Vlog Ep. 204: Quarantine Check-in - Week 64

Tonight's Sunday episode of #BaduyPride episode is another quarantine check-in episode because (1) we're still under community quarantine here in the Philippines and (2) at one point or another I'm sure we've all been feeling the walls closing in at times. We continue to do these check-in episodes as a way to just take a breather, reach out to viewers, and try to get through this madness together.

And like many other check-in episodes, a lot of the discussion was a loose recap of recent events in our lives, weird situations specific to the quarantine life we've all been trying to juggle, and random pop culture things because we're still two geeks with a web show. We'll continue to include these episodes in our line-up for as long as they feel necessary and provide value to viewers. We just gotta pull together to get to the end of this pandemic, dear friends. And we'll take it one step at a time. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Vlog Ep. 202: Starting a New Hobby

Tangentially related to Geek Pride Day, today's #BaduyPride episode was all about starting new hobbies. A large part of being a geek is celebrating your hobbies and other activities and interests you may have, so we really went to town with this episode. But you have to admit, hobbies make for a pretty expansive topic and there was a lot of things to cover.

But I really enjoyed how this episode went. IT was definitely a good example of why we continue with Baduy Pride throughout all this. Even though we're literally just talking to a camera as comments stream by on a screen, it stills feels a lot like we're hanging out with friends like we used to be able to. And we'll get back to that eventually, I'm sure. But for now, we work with what we have.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by Noel and Kenny! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Vlog Ep. 168: Shoes...Footwear...OMG

This episode of #BaduyPride wasn't meant to be an April Fool's sort of thing, but we did end up talking about shoes and all kinds of footwear more because of certain religious practices associated with Maundy Thursday for all you Catholics out there. But in typical Baduy Pride fashion, we opted to keep things light and just run with the topic to see where it would take us.

The quirkiness of episodes like this is that one can never tell where we'll end up when we subject any particular subject to significant enough scrutiny. And I totally love how Tobie and I just bounce ideas off one another and just see how things go. Fun, fun all around.

And also, obligatory reference to this classic YouTube video. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Vlog 129: The One About Sandwiches

This episode of #BaduyPride was all about...sandwiches. Like the food. Really. But in our typical geeky way, we dove deep into the subject of what makes a sandwich a sandwich before we could take things a bit more casually. But really, try looking up the definition of a sandwich and prepare to go down the rabbit hole of curious considerations and possibilities. 

You can blame Tobie. His brain twists and turns in very unusual ways.

Beyond the existential questions related to when are sandwiches not sandwiches and all that, we spent a better part of the episode just talking about different types of sandwiches that we were honestly fond of across our personal histories. Episodes like this just illustrate how our conversations between us can go in totally strange directions without warning. And they make just make for good content for a vlog.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Vlog Ep. 93: Gabbing About Groceries

Today's #BaduyPride was all about groceries, and yes we totally talked about this for a whole hour. But this is what quarantine has done to is all - it has made even mundane discussions about everything things become something worth talking about. So maybe it's not a bad thing.

I know Tobie and I are still quite cautious in terms of how we're managing our supplies throughout the quarantine since we're still not going together and trying to time the grocery runs for when there are fewer people out. But we get by and there are times that it's still an enjoyable activity. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Vlog Ep. 66: Random Hangout I

I guess it really ways something that we were able to fire up the webcam for a #BaduyPride episode without a firm plan in mind and ended up having close to two hours of fun talking about a lot of different things including Halloween plans, horror movies, and a bunch of other fun stuff. But really, this episode would not have been possible without the support and participation of everyone who continues to watch our live streams and join in the conversation.

We continue to create these videos as a way to continue to reach out to friends and stay somewhat socially connected to people despite the need for physical distancing and all that stuff. And I hope that the show also helps people in this regard - we all have to help one another to get through this pandemic.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Wedding Non-Planning

We've been watching a lot of reality TV content over this lockdown, and things have sort of culminated with Netflix's Say I Do series where the discount Queer Eye trio put together a wedding in a week. I say this is a culmination mainly because a number of shows, mainly cooking competitions, have inevitably wandered into the whole "cater a wedding as a challenge" scenario, and this always gets me stating aloud that we will never agree to make our wedding the subject of a reality television experience. So it's kind of ironic that we're now watching a reality show that is all about weddings alone, but hey it makes for fun sappy entertainment despite the stress of our current reality.

While we have no idea how our actual wedding might go as I doubt we'll make an actual plan until it becomes legal to get married in this country or we move to a country where it's legal instead. But there are a few things that we're generally figuring out.

First, I insist that we need to figure out ahead of time what aspects of our story are worth sharing. Some editing is needed to focus on the happier parts and avoid some of the more complicated bits like the fact that I wasn't single when Tobie and I started falling in love.

Second, we agree we don't want a complicated theme wedding. This Netflix show has had everything from a carnival wedding to a Christmas-themed winter wonderland. And we're pretty sure we don't want to do anything like that. No costume requirements. No decor that could belong at a department store display. 

No idea where we'd want to get married. It's unlikely to be a religious structure like a church and there are no major travel destinations that are particularly memorable to us that we'd want to tie the knot there. So as long as we find a pretty indoor location with sufficient air conditioning that I don't sweat like crazy, it'll probably be an okay option.

The after-party is definitely going to be at O Bar, or something like that. I guess the bachelor's party will be there too, but that would mean we'd still be together for it since I can't imagine being at O Bar without Tobie at my side.

We can't figure out what the food at the event will be like. Tobie says it depends on what restaurants we become friendly with. I figure that I'd still want low carb options even if they're not necessarily full keto options - but admittedly I'd be happier to make sure at least my plate is keto and everyone else gets normal stuff LOL.

I need to check with Tobie, but I think I'd be happier to get married in a Barong Tagalog versus a suit, more for comfort more than anything else. Of course, it would have to be customized somehow in a manner that's tasteful and not necessarily too niche that we wouldn't be able to re-use it for other events. 

It's easy to banter about this mainly because it's still not a legal option in the Philippines for us to get married. This may change in the future, and we look forward to that. But for now, wedding plans are part of the conversations we continue to joke about before going to bed without seriously committing to anything. 

Digital Lifeline

It's easy to dismiss location tracking - especially between partners - as a bad thing. The classic telenovela dialog of "don't you trust me?" and stuff like that sort of come to mind when people talk about their partners asking them to report on where they are and stuff like that.

I guess it makes a difference when you choose to do something like this as opposed to being asked to do so. And as soon as I had figured out the settings for the old Google Latitude service, I had configured my phone to ping my precise location to Tobie. He hardly ever checked it, quite frankly - this was just an additional layer of security on top of my regular SMS updates about when I was leaving the office or the plate number of my cab. But it was an oddly reassuring piece of technology that has always made me feel better.

Google Latitude was eventually retired but thankfully the location sharing facility was later integrated into Google+, much to my relief. So we're back to keeping our locations properly shared with one another at all times that our phones have viable data connections. At least in case of an emergency, I know that Tobie can quickly use the service to figure out where I was - at least based on the last reported location managed by my phone. After all, Tobie may drive by I still take public transportation at rather ungodly hours given my work obligations.

And for the rare times that we're apart, like with Tobie's company outing this weekend, at least I can still check on their progress from a location perspective to help reassure me that he's generally safe and I have a decent idea of where to start looking in case of trouble.

Creepy? Maybe if he didn't know about it. But a lot of our relationship has depended on trust and honesty. And this little piece of technology has just helped us find another way to exercise that principle.

Why Tobie Is Like Jake The Dog

Tobie and I are huge fans of the animated series Adventure Time. We have considered cosplaying as Finn and Jake here and there but the question always came up in terms of who is who. And more and more I'm convinced that he shares a lot more in common with Jake the Dog.

And this is besides the fact that we know Tobie is a dog.

So here are a few reasons why Tobie is a lot like Jake the Dog. Roll credits!

Doggie Apologies

Pardon the delay in new updates.  I had a bunch of photos to post, an entry about Jason Mraz, and another entry about quiet moments with Rocky that I wanted to write but so many other things were just getting in the way.

I'll just take this opportunity to say "Hello!" to all of you readers, both subscribed and non-subscribed ones!  It is really nice and touching to know there are people interested to read the stuff that appear in this little nook of ours.

Cheers to love!

Sietch Life: Yan-Yan

Tobie and I love Yan-Yan.

Beyond the fact that this childhood treat tastes amazing, these days Yan-Yan comes with quirky animal-themed messages on each stick that are fun to read. So every time we share a pack, we read out the animal messages before eating the stick.

But this one perturbed me a bit:

Is this some sort of message from The Ducks? What are they trying to say? Are they threatening me or something?

I must keep a closer eye on the kids.

More Gay Advertising - Mister Donut

Apart from the fact that the sight of the cross-section of a chocolate treat like this immediately capture's Tobie's attention even while driving or the fact that the product triggers some rather phallic thoughts, we both felt the caption for the product was hilariously gay.

Ah, the little things that make us laugh.