Friday, February 27, 2015
Adios, February...
One day more and February is over. Just like that.
Whoa, whoa! What's the rush, 2015? Unless everything you have in store for me this year is awesome or much more awesome, slow down a bit. Haha!
I had to go to the office today. We had a department Chinese New Year lunch along with the lo hei (prosperity toss). On the way to work I realised what day it was and I couldn't help but think, "Farck, it's already March!"
The year started on a good note, I must say. It's a little too early to have a "looking back" reflection. A quick review though and yeah, it has been a good start - started docent training for another museum; taking up another class just for enrichment; booked cheapo flights flights to Cambodia (somewhat surprise gift for Mom), Kuala Lumpur (to finally visit I-van since he moved there); Manila (in November), and Japan (the major trip for the year; US will have to wait again!)
There is not much news regarding work. Things at work are, as a local saying goes, "Steady lah!" I do have some career-related plans in my head. I will need to revisit those plans come middle of the year.
In the relationship department, hmm, it didn't start right this year with the disappearance of HB Boy. There is an ongoing like-hate relationship with a few phone apps. A tiny part of me is consciously struggling to avoid entering a drastic change of view on dating and relationships. Haha!
Last night, I made a note about "change" and wanting some change. I can hear myself (or is it the Big Guy up there?) saying, "You want change, but what have you been doing?" I did start taking some steps to create change, but I guess they're not enough to create the kind of change that I want. Patience. More than change, what I need now it patience. Add to that a generous amount of faith. Haha!
If I were to crudely summarise my thoughts at the moment, I would say I'm going through some kind of Dom phase. By Dom, I mean Dom the character in HBO Series Looking. I'm looking for something more permanent. I want something more permanent.
How many more Hail Marys does this Mary have to do before prayers are answered? Just kidding.
Labels:
buhay OFW,
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UP Boy in Singapore
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Closest to a closure...
Some details about HB Boy surfaced last night.
The funny thing is that the source of information was the last person I expected to tell me anything about HB Boy. Haha!
When I got back from Mass last night, I was just in my room resting for a bit before going to shower. I received a Whatsapp message from an acquaintance who wanted to talk to me about something else.
When we were done talking about the subject which was the reason he messaged, he then asked me if I was still seeing HB Boy. It was an amusing moment for me because I didn't expect this person to know much about HB Boy. I just laughed out loud and sent the reply above.
He then replied with the message in the photo above.
The exchange of messages continued a bit more and ended with him giving some advice and pulling my leg. Lol! It was really kind of him though to tell me about HB Boy. While I should've probed him more to really confirm that he was sure it was HB Boy, I didn't do so anymore because this person has nothing to gain from crafting any stories. Also, the area where he saw HB Boy adds credibility to his story.
Hmm, I will confess that I did feel sad for awhile. The whole "Why do bad things happen to good people?" thought came to mind. Thankfully, I didn't dwell on it too much. Thank as well to the two people who gave more words to knock some sense into me after I told them about the info shared with me.
In a perfect world, I would still want to see HB Boy face-to-face and just hear from him what happened. I guess that will never happen or is far from happening. The above is probably the closest I can get to a proper closure. Oh well...
Could there be a more appropriate time to be told about HB Boy? It's the start of another year (that is, the Year of the Goat). The moment is a good time to really start moving on...
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Saturday and Sunday report...
And just like that, the long weekend is over. And in a few more days, February is over.
Whoa, whoa! Time is flying by so fast. What's the rush? Haha!
Saturday and Sunday were just like my usual normal weekend - meaning packed with this and that.
Yesterday, I woke up at 7AM so that I can accompany Richie to breakkie at 730. He already had work, while I had a museum duty at 1130. I figured I'd be up early so I could definitely accompany him. Mon and Ian, on the other hand, didn't have any plans for the morning so they decided they'll go for breakkie at 9.
By the time Mon and Ian were done with breakfast, I was already packed and ready to head to the museum. It's a very short cab ride to the museum but I wanted to be early so I can do a walkthrough of the exhibit before 1130.
I'm so grateful that we had a staycation for CNY. The past three days definitely felt like a vacay. It must be the activities we had. It was definitely the company of Mon, Rich, Ian and Ann Marie. I won't be surprised if we'll have another staycation next CNY.
Meanwhile, I was pleasantly surprised to have a really huge group for the 1130 tour. It's my first time to have a group of more than 20 people for a morning guided tour. Hmm, I could've done better with my tour but I guess it was still okay because the group applauded at the end of the tour.... or they were just being polite. Lol!
Done with my museum duty, I initially planned to hit the gym for Combat at Cathay. However, I decided I'll just head home first to take a nap. Hmm, I was still feeling tired. Around 5PM, I got up from my nap and dragged myself out of bed. I skipped Combat at Cathay but I did manage to go to Westgate where I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill. That felt really good!
The other plan was to catch a movie. Since there were no good movies, I decided to just head back. Tipz and I FT'd for about an hour or so. It was a good catchup, as always. Thanks to technology, there's the illusion that he's just several train stations away. Lol!
I didn't stay up too late last night (though I was tempted to go clubbing!). The reason for this was I wanted to go to the gym again this morning.
There was a 9AM Pump class, which I managed to join. I also went for the 1120AM Combat class, which was packed! Yup, the holidays are definitely over. Hehe!
The gym session ended around 1PM. By then, I was famished! Din Tai Fung would've been awesome but as expected, there was a queue! I ended up going to eggs & berries. Lol! The last time I was there, it was with Tipz, Mon and HB Boy. Haha!
Done with lunch, I then went to Clementi where I spent the next few hours studying at the library. Another reason why I had to go to Clementi was because I needed to meet up with Tokyo-based Singaporean friend Alvin. I asked him to get a Japan-made brolly for me. Lol!
The last agenda for today was church. Thankfully, there's a 715PM Mass at Church of St. Mary of the Angels. It's been awhile since I went for Mass at that church. I'm glad that I was able to attend Mass there again.
What a nice long weekend! Let's start with the Year of the Goat now! :D
Labels:
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Friday, February 20, 2015
Day 1 (and 2) of Year of the Goat...
Hello, Year of the Goat!
The first day of the New Year is usually spent visiting families and relatives. So while most of Singapore did that, I did something similar as well.
After checking in at one of the hotels along Singapore River, the gang and I walked over to Esplanade to check out the River Hongbao. It was a nice walk from Clarke Quay to Esplanade as it was a cool evening. The River Hongbao was parked but it was a good experience since I was with friends. It's also my first time to visit the event on an evening. The previous years, Richie and I would go in the afternoon. Hehe! The evening, naturally, was really crowded but it was still just as fun. I particularly enjoyed seeing the lanterns all lit up.
We got home quite late but, still woke up early as usual. Started the day with a nice breakkie with Ian, Richie and Mon. We then planned to hang by the pool and just chillax the entire day. However, the pool hangout was delayed because Frozen Sing Along version is on cable. Hahaha!
It's been enjoyable so far. I'm really liking this whole "staycation" concept. I like that I'm still on a holiday even if I'm in the country. I do agree with Mon though that we kinda miss going for a road trip to a nearby province to hit the beach or just eat out. That's something that was so easy to do back in Manila.
Oh well, I'm not complaining. Loving where I am right now. Haha!
Alright, Frozen is over. Heading to the pool now.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Off the market...
Not me, but one of my friends recently changed his status from Single to In A Relationship.
I was having dinner over the weekend when I received a text message that said something like, "It's official. We're together."
Seeing the message, I quickly replied, "Woohoo! OMG! Congrats and super happy for you guys!" Indeed, I was genuinely happy for this friend who is now officially off the market.
In a way, I am familiar with their love story as this friend and I talked about the guy, the dating stage, and so on soon after they started dating. Hehe!
My friend would sometimes message random things about the guy and I would be very excited and keen to listen to how the seeds of the relationship were planted and nurtured until it blossomed to a relationship.
At least, there were two less lonely people in the world (said the Air Supply song) during the recent Valentine's Day. Haha! Congrats, congrats again, you and you! You guys have my support! ;)
Monday, February 16, 2015
Staycation coming soon...
Image from here
I'm looking forward to Wednesday. It'll be a half day at the office. And after that, the next two days shall be a holiday because of the Chinese New Year.
Previously, I don't really look forward to it as the entire city shuts down. I don't get to see my Singaporean friends because they're all in their own homes. My Filipino and non-Chinese friends, on the other hand, were either traveling or preoccupied with something else. Thus, it becomes quite a lonely two days. hehe!
Thankfully, this year would be different as I will be going on a staycation with Mon, Rich and Ian. While we're here in Singapore, Chris, @MkSurf8 and @RKGreg will be in Tokyo. It would have been awesome to be able to join them but alas, my resources are already being allotted for Cambodia and two other trips towards the end of the year. Hehe!
In any case, I'm just glad that I would be spending the few days with good friends.
Looking forward to the Lunar New Year as it is my year! It better be goooood! Hehe!
I'm looking forward to Wednesday. It'll be a half day at the office. And after that, the next two days shall be a holiday because of the Chinese New Year.
Previously, I don't really look forward to it as the entire city shuts down. I don't get to see my Singaporean friends because they're all in their own homes. My Filipino and non-Chinese friends, on the other hand, were either traveling or preoccupied with something else. Thus, it becomes quite a lonely two days. hehe!
Thankfully, this year would be different as I will be going on a staycation with Mon, Rich and Ian. While we're here in Singapore, Chris, @MkSurf8 and @RKGreg will be in Tokyo. It would have been awesome to be able to join them but alas, my resources are already being allotted for Cambodia and two other trips towards the end of the year. Hehe!
In any case, I'm just glad that I would be spending the few days with good friends.
Looking forward to the Lunar New Year as it is my year! It better be goooood! Hehe!
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Happy V Day...
What an unproductive day! Haha!
I just spent the last two hours taking a nap. Originally, I planned to go to the library to do some studying. Instead, I decided to head home and get some sleep.
The only things I have accomplished for the day so far - finish two more chapters of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird (which is turning out to be such an easy read! Dunno why I delayed reading the book) and have a good workout with Jon at Bertram's Pump class.
The lethargic feeling was maybe because I didn't have enough sleep. After work yesterday, I headed to the gym for Combat and then took the train to the city for hohol time at MkSurf8's place with the usual suspects. As usual, I went back before midnight.
And as usual, I woke up at 6 this morning. What the?! The good thing about waking up at that time is I have two people I can chat with - ex-colleague Pau, who is now in the US, and of course, Tipz, who is now three hours ahead of my time.
I tried to go back to sleep and I was successful at getting forty more minutes of zzz. After that, it was, "Screw this. I'll just get up, get ready for gym, have coffee while waiting for Jon." Hehe!
Since it's V Day and I'm dateless, I decided to wear the wonderful HRC shirt that Tey got for me from one of her US trips. Hehe! Dateless yes so let me just remind everyone that... refer to photo above. ;)
Hmm, tonight will go on a movie date with friends. Hi, my name is Third Wheel Angelo. Lol! Kidding lah. I'm perfectly fine being the third wheel, the fifth wheel, haha. Most of the time, I'm also fine doing things on my own. Some people have issues about eating alone, watching a movie alone. Thankfully, I don't. I wonder what that means?
Anyway, since there's nothing to share about love & dating in the present tense, let's just talk about love & dating from the past tense. On a recent dinner and coffee hohol with PG Boy, Richie asked him what his plan is - whether he planned to stay in Singapore or move somewhere else. He replied - stay in Singapore.
Hearing that, the first thought that came to mind was, "Yeah, I did the right thing." And I don't know if it'll will make me look bad because of what I'm about to write, I actually felt relieved, I got closure (I'm not sure if that's the right word). Let's just say that whatever doubts I may have had about parting ways with PG Boy vanished after hearing those words come out of his mouth. Post-dinner/coffee hohol, I shared my thoughts with Richie and his reply was, "Those were my thoughts, too."
Alightey, that's it for today. Gotta get ready for movie night. :) Happy Hearts Day!
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Kohi to Nihonjin...
Image from here
My appointment last night ended close to 10PM. Usually, I would rush back so I can get to bed asap to be able to wake up early the following day.
Thanks to working from home, there is no need to rush to the train station. I can stay out a little bit late and just ensure that I catch the last train heading to the West.
That's exactly what I did last night. Earlier in the evening, I arranged to meet up with a guy I recently chatted with. (Talk about creating new memories that fast. Lol! Kidding!)
Hmm, to be honest, I'm not too keen in meeting up with new people lately. As another friend said, it can be quite tiring. I agree. This guy I met up with has previously hinted that he was keen to meet up. I was just being lazy and came up with excuses to skip meeting up.
Monday night, I thought of asking him out to coffee. In the end, I decided I'll stay in my side of the island and just go to the library and study. Haha!
However, I did tell him that I will be in the city Tuesday nigt. I asked that if he was free, we can meet up though it'll be quite late.
Fast forward to last night, we met up at Raffles Place MRT station. Since it was late, there were hardly any people at the station. In fact, he was the only person standing outside the 7-11. Hmm, this was good because I don't remember how he looks like. I may have deleted the photo and I dun have the app anymore. I dun even remember which app we met in. Yikes.
Anyway, so I saw him, said hi and we agreed to go to the Starbucks at One Fullerton. He was a nice guy. Japanese. He's been around Singapore for just 7 months. He's struggling with his English, although he can converse. I was testing with him the little Japanese that I know. Haha! I remarked how we were in the same boat somehow. There he was finding his English words and I, finding my Japanese words. Lol.
It was a nice meetup though. We managed to talk about work, Japan, holidays, weekends, living in Singapore, friends living in Japan. He has been to Cebu and Bohol! He mentioned that he visited those beautiful islands with his partner. Okay, I didn't know that part about him. Lol! I'm going to write another post about that topic.
We decided to call it a night close to 11PM. I was getting sleepy and I needed to catch the train. Hehe! Nice Tuesday night though. Patting myself on the back for putting myself out there. Lol!
My appointment last night ended close to 10PM. Usually, I would rush back so I can get to bed asap to be able to wake up early the following day.
Thanks to working from home, there is no need to rush to the train station. I can stay out a little bit late and just ensure that I catch the last train heading to the West.
That's exactly what I did last night. Earlier in the evening, I arranged to meet up with a guy I recently chatted with. (Talk about creating new memories that fast. Lol! Kidding!)
Hmm, to be honest, I'm not too keen in meeting up with new people lately. As another friend said, it can be quite tiring. I agree. This guy I met up with has previously hinted that he was keen to meet up. I was just being lazy and came up with excuses to skip meeting up.
Monday night, I thought of asking him out to coffee. In the end, I decided I'll stay in my side of the island and just go to the library and study. Haha!
However, I did tell him that I will be in the city Tuesday nigt. I asked that if he was free, we can meet up though it'll be quite late.
Fast forward to last night, we met up at Raffles Place MRT station. Since it was late, there were hardly any people at the station. In fact, he was the only person standing outside the 7-11. Hmm, this was good because I don't remember how he looks like. I may have deleted the photo and I dun have the app anymore. I dun even remember which app we met in. Yikes.
Anyway, so I saw him, said hi and we agreed to go to the Starbucks at One Fullerton. He was a nice guy. Japanese. He's been around Singapore for just 7 months. He's struggling with his English, although he can converse. I was testing with him the little Japanese that I know. Haha! I remarked how we were in the same boat somehow. There he was finding his English words and I, finding my Japanese words. Lol.
It was a nice meetup though. We managed to talk about work, Japan, holidays, weekends, living in Singapore, friends living in Japan. He has been to Cebu and Bohol! He mentioned that he visited those beautiful islands with his partner. Okay, I didn't know that part about him. Lol! I'm going to write another post about that topic.
We decided to call it a night close to 11PM. I was getting sleepy and I needed to catch the train. Hehe! Nice Tuesday night though. Patting myself on the back for putting myself out there. Lol!
People you may know...
On my way to the city earlier this evening, I was going through Facebook on my phone to see what friends are up to. As I was going through the app, I scrolled through the section that suggests people you may know. What a surprise to see who the first “People You May Know” tile was – HB Boy.
I knew I should’ve kept my phone in the bag and just went with the plan to continue reading Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird on my Kindle. Haha!
Seriously, Facebook? Seriously?
It was rather surprising to see HB Boy on Facebook since a) he didn’t really use it as it was banned in China and b.) well, he’s still around.
A lot of people say that Singapore is a very tiny island. I guess it is. But when you live in the heartlands and your one-way commute to the city takes close to an hour (to the airport, close to an hour and 45 minutes), it’s a bit of a challenge to think that I’m living on a little island. Hehe!
Just after HB Boy went Gone Girl on me though, that was a time when I saw that Singapore is indeed a tiny island. Almost everywhere I went, it brought back happy memories with HB Boy – the train station where we would meet up after gym on a Monday night, the gym where I brought him so he can swim, a particular Chinese restaurant, the Singapore River, to name a few.
Who knew so many memories can be built in a short, short span of time?
Recently, I had lunch with another friend and he was telling me how he had a somewhat similar experience. The guy just went Gone Girl on him, too. When he told me that he would still sometimes stand at a particular door at the train station with the faintest hope that he would catch a glimpse of the guy, I told him I knew how that felt.
Yeah, I know it’s rather stupid that there’s still a tiny part of me that hangs on to memories of HB Boy. He was a good guy (or so I thought, and so did my friends). Maybe I almost loved him? Maybe deep inside, I still believe he’s a good guy. Maybe I am wanting some sort of closure (though I know I may never get the kind of closure I want.)
Tipz, thousands of miles away that he is, said something rather interesting about this whole thing. “…you have closure because then you saw what kind of with how he ended it and you saved yourself from any more hurt…”
Thank goodness for friends like Tipz. Hehe.
I know that the island will remain to be the small island that it is. Maybe the trick now is to create new memories in all those places that brings back memories of HB Boy.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Sunday was just as packed as Saturday...
It was a nice Sunday. Busy, but it started well and ended well. Ergo, all is well. Lols!
This morning, I had another training session at Fort Canning. The session was at 930. I left the house at 7 so I can have time for break and still make it to the venue way ahead of the starting time. Today's session was interesting as it was on peer assessment. The facilitator is a senior museum volunteer, who I know. The group today was much smaller allowing for more exchange of opinions and more opportunities to get to know each other.
From Fort Canning, I took the bus down to Somerset where I grabbed a quick lunch before heading again to the library @ Orchard. I'm so, so grateful that a library was opened in Orchard. Now, there's a place for studying/hanging out before heading to the gym for the afternoon Pump class at Paragon. I spent a good two hours at the library.
Then it was on to Paragon for Pump with Bertram, whom we (Tipz and I) christened Bae. So, this weekend was a back-to-back Pump with Bae. Thankfully, his session today was slightly not as tough as yesterday. He really is one of the best Pump instructors around.
The last agenda for the day was dinner with Mon and Richie at what is now officially our favourite Thai place - Korat Thai at Orchard Towers. Not a single time were we ever disappointed with the food. We ordered new dishes tonight - mango salad, yellow curry and tom yum fried rice. We also had dishes we've tried before - pad thai and omelette. The food never disappoints!
We skipped P.S. Cafe tonight as we all felt we were so full from dinner. It is a cool evening so we just went for a short stroll. Rich initially suggested catching a movie, but Mon has work tomorrow. We just decided we'll watch next week.
Good weekend!
Packed Saturday... what's new...
I just got back a few minutes ago.
This is going to be a very quick post as I need to be heading to lalaland very soon. By very soon, I mean 1130 at the latest. That's because I plan to be up tomorrow by 630 and be on the way to the city by 730. Tomorrow will be a packed day again.
But tomorrow is tomorrow. I'll write about today.
It was a full day as well. As expected, I was up before 7AM. I called my Mom for FaceTime but I dun think she had the iPad right next to her. Either that or she didn't know how to answer the FaceTime call and my brother had already left for work.
With no FaceTime, I decided I'll just head out and have breakkie. It's a weekend so I treated myself to noodles at the nearby kopitiam.
My next agenda was to go to the gym for Pump. I knew Jon was not available. I don't think Mon will be willing to travel all the way to the West. Hence, I decided to ask Ann Marie if she would be keen to join me for Pump. Unfortunately, she already had other morning plans. I still decided to head to WG early.
I figured I can have my morning coffee and start on a new book. After getting my usual kopi si upsized takeaway from Toastbox, I looked for one of the vacant benches at WG, took a seat and brought out my Kindle.
Because she was in the news recently, I finally decided I'd start on Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. A former friend has been asking me to read the classic since my university days. Close to two decades later, I finally start on the book. Haha!
So far, it's been an interesting read. One thing I also like is that I'm coming across some new words and familiar words that needed to be refreshed in my memory - predilection, vapid, cowlick. The good thing about Kindle is I can handle the words and add a bookmark. Hehe!
Close to 11, I headed up to the gym so I can do a 20-minute run before queueing for Pump. Today's Pump was a killer. In particular, I found the shoulders track more challenging than usual. As I expected, Bae missed a few sets and we all ended up raising the bar from chin to ceiling a lot more than what was needed. Haha! It was a good workout though. I'll go to Pump again tomorrow. Bae again. Different branch though.
Done with the gym, I headed back home and spent two hours studying while doing my laundry as well. The last plans for the day were anticipated Mass, dinner and movie.
Quite a productive day. I'm very sleepy now though. And I should go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.
This is going to be a very quick post as I need to be heading to lalaland very soon. By very soon, I mean 1130 at the latest. That's because I plan to be up tomorrow by 630 and be on the way to the city by 730. Tomorrow will be a packed day again.
But tomorrow is tomorrow. I'll write about today.
It was a full day as well. As expected, I was up before 7AM. I called my Mom for FaceTime but I dun think she had the iPad right next to her. Either that or she didn't know how to answer the FaceTime call and my brother had already left for work.
With no FaceTime, I decided I'll just head out and have breakkie. It's a weekend so I treated myself to noodles at the nearby kopitiam.
My next agenda was to go to the gym for Pump. I knew Jon was not available. I don't think Mon will be willing to travel all the way to the West. Hence, I decided to ask Ann Marie if she would be keen to join me for Pump. Unfortunately, she already had other morning plans. I still decided to head to WG early.
I figured I can have my morning coffee and start on a new book. After getting my usual kopi si upsized takeaway from Toastbox, I looked for one of the vacant benches at WG, took a seat and brought out my Kindle.
Because she was in the news recently, I finally decided I'd start on Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. A former friend has been asking me to read the classic since my university days. Close to two decades later, I finally start on the book. Haha!
So far, it's been an interesting read. One thing I also like is that I'm coming across some new words and familiar words that needed to be refreshed in my memory - predilection, vapid, cowlick. The good thing about Kindle is I can handle the words and add a bookmark. Hehe!
Close to 11, I headed up to the gym so I can do a 20-minute run before queueing for Pump. Today's Pump was a killer. In particular, I found the shoulders track more challenging than usual. As I expected, Bae missed a few sets and we all ended up raising the bar from chin to ceiling a lot more than what was needed. Haha! It was a good workout though. I'll go to Pump again tomorrow. Bae again. Different branch though.
Done with the gym, I headed back home and spent two hours studying while doing my laundry as well. The last plans for the day were anticipated Mass, dinner and movie.
Quite a productive day. I'm very sleepy now though. And I should go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.
Labels:
buhay OFW,
happy Saturday,
happy weekend,
UP Boy in Singapore
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Finished Jamie Woo's Meet Grindr...
While queueing for Pump class registration, I managed to finish the last few chapters of Jamie Woo’s Meet Grindr: How One App Changed the Way We Connect. Yeah, that’s right. Someone actually took the time to dissect the processes, the interactions, the “academic” side of this app that indeed changed the way gay men “connect.”
For any person familiar with the app, the process could be as simple as launch the app, tap on the tile of a guy, negotiate, hook up or whatever.
But through the book, Woo actually sought to “explore the unseen layers of complexity within Grindr’s design…” More interesting is his effort to analyse “the effect it had on user behavior, with even seemingly trivial decisions reverberating into unexpected results.”
The book was published in 2013. Between its publication time and now, I’m quite sure that the app itself has undergone quite a number of changes. To be honest, I wouldn’t know because I don’t really use the app. After PG Boy and I parted ways, I did install it but uninstalled it after. Last month, I installed it again only to uninstall it after a few days. Lol!
That story aside, Woo’s book was of interest to me because it compiled in one book the observations people have of the app (people who bother to think about the app and its impact to culture and society, anyway).
Some of the things he wrote are already quite familiar. Still, reading it on print was I guess a way of confirming that my thoughts are shared by other people. Haha!
Okay, here are the things I remember from the book. Grindr was not designed to be a hookup app. It was really to find friends. (Yeah, right?!) The way the app was designed was for users to stay on the app for only a short period of time. Again, get on the app, find someone, get off the app and “get off.” Haha! This, I guess, is somewhat of unwelcome news to those who claim that they are on the app to find friends.
What else? Grindr’s design is somewhat similar to a vending machine. You go online, go through the 100 tiles of photos, choose what you want and if an agreement is reached, then good for you. With this design though, guys are actually reduced to products rather than the substantial beings that they are.
Grindr’s design affects the decision making processes of an individual. One analysis given was that presented with just three or four choices, one would be able to remember his criteria for selecting a particular guy. In the Grindr environment, one is presented with 100 guys and this makes the decision making process more challenging. It becomes a challenge to a point whereby a person’s original criteria is muddled because of the pool of candidates presented to him.
Other interesting things Woo writes about are a look into what profile photos mean, different types of users, how the app impacts the society’s view of male beauty, and so on.
It concludes with suggestions on what other modifications can be done for the future Grindr. He also talks about the possible impact that evolving software and new hardware would have on apps similar to Grindr. Interesting book.
Labels:
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Kindle,
LGBT literature,
LGBT studies,
queer literature,
UP Boy
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
I lost my T & C bracelet...
The Tiffany & Co. Venetian Link bracelet that I've had for more than 10 years is now with some other lucky guy (or maybe girl).
I must have dropped it at the gym locker room in my haste to leave the gym and head to church for the anticipated Mass. I realised that it was missing in my pockets when I was already at the bus stop.
Two things made me choose not to go to the gym to look for it: 1.) It was more important for me to get to church before Mass. I wanted to get a good seat close to the altar. 2.) I have so much trust in Singapore that I felt someone would fine the bracelet and return it to the gym counter. Haha!
Come Sunday, I called the gym again to check if the bracelet was returned. The girl on the other end of the line gave the sad news that the bracelet was neither found nor did anyone return it.
Okay, I was a bummed that I lost the bracelet. More than it being a gift from the first ex, I love, love, love that bracelet because it's been with me for more than a decade now. I am so used to having it on my left wrist. I usually wear two bracelets on my left wrist and two on my right wrist. On the right wrist are a bracelet from my Mom and a wristband that Tipz gave me ages ago. On the left wrist are bracelets from the exes. Haha!
Surprisingly, I didn't mourn the loss of the bracelet for so long. I got over losing it after a day or two. I dunno. I guess there was a part of me that read it as a way of being freed from the past? Haha! Also, it was a good exercise in strengthening my will against sentimentality and materialism.
Alright, I didn't succeed in the latter. Or maybe, the universe really just wanted to set me completely free from that past by leading me to the exact same bracelet. Haha! It's a bit vague, I know. I designed it that way.
Right now, all I can say is I hope someone is enjoying that much loved Tiffany bracelet. It's a classic. May the good things from that relationship be passed on to whoever is wearing it now...
Monday, February 2, 2015
Very looking weekend...
I just got back a few minutes ago.
It was definitely a long Saturday and Sunday for me. Haha! Where I got my energy to survive today and yesterday, I have no idea but I am certainly grateful. Haha!
Saturday.
With only less than six hours of sleep, I managed to reach Fort Canning by 830. Thanks to coffee and because the topics were very interesting, I survived sitting through a three-hour lecture without dozing off. Haha! When the lecture ended, I thought of going home to get some sleep. Instead, I headed to Cathay to go the gym. I brought my gym gear with me and I was set to go for Combat. There was a part of me that was a bit worried about fainting in class (LOL!) because I really felt that I needed some sleep. Thankfully, I survived the 60-minute class. From Cathay, I could've gone home and slept. Instead, I walked over to the bus stop at YMCA, took the bus headed to River Valley, got off at Great World City and walked over to the Church of St. Bernadette. I wasn't sure if I would have time to go to Mass today so I thought it a good idea to go for the anticipated Mass last night. It was a good idea because as it turned out, Sunday was also a packed day. Haha!
Sunday.
The good thing about today was that I got more than 6 hours of sleep. Last night, I reached home at 9PM. I was fast asleep by 930PM. I got up this morning at 6AM (still!) and made it to Fort Canning by 830 for another three-hour lecture. The topic for this morning's lecture was a lot lighter than yesterday's. That made the session this morning a lot more relaxed. After the lecture, I walked over to Somerset because I wanted to spend a few hours at the library. It was my first time to visit the library at Orchard Gateway. I liked it. There aren't enough tables, but they have a section which looks like a mini- mini- amphitheatre where one can sit on the steps and do his/her work. That's exactly what I did. From 130 to 4PM, I just sat there and worked on the things I wanted to study. From Orchard Gateway, I walked over to Paragon. There was a 450PM Pump class. It's my first time to attend a Sunday afternoon Pump class. Knowing that I won't be able to go to Pump tomorrow night as there's a visiting ex-colleague from the Philippines, I decided it would be best to go to the gym today. Hehe!
The day ended with dinner, dessert and such a good chitchat with Mon, Rich and PG Boy. For the nth time, Mon, Rich and I had Thai again at Korat Thai. PG Boy initially couldn't join us but then messaged again at the last minute to say he was free. I really, really, really love Korat Thai. Forget about where it's located The food is really good. That makes it worth a visit. Good thing PG Boy was able to join because I thought he would enjoy the place. I was right. The evening ended with dessert and loooong conversations at P.S. Cafe Palais. We just talked about all sorts of things. I really felt it was a good ending to the very long and tiring weekend.
Now that I'm working from home, I have more time on Sunday to go out and see friends. Previously, I would prefer to just stay home on a Sunday afternoon so I can prep for Monday. That has changed since I started working from home.
I am ready to call it a night. It was a long weekend but a very good one. Yay!
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