Friday, January 30, 2009

Attempts to be artistic

Here are some spontaneous random pics I took with my phone. I can't bear to get rid of them.

Winter of 2006 first snow. Taken at my old jobs parking structure on the second level.

Christmas tree inside Navy Pier, Chicago.

One of the fountain in Millennium Park at night, Chicago.

The Bean at night. Millennium park, Chicago.

A very sepulcher shot of an angel taken at the Wunder Cemetery. It is a Jewish cemetery.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Bully

Dictionary.com defines a bully as a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people. He/she is a noisy, blustering person, more insolent than courageous; one who is threatening and quarrelsome; an insolent, tyrannical person.

It is my observation that for small school age children, bullies often uses physical force or physical intimidation to exert their wishes. But for adults, bullies often use other forms of intimidation. There are the religious bullies who uses fear of the afterlife as a means to command obedience. There are bullies who uses blackmail to get what they want. There are bullies who uses the market's rule of supply and demand to command an unfair prices on merchandise. There are bullies who uses authority or money to get ahead. Needless to say, any person who forces another to do something by any means besides that other persons own wishes is a bully.

When I was little, my brother of 4 years older than me had at one point or another bullied me by using physical intimidation. I do not remember a particular instance but even to these days, there had been an instance when he acted like he can still bully me. For the love of Jesus-Mary-Joseph, I am a grown man and I don't have to do what I don't like doing. That is probably why I don't talk to him anymore.

Several years ago while I was working out at Bally's fitness club at the Century Mall, I experienced another act of bullying. I was minding my own business and whistling to my self when this big steroid filled bag of a man told me, yes told me, to stop whistling cause he got distracted lifting his weights while narcissistically checking himself out in front of the mirror. Yes, he did not ask me nicely to refrain from whistling but just a matter of fact told me to stop as if expecting full compliance on my end. I was of course intimidated and stopped. I did not know any better. If it happened now, I would have gone on whistling and if he inflicted any physical violence on me, I would slap him with a big lawsuit till he would sell his ass hole for sex to pay his lawyers. Some of you might say I had it coming for whistling in a health club. LOL Come on! If anybody gets distracted by something in the gym, nobody can do almost anything. If somebody gets distracted by my voice for example, does that mean I can't talk to my friends in the gym? What I was doing was not unreasonable and loud. The bully simply did not like it and he intimidated me to stop. So to this day, I still remember that act of bullying inflicted to me. And every time I remember, I wishes that that man's testicle shriveled to a size of a rice grain from all the steroid he used.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Leaner Andy

Ok I admit, I just really want to post a shirtless Andy Roddick who looks so much hotter lately. I have always been a fan of him but much news about how much he lost weight from his new training regimen is doing his game much good. And I must admit I believe that. He got so much stamina and energy and he was moving so well against Novak on their quarterfinals game at the Australian Open. Novak retired due to heat exhaustion and feeling ill. Well, I hope he continue to do well. Go Andy!

(pics from wordpress.com, the spoke.net, topnews.in, sofeminine.co.uk)

Monday, January 26, 2009

Reality TV

I am very picky when it comes to my reality TV and Game shows. I usually like those that rewards real talent and brain like Project Runway, Top design, Jeopardy, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, This old house and Who wants to be a Millionaire. These are samples of shows that have substance, are fun to watch and are educational at the same time. On the other end of the spectrum, shows that rewards greed, strategic self promotion, bitchiness, connivery and stupidity annoys me. Examples of these includes Survivor, Deal or no deal, The Bachelor, Big brother, The Real world, America's Top Model, Jerry Springer, The real housewives of orange county and Bad girl's club. Let me point out Bad Girl's Club. Here is the description of the show from their website. "Bad Girls Club brings seven self-proclaimed 'bad girls' together in a beautiful Los Angeles mansion, and drama reigns supreme. All the girls, ranging in age from 21 to 25, have a unique story, point of view and attitude -- as well as some kind of personal issue that makes them far from perfect. Will living together help them move forward and turn their lives around -- or will chaos rule?" This is the stupidest show ever. It is a bunch of pompous bitchy girls who are bad or act bad. How easy is that? Anybody can be bad. Just curse at lot, whore at lot and pick a fight with everybody. I can do that! It is like a roadkill that you can't stop staring at. It is all about shock value. The fact that these stupid shows are around means there is an audience there. It is a disgraceful thought that people enjoy watching these.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Happy New Year! again...

Well, it is the Lunar calendar's New years eve today. Ancient China goes by the Lunar Calendar (not the Gregorian calendar that we all follow now) so this is also known as the Chinese New Year. And this year is the year of the Ox.
For those who holds this day significant, Happy new year.

Roger clawed himself out of a hole.

I stayed up and watched the Federer versus Berdych fourth round match at the Australian Open. Indeed my heart was pounding with nervousness cause Roger was down two sets. Then he recovered from it to win the next 3 sets to eventually win the match. I almost braved the bitter cold tonight to go out clubbing just so I pry myself out from the TV. Cardiac game indeed cause I want Roger to win. For more of the story, click HERE.

(pic from australianopen.com)

Friday, January 23, 2009

The ugly Serbian returns.

I have not been a big fan of Novak Djokovic of late. As I mentioned in my earlier blog about him, I think he has gotten really arrogant. And to prove my point, here is a transcript of the interview he had after his second round match (1-21-09) in the Australian Open. You can tell he was annoyed that Andy Murray is getting a lot of attention over him.

"Q. Last year everyone was talking about you as sort of the third man after Rafa and Roger. Now it's Andy as the third man. Do you get that sense?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Why Andy?

Q. Because he's the one being talked about as the third challenger.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: What's his ranking and my ranking?

Q. I'm not going on the ranking system.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The thing is that you cannot put somebody, I mean, all the respect to Andy, I like him as a person and as a player. He's done a lot in the last couple months, and he's a very talented player and we can expect him to win some Grand Slams in the future.
But you cannot put him as the favorites next to Roger and Rafa and myself here at Australian Open."

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Piolo

This is a tribute to Piolo Pascual. He is an actor/singer from the Philippines. I think he is very cute and I like him. I have most of his films in my collection.


(pics fromtitikpilipno.com, clickthecity.com, macuha.com, pep.ph, travellerspoint.com,syobis.com, blogspot.com. photobucket.com)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Well done Barack.

I saw a portion of the inauguration today. As a citizen of this country, I am so glad that Bush is out of the office. Happy to have Obama in and start fixing all the mess Bush did to our country. The official website of the White House was also timely changed and in it you can see President Obama's agenda on civil rights. I am liking this guy more and more. Among the items that concerns me the most are the ones relating to the GLBT community. Here is a brief outline of these changes he wants.

* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes that included sexual orientation
* Fight Workplace Discrimination that includes sexual orientation
* Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for GLBT Couples
* Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
* Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell
* Expand Adoption Rights to include same sex couples and GLBT community
* Promote AIDS Prevention

For more details of the outlined items, click HERE.

(pic from weblo.com)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

woke up to 60 degrees

Last wednesday, thursday and friday was brutally cold here in Chicago. And I not referring to grandpa being cold at 50 degree. I am talking about very cold even to the standards of a hardy chicagoan. Wednesday recorded temperature for hi/low was 16/0, thursday was 1/-13 and friday was 6/-17. That is cold indeed. And when it gets to be that cold, my baseboard hot water heating system can not sufficiently heat my condo. I set the thermostat control to 78 but saw my temperature reading indoor dipping to a low of 60 friday morning. Burr... I prepared for it by putting out my comforter so I was fine under it. The moment I step out of it to get ready friday morning, I was freezing. I could barely move. And my remote start could not start my car to preheat it before I step into it.

I am buying some space heater so next time it gets this cold, I am ready. I will also prepare better by covering my window air conditioner units with plastic. I sew a door draft guard from old fabrics today so I can use it on my main door that opens to the outside elements. So next time I will be ready.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

I had a dream

My friend Caitlin St. James and I were touring in downtown LA (without a weapon) walking around and we both noticed that behind the tall buildings, we could see beautiful spiral tower like rock formations. More majestic than the pictures above. They were massive that they towered way above the buildings. We were both surprised cause we were not aware of this existence. So we decided we must have a closer view and take some pictures. We got in the museum (somehow) and we could see it through the windows. We walked from one window to another trying to get a better view but it was wanting. Somehow our views from the different windows were obscured. Not to be deterred, we head out and came to this courtyard 3 story California style apartment building. The ones with a common wrap around balcony with apartment doors spaced evenly. And behind the apartment we could almost have an unobstructed view of the rock formations. We thought that if we go up to the third floor balcony, we could have a much better prospect. But we hesitated cause we would be trespassing. Still determined to have that photo taken, we decided to just make up a story that we were visiting a Mr. So and So. And that we would do it very quickly so that nobody will take notice of us. Our spirit was high as we climbed the first stair that was metal. Then on to the second stair that was made of rattan fibers. It was so steep that we were almost climbing up a ladder. Not to mention that it was flimsy. As we reached the third floor balcony, I hear a beep beep sound. It was my alarm clock.

(pics were from random pages via google image search)

Friday, January 16, 2009

Mr. Color

I have a client named Brown. I always call him Mr. Brown. This made me think of the other colors that are also last names. We all have heard of a Mr. Black, Green, Gray and White. And Mr. Brown told me that he knows several Mr. Blue. I personally have not encountered that name. I sure would like to meet a Mr. or Ms. Blue. And do I need to venture into hoping to meet a Mr. Yellow? How about a Mr. Purple? Or Mr. Orange? Mr. Pink? (Pink the singer does not count) Anybody else know of a last name that is also a color?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Blogging and me (part 5)

At this point of my blogging experience, I know certain people read my blog on a regular basis. It is always very gratifying to know that. As I always say, what is the point of having a public blog when nobody reads it. Just tonight, a guy from gay.com that I have chatted asked me about the updates of my blog. You see, I have not been very active with my blog lately so he joked about what he is suppose to read if I don't have new entries. Talk about pressure to write. hehehe So this is how it feels for a writer pressured to write... Since my blog is all about me and my experiences, I decided to write about this particular experience. Until I get another inspiration on what to write, hope this will do for now Norm. ;-)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

YELP

Have you ever wondered what it is like to go to a certain bar or restaurant? Are you going to a new city and want to get some tips on the good tourist attractions? Are you thinking of getting your car fixed and don't know where to bring it? You know what they say, rely on the word of mouth of people who had experience with those places. Yelp.com is your answer. You can type in the category of the establishment you like to check out plus the city, you got yourself a listing with reviews from common people. The categories ranges from hospital to churches to spas to schools. Any may I sum up my blog about yelp by quoting yelp.com itself. "Yelp is a fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great - and not so great - in your area.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

National debt.

I am not a the smartest person when it comes to politics and the economy. I don't pretend to know the inner workings of the recent national economy but one thing I know about the last 3 decades, the economy was good when a democrat held the presidency. Mediamatters.org report state that by the end of 2009 the gross federal debt is projected to reach $9.93 trillion, whereas in 2000, the gross federal debt was $5.63 trillion when George W Bush took office. As you can see in the chart above I took from zfacts.com, the national debt reached its lowest point after the Carter era. And when the Reagan and older Bush era began, it went up. When Clinton took office, it went down again. Then when the current Bush took office, it went up again. What does that say about your president and the party it belongs to? I don't know. You come up with your conclusion.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Jon's Sarcasm 7

- People are only rude to people they think are of no consequence to them.

- Yeah, gay people choose to be gay because they really like being discriminated and beaten up.

- Religion belongs in the church/temple/mosque and NOT in the constitution.

- Rude ugly people are just too stupid cause if u are ugly, better be at least nice.

- If a freshly showered man with clean clothes and undies piss without touching his penis or any part of the urinal, should he still wash his hands afterward?

Monday, January 05, 2009

Mr. 40 something


I recently turned 40 and it is quite daunting. I know it is just a number but I did not feel this way when I turned 38 or 39. The fact that I can no longer say I am in my 30s made me reflect on my life and what I have done. It seems that society have different expectations and views on what a 40 something man should be. If I were a heterosexual, I ought to be married with children in their pre-teens living in a single family home in the burbs. But how about a homosexual in his 40s? What is to be expected of me? Fabulous dinner parties that makes Martha Stewart proud? A bf and a dog living on a hi rise somewhere in downtown Chicago? Designer suits I can actually pay for in cash?
Then I thought about what I have achieved. For starters, I have a nice condo in a nice urban neighborhood that will be paid off next 2 months! I don't have any car or credit card debt. So financially I am doing quite well. I have a good career as a physical therapist. The pay is good and job security is excellent. I have tucked away a good amount in retirement funds that will secure my comfort when I retire. (Nothing is worst than an old poor gay man in a nursing home with no children to care for them.) And also, I have traveled abroad and seen places that not everybody can boast having seen first hand. I have a set of few close friends I can rely on. I have the love and acceptance of family members that matters. I have loved and have my heart broken. A life experience that only made me a better and stronger individual. So all in all, I am not doing bad for a gay man in his 40s.
Then I thought of what seems to be missing in my life. The very first thing that came to me is a secure loving lasting relationship with another man. I may be gay but that does not exclude me from yearning to have companionship. Should an unconditional love of a dog be the answer? I know it is not but somehow the dog solution is so much easier than finding love. At this point, I can only hope that love will find me again.
Then I thought about what else I can do to make my 40 something years better. Perhaps a botox and lipo here and there? Definitely more travel is a must. And lastly, I think I need to build more stronger friendship and bond with friends and family.
I guess, there is nothing to fret about turning 40 after all...