There is no spelling JOY without O.

Last February 25, someone whom I have not heard from for quite some time suddenly invited me to join him for his birthday. Tom was at Giliggans in Malate and needed some company that night. As it turns out, Tom was celebrating his birthday and a lot of his supposed friends did not show up that night. Some had valid reasons they could not make it. Others simply were too self-absorbed in their own problems to come.

So I decided to go.

Who would have thought that single action would lead to finding new great friends as well as a really comfortable and cool place to hang out at?

O bar in Malate isn't your typical bar. Located at Nakpil-Orosa, O bar is in the heart of what was once the sprawling bohemian center of Manila. Where once stood places like Third World Cafe, Garlic Rose and the like only to be flushed away by the money-grubbing consortium crowd, O bar like many other bars rise to give Nakpil its shot of energy and vigor once more.

Here, sexuality and gender do not matter.
Social status is not the highlight.
Wanna-be fashionistas are not the norm.
And best of all, pretentiousness is to be left outside the door.

Which I guess is why I feel sad and confused these past few days. In addition to the many layers of complications and challenges I have been going through, not having O bar to go to after a long day of hard work is not easy. My last two nights, though, fun, were not nights in any form or way that I preferred. And somehow, I sense, not having O bar as the destination that night may have muddled things up.

You cannot spell JOY without O.

Here's hoping in a few more days, all renovations will be done, and the newly transformed O Bar will be ready to step out of the closet and back into the spotlight.