

Maybe he'll run for president in 2010...

As for now we have a 12mn-5am curfew as a security precaution.

It's either we Filipinos have a very short memory, or are just very forgiving people.