Detour!

I spend hours of searching the internet for me to find cheap accommodation in Manila and places to visit in the capital only to find out that my cousin, Charlie flew from Davao to Manila yesterday to fetch me at the airport on April 2. Yup, April 2! As per the HR Department I will be leaving Dubai for a 45-days vacation in the Philippines on April 1 via Singapore Airlines and the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) in Manila Airport will be on April 2 at 1:30pm.

My original plan is to stay in Malate District for 3-4 days before meeting Charlie. Why? Because, I want to explore Manila alone; the place where me and Charlie will be living is at Barangay Karuhatan, Valenzuela, very far from party and fun places; and if I will be in that place, I think that I will spend more considering the number of relatives in the house.

Hahaaizz.. don’t have a choice. Charlie helped me to get my job abroad and my relatives in Valenzuela helped me during the time that I process my papers.

I have to change my plans!

He is a friend...

“Juls, may lakad ka ba? Lonely ako ngayon eh… inom tayo Noy, dito sa room ko. Kuha ka ng alak dyan.”

This was the text I received from my good friend and a buddy Chris (not his real name) this afternoon. Lately, I keep distance from him because he found his new love – a girlfriend. At first, I can’t believe that he can manage to have one since I know him for a long time and shared experiences that would give me a clear picture of who he is. But, their relationship with his girlfriend lasted for more than 6 months and still counting. I realized that all things are possible.

What do you think Chris wants from me this time? Well, I have to find it out.

I share my experiences with him to Migs of Manila Gay Guy. Though I received offensive comments of my mistakes in writing, it encouraged me to write more.

http://manilagayguy.net/2008/10/25/a-respite-dubai-dilemma-and-ryan-garalde/

P.S.: There are 2-3 names mentioned but I am referring to one person only.

My aching tooth was removed!!!

Yesterday, March 12 was my tooth extraction. I remember my mother treats us with cold snack every after visit to our dentist. But since I am in Dubai and she’s not around to gave me courage that tooth extraction is just like “kagat lang ng langgam,” I will do the same thing, but later after the procedure.

To be honest, I was hesitant to go back on my dentist’s appointment because I am set to take my vacation on April 1 (20 more days to go), I am thinking that I will do it in the Philippines. Second, I am scared, the dentist is an Indian. I am not racist but the first time I saw him during consultation give me anxiety. And third, it’s not paining anymore, maybe because of the medicines I am taking. The only thing that gave me courage to push through what is set for the day are the friendly Filipino staff who always wear their perfect smile every time I step in to their clinic and the expenses I made on my first visit, of course.

I came 10 minutes earlier on the scheduled time and again I was welcomed with 5 friendly Filipinos staff and an Indian lady. The 3 Filipinos are about to leave for the day and the other 2 is to relieve those who will end the shift. They include me on their discussions about where is the best place to shop though shy to bat in my opinions.

Few minutes after, the doctor came and Andrew his assistant asked me to go up with him for they will start the operation. We went inside the room and I sat on the dental chair. Andrew prepares the stuff while the doctor is wearing the gloves. Moments after, the doctor inject the anaesthesia to my gums, “para nga talagang kagat lang ng langgam!” in less than 3-5 minutes, my aching tooth was removed, a great feeling! I thanked them all and leave the place.

And, for the finale…

... a halo-halo treat for my self.

By the way, i took the pictures by myself this time. Have to practice before my vacation. Otherwise, my camera will not give me best results...

10 Things to Do on my Vacation

I will not go back to Dubai if I miss any of the following in the Philippines during my 45 days vacation which will start on April 1.

Explore Manila. Go to historic sites, major streets, museums, parks, shopping centers, top universities and visit friends who live in the capital. I live my entire life in Davao and this time, I want to taste the lifestyle of the metro.

Maximize Malate. Go were the Pink Party is. Indulge myself to dance clubs, bath houses, and other places were birds with pink feathers flock together.

Puerto Galera. Plunge to the clear beach water of White Beach in Puerto Galera where it was named as the haven for Pink Panthers. Dance on the seashore and be sober on its local cocktail drinks.

Meet Bloggers on the Road. Thank them personally for sharing their experiences though blogging which helped me in some ways.

Photography in Me. Take a thousand of pictures or more from all over the place to capture the moment. This will bring thousand of stories to be shared to my friends, family or even to my readers of my blogspot (if any).

Shopping Galore. Buy shirts with Philippine Map, Flag or face of Jose Rizal, Ninoy Aquino, or even the face, logo, emblem of the late Master Rapper Francis M, etc. etc. Undergarments such us socks, brief, and undershirts. Buy “pasalubong” for friends and colleagues here in Dubai.

Party! Party! Party! Party to the Max! On street, on the living room, on the dance floor or even on the roof top. Pajama, formal, beach attire – regardless of what clothes to be needed and what occasions to be celebrated, party with friends must be on its peak.

Quality Time with my Family. The family that prays together stays together. Go out together: watch movies, beach, bowling, shopping, etc. Eat Good Food.

Food Trip. Eat authentic adobo and my paboritio, PUSIT prepared by my most beloved lady, my mother. Eat fresh vegetables & fruits; “kakanin” from my grandmother; and street food like isaw, fish ball, balut, chicharon baboy, taho, ect, etc…

Mag-Emote / Develop my Faith. Pray. Hug my family so tight and tell them how much I love them most especially to my father and mother. Visit childhood friends and places during my developmental years. Go to churches and attend Sunday masses faithfully.

Above mentioned items were just few but on top priority. My money will be the greatest factor to consider before my eyeballs will be blown away due to expenses at the end of my vacation.

Wish me Luck!

Scheduled Tooth Extraction

I received a call from the Dental Clinic I visited last Saturday. The Indian Lady on the other line reminded me of my appointment on their dentist tommorrow, March 12 - Thursday at 5:00pm, my scheduled tooth extraction. Scarrryyyy!

My first visit to a dentist who is my Ninang is when I was 7. My second was in 2005 when I comply for Medical Certificate, a requirement to work abroad (here in Dubai) and third, was in 2007 - cleaning and refilling. All of those experiences under the hands of lady dentists.

This will be my first time to have tooth extraction. First time to a Male and Indian Dentist, huhuhu!!!

To Go or Not to Go?!

Ouchhh!!! I have toothache...

We were watching “Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Tadyang” over GMA Pinoy TV when my roommate Bobby open a packet of DINGDONG, a 5 in 1 mixed nuts. He empties it over a plastic container of ice cream and handed over to me. It looks like a Box of Chocolate (you didn’t know which one to get) over my hand. My eyes were dazzled by the different shapes and colours of the nuts. I grasp an ample amount and drop it into my mouth not thinking how hard the nuts are. I chew more than I can bite, hehehe!!!

Minutes later, I heared “tik”, a sound that catches my attention. There was a hard object that breaks inside my mouth. I don’t mind it because I taught that it was just the grinding sound of the nuts. After I finish chewing, I feel vacant space in between my upper right teeth. I rushed to the mirror, checked and found out that I lost half of my tooth. It’s good that it was not from my front teeth. I went back to my bed, continue eating the nuts and nailed back my attention to the TV.

After an hour, I feel microorganisms drilling a hole on my broken tooth. It gave me a ticklish feeling at first but after sometime; it gave me a terrible pain. Ouch! A pain that rolled over to all parts of my head. I can’t sleep, can’t read, I can’t standstill even for I have to press my head to the pillows just to ease the pain.

I’m not comfortable of oral medication, but when my roommate gave me medicine, I took it immediately. Good that it eased the pain and I was able to get a sleep.

My work that night was a hell experience. Microorganisms attacked again my broken tooth. They did not drill a hole this time, but they did a huge party having unlimited food and drinks complimented with a high powered sound system that made me in great pain. Ouch to the maximum level…

The following day, I rushed to a Dental Clinic which is 30 mins away from my accommodation. I filled up the registration and waited for my turn at the waiting area. After 15 minutes, the receptionist asked me to go up and wait upstairs.

“Mr. Julius” a Filipino, chinito and gwapo on his late 20 exclaimed. I raised my hand in followed him to the room. “Are you the Dentist?” I asked him because he really looks like a doctor. “No! assistant lang po ako” and turned his head to the dentist, an old Indian. What a Fuck! But don’t have a choice, the pain should be removed or else I will jump off from a 40 storey building.

I lay down to the dental chair and the dentist checked my teeth. “Oops! I can’t remove this. Your gum is swelling” the doctor said. “Doc, please! I can’t bare the pain anymore and I am living too far from the clinic” I explained to him. The Filipino assistant responded: “Baka ikaw ang sumuko Sir, di tumatalab ang anaesthesia kapag namaga” and struck me. “Ok! When do you want me to come back?” I asked them. “On Wednesday!” the doctor answered while giving me his prescription of medicines for me to buy. I thanked and said goodbye to them and proceeded to their counter to pay. It gave me more pain when I found out that I will pay Dhs. 85 (Php. 1,100) for that less than a minute consultation. I went to Pharmacy and then again the price of the medicines added more pain, Dhs. 106 (Php 1,350) for a 5-day medication. I took taxi and went home straight, the fare: Dhs. 65 (Dhs. 850). Hahaizzz! Di pa ako kumain sa lakad na to. I already spend Dhs. 250 and yet the deadly pain is still on my head. It will cost me another Dhs. 150 for the extraction plus the medicines after the procedure. Another hahaizzz!

Ang hirap magkasakit abroad! You really don’t know what to do. You have friends but their care and service for you is very limited for they have work. They have their own priorities too. I called my mother and it eased the pain a little bit. I am so distressed. I am crying alone. Bhogs called up but don’t have the mode to even answer him or even inform him my situation for I know he can’t help.

Now, I am drinking 3 kinds of tablets every 6 hours plus the medicine that Bobby asked me to take. It stops the pain but the pain comes back after 5-6 hours. The only advantage I can see from this situation was not eating enough food. Meaning, I eat less and I will loose weight. I will be sexier, hahaha!!! But my back is aching from lying on my bed so much of my time.

I am hoping that this agony of mine will not take long. I am so affected. I cant work, eat and sleep properly. I am dying (joke!)… I’m not ready yet!

See you on Wednesday – The extraction of my damage tooth.

I Found Someone....

And the most highlight is, may sex buddy na ako, hahaha!!! last Friday lang... I never expect that it would come. For the past 4 years (almost), I keep on “iwas” on flirting anybody sa katrabaho dahil bukod sa ayaw ko sa tsismis, araw-araw mo syang makikita, nakakahiya!. Although I had with a colleague named Chris (not his real name and he is gay) before, na my girlfriend na ngayon, this time is different. He’s straight! Kwento ko na lang later.

And here is the kwento…

Bhogs (not his real name) is a constant visitor. He visits me almost every Friday (my OFF), when my roommates are out for work. At first, I was hesitant to be with him alone. My sexual preference gives me a feeling of guilt for him to be welcomed on my place. I invited some of my friends to be with us during his first few visits but since his shift ends at 10pm, he always comes to my room late at night that friends are no longer available for us to join. He visits me because he wants to use the internet.

Since I am earning more than he does, I let him come to my room - Sharing of Blessings or just simply laying of bait so that fish will catch it, hehehe! I usually prepare snacks every time he comes. Don’t find him attractive but his complexion and body built deserves a second look. His ways on dealing individuals like me gave me assumptions that he had a wide experience on how to please gays. He sends SMS or even invited me to go somewhere that made you feel special. But, I tried not to do the first move although I gave him ideas and hints on my personality so that guilt will be lessen every time he spend his time to my kingdom.

One day, he brought a bottle of vodka to my room and invited me to drink. He wants to thank me for all the good things I showed him in the past. I said “NO” since I am not a hard drinker and a bottle of vodka will put us on our deathbed before we can finish it. I suggested calling another friend but he insisted not to. “Kung di natin kaya eh di tigilan natin!” he said to me. What! I immediately called the nearby store to deliver us food (“pulutan”) so that I can stay long with him by eating more than drinking.

Don’t judge the book by its cover. Bhogs is more than what he showed physically. Nagkataon lang na mababa ang posisyon ang nakuha nya but I know that this guy can achieve more than what I have now and what other thinks from him. Anyway, Dubai is (more often) whom you know than what you know.

During our drinking session, Bhogs showed me the other side of him. This 25 y.o. from Samar, Leyte who is a Criminology Graduate, loves his family so much like me. No chance to become a Police yet since the opportunity of work in Dubai knocked him first. He send his “kuya” to College even his salary is very minimal. He sacrificed a lot. Her girlfriend was pregnant when he left the Philippines to Dubai and he doesn’t know how to win her back. Etc, etc, etc….

I can’t believe that after emotional story telling of our life, we almost finish the bottle of vodka. We don’t even eat our “pulutan”. I hit my bed, I can’t hold on anymore. He laughed at me and I don’t know what happened next. The last time I remember was, when I woke up, I was embracing him from his back. I hugged him tighter and go back to sleep.

“Lilipat na ako, padating na ang kakwarto mo!” he said when I woke up for the second time. “Hindi! Matulog ka lang dyan at lilipat ako sa kabilang kama” and I did. The next time I woke up, my roommate was teasing me: “Waaaaa, lasing! Sino kainuman mo? I turn my head to my bed and Bhogs was not there anymore. “Did you see Bhogs? Sya ang kainuman ko” I answered to my roommate. “Di ko na naabutan!” my roommate replied and I go back to sleep with so much pain from my head - HANGOVER.

After that incident, Bhogs did not show to my room anymore. We see each other in the hotel but we just nod. I did not text or even call him because I am not sure if embracing and hugging him tight were just the things I did to him during that night. I assume that he gets mad at me. He gets mad because I took advantage of his drunkenness. But, I’m not afraid. I know that I did not do anything wrong to him. My only worry is, if he will tell it to anybody. I have difficulty on dealing or defending my gayness in public especially when I discuss it to idiots.

I missed him; I was expecting his text or even miss calls especially during my OFF comes, I waited. 2 weeks after, I received a text from him asking me if he can come over to my room on my off and I said yes. Yehey!

Friday – February 27, again my OFF and my roommates are out for work. 11:30 pm when I heard knocking on my door. I opened and expectedly, its Bhogs of course. He entered the room and closed the door. He excitedly informed me that he is promoted, from stewarding to waiter. He’s been doing cross training for the past 3 months and at last, he got the position. “Congrats!” I greeted him and he answered “Thank You” with a very sweet smile. “Lets celebrate!” I said and I immediately called for a bottle of vodka (again, no other type of alcohol available). We drink, eat, and sing together. Kahit na sa youtube videos lang. Walang microphone, walang sound system, walang score right after each song, hahaha!!!. We got drank.

At may nangyari…

I did not expect his text or call anymore but yesterday - March 6, again Friday and my OFF. I received text from unknown number: Tol, musta? Makikigamit na naman ako ng computer mo kung ok lang…wala akong load, text ka sa cp ko, Bhogs." I immediately go to message details and I found out that it was sent to me at 8:51pm and I only read it at 1:45am of March 7. I fall asleep because I had a terrible day because of a toothache. I called him back and I found out that I don’t have load either. I rushed to the store and buy a mobile charge and texted him: “Bhogs, pasensya! Ngayon lang ako nagising… di ko namalayan ang text mo.” And gave the half of my mobile charge to him through “PASA LOAD,” yup! you read it right, may PASALOAD din sa Dubai. Seconds later he called and I answered: Oh! Bat gising ka pa? Di ko nabasa text mo kanina, pasensya." " Ginising mo ako eh… Ok lang yun! Pupunta pa ba ako dyan?" he asked. “Ikaw? Pero wag na matulog ka na lang at next Friday na lang tayo magsama ulit.” I told him. Di ko rin feel kasi medyo masakit pa ang ngipin ko…

Saturday at lunch time, he called and invited me for lunch...

See you next Friday, on my OFF.

Opppsss... i was out for some time!

Oppsss!! Di ko na namalayan na ang huling post ko pala ay noong February 27 pa. Teka lang, bakit nga di na ako nakapagpost. What made me busy after that day? Hmmppp….

* Busy ako sa kakaplano ng bakasyon ko which is set on April 1. Instead of writing paragraphs, I busy my self on writing bulleted sentences na pwede kong gawin during my 45 days stay sa Pinas.

* I bought a camera last February 1 but until now I don’t know its basic function. I use my time checking free tutorial videos/articles on the internet for me to familiarize ASAP. Buti na lang di ko pinatuloy yung Basic Photography ko dito, otherwise mapag-iiwanan ako.

* Nagkakasilipan Na. Did you know that 75% of my posts were made during my work? Night shift kasi ako and most of the time walang ginagawa kaya nakakapagsulat ako, hehehe! But since its time of recession, iwas muna. Baka kasi mapaaga ang pag-uwi k at wala na akong mababalikang work sa Dubai .

* Naggi-GYM na ako now (regularly). From a waist line of 34, ngayon 32 na lang or less. Im still hoping to loose more weight para makapag-bodyfit ako sa Pinas, hahaha!!!

* Dumadami ang mga blogsite na sinisundan ko ngayon. Mas interesting kasing magbasa kaysa sa magsulat. But writing your own experiences is more effective for your brain cells to pump-up. Biruin mo, ang bilis ko nang gumawa ng liham through email sa mga pamilya at kaibigan ko ngayon. And the most rewarding is, when you read your post after some time, it gives you a pleasant feeling kahit ang daming errors.

* Matulog.

* Nagpapaunlak na ako. Since my last post, napagbibigyan ko na ang imbitasyon ng mga kaibigan para uminom, kumain o simpleng panonood lang ng DVD movies sa kwarto. Nakakarinig na kasi ako ng reklamo from them like: Magpapari ka ba? Or worse: “Walang Pakisama!”

* Magchat imbes na magssulat. YM of friends na nasa Korea, Japan at mga kapamilya sa Pinas. Mahirap kasi kapag may time difference; you have to adjust at magbilang ng oras.

* Maglinis ng kuko, ng closet, ng banyo. Mag-ayos ng kama, magtapon ng basura at kung ano-ano pa.

* And the most highlight is, may sex buddy na ako, hahaha!!! last Friday lang... I never expect that it would come. For the past 4 years (almost), I keep on “iwas” on flirting anybody sa katrabaho dahil bukod sa ayaw ko sa tsismis, araw-araw mo syang makikita, nakakahiya!. Although I had with a collegue named Robert (gay) before, na my girlfriend na ngayon, this time is different. He’s straight! Kwento ko na lang later.

hahahahahah!!!