Congratulations America!

I was with my friends when this was officially announced. I felt it is a start of a new day for America and for the world as the US president is the most powerful man in the world.

It has been a long time since the world actually approved of Americans' choice of president. But it is only recently that the world had recently desperately wanted one particular person as the president.

After having the least popular American president in history and amidst tons of economic and political challenges, Obama has a difficult presidency ahead of him. He has to deal with wars that he did not start. He has to deal with an economic structure that does not really support most of his people with corporations breathing down his back.

I believe Barack Obama will make it. I am sure he will be one of the greatest Americans in history.

I Hate Qantas

Ok ok I have to tell you first that I arrived in Adelaide in one piece. I know it is not nice to use the word hate but that is exactly what I feel right now. I hate fucking Qantas!

Last April, I ignored the fact that they didn't have movies on demand on my flight from Sydney to Bangkok. I also ignored the fact that there were numerous technical failures in Qantas flights in the past several months. A few weeks ago, a Qantas plane dropped so fast that it caused spinal cord injuries in some of its passengers.

On 2nd of November, I was supposed to fly at 5:25 PM but we boarded the plane half an hour late. I thought that is OK--I would still be able to make my connecting flight to Adelaide. But that was only the beginning.

The pilot announced that there was an engine failure and that they were testing it. Hours passed and they mentioned they have to replace some parts. Three hours have passed and yet we were still cooped up in the airplane. I was getting delirious because I was extremely hungry. And then I saw them serving some food but my jaw fell open when I found out that these were only ice pops.

4 1/2 hours later, the pilot announced that we were going to fly. Keep in mind that we were still inside the fully-booked plane. Many of the passengers had connecting flights so the pilot assured the passengers that sound ground crew would assist us in getting to our connecting flights.

I asked a flight attendant for an arrival card but he never gave me one. I wanted to explode when I got off the plane but Qantas thought that I could take some more beating.

On the ground, we were greeted by two staff members. It was a fucking 747 plane with most of the passengers leaving Sydney and yet they gave us only two fucking idiots!

I spent 45 minutes at customs. I found out from a Vodafone shop clerk that my connecting flight was actually in a different airport. The idiots did not mention this.

So I found the check-in desk. I was also surprised that I had to check-in again and it took me 45 minutes to do it. Obviously, I missed my connecting flight and had to wait two more hours for my flight to Adelaide.

Finally, I arrived in Adelaide at 4:05 PM. I was supposed to arrive at 10 AM. Great job, Qantas!

Rambling OFWs (overseas Filipino workers)

I am now counting the days until I leave Bangkok. I have been meeting one set of friends after another. It is very nice to feel important but I think my waistline is growing.

Here are Phet and Jennifer. They work for the same company but at a different branch.

The traffic was slow on the way to the Japanese restaurant. I got bored so I decided to film them.

Thank you ladies for agreeing to post this video.

We'll Kill Ya

The US Americans will be voting for their new president in a few days. Hopefully, they will vote for Obama.

Before Obama starts a new day for this country, we should pay tribute to his predecessor, the honourable Bush Jr.

Returning to Oz part 5

(one of my first photos at work. That is Rotem--she looks so much different now)

One more week to go and Bangkok won't see me for a very long time. As each day passes, I realise that I am going to miss a lot of things in this city.

All of my friends know that I am in love with Thai food. Every dish explodes with taste. Fruit and vegetables are almost always fresh and they are included in many of their everyday meals. I actually surpass the daily requirement of 5 servings of fruit or vegetables.

Some people are making it difficult for me to leave the country as well. Some of my students are emotional that I am leaving. I have known all this time that somehow, we have gone beyond the student-teacher relationship. Some of them have become friends. Some have become my adoptive parents.

And then I have friends who I will miss a lot. I will miss all the ramblings and the rantings. I will miss the meals together and the late nights. I will miss the gossips and some personal revelations.

But it is nearly my time to move on.

No On Prop 8

A huge percentage of my visitors on this blog are Americans and many of those Americans live in California. Plus I am sure many of you reading this right now know someone from California. I am appealing to all of you to say "no to Proposition 8".

It is sad that private citizens have to shell out millions of money to uphold a human right. It is sad that there are people legalising discrimination.

I know I am not an American but whatever the outcome of this affair will have its effect on gay politics around the world. This will set as a precedent to many states and many countries in the world whether to reject or accept gay unions/marriages.

Please vote No on Prop 8!

Check the official website: http://www.noonprop8.com/

Thanks Bangkok

(photo taken on my first trip to Bangkok in 2004)

It was hot and humid on the 16th of October. There were not that many tourists around but there were several people who were mourning for the King's sister. I visited Wat Phra Kaew maybe for the last time.

Amidst the mourners, Buddhists and stubborn Western tourists (who refuse to remove their shoes), I tried to talk to whoever is powerful. I had to thank him/her for all the blessings I received in this wonderful country.

I have no huge complaints when it comes to the people. I just find many of its tourists and foreign residents disgusting. This country has blessed me with a wonderful job and experiences that taught me I can reach any goal I want. This is a wonderful life and there are so many great things I can do with it.

It is time for me to move on.

Passed the IELTS

I know I have been quiet about this because it is embarassing to admit that I had problems with this test. I took the test twice but I did not the scores that I needed in both takes.

When I found out that I failed the re-take, I was furious and immediately asked for a remark. Everything comes at a cost so it makes the ordeal more painful. Anyway, I waited and waited and I thought I would not get the results until my return to Adelaide.

But I was wrong. I got the scores that I need to qualify for a teaching license in South Australia. Of course, this is just one of the first hurdles and I am sure there will be tons more.

I am extremely happy and grateful and I want to thank all of my friends who believe in me. I can never live without my friends.

Tongue-tied Dexter 3

Guess who's back.

I mentioned in two posts (this one and that one) that I have a crush on someone in the gym. He is bald, dark-skinned and very muscular. We had a lot of staring sessions in the gym until one time I mustered enough courage to say that he is cute. But then I chickened out and ran off.

I saw him in a different branch of my gym and he is bigger now. I even saw his butt--the mounds are glorious. Like before, I chickened out. I do not think he saw me but I saw him and I still did not talk to him properly.

I am not sure if there will be a next time.

Za za

This is a video of the new puppy in my apartment building. I think she is a Shih Tzu.

She adores me and follows me around. She loves chewing on my bag, my sandals and my fingers. She is very tiny so it cannot do any damage.

I hope you like this tiny fluffy bitch.

I Deserve To Vote

I am not sure if this is a fresh idea or not but I believe this is a legitimate concern. Every person around the world should vote in the US presidential election.

The US is the richest country in the world and it has placed itself as the most important country in international finance. That means every decision that the US makes, we get affected.

If the US calls for a war, the Filipino government is forced to support them because we are going to face financial ramifications if we go against it. If the US stock market falls, outsourced jobs in the Philippines are affected as well.

I am sure this is not unique to the Philippines.

Ridiculous as it may sound, I believe I should have the right to vote for this coming US election. Whether or not I like it, I am going to be directly affected by any decision the next president will make.

Dexter learns Math

Last week, I bought some Australian dollars in preparation for my vacation in Adelaide. The rate back then is 1 AUD= 27.7 THB.

But how would I know that the Australian stock market would also take a nose-dive?

Today's rate is 22.7 THB. I could have saved around 10,000 THB.

I am desperate to take advantage of this situation so I will try to buy more Australian dollars tomorrow. I hope the banks won't keep them from me!

The Old Dexter

This is an old profile picture that I took more than a year ago and I got a lot of guys from it. It has been almost a year since I removed my pictures and personal information from my gay profiles. There were times that I thought I was going to miss it but I honestly have not.

I have so much time for myself now. I take a lot of photos (not for gay profiles of course), I watch a lot of TV series and I hang out with my friends. I no longer tell them "Oh I can't join you because I have a date."

I think I can make my friends feel more special now. I think I am making myself feel more special now. I do not need to fuck to feel good about myself and I do not need to fuck people to make them like me.

I wonder where this is going to lead.

Slacker Uprising (movie)

I have been idolizing Michael Moore since I read "Stupid White Men" (thanks Peter) but I will try to be as objective in this article as possible.

This movie is downloaded for free from Michael Moore's website www.michaelmoore.com but you have to be in north America to do so. If not, you can go to http://www.mininova.org/get/1834422 but you need a Torrent client to make it work. Do not hesitate to ask me if you have more questions on how to get this free movie.

This movie was shot four years ago as Michael Moore visited several states. Some of the talks were organized smoothly and some were made difficult by rich Republicans. Although he was encouraging "slackers" to vote, he was obviously promoting John Kerry.

Many of the scenes and speeches are filled with emotions. Democrats are portrayed as being intelligent and proactive. Republicans are portrayed as being stupid and rowdy. But then how can you describe people who join in a huge mob of people who are totally against their beliefs?

The celebrities, soldiers, families of soldiers and other private citizens mainly talked about the war in the Middle East. The issues were much simpler back then but now it is more complicated because the US economy is about to collapse (although they are still in the same war plus others).

If I were American, I would be proud of Michael Moore and the Americans in this movie who want a change. I just hope that they get it.

Afterthoughts on 2008 Bangkok International Film Festival

Many of the major awards in the Bangkok International Film Festival 2008 were won by the Filipino films and I am happy for them. It is good that my fellow Filipinos are being recognized recently in many film festivals around the world.

But this does not mean I am crazy about their work.

I do not mind the real-time storytelling, the absence of high-tech equipment and the use of unknown actors. But I mind when they hyperextend their movies. They show no respect to their audience. I do not know anyone alive and sane who can sit through a movie that is more than four hours long. We have better things to do.

I do not mind seeing naked people on screen but do people really have to see sex acts up close? I am really upset that most Filipino movies that appear on DVDs overseas are only porn flicks with a storyline.

Who are their audience anyway? Do they make these movies to satisfy their egoes or their little circle of film making buddies? Or the little ego that they have below their waist?

I hope they will be more honest when saying that they are making their socially-relevant films and not films that will be appreciated by their colleagues and libido only.

Return to Oz part 4

In four weeks, I will be back in Adelaide and I am going to be there for two months. I have to vacate my apartment because I do not want to spend 2 months' rest while I am not here.

I bought two storage boxes and each one of them is as big as a suitcase. I need them to store in my belongings. Believe it or not, one of them is already full because of my DVDs. I weighed them and they are 25 kilograms.

The other box will be used to store in my clothes. Of course, not everything is going to fit in there so I have to get rid of a lot of stuff.

Dexter is like a girl

I have a huge crush on an internet porn star Chris Geary because he is hot and perverted in his videos. He also plays with ordinary-looking blokes so I am hoping that I will be one of them in
the future.

I predicted that he would be in the 2008 Sydney Mardi Gras and he did not disappoint me. I saw him and his Filipino partner Erick De Chavez wearing bikinis and tiny shirts.

This is a fuzzy video of him walking on the street but that is not the reason why I posted this video. Make sure you have your audio on though.

Desperate Housewives Season 3 (TV)

Again, I am amazed at how well-written this TV series is. The storie makes me think that nothing in life is really constant. The ones who are up eventually goes down. And the ones who are lost are found.

I have been forgetting to mention in the past reviews about the excessive use of plastic and botox in this TV series. What's wrong with Teri Hatcher's eyes? It seems she cannot open them properly. Nicollette's boobs are always higher than her own shoulders.

There are two episodes in this TV series that went out of its traditional formula. One of them is "Bang", the supermarket hostage. It was extremely tense and dramatic. It makes me realize how life can change in one instant.

There are a couple of funny incidents in the film: one of them is Marcia's pregnancy. They hid her tummy with the TV, tables, layers of blankets and also used a few body doubles. James Denton is also terribly thin in this season. I wonder what happened to him.

Some performances of the supporting cast should be mentioned. Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey is adorable. She can be funny and very sad at the same time. I love her character a lot and her stories are heart-wrenching. The other good supporting actor is Kiersten Warren Nora Huntington as the manipulative bitch who wants the best for her daughter. Her exit in the TV series is extremely sad.

The ending is great. It is good that Edie is becoming more and more real. I am very much interested to find out what is going to happen to her in the next season although I doubt if it would be a lot. This will be the season where they had the writers' strike.

Now Showing (movie)

(Third movie I saw at the Bangkok International Film Festival)

There are so many Filipino independent movies out there that are running extra long. Some are 9 hours and "Now Showing" is 5 hours.

I do not understand why this movie has to be that long. Why would a film maker challenge his audience's bladder and stomach acid just to watch his movie? Why would one torture his/her audience?

I think it is being elitist because the film maker knows that a conventional movie goer won't watch a 5-hour movie that is not well-publicised. So why limit the people who are going to watch it?

Is it laziness on his part to edit his work?

The performances are amazing and the theme is fresh but is it really worth the possibility of getting sick by the time the movie ends?

My answer is NO.

Serbis (movie)

(Serbis is the second movie I watched in Bangkok International Film Festival 2008)

This is the most graphic Filipino movie I have ever seen in my life. And this is the most graphic film I have ever seen on the big screen. Unfortunately, I cannot see any reason why the film has to be this graphic. It reminds me of the Filipino "pene" movies (short for penetration) in the 70s. It shows erect dicks, vaginas, boobs, blowjobs and yes, closeups of all those things I mentioned.

I thought I was unshockable but I was shocked in this movie. I am used to seeing erect dicks on my computer but not on the big screen. Thai censorship is much much stricter than Filipino censorship and I was really surprised that it was given a go-signal here.

The only reason why I think those scenes are there is to create controversy and make people watch the film or buy the DVD.

Gina Pareno is superb as always but she cannot save this movie. It is very shameful.

FYI: I admit that I have been to a few movie theaters like this one when I was much younger. They are as despicable as the one in the movie.