Latest / PHLV Radio / Fifty and Found on 5050: Fifty Years Now, Fifty More featuring Dominic Gaon

Transcript

Fifty and Found on 5050: Fifty Years Now, Fifty More featuring Dominic Gaon · PHLV Radio

0:01
Speaker 1: Hindi mo lang alam, pero libu-libong nurse ang nagpapadala ngayon.
0:07
Marami sa kanila, SendWave ang gamit.
0:12
Speaker 2: Basta mahalaga para sayo, may pagkakatiwala.
0:16
Speaker 1: Mo sa SendWave.
0:17
Speaker 3: Between here and home, send money that keeps life moving.
0:32
Speaker 2: Someone told me that life winds down after 50. They
0:36
were wrong. This is 50-50. 50 years now and 50 more.
0:42
Brought to you by PHLV. Here, we talk about reinvention, wellness, romance, money, creativity,
0:51
newfound courage, and purpose. From new grandparents launching businesses to
0:57
couples finding love again to dreamers who are just getting started.
1:03
This isn't just a show. It's a community of doers, visionaries,
1:06
and believers. Your best years are not behind you. They're
1:11
happening now and still ahead. Welcome to 5050.
1:20
Speaker 4: Did you ever feel like somewhere along the journey of
1:24
your life, you lost a part of yourself?
1:29
Speaker 3: And then one day you realize no one else is
1:32
going to find you but you.
1:35
Speaker 4: Sometimes the most powerful thing that happens in our 50s
1:39
is not slowing down. It's rediscovering who we really are.
1:44
Speaker 3: Kamusta po?
1:45
Speaker 4: I am Anvy Fuller, aka Mrs. F. And welcome to 50-50,
1:49
50 years now and 50 more. Today's episode is a
1:54
little more profound because we're talking about something many of
1:59
us experience, but rarely talk about openly. It's losing ourselves
2:05
along the way and learning how to find ourselves again.
2:09
Speaker 3: Have you ever felt like that?
2:11
Speaker 4: Somewhere between responsibilities, expectations, and just the business of life,
2:18
you suddenly stop and ask yourself, Am I still the
2:21
person that I thought I would become? And when that
2:26
moment comes, the question becomes even bigger. Do we try
2:30
to retrieve who we used to be? Or is this
2:34
actually the moment to reinvent ourselves?
2:37
Speaker 3: Medyo mabigat, diba?
2:40
Speaker 4: But I promise you, this conversation is going to be inspiring, fun,
2:45
and funny.
2:46
Speaker 3: Because the truth is, turning 50 changes the way we
2:50
look at life.
2:51
Speaker 4: Reality becomes clearer. For some, it's a gentle reminder to ask,
2:57
am I living the life I promised myself when I
3:00
was in my 20s or when I was younger? Am
3:03
I happy where I am today? And for others, it
3:06
becomes a nudge, sometimes a little stronger, to push harder,
3:11
to make drastic changes, or to finally pursue things that
3:16
once they put aside. And yes, to some people, it's
3:20
simply a accepting things as they are. Para sa kanila, kumbaga,
3:25
tapos na ang laban.
3:27
Speaker 3: But how about you, friends? How about you?
3:29
Speaker 4: Think about it. Where in your life right now? Where
3:33
are you in your life right now? Just here for me,
3:37
just a quick reflection. A few years before I turned 50,
3:41
I had a spinal surgery. And that experience really shook me.
3:45
It reminded me that life can change in a blink.
3:49
For decades, I thought that life is great all the time.
3:52
I traveled the world for work.
3:54
Speaker 3: Health was great. I was looking great. I felt great.
3:59
Marriage was great. I am happy.
4:02
Speaker 4: But one moment during my recovery became a cue to
4:06
start looking for a deeper purpose and to be more
4:10
intentional about anything I do, the things I say, I think,
4:15
how to use my resources. Some people call it, let's
4:19
call it midlife crisis. And honestly, there is some truth
4:24
to that. I experienced that.
4:25
Speaker 3: But usually between the ages of.
4:28
Speaker 4: 40 and 60, for some even starts at 35, we
4:31
go through many transitions physically, financially, emotionally, socially.
4:37
Speaker 3: A lot of things changes.
4:39
Speaker 4: So maybe it's not really a crisis, but it's more
4:43
of an invitation. An invitation to rediscover who we are
4:48
or yet to become the best version of ourselves.
4:52
Speaker 1: And.
4:52
Speaker 4: Speaking of rediscovering life at 50, today you're about to
4:57
meet one of the most interesting people I know. He's
5:02
a Las Vegas local who truly proves that life at
5:06
50 is anything but boring.
5:09
Speaker 3: He travels.
5:10
Speaker 4: He made an intentional decision to lose weight and take
5:13
his health seriously. He continues to pursue his passion for
5:18
performing on stage.
5:19
Speaker 3: And get this. He even appeared on a Netflix show.
5:22
You gotta watch out for this.
5:24
Speaker 4: This person embodies what it means to stay curious, active,
5:29
and authentic at this stage of life. Honestly, there is
5:33
no dull moment with him. So, I'm very excited for
5:37
you to meet him. Please welcome my guest for today,
5:39
Dominic Gan!
5:41
Speaker 1: I'm so excited for your build-up. Well, it's good to
5:45
see you, Andy.
5:46
Speaker 3: Very good to see you.
5:47
Speaker 1: You look great. Not as great as you.
5:50
Speaker 3: I'm excited. I'm so happy. So how have you been?
5:54
Speaker 1: How much time do you have? No, in a nutshell,
5:58
I'm doing great. No, nothing is perfect. But when you
6:02
asked me like 50 and what, 50 and found really
6:05
struck to me that it's like, that's me. Because I
6:08
think life is a journey. You think you know everything
6:11
when you're in your 30s or 40s or 50s. Life
6:14
is a constant education of yourself. Yes. And I bet
6:19
you when I turned 60, 70, or 80, I thought
6:21
I knew everything when I was in my 50s. I, 100%.
6:23
Speaker 4: Right?
6:23
Speaker 1: That's what I thought when I was 40.
6:26
Speaker 3: And then I turned 50, I was like, oh.
6:28
Speaker 1: But that's the exciting part though. It's like learning yourself more.
6:31
It's like peeling off the layers of the onions. It's so,
6:35
it's like a surprise.
6:36
Speaker 3: I love it. Onions nga ba? Manipising onions.
6:40
Speaker 1: Pero red para maganda na makulay. Tsaka hindi masyadong ano.
6:43
Speaker 4: Pungent and smell yeah so yeah that's great no exactly
6:46
100 percent um before we get moving well i was
6:53
born in pasay so my dad is i think tagalog
6:56
but my mom is uh iloko sanchez.
6:58
Speaker 3: Mira Ah, Ilocano.
7:07
Speaker 1: Yes. So I am, I think on dad class, 50% Ilocano,
7:10
ang mom, in Tagalog.
7:11
Speaker 4: Okay.
7:12
Speaker 1: And my mom is 100%. So I am technically 75% Ilocano. Okay.
7:16
May item, ilong, everything. I'm Ilocano. Pero I don't know
7:20
anything about Ilocano. Tagalog lang ako.
7:22
Speaker 3: No way. Papagreat pa naman kata ng Ilocano.
7:24
Speaker 1: O di, when manong? Ayan mo.
7:26
Speaker 4: Okay.
7:29
Speaker 3: Hello po sa Ilocos. Saan sa Ilocos?
7:33
Speaker 1: Sanchez Mira.
7:34
Speaker 3: Sanchez Mira, Ilocos.
7:35
Speaker 1: I've never been there.
7:36
Speaker 3: I don't think I've been there. Vegan, I have. But
7:39
pagod po is.
7:41
Speaker 1: Yeah. So the funny part, right? I have never been
7:44
outside Luzon.
7:46
Speaker 3: No way.
7:46
Speaker 1: Like from Baguio to Bico, that's it. So I've never
7:51
been to Boracay and I need to go back soon.
7:53
Speaker 3: Oh my God. Boracay is like hangout place ko yun. Right.
7:58
Speaker 4: In fact, that's when I celebrated my 50th birthday. When
8:02
did you, or if you don't want to answer that.
8:04
Speaker 1: Of course, I will answer everything.
8:05
Speaker 3: When did you celebrate your 50th and how?
8:08
Speaker 1: Okay, so I turned 50 in 2017. So I'm almost
8:14
turning 60. So this is pre-pandemic. So of course, I
8:18
spent a lot of time with my different friends. These
8:21
ones are local. But because it was my 50th birthday,
8:24
me and my One, two, three closest friends from San Francisco.
8:29
I've known them since the 90s. We actually went to Vancouver, Canada.
8:34
Speaker 3: What did you do?
8:35
Speaker 1: We did all the touristy stuff.
8:38
Speaker 3: Because I've never been to Canada until I went to Vancouver.
8:42
It was great.
8:43
Speaker 1: So, So we went out. We eat. We nightlife. A
8:52
little bit of drinking. But not drinking like when you're
8:54
20 years old. Like drinking at your appropriate age. Oh,
8:58
that's for aunties.
9:00
Speaker 3: Oh, okay.
9:00
Speaker 1: That's just a drink for aunties. And then, it's time
9:02
to drink. It's time.
9:05
Speaker 3: To drink.
9:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that was really nice though. So, I chose to,
9:12
on my 50th birthday, to invite my friends, which I
9:16
call my family. So I've known them for at least
9:20
30 years. I think one is Filipino, one is from Taiwan.
9:25
So I could tell them anything and everything and we.
9:27
Speaker 4: All love that yeah so it was nice ganya ang
9:31
ganda nyan kasi parang yun yung theme no yung when
9:34
you turn 50 you you be with your ride and
9:37
die yes ganun yung ginawa natin.
9:39
Speaker 1: Yeah because it's such a it's such a milestone yes
9:42
you want to be with people that you feel comfortable
9:45
with oh oh you're right on that.
9:47
Speaker 3: You're right on that kahit hindi ko sabihin alam nila
9:50
kung correct if I need.
9:51
Speaker 4: Something alam nila tingin nila lang alam nila okay okay ka.
9:54
Speaker 1: Lang yeah ganun so you know, obviously I'm gay. So
10:00
a lot of things that we say is you have
10:03
your family that you were born with and also your
10:06
family that you choose. Yes. So I'm, you know, I'm
10:09
very lucky that I have both. I have a very
10:11
supportive family. and also friends that I call my chosen family.
10:15
Speaker 3: Yes, that's beautiful.
10:16
Speaker 1: So that was really nice. That was amazing.
10:17
Speaker 3: Good, good for you. I also do that. I have
10:20
my family, because, you know, you're born to them.
10:23
Speaker 4: Yeah.
10:23
Speaker 3: And my chosen family.
10:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm just very.
10:27
Speaker 3: I have more chosen families. Oh, really?
10:30
Speaker 4: I'm choosy.
10:30
Speaker 1: I'm so choosy. Choosy.
10:35
Speaker 3: So, okay. So, great. So, Dominic, this episode, which we coined,
10:40
the two of us.
10:41
Speaker 1: Yes.
10:42
Speaker 3: 50 and Found. Kasi po pinapili ko siya ng title
10:45
for this episode. Let me start with this.
10:49
Speaker 4: Did you ever have a moment in your life when
10:51
you felt like you lost yourself and then had to
10:55
rediscover who you really are?
10:58
Speaker 1: Yes. Tell us.
10:59
Speaker 4: Yeah.
11:00
Speaker 1: So, life is a journey. Like, you always rediscover yourself.
11:04
Every other year or every decade. Because if you stop
11:08
rediscovering yourself, then you just become stagnant. Then you just
11:11
become boring. So in my 50s, I was 52 turning
11:20
53 during the pandemic. Okay. Oh, yeah. So a lot
11:24
of people stayed home. A lot of people started baking bread, whatever.
11:28
But then also, even though I have my family and
11:30
my friends.
11:32
Everybody, you are forced to be with yourself. Because you
11:37
can see your family, you can see your friends, and
11:39
I'm single. So you turn to reflect, I'm already 52
11:44
back then. So what can I do to improve myself?
11:48
So the first thing I said was, which is fun, like,
11:51
let me go back and how do I think of myself?
11:55
Is there any improvement? Then I realized, oh my God,
11:58
I've been so busy with, with job, with life, that
12:03
I forgot to look at myself and, Dominic, how are you?
12:06
Kumusta ka naman? Yeah, because you're busy with life. You're
12:10
busy with your friends. You're so busy with your family.
12:12
You're so busy that you have to reflect back and
12:15
look at yourself and ask yourself, are you happy? Are
12:19
you contented? What do you want to do? And to me,
12:22
that was the turning point. And I have... I am
12:25
forced to do that because hindi ako pwede makachikan sa
12:28
mga friends ko. Like, Zoom call is Zoom call. Pero,
12:30
you know, sometimes, you know, we lack in human interaction. So,
12:35
I interacted with myself.
12:37
Speaker 4: Right.
12:37
Speaker 1: And see how I'm doing.
12:39
Speaker 3: In fairness to the pandemic, which we all hated.
12:42
Speaker 1: Yeah.
12:43
Speaker 3: It did something to us, ano?
12:45
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
12:45
Speaker 1: I kind of missed it sometimes, too.
12:48
Speaker 3: Parang ano ba? Ano yun? Looking at glass half full half.
12:52
Speaker 4: Yes. Empty, like, okay, this is where you're at right now,
12:56
so what are you going to do about it?
12:57
Speaker 1: Yeah.
12:57
Speaker 3: And you chose to, you know, take the better part
13:02
of it.
13:02
Speaker 4: Correct.
13:03
Speaker 1: Yeah.
13:03
Speaker 4: And impact your life instead of, you know, which we can't,
13:08
you know, we can't blame others. I was partly more
13:12
of the half empty part of it because people, losing
13:16
people and whatnot. But yeah, I mean, that's part of
13:19
what it did to us is, Make us choose that. Okay,
13:22
there's a better part of it.
13:23
Speaker 3: Take it.
13:24
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, this is a great part of me.
13:26
I'm going to keep it. But how do I improve myself?
13:28
Speaker 4: Right.
13:28
Speaker 1: Or how do I get back what I lost?
13:31
Speaker 3: Yes.
13:32
Speaker 1: Good.
13:32
Speaker 4: Good for you.
13:32
Speaker 1: Finding yourself and losing part of you.
13:35
Speaker 3: Yeah. I love that reflection.
13:37
Speaker 1: Yes.
13:37
Speaker 4: So many people think that life slows down after 50.
13:41
Speaker 3: But when I look at you.
13:44
Speaker 4: It seems like you've become even more active and adventurous.
13:49
Speaker 3: What changed in your mindset?
13:51
Speaker 1: Okay, well, first of all, I want to ask myself,
13:54
what can I do better? So I've always been very
13:58
active physically as well. I hike. I sometimes run. I
14:01
also go to the gym. But I've always been a
14:03
very big guy. I mean, I'm not skinny, but I
14:05
was a lot bigger. So then I decided, and I
14:08
work for healthcare insurance, right? So I know the ins
14:11
and outs, right? So I said, you know what, though?
14:14
I'm going to get and I have no shame. I'm
14:17
an open book. I'm this is before I was epic. Yeah,
14:20
I decided to do a, you know, bariatric surgery, right?
14:23
So I had to do a bariatric surgery. So I
14:25
was like, you know what, though, if I keep doing
14:28
what I'm doing. I am slowing down because of my
14:30
age and my weight. And I cannot hike. So one time,
14:34
I went hiking with my friends, right? I was like,
14:36
oh my God, I almost died.
14:37
Speaker 3: Hingal ka.
14:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, parang, hingal.
14:40
Speaker 3: Ang ganito na lang po.
14:41
Speaker 1: Ang ganito na lang po. Para po. Go.
14:45
Speaker 3: Diretso na kayo.
14:45
Speaker 1: Para po, iya, iya.
14:46
Speaker 3: Hintayin ko kayo pabalik.
14:47
Speaker 1: Koloro mo ako, ma'am. So I decided, there was a
14:52
video that we were doing. So we can talk about
14:55
that later. We did a video, a music video, in
14:58
the part of my group, which is the Las Vegas
14:59
Men's Chorus. So there's about three of us, four of us.
15:02
And I'm like, no, they look like normal-sized people. And
15:07
then there's me. I don't like that. I don't like that.
15:13
So I said, no, I need to do something. So
15:15
I just picked up the phone and did all the
15:17
things that I did.
15:18
Speaker 3: And then.
15:20
Speaker 1: I got surgery like January of 2021. Okay. Yeah. So
15:24
that has been five years. And, you know, and I've learned, though,
15:28
that like having bariatric surgery, that's just step one. It
15:31
doesn't mean that when you're done. That's it. No, you
15:34
have to. I'm just very fortunate, though, that my lifestyle
15:37
always has been very active. So I kind of kept
15:39
the weight off. Like I gained some muscles back.
15:43
Speaker 4: Yes.
15:43
Speaker 1: And I'm still doing it, though. But I've always maintained
15:46
my weight. So I lost about 100 pounds. Wow.
15:49
Speaker 4: This next topic, you know, I really, really find this
15:53
very impressive and inspiring.
15:56
Speaker 3: You're getting into that.
15:58
Speaker 4: Because you made this decision to lose weight very intentional, right?
16:02
Speaker 1: Correct.
16:03
Speaker 3: You saw yourself. You're like, oh, I don't like myself.
16:08
Speaker 1: And instead of being a victim, like, what can I
16:10
do to make myself feel better?
16:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
16:13
Speaker 4: So at this point, how has this affected, you know,
16:15
this change? How has this impacted you so far?
16:20
Speaker 1: So basically what it is, is when I went there,
16:23
I said, okay, I'm going to change myself physically. But
16:28
it's not just that, though, because when you're changing, and
16:32
I went to a therapist, because basically what they were
16:34
saying is, if you want to transform your body, you
16:39
also have to make sure you transform your mindset.
16:41
Speaker 3: Totoo.
16:42
Speaker 1: Diba? Yung parang ganun, yung parang, ever since I was small,
16:45
yung malamal, dalaginting pa nga kanun. When I look, when
16:49
I see myself in the mirror, I'm a fat kid.
16:53
Which is fine though. I'm a fat kid. So, no,
16:55
I'm losing weight. People are noticing my improvement, but not
16:59
me though. Because it's your perception of yourself. I'm feeling
17:03
Karen Carpenter. Yes, it's parang, it's just that I'm, I
17:08
have to go through therapy as well. Zoom call therapy
17:11
and all that stuff. And one thing that I realized
17:15
is because I'm surrounded by great family members and friends,
17:20
I just realized through my therapy that there's a lot
17:23
of great compliments, good things that they were telling me,
17:26
but I'm just rejecting it. Because I build a wall.
17:30
You know, I'm fat, but I'm funny. I'm funny, but
17:34
I'm building a wall so people could not get in
17:38
but this is my outward thing so then i realized
17:45
is how much love i have been getting from people
17:49
and me just.
17:50
Speaker 4: Ignoring it you're not taking it exactly oh yeah i'm
17:54
sure he's she's just saying that then i realized oh
17:57
and and one of the things that.
17:58
Speaker 1: I realized too from my friends is, you know what happened?
18:06
You know what happened? You cried. You know, you're beautiful
18:09
because you used to be ugly. I never got that.
18:11
They said like, you look amazing because you look happy.
18:15
Speaker 3: Right. Yeah.
18:16
Speaker 1: They said like, are you happy with yourself? Yeah. Okay.
18:18
And they said like, you know, they always say like,
18:21
you know, you've always been great.
18:22
Speaker 3: I mean, I mean, you have, I've loved you even
18:25
with your, you.
18:26
Speaker 1: Know, you've always been like, yeah. Yes.
18:29
Speaker 3: But back then, energy, you know?
18:30
Speaker 1: Yes. But back then, that is more like a, projection, like,
18:34
this is what I'm going to do.
18:35
Speaker 4: Ah, because, parang pang-compensate on how you really feel, yeah.
18:39
Speaker 1: This might sound, yeah, it might sound bad, diba? Parang,
18:43
there's nothing worse than a fat man, than a pathetic
18:47
fat man.
18:48
Speaker 3: Aww.
18:48
Speaker 1: So at least I want to be fat and happy.
18:50
Speaker 3: That's how you felt?
18:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course. Aww. Yeah, but so, oh my God,
18:53
so yung transformation from my body as well, is just
18:58
as transformative yung sa mind ko. So then when my
19:02
therapist said, like, okay, do you love yourself? I said, yeah.
19:05
Do you really love yourself? So then I had to
19:08
take it back and find myself.
19:10
Speaker 3: Go deeper, yeah. Ito na yung find yourself.
19:13
Speaker 1: I didn't find myself.
19:14
Speaker 3: You go deeper.
19:16
Speaker 4: Wow.
19:17
Speaker 3: I just want to insert, we're not professionals.
19:19
Speaker 4: But we are sharing experience, you know, from our personal experiences. And,
19:24
you know, no judgment to anybody, but. This is really
19:27
the true story and we are sharing it.
19:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is just my experience as well. And like
19:32
I said, though, when you want to go through surgery
19:35
or whatever, all I could say is like, if you
19:39
decide to do that, that's your own journey. Do not
19:41
compare yourself with other people. And at the same time,
19:45
the surgery itself is not the solution. It will kickstart change.
19:50
Then the hardest part is not losing weight.
19:52
Speaker 3: Keeping it.
19:53
Speaker 1: It's maintaining it.
19:54
Speaker 3: Maintaining it. It's a lifestyle change. It's not just, okay,
19:58
cut some things off and I'm good.
20:00
Speaker 1: No.
20:01
Speaker 3: You have to support it with a lifestyle change.
20:05
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly. Is this a heavy topic?
20:07
Speaker 3: But you know what?
20:07
Speaker 4: Because like with you, Okay, here's the thing. When you
20:12
maintain your working out, when every single morning you wake
20:15
up and you should tell yourself, when you see yourself
20:17
in the mirror, it's like, good morning.
20:19
Speaker 3: Lovely person.
20:20
Speaker 1: Yes.
20:20
Speaker 4: You know?
20:21
Speaker 2: Yes.
20:21
Speaker 3: It will change everything. It will, you know, it will
20:26
exude and people around you will feel it and they'll
20:29
be like that too.
20:29
Speaker 1: Yes, that's one of the things that I got. It's like,
20:33
you look happy and you, it's because I've always been
20:39
It's like a dam.
20:40
Speaker 3: Yes.
20:41
Speaker 1: I'm just going to give you this. Now it's kind
20:42
of like more.
20:43
Speaker 4: Poor.
20:43
Speaker 1: Yeah. Very flowy like my hair.
20:46
Speaker 3: Oh, like mine. Ang galing.
20:49
Speaker 1: Ang galing.
20:49
Speaker 3: I love that story. So you went through surgery.
20:53
Speaker 1: Yes.
20:54
Speaker 3: Nag-ano ka pa? Nag-other medication or weight loss?
20:59
Speaker 1: No.
20:59
Speaker 3: Or diretso ka na nag-gym ka eh.
21:01
Speaker 1: Yes, correct.
21:01
Speaker 3: Heavy ka sa gym.
21:02
Speaker 1: Yes. Nag-gym ako tapos I also took I went back
21:05
to dancing again and again. So I can group. That
21:08
was it. I hike. Yeah. And I hired a trainer
21:12
for about two years and I just stopped. So it's good.
21:15
So I do cardio and weights.
21:16
Speaker 3: And weights.
21:17
Speaker 1: Yeah.
21:17
Speaker 3: Actually, us folks in our age, we need protein. We
21:21
need muscles.
21:26
Speaker 1: And I don't eat a lot of rice anymore. Wala
21:29
na extra rice. Wala na undi rice.
21:31
Speaker 3: Pero normal ka na kumain ngayon.
21:33
Speaker 4: Dati kasi konti-konti lang.
21:34
Speaker 1: So ang nangyari sa akin, konti-konti pa rin, but because
21:38
I don't want to lose anymore or I'm not here
21:40
to lose a lot of weight, is I eat smaller portions.
21:43
Pero I will eat four times a day. Which I
21:46
heard is better though because it's better for your metabolism daw.
21:49
Speaker 3: I don't know. It's different because I have a group
21:51
that describes it differently.
21:53
Speaker 1: This is my own experience. Basically, yeah.
21:56
Speaker 3: It's your experience.
21:56
Speaker 1: It's not a medical advice.
21:58
Speaker 3: That's what works for you.
21:59
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly. And it works for different people, yes. Right.
22:02
Speaker 3: Different body compositions. Correct.
22:05
Speaker 4: Well, speaking of going back to dancing, and this part,
22:09
I'm really, really jealous.
22:10
Speaker 3: I'm so jealous because you are still on stage. And
22:14
I love being on stage. I love being backstage, actually.
22:18
Speaker 1: More backstage.
22:18
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
22:19
Speaker 4: And I love that you are, your passion for singing,
22:23
for performing on stage, you are, you're still there.
22:27
Speaker 1: Yes.
22:27
Speaker 4: You're enjoying yourself every time you post your show or
22:32
your rehearsal. So tell us about your singing career, acting career.
22:38
Speaker 1: Well, so so basically this i uh right now i
22:44
am with the las vegas men's.
22:45
Speaker 4: Chorus okay i think we have some uh videos yes
22:47
yeah so there's.
22:49
Speaker 1: About 90 to 100 of us so we sing oh
22:51
okay yeah it it's it's predominantly uh lgbtqia and the
22:56
allies so about 90 of us are gay okay we
22:59
also have some trans women that could say so we're
23:02
we're open to anybody and everybody so.
23:04
Speaker 3: It feels highly inclusive yeah oh.
23:05
Speaker 1: It's highly inclusive yes it's highly inclusive so I've been
23:09
with the chorus since 2001, but I've been to the
23:11
choruses before San Francisco and LA before that. So we,
23:15
we prefer, we perform Ham Hall to UNLV.
23:18
Speaker 3: Oh yes.
23:19
Speaker 4: Wow.
23:19
Speaker 3: That's huge.
23:20
Speaker 1: It's huge. Yeah. So we do have another show coming
23:23
in two or three weeks. So yeah. So yeah. So
23:26
it just, Yeah, I guess I love the stage. I
23:29
love the spotlight. I love the audience. I love the
23:31
reaction of the audience.
23:32
Speaker 3: Artista eh.
23:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, artista, diba?
23:36
Speaker 3: Ayan oh. Anong yan? Nagsasayo pa dyan eh.
23:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
23:42
Speaker 3: Anong show yan?
23:42
Speaker 1: So that is the show that we did for about
23:44
two years ago. I think we're doing some sort of a...
23:48
Oh my God, that is so funny. Yeah, so in
23:51
the Las Vegas Men's Chorus, you also have to audition
23:56
to like, oh, we're going to do a dance line, right?
23:58
So you have to audition for that dance line. And
24:01
it's not just like a dance line thing because our
24:02
choreographer is a professional choreographer who has won awards in
24:07
her ballroom dancing.
24:08
Speaker 3: Okay.
24:08
Speaker 1: He actually owns like two Arthur Murray's here in Las Vegas.
24:12
Speaker 3: Who are they?
24:13
Speaker 1: His name is Justin McClendon.
24:15
Speaker 3: Okay.
24:15
Speaker 1: Justin McClendon is the husband of our musical director, right? Okay. Yeah.
24:22
So the thing about that is like everybody, oh, here's
24:24
another one though. I am the oldest of that dance line.
24:27
Speaker 3: Oh, that one that we saw?
24:28
Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh, wow. They're like in their 30s. Some of
24:32
them like 28, 29. You're a dancer. Oh, right. Your aunt.
24:36
Speaker 3: You're a dancer.
24:39
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, even my dance instructor said that, oh my God, Dominic,
24:42
because he's seen me before also when I was bigger.
24:44
He was like, you're doing stuff that somebody your age
24:48
should never be doing. Like, you know, So it's not
24:51
just like step touch, step touch. So it's kind of
24:54
nice though. Yeah. So, so that's one of the things
24:57
of like, you know, now that I can do it,
24:59
like me audition and I'm keeping up. So what happened
25:01
to us, like before a dance show, like I would, Maybe,
25:17
I don't know. I would run for about... A condition. Oh,
25:19
for about five miles.
25:22
Speaker 3: Wow I do like twice talagang ano talagang you really
25:26
wanna do it.
25:27
Speaker 1: Yes exactly I gotta get that part ah ganun ha
25:30
so we shall see yeah pero you know I wanna
25:32
make sure also that I need to take care of
25:34
myself of course that I have to have like rest
25:36
time as well.
25:37
Speaker 4: Oo di tsaka tama yung mag-condition kasi may kailangan mong
25:39
stamina eh when you rehearse tuloy tuloy kasi siya eh
25:42
oh my god yes alam mo.
25:44
Speaker 1: Yan alam mo yan okay let's do it again again
25:46
again yes so So that was kind of nice. So
25:48
I did that. So I've always been on stage, locally lang,
25:51
but I like it.
25:52
Speaker 3: It's like this show, which was this.
25:56
Speaker 1: Oh, so that one was, we have gala, we call
25:58
that the, the Chorus Olympics that happens every four years.
26:02
Speaker 3: Chorus Olympics? Yeah, so the last one we did, the
26:05
last one we did.
26:06
Speaker 1: Was, Oh yeah, so that was done in Minneapolis.
26:12
Speaker 4: Oh.
26:12
Speaker 1: So basically, yeah, so it's a, it's a, it's a
26:14
like a one week event. I call it like one
26:16
week of glee, you know, you know, when people are
26:19
there from all around the world. It includes L.A. choruses,
26:22
people from Taiwan, from Mexico. We all go there for
26:26
one week.
26:26
Speaker 3: Very big event.
26:27
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's not a competition, but it is.
26:30
Speaker 3: Para tong yung napapanood mo talaga sagli. Yeah.
26:32
Speaker 4: Iba-iba from different countries.
26:34
Speaker 1: Correct.
26:34
Speaker 3: They go on stage. Yeah. Their choirs and they sing.
26:37
Speaker 1: Exactly. So that happens.
26:38
Speaker 3: Real life.
26:39
Speaker 4: Wow.
26:39
Speaker 1: We didn't do it in 2020 because 2020 happened. Yeah.
26:43
So we did it in 16 and also in 2024.
26:44
Speaker 4: Okay.
26:44
Speaker 1: So we're preparing it for 2020. Yeah. It's a big...
26:50
It's a huge stage. Like, Siguro Opera House, probably about 5,000
26:55
to 10,000 audiences.
26:57
Speaker 3: Parang ano ba ang Ham Hall?
27:00
Speaker 1: Ham Hall, I think it's less than 1,000. Don't quote
27:02
me on that.
27:03
Speaker 3: Less than two.
27:04
Speaker 1: Yeah. So it's almost like at least twice.
27:07
Speaker 3: Oh, two and a half.
27:09
Speaker 4: Wow.
27:09
Speaker 3: That's a coral event.
27:12
Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's almost like a religious experience. Because you
27:14
are with 2,000 people that have the same.
27:19
Speaker 4: Interest and passion you all resonate with each other that's beautiful.
27:23
Speaker 1: Yeah i mean i think i was like 55 56
27:25
there but i took like i took like one show
27:37
off but i'm going i'm going to go back like
27:39
december show.
27:40
Speaker 4: Okay so here locally in las vegas how how often
27:44
do you have shows How busy are you with Las Vegas?
27:47
Speaker 1: Three times a year. Two shows every show.
27:50
Speaker 3: Okay. So, it's like seasonal. Christmas.
27:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
27:56
Speaker 3: Good for you. Yeah.
27:59
Speaker 4: I miss the shows that we did. And I would
28:03
love to. I hope we can do a show again.
28:05
Speaker 1: Well. We should do it.
28:07
Speaker 3: Maybe. Ito na yan.
28:09
Speaker 1: Watch out. Exactly. Ito na ano. Bikini na ano.
28:12
Speaker 3: Yeah.
28:12
Speaker 4: By the way, because we sang, we performed in shows
28:16
together before sa Kalahi, Philippine Folklore.
28:19
Speaker 1: And Anvi is such a brain. I was like, oh
28:24
my God. Anong totohan? Anong mababang professional?
28:26
Speaker 3: Mababang professional.
28:28
Speaker 1: Aking mukha kala nakalantad. Pero ito, if you need the brain,
28:32
it's Anvi.
28:34
Speaker 3: Well, thank you for that. I'll take it.
28:35
Speaker 1: Okay, take it.
28:36
Speaker 4: Take the compliment. But yeah, so I used to direct shows.
28:42
Speaker 3: For that group, for Kalahi. And yeah, it was a
28:46
nice experience.
28:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, like when you messaged me like, hey, I want
28:49
to be on your show. You want to be on
28:50
my show? I was like, yes. Did you say, go?
28:54
Because I know this is going to be professional and amazing. Yeah,
28:57
of course.
28:58
Speaker 3: Thank you. I'm so glad you're here.
29:00
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah.
29:00
Speaker 3: So, okay. So, your favorite companion. Tell us about your dog.
29:04
What's her name?
29:05
Speaker 1: Okay, my dog is a Basset Hound.
29:07
Speaker 3: Basset Hound. Okay.
29:08
Speaker 1: I think we have a.
29:09
Speaker 3: Photo of her there.
29:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so. Her name is Iza.
29:14
Speaker 2: Ah, Iza.
29:14
Speaker 3: It's her.
29:15
Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's short for Longaniza. Yeah. She just turned
29:19
seven last week.
29:20
Speaker 3: Okay.
29:20
Speaker 1: But I didn't get her.
29:22
Speaker 4: As a puppy.
29:22
Speaker 1: I actually went to, there was a How old is she?
29:33
She just turned seven last week.
29:36
Speaker 3: Okay.
29:36
Speaker 1: But I didn't get her as a puppy. I actually
29:38
went to, there was a Basset Hound Rescue. So I
29:41
got her to go when she was three or four.
29:44
But she was in a puppy mill and they used
29:46
to breed her illegally. So that puppy mill was shut down.
29:55
And there were a lot of Basset Hounds, so I
29:56
got one. I had to jog to Salt Lake City
29:58
to get her. And the thing about that is, because
30:00
they gave me a catalog, right? I was set on
30:03
getting one of this Basset Hound. And I said, okay,
30:07
where's the dogs? Oh, we're just going to release all
30:11
the Basset Hounds. So, oh, that's the dog that I
30:13
wanted to get, right? I don't mean to be rude,
30:15
but it was easy. She was just like, you know
30:19
what I mean?
30:19
Speaker 4: Oh.
30:20
Speaker 1: And she just played her head on my knee. Drawn
30:22
to you. Yes. And then they said, oh, she chose you.
30:26
Speaker 3: Oh, yes.
30:26
Speaker 1: Then I'm going to get her.
30:27
Speaker 4: Yes.
30:28
Speaker 3: So what do you do together?
30:31
Speaker 1: Well, since.
30:33
Speaker 3: You match your energy.
30:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. And plus, sometimes I wake up
30:38
because she's in the bathroom. They're not active like Jenna
30:40
Shepard yet. Like you? Like me. You wake me up
30:43
in the bathroom. You know what I mean? You see?
30:46
You see? Basta may salapi or may kimik. Other than that,
30:50
why are you here? Yeah. So it's not like we
30:53
go to the dog park or sometimes when I go hiking,
30:55
I go hiking with her.
30:56
Speaker 3: Nasasama mo sa hiking.
30:57
Speaker 1: Well, basta sa.
30:59
Speaker 3: Oh, hanggang dun lang din siya?
31:00
Speaker 1: Oh, papara siya dyan.
31:03
Speaker 3: Okay, balikan mo na lang ako.
31:05
Speaker 1: She has short legs. So there are things that she
31:08
cannot do. So if it's just a stroll with my friends,
31:10
sasama mo siya. Pero minsan kasi seryoso ang kami.
31:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, I see your hikes.
31:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, so then I don't take her. Yes, I love her.
31:18
Speaker 3: Sa bahay na lang ako, dun ko mag-hike.
31:20
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly. Bigyan mo rin pagkain pagbalik mo. She also
31:25
helped me with my transition also of being at home.
31:28
Speaker 3: Because you always work from home, right?
31:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, I worked from home before the pandemic. Since 2005,
31:36
I've worked from home. So back then before pandemic, people
31:38
were like, what are you doing? I'm working from home.
31:41
Are you stuffing envelopes? No, I work from home since 2005.
31:45
Speaker 3: Huh. That's really nice.
31:47
Speaker 1: Yes.
31:48
Speaker 4: Because it's nice to be seven years old. That's the
31:50
peak of their age, right?
31:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
31:53
Speaker 3: I used to have dogs.
31:55
Speaker 1: I like her a lot, yeah.
31:56
Speaker 3: Okay, great. So you've been to so many adventures. I
32:00
know that for sure.
32:01
Speaker 4: I follow your posts and your travels. So which of
32:06
the countries... uh, that you've visited.
32:08
Speaker 3: Uh, is your favorite or top three. I know you
32:12
sent us some, uh, photos.
32:14
Speaker 1: So the last one was Scotland and England.
32:17
Speaker 3: I think it's a UK.
32:18
Speaker 1: Yes.
32:18
Speaker 3: Okay. Yes.
32:20
Speaker 1: I love it though. Um, don't expect sunlight or something
32:23
cause they're very gloomy and foggy. Yes.
32:26
Speaker 3: I frequent the UK.
32:27
Speaker 1: Yes. Uh, I've always wanted to go to Scotland and, and,
32:30
and UK, Scotland and England because it's just, it's Scotland
32:34
and England. Right. So I just love going there. Uh,
32:38
People say, go to France. It's like, you know, I'm single. I,
32:40
you know, that's for a romantic couple. So, it was
32:44
very nice. We went to see Buckingham Palace. Then we
32:47
took a train. We went up north to Scotland. And
32:51
then we hired like a, then we got a manor.
32:53
I'm not sure if I have pictures of that. I
32:57
don't think so.
32:59
Speaker 3: And then you have a photo.
33:01
Speaker 1: What? Yeah, that's Catlin.
33:08
Speaker 3: Yeah.
33:08
Speaker 1: Yes, there you go. And that was, like, the best,
33:10
because that time, that one, though, is I went with
33:13
my friends, with my Las Vegas friends this time, so
33:16
I love that. The other one that I like, though, is...
33:19
When I went to Beijing before my surgery.
33:22
Speaker 3: I saw that. Let's show this.
33:26
Speaker 1: Did you see the pictures?
33:27
Speaker 3: I know. Such a huge.
33:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a great wall of China.
33:31
Speaker 3: This is pre.
33:32
Speaker 1: Pre-surgery in 2017.
33:33
Speaker 3: Pre-weight loss.
33:34
Speaker 4: Yeah.
33:34
Speaker 1: So I think one of my favorite part about that
33:36
is like I went to Inner Mongolia, which is still
33:39
part of China. Not Mongolia. Inner Mongolia. And there's a
33:43
picture of me. I was in a camel. It's a
33:45
Gobi Desert.
33:46
Speaker 3: Oh, he's there. Go be there. So I said, is
33:48
this China? Why is there a camel?
33:50
Speaker 1: There.
33:51
Speaker 3: There he is.
33:53
Speaker 1: I mean, I have a hot head camel. Because I
33:56
have a big camel. I mean, where does my body end?
34:01
Speaker 4: And where does the camel end? How did you mount
34:04
and dismount?
34:05
Speaker 3: He didn't end it.
34:06
Speaker 1: No, he's dead. No, no, no. Are you sure? Yeah,
34:10
it was such an amazing time though. So that's one
34:13
of the things also, because I love to travel. So
34:16
I was like, you know, it is so hard to
34:18
travel being that size. So then when I traveled to UK,
34:22
when I traveled to UK.
34:23
Speaker 3: Yung kalahati ka na lang.
34:26
Speaker 1: Middle seat, okay lang. Okay, oo.
34:28
Speaker 3: Wala na tayong problema ma-excess na ganyan.
34:30
Speaker 1: And I think there is, so when I travel, there
34:33
are two types of travels. I've traveled with my friend.
34:36
When I went to Vancouver, tsaka UK, But I also
34:38
travel by myself.
34:40
Speaker 3: I love traveling alone.
34:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
34:41
Speaker 3: Oh, my goodness.
34:42
Speaker 1: So, I went to Beijing, which is yours. And I
34:44
also went to Germany and Austria by myself. So, I
34:48
just bought a ticket. And I have my travel agent, like,
34:51
do the hotel. And after that, I'll figure out what
34:53
I needed to do by myself. So, I went to, yeah. So,
34:56
that's the Berlin Wall.
34:58
Speaker 3: Uh-huh, yes.
35:00
Speaker 1: Part of the Berlin Wall was there. Yeah.
35:02
Speaker 3: I visited that.
35:03
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, sometimes, though, like, when I just want to
35:05
be with myself.
35:06
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
35:07
Speaker 1: I travel by myself.
35:09
Speaker 3: Ang ganda mag-travel by myself.
35:11
Speaker 2: Yes.
35:11
Speaker 1: Ang ganda yun.
35:12
Speaker 3: Kasi ako, ayan, oh, ayan mga trips mo.
35:16
Speaker 2: Yes.
35:16
Speaker 3: Sa Austria.
35:18
Speaker 4: Mayroon kayong sa Salzburg, nakakatawa yun.
35:23
Speaker 1: Oh. Exactly.
35:23
Speaker 3: Ayan, saan tong?
35:25
Speaker 1: Ayan, Bavaria yan. Bavaria, sa Germany. Yeah, yeah.
35:28
Speaker 3: Parang pa-Bavarian cream.
35:30
Speaker 4: Correct.
35:31
Speaker 3: Sa Dunkin' Donuts.
35:32
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, yes.
35:32
Speaker 3: Pwede ba yung sabihin? Brand.
35:36
Speaker 1: So, ayan, that is, yung, I don't know, yung one
35:40
of them is I went to Germany. It's one of
35:43
their concentration camp.
35:44
Speaker 3: Ah, ito.
35:45
Speaker 1: Yes, that's concentration camp. It's a very, very, it's a
35:49
sad history that Jesus have to.
35:51
Speaker 3: Solem, no?
35:52
Speaker 1: Yeah. That is very solemn. Like, you could see, like,
35:55
where the, you know, where people are being.
35:58
Speaker 4: Ako kasi when I travel to anywhere, especially pagka yung
36:02
may history na ganyan.
36:03
Speaker 1: Oh, God, yeah.
36:04
Speaker 4: Or even just yung simple old buildings.
36:07
Speaker 3: I stand there and imagine, how do these people live?
36:10
Speaker 1: Exactly.
36:10
Speaker 4: But pagka yung consecration camp, I would stand there, I
36:14
feel the energy na.
36:16
Speaker 3: Ayoko na lang isipin kasi nangyari siya talaga.
36:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
36:20
Speaker 3: But it will come to your mind.
36:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've seen the quarters of where they were kept.
36:26
So traveling... It makes... It humbles yourself.
36:29
Speaker 3: It does. And it... Aside from that, it widens your perspective.
36:33
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Because, like, you know, you're in your own bubble.
36:35
This is what I think that then... Sometimes you become
36:38
grateful of what you have compared to that. Or sometimes
36:43
it just... Oh, my God, I don't have this. But
36:45
I'm so grateful that... That I'm here to experience it temporarily. Right.
36:49
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, yes.
36:50
Speaker 1: But it humbles you.
36:50
Speaker 3: Even for a moment, yes.
36:52
Speaker 4: And the fact that, like, for me, because I'm, like,
36:54
the worst in navigation, so I always get lost.
36:56
Speaker 3: I will miss my turn. I will miss my... My.
36:59
Speaker 4: Where do you jump off from the train during stop?
37:03
Speaker 2: Oh, actually.
37:04
Speaker 3: But to me... It's a character builder.
37:08
Speaker 1: I can do this.
37:10
Speaker 3: I got lost, but I can do this. I'll find
37:11
my way.
37:12
Speaker 1: I took the subway train in Beijing to go to
37:14
Great Wall of China. And they're all in Chinese characters.
37:18
So I have to take pictures. I don't know.
37:20
Speaker 3: Google translate.
37:22
Speaker 1: I Google translate everything.
37:24
Speaker 3: You'll survive.
37:27
Speaker 1: When they say like finding yourself, it could be something
37:30
very important or something very subtle. So like, oh, okay. Okay,
37:35
so life is a continuous journey of finding yourself and
37:40
losing yourself. Oh, I love it.
37:41
Speaker 3: I love that. That's so powerful. Because you really stand
37:44
in that one spot and you say, I'm here. I
37:46
found myself. I'm not lost.
37:48
Speaker 1: Exactly.
37:49
Speaker 3: That's great. So right now, are you running any business, job?
37:52
What are you doing?
37:53
Speaker 1: So right now, I'm between jobs. That's another fancy way
37:56
of saying I've been riffed. Lay off now is the
37:59
new word now is riffed. Reduction in force.
38:02
Speaker 3: Okay.
38:02
Speaker 1: But, you know, I've been in my company for more
38:04
than 10 years. Okay. So this is, I have all
38:07
this free time. This is another chapter of me finding
38:10
myself again. Ah. So I make the best of it.
38:14
Speaker 3: Discovery and reinvention.
38:17
Speaker 1: When I know what it is, I will let you know. Yes.
38:19
But instead of like, instead of oh, what I'm going
38:22
to do.
38:23
Speaker 3: Oh, there's so much.
38:25
Speaker 1: There's so much to do.
38:25
Speaker 3: I don't know if you have that time freedom.
38:27
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly.
38:27
Speaker 3: Like what I'm doing now. I'm in school. I'm doing this.
38:30
I'm going to travel. You know, we just moved.
38:33
Speaker 1: Oh, did you?
38:34
Speaker 3: Oh, that's good. Yeah. You know, like the redecorating and
38:37
all that.
38:38
Speaker 1: So, wow.
38:39
Speaker 3: I'm excited for you.
38:39
Speaker 1: I am excited too.
38:41
Speaker 3: I would love to be a part of some of that.
38:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, right? Same here.
38:44
Speaker 3: But yeah, no, I'm excited for you.
38:46
Speaker 1: That's really good. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, so.
38:47
Speaker 4: So this part, I'm so excited because I totally love,
38:50
love this part.
38:51
Speaker 3: I really want to talk about it.
38:53
Speaker 1: What are you talking about? Tell me.
38:56
Speaker 3: Okay. So you appeared on Squid Game The Challenge.
39:01
Speaker 1: Yes. On Netflix.
39:02
Speaker 3: Oh my goodness. Tell us. We have some photos to show,
39:05
but go ahead, share. How did this happen? How did
39:08
this start? What are the highlights for you? Tell us.
39:11
Speaker 1: Oh my God, that's me. Okay, so basically what it is,
39:14
just in case people don't know, Squid Game is a very,
39:17
very popular show on Netflix.
39:19
Speaker 3: Squid Game The Challenge.
39:20
Speaker 1: Well, it started off from Squid Game.
39:22
Speaker 3: Oh, Squid Game.
39:23
Speaker 1: It's a Korean show. Yes, yes. The three seasons. Because
39:26
of that, they did a spin-off of reality... a reality show.
39:31
Speaker 4: Oh, so Squid Game, the actual drama movie or show.
39:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a scripted series in Korea. So it became
39:41
very popular, so they decided to do a reality show.
39:44
So U.S.? No, so London.
39:49
Speaker 3: Ah, in London. In London. In London. In London.
39:53
Speaker 1: Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. I did not even know
39:56
that there was a season one. So just like the
39:59
Squid Game, on-premises Squid Games, they will get 456 people,
40:03
and every person is about $ 10, 000. So every time somebody's out, $ 10, 000.
40:10
That's your worst.
40:11
Speaker 3: Parang sa movie talaga.
40:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, goes to the pot. So the amount is $ 4.
40:15
Speaker 4: 56 million.
40:16
Speaker 1: Yes. So I missed the first season, right? But towards
40:20
the end of the first season of the reality show,
40:21
it said, if you want to participate, go to this website.
40:26
So I just did that, right?
40:27
Speaker 3: Gora ka talaga.
40:28
Speaker 1: Gora, gora. So I did that like July of 2023.
40:30
I just did that. And they said, put a 30-second video.
40:33
Just 30 seconds. They said, 30 seconds, not 31. 30
40:38
seconds maximum. So I did that. Hi, my name is Dominic.
40:41
I live in Las Vegas, Philippines. Oh, it's like, this
40:46
is me. So I'm 56 years old. I am, I
40:51
am Filipino American, but I'm an immigrant. I was born
40:52
and raised in the Philippines. I am gay. I don't
40:54
see any representation of me. that sounds and looks like me.
40:58
So that was back in December of 2020. Then I
41:00
totally forgot about it, though, right? Like, oh, it's gone.
41:03
Then I went to London with my friends.
41:05
Speaker 3: To London.
41:06
Speaker 1: That was like maybe summer of the following year, 2024.
41:10
I got a call. Hi, this is the casting director.
41:12
I was like, who is this? I totally forgot about it, though, right?
41:16
So to make it a long story short, though, is
41:19
I went through a lot of interviews, Zoom call, and
41:22
I also went through background check, medical check, everything yeah
41:26
and here's the funny part though because I was born
41:28
and raised in the Philippines right they wanted a background
41:30
check of me in the Philippines it's like I never
41:33
worked in the Philippines when I was 16 or 17
41:35
I don't have social security or SS right but yeah
41:40
you still need it I did that right so I
41:42
went through a lot of medical check also psychological check
41:45
in London WhatsApp I'll get a message like hey this
41:47
is a sweet game here in London we need to
41:50
schedule something with you right Zoom call yeah I had
41:53
so many Zoom calls and then Out of about 150,000
41:59
people that applied worldwide, I was one of the 456. Wow.
42:05
So when I went there, we filmed it in London.
42:10
We had people from Oman, from Argentina.
42:12
Speaker 3: From Brazil. Yes, international.
42:14
Speaker 1: Exactly. So it was kind of like.
42:16
Speaker 3: So you were really in London?
42:18
Speaker 1: Yes.
42:18
Speaker 3: How long?
42:21
Speaker 1: About three weeks. Yeah, about three weeks.
42:23
Speaker 3: So they housed you?
42:24
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. As soon as we got there, sa hotel,
42:28
they took away our phones. So we have our watches, everything.
42:35
Yung Vicks Vaporub, kung ka hindi nila, bawal.
42:37
Speaker 3: Oh, hindi man nadala.
42:39
Speaker 1: No, we're going to sequester this Vicks.
42:42
Speaker 3: Okay.
42:43
Speaker 4: Wow.
42:44
Speaker 3: So yun na yun, yun sa big hall.
42:46
Speaker 1: Well, they have to put us in a hotel, Sararis and...
42:51
You know, talk about safety guidelines. Yeah.
42:54
Speaker 3: House rules.
42:55
Speaker 1: House rules, yeah. And they actually, they kind of tortured us, like, mentally. So, like,
43:02
I remember we were in a hotel. Oh, my God.
43:05
And then, you know, you will hear banging. Like, wake up,
43:07
wake up, wake up.
43:08
Speaker 3: Oh, shit. I'm sorry.
43:10
Speaker 1: It's like you're in a camp. It's like it's true.
43:13
It's like it's true. So, if you're interviewed, you'll just
43:16
go crazy.
43:17
Speaker 3: Oh, my God.
43:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, then we actually saw the action. It's... It's one
43:21
of the most traumatic, but the best experience I've ever
43:24
had in my life. And I will do it again.
43:26
Speaker 3: It looked like, I mean, I couldn't stand watching every single,
43:30
kasi nga, I get nervous.
43:31
Speaker 1: Yes.
43:32
Speaker 3: But it looked like so exciting and so interesting.
43:35
Speaker 1: Yes. When you actually see yung mga, yung mga, yung
43:39
mga actual game nila that you saw on TV, pero life-life, parang,
43:44
you have no idea. Real people. Yeah, manginginig ka talaga.
43:46
Speaker 3: Ano yung challenge na na-ano ka, na eliminate ka?
43:50
Speaker 1: Yung sa Pentathlon.
43:51
Speaker 3: Ano yung ginawa doon?
43:52
Speaker 1: Eto yung eto yung you're all you and four other
43:56
people are tied sa legs mo tapos you have to
43:58
go through a lot of stuff so there's jegi yung
44:01
jegi is yung sipa so that's what I chose okay
44:05
pero ba like ibang marbles iba iba so.
44:07
Speaker 3: Pero may nakatali sayo nakatali.
44:09
Speaker 1: Yeah and you're playing against another team and when imagine
44:12
mo like ang laki laki na parang three or four
44:15
times the size of a gymnasium ayun na makikita mo
44:17
parang it is so scary Wow.
44:22
Speaker 3: How did you feel when you were eliminated?
44:25
Speaker 1: I was sad, but I was also very relieved. And
44:28
I got to... Very relieved. Yeah, and I also got to...
44:30
And here's the thing, though. Maybe I can tell you this.
44:33
One of the things they asked me in the interview
44:34
was like, okay, now you're 57, 58. Why do you
44:38
want to do that, though? And I said, the reason
44:40
why I want to do this is because of my age.
44:42
So now I was like, oh, is this part of
44:45
your bucket list? It's not a bucket list. A bucket
44:48
list is what you need to do Before you die.
44:52
Speaker 3: Yes.
44:52
Speaker 1: This is just my happy list. This is what I
44:54
want to do while I am living.
44:57
Speaker 3: Love it. Totoo.
44:58
Speaker 1: I don't believe in.
44:59
Speaker 3: Everybody, no bucket list.
45:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. Don't do bucket list. Because I'm going to
45:03
do this before I die. No, I want to do
45:04
this while I am living.
45:08
Speaker 3: Love it. O, di kaya ka nga natanggap kasi yung
45:10
character mo.
45:11
Speaker 4: Yeah.
45:12
Speaker 3: Taman-tama ka dun.
45:13
Speaker 1: So, so.
45:13
Speaker 3: So, anong episode to? Para maabangan, mahanap.
45:16
Speaker 1: So, it's Squid Game The Challenge. Season 2 on Netflix.
45:21
Speaker 3: Season 2? Oh, up to what episode? Were you there?
45:24
Speaker 1: Yeah, so basically, I'm a chugigaga. Chugigaga? It's supposed to
45:29
be two episodes, but then it was just shortened to one.
45:32
Speaker 4: Okay.
45:33
Speaker 1: But I was there in the same camp for about
45:38
six days plus another. So, what? All that happened in
45:41
one episode? Yeah. But the thing about that is, like,
45:44
we became close because we were bonded through trauma.
45:46
Speaker 3: Of course, yes.
45:47
Speaker 1: We have a WhatsApp group.
45:48
Speaker 3: Oh, until now, you're still friends? Yeah.
45:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, the thing about that is, like, I have friends
45:53
now that I would never dream that I'll be friends
45:56
with because of geography. Yeah. And also, like, one of
46:00
my closest friends is this family man, straight guy from Iowa.
46:05
Speaker 3: Mm.
46:05
Speaker 1: And I'm like, Okay, whatever. But we were all trauma-bonded.
46:09
And there are a few from Las Vegas that are
46:12
in the show. So we sometimes get together.
46:15
Speaker 3: That's nice. See, at least you have new friends.
46:18
Speaker 2: Yeah.
46:18
Speaker 1: Next year, after my contract is done, I'm going to
46:20
apply for Amazing Race.
46:22
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh. That's one I've been wanting to do.
46:24
kami mag-asawa, we've, like, for decades, we've been watching that
46:28
and we're like, dude, we can totally do this kasi
46:30
yung character natin.
46:32
Speaker 1: Oh my God, that's great.
46:33
Speaker 3: And we're like, we're both competitive, ganyan.
46:35
Speaker 1: Because of my Netflix contract, I cannot apply for next
46:38
one until November of this year. Wow.
46:40
Speaker 3: Tara, yung direto-direto ka sa ano, sa iba-iba, another adventure.
46:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, actually nga, the good thing about that is like,
46:46
tinex ako ng casting director. Once you're done with your contract,
46:50
let's discuss. Yung matapas yung, ah, I don't know, the
46:54
limitations with Netflix, we're going to look for another reality show.
46:57
We shall see.
46:58
Speaker 3: We'll look forward to that. Yeah!
47:00
Speaker 1: Love is blind or bachelorette. Golden bachelorette.
47:04
Speaker 3: They should make it for LGBTQTIA.
47:08
Speaker 1: Right?
47:09
Speaker 3: Why not?
47:10
Speaker 1: Why not?
47:11
Speaker 3: Anyway, so that's great. So, a real quick reflection.
47:16
Speaker 4: If you were to go back in time, in your
47:20
20s or 30s, which aspect of your life would you.
47:23
Speaker 3: Want to improve?
47:26
Speaker 1: Honesty to myself.
47:28
Speaker 3: Honesty to yourself?
47:29
Speaker 1: To myself. Okay, wow, that's deep. Honesty to myself. I've always,
47:34
I always live my life as, like, you're not gay, don't,
47:39
don't come out. Or like, oh, you're fat, so be strong.
47:43
So now the honesty to myself, like, it's okay to
47:46
ask for help. It's okay not to be strong sometimes,
47:50
just be weak. And, When I say, do you love yourself?
48:00
I did not know that in my 40s. Which I
48:03
thought I did.
48:04
Speaker 3: Yes.
48:05
Speaker 1: So just be honest to yourself. And also, thank your
48:08
younger self. I'm going to do that. You know when
48:14
they say, what would you tell your younger self?
48:16
Speaker 3: Hanging there is going to get better.
48:17
Speaker 1: But we are here together. Out of the product of.
48:24
Speaker 3: Our younger self. So thank your younger self. The decisions
48:27
that we made before.
48:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, so thank your younger self. Because that's how you
48:31
accept and love yourself.
48:32
Speaker 3: I love it.
48:35
Speaker 4: So given that, what do you look forward to in
48:37
the next 50 or so beyond years? Anything?
48:42
Speaker 3: Love? Work? Health?
48:45
Speaker 4: Life?
48:45
Speaker 1: What do you look forward to? I think it's just
48:47
like discovering myself even more. Because if I want to
48:51
get love, I want to be this. then it becomes
48:54
a work for me. Like, I have to achieve this goal.
48:57
It's like, life is fleeting. Two days ago, I was
49:00
only 18 years old. So now, it's like, enjoy it.
49:03
And when you see an opportunity, if it scares you,
49:07
then try. Take it.
49:09
Speaker 3: Get on it.
49:10
Speaker 1: Yeah.
49:10
Speaker 3: I also became fearless when.
49:14
Speaker 1: I turned 50. Yes.
49:15
Speaker 4: Yes. That's when I felt like, what am I going
49:17
to lose? I'm smarter and wiser now.
49:20
Speaker 1: I'm not here to To make sure, oh, what would
49:23
other people think?
49:24
Speaker 3: No, it's... It's not.
49:25
Speaker 1: It's not.
49:26
Speaker 3: I know, you can talk about me whatever you want.
49:28
Speaker 1: Exactly.
49:29
Speaker 3: I already know who I am.
49:30
Speaker 1: Exactly.
49:31
Speaker 3: I don't even need to explain to these people who
49:33
I am.
49:33
Speaker 1: And the people that really loves you will understand who
49:36
you are. Yeah. You don't need 900 people as your friends.
49:39
Speaker 3: No, yeah. And it's cliche, right? I don't care.
49:42
Speaker 4: Kahit isang tao lang that truly knows me and believes
49:45
in me, okay na yun.
49:46
Speaker 3: And the rest will say, we heard you're like this.
49:49
Okay lang ako.
49:51
Speaker 1: I mean, does it affect me? Do you pay my
49:54
bills or do you... Yeah. So, I'm not going to
49:57
do that. So, I'm looking for... When people say like,
50:00
50 is the new 30. No, 50 is the new 50.
50:03
Don't look back. Don't look back.
50:06
Speaker 3: Nag-iba talaga yung perspective ng mga golden... Girls, gays, and guys.
50:12
Speaker 1: Girls, gays, and gals.
50:14
Speaker 3: Girls and gals, guys and gays.
50:17
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah. Is that when people are 50s and you're 30? No, just...
50:21
Make the best of where you are.
50:23
Speaker 3: Yes.
50:24
Speaker 1: And you will enjoy it more. Because if you go
50:26
back to 30, you're like, oh, I have to do
50:27
with the 30.
50:28
Speaker 2: No.
50:28
Speaker 1: Accept it. Love yourself.
50:29
Speaker 3: You embrace it now.
50:31
Speaker 1: Correct.
50:31
Speaker 3: Yes. That's beautiful. So see?
50:34
Speaker 4: My fellow Golden and Beyond Club.
50:36
Speaker 3: We're already a club.
50:38
Speaker 2: Yes.
50:38
Speaker 4: Dominic here is a true-to-life proof that there is no
50:41
dull moment living in our 50s. We can design it
50:45
in the way we want it. We have all the
50:47
mechanism at this point. The brilliance and the wisdom, we
50:52
have that at this point.
50:53
Speaker 3: So thank you so much.
50:55
Speaker 1: Thank you, Mother Dominique.
50:56
Speaker 3: For your boldness to share your story with us.
51:00
Speaker 4: You remind our viewers that they have the power to.
51:03
Speaker 3: Find themselves again.
51:05
Speaker 1: Yes. So basically, we're 50 now. So as long as
51:09
you're not hurting anybody, as long as your conscience is clear,
51:16
love yourself yes so there are always I think people
51:21
do action have actions out of fear or out of.
51:26
Speaker 4: Love and do it out of love do it out
51:28
of love.
51:29
Speaker 1: Love for your friends love for yourself don't do it
51:32
because of.
51:32
Speaker 4: Fear that's beautiful thank you so much for your time Sometimes,
51:39
somewhere along life's busy road, we lose a piece of ourselves.
51:44
Speaker 3: And one day we realize no one else is going
51:47
to find it for us. So turning 50 isn't the
51:51
end of discovery. It might actually be the beginning of it.
51:55
Speaker 4: Today's conversation reminded us that the changes we face in
51:59
midlife are are not always a crisis but.
52:02
Speaker 3: Often an invitation to rediscover who we are.
52:05
Speaker 4: Whether through health, passion, travel, our new opportunities, life can
52:10
still surprise us in the best ways.
52:13
Speaker 3: So, if you're.
52:14
Speaker 4: Wondering where you stand today, maybe the real question is,
52:18
are you ready to be found again? And for our
52:23
next episode on 5050... We are talking about one simple
52:29
but powerful F word.
52:31
Speaker 3: Can you guess? Friendship.
52:34
Speaker 1: Yes.
52:35
Speaker 4: A word that for many of us didn't disappear but
52:39
definitely changed as we grew older.
52:42
Speaker 3: The validation of friendship. You don't have to prove you're
52:46
a friend. Oh, wow. That's powerful, Mia. That's how strong
52:51
friendship is. Alright.
52:54
Speaker 4: And thank you all for listening and watching. I hope
52:57
you enjoyed today's episode as much as I did. Thank you, PHLV,
53:02
and of course, Kuya Yo, for all the guidance and
53:04
the support. If you are in your 50s and up
53:07
or preparing for your golden year, get on the show
53:10
to share your story. I assure you, someone out there
53:13
resonates with you. So send us an email. We can
53:17
feature you. It's at phlv at gmail.com or my email, anvi,
53:22
A-N-N-V-I dot fuller at gmail.com. Being 50 and beyond only
53:27
means one thing. We are much valuable now more than ever.
53:32
We're golden.
53:33
Speaker 3: So let's be proud.
53:35
Speaker 4: And keep improving ourselves. And remember, when you add value
53:38
to yourself, you add value to the world. Till the
53:42
next time on 5050, take care of yourself.
53:45
Speaker 3: Bye.