Sweet Madness

They are family (pic from wikipedia)

I'm finally finished with the last season of Queer As Folk. I miss the series already; very few shows have had such an impact on me. It was a treat to see these disparate gay people grow and change through several seasons. It’s always been a smart, uncompromising and honest examination of gender identity and gay relationship topics, even when certain storylines’ conflicts were easy to predict and figure out sometimes. But it consistently showed that gay people can be as flawed and as human as straights. If you haven’t seen it, and plan on watching it one of these days, I’m gonna be talking about spoilerish stuff, so kindly skip the next two paragraphs.

The series finale (episode 13) was quite toned down compared to the episodes that preceded it, but it’s still meaningful. Episode 10 of season 5 was a big surprise; that was when I realized, even after considering each of them interesting in different ways before, that the characters meant a lot to me. When the unexpected happened at Babylon, I stopped, put down my food (I was eating leftover cake at that point), and got teary eyed. That was the impetus for every plot point in the final three episodes. Each of them had a different reaction to the tragedy, and it became the wakeup call for newer characters like Hunter and Drew, as well as older ones like good ol’ Brian Kinney. Also, I can sympathize with “Zen” Ben’s reaction during the vigil. It was great to see most of them recover from such a despicable attack, eventually. Good thing that Cyndi Lauper survived the ordeal, too. Whew.

These characters were like friends and family, and it was hard to see them suffer. But it’s reassuring that, in the course of the series, those who’ve made grave mistakes were able to turn their lives around. It was rewarding to see those that desired to start their own family were able to finally get that by the last season. It was defiant too, that another family had to leave their country to start afresh in a gay-friendlier one. I felt happy for a character when he finally ended up with someone that loves him unconditionally. It was tough seeing others move on, but it was also true to their natures that they do so. Justin, Mikey, Brian, Em, Ted, Hunter, Deb, Ben, Linz, Mel, Vic, Carl, Drew, Blake… they’re great people. Each has heroically sacrificed much at one point or another, and I’ve learned much from their exploits, victories and tribulations.

Glorious Sadness

Gale Harold as promiscuous, hesitantly heroic Brian Kinney

He’s sarcastic and seemingly heartless, but he’s actually the most truthful and secretly the noblest among the Liberty Avenue gay boys. There are times while watching QAF’s later seasons that I just had to write down some of Peter Pan-ish Brian Kinney’s best lines:

1. We fuck who we want to, when we want to. That is our God-given right.

2. Fags are no different than people. You tell them you can’t have something and it’s all they want. And they won’t give up until they get it.

3. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but in this particular instance, it’s a dish best served hot, hard, and as many times as possible!

4. Fags and dykes can fuck up their lives just like the rest of the world.

5. Nothing will kill a marriage faster than monogamy.

6. Whoever told you that was dead wrong. I’m the most successful gay businessman.

7. The way gay men are obsessed with youth and beauty! An entire subculture convinced that the meaning of happiness is no love handles. How pathetic. How tragic. How profitable.

8. He’s a big boy. He should be allowed to make his own mistakes.

9. Despite these conservative times, it’s still all about sex. And it always will be.

10. I’m queer! And to anyone who takes pity or offense… I say, judge yourself.

Drum Beats Out of Time

Ow, my body hurts. But it hurts so good. Benedict gave me his Fitness First gym guest pass, which he won in the Amazing Race-Mall of Asia series of contests last month, and I was finally able to use it yesterday afternoon. As I haven’t really gotten any gym membership, and relied solely on my exercise regimen these past few years, it felt really great to use some fancy schmancy equipment that I’ve only seen in brochure photos or in infomercials. It’s a far cry from the old and semi-rusty dumbbells, and that el cheapo arm exerciser pulley thing that no one else was using at the house.

I spent some time lifting weights. For fear of overly straining myself, I kept to lifting the lighter ones. It was okay, because I did several repetitions anyway. It wasn’t long before my arms and shoulders felt leaden. I was able to use the pull-up chord thingie with the rectangular weights. Heh, I dunno what they’re called but I tried equipment that looked and felt safe enough. Spent an hour and several minutes at the treadmill too; the hi-tech readings on it say I burnt a few hundred calories, or at least that’s what I think it’s saying, and that I walked about a few kilometers during that span.

They had twelve TV screens at the treadmill area that were showing six cable channels (HBO, Animal Planet, AXN, etc.), whose sound was muted by the loud, thumping dance-pop music. Benedict later told me that you can actually ask for headphones for that. Huh. Cool.

Went back to the other area to lift some more, after that. There was a barbell that had a cool-looking handle bar (or whatever you call it). I’m only acquainted with the straight, cylindrical bar, but there were those that looked like Jack Kirby-designed zigzag ones. I think the design was meant for a better grip, and it was kinda strange at first but I took to it in no time at all.

The place had a clean locker area, decent enough shower cubicles (which had gel soap and shampoo dispensers) and other amenities. Maybe I’ll join up one day. It certainly is tempting. I just don’t know when I can fit that into my not-so-stable schedule. And I need to save up for it, if ever. But while the workout yesterday was good, it did build up my appetite soon after. I guess that’s to be expected. Acchh, my arms and thighs hurt.