Fly by Mamangun

Fly
Originally uploaded by jojomamangun

My very good friend, Kris-belle Paclibar Mamangun-- one of the most awe-inspiring dancers I know-- as Zaia in Cirque Du Soleil's ZAIA at the Venetian in Macau.

Love and miss you both, newlyweds!

I am very, very proud.

Lutong Macau

I've never really enjoyed Macau until my last visit.

Perhaps because I have never really explored it as extensively. Or maybe because in my previous trips, I wasn't privileged enough to sleep at the Venetian. Or maybe simply because, this time I was with T. And being with him made all the difference.

Pre-departure.

At the elevator landing of the 14th floor,
just before we started the hunt for Rm. 14-003.
We weren't warned that the whole south wing of the Venetian
was as huge as Megamall Bldg. A.
(Guy, BTW, is one of Jason's best friends. It was
my first time to meet him but it felt like we've known
each other in our teens. Err... well, in his teenage and my toddler years.)


the main event.
Belle, you made me very proud of you again.

our first round of drinks.
Sparkling sangria for me, Rose sangria for T,
and ice-cold beer for Guy.
Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the bitchest of them all?

She brought us carrot cake, inside scoop and lots of fun.

Pineapple barbecue with cinnamon sugar
for breakfast at Fogo Samba

AUMULU-ing at the Ven

T being such a good tourist.

the Macau landmark.
We didn't go any closer than this.
"What's the point?", I quipped.
"I was able to get it by zooming in anyway."

The most sumptuous lunch and
the most refreshing
noontime sangria (they use lemons instead of oranges)
at Fernando's

*Thanks, Miss Jamesy for lending my your Cybershot! Full album to be posted soon, with the official video documentation.

In His Eyes

"This is Rye. Flamboyant. Outspoken. Fearless.

A rockstar with a heart as huge as a diva’s stage.

A winnur performer. A proud son. A good friend."

-As Is
http://reyasis.com

Thanks, friend!

With Pride & Feathers

It was the 13th of December. With clear skies and a thousand participants, the first-ever Pride March of Hong Kong was realized. And with much pride and some feathers, I was there, taking part as the gay men and women of Hong Kong marched their way from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai and made history.

Everybody, genuflect. It's the Pride flag.

Dan said, "If you wanna attract attention,
which really is the point of Pride march,
wear the follies headdress that we used for Halloween last year."
And boy, was he right!
The attention whore that I am could never wish
for so much attention in the streets, in broad daylight!

Crowd was too thick, it was difficult to find me at certain times.

A Pride card for La Rems. On it, I wrote --
"I am proud to be gay because my momma loves me!"

Birds of a feather
With Glenn and OutinHK's Antonio Licon

The silk rainbow flags prepared by Eric of Fruits in Suits

photos courtesy of Ad Takumi, Rey Asis, Prash Prashoun, Bhisan Rai

Facebooking

Ergib Dich: A Work In Progress

Ayi & Heihei, waiting for my brain to function

Heihei, I must admit,
interprets this feline step far better than I envisioned
(and the boy even has a bad knee!)

the "resistance lift", that,
when the sultry Ayi does, somehow looks more like an orgasmic one.
Can't blame her.
She's a girl that can launch a thousand ejaculations
(even without meaning to)!

Rye: So this piece is all about push-and-pull.
Of coming-and-going. It tells the story of (something something)
Ayi: It's your story!
Rye: Shut up. Take it from the top.

You'll love his extensions.

Ayi pretending to analyze the assisted drop I was demonstrating;
but in reality, she was really thinking how she could cheat the toebreaker.

Ayi learning the basics of rimming.

all photos were taken by Proceso Gelladuga
*double-click on images to enlarge
*images may be used but only if linked back to this page
___________________

No Ordinary Sunday

Enan needed to stay in bed.

Dan needed some peace and quiet (and darkness).

Steve needed to find an ATM machine.

So did Law.

I needed some Sunday sunshine.
______________

Insisting on going with them, I went on the elevator with Steve and Law and took Dan's camera with me. It was no ordinary Sunday. It just had to be documented.

August 17, 2008.
10ish in the morning.

right outside of Steve's building.
Despite Steve's protestations against me bringing a camera,
he smiled when I pointed and shot.

they walked fast, trying to lose me,
because I was too bubbly for a Sunday morning,
and I was starting to wear them out.

the blind leading the blind
(private joke. don't ask.)

Ok, so in this photo...
Steve just finished his business with the machine.
I, obviously was behind the camera.
What was Law doing?

After being rudely ignored by fellow Filipinos
who probably thought we were a trio of misfits who would kikil them,
(ugh! what judgement!)
we finally got a HK local passerby to agree to take our picture.

We then went back to Steve's place, a little after 11 for brunch: vodka, coke and Yahoo Messenger.
_______________________

The Best Part Of Having A Brother

...a gay brother, that is.

...a gay brother who earns more than you, if I may add, is this ---

3 DKNY bags! What more could I ask for? Oh well, a pair of Ferragamo shades and a nice pair of powder blue moccasins would be nice too.

_________

Come Rain, Come Shine

These photos are of the main thoroughfare that lies about 200 meters from our place. Taken by a friend Jojo around noon on June 7 (Saturday), while on his way to the MTR station to report to work after the typhoon warning signal was hoisted down from black rain to amber.

It started pouring in the morning of Friday, June 6. Late in the afternoon of the same day, the winds started to move radically and the rains started to fall more heavily, which carried on until the following day. This heavy downfall caused the soil from the mountains beside our village and those that can be found close to Discovery Bay to erode. Our village was flooded knee-high with muddy, murky water (from the mountains, not from the sewage system like which happens a lot in Manila every now and then) and the creek nearby started to overflow.

People panicked, and some braved the rain and the flood to evacuate to the town plaza even if only for half a day, until the inclement weather would start to show some positive progress.

The roads were blocked due to the minor landslide and bus and taxi operations were paralyzed.

It all happened here in Tung Chung. The first time ever since we moved here three years ago. Some were shocked by the sudden temperamental outburst of nature; others were amused at how fast HK government responded to the emergency. Some got scared for their dear lives; others went on to take advantage of the suspension of work, and never left their beds.

Dan and I, we didn't really get to experience all these. The stories we told our friends and our families were all but stories we heard from other people. Because since the typhoon started, until it has gone hundreds of miles away from the island that it damaged, we were out on another island partying like Paris and Nicole. The biggest damage we have accounted so far are a few hundreds of dollars from our back account. Oh, and a little bit on our livers too, from the many glasses of chardonnay, cosmopolitan, champagne and all thet shit that we rained down on us at Volume. But hey! No one can blame us. You only turn 30 once! (Not me. Dan.)

We've Only Just Begun

...to really recover from the big party weekend that had just gone by. We got drunk, we got stupid, we got naked, jolly, cranky, spaced-out, sick, perky, famished, wet, horny, cute, annoying, skinny, slutty, shameless, photographed, asked out, rejected, loud, intimidted, intimidating, obnoxious... Throw in any adjective and I'm pretty sure at one point or another, we were it, in the course of one weekend.

Friday

Welcome Dinner for Keith

on the menu --- Keith's favorite Filipino dishes:
bistek tagalog;
ginataang sitaw at kalabasa with shrimps;
chicken adobo;
inadobong baboy sa patis;
and lots and lots of San Miguel Pale Pilsen

______________

Saturday morning

Disney Gayday

with Josh & Nick after the 2pm LK show

with Keith in a tiny red tank top and pouting Antonio

Dan & I with the two Andies

May 10 at the gayest place on earth

__________________

Saturday night

Karaoke at Steve's

(see the karaoke post here)

__________________
Sunday 10am-6pm
Floatilla

[Comment of the day: "You skinny bitch!"
-to Rye from different fags. Flu virus, anyone? ;-)]

minutes before getting on the boat, without a drop of alcohol in our bodies.

halfway to the Cheung Sha rendezvous.
Miro had changed into what was known that day as the showstopper outfit,
and a number of us had started taking our shirts off,
while some started feeling seasick

the lei --- the official Volume boat accoutrement

having a drink at the lower deck,
where one went if he wanted faster access to the john.
and to the bar.

the floats

the plan was to half-submerge my body in the water for pictorial purposes...

...until we got pulled into the water

Jethro and I starting to feel the buzz.
We had just gotten back from another boat where I was forced
(in an attempt to look cute to my crush for the day) to drink shots of tequila.

When the lesbians started swimming to our boat,
I started teasing the guys, "Mahiya naman kayo!
Mas hindi pa takot sa tubig yung mga babae kesa sa inyo!
(You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! The ladies are even less afraid of the water than you!)"
Few minutes later, with the aid of a floater,
Dan & Gil managed to paddle themselves 5 meters away from our boat.

Dancers. Bakla. Baklang dancers.
Where was I when this photo was taken?

Trying to convice myself I wasn't drunk.
And wondering what the food they served tasted like.

At 5pm, with no solid food and 2 liters of vodka in my system.

And the best triceps award goes to....