I’ve been really busy with work lately, and only after a whole month has passed that I was able to celebrate my birthday. I had so many things to do that I barely had time for myself. I wanted to have a BBQ at the beach, along with a bonfire, but it looked like it was going to rain, so the backup plan was to go to my place instead. Well, I guess there’s always a next time. Anyways I had just a small gathering, which I prefer, because the best company is my closest friends. Good friends, along with some beer and BBQ is just the way I like, it’s easy to let the good times roll.

When I found out there was auditions for Pinoy Big Brother, I was excited, because I really wanted to go. It was something I strongly felt like doing, and something everyone has been pushing me to join. There was a yearning to go, a voice in my head telling me to do it. I was motivated to pursue my dreams, and this was my chance.

The first auditions were held early in the year, and I thought when that was over, then that was it, that everything was done. But surprisingly one last audition was held at Universal Studios in LA. It was still kinda far from home, but it was the closest one. I booked my tickets right away, quickly got my requirements ready, and flew to sunny Los Angeles. It was perfect because I only had two days off, and auditions fell on one of those days. Yay, lucky me. Right after auditions I just planned to take the last flight of the day, cutting it close on time, but there was no other way. If I hesitated on going at all, I know I’d regret it forever.

Auditioning was something I wanted to do after watching the last season. I liked it a lot because there was a housemate from Bohol, from the same place I grew up, that really inspired me.

Anyways I had a really good feeling about this, I don’t normally join these kind of things, but something inside me was pushing me to go. I felt that if I didn’t even give it a try, I would regret it definitely. Maybe it was boredom, or maybe it was a yearning for something different, a change in my everyday routine, and there was only one way to find out. If I didn’t try something new, then nothing would change, and nothing new would happen. Still, I didn’t know what to expect, and I was afraid of the unknown. I had to go out of my comfort zone, but I just stuck with it. I was definitely nervous just thinking about it, even the day before I left I gave myself excuses not to go, but I just kept thinking everything will be okay, and all I have to do was be myself, and from there I just went with the flow.
During the audition there was probably close to a thousand people, coming in and out. Not sure exactly on the amount, because there was a lot of people and I didn’t count each one, but that’s roughly how many there were. What I noticed was mostly everyone was down to earth, and friendly, probably because we all had a common goal, and that was something we all shared. We all didn’t know each other at first, but we all got along, and even though the wait took forever, it went by faster with every conversation.

After spending all day waiting, with elimination after elimination, it’s sad to say I didn’t make the final round. I got through so many rounds that I felt I had it in my grasp, so it came as a surprise when I finally got eliminated, I was definitely disappointed. I don’t know where I went wrong, but I’m not mad about it, I guess being top 30 is not bad, even though it’s not where I wanted to be. Either way, it was fun, and I had a good time, I enjoyed meeting so many people. It was awesome, I’m not sad about not making it, because life is still good, and there is still so many opportunities out there.

I’m glad to be a part of it, we all shared an experience that won’t be forgotten. Whether the outcome was favourable or not, we are still the same. To those who made the final rounds, I wish you the very best, and can’t wait to see who got it, I’m eager to know and want to see the results.

From the creators of “A Beautiful Mind”, comes “A Beautiful Bromance”. An epic tale of five friends on a journey to find their true self, and in the end find only each other. A story of friendship, betrayal, murder, and forgiveness, with a touch of forbidden love.

This is a small part, and clips of our trip to LA, we tried to get all the good stuff on video, but failed miserable. Then we jumbled up all our clips, and put it all together, and viola, we have a short video. This video is more about the memories rather than about documenting the trip, but we tried to do a little bit of both. And because our multitasking isn’t that great, this is how it turned out, and there is only one word to describe it… “random”. It will leave you wondering what’s going on, and the more curious you get, the more you want to watch. It’s an endless cycle that will make you wish there was a part 2. If you were expecting nudity, you’re in luck, we have a steamy shirtless wrestling scene on the beach, man on man action.

I’ve never been to Disneyland before so this was my first time. I felt like a kid, fun times and lots of laughs. I guess their motto was right, “Where dreams come true”, or something like that. The motto might be something else actually, but whatever, I can cross it off my list of things to do now. We also went to Venice beach (where that hot and steamy shirtless wrestling scene takes place) and Santa Monica pier, everything about it was nice, the place and the people were cool. The street performers are interesting too, but I think they spend more time building up the suspense rather than entertaining, one word for it, anti-climatic. Good weather sets the summer mood, and sunny days bring out the best (hot chicks *wink*), but not if you get burned, I hate sunburns. So much to do there in LA, I wouldn’t mind living there, everything about it is just seems so friendly and relaxed. But one week with good friends was a blast, it was fun, and wouldn’t mind doing it again.

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I was walking around at the mall with my cousin when someone asked if I wanted to join a fashion show. They were missing a model and wanted me to take his place. I haven’t done anything like it before but they said it would be easy, so I agreed. I felt honoured that they considered asking me, because it was definitely something I wanted to try. That night we practiced at the mall (Island City Mall) and I was a bit nervous. I thought, “What did I get myself into, I’m suppose to be on vacation.” All this responsibility to perform might be too much. We practiced until midnight, which was cool because we were the only people left in the mall. The hours passed by pretty quickly, and within that time we had to memorize our blockings, which was the direction we had to take for each time we went out on stage. The instructors were very encouraging but I still felt slightly intimidated because I was new.

The next day before the show started, I was feeling really nervous. I was scared to make a mistake. My heart was beating really fast because I didn’t want to screw up. I just wanted to do it right, and also hopefully woo the crowd. The whole place was packed, a lot of people can be seen standing. When the show finally started, I was still nervous, and just before I was about to go on stage, that’s when my heart beat the fastest. I was terrified. When I went out on stage the crowd paused for a bit, and cheered loudly, I felt relieved because it was a good sign. My fears only went away after my first appearance, after that my fear just turned into excitement. It took a couple tries to get the hang of it, and then I was comfortable in front of a lot of people on stage.

When the show ended everyone was happy, and a lot of picture taking followed, on-stage and back-stage. Some people who watched the show wanted to take pictures with me, yay, I had fans, haha. I found it kinda interesting because it made me feel like a star, even if just for a moment. I’ve never really had random people go up to me and take pictures, so it was interesting indeed. I liked the whole experience, it made me feel good and confident, everything that happened was definitely worth the effort.

Taytayan in Visayan means “bridge”. This is in Dauis, Bohol, and it’s not that far from Tagbilaran city, maybe about 10min away. Dauis is the other half that make up Panglao Island, and this is where I grew up. You can see my grandparents’ house in background, and this place is by far one of my favourite places to go swimming. The water is so clear, it’s amazing how flawless it looks, if you stare straight down you can see the bottom. It’s a beautiful spot, and we’re fortunate to have it close to the house.

There are only two bridges that connect the entire Panglao Island to the main land of Bohol, and this is one of them. The other bridge is called the Causeway (not sure about the spelling), while this bridge is dubbed the Jumbo Bridge. I think they call it that because at the time it was built it was the biggest bridge in the province. Both bridges are not that far apart, if you stand at one bridge, you will be able to see the other in the distance. It takes about one hour to jog all the way around. I don’t really see a lot of people swimming at the Causeway, not sure why, but it does look a bit dirtier on that side. On either side, the water from both bridges starts to get less clear when the water levels lower. When it’s low tide, usually all the filth from the shores is being pushed back out at sea. High tide brings in the fresh clear water, while low tide brings out the cloudy water. All of the water passes through both bridges, in and out through a small channel creating a strong current.

Other places have a diving board, or ropes to swing from, but this one has a bridge. It may not seem like a tall bridge, but when you look down, it’s quite a steep fall. There’s a good three seconds of free fall before you touch the water, and most will flap their arms out of fear. Ever since I was young I’ve always wanted to try jumping from there, and I finally got my chance (yay for me). It was scary at first, but I persuaded myself to do it. It was a rush, a feeling of fear, followed by satisfaction. It’s actually a lot of fun, and it won’t hurt, unless you flop when you land, which will just ruin your day. It will take a lot of nerve just to make the first few jumps, but once you do, you’ll definitely enjoy it. The bridge is also used as a pass for boats, so definitely watch out for that tree, avoid those and you’ll have a good time.

Any day is a good day to go, but the absolute best time to go out of the whole year is on June 29th. Mostly everyone swarms that area to celebrate the patron saint of water, not sure exactly what, but San Juan is celebrated on that day. Everyone goes there for a sea side picnic, bringing their own food and drinks, it’s definitely a party. Each time I’ve gone on those days, I always have a lot of fun. On one occasion it rained really hard, and for me, it just made that moment perfect. Swimming while it’s raining just goes so well together, it’s just so refreshing.

If ever you’re in the area, knock next door to see if I’m there, I might join you, haha. I love swimming and would prefer that people go with me, than do it alone.