Today is a Google Plus Day

My partner Rocky surprised me this morning with today's source of ubergeekgasm.

This early, I am already loving Google +

The privacy controls you are given are spectacular!  The interface is smooth and I love also how images you've uploaded to blogger can easily be tapped for this as well.  Google's integration of their many services really works well here.  And seriously, the fact I can EDIT what I've already posted is such a huge plus.  Thank you Google for taking this step into social networking.  

I actually decided to make a public stream of my constructive suggestions for this to get even more awesome. You can find it here https://plus.google.com/u/0/104778171237881945448/posts/EFvdCTPBqDV.

It is ironic how there's a strange self-awareness of wanting to avoid oversharing here on Google +, which doesn't exist in Facebook.  I guess its cause in Google + you are aware of the circles you are willing to share things with.  I highly suspect I will only still use Facebook for stupid ranting and rambling with those who don't shift, and use Google + to have more meaningful sharing and discussions with my friends.

Great job Google!
I only hope you don't give up on this.

And yes, find a way to revive WAVE into this please!

:-)

Keeps Getting Better and Better

Some people think I exaggerate when I talk about how happy I am. 

My life has changed in so many beautiful ways ever since destiny and fate allowed me to find the one man who has made my life have so much more meaning and fulfillment.  There were rough waters on the rivers leading to today, that much should be admitted, and there were many ghosts that needed to be banished in one form or another, but ultimately, I found myself becoming a true believer in the transformative power of love and the truth behind the romantic notion of there being "the one" meant for you.  Things really do happen to remind you and guide you to the person who you are meant to be with, once you find them.  And nothing can stop what is meant to be.

This morning, Rocky woke me up with a giddiness that many would probably claim was not typical of him.  It would be claim that I would find hard to accept because Rocky has always shown a sensitive and adorkable side of him whenever he's with me.  Today seemed to be the kind of quirkiness that clearly implied two things:

The first was that  it was something he personally found exciting and dear to him.

And second, it was something that related to me as well.


"Check your Facebook!"  he mused and I struggled to get on my feet and shake the weariness away.  The day was a wonderful morning and his glee just could not be contained.  Even any notions of morning make-outs dissolved away as I realized there was definitely something he wanted me to see.    So switching on the laptop, I loaded my Facebook page, and after at first thinking it didn't work due to some Facebook quirk, I found the notification to let it happen and there you have it:

It was official.  As official as it can get in a Catholic country here in South East Asia that does not even have any formal LGBT laws yet.  I just stared at the page and tried not to look too eager, but yeah, there was no hiding the joy I felt in my heart.  We were domestic partners.  The closest thing to the last frontier which practically every major religion and government seeks to deny people like us.

For some people, this gesture was probably seen as nothing out of the ordinary.  "It was a Facebook relationship status.   What was so fancy about that?"  For others, it would seem to be pointless.  "It isn't like you're actually legally recognized as together."  But I guess as true as some of those views are in its barest unbiased opinion, it fails to consider the emotional weight that would take for two gay men in the Philippines to proudly proclaim on an internationally accessible their relationship status, not just as dating or as lovers, but as partners who share a house and shape it into a home.   It takes a certain kind of connection for someone to feel so much trust and affection to be willing to make such a declaration, and for us, this is one step in doing that.  

Rocky is my domestic partner.  He is part of me and my home.  He is who I plan to share the rest of my life with.  Thankfully, as a friend put it, it took Facebook five years to include and accept what the Catholic Church has yet to even consider viable.  I'm not holding my breath though.  Considering how the Church has responded to the RH Bill, if there is such close-mindedness on giving women and the masses access to sex education and proper medical techniques, what are the chances they would ever be more loving towards a group in society they so love to turn an unchristian eye towards.

Thank you for letting me be part of your life, Rocky.
I love you.

We deserve this.

Pretty much gave up on Multiply

Just thought I'd have this announcement for my friends who still are in this network.  I've pretty much given up on Multiply after a lot of the issues with its interface and uploading systems.

For those who still want to keep tabs of my updates, you can find them in the following blogs:

Daily updates, my ongoing 365 Days of Geeky Happiness, general rants. camwhoring and geekiness can be found in my main blog:
The Garapata Can Speak

http://garapata.blogspot.com

Insight on my geeky gay life, geek gamerwood, discussions on LGBT topics, and other rainbow colored topics can be found in my gay blog:

Blame it on the Rain, Bro

http://blameitontherainbro.blogspot.com

My ongoing (and almost done!) online comic Diliman.

http://dilimancomic.blogspot.com

Our ongoing internet show on everything geeky and crazy:  Fandom Live!
http://www.fandom-live.com

And for everything else geeky in the Philippines, including The Blog! 

the official blog of the Fandom Live! show

http://www.newworlds.ph/

So, just head to those links when you want to keep in touch!
And lastly, there's always Facebook.

Hear from you!

Oh what to run... What to play... this OGM?

I've been seriously tossing around ideas on what to run this coming Open Gaming Meet on September 18.   The last three meets, I had been meaning to run a game but found myself unable to either due to other commitments that delayed me or due to noise considerations that day.   I have, however, been seriously weighing on whether or not I should simply pre-generate everything to expedite the prep time for a game.  Since I am anticipating those who would be playing would want to be able to mingle and try other games too, I already have embraced the notion of keeping my game two to three hours long at most.

I have three games in mind and I have yet to wonder which one I should really push for during the event.  Let's tackle each one, shall we?

Vrentae
Using the highly received Houses of the Blooded role playing game system designed by John Wick, the game explores the lives of the Ven and the intense interplay of romance, love, passions and revenge in this wonderful system that encourages players to be co-narrators of the story.  Ever since I've first heard of this game, I've been anxious to run it.  My friend and fellow storyteller Adrian found a physical copy of the book and has been asking me to run a game as soon as possible.  I wasn't sure if this game was viable for a demo game, but after spending some weeks reading it I feel more confident now to run a session for the Open Gaming Meet.

Lost but Found
David Chapman and Cubicle 7 created a role playing game translation of the remarkably intelligent BBC show Dr. Who and for some months now I've been wanting to run this game as a surprise for a pair of friends who have yet to play under me but were instrumental in introducing me to the adventures of the whimsical Doctor.  This is my attempt as giving back some of the fun I had and sharing it to people who might have always wanted to be one of the Companions of the Doctor... or have never yet been introduced to the great franchise.

Glimpses
Using either the long discontinued DC Heroes MEGS system, or the very versatile new World of Darkness Storyteller System, lucky players will get a taste of my own interpretations of Neil Gaiman's group of beings who embody seven powerful and undeniable aspects of the universe, the Endless.  While I know I am definitely not as good a writer as Neil himself, I do plan to do my best to create a game session that captures the feeling of a Vertigo graphic novel.

I guess you guys can see now why I am undecided on what to run.
Then again... there is always the next month to try running something else, right?
But this September 18, if anyone out there wants to try any of these games, do let me know.  I am absolutely certain there will be a limited number of available seats (and I'm not even sure if my partner Rocky will have time to play too!) so be sure to drop a note in the OGM facebook event page.

Facebook Eff Ups

Looks like my Facebook account is down.
Either they're really running maintenance (to my account alone) or someone out there has successfully fucked up my account.  While the shortlist of possible suspects is tremendously short, I don't think I'll bother attempting any  acts of reprisal.  Frankly, the fact my life with Rocky is the best time of our life in our entire lives will be revenge enough.   After all, the best way to beat a bitter person is to show how unlike that person, you're actually really happy.

This isn't the first time something unexpected and unwanted has happened to me lately.
Other than the rumor that reached my ears, there was also the fact Facebook itself has been wonky and very frustrating to use.  Porn star profile pages and adult production studios have been flooding my "recommended pages" options.  And the most anger-inducing facebook thing was this recent notification:

Yep.  I checked with Rocky and he never used that app.
Talk about virtual peer pressure being used to trick you to using an app.
And Facebook is earning from this trickery since that's a sponsored ad.

Once again, I feel the great urge to just quit Facebook altogether.  While many friends do keep in touch with me through it, the options to just text or call do exist and should soften the blow.  The biggest blow really is being able to share stuff with my contacts easily, an act I can accomplish via plurk although not all my contacts use that.

I guess time will tell.  Here's hoping the account becomes accessible soon.
If not, well whoever you are, guess what:  all you've done is help me do what I wanted to do.
And yes, we are still happier than you will ever be.

March 04 Marked

March 4 was a very eventful day for me.

First off, after many many months of resisting and ignoring all invitations to join, I finally caved in and created my own Facebook account.   As we speak, I've learned about poking, started posting some pictures and tagging them, slowly began to find it fun yelling out some inane status update on myself, discovered I can create lists to manage my friends and have started getting really hooked on games such as Space Wars and Vampire Wars.  

Deep down, however, I still feel like a virginal newbee looking at the site and trying to make sense of things (such as how the heck do I know what others posted... oh wait, Livefeed?  What's this mention about my inbox... oh its some ad.  Grrr..) and there does come some small level of shame in realizing this site is suddenly intimidating me somewhat.  There was that huge freak out moment when I realized Facebook loves to ANNOUNCE EVERYTHING I was doing (everything from what I opted to be a fan of, to the actions I opted for in Space Wars!) and that just felt too Big Brother Is Watching for me.

On the other hand, a much more intimidating event yesterday turned out to go wonderfully smoothly.  After the usual long hours of work, I decided it was time to take a step forward in accomplishing this.

While my brother Mike and I have long been close enough to discuss things openly (and in effect, Ate Ives too is aware of everything), the said could not be said before about my relationship with my sister, Tracy.  While I've always wanted to be able to be more forward and open to her, the massive rivalry that once existed between me and her always raised warning flags on the viability of being close.  There was even this one time back when we were young when we had this major fight.  I was so angry at her that I was yelling at her that no one would care if she died and she got so mad she punched the wall mirror, shattered the glass, then had to be rushed to the hospital to have her hand stitched! 

But years have passed, we both had grown wiser and more mature and somehow with the inspiration and courage I have gained from ______ I have decided it was time.   So I invited her to have a bonding night out with me, dragged her to (where else) my favorite bar, and told her the whole uncensored utterly frank and amusingly entertaining truth.   We then spent the next few hours drinking, dancing, enjoying the O Divas show and trading jokes and insults with my usual troupe of friends. 

So yes, March 4 was a fun filled day for me.
And I cannot help but see even more fun days to come.


---------
Yes, I want to Cosplay as Astro Boy.
Who can help me?
:-P