Wednesday, November 19, 2008

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.

11 comments:

  1. Did O spring up where Joy used to be?

    I remember the door handles at Joy--shaped like large silver spermies.

    I'd walk in an on a good night have a Madonna song like Ray of Light play while two cute boys would be kissing and maybe another two or three would be dancing on the bar.

    And so I finally meet the famous Tom...

    Hope your bar opens soon and that I do get to visit it--especially now that I know Sundays are good nights and it is where I think it is. Cheers.

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  2. Hmmm.... I can't spell TOM without O either hahahaha!

    And what would T.O.R.T.A. be without O ;-)

    In any case, O returns to us on Friday Nov 21. See you there :-D

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  3. I'm beginning to wonder, what exactly is my reputation? Hmmm...

    Hopefully not all that bad, since you used "famous" instead of "infamous". Tee hee.

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  4. Hi Tom,

    Sorry I was using the Pirate Account. Actually I HAVE YET TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR REPUTATION IS. I just know Tobie and Lynn talk a lot about you and "O." So when I finally met you, it was like meeting some sort of underground celebrity.

    I'd love to give "O" a try if the vibe was anything like "Joy" back in the day. My friends in Canada took me to this place in Vancouver called "The Odyssey" I wonder if it's still there. On Thursdays it's shower night and there's this phone booth type thing with the dancer of the night dancing in there and the shower goes on. Fun--we could just have worry free dancing. Another place I liked was this club on Hudson St. in NY where they'd have the cutest guys and the best music on a Sunday afternoon (so you can go home by 11pm) and make it to work the next day.

    Unfortunately, I'll be doing out of town work this weekend (but it's the FUN kind of out of town work) but I do hope I can give the place a spin soon--is there dancing?

    I AM ACHING TO GO DANCING.

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  5. TORTA! hahahahahahhahahahahahaha!

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  6. ah - so you were telling the truth a bit when you said last night ng O last sunday...
    i like that pic with you, me, lynn, mark & chiqui...

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  7. I CANT SPELL TOBY WITHOUT "O"

    HEHEHEHEHE


    HUGS

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  8. I was never around when Joy was open. But yes, there are tons of boys, and tons of dancing :)

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  9. I can't spell Lynn without "O"

    oh wait... I CAN! hahahah!!!

    I miss you guys!!! Hugs and kisses, groping and lots more groping,
    Lynn

    =>

    ReplyDelete
  10. ang daya, I wasn't there when Keptin Keren finally met Tomato.

    Tobie, I wanna be there when O reopens. Hopefully with Karen too. Manay, gay goth ha!!! :D

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