My Best Ever GAY Friend... APOL

His (??) birthday was few weeks back and I was meant to devote a post just for him then but time didn't permit me. I recieved a funny (??) email from him recently so I thought I better proceed with this post. But first, HAPPY HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY MY DEAR FRIEND!

CELSO, or "APOL" (tagalog version of "apple") as he wanna be called, is one of my bestfriends in college. There is no dull moment when he's around as he's such a blubby, full of energy, high-spirited person. Anybody who has a gay friend could definitely relate on what I'm talking about.

He is of course a Civil Engineer, and like Jen (my other bestfriend) has a Masters Degree. He used to work for a prestigious structural design firm, DCCD (so is Jen), in Makati, Philippines before he decided to work abroad, in Dubai. The photos in this post though were from Melbourne, Australia.

I miss all my friends dearly specially Jen and Celso.:( We had so much fun together back in college days and even when we were already working, we still managed to meet on a regular basis as our offices used to be walking distance only. I was blessed to be in a wonderful batch of college buddies, not to mention our friendship didn't end after graduation. We made it a point to constantly meet and have a get-together at least once a month. Most of the time, we're a group of about/or more than 10 people talking about our job, future plans, families, and of course lovelife. Nobody in our batch ended up married with each other, though one pair were in a relationship during our junior and senior years. Unfortunately, they broke-up months after graduation. I remember most of boys in the class has either a teacher or nurse girlfriend.

My recollections of Celso or Cel as I prefer to call him:

1. He is a woman trapped in a man's body.

2. Back in college, he goes to women's restroom in the University. Why? - coz he's doing some facial touch-up. He always has a lip-gloss and face powder handy, at times eyeliner too. But we're use to it, and really... he's like a real woman.:)

3. He seldom use men's restroom in college coz they tease him there... specially some of our naughty classmates who's making fun of him... in a good way though.

4. I remember, we asked him: "What would you do if you're in a room, alone with a super sexy and pretty woman?"... His response to us was: "I will teach her how to use make-up properly and braid her hair." LOL We all cracked up and laughed so hard hearing him said that. I think most of us then had a final realization that he really is a GAY.

5. There was one time when me and him took one of our classmate and also one of his room mate, Adolfo, in an emergency hospital. Ado had a high fever and delirious that we had to rush him to the hospital late at night and we didn't went home then till about 3:00AM. That was an adventure for the 3 of us. Ado's fever subsided very well at the hospital and made it to school afterwards.

6. His favorite expression then was "chuk-chak-chenis and bulalo-e-errrrssss". We (his girl friends) learned to say those words later on too. LOL I'm sure he has more funny vocabulary similar to those words now, which I hope he'll share later.

7. He said that when he was young, he used to play dolls with her older sister... who happen to be his bestfriend for life.

8. Once in a while he would use a real man's voice, and we would convince him to keep that voice and stop using the high-pitch tone... LOL in a friendly convincing manner.

9. I chose not to have a bf in college, and I'm pretty sure he did had one... or just an MU relationship perhaps.:)

10. He has an older brother, an older sister and a younger brother. I remember him saying that his parents has 2 girls and 2 boys. LOL

11. His family supports him on his choices in life. Him being gay is not and never an issue to them.

12. We, his friends, all love him dearly and accept him for what he is... NO MATTER WHAT.

I miss you very very much my dear friend and I can't wait to see you again in person and catch-up with our stories face-to-face, with all the giggles and everything. I know in time, that will happen!

I am convinced that I could be GAY in my past life... LOL I've encountered more gay friends back home and always have that "click" thing with them. I always treat them with respect the way I treat anybody else. Even in high school, I have some gay bestfriends and are part of the group am into...

1. Bernardo who preferred to be called Berna or Bernadette, is a very good dancer and later became a dance and cheerleading teacher in our town. He died of pneumonia on 2000 (I think, forgot the exact year).:(

2. Alex who preferred to be called Alice is an only son but has some sisters. The last time I heard, he is now an accomplished hairdresser and make-up artist.:)

3. Jose is not gay but rather soft-spoken. Alice & Berna calls him Josie. He ended up a civil engineer too.:)

A FUNNY STORY: There is a one pretty famous gay in our neighborhood, and was a classmate of my sister next to me... His name is Robert but now called Roberta. When you see him, you wouldn't really know he is not a woman, unless he'll talk. He got a SSS (soft, silky & shiny) long black hair, face feature of a woman, very slim and wear ladies clothings... and of course a boyfriend. I heard story before (I can't vouch on it though), that his eldest brother or father tied him, with arms up, on a tree full of ants then kept on asking him: "What are you, a man or a woman?" and Roberta would always say: "I'm a woman." That kept on and on and on... He was asked one more time what he is, and he said, "I am DARNA." Darna is a famous action-figure back home and is similar to Wonder Woman. I laughed and laughed when I heard this story. LOL Who wouldn't?I'm sorry but I found it hilarious... Anyway, Roberta's eldest brother and father didn't stop there as they really wanted him to be a real man. I think at that point, they're in denial and can't accept the fact that GAY people really exist... and much worst, one of their family member is. So one time, they prepared a big drum full of water and soaked Roberta's head from time to time. Each time Roberta's head is up in air catching his breath, they would asked him the same question: "What are you, a man or a woman?" and he would always answer: "I am a woman." Despite the fact that he knew his head will be back in the drum full of water. Then finally, the same final question: "What are you?", and Roberta said "I am DYESEBEL, a serena." LOL A Serena means a "MERMAID". Dyesebel is a Filipino classic comic figure with lots of movie versions as well. She is a very pretty mermaid who fell in love to a handsome guy from the dry-land (similar story to "The Little Mermaid"). At the end of the story, she was given the chance to have feet and decided to stay with his prince charming. Please take note that I can't really vouch and attest this story is true though I heard it a few times from people back home. I just can't imagine a brother or a father could do such things. BTW, Roberta worked in Japan as an entertainer for so long, became the family's bread-winner (up to now) and has a constant and loyal Japanese boyfriend.:) As far as I know, she is one of the richest person in our neighborhood now and bought acreage of land from other part of town... built a big house on it and moved her parents there. Her parental house is now occupied by one of her siblings.

ONE LAST NOTE: I feel sorry for you who judge others because of their skin color, looks or sexual preferences. But then I also know it's your choice. Shame on you still! Take a deep breath and ask yourself what are you proud of!