A Gay Life 2 [Questions 7-13]

Weeks ago, I’ve answered six questions that have slightly uncovered a little about my pathetic life. Don’t worry. These next lines of questions are a bit on the lighter side.

7. Favorite drink…

I love drinks with a summery feel to it. Last time that I frequent the bars, I just choose from these: Tequila sunrise, cosmopolitan, and margarita. Sometimes a simple mix of rhum and coke will do.

8. The must-watch gay film is…

Trick.

There’s a lot to choose from, actually. Grand E’cole have brought me to a new familiar homosexual setting. Wild Tigers I Have Known is a very thought provoking one. I will never forget the scenes from Transamerica.

Still, nothing beats Trick’s simple guy-meets-guy-themed story. There’s something with this film. Watching this film  left me inspired and kept me hoping.

9. On Sunday afternoon you’ll find me…

At home: reading a book, binge-watching TV series, or just playing games on my phone. I find pampering myself an enjoyable activity.

10. What advice I’d give my teenage self…

Go! Live like it’s the last day on Earth. Be a slut. Blow everything up. <wink>

Seriously: Decide on what you want to be in the future and pursue it. Also, take every opportunities that is in front of you. More importantly, spend more time with your family. Stop wasting time hanging out or organizing things with your old highschool classmates. They will just fade out in the end… They’re a waste of time.

11. My thoughts on love and marriage…

I believe that love always go in a cycle: hope, love, and hurt. You’ll wish to meet someone and you will fall in love with him. Then, there’s a lot of things which will end everything up: separation, fell out of love, infidelity, death. After that, if you don’t stop, you’ll hope again, starting the cycle again.

For marriage: Personally, same-sex marriage is worthless if not leveled at par with heterosexual marriage. It should be accepted by the constitution. And be defended by a law

Same-sex marriage is still not legal here in the Philippines. But I applaud those who fight social and justice bigotry against our community. It’s a start.

12. The TV show that changed my world…

Grey’s Anatomy.

This show has the most effect to my life: From song choice to decision-making. I somewhat adapted how Meredith sees the world or how she thinks about friendship and love.

13. A must-read gay-themed book is…

Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life”

So far, only two books have made me cry and one of them is “A Little Life”. Yanagihara introduced a number of characters here. She developed them in the story so well that we are left with no choice but to love and welcome them into our lives.

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From answering these, I’ve learned a lot about myself. Why don’t you try answering these questions yourself? You can comment below or send me an email so we can talk about it. Please do the same if you want me to dare me to answer   a question.

A Gay Life (Part 1: Questions 1-6)

“My Gay Life” is one my favorite sections in Gay Times. In this one-page column of the popular gay-themed magazine, gay guys answer a number of interesting and daring inquiries that may give light to their personality, making us know more about them better.

I would like to do the same for myself in this blog. Aside from finding the questions excitingly cool to answer, I also find it a nice way to introduce myself to you guys.

1. When I first knew…

I always knew that I’m different. The earliest memory of realizing that I am not the same as what the other boys was when I was in first grade.

I remember my uncles teasing me on the way I walk. I have been doing the tsunami walk before it gets into pageants two decades after.

I also recall enjoying doing pranks to an older cousin, which involves shadowing and pulling down his shorts. He’s not wearing a pair of underwear back then so imagine how overwhelming the sight was.

2. My coming out moment…

I haven’t done that.

I think “coming out” really isn’t a thing when it’s obvious that I’m gay. At school, no one asked me about it. I just went on as a “normal” gay guy and let everything come in as it is.

It’s a different thing at home though. I think they knew about it and are just waiting for me to “formally” admit it. But I like being secretive. I like it being just the way it is.

Maybe, I’m just afraid. It’s hard when you’re being rejected by the ones that you think should be supporting you in everything that you do.

3. The campest thing I’ve done…

Cross-dressing in high school for fun. I wore my classmate’s skirt and walked around the room. I haven’t done that in public. I’m not really comfortable doing it with people who are too closed-minded to appreciate one’s happiness.

4. My first gay club / pub…

I haven’t gone into any.

This is the thing that I wanted to cross out off of my bucket list the most. I guess I’m just afraid of being caught in the premises from a sudden police raid. Also, there have been a lot of plans with my gay friends to get into one but no plans have materialized yet.

5. My first gay kiss…

My first kiss was with this straight guy.

It was when I was in college and it was with a guy from high school.

A perfect romantic scene: We were having an overnight. By midnight, we were a bit drunk when fireworks from a nearby barangay unanticipatedly came out and painted the horizon. All of us were amazed at how cool everything went that time. We opted out from our discussion to watch different colors exploding at the clear night sky. I repositioned my chair to face the direction of the fireworks. I felt him move behind my chair. I gave him a quick glance and saw him calmly watching the view. Then I stood up and grabbed his face and kissed him.

It was a quick and disappointing one.

I’mnot really a kisser. That time, I don’t know how it’s done. I received no respond from him. Next thing was me withdrawing my mouth from his and feeling shame for what I did.

What happened was a perfect meltdown from a perfect romantic scene.

6. When I lost my virginity…

After college. The first guy I believe I fell in love with.

I thought we’re getting into something good. I physically expressed my feelings (I’m not really good at words): hugs, flirting, and time spent together. I thought he liked it. It’s easy to just say no and stop me from doing it. He never said stop.

Until “that” happened. Then “that” never happened between us ever after.

The PNM Review: Passenger – Sunday Night Sessions

Earlier this year, Passenger released a collection of covers titled “Sunday Night Sessions”.

Passenger’s collection of covers was released earlier this year. (Image credit: Artist’s website)

I tend to be picky when it comes to covers. Yes, YouTubers are really good at singing their version of popular songs. What I’m looking and enjoy listening to, however, are those who can express their unique style. That’s their edge to becoming popular, right. I mean, in the music industry, the best way to get ahead is to have a good and unique music style.

I have this weakness when it comes to popular artists who do their version of the songs that I fond of listening to. (Thus, the reason why tracks from Radio 1’s Live Lounge albums get a lot of play counts on my iTunes. See, I love covers.)

The guy who popularized “Let Her Go” and “Circles” has crooned his way into my heart. With just his voice and the strings of his acoustic instruments come a very refreshing and mesmerizing music that have always affected my mood in a good way.

I’m a bit of a music completist (people who downloads/buys the complete discography of their favorite artists) that when I saw in Metacritic that Passenger released this collection of covers, I had nothing but pure excitement to get a copy.

Best Tracks

Passenger started his album with what I think is the best cover in the batch: Hotel California. Admit it, we are used to hearing this song the original way. Some of us might have once sung this over the karaoke. So far, personally, no one has beaten the original yet. I wouldn’t say that Passenger’s version is better than The Eagles’, but it comes close by giving a refreshing and sentimental feel to it.

His version of a Neil Young song is also one of my favorites here. Heart of Gold isn’t that popular here in the Philippines. Passenger introduced that song to me so I gladly downloaded the original version. After listening to the Neil Young version, I came to a realization: There’s one thing that’s common among the covers in this album, Passenger mixed in his styles but kept the songs as they are. He didn’t try to overdo them, which is nice and very respectful to the music geniuses who popularized the songs.

Lastly, Love Will Tear Us Apart, o

ne of all time’s best rock and roll song, has been staying on my playlist for so long. I have just played it again months ago upon finding out that this is Keanu Reeves’ favorite song (via Reddit’s AMA). Well, Passenger did a good job with it. I like listening to his version more than Joy Divisions’. His acoustic greatness and soothing voice gave the song the right feel… Like the song has more meaning after listening to it.

 

Judgement

Sunday Night Sessions is a great mood setter for me. It’s the perfect companion to daily morning routines, especially when commuting. [I think it’ll calm you out from the stress of queueing at MRT stations or long bus rides going to work.]

The album is magical, in a way that each of the songs brings its listeners to a mixture of different feelings and emotions more than the original one does. You will smile. You’ll feel sad. You’ll reminisce the moments you’ve associated the songs from.

Album Rating

4.83/5 stars

Alternatives

Jack Johnson • All The Lights Above It Too [4.83 stars]

Angus & Julia Stone • Snow [4.08 stars]

Thomas Rhett • Life Changes [4.50 stars]