Day 2 - The White Giant

Alex kept telling me that I was going to get a lot of looks when we got to the Philippines, but I didn't fully understand what it would be like until I got here. Before I talk about that though I have to say that Filipinos are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. Everyone is very friendly and as soon as we got to the house there was a feast waiting for us. The food was great so we ate and spent the rest of the day resting since we were tired from all of the traveling.

After a couple hours we decided that we were just going to stay in for the night, but we went to the mini mall down the street from the house to pick up some adult beverages. As with most Asian cultures, Filipinos love to sing karaoke. After a few cocktails the family talked me into singing some Karaoke. I definitely scored a 69 singing Big Poppa. My rapping skills are better then I thought. We also got massages. We paid 500 pesos including tip and the masseuses came to the house. That's what I call service. And in case you're wondering 500 pesos is equivalent to $500 U.S.

We ended drinking some more after the massages and singing karaoke until about midnight when we finally went to sleep. We also learned a valuable lesson. Don't buy cheap alcohol. Now you would think we would already know this, but cheap alcohol out here is way different then cheap alcohol in the U.S. Alex decided to buy a bottle of whiskey that cost as much as his bag of Tostitos. They were both 150 pesos. Alex quickly learned that if you're whiskey only cost $3 U.S. it is probably going to taste horrible. This is also when I fully understood how much I stand out. While we were at the market down the street from the house we're staying at, which is in a suburb of Manila, I could feel all of the eyes burning a hole in me. I have not seen a white person since we left the airport. Most white people that come here stay in the resorts so they're not used to seeing the whites walk around the local neighborhoods and markets. Especially not white giants like me. This is definitely going to take some getting used to haha.

That's about all that's happened so far. It is around 10:45 a.m. right now and we're watching the Lakers vs. Nuggets game live. I am so glad that Filipino's love basketball. I may even have to find somewhere to hoop it up. Alex has some uncles and cousins that like to play so I'm going to try and get in a pick up game while I'm here. I'll show these short guys how tall white boys can ball.

Filipino Adventures Day 1

I can't really say the adventures have started since I have spend the past 20 hours in airport terminals or on airplanes, but it has definitely been an experience so far. Before we even started planning this trip I knew the plane ride was going to be pure misery. It wasn't as hellish as I expected, but it was definitely an unpleasant experience. You would think that they would create more space between seats on planes that fly internationally ... you would think. That definitely is not the case and I spent most of the 12 hour flight from L.A. to Korea squirming in my seat. I was able to get a few minutes of shut eye hear and there, but as soon as I found a comfortable position and fall asleep I would wake up 10 or 15 minutes later not so comfortable anymore.

Enough about that though. I was able to watch a couple movies during the flight. Gran Torino was an interesting choice of movies for me to select from considering the population I was surrounded by on the flight. There are so many racial slurs in the movie that I probably would have felt uncomfortable if everyone on the flight was watching the movie at the same time.

We are flying Korean airlines and I encountered greetings from the flight attendants that I am still not sure how I should respond to. They bow at you all the time, but I don't know if I'm supposed to bow back. It feels kind of awkward to me. I don't think bowing is a tradition in Filipino culture so hopefully after our flight to Manila (we are on Korean airlines) we won't encounter anymore bowing haha.

Right now we are sitting at our gate and our flight doesn't leave for another 3 hours. It is 5:00 a.m. here and none of the bars are open. It feels kind of weird wanting a beer this early in the morning, but my internal clock is all jacked up and it would be nice to have one and relax. It would probably help me sleep for a little bit before our flight. These seats aren't the most comfortable things in the world, but they definitely beat be cooped up in a plane.

Mirror Self Portraits

What's the deal with people taking a pictures of themselves in a mirror and posting them on myspace and facebook? Usually it's chicks in slutty outfits trying to get attention, but I mean seriously, is this really necessary? Are you so desperate to put up a new picture of yourself that you have to rush into your bathroom and snap photos of yourself? Are you really that vain? I understand that you have great abs and a nice figure, but I don't need you to take a million photos of yourself in the mirror to prove it. Photos on myspace and facebook are supposed to be fun and to share with your friends the activities you have been up to in your life. A photo of yourself in the mirror tells me nothing about what you're doing with your life. Honestly, I don't care that you were so bored with your life that you had to take off some clothes and pose in the mirror. These people need to get over themselves.

Gay School

I saw this article posted in the Chicago Tribune ... take a gander:

Pointing to studies showing that gay high school students are at greater risk of dropping out because of stigma and fear of violence, Chicago Public Schools leaders said Wednesday that they will recommend opening a campus aimed at these students.

Final approval of the School for Social Justice Pride Campus, designed as the city's first school for gay, lesbian and transgender teenagers, along with 17 other schools, is expected to come Oct. 22 when the Board of Education votes.

Schools chief Arne Duncan said he will ask the board to approve the schools, which are expected to open in the fall of 2009 and 2010, to give greater choice to parents and students. "We want to create great new options for communities that have been traditionally undeserved," he said. "If you look at national studies, you see gay and lesbian students with high dropout rates. . . . I think there is a niche there we need to fill."

About 50 people attended a public hearing Wednesday night, with most supporting the school.Supporters said they envision a high school with a maximum of 600 students. It would have the same staffing and oversight requirements as other district schools. Students would be admitted from throughout the city on a lottery basis, officials said. A site has not been chosen.

Chad Weiden, an assistant principal at the Social Justice High School who would be principal at Pride Campus, said the school would incorporate lessons about sexual identity in literature and history classes and offer counseling. The school would be prohibited under state and federal laws from asking about a student's sexual identity, officials said.

A 2003 district survey shows that gay and lesbian youths are three times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe. On Wednesday, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network released a national survey of more than 6,000 middle and high school students that found that nearly 90 percent were harassed at school and about 61 percent felt unsafe.

At an earlier public hearing, some gay rights advocates said the school would segregate these students and that the district should work to foster acceptance.

I can't wait to see the headlines when "gay school" wins it's first football game. Is there going to be problems if the quarterback and the center start dating? Is there going to be groping whenever there's a dogpile? I can see controversy all over this one.

Hooters III

Definitely went back in again this past Monday and she didn't even recognize me. Guess that solves that!

Max Payne

I can't wait for this movie to come out. It looks sick. Check out the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.

Hooters II

This past Saturday we returned to Hooters to find out if it is really possible for a waitress or bartender to genuinely be interested in an everyday patron. Now obviously if a drop dead good looking rich guy comes in, of course they're going to be interested. The question is whether or not they would be into an average Joe such as myself. Well here's what transpired.

Before we even headed to the bar on Saturday night something happened the night before that must be mentioned. My friend Alex who was with me on the original visit to Hooters when I met this beautiful sports nut of a bartender has a friend who is a bartender at Hooters. It just so happens that on Friday night Alex was out with some friends including Megan who works at Hooters and the subject somehow turned to this particular bartender. Megan said that Patricia had recently dumped her asshole ex-boyfriend and that Alex should tell his friend to hit on her. This leads us to Saturday night.

Alex, his roomie Dave, and I went in after the UNLV game. We sat at the bar and Patricia and Megan both happened to be working. Patricia was closing out her drawer and getting ready to get off, but we still talked for a good while. In fact, Dave and Alex observed that she was talking to me the whole time and barely said a word to anyone else at the bar including them. Not too long after that she got off work and we didn't see her for the rest of the night. Megan came over to us a little later and told us that she told Patricia I was into her. We asked how she responded and all Megan would say is that she smiled. We're guys so of course we don't really know what that means, but she wouldn't give us anything other than that. On our way out Alex said bye to Megan and she told him to tell me that we have to come in again.

So that's where it is. There is still no definitive answer to the question at hand.