June 23–Wimbledon starts. Been glued to the TV at night, can’t wait to see the match-ups. Its now been two years since I last saw a match at SW 19 (that, for the uninitiated, is the zip code for the village that hosts the world’s best known tennis tournament, and the most prestigious, for two weeks each year in June and July. Getting off from the train/tram station, you walk along the well sign-posted road for about a mile till you come to the gates. You meander through the main village street, past a series of shops and cafes, through what looks like a very residential upper crust subdivision, till you reach the gates of the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).. Thousands of people are there before you, and you make your way to the end of a line that snakes through the village, through a parking lot, and a golf course, where enthusiastic marshals give out numbers, a brochure about the matches, and even stickers ‘I queued at Wimbledon’. They tell you stuff like how long it will be before you get to the ticket booths. Throngs patiently wait for the general admission tickets, which allow access to all the 18 courts save for Center Court and Court 1. . Tickets to these courts and most of Court 2 have already been sold through a lottery in February. Those who dont get the tickets through the lottery indulge in afavorite British pastime–lining up.
Forty five minutes later, I am at the gates, having gone through a series of above-ground walkways and clogged sidewalks. If youre there on the first Friday, several hundred people have already positioned themselves–with portable seats, food, cushions and blankets–to line up for the next day’s tickets, that of ‘middle staturday’, where some 2000 seats for center court and court one will be on sale on a first-come, first serve basis. Such is the attraction of the event they simply refer to as ‘The Championships’.
Its like a fiesta once you’re inside. Tradition predominates, in the obligatory white outfits, the officials in their jackets, straw hats and striped ties; the ball boys/girls in their uniforms, all prim and polite, The green, violet and white bunting and signage, as well as the violet flowers that are all bundled up in bouquets and pots overhead.. Boards announce the order of play and the results, and a match schedule is constantly being updated with the latest results.Booths sell wimbledon cushions and souvenir programs, which are updated each day. In keeping with the Brit tradition, there is of course fish and chips at the restaurant, together with pints of lager, scones, and baskets of strawberries with cream, all at ridiculous prices. It is advisable to bring your own food but authorities will stop you if you have a cooler or anything resembling a picnic box.
The Wimbledon museum and souvenir shops are usually packed, and there is a band playing. .The other attractions include the commercial booths where tennis gear and rackets are sold, and a children’s play area where one cantime the speed of one’s serve. The open courts on the grounds are a great place to see the world’s best players on the first week–many of the top players are just two to three meters away from the audience., and you can meander around courts 3 to 18 with ease. Here I saw a young Rafael Nadal-Perera who was ousted in the semis of the juniors in 2002–that same year that Maria Sharapova, in court 14, was astonishing everybody with her loud shrieking, but lost in the finals of the girls’ singles event. Venus and Serena were warming up on the outside courts in 2003, and Martina was playing her umpteenth doubles match –at the age of 47 ! join an ecstatic crowd on ‘Henman Hill’ — where a large TV screen is positioned, to show up close the matches on center court. It is a sea of people dotting the hillside, facing the TV monitor. Near it a booth sells returned tickets for Center court and courts one at reduced prices. Another queue to join…
The grass can be tricky. Its not a thoroughly even surface, unlike hard courts. Looks like a cross between bermuda and some kind of scrub. Balls are hit flat, with spin, or a mix–this results in almost unpredictable slide, spin, and skid, making shotmaking sometimes frustrating (except for Roger, who seems to thrive on such a surface). By midweek the serving area is a faded brown, but the survivors of the fourth round are now adjusting to the surface. . As expected, a number of seeded players have crashed out in the earlier rounds, and the qualifiers and wild cards are usually gone by week two. The wimbledon fever is infectious., it becomes an obsession for the brits who have been starved of a male champion since 1934 (well, Virginia Wade won in 1977 but that doesn’t seem to matter) and the pressure is on once more. Visiting Wimbledon during those two weeks of summer is an experience no tennis fan will ever want to miss. Why, even an event such as pulling up the court covers when a shower breaks out can be well applauded !
ay naku sa wakas si La mierda (thats me !) ay mag po=post na rin ng kabastusan….ARRIBA !
La primera concern ng mga MGM habang kumukulekta ng kayamanan at kalalakihan ay ang kanilang ‘fez’ at wither sila pa ay mapapansin ng mga guapo. well, advise ko lang, huwag na kayo gumising…pero, es verdad na maraming hombres jovenenes, or yung mga pa-young looking din, ay mahilig sa mga matandoosh, o sa mga ‘thunderbirds’. kanya-kanyang taste lang yon…ako., e mahilig ako sa mga matanda (definition as of 2008: somebody no longer in their 20’s–kasi yearly, moving target yan).
yung pregunta ay, saan na sila ngayon ?
Kasi kadalasan ang mga matandoosh ay indi masyadong technophile, kung baga wa access sa computer at sa internet. Humahanap pa rin sila sa mga classified adz ng Bulletin sa column ng ‘personal services’ at ‘escorts’. pumupunta pa rin sila sa mga sinehan sa Recto, sa Cubao, sa Meycauayan (tutoong Mecca pala doon). Pumipila sa Adonis at sa Chicos. Suma-stand-by sa mga CR sa mall, o sa mga bilyaran. Naka-timewarp pa sila sa part ng last century na wala pa uso ang txtm8s at chatting. O kaya pa daplis-daplis sa mga nakatayo sa LRT, the more crowded da better…o sa likod na row ng isang LoveBus. Kung minsan sa simbahan o sa patyo, sa sayawan sa baryo, o sa sari-sari store sa kanto. Isang beer lang may susunod na sa bahay. . kahit saan kung may ‘look’ lang, sundan ng smile at pa-flutter ng eyelashez…Pag weekend nag jogging daw sa Film center, o dyan sa jurassic. Basta me chance, i-try.
Paano nalang yung mga MGM na indi nag cha-chat, o pagod na sa kaikot-ikot ? Its so tiring naman, divah ?
Bakitch kaya pag tumanda, ang libog ay di naman nawawala (i mean, sa mga ka-edad natin, syempre) hwag naman sa mga may hawak ng Senior Citizen ID cards. Di pa ko qualified dyan, mga 15 years pa siguro (charing !) pero naman pag tumanda ka na, eto ang mga tips—at proven na proven na ito. Subukan mo at mabebenta na rin ang bingka mo.:
TIP 1. I -explore ang mga dark room ng sauna. use the lack of light, the play of shadows to your advantage. kelangan lang mabilis ang kamay. huwag nang mahiya, kasi yung mga bata mayroon pa yang attitude towards making the first move–parang kunwari di sila nau0una. Give them that privilege of thinking na maganda sila, na discreet sila, na indi sila patay na patay sa seks. hayaan mo na, pag na-touch mo na sila sa mga sensitibong parte, mag mo-moan din yan, di ba ?
TIP 2. gagamitin ang X-factor. I mean, the EX-perience factor. di pa nila na-experience ang helicopter, ng victory joe, ang pagtutuka at paglulon ng ahas, ang pagtulay sa alambre habang kumakanta, at ang pagsisid ng perlas na itim, di ba ? Pag may polstit ka, mas lalong magaling para kasing vacuum cleaner…subukan ang paglagay ng condom na di ginagamit ang kamay, aberr ? kaya nila yon ? Huwag nb pakipot–kasi Malu Wang na.
TIP 3. mag reinvent ka. mag pa-girl ! huwag mo na i-confuse ang mga mhin sa iyong mga attire at posturing na pa-macho. Matatakot pa yan, akala nila pulis kayo. Mag toss-toss ka ng iyong head at kunwari nag pa-pat ng hairdo mo (kahit wlang buhok ka), mag -tili ka naman every other minute, at ang iyong purse i-dangle mo. para walang kadudang duda, pati yung nasa Kinder 1 palang ay sasabi…look mommy, there’s a vaklah !
TIP 4. try an intellectual discussion. debate the rice and the gas crisis. speculate on whether Obama will get elected. discuss the best way to stop terrorism or prove the existence of god, or whether marriage should be allowed to same sex couples. The effects of climate change and global warming on the glaciers in antarctica or the survival rates of polar bears. Reveiw the film, ‘’the effect of gamma-rays on man-in-the moon marigolds’ or something like that. The effect is of course to put your partner to sleep, so mas madaling hadahin. Win ka na naman..
if all else fails, TIP 5 - ipakita ang iyong ATM card. Show me the Money, as they say…
Hasta la vista ! Viva las Maricones ! Espesyalmente las maricones abuelas !
The place is along a major thoroughfare in an unnamed southeastasian city fabled for its freewheeling, anything goes atmosphere. Lined up along the entrance are motorbikes. It is a place for relaxation. busiest after working hours, popular with the working class and the unpretentious. There are basic massage facilities - several tables for a rubdown that can be best described as ‘bare-knuckled’, with unseeing (blind) masseurs, a small and often crowded sauna, several bathrooms with broken sinks and showers but with lots of water, with several people sharing and beckoning, and a darkened rooftop area where men in towels puff casually, entwined in each others arms and legs, relishing the fleeting moments of intimacy.
It is a predominantly gay patronized sauna, though on one floor there are female masseurs available. You can get a massage and sauna for under four dollars. The massage tables are conveniently separated by flimsy curtains, so people can peek at what’s going on in the next table, joke around and gossip, and grab a quick feel here and there, and smiles all around.
The little girl, not yet three, sits with her father at the entrance to the massage room, Her dad works as the receptionist to this unusual place–hes probably had to babysit this afternoon . It must seem like such an unusual place, where guys seem so gentle,flirty and touchy-feely, none of the macho posturing of the outside world. From her view, this is such a different world from the rough-and-tumble, violent and harsh world outside the sauna. She is getting an education on how one can be male, but also affectionate, caring, and physically close. She sees people lie their heads on another man’s lap, or sit entwined in one of the lounge chairs, sometimes gently caressing, loving that feeling of bare skin against bare skin.
This little girl will grow up and learn about how men can be tender to each other–how comfortable these guys are lounging about, exchanging banter, lightly flirting and teasing, unself-conscious in partial nakedness. The little girl is entranced, her playfulness and charm is infectious, and she is conscious of being the only child in the facility. The guys in white towels make her the center of attention. They all stop for a chat and a bit of a hello. I practice a few english words with her, which she repeats with enthusiasm. She will grow up to be open, well adjusted, confident and secure, and if someone in her family turns out to be gay, she will be the first to give out the hugs….
