RIDDICKulous

RIDDICKulous

Vin Diesel

Hello my dear darling island of the natives!

Yesterday I decided to give Arthur a call because I could feel that I'm on the brink of insanity due the pressure that my new work is exerting on me. Wednesday and Thursday are two rest days for me, a co-worker swapped a rest day that's why I have to spend two idle days. I asked Art if he had plans for Saturday, I told him that if I'm not going out, I may explode and turn out to be a psychopath because of excruciating boredom.

Art told me that if I'd really like to go out we could meet later that day, watch a movie and have dinner. It was a good offer and I immediately grabbed it.

I took a bath, packed my dirty clothes and took it to the laundry, went to the grocery and bought necessary things, afterwhich I headed straight to G4 where Art with his boyfriend, Albert were going to meet me. I overestimated their travel time because they were coming from Ortigas Extention and my apartment is just 15 minutes away from Glorietta. So, I was like thirty minutes late.

Finally, I got to timezone where we were to meet while Arthur and Albert were strolling by that time so I have to wait for them to get back. While waiting for them, I browsed a couple of magazines in the nearest stand and saw a couple of local magazines with the face of Hero, the Star Circle person, on some covers. I’m not actually a fan of xeroxed star searches but I have to admit, that Hero got a certain charm, which I find not so very "jologgish". Then I received a call from Art, and he was in front of me at that time. I could not blame him because of his height, and I'm a midget when I'm with him. He's gigantic; I have to tell you that.

Then, I met Albert, finally, Arthur's lover for a year or more. That was the first time that I had the chance to meet the "lover". Well, Arthur told me earlier that Albert is very eager to watch "Riddick", which I agreed to watch also, not knowing at first what am I going into. I realized that it is a sci-fi flick starring Vin Diesel. It was a so heterosexual film, basing that observation from the posters, hanging there. Do I have a choice? None! So, we let Albert to wait in line to buy the tickets while Arthur and I grabbed some gigantic popcorns and sodas. I just remembered I got myself a lemonade that time, which is so very unlike me but I have to because I can feel that my body is already oversaturated with carbonated drinks. The other day while at work, I gobbled up 1.5 liter of coke in an hour and it made me overhyped 'till 12 noon. Jumping and goofing around at a time when everyone seemed to have already drained their day’s energy.

We got in the cinema in time and, honestly, I prepared to force myself to watch and like a movie I really would have never consider watching if I would be given the chance to know first who appears in it.

The first sequences killed me. I told Arthur in a halftone that what we were watching is a sort of recycled film that wanted to follow the footsteps of Matrix or Star Wars perhaps to the box office. Even the costumes and the sets are recycled from other sci-fi flicks like Planet of the Apes, and Scorpion King. Vin Diesel is a walking muscle but unfortunately I guess that the actor really finds it hard to memorize lines because of his one-liner dialogues with other characters of the story. Speaking of characters, I was stunned when Judy Dench appeared in the film as an elemental goddess or some sort of a spirit-like persona. I went like "Heller!!! What in the world is Judy Dench doing in that kind of film." I guess she got frustrated because she's supposed to have the character of Cate Blanchett in LOR but casting directors eventually found her too old to appear as a Queen of the Woods with a Goddess-like aura. I’m not being harsh, I really find Judy Dench as a very very good actor, which is very unlikely to be found in films such as Riddick. One movie that I really like with Judy Dench is "Tea with Mussoulinni" and the other film, which I regretfully forgot the title, where she played as a very good writer that had alzheimers later on in her life. Aside from the appearance of Judy Dench, another thing that stunned be the most is the sort of an underlying message of the film, which is so very anti-born again propaganda. I know that it may sound preposterous but that is the closest thing I can think of even though I really didn’t take offense with regards to that matter, I'm not a born again myself nor a Christian.

After all, I can say that the movie should be re-titled as "RIDICULOUSLY RIDDICK".

For heaven's goodness, finally the film ended and the three of us made our way through Glorietta to go to Greenbelt. Of course, Arthur and I would not survive the night without going to an arcade and play "Dance Maniacs", one of the reasons why we became close friends two years ago.

After the adrenaline rush brought by the game, we went to Kroc Bar in Greenbelt 3 where I spend most of my vacant nights to eat and drink. The place is cool, aside from the fact that it's inexpensive, they serve good food. Exotic and Filipino and yet, they can still make those good. Also, I have to admit that some waiters are hot. As far as my diet is concerned, I always find them appetizing.

Anyway, over dinner, I couldn't stop but notice the book, which Albert had been carrying all along. I found out that it was a Terry Brooks book, at least we've got something in common and something to talk about because I was quite thinking earlier on what are we going to talk about knowing that it was my first time to meet him. Arthur is a very good friend and meeting his lover is that important. I have to dig up the remnants of the memory that I have regarding the last series of books written by Terry Brooks, which was like three or four years ago. Fortunately, we connected afterwards and talked casually.

He knew that Arthur and I went through a lot and been friends for quite a long time. He asked about my assessment of Arthur's personality, which I find very unnatural for a person to ask while his boyfriend is present and at the same time awkward in my end to do the talking. Originally there were four of us. Perfect fit as the gay version of Sex in the City. But that was before, when the four us were inseparable. KC had gone somewhere else far away and we lost contact, Kirk is still around, and Arthur, meeting him once in a while, and there comes me, who’s always available and always on the go. I told Albert a little less what I know of Arthur, of course I really have to sensor the details because I’m still kind of uptight with regards to talking about him. If you would only know what I had been through with Arthur. I really don't want to bring it up anyway.

As far as my friendship is concerned with Arthur, I know that his happy with his lover even though I can sense a little negative vibe between them but I guess that I might just being too scrutinizing and at the same time judgmental when it comes to their relationship. And how would I know? I knew Arthur as a friend, never a lover, so there's no point of me criticizing their relationship in any way. Oh my God! I’m being too good. They seem to be doing fine. So I’m giving them the benefit of that.

As the night faded away and so as our dinner, we got deeper into our conversations. Of course, as always, it would be me who will always to the talking or the "kwento", I was known to be good conversationalist and a perfect story-teller. A person that I have just met would not escape my unforgettable anthologies regarding the love of my life – ROJ. Haha. Sounds stupid to think of it that way, but that is the truth. Coincidentally, Albert happened to know the person that I'm talking about and the persons behind the story. It so happened that he konws one of Roj's infamous first boyfriend, who caused a little dilemma. I really wouldn't bother to talk about them here. I finally have proven how small the world is or rather it would be better to put it this way, it's a small "gay" world after all. Arthur know about everything that I'm talking about, he met ROJ, he knows how I drool over that guy and how desperate I am to get him back in my life. And he has been there in my moments. So, basically he couldn't help but chuckle all the time that I'm making 'kwento' of those moments.

On the other hand, I also talked about Arthur's past sexcapades and past lovers. Its good a thing that Art is very transparent with regards to that to Albert.

To sum it all up, I can consider that a good night and it wouldn't happen if I haven't agreed to watch a "RIDDICKulous" film. But the next night would be better when Arthur made an arrangement for us to meet the next night to watch the pink festival in SM Manila with Kirk, minus Albert.