Vlog Ep. 226: The 4-Day Workweek

This episode of #BaduyPride was also based on a viewer suggestion and one that brought us back to talking about work. In this case, the subject of the episode was all about the possibility of a 4-day workweek, something that continues to get debated across the internet in different ways. And even how the 4-days break out in terms of these being the same number of working hours in a shorter period of time or actually reducing the total number of working hours in the week, either option has its pros and cons. 

Given the ongoing pandemic, figuring out the values of alternate working arrangements like this certainly made for an interesting discussion. I was surprised that we managed to get past an hour and a half hashing this out and even considering other situations like what our working from home options are going to be like in the future when we have the option to go back to work. There is certainly a lot to think about. 

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by Mitch! 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. 208: SOGIE Talk

In our first #BaduyPride episode in celebration of Pride Month, we decided to risk having an open and honest conversation about SOGIE. We don't claim to be experts on the subject, which is the case for many of us I'm sure. But what is more important is how we all have the capacity to remain open and have the ability to learn and work with others to better ourselves.

This snowballed into a much larger conversation that lasted for like two hours. But in the end, it was a good discussion and perhaps the first of many that will need to happen in order for all of us to get a better handle on things. More than our efforts to help people better understand SOGIE, it was also a good conversation about the complexity of explaining the subject, its importance to the greater LGBT rights movement in the country (and maybe the world), and other related subjects.

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. 154: Learning New Things

Tonight's #BaduyPride episode was all about learning new things. And while none of us are obligated to be voluntarily productive throughout this period of pandemic and quarantine, it's still nice to celebrate any upskilling or personal leveling up that we've managed to achieve recently. And that's what we sought out to celebrate in this episode - talking about all the things that we now know how to do or at the very least are getting better at.

It is rather surprising how many new skills we've managed to pick up. Our new skills including me learning how to bake, Tobie learning more about working with Unity, and both of us learning to cut each other's hair, among others. As much as we can all joke about 2020 being a wasted year, you might be surprised at how things have changed over the past year.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Mitch! 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.

Celebrating How Ever Way We Can

This year has been a difficult one for us in many ways.  The ongoing pandemic and the debatable response has not made it easy to see the joy usually present in our lives. Finding opportunities to visit family, to reconnect with friends, and to celebrate life has been rough. And more so when you want to make your loved one feel extra special since it is their birthday.

I will confess that I probably would not have been able to make the day feel as special as it was had it not been for the awesome group of friends we have gained in the passing years. Rocky and I have been blessed with a wonderful mix of personalities whom we can happily call our friends.  Friends from geek circles. Friends from our gay life. Friends currently based so far away. But with the lock downs and the quarantines, it is not hard to feel like everyone is so far away.

I had hopes of arranging a more exciting celebration for Rocky. I wanted to get him bottles of his favorite wine. I wanted to have a special show set up for him at our favorite haunt, O bar.  I had hoped to get friends join us and celebrate another year of being himself. 

But yeah, the pandemic.
The wine order is still indefinitely on hold, as the suppliers are currently silent on the matter.  
The bar is closed as restaurants and bars have limitations in their operations. 
Having friends over would prove to be an irresponsible thing.

I shot out messages to various mutual friends, asking them to have some time to join us for an online hangout. And after holding a super cool episode of Baduy Pride where we talked about Rocky's favorites (my suggestion to call it Rocky-ology was shot down), we then had a chat-til-you-drop session with awesome friends.

This image was one of the few captures we were able to take. It was truly heart-warming and lovely reconnecting with so many friends.  And it just made us remember all the more how much our hearts yearn to spend time with our friends and loved ones.

But thankfully, it made the day special for Rocky.

I'm so proud of him. From his focus on maintaining his Keto lifestyle, his determination in staying fit and completing his daily workout routines, and his devotion to writing.  I am proud to have this geek in my world and I would not trust anyone else with my heart, my secrets, and the rest of my life.



Happy birthday, Rocky!
Here's hoping we can celebrate things better post lockdown.