Resurrection. Transformation. Bebe Gandanghari.

"Patay na po si Rustom Padilla, sya ngayo'y kilala bilang Bebe Gandanghari" - Rustom Padilla

These were the exact words of the actor-forward slash-actress Rustom Padilla-forward slash-Bebe Gandanghari as he-forward slash-she-forward slash-it announced the change in his-forward slash-her name.

Enough of the forward slashes.

It was quite a very rapid transformation for Rustom. From his out of the closet scene in Pinoy Big Brother, with the mariposa, to his gay role in ZsaZsa Zaturnnah, he has gone a very long way out of his comfort zones. 

And for the Filipino audience, it was not a very good move.

We all know that there is an imbalance treatment between the heterosexuals and the homosexuals in the society, and for one, nothing can ever take the fact that Philippine is a patriarchal society. 

Thus, you can never expect that Filipinos will eagerly accept the change in Rustom, especially that he is a public figure.

However, I do understand the sudden change in Rustom. Imagine hiding inside yourself for almost 30 years? 

What Rustom is going through right now is maybe just a long-time dream for him - to be out in the open, to express himself the way he wanted it to be, to live life as a woman.

Maybe, just maybe, it was not the best time for such change. 

Filipinos are not ready yet. They are not your Obamas that wholeheartedly accepts homosexuality and the underlying factors within it.

I now wonder, when will the Filipinos be ready?

I support GREENPEACE

One of the few things my partner and I want to do this year is to offer even just a little help to charity - may it be the orphans, the environment, or the sick. 

What's important for us this year, since we now have a job, why not share a little of our time and finance to those who need it?

So we've decided to join GREENPEACE.

GreenPeace is an international organization dedicated to fight, non-violent and non-destructive at that, against environmental abuse. Since 1971, the group spread the need to heed our degrading environment. With their more than a thousand members, it has become a group armed with passion and concern for the Mother Nature.

From then on, GreenPeace has continuously become the staunch defender of the earth - from the waters to the air.

From the moment I signed the membership, right then and there, I felt the urge to disseminate the good news. 

So this blog is dedicated to gain members and defender for GreenPeace.

A little amount will do. At a very low cost, you can help save the world.

Visit www.greenpeace.org.ph for more information.

It's high time we do something for others and for the world, at large.

The Creed

I believe in the empowering ability of believing - in its unexplainable effect. 

I believe in the wheel of fate, what comes around, goes around.

I believe in the soothing embrace and passionate kiss of your loved ones, they who believes in you and they who inspires you to be the greatest.

I believe in the powers of dreaming, pursuing it comes next.

I believe in the nourishment that a smile brings, the healing effect it conjures.

I believe in passion and dedication - from there, immeasurable success follows through.

I believe in the boundless love and care of my friends, they who knows me inside out.

I believe in the greatness of prayers, its infinite possibilities 

I believe in the presence of the Almighty, the boundless blessings He bestows.

Thinking and rethinking

I am on the verge of giving up.

I am about to spit it all out.

I am there, almost there.

It's always my fault, it's my flaws they always notice.

It seems I haven't done even just one right thing.

I have squeezed out all my efforts.

Seemingly, it's not enough.

I am coping up.

But they don't allow me to.

But that doesn't mean I'm giving up my goal.

This doesn't mean I'll waste all my investments.

This doesn't even mean that I'll lose.

I know this won't be the end of everything.

Definitely not.

I will still win over this.

That, I know for sure.

For now, I will give in and continue what I have started.

Because I know that day will come.

I believe.

I will always believe.

The magic stayed with me

(Photo by Cyprus Malinao)

(Photo by Jon Galvez)

There's always a child within us. And Enchanted Kingdom, once again, unleashed that immaturity in me.

It was not my first time to be there - it was I think my 4th time if I'm not mistaken. 

Maybe what made it extra special is the fact that I was with my friends. Being with them for a day in a place where " the magic stays with you," is really ecstatic. 

Running around like kids. Riding all those rides like you never did it before. Taking pictures as if you'll never see each other again.

Tiring, it was, but never did I expect that it would that fun since I will be riding the same rides as i did before. 

Then I realized, the magic was caused not only by Space Shuttle and Rio Grande Rapids, but the people I was with.

Friends, truly, are the magic that will stay on with you forever.