Author Archives: Efren

About Efren

Efren is a 30-something queer Filipino American guy living in San Francisco. In the past, he was a wanna-be academic even teaching in Asian American studies at San Francisco State, a wanna-be queer rights and HIV activist, and he used to "blog" when that meant spewing one's college student angst using a text editor on a terminal screen to write in a BBS or usenet back in the early 90s. For all his railing against the model minority myth, he's realized he's done something only a few people can claim--getting into UCSF twice, once for a PhD program in medical sociology which he left; and then for pharmacy school, where he'll be a member of the class of '13. He apologizes profusely for setting the bar unintentionally high for his cousins. blog twitter

Wilfred Wong, Cellarmaster at Beverages & More

Posted on March 3, 2008 by Efren

I’ve seen Wilfred Wong’s name plastered all over Beverages & More (otherwise known as BevMo! here in Cali) for his ratings of wines. Turns out he’s the cellarmaster for this company, and the Contra Costa Times did a profile on … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink | 1 Comment

Asians and Black History Month

Posted on February 24, 2008 by Efren

Just read this interesting article in the Advertising Age website by Bill Imada called, “Have Asian Americans Done Enough for the Black Community?” It’s sad that I think the really obvious answer to this really is, no. Given the history … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, Observations, Politics | 8 Comments

So while we’re on the topic of porn…

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Efren

Considering that I’m the other gay man on this blog, I think it makes sense for me to write about a gay Asian Am porn star. (Even though this is really extremely obvious, all links to any of the sites … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, LGBT, Lifestyles, Observations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

SF Supervisor Ed Jew resigns

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Efren

Breaking news from the San Francisco Chronicle’s web portal, sfgate.com, that Ed Jew, the City supervisor who was accused of living in a different city while representing the predominantly Asian Sunset District, has resigned in exchange of San Francisco Mayor … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Observations, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tila Tequila…again?

Posted on January 5, 2008 by Efren

So fresh from her show being the most watched show on MTV, Tila Tequila just agreed to do a second season of her show, A Shot At Love. But as it turns out, the winner of the first season, Bobby … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, WTF | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Asian Guys and that One Long Pinky Fingernail

Posted on December 17, 2007 by Efren

One of the things that I’ve always wondered about, or at least, bugged the hell out of me is seeing Asian guys with one long pinkie fingernail. My first boyfriend had it, and he claimed that when he was having … Continue reading →

Posted in Observations, WTF | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Belated thoughts on World AIDS Day…

Posted on December 6, 2007 by Efren

When December 1st rolled around, otherwise known as World AIDS Day, I didn’t think too much about it. Granted that I’ve been involved in one shape or form in HIV/AIDS prevention among the queer Asian men’s community for over 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Observations | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Filipino Food: The New In Thing?

Posted on December 5, 2007 by Efren

Ever since I read in Saveur Magazine last year in their Top 100 issue declaring that Filipino food was considered the “soul food of Asia,” I’ve noticed an interest in a lot of different foods Filipino, particularly in San Francisco … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments