Disclaimer: I won’t gain anything from posting this. I have nothing against Fitness First and I don’t even post news on my blog. However, this happened to a dear friend and in a mall that I frequent at that (I live 5 minutes away from SM Fairview)! THIS MADE ME SICK!!! I’d like to thank my friend for allowing me to share this here as he believes PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS.

The identity of the victim will remain anonymous.  He posted this story on his Facebook account and I’m merely translating it.

Sexual Harassment Does Not Only happen To Women

Last week, I joined Fitness First here in Fairview, with the hopes of losing my weight. The monthly dues included the use of the lockers, showers, sauna and steam room.

On my first day, I checked out the locker room with the manager and I was really shocked by the naked people randomly walking around! Yes, I expected them to be naked since it’s a men’s locker room but they were literally in the nude, such that I could see their private parts. It made me very uncomfortable but eventually, I got used to it.

After working out, people can go to the steam room or the sauna to relax their muscles. The steam room was under maintenance that week so I just stayed in the sauna. People normally only wear briefs or loose towels, hence, they’re topless. Again, it made me feel uncomfortable but I became accustomed to it as well.

Last Thursday, October 20, 2011, the steam room was already fixed and I gave it a try. I was the first one to go in but it was really hot like an oven inside. When I went out, I saw two men walking towards me – one fair skinned and the other, dark-skinned. The dark-skinned man asked, “is it really hot inside?” to which I replied, “yes”. The fair-skinned man said, “let’s try it” and went inside. He went out eventually since it really was scorching.  The darker man said, “hold on, I’ll call a personnel” and then he left, came back again and adjusted the temperature. “Come on, check again if the heat is bearable now”, he told us.

Last week, while Jimmy Kim was here for a short vacay, we got invited to an Italian restaurant in Makati. Now, let me tell everyone that Jimmy Kim has never taken me out for a fancy dinner before. EVER. We normally go to Korean restaurants (and walk out smelling like grilled meat and soju), Chinese tea houses (because I loooove tea and dimsum) and well, the malls. So yeah, we were definitely looking forward to our dinner at Casa Nostra Italian Cuisine at Pasong Tamo Ext.

What is sosyal.

Trust me. This resto is Italian. 

We knew right away that we were gonna have a good meal but we never expected that the night was gonna be really fun and “informative”. Soon as we got to our table, a person came up to us and introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant. He’s an Italian-American man named Joe Velardi .

I am no foodie. I don’t blog about food or dining establishments so I won’t even pretend that I know shit about Italian cuisine. My version of spaghetti is even sweet and has hotdogs. But I base the quality of the food that I eat and the restaurants that I go to on how they make me feel and I will be very honest here, like I always am…

Alodia Gosiengfiao is a very famous cosplayer. No one can deny that. There are much better models, endorsers, entertainers and hosts in the country but that girl’s name is and will be forever marked in the history of Philippine cosplay. Now, I’m not a rabid fangirl. I have directed her in some projects and I do like her, she is genuinely nice. But I’m writing this from a media practitioner’s perspective and I seriously wish I’m still in school so I could do a thesis on the Alodia phenomenon.

Presenting the “10 Reasons Why Alodia Gosiengfiao is Famous” (based on my observations).

1. Perfect timing

Alodia conquered the geek-culture world when the community was still very small and cosplay as we know it was just emerging. It was indeed perfect timing. It is safe to say that she’s one of the pioneers of the craft in the country and she had been winning competitions before some of the current cosplayers were even in school.

2. Quality Costumes

The cosplay scene in the country has grown and improved in the last 5-6 years. Before, not everyone paid much attention to details (LOL really, paper bag on your head and a random gun?). Alodia, however, ALWAYS had quality costumes and accessories. I remember interviewing her in a Final Fantasy event about 6 years ago and asked how much her white wig was. “It’s Php 5,000 eh. Mahal nga but I have no choice.” That was just her wig. However, you cannot hate her for having money. It’s like saying Britney Spears became a superstar because her parents had the money to send her to performing arts classes when she was growing up.

Alodia at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. That’s not a costume, that’s spartaaaa!!!!
Credit as tagged.

3. Sellable

Alodia is a brand. She’s actually one of the few legit local celebs who was able to build her image without being backed up by a talent company or a network. She’s had hoards of fans waaay before she even made it mainstream. How the heck she did that, I totally have no idea (if I did, I would’ve been famous by now, too. Or maybe not). She has a clean image, she’s pretty, and she knows her niche. Brands just followed her lead. Afterall, there is a big market for toys/gaming/Japanese-culture enthusiasts and companies are aware of that. Most of all, she has very pan-Asian features and is not limited to the Pinoy market.