A Game of Cat and Shark

Life in a Study Room

2011-12-31T13:01:00.001+08:00

Been quiet here the past nine months. Just to recap: it was an awesome nine months. I loved every part of it, most especially the people I've met and re-met. From the old friends from HP who have also made the same move, to the new friends from ING (the Pinoy Mafia, and our honorary non-Pinoy members), and all the other folks I met from here and there (and there). I realize I'm doing a disservice to the awesome period of my life by writing just a measly paragraph about it, but I'm far too lazy this Saturday afternoon to actually write a long ode to the very significant April - December 2011 part of my life. I guess the important take-away is this: it's always the people that make experiences extra-awesome.

2011 was a life-changing year for me, in more ways than just moving to a new country. I learned a lot about life and what I should be doing with it, and found out some things about myself that were pretty unexpected (although I'll have to admit that some things still continue to confuse me, haha.)

I was talking to one of my newer friends yesterday while riding the taxi to our respective dinners, and I admitted that after making a quick trip back to Manila for Christmas, I realized that maybe going back there (and I mean permanently, in the immediate future) might actually be a good idea. A month ago, I would've dreaded it, not because I dread Manila, but because I really was enjoying my life in Singapore. But now, if I got a good job offer in Manila, I would seriously consider packing things up here and taking it. My mind is so fickle.

So yes. As life-changing as 2011 was, I'm actually thinking that it might not be so bad to change it back.

Alright 2012, let's do this. I'm ready for you.

Life in a duffle bag.

2011-04-02T04:07:00.004+08:00

Life in a duffle bag. Eating pancit canton cooked by my mom. Emo at 4am.

In about 13 hours, I'll be leaving Manila and will be moving my life to Singapore. I should be excited, and to be honest, I think it's fair to say that March 2011 has clearly been one of the most awesome months of my entire life, and I can't wait for what April has in store for me.

But I just can't help myself from not feeling a bit down when I look at my now near-empty closet, and look at the two small bags that now hold all the carefully chosen stuff that I'll be bringing with me. I think it's the realization that I can't take the most important stuff in my life with me and put them in those two small bags.

The reason why March 2011 became a clear highlight in the timeline of my life wasn't really because I've found a job in a nice and shiny city, but because in the last two weeks, I've managed to reconnect with all my friends from most points in my life in a more profound way. We weren't just drinking because we wanted to get drunk (but yeah, that too...) We were drinking because we knew that the distance that was gonna exist between us after April 2 will surely affect our relationships, even if we try as hard as we can to convince each other that we'll be keeping in touch and nothing will change. We set aside a time to have dinner together because we knew that it's gonna take a long, long time again until we get to sit down in front of each other and just talk about our lives, and get what each other is saying without much explanation.

I can't help but feel down right now, at 4 in the morning, because I'm realizing how much I love these people (you) that I'll be moving away from, and your lives will move on, and my life will move on, and maybe when our paths cross again, we've already gotten used to not seeing each other, not getting drunk together, not eating together, or not understanding each others' jokes.

Fuck it. If you're still reading this up to here, could you do me a favor and not let that happen?

Also, thank you.

So Fucking Happy I Could Kick a Puppy

2011-03-20T13:23:00.008+08:00

March has been really, really hectic. And it all started off with a job interview on the evening of Feb 28. All I can say about that right now is that I'm completely surprised and ecstatic about how fast things has happened. Within three days, I found myself getting interviewed and then getting an offer and then resigning from my current company to take the new job. Awesome.

After that great bit of news, I took a two-day leave from work to go on a four-day vacation in Boracay, which will never stop being an awesome place (hopefully, anyway.) Pics here, here and here.

Boracay Sunset

Zorbing with Jan and Ish

Messing around on the beach

Swimming and chilling and doing nothing on the best sand in the best beach in the world, partying at night, eating good food, having great company... Yep, this year's Boracay trip was awesome.

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My boss from Poland also swung by Manila for some meetings, and it was fun talking to him about Warsaw (I miss it) and Manila, the beautiful places in the Philippines he should visit (I tried convincing him to skip work and join us in Boracay, lol), which parts of a pig sisig is made from (ears, cheeks and brains) (I told him this after he finished eating some, of course), crossing the streets of Metro Manila (I think he'll be scared of our streets for the rest of his life), and how he should eat balut (even more scared...)

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I attended a couple of Couchsurfing activities. Both involved drinking and lots of talking (and a bit of awkward dancing), and both were completely fun. Kind of makes me regret not participating in more CS events!

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Just last week, another slight change of routine was in order. My soon-to-be-former team also moved in to a new building at McKinley Hill in Taguig City. The new office is actually really nice. It has lots of workspaces (thankfully! since our team was basically displaced in our old office in Ayala...), wider hallways and bigger conference rooms. The only problem is, since the new floor isn't fully furnished yet, we have to go to another floor just to use the washroom or get a glass of water. Such a hassle. Of course, I'll only be working in that office for just 2 more weeks, so I'm not gonna complain too hard.

Now, last 3rd of March, be awesome!

Don't Call Me Lovelorn

2011-02-19T09:58:00.004+08:00

I've been abusing youtube's play button lately, listening to these songs:

I mean, seriously.

Gujab Chieffy!

2011-02-10T00:03:00.001+08:00

The Azkals won the first leg of the AFC Cup qualifiers against Mongolia, 2-0!

Chieffy Caligdong scored this awesome goal in the first half. Let's give it up for the home-grown, 5'5 1/2''-tall Air Force man! Talent ang tawag dyan! :D Phil Younghusband scored the second goal right at the end of the 2nd half (during stoppage time pa yata.) I was hoping for more goals so that we could get a hefty lead for the 2nd leg, but 2-0 is a good win nonetheless.

The next leg will happen a month from now in Ulaan Baator, Mongolia. A quick google search says that the average temp in Ulaan Baator during the middle of March is close to -20° C. I guess the team needs to start investing on good thermal underwear?

Blogging From My X10

2011-02-07T02:44:00.001+08:00

Ok, just testing out this bloggerdroid app before going to sleep. Good night!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Aussie Kim

2011-01-30T23:10:00.008+08:00

Our Aussie Open 2011 Women's Singles champion:

Kim cleans up well, huh? But couldn't they have chosen a nicer place for this photoshoot?

For the first hour of the women's final, it looked like Kim finally met her match in Li Na, who was was trying to make history by being the first player from an Asian country to win a grand slam singles title. Li was matching Kim's baseline and defense game, and wasn't showing any signs of nerves - which is what I predicted would hinder her from winning the final match. But Kim stayed steady, and slowly worked her way into the match. Kim was a point away from going down a set and a 4-2, but she fought her way back and eventually won 6 straight games, and by the time Li got her game together again, Clijsters already built a good lead and cruised in the last game to claim her 1st Australian Open title, and 4th grand slam singles title overall.

Li definitely acquitted herself well in Australia, not just because she showed that she has the game of a top 5 player (she was on an eleven-match winning streak, including a straight set win

over Kim two weeks ago in Sydney), but she showed that she also had the great personality of a global athletic star. Her post-match interviews (especially the one right after she beat world #1 Caroline Wozniacki) were comedy gold, and she still kept her head high after her loss in the final, which is a good sign that she won't be continuing the rest of the year being deflated about missing this chance.

Back to Kim, she has now won the last two grand slam events and is moving up to the #2 ranking this coming Monday, just 140 points off from Caroline's #1 spot. With Justine Henin's retirement (sad face) and Serena Williams's injury still preventing her from returning to the tour, will Kim be the favorite to win Roland Garros? If she does, that's gonna be her 3rd straight grand slam title, and a win at Wimbledon (where former champs Serena, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova all are nursing, or playing below their best because of, injuries) will give Kim a career Grand Slam, and her very own Kim Slam.

Suddenly, the WTA Tour got a lot more interesting this 2011.

6-4, 1-6, 16-14.

2011-01-23T21:01:00.005+08:00

This Australian Open is starting to be somewhat of a banner tournament for marathon 3-set matches on the women's side.

In the first 3 rounds alone, we've already seen extended 3rd sets in the following matches:

Russian Ekaterina Makarova edged out Serbian former #1 Ana Ivanovic, 10-8,
Another Russian Regina Kulikova beat Slovakian (and personal favorite) Daniela Hantuchova 9-7,
Former top ten player Alicia Molik of Australia defeated Italian Roberta Vinci 8-6
Chinese Shuai Peng beat Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko 8-6
Another personal favorite Maria Kirilenko ousted Italian Romina Oprandi, 8-6
Francesca Schiavone (who we'll be talking about again) surviving Canadian Rebecca Marino, 9-7
and Ekaterina Makarova again, this time beating out fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, 8-6

But none of those 7 matches even came close to the match we saw earlier today. That match being the longest match in women's grand slam history: reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone outlasted 2-time grand slam champ Svetlana Kuznetsova in 4 hours, 44 mins. I only got to see the 3rd set, but that was enough for me to see how much fighting spirit these players had. Sveta isn't exactly known as the steadiest players out there (she's very powerful, but also very erratic), but she held her nerve for most part of the 3rd set and produced some great winners. Both players put their heart, sweat and guts on every shot they made (no, not literally...), but it was Schiavone who just pushed a little harder. She saved 6 match points in all, played great defense by chasing down ever shot even though it looked like she didn't have a chance to win the point, and hit some great winners and volleys herself. Great job on the win Francesca, and despite the loss, congrats are in order for Sveta's great play too.

Their match actually lasted about as long as the Hewitt-Nalbandian 5-setter in the first round. After that match, Nalbandian just had no gas in his tank and barely won a game against up-and-comer Ricardas Berankis before retiring. We'll see how Francesca holds up in the quarterfinals against Caroline (she's had 2 marathon matches already, and her other 2 matches weren't a walk in the park either.)

Split Racket and Some High/Lowlights

2011-01-20T23:17:00.003+08:00

LOL. I bet Marat is jealous this never happened to him.

The first two rounds of the Australian Open is now done, and we've seen some pretty great matches so far. The best one yet is the 4 hour, 48 minute Nalbandian vs Hewitt first round match. I'm not a huge fan of either players (and I particularly dislike Hewitt's special brand of annoying-ness.), but this was a really high quality, high-tension match. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the first round match between Kim Clijsters and Dinara Safina, which lasted 44 minutes, ending with the score 6-0, 6-0. It's definitely a heartbreaking loss for Lil Sis Dinara, who less then 2 years ago was the world #1. Now, after her 1st round loss, she's projected to drop out of the top 100. To give Dinara a break, let's just focus on Ana Ivanovic's heart-breaking loss to Russian Ekaterina Makarova. Ana started the match well, winning the first set, but Makarova started to find her shots and went on to upset Ivanovic, 10-8 in the 3rd set. It was a shame since Ana's form is definitely starting to pick up. She was hitting huge forehands winners and was really going for riskier shots. Unfortunately for her, so was Makarova and on the crucial points, Ana just fell short while Makarova remained solid.

The match highlights (or lowlights, in Dinara's case) are here:

Tween.

2011-01-08T21:49:00.002+08:00

And that in-betweener from Roger Federer signals the start of the 2011 tennis season!

Tons of tournaments in the first week of the year: there's the men's tournaments in Qatar and Chennai, the ladies' tournament in Auckland, and the mixed tournament in Brisbane. There's also the exhibition in Hong Kong featuring the WTA players and ATP legends, and the always awesome Hopman Cup in Perth. It's so awesome that Nicolas Mahut wore Kristina Mladenovic's tennis dress:

The Australian Open starts in about a week!

2010 Others

2010-12-31T02:02:00.006+08:00

Ok, I was supposed to talk about some other things in the last post, but I realized the previous entry has gone on too long (sorry, once I start talking about tennis, I usually don't stop)

So... here are the best of the others:

Best movie I saw this year: Inception.

It had everything, a great concept told in a very entertaining and exciting way, an interesting group of people you could root for, and if that didn't work for you, you could still take it as a great action/heist film with awesome visuals. And that top didn't stop spinning.

Best TV series: I usually just say The Amazing Race here anyway, so I'll just enumerate the 10 runner-ups:

Bones, Criminal Minds, Burn Notice, White Collar, Modern Family, Parks and Recreations, Cougar Town, Community, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Big Bang Theory.

(Note: not that I have a lot of time in my hands, I don't even download any of these via torrents. I just watch these shows whenever I catch them on TV.)

Best line from a TV Show:

"All I ask is one thing... and this is... I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch. Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you. Amazing things will happen. I'm telling you. It's just true. As proof, let's make something amazing happen right now." (goes on to sing Freebird)

Well said, Coco. Well said.

Best Performance in a Movie:

Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl.

*Don't watch if you're under 18 or are otherwise immature or have strong aversion to gore.

Best Viral Video:

I was tempted to give it to the Cebu Pacific's Dancing FA's, but I remembered this one. It was hilarious when I first saw it floating around on Facebook. Still hilarious now.

Top 3 Annoying Facebook Trends:

1. People saying "unlike" when they really mean "dislike".

2. People tagging me on pictures where I'm just a blur in the background.

3. People tagging others on pics of things that they're selling. (Thanks to Jun for reminding me of this!)

Best Fake Twitter Account:

@PCOSmachine

Top 3 Food for Delivery:

1. Shakey's Greek Summer Salad + mojo potatoes with Caesar dressing

2. KFC's California Maki Twister or Hotshots + Choco-Banana Krusher

3. Wendy's Big Classic Burger with cheese

Most Addicting/Time-Wasting Android game:

Sige na nga, Angry Birds. (Air Control and Word Up are the runners-up.)

Best New Restaurant/Food Place:

Bon Chon at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. Saraaap ng chicken wings.

2010 Sports

2010-12-31T01:21:00.006+08:00

2010 sports was definitely dominated by the World Cup, and while the teams I rooted for fell by the wayside one by one (France, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands...) Spain was undeniably the best team in South Africa. Of course, in the last few weeks, our own Philippine Azkals also made waves here in Southeast Asia. Maybe it's too soon to think about seeing our boys play in Brazil 2014, but hey, there's nothing wrong in dreaming of seeing them maybe in the next World Cups in Russia and Qatar, right?

Since my blog is tennis-dominated, my year-end sports review will mostly focus on tennis.

Male Player of the Year: Rafael Nadal

Now, you probably know that I'm a die hard Federer fan, but 2010 was Rafa's year. He won 3 of the four grand slam titles, including his first US Open, which put him in the very exclusive group of players who have won all four Grand Slam events.

Female Player of the Year: Kim Clijsters

Caroline Wozniacki may have won the most WTA titles and ended the year as #1, and Serena may have won the most Grand Slam titles among the women, but Kim won two big titles (the US Open and the WTA Year End Championships) and managed to be significant for the better part of the year. So by process of elimination, she's my player of the year.

Saddest News of the Year: Elena Dementieva retires :(

Elena took the tennis world by surprise by announcing her retirement after playing her last match at the WTA Year End Championships, without any hints or advance warning whatsoever. She's had a great career, where she won an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, and ended each year ranked inside the top 10 for about a decade(!) An update on Elena's facebook page earlier today just said that she's been hired as the Vice President of the Russian tennis federation, so it looks like her post-pro tennis career is going to be great.

Match of the Year: Wimbeldon, First Round: John Isner def. Nicolas Mahut, 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(9–7), 7–6(7–3), 70–68

70. 68. Nuff said.

Breakthrough Players of 2010: Petra Kvitova and Ernests Gulbis

Kvitova made the semis of Wimbledon where she made Serena work hard before eventually losing. If she can play in 2011 like she did there at Wimbledon, she could be a contender. There has always been some buzz about the talent that Gulbis has, but it really was only this year that he showed what he can do on the court, which is to beat Federer and take a set of Nadal on clay. Too bad an injury stopped his momentum at the French Open. I was thinking that he was ready to make a serious run to the top 10 during the second half of the year. Maybe in 2011.

Players to watch for 2011: Grigor Dimitrov and Laura Robson

I've been following Dimitrov's career for a couple of years now ever since I heard people calling him Federer Jr, and found out that he was being coached by Roger's previous coach, Peter Lundgren. He has loads of talent, and went on to win 6 ITF titles the past year. He's now knocking on the door of the Top 100, and I expect big things to come from him next year. Robson, like Dimitrov, won the Wimbledon juniors title back in 2007. I saw her playing at the Hopman Cup in Australia last January and was very impressed by what I saw. She played great for a then 15-year old girl. I don't think she'll be breaking into the top 10 in 2011, but it'll definitely be fun seeing her rise up the rankings.

And of course, closer to home, props to our Asian Games gold medalists (all coming from the 3 B's, naturally): Boxing's Rey Saludar, Bowling's Biboy Ramirez, and Billiards' Dennis Orcollo.

At siyempre, kay Manny Pacquiao. :D

2010 Travels

2010-12-30T23:56:00.005+08:00

2010 was another great year for traveling. I mean, I got to travel a lot this year, which is always fantastic.

I made my second trip to Singapore last July in time for the Great Singapore Sale and the quarterly IT Show, and I got to see my BI/DW friends again, which is always great. I also returned to Hong Kong and Macau last November, this time with my new teammates. The weather in Hong Kong and Macau that time was perfect. I was also able to appreciate Macau more this time around since I got to walk along the Historic Centre of Macau (and we got to visit more hotels and casinos too.)

I attended three destination weddings this year. Two of the weddings were held in Baguio (Victory Liner's deluxe buses are awesome, as is the PNKY bed and breakfast), and the third one was in Iloilo (where our airfare was only around 300 pesos, roundtrip! Thanks, CebuPac.) It was my first time in Iloilo, and I stuffed myself with La Paz Batchoy from Ted's and Deco's, and oysters and other seafood in Tatoys and Smallville. I also got to see the Miag-Ao Church, which is just a beautiful structure.

After the Iloilo wedding, we went Guimaras to see the beaches and eat mangoes. Guimaras is a very scenic place and the mangoes I brought back to Manila were the yummiest mangoes I've ever eaten.

The highlight of my traveling year was definitely Batanes. I've been wanting to go to Batanes for several years now, and this year, the trip finally happened. And Batanes definitely didn't disappoint (even considering that the end of our trip was ruined by a typhoon that made a direct hit on the islands and left us stranded in Basco for 3 days.) Batanes is just absolutely stunning, and the people in Batanes were nothing short of kind and welcoming. The Ivatans definitely embody that hospitable trait we Pinoys love to bandy about when promoting Philippine tourism.

Batanes is right up there with Coron and El Nido as the best places I've ever visited in the Philippines. Scratch that. The world.

hellgod_13’s Charts

2010-12-30T02:51:00.003+08:00

So here goes the start of my year-end lists.

According to Last.fm, these are my most listened-to songs of the past 12 months.

hellgod_13’s Charts – Users at Last.fm:

1	Mogwai – Summer	13
2	Cynthia Alexander – Comfort in your Strangeness	11
2	The Magic Numbers – I See You, You See Me	11
4	Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah	10
4	Jeff Buckley – Mojo Pin	10
4	Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know	10
4	Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye	10
4	Regina Spektor – Samson	10
4	Collective Soul – The World I Know	10
4	Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds	10

Not even one song here was released within the last 3 years, LOL... but I'm blaming this on the Last.fm scrobbler plugin not working on my laptop (plus me doing most of my music listening through my trusty, 3.75-year old Creative ZVM)

But if I had to choose a song that really made an impact to me this year, it's this gem by Up Dharma Down. (Alright, I know this song wasn't released this year either, but bear with me)

Something about this song (the *brilliant* lyrics, the smooth melody, Armi's incredible voice, Carlos, Pol and Ean's tight playing, the witty original video) and something about the things that happened the past year just *clicked* in an incredibly affecting way. The above video was taken from Up Dharma Down's live performance during the last few days of NU 107's existence (tear...)

What Happened in December

2010-12-23T19:06:00.009+08:00

This December has been a pretty hectic month (as it is for everyone, I guess.)

The Hong Kong-Macau trip at the end of November with my teammates was fun, but it also meant I had some catching up to do at work as soon as I got back. Once December came though, the company Christmas parties came one after the other. First was the company-wide party/charity fundraiser at PTTC beside the Manila World Trade Center (it was originally supposed to be at the Megatent in Ortigas, but was moved to PTTC less than a week from the event because of some, uh, trouble? in Megatent.) Next, there was my team's planning session/team building/holiday party at the really nice Punta de Fabian resort in Baras, Rizal. It also served as our farewell party for our teammate Mel, who's leaving to take up her Masters in Australia.

In between those two events, I went up to Baguio to attend Karon and Wayne's wedding. This was the third destination-wedding-care-of-former-teammates that I attended this year, after Camille and Marlon's Baguio wedding and Mich and James' Iloilo wedding. Baguio at this time of the year is just so nice. The weather, the food and the sights are awesome, and of course, Wayne and Karon's wedding was really nice too (the food was GREAT!)

Congratulations, Karon and Wayne!

After that, there was the AMG (our group) year-ender party at the New World Hotel, where everyone was dressed well, and the food was great and the party was nice. It's probably the best HP party without alcoholic drinks I've been to (because for some reason, alcoholic drinks aren't allowed at official company parties anymore, effectively killing any chances of the HP Beer Bash ever coming back... Boooooo!)

And that's why a day away from Christmas eve, I'm still not done buying Christmas gifts for my godkids and housemates. (Actually, it's really because I'm not a big fan of Christmas shopping and I'm a lazy shopper... but why say that when you can claim to be busy attending parties?)

One Woof For the Azkals

2010-12-22T02:20:00.009+08:00

After Manny's epic win over the bigger Margarito last month, we have another awesome news for Philippine sports with our Philippine football team, the Azkals, making it to the semis of the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time in the tournaments history.

Our boys successfully made it through the qualifying rounds (because we have a low world ranking), and then went unbeaten in the round robin stage by drawing against Singapore, beating defending champion Vietnam 2-0 (upset of the tournament!), and then playing to another draw against Myanmar. Of course, Southeast Asian football is definitely just a small pond in the football ocean, but there was a time a few years ago when our team was getting beaten 7-nil or 13-1 by our neighbors. Those days are over and our team is improving quickly!

Hopefully, now that the Azkals have shown what they're capable of, the Philippine Football Federation and our government's sports institutions will start providing support to the team so that they could reach their full potential.

Seriously, I can just imagine how awesome and exciting it would be to root for our team in the next World Cup (kahit sa qualifiers lang :p) Let's go Azkals! Woof!

Oo, Neil Etheridge, ikaw na ang magaling na goalkeeper!

Next on my sports wishlist: Our Davis Cup team making it the World Group!

Another Year

2010-11-23T23:52:00.002+08:00

It's been almost a year since I posted this. Sadly, both issues are still unresolved.

The problems we have regarding reproductive health remains unaddressed, and worse, the anti-RH "advocates" seem to be getting more ignorant about the issue while at the same time becoming more aggressive in their advocacy. What a dangerous combination.

Justice is still elusive for the victims of the massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. I remember the overwhelming emotions that people had when this heinous crime came to our knowledge. Today marks the anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre. I hope we don't see another Nov 23 like last year's in our country's history, and I hope we won't have to wait another year before justice is finally served.

Gujab, Manny!

2010-11-15T02:00:00.000+08:00

Gujab, Manny.

Numb Left Arm

2010-11-14T01:21:00.003+08:00

Ok, I got a huge scare when I woke up yesterday morning. My left arm was completely numb. I couldn't move it at all, not even a twitch of a finger! I tried holding it and slapping it with my right hand but I couldn't feel a thing, it was like my right hand was hitting an inanimate object. Then, I lifted my left arm up with my right hand, but it just fell straight down. That really, really, really freaked me out. I tried slapping my upper arm until the feeling went back again and after about a minute, I started to get the pins-and-needle-pricking sensation on my arm and I was finally able to move my left arm again.

Then, earlier this evening, I met up with my college friends to have dinner at ROC in UP Bahay ng Alumni (good food, but they have very small servings). I told them the story, and then Joan told me a similar story about someone who had numb arms too. It turns out the man (who was in his late 50's) had a mild stroke. And yeah, was. So as soon as I got back home (after having some great desserts at Wicked Kitchen, where Gluttony and Sloth rocks!), I googled about getting numb arms while sleeping, and most results seem to say that it's a common problem caused by a compressed peripheral nerve. So I guess there's no reason to panic just yet and I'll just wait if it happens again before checking with a doctor.

I just thought I'd blog about this so that just in case something bad (or worse) happens to me, I've got it documented.

A New Wilson

2010-10-17T23:12:00.007+08:00

I just bought a new tennis racket:

Let's just hope this won't end up like the time I signed up for our company-sponsored gym membership, but never actually went to the gym except for those two times when I spent 10 minutes on the treadmill.

I've got 2 other tennis rackets here at the house (a purple Wilson and a green Prince), but I haven't touched them in about 6(??!?) years (actually, I have touched them, when I play shadow tennis, but I guess that doesn't really count.) I decided to buy a new one since a tennis group has been established at our office, and I'm not sure if the old rackets would still hold up, since I've used them since I was around 11.

I'm thinking of taking lessons again, since my serve was pretty shitty the last time I played. I serve using an old school technique, where my right foot lands on the ground first, just like Karol Kucera. It's the only way I can make the serve go in on the ad court. My 2-handed backhand was better than my forehand, but both shots probably suck now. I loved practicing my volleys, but I never really learned how to hit a slice, a drop shot, or a lob. I would probably need to learn those things since I'm not sure if the brainless baseline bashing and bludgeon-your-opponents-to-submission tactic would actually be possible for me to do.

Anyone up for a hit in Las Pinas? :-)

Watermelons!

2010-10-03T13:06:00.002+08:00

Now that I've seen the premiere episode of The Amazing Race, and it looks like that lady turned out okay... I can finally admit that I was laughing my ass off after watching this scene. Multiple times.

So here's what I tweeted as I was watching the team intros. First impressions:

Home TV Shopping Hosts: Annoying.
8months Dating Couple: Will fight a lot.
Beach Volleyball Teammates: Woot!
Ivy League Acapella Singers: Good voices, stop singing.
Doctors: Double WOOT!
TeamJumba: Dad's hilarious.
Tattooed Couple: On the fence.
Theater dudes: Not theatrical enough.
Outspoken Douche Couple: Yeah...
Dad/Daughter: Thick accents.
RH Poster Girls: They just met.

This turned out to be a very likable cast, except for the blonde Home TV Shopping Host, who wouldn't stop talking and talking and talking and seems to just be generally self-centered and rude. Even the self-proclaimed aggro dudes from the dating couples weren't that bad. (Thomas, the self-proclaimed outspoken douche, was even polite at times.) The tattooed couple were HEE-larious. I was rooting for them to not be last just so they could bring in the unintentional laughs in the next episodes. It was fun to see the theater dudes get lost in England after boasting of their superior navigational skills and Bachelor and Master's degrees. I liked the Parent-Child teams too. The dad from TeamJumba is funny, and the Dad/Daughter team are pretty endearing.

I'm rooting for two FF teams though - the Doctors, who are most probably smart and can work well under pressure, and the Beach Volleyball teammates, who look athletic enough to last on the race, and seem to have cutthroat-bitchy personalities hiding underneath, which I like on TAR teams.

Next week: Teams head to Ghana! (I think.) Should give Tattooed couple lots of opportunities to bumble around.

US Open Catch Up

2010-09-26T12:23:00.001+08:00

I have some catching up to do.

Rafael Nadal completes his collection of grand slam trophies by taking his first ever US Open title, after he defeated Novak Djokovic, who remains a one-slam wonder. Kim Clijsters increases her US Open title count to 3 by beating Vera Zvonareva, who is suddenly a 2-time grand slam finalist after also reaching the finals earlier at Wimbledon.

I was predicting a Roger win, since he usually does so well at the US Open (5 straight wins followed by a finalist showing last year), but he didn't play up to his level in the semi against Novak. On the women's side, I predicted a Caroline Wozniacki-Victoria Azarenka final, with Vika taking the win, since they both played so well on the US hardcourt tournaments right before the US Open. But Vika fainted during her second round match (due to a mild concussion she sustained before the match), while Caro was upset by Vera in the semis after decimating the draw from the 1st round to the quarterfinal (with an impressive win over Maria Sharapova.) Oh well... Maybe the blonde BFFs can take the grand slam rivalry at next year's US Open.

Meanwhile, Rafa has a rare chance to hold all four grand slam titles if he wins at the Australian Open. The last player to do that was Serena Williams, last 2002-2003. With his new serve, Fed on the "bonus stage" of his career, and contemporaries Djokovic and Murray unable to consistently contend at grand slams, looks like he's got a good chance to do so.

Congrats, Kim and Rafa!

Other winners:

The Bryan Brothers, Mike and Bob, won the men's doubles over India/Pakistan's Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova and American Vania King won the women's doubles, their second consecutive grand slam doubles title
Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan won the mixed doubles
On the juniors side, American Jack Sock won the boys title and Russian Daria Gavrilova won the girls title.
Shingo Kuneida won the men's wheelchair event, while Esther Vergeer won the women's wheelchair title. Vergeer's records will put Roger's to shame. She has been unbeaten since 2003, and is currently on a 394-match winning streak.

Why I Love Traveling The Philippines, II

2010-08-31T02:51:00.007+08:00

Second day of our Batanes trip.

We took the early morning 30-min faluwa ride (traditional Ivatan boat) to Sabtang Island. Upon arriving, we had breakfast near the Sabtang port. Our first stop after finishing our breakfast was the village of Savidug, where most houses were made from the traditional coral stones. Our next stop was Chavayan, but before heading there, our guides took us to Lime beach, the place where Ivatans baked coral stones so that they could use them to build the walls of their homes. This practice isn't being done anymore though.

After that, we passed by one of the most beautiful sights in Batanes. We were riding on the topload of our jeep, so we had a great view of the green fields that looked just like The Shire. It was hard to take a good picture since we were on top of a moving vehicle, but the place is really, really beautiful. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if I saw hobbits living there. Hell, I could live there :p

I think the theme for the day was overload of beautiful sights, because after seeing that place, our guide dropped us off on the Chamantad-Tinyan viewpoint. This is probably the most incredible view I've ever seen in my life. The green, rolling hills bordered by dramatic stony cliffs leading sharply down a cove to the clear blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. The beach was lined by white sand and rocks that were being pounded by splashing waves. My pictures don't do it justice.

We finally reached Chavayan. Chavayan is a beautiful village filled with traditional stone houses on a backdrop of green-covered rock formations and hills. Chavayan is such a charmingly quaint village. We went to a house that sold traditonal weaved products, and took a pitstop on a small plaza where we drank some fresh buko juice served by a bolo-carrying lola. Apparently her father, Lolo Marcelo, is the oldest man in Batanes at 104, so she invited us to meet him. She also invited us to see their kitchen, which was used for a Nescafe ad.

After Chavayan, we went back past to Centro to Nakabuang beach, where we had lobster, lapu-lapu and adobo for lunch. After lunch, we just enjoyed the beach and taking pictures of the Nakabuang arch. The waves were pretty strong so we just waded around, and we were all pretty burnt by that time so we didn't stay long, which was good since it turned out the falowa going back to Batan island was already waiting for us, along with about a dozen other passengers.

Sabtang Island, in summary, was just unbelievably amazing.

Why I Love Traveling The Philippines

2010-08-31T00:49:00.010+08:00

Batanes. There's really nothing else to say other than it is an incredibly breathtaking place made even more beautiful by its very nice and friendly people.

Mia, Kian, Ish, Geebee, Chrissy and I booked our tickets last February/March when Seair had a sale on its Batanes flights. We've seen nothing but good pictures and hear nothing but great things about Batanes, so we were all excited for it, even if the trip wasn't gonna happen until six months later.

So, six months later...

We started our Batanes trip by exploring the northern part of Batan island. For the second day, we headed to Sabtang island, which just completely amazed me. The 3rd day of our trip was spent going around the southern part of Batan island. The 4th day, Kian and Ish climbed to the top Mt. Iraya despite the heavy rains, while the rest of us were stuck in our hotel rooms because of it. The 5th day, we were supposed to go home, but Ester rained it all out. Instead we just stayed at our room watching Here Comes The Bride (hiliarious) and taking a short walk around the town, which was supposed to celebrate its town fiesta (Ester completely rained it out too. Not hilarious.) We spent about 5 hours of the 6th day waiting at the airport, since we were chance passengers on the two Seair flights. Only four seats were available for the six of us on the 2nd flight to Manila, so Kian and I ended up staying behind. So we just walked and biked around Batan island the rest of the time there since we were running short of money. We finally got home by Day 8.

Batan Island

The sights of nothern Batan island is very subtle. The beautiful rolling hills covered by the greenest of grasses, a church and a hotel made of stone, wide green fields parted by hedges, rock formations that were used as fortresses in the old times, a beach covered by huge boulders instead of the typical white sand, a lighthouse that provides you with stunning views of the sea and the hills and the cliffs and the setting sun... This part of the island doesn't pound you in the head with its amazing beauty, it doesn't insist itself the way other touristy places do, you know what I mean? It's very charming, and polite, if you can use that to describe a place. But don't mistake it for something else, because it's breathtaking nonetheless.

Now, the southern part of the island is nothing but subtle, with its amazing blue lagoon and Rakuh-A-Payaman (more popularly known to tourists as the Marlboro country), the cliff by the coastal road in Imnajbu, and the postcard-perfect Mahatao Lighthouse. The places we saw here were all just begging to be photographed.

See what I mean?

I'm Not Sorry I Met You

2010-08-16T12:13:00.004+08:00

A Batanes teaser first:

The sights, in order of appearance:
1. The rolling hills in Batan Island
2. Tukon Church (Tukon means hill in Ivatan)
3. Valugan Boulder Beach (The boulders were from a Mt. Iraya eruption)
4. A beach beside the Homoron Blue Lagoon. It has a natural breakwater that makes the water by the beach still, the clouds reflecting on the sea was an awesome sight.

The background music is by Your Ex-Lover Is Dead by Stars. I was listening to the song on my music player while we were at the airport, and something about the horns on the intro just fit with the rolling hills.

And A Delayed Iloilo/Guimaras Post

2010-08-15T17:44:00.004+08:00

It was my first time going to the Visayas where Boracay wasn't in the itinerary. The best part about this trip? The plane ticket cost just 300 pesos, round trip! (Just kidding, the best part of course was seeing Mich and James get married. :D)

Iloilo is a great place to go binge eating. Seriously. I could eat La Paz Batchoy for breakfast and merienda everyday, and then go to Dulgies for dessert. Lunch and dinner would be anywhere that served seafood and chicken inasal. I couldn't believe that a plateful of oysters was just 40 pesos!

The (former) Team

The girls

The boys

Then, there was Miag-ao Church, which was just majestic to look at.

Miag-ao is about an hour away from Iloilo City. We hired a van from SM City to get there, and it was definitely worth the travel. The facade of the church was the most beautiful I've ever seen. the whole structure was very impressive, and reminded me a bit of the Paoay Church. I'm not big on going to church, but going out to see churches and other religious sites (like Angkor Wat, the Wawel Cathedral, and the Church of St. George) has always been a big reason why I love traveling.

After Iloilo, we went on a 15-minute boat ride to Guimaras Island. Guimaras was a lot of fun too. We stayed at Raymen Beach Resort in Alibuhod, Nueva Valencia. The beach in Alibuhod is really, really nice. The sand is really fine, the beach was not rocky at all, and the view around the beach (especially during sunset) is just beautiful. We also rented a small boat to take us around the island, where we saw more sandy beaches, unbelievably huge Lapu-lapus, and a nice small cave reachable by water near Baras beach:

Also in Guimaras? MANGOES. Guimaras mangoes are said to be the sweetest in the world, and yeah, these are the best mangoes I've ever eaten. It's sweet and juicy and huge and the texture of the flesh is really perfect for digging in. I bought 2 kilos of the mangoes, and a couple of packs of mango bars made by Trappist monks. The only sucky thing was that I didn't buy more haha.

A Delayed Singapore Post

2010-08-15T16:43:00.007+08:00

Before I write about the great Batanes trip I just had, I think I should write about the two other trips I had last June.

First up, Singapore!

I had an awesome time at Singapore last June with Mia. We stayed at our former officemates' (Mike, Geebee, Ben, and Jyue) place at Sengkang. They're all living and working in Singapore now and it was great to see them again. We were at Singapore just in time for the IT Show. I wanted to buy a laptop for myself, and the IT Show was the perfect place to hunt for one. There were so many booths selling so many different laptop models that I almost couldn't make a choice on what to buy. So I ended up buying a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 instead, and I'm definitely not regretting the purchase. The Xperia X10 is awesome! It has a huge screen, nice interface and controls, a long list of applications from the Android market, the camera is fantastic, and it's just a beautiful phone to look at. Haha.

After the IT Show, we went to Orchard Road for some shopping, and I'm not really a big shopping guy, but it was nice to walk up and down Orchard anyway. It's a nice place for people-watching (just like Clark Quay.) :)

The next day, Mia, Mike, Karon and I went to Universal Studios, where we saw Shrek, Fiona, Puss, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, some animals from Madagascar, and a couple of freaks from The Mummy. The Battlestar Galactica dueling rollercoaster was still closed which was disappointing because that ride looked awesome. Good thing The Mummy-themed indoor rollercoaster was open because that ride was awesome! The line going to the rollercoaster was an attraction in itself.

The rest of our time in Singapore was spent meeting up with SG-based friends and eating(!!!) From the hawker stalls at Newton and more local food at a small restaurant at Bugis, to steak at Astons and some Swiss food at Marche. Seriously, I spent most of my pocket money on food, drinks and dessert.

Singapore was really fun but the best part was seeing so many familiar faces again (and getting a new gadget for a much lower price compared to buying one in Manila. But that's just a far second.)

More pics here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67093&id=1375150079

I'd Rather Write A Rave Review

2010-07-29T01:33:00.001+08:00

Since Inception blew my mind so hard, I thought I'd write about the most interesting recurring dreams I've had (that I can remember.)

The first one probably falls more on the nightmare column. It was a pretty recurrent dream a couple of months ago that involved skyscrapers falling over. In one dream, I'm watching the buildings tip over from the grounds of Ayala Avenue, admiring them while at the same time getting scared that parts of the falling buildings would land on me (and getting scared for the casualties who are inside the buildings too.) I watched Ayala Tower One fall over, then I saw my office building, Robinsons Summit Center follow it, in a very dramatic, kind of slow-mo movie-like way. Weirdly enough, my solution to avoid getting hit by the debris was to run to the nearest Ayala underpass and wait under there until things settled down. (I think the buildings were falling because of an earthquake.)

In another dream, I'm inside the building while it was falling. I was in the pantry of our company's building in Ortigas, even though I've never spent more than an hour there before. It didn't even look like it was the same pantry, but I knew where I was anyway. It was a pretty interesting dream aside from the fact that I was gonna die on it. My "projections" and I were all watching the other buildings around us fall one at a time like a domino, and then when it was our building's turn to fall, some people started panicking. I remained calm, although I remember actually getting that feeling of falling while our building did its fall-to-the-ground stunt. I could also see the angle from my vantage point to the ground get steeper and steeper, as we presumably got closer and closer to the ground. (I woke up right before we hit it.) Anyway, my solution to being inside the falling building? I surrounded myself with pillows, to cushion my bones from the impact. I'm hoping that works in real life too.

The second recurring dream that I have on my list is when I dream about doing everything I'm supposed to do for the day. I take a bath, take a bus to the office, get stressed from the awful traffic, call in to my meetings, prepare some documents and presentations, finish my deliverables for the day, get stressed from doing those deliverables, etc etc etc... Then I suddenly wake up and realize that it was all a dream and it's 11 am and I've overslept again and I'm gonna be late for the office and I haven't actually started any of the tasks that I thought I already finished doing because it was all just a dream after all (even though I felt stressed while doing them, in the dream.) /phew

That kind of dream is annoying.

My last dream is more awkward than scary or annoying. I would dream of walking around in a public place either only in my briefs or completely pants-less but with a shirt on and alternately feeling embarrassed and nonchalant about it. I'd also sometimes see friends and random acquaintances in my dream as they normally are (i.e. clothed), while I'm partly nude. That makes seeing them in real life a bit awkward for me.

Apparently, dreaming of yourself naked means that you are feeling particularly vulnerable and may be hiding something that you don't want others to see or find out (if in your dream, you are humiliated by your nakedness) or a feeling of unrestricted freedom because you have nothing to hide (if in your dream, you don't feel shame about your nakedness.) So in my case, it's a feeling of both? I'm not sure that computes.

So... yeah, those are the more interesting recurring dreams I have. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who dreams these kinds of dreams, right? Right?

June/July Tennis Catch Up

2010-07-27T02:55:00.011+08:00

I got lazy blogging about the rest of the French Open and Wimbledon...

So Rafa won both tournaments on the men's side, upping his grand slam count to 8 and putting him safely on top of the rankings. Roger, on the other hand, lost in the quarterfinals of both tournaments, sending his ranking spiraling down to a tragic #3 (tragic for Roger's standards, anyway.) While I don't think this is the end of Roger winning grand slam tournaments, I do think that he'll have a very hard time getting the #1 ranking back, given that he's turning 29 next month (that's old in tennis years), and the rest of the top 5 are all 25 years old and younger.

Good thing Roger's already won the French Open as well 15 other grand slam titles before, so this doesn't feel like we're watching the decline of a career of a should've, would've, could've been has-been. It's like a glory lap for the all-time champ. Although Roger probably has more plans than turning the next few years into a glory lap, seeing that he's hired Paul Annacone, as his new part-time coach. Annacone coached Pete Sampras from 1995 to 2001, during which Pete won 8 grand slam titles. He also worked with Tim Henman, another serve and volleyer, after coaching Pete. So it looks like Roger is looking to beef up his serve and volley game by hiring Annacone the same way that he was looking to beef up his clay-court game by hiring Jose Higueras a couple of years ago.

As for Rafa, he's regained his French Open crown from Roger, and added another Wimbledon title after some convincing wins over Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych in the semifinal and final, respectively. The next milestone for him is the US Open, the only grand slam that he has yet to win. Rafa's never reached the final at the US Open because he usually gets overpowered on hardcourts, or his body is usually not in its best state after the grueling US spring/clay season where he plays a lot of matches. A factor that swings in his favor is that there hasn't been much reports about any injuries (especially on his knees.)

Anyway, we had a first-time grand slam champion in last year's US Open, so if Roger and Rafa can't sort their stuff out by August, we might get another one this year.

On the women's side, Serena won her 4th Wimbledon title, and her 13th grand slam title overall, over surprise finalist Vera Zvonareva. Actually, the semifinal line-up on the women's side was filled with surprises, after Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova upset Venus in the quarterfinals and up-and-coming Czech Petra Kvitova beat the just-as-young but higher-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka.

The best moments of Wimbledon for me though would have to be 1) Federer's 1st round match against Colombian Alejandro Falla, where Roger had to claw his way back after losing the first two sets and then going down a break in the 3rd set to win in 5 sets (6-0 in the fifth) to avoid the biggest upset in Wimbledon history, and 2) the epic, historic, record-breaking 11-hour first round match between American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. The quality of play really wasn't as high as any of the matches in the later stages of the tournament, they were basically just trading aces and service winners... But they were doing it for 11 HOURS! That's a 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(9–7), 7–6(7–3), 70–68 scoreline! That's like 3 marathons! The sheer determination and will to win (not to mention the stamina and athleticism) displayed by both players just to survive the 11 hour match was just amazing to watch.

On to the US Open!

Francesca Schiavone, That's Who.

2010-06-06T00:30:00.005+08:00

Francesca Schiavone is the 2010 Roland Garros Women's Singles Champion.

Two weeks ago, probably just a handful of people would've written those words seriously (namely, Frankie herself, her coach, and close friends and family. Maybe.) But Franny did the improbable and sliced through the upset-filled draw to win her first Grand Slam title. Along the way, she also becomes the first Italian woman to ever win a grand slam (Adriano Pannata won the French Open in 1976, thanks google), the second Italian woman to ever be ranked in the top 10 (she debuts at a career high #6, fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta was #10 last year) and the second oldest first-time Grand Slam champion as she turns 30 in less than a month (after some more googling, it was Ann Jones who won Wimbledon in 1969 at 30 years old.)

Schiavo definitely goes against the grain of up-and-coming prospects. She's got a one-handed backhand, which she alternates between a topspin and a mean slice. She also likes throwing uppercuts after winning big points and rolling on and kissing the dirt after winning a grand slam.

And there's the turning 30 thing that I'm sure will be mentioned a lot when articles about her are written.

I was rooting for Sam Stosur to win, just because of her upset wins over Justine, Serena and Jelena, but FranSchiav just threw about everything she had on her shots, so while Sam's groundstrokes and serves were generally not hitting the mark (probably due to nerves), FraniSchavi just kept on excitedly pumping her fist and playing fiery, aggressive tennis that surprisingly overwhelmed Sam.

So Francesca Schiavone, 2010 Roland Garros Champion, congratulations on an unlikely but deserved final win.

Justine/Rafa 2010

2010-05-23T02:44:00.000+08:00

The French Open will be starting later today and this one's gonna be all about comebacks, I think.

Rafael Nadal will be looking to reclaim his title after shockingly losing (for the very first time) at Roland Garros last year to Robin Soderling. Rafa hasn't lost a match on clay this year, and it looks like he'll be keeping that trend up in the next two weeks. And just like the past 4 years, I'm expecting to see Roger Federer on the other side of the net versus Rafa in the finals, but he won't be winning back-to-back French Open titles over the best player clay court player of all time, who also happens to currently be in top form after suffering from injuries last year.

The other great comeback that I can't wait to see is from Justine Henin, who came out of retirement at the start of this year and then displayed a more aggressive game all the way to the Australian Open final, before losing to #1 Serena Williams in a tight match. Justine was the queen of Roland Garros, she was a 3-time defending champion from 2005-2007 (she also won it in 2003) before deciding to abruptly retire from tennis two weeks before the 2008 French Open while ranked #1 in the world.

Justine's draw this year is actually really, really tough. She's seeded #22, and could potentially face #12 Maria Sharapova (who just won in Strasbourg a few hours ago) in the 3rd round, and #7 Samantha Stosur (who won at Charleston and then reached the final in Stuttgart last April) in the 4th round, and then #1 Serena Williams (who, you know, is Serena) in the quarterfinals. That's a really difficult set of players to get through just to reach the semifinals of a tournament.

Anyway, it should be interesting to see how Justine does. I predict that whoever wins the Justine-Serena quarterfinals will go on to win the whole tournament. And that match should be fun!

The 051010 Choice, Part 3

2010-05-10T19:48:00.003+08:00

Ok, I AM fickle minded.

I voted for Gibo. I changed my mind last night, after a conversation with a Gibo supporter/high school friend of mine. The thing is, I like Gordon's accomplishments, but I just don't like him. And I don't mean "like" in the way that I like musicians or actors or tennis players. No, it's not about likability or personality. I like his stand on education, but I most probably won't like how he'll implement it. I like his platform but I don't like his views about the Filipino psyche. And that's exactly where he lost me.

With Gibo, I like his platform, and his views, and his leadership style and the way he ran his campaign. And I like his potential as a leader.

---------------------------------

In terms of the actual voting, I want to put it on record that I liked the automated elections. Some friends had nightmare stories of waiting in line for 3-6 hours (under the hot Manila summer sun), but mine was more like a 20 minute stroll to the classroom. The quick turnaround on the (unofficial) results was also a great relief from the slow crawl of previous elections' manual counting, complete with chalkboards and candle-light vigils and people sitting on the yellow ballot boxes to avoid vote-switching and petty election fraud techniques. And yes, it is pretty neat that I get to say that I voted during the first ever automated Philippine National elections.

Camille & Marlon's Baguio Wedding, pt 2

2010-05-09T21:29:00.006+08:00

[April 24]

Kasal na nila Marlon and Camille! Let me just start by saying that it was a really fun wedding, from watching Marlon and then Camille marching down the aisle to the cocktails and the fotoloco booth to the wedding reception/party to the after dinner drinks.

I woke up at around 8 am, and had breakfast at the PNKY Cafe where we finally met up with the rest of our office friends, who left Manila the previous night and arrived in Baguio a couple of hours after midnight. The girls went to get their hair done somewhere in the city while some of the guys went to the Good Shepherd Convent to buy bottles of ube jam, peanut brittle, and other stuff you buy from a convent filled with pastry and dessert-making experts for pasalubong. Some of us went to Session Road to have lunch. We decided to eat at Pizza Volante because we heard that the pizza was pretty good there.

At around 1PM, we all* proceeded to the Baguio Cathedral (aka Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral) for the wedding. The wedding ceremony itself was really nice. Baguio Cathedral is big and looks really nice, and the mass went by quickly.

*all except Marj, na naiwanan pala sa kwarto kasi ang tagal magbihis... LOL

After the mass, we taxied our way to the Baguio Country Club where cocktails were being served. Since the reception wasn't gonna start until 6 pm, we went up to BCC's restaurant to hang out, and then we grilled Enzo about hot topics involving him (oo, kasama na ang sweldo dun. lol)

We also went crazy on the fotoloco booth, halos 20% ng pics jan sa album are pictures of our group haha.

The reception started at about 6pm, when the entourage danced their way to the middle of the ballroom (except kay Sheryl Tan na naglakad lang, boooo!)

The food was great, I think I ate about a plateful of the fish fillet.

Then, games! The guys had to blow balloons up until they popped. The guy who doesn't pop his balloon gets to be the one to put on the garter to the girl who "won" the girls' game. The "winning" guy was Philip, who we suspected of pretending to not be able to blow the balloon hahaha...

The girls' game was Trip to Jerusalem/Musical Chairs, but instead of racing each other to sit on the chairs, the girls had to race each other to grab a banana that was placed in between the guys' legs. Daisie was extra excited for the game, she squeezed two(2!) bananas into mush. Don't use your imagination too much. Anyway, the twist was that right before Philip was to put the garter on the winning girl's leg, they blindfolded him and the girl was replaced by someone's grandma. We were all very happy about this. (Well, all except for Philip I guess.)

After the wedding, we all went back to PNKY to change before heading out to have some drinks at the nearby bar. We were supposed to go to Nevada Square but we Karon and Wayne found out that their dress code didn't allow people to wear shorts or slippers, which more than half of us were wearing that night (hindi gaanong malamig sa Baguio nun eh.) After the drinks, some went to sleep, while the rest of us stayed at PNKY's front porch and drank the bignay wine that we got as a souvenir from the wedding, all along exchanging ghost stories, since Baguio at night is scary, and did I mention that the creepy white house in Baguio was right there in front of us?

Congratulations ulit, Camille and Marlon! That was definitely a great, memorable way to start your married life! Cheers!

More pics over here: http://bloodsportandriot.multiply.com/photos/album/83/Camille_and_Marlons_Baguio_Wedding_part_2

Camille & Marlon's Baguio Wedding, pt 1

2010-05-09T14:09:00.010+08:00

[April 23] Our first day in Baguio for Camille and Marlon's wedding. We took the 1:15 AM Vicotry Liner bus, which left the Edsa-Pasay station at about 1:45 AM. The bus ride was really quick, we arrived in Baguio just 4 hours and some minutes later at around 6am. We went straight to PNKY:

(an awesome bed and breakfast with the Baguio haunted house* right in front of it, and our home for the next 2 nights) to leave our bags. Check in time wasn't until 2pm in the afternoon, so we decided to grab a nice breakfast at the first place we saw that was open, Glenn 50's Diner, just a block away from PNKY.

I ordered Fish and Chips, and it felt like I was eating a whole school of dory. For 100-something pesos, it was a lot.

We lucked out on Joseph's mom's friend having their house blessed that day, so we went to Joseph's mom's friend's house to join the house blessing, including the best part of ceremony: free lunch. We also went to SM Baguio because Airis (aka The Face) wanted to look for a place where the girls could get their hair done before the wedding. After SM Baguio, we took a quick stroll along Session Road, where we had a cone of ice cream (we had Razon's halo-halo earlier at SM.) We burned off the calories by biking at Burnham Park.

I haven't biked in a really loooong time (grade school pa yata ako nung huli akong nagbike.) I think I know why I haven't ridden a bike for such a long time. Those bike seats aren't very comfortable. Now I know what it feels like to be raped. Masakit.

Anyway.

After an hour of biking, we headed straight to Forest House for late dinner. The food was great, and the place was really nice too. I had sesame crusted fish fillet with Asian mango salsa. I got a surprise birthday cake to end the meal. Thanks Forest House and friends!

After that, we went back to PNKY, all tired but full. Great first day! Ikakasal na sila Camille and Marlon bukas!

More pics here:

http://bloodsportandriot.multiply.com/photos/album/82/Camille_and_Marlons_Baguio_Wedding_part_1

*a quick google search says that it's actually the Laperal House, built in the 1920/30's by the Laperal (duh) clan. It has since been abandoned but some sources say that the house was bought by Tito Lucio (Tan) about 3 years ago. Even saw some pics of the house's interiors. It looks nice from the inside!

The 051010 Choice, Part 2

2010-05-09T12:43:00.008+08:00

Ok, call me fickle minded.

But the pull for voting for someone who has proven his ability to lead and to create changes successfully, and continues to submit fresh, innovative ideas, and who is willing to rally the people's minds AND hearts to lift us from our current situation, and espouses positive transformation in various aspects of his vision? Is much stronger than the hope that I'm projecting towards a Gibo leadership.

They both have their strengths and they both have their weaknesses. The positives qualities that each of them possess are very admirable, and fits to what I'm looking for in a president. Gibo's stand on improving infrastructure and economy, and Gordon's stand on education. In my eyes, if I was looking at their strengths exclusively, choosing between them is like flipping a coin.

What I realize now is that I can bear with Gordon's weaknesses more than Gibo's, because he has shown that his strengths supplement his weaknesses, which is something I can't say for Gibo just yet. With Gordon, there's the fact that people think he brings a lot of hubris to his talk. And there's the fact that his ideas are wild and grand and also sometimes almost quixotic. With Gibo, there's the doubt about accountability, that their might be slack in getting it, in as far as his actions as DND Secretary and NDCC chief showed. And there's the doubt on his position regarding issues that directly affect his alliances, that his alliance with GMfuckingA and trapo-filled party will cloud his positions on issues such as corruption and human rights.

With Gordon, I know what I'm getting, and I know that his positive qualities can override his perceived negatives. And I trust his sincerity and integrity and his desire to get Filipinos not just to change, but to move forward.

And yes, his fresh energy.

The 051010 Choice

2010-05-08T22:33:00.002+08:00

At the beginning of this week, I was still torn between voting for Gibo and voting for Gordon.

On the one hand, Gibo is incredibly intelligent, and hearing him answer questions during the different presidential forum is enough for even doubters to be convinced of his ability, his intelligence, his competence (or at least, his eloquence.) When he talks, he shows his understanding of issues, and provides specific, implementable ideas that align to his clear vision. He talks to the point, and more importantly, with a specific, strong point, which is a breath of fresh air in Philippine politics. The big thorn on his side is of course, he's coming from the same political party as GMfuckingA.

On the other hand, here's Gordon and his long list of achievements. He has proven in his track record that he can do many things well. More to the point: he can lead well because he has shown that he understands what good leadership is all about. He also has a lot of ideas. Big ideas. He is also thought of as bringing a lot of bark to his big bite.

Gibo and Gordon have their individual strengths: one can boast of a clear, well-thoughtout vision and platform and the other, a clear, headstrong leadership skill. Gibo is showing to be concensus-builder, while Gordon has shown himself to be a steadfast doer. At the same time, they share the same positions on various different issues, which is why it's proving a challenge to discern between the two who exactly is a better fit for the highest position in the land.

That's when a thought came to me: imagine what a leader like Gordon would've done had he been president of the country at his vital, peak years, carrying all that fresh energy and can-do way of thinking that he applied to transforming Subic and the Department of Tourism. A leader like him, in a fresh package full of dynamism and positivity, would probably have a great run as the President of the Philippines. Makes you think.

And that's why I'm voting for Gibo.

25 Isn't Quarter Life When You're Crawling Fast Enough

2010-04-28T02:24:00.005+08:00

I was trying to think of something witty to say about turning 25 but I just can't squeeze anything out of my brain right now. I guess I'm just thankful that I didn't spend my birthday at the doctor's clinic or in the ER like last year.

Oh, and my dad sent me a greeting and his birthday wish for me via text (and I quote): I wish u will find ur lifetime partner soon." HAHAHA. Jeez dad, I turned 25, not 40.

----------------

In last year's birthday blog post, I was congratulating Camille and Marlon on their engagement. This year, I'm congratulating them for getting married last Saturday! It was a fun wedding and I had a great time in Baguio. I'll talk about that and post pics in the next few days.

Up next will be Mich and James in another destination wedding! Ang daming ikakasal! I guess my dad does have a point...

----------------

I'm on training now for a new role, and I'm actually excited about it. I'll be managing a new application (you know, managing it in a technical way. Heh.) I just hope I don't bring any bad luck to this role/application. In other work-related news, I am now an OCA (Oracle Certified Associate)!

Gotta update that resume then.

Boracay! With CSI! Pt. 3

2010-03-26T19:42:00.004+08:00

Third day in Boracay - we went reef walking in the morning, but we had to wait until lunch time for our turn since there were many batches. We killed time by swimming from one boat to another (namely: kayak, banana and speed.) Reef Walking (aka Helmet Diving) in Boracay was an okay experience. The visibility in the water wasn't that great and there was exactly one (1!) coral reef formation to see once you're down there. Lots of fishes to feed though.

As I said, it was lunch time when we finished, so we had lunch at basically the first restaurant we saw after getting back on the beach, which was Hawaiian Barbecue. And I'm not complaining at all because the huge baby back ribs, Hawaiian-style lechon manok and fried fish were all yummy, and paid for by the very generous Pat.

After resting up a bit, we went to the zorb riding park for some downhill, wet, ball-rolling fun (and no, I don't mean for that to sound dirty.) I was really, really excited to try this. I remember the 5th season of The Amazing Race, on the New Zealand leg, this was the roadblock and part of the task was filling the zorb up with air, then rolling yourself on the plain to the pitstop, good thing we didn't have to do either... We just had to get inside the giant globe and wait for it to fall down the hill. And it was awesome! I couldn't stop laughing the entire time, even while water was splashing all over my face and Pat and Manny's limbs were kicking/hitting me all at the same time. Sana magkaron ng ganito sa Manila (or kahit sa Tagaytay.)

After that, we walked around the beach again, and ended up at Jona's again, ordering a set of milk shakes again. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if that became my daily routine. Also part of our daily routine: Happy Hour. This time we went to the rooftop lounge of The Tides Hotel for some beer and cocktails (and calamares and oysters and cheese sticks.) Their happy hour promo was Buy 1-Take 1 instead of the usual 50% off, so we ended up drinking more than our usual drinks (but it was our last day anyway.) So after happy hour, we went to Ele's at D'Mall for dinner. I guess reef walking and zorbing was too labor intensive for us, so we just kept on eating and drinking the rest of the day.

After dinner (which ended at about 11pm), we (around 8 of us) capped our Buhay Baboy day with a nice massage. Where the masseuse told us all to strip off our clothes. Which was kind of awkward since there were no dividers and we could all see each other, as well as everyone else who happened to be in the (public) area. I took off my clothes anyway.

Pics!

Boracay! With CSI! Pt. 2

2010-03-26T19:23:00.004+08:00

Day 2 in Boracay - Played some frisbee (kunyari marunong), then met up with the rest of the CSI folks for lunch at D'Mall. After lunch, we went to Jona's (again) for some milk shake, then met up with Stephie and Eileen for some Flyfish action, which is always FUN. Manny and Pat weren't able to join us because they just got their henna tattoos and were waiting for it to dry up. On the bright side, they were able to ride the speed boat that was pulling the flyfish and were able to shoot some great videos (including the part where we were all trying to help Eileen get back on the ride.)

After that, we hung out on the beach and played some frisbee again (which I was really lame at, so I just decided to swim after a few minutes.) We also played our favorite Boracay game, batuhan ng lumot. After the games, it's safe to say I went crazy on taking pics of the sunset (which is what usually happens when I'm on the beach and there's a sunset and I've got a camera.)

We went to Hey Jude for happy hour drinks, had dinner at a buffet place near D'Mall, then went to Summerplace for some more drinks. As I said in one of my tweets, Summerplace is Boracay's Cafe Havana (Greenbelt.) Ang daming foreigners na may kasamang exotic-looking ~~gnolutaks~~ girls. We left after one bucket.

Pics!

Boracay! With CSI!

2010-03-26T19:01:00.005+08:00

I didn't get to go to Boracay last year, so I was excited to go back. It looks even more like Glorietta/Greenbelt since I was last there two years ago. So yeah.

The CSI/L3 Team went to Boracay for their team building activity, so we (me, Pat, Mats, Becca, Yome and Manny) tagged along since kaladkarin kami.

First day in Boracay - March 14, 2010.

We arrived at around 3pm and were shuttled to Island Nook Resort. Island Nook is just beside D'Mall and along the main road of the island. It's a nice budget boutique hotel with really nice rooms, designed in exactly the way you'd think a budget boutique hotel would be designed (all white and minimalist.) Island Nook also has nice Persian resto called Island Kebab that servers good food and has that typical resto-on-an-island feel, complete with surfing photos and Bob Marley posters. It's just kind of weird that they've got Shawarma Rice and Pita Bread on their menu, but when you order the actual shawarma (the ones served on a pita bread), sasabihin nung waitress na hindi sila nagseserve ng ganun. Anyway.

We walked along the beach to our first destination: Jona's for some great milk shake. We just hung out at the beach in front of Jona's till the sun set (where Pat asked a random kid if we could bury him on the sand. The kid ran away.) After that, we went to Juice Bar in Plazoleta for some happy hour drinks (we were the only ones there.) Then we had dinner at Andok's in D'Mall, before joining everyone else at Club Parao (or what used to be Club Parao, I forgot what it's new name is) for more drinks.

/End of Day/Night 1.

Pics are uploaded on my Multiply and Facebook pages.

Things You Think About While Taking A Shower

2010-03-26T18:38:00.002+08:00

Things you think about while taking a shower:

1. What to eat for dinner.

2. The awesome things that happened to you in the past week.

3. The complete lyrics of that song that's been stuck on your head for 2 days now.

4. Your career path.

5. What you should look forward to for the rest of the month.

Traveling and Budgeting

2010-02-21T19:15:00.014+08:00

Funny how last January, I was complaining about not having enough trips planned yet for the year. Fast forward to now, and I've got Boracay, Baguio, Singapore, Iloilo and Guimaras, Batanes, and Baguio all lined up.

Woot! Cheers to airline promos! Ubos na naman ang pera ko!

The Iloilo (with a planned sidetrip to Guimaras) and two Baguio trips are actually for weddings of friends/current & former officemates (Mich and James, Marlon and Camille, and Karon and Wayne), so those are pretty much planned out. The Iloilo flight is probably the cheapest flight I've ever paid for at 300 pesos (round trip!!!) from Cebu Pacific. And Guimaras is less than an hour's boat ride from Iloilo City, so that trip is definitely a steal. Baguio is a 7-hour bus ride, so we actually haven't planned those ones yet.

Last January when Cebu Pac had another seat sale, I was asking (a.k.a. begging) my office friends to go to Bohol/Singapore with me, but not enough people bit the offer for various different reasons... So when we heard that another team in the office was going to Boracay for their team building activity, Pat, Mats & Becca, Rommel, and I decided to tag along with them (we're crashing in on the other team's team building trip since they found discounted PAL flights and cheap accommodations there. LOL.)

And then last week, my college/office friend Mia was planning for a Singapore trip and found discounted flights on Singapore Airlines, so when she told me about it and found that an IT Fair and the Great Singapore Sale was going to happen around the same dates of the trip, and Mike confirmed that Universal Studios SG is now open, I jumped in on it too. We're planning on just crashing at our former officemates/currently Singapore-based friends' apartment to save on costs. Thanks for not objecting to our planned invasion, Ben, Jyue, Mike and Geebee!

Finally, we've been planning/trying to plan a trip to Batanes for several months now. We even have a discussion on Google Wave for it (because we're dripping with technogeeky hipster coolness as it is. Heh.), but found most travel options either too expensive (14k + on Seair, or a chartered flight from Tuguegarao), or too um, hardcore (boat from Curimao, Ilocos Norte, anyone?) So when Seair released their promo fares in time for this year's Philippine Travel Expo, we were finally able to finalize the dates of the trip. Woohoo!

So... now I really have to work hard to stay on my monthly budget (also: I guess now have to start setting a monthly budget) and reduce unnecessary expenses. As a first step, magce-Century Tuna at Ligo Sardines na lang ako araw-araw.

Also, kailangang humanap ng role na malaki ang on-call pay.

The Era of Roger/Serena

2010-02-02T23:33:00.001+08:00

Roger Federer won his 4th Australian Open, and 16th grand slam title overall, after beating Andy Murray in dominant form, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(13-11). Roger played great tennis in the semis vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and carried that form through to the finals. Murray just couldn't find any openings to break down Roger's game. And honestly, when Roger is playing his best (or close to his best), Murray's best just isn't gonna be good enough on the day. So with Rafa struggling with a knee injury, will this be Roger's year to win THE grand slam? We'll just have to see. One down, three to go.

Better luck next time other Andy, at least you didn't bawl your eyes out like last year's losing finalist.

The women's final ended with Serena Williams winning her 5th Australian Open title and 12th singles grand slam title (She also won her 11th doubles grand slam title with Ate Venus) by beating Justine Henin in 3 sets. Serena is slowly inching her way to the Steffi Graf/Martina Navratilova/Chris Evert group of Best Ever. She's gonna have to survive Justine's return from retirement to get close to the 22/18/18 grand slams that the 3 aforementioned legends have won.

Justine made an impressive comeback at Brisbane on the first week of January, where she lost a brilliant final to fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters. She then followed that up by making the Grand Slam final in only her 2nd tournament after more than a year off of tennis. She couldn't quite replicate Kim's run at the US Open (and Serena fortunately didn't have a line judge-related meltdown too), but with a more aggressive game and the same Allez-screaming, fist pumping, never-say-die attitude, Justine will probably add a few more grand slams to the 7 she already has.

Also, big props to:

1. The Chinese ladies Jie Zheng and Li na who both made it to the semifinals. This is the first time that two Chinese players (heck, two Asians) ever made it to the semifinals of a grand slam.

2. Croat Marin Cilic, who survived several 5 set matches against Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick to reach his first grand slam semifinal. Cilic is having a great year so far. He has played in two other tournaments besides the Australian Open, and won both of them.

3. Blonde Eastern Europeans - Maria Kirilenko, who followed up her upset win over the other Maria by making it all the way to her first grand slam quarterfinals, and Victoria Azarenka, who made her first Aussie Open quarterfinals and had a 6-4, 4-0 lead over Serena before succumbing to an avalanche of Serena's aces and winners.

*pictures courtesy of the Australian Open website/Getty Images

Aussie Open Seed and Upset Report

2010-01-25T01:45:00.005+08:00

The first week of the year's first grand slam is done, and that means the we've got the Final 16 and we've gotten rid of 87.5% of the players in the singles draw. Here's a rundown of the seeds and big names that are part of that 87.5% (a.k.a the early round losers.):

First Round Losers:

(14)Maria Sharapova (RUS) - the very first casualty, losing to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in the very first match on Rod Laver Arena.

(8)Robin Soderling (SWE) - last year's French Open finalist is on 0 wins in 2 matches this year after losing his opening match to Marcel Granollers.

(13)Radek Stepanek (CZE) - Lost to Croat Ivo Karlovic

(16)Tommy Robredo (ESP) - Lost to Colombian Santiago Giraldo

And the lower seeds:

Men: (23)Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP), (25)Sam Querrey (USA), (28)Jurgen Melzer (AUT), (32)Jeremy Chardy (FRA)

Women: (18)Virginie Razzano (FRA) (23)Dominika Cibulkova (SVK), (25)Anabel Medina-Garrigues (ESP), (28)Elena Vesnina (RUS)

Unseeded:

Richard Gasquet (FRA) - He's getting a mention here because I thought he was gonna make a surprise run. Lost in 5 sets to Mikhail Youzhny in a great match that STAR SPORTS DID NOT FINISH. Your turning into an also-ran fast, Reeshard.

Melanie Oudin (USA) - Had stellar runs at Wimbledon and the US Open, and got tremendous hype from the US media. Gives fodder for her critics that says she only got lucky at the US Open.

Second Round Losers:

(5)Elena Dementieva (RUS) - lost to former #1, 7-time grand slam champ, making-a-comeback-from-retirement Justine Henin of Belgium. Not really an upset, but still, too bad for Elena.

(12)Flavia Pennetta (ITA) - lost to world #16, US Open semifinalist, making-a-comeback-from-unfair-suspension Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. Not a huge upset, but still, too bad for Flavia.

Lower seeds:

(17)David Ferrer (ESP) - lost to Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in 5 sets after leading 2 sets to 0. Baghdatis then pulled out from his third round match just to irritate Ferrer.

(20)Ana Ivanovic (SRB) - lost to Gisela Dulko. Ana's ball toss has gone on to hiding after being thrown awkwardly into the air one to many times. The said ball toss is still currently missing upon this writing.

(21)Sabine Lisicki (GER) - lost to Alberta Brianti. Hasn't tweeted since loss.

(21)Tomas Berdych (CZE) - lost to Anna Kournikova's cousin Evgeny Korolev.

(24)Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP) - lost to China's Jie Zheng.

(29)Viktor Troicki (SRB) - lost to German Florian Mayer.

(26)Aravane Rezai (FRA) - lost to German Angelique Kerber.

(29)Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR) - lost to Great Britain's Elena Baltacha.

Third Round Losers:

(8)Jelena Jankovic (SRB) - lost to #31 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.

(10)Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) - lost to 5'5 Italian Francesca Schiavone.
(11)Marion Bartoli (FRA) - lost to China's Jie Zheng, her 2nd straight upset win over a seed.
(12)Gael Monfils (FRA) - lost to 6'9'' American John Isner.

(24)Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) - lost to 6'10'' Croat Ivo Karlovic.

and the biggest upset of all...

(15)Kim Clijsters (BEL) - lost to Russian Nadia Petrova. The big shock here wasn't that Kim lost. It was that she lost badly. And when I say badly, I mean 6-0, 6-1. Brutal loss.

(There were several other seeds who lost, but they lost to higher ranked players, so that's not really an upset.)

The second week of the Aussie Open is where it gets serious, where the title contenders face each other (and when I say title contenders, I mean the Federers and Nadals and Henins and Williamseseses.)

Go blonde Europeans!

The Aussie Open 2010 Guessing Game

2010-01-19T01:12:00.003+08:00

So every time a grand slam tournament comes along, I join this contest over at the Tennis X forum, we basically predict who makes the quarters, semis, finals and who eventually wins, plus guesses on extra categories such as the Biggest Loser (Top 1-16 player who loses the earliest) and Winning Ugly (player who plays the most games on his/her way to the quarterfinals), and some bonus categories, in this case it's the Homeboy Hewitt Hanging On (guess the round when Aussie Lleyton Hewitt loses) and the Belgians vs Americans (who wins more matches on the women's side, the 4 Belgians or the 8 Americans?) We can also earn extra points for every bagel and breadsticks our quarterfinalists bake. (Note to non-tennis fans: A bagel is when a player wins a set with a score of 6-0, a breadstick = 6-1.)

So here are my picks. I wonder how I'll rank this time...

Men's side
Quarterfinals:
Roger Federer (SUI) vs Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs Robin Soderling (SWE)
Andy Roddick (USA) vs Marin Cilic (CRO) (substitute player: Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG))
Andy Murray (GBR) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Semifinals:
Federer vs Soderling
Cilic vs Nadal
(I'm a bit surprised with my own men's SF line-up, but let's see how it goes.)

Final:
Federer vs Cilic

Champion: Roger Federer (This really is more wishful thinking than an informed prediction, Roger might easily lose in the quarters to Davydenko based on recent results. He's already got 15 grand slams in the cabinet anyway, so this shouldn't be heartbreaking.)

WU: Reeshard Gasquet
BL: Novak Djokovic (the world #3 lost in straight sets to Fernando Verdasco, and in 3 sets to 17-year old, #291 Bernard Tomic last week, not a very good omen)
HHHO: 3rd round (to Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis)

Women's side:
Quarterfinals:
Serena Williams (USA) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Venus Williams (USA)
Justine Henin (BEL) (substitute: Elena Dementieva (RUS)) vs Kim Clijsters (BEL)
Marion Bartoli (FRA) vs Maria Sharapova (RUS)

Semifinals:
Serena vs Wozniacki
Clijsters vs Sharapova
(I made this prediction last Sunday, before Masha lost to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in the first match of the tournament yesterday. Go Makiri! :D)

Final:
Serena vs Clijsters
(Wanna bet Serena won't be challenging any calls on this match?)

Champ: Kim Clijsters (picking up a back-to-back Grand Slam, the 3rd of her career, and remain unbeaten this year. I'm actually rooting for Justine or Elena, but they'll be facing each other in the 2nd round, then Kim in the quarters... But really this is all just wishful thinking again, since the title will probably go to Serena anyway.)

WU: Caroline Wozniacki (she could meet Daniela Hantuchova in the 4th round, and I'm just hoping Daniela makes a match out of it.)
BL: Elena Dementieva
Belgium vs USA: America, but only by a small margin. And only because the four Belgians in the draw are all in the same quarter.

The Hopman Cup and The Up and Comer

2010-01-19T01:04:00.004+08:00

So the tennis season is back on again, it actually started 2 weeks ago with the pre-Australian Open tournaments. The Hopman Cup was broadcast on Star Sports, and it's one of my favorite events. It's a team tournament, like the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, except this one is a mixed event where countries face each other in 3 matches, a women's singles match, a men's singles match, and a mixed doubles match. This year, Spain (with world #16 Tommy Robredo and world #5 in doubles Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez) took the crown over Great Britain (represented by world #4 Andy Murray and 15 year-old Laura Robson.) What makes this format awesome is I get to see my favorite male and female players playing together (like Roger Federer/Martina Hingis for Switzerland way back 2001, last year's Marat Safin/Dinara Safina for Russia, any team with Daniela Hantuchova or Mary Pierce.)

Anyway, the main reason why I'm talking about the Hopman Cup before I proceed with listing my Aussie Open predictions is I wanted to add the hype on Laura Robson. She's 15 years old, 5'10'', won the Wimbledon Girls title last 2008, and was the #1 ranked junior in the world last year. And although still ranked outside the top 400, she showed some serious talent (she beat #27 Martinez Sanchez in the final, and helped a lot in the mixed doubles matches.) She's a lefty who can play with lots of spin and angles and while her game isn't just about ball bashing from the baseline, she showed that she can hang with the top 100 players she played against at the Hopman Cup. I guess I'll be keeping tabs on how her career goes, since it's taking a bit too long for Arantxa Rus to make her breakthrough...

So, are hyped up with Laura Robson yet?

011110, or 30 in Binary

2010-01-11T23:22:00.004+08:00

So, 11th day into the new year...

I just moved into a new room. Except it's not actually a new room, it's the old computer/study room that no one uses anymore since no one in our household bothers to study anymore. It's also the room where an unfortunate incident happened.

Pros: My room isn't in the attic anymore, I've got a brand new, nice-looking sofa bed, and a nice desk for my laptop when I'm working at home (it's right in front of the TV.)

Cons: This room is smaller. And have I mentioned that sofa beds are a lot less comfortable than conventional big beds?

I just moved into a new role. Except it's not actually a new role, it's just a new version of an old role that no one wanted to take. (Oops, did I say that out loud?)

Pros: Flex time, and I get nice sum of on-call pay that makes up for my unfortunate stagnant salary.

Cons: I'm on call. On weekends, holidays, and the wee hours of the morning. There are others, but we can discuss that offline. ;-)

I wonder what the 12th day will bring.

Robbers, Bibles, Rainbows, Machines, Nightmare

2009-12-30T15:29:00.002+08:00

So I'm not quite done yet with my year-end lists.

The previous two years, I listed the 20 most played songs from my it's-not-an-iPod-it's-a Creative Zen Vision M, but I'm not gonna do that now (since I wasn't able to reset the songs' play count at the start of '09.) So I'm just gonna list my 10 most listened-to albums (based on last.fm, which probably isn't very accurate either, because my last.fm widget doesn't usually work when I'm in the office, and I had some issues with using the widget on Windows Media Player, but enough side comments.) Here they are:

1. Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards

2. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

3. Radiohead – In Rainbows

4. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine

5. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare

6. Duffy – Rockferry

7. Up dharma Down – Fragmented

8. The Perishers – Let There Be Morning

9. Kings of Leon – Only by the Night

10. Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer

So none of these albums were actually released in 2009, but whatever, I'm wired to be late in many, many ways.

I think CWK's Robbers & Cowards probably made it to #1 on the strength of this brilliant, brilliant song (not to say that the rest of the album isn't great, because it is.) Neon Bible and In Rainbows are two of my favorite albums of the decade. I mean, those CD's are outstanding work, and in the case of In Rainbows, literally priceless.

If Robbers & Cowards was on repeat because of one song, then Extraordinary Machines was probably on repeat solely because of the lines "I was feeding on the need for you to know me, devastated at the rate you fell below me." (you get bonus points from me if you know what song that came from) (without googling it up) (bonus points are irredeemable, btw.)

So that's my music list for 2009. I'd love to see yours :-) (no really, I do. I'm not just being polite.)

Best Of '09... Part 2

2009-12-27T06:41:00.004+08:00

Best Viral Videos of 2009:

JK Wedding Entrance Dance

In second place:

Kanye Interrupts Taylor Swift at the VMA's

(worth mentioning: Baby Dancing to Single Ladies, and Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent Audition)

Best Weirdly Awesome/Awesomely Weird TV Character:

Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory

In second place:

Sue Sylvester, Glee

Best Dessert Place of The Year:

Classic Confections (Nono's Chocolate Oblivion cake)

In second place:

Tie: Cafe Breton (Adam and Eve crepe), Wicked Kitchen (Gluttony)

Best Fish Dish I Tasted For The First time This Year:

Cookbook Kitchen's Parmesan Crusted White Fish

In second place:

Fely J's Tilapia with Sweet Plum Sauce

Best Sandwich for Lunch In the Office:

Subway's Italian B.M.T. in Parmesan Oregano Bread with Honey Mustard and Sweet Onion dressing

In second place:

Delifrance's Frech Dip Roast Beef

Most "I don't get it..." Music Trend of 2009:

Justin Bibier being popular (I mean come on, his voice is exactly a quarter of an octave lower than Alvin and the Chipmunks')

In second place:

K-Pop girl bands.

Most Annoying Showbiz Issues of 2009:

Hayden Kho sex tapes. (Seriously, a senate hearing? So you just couldn't find anywhere else to waste our tax money on, Bong Revilla?)

In second place:

Manny Pacquiao's alleged extra-marital affair with Krista Ranillo. (At least he didn't try to beat Tiger Woods' list of hoes.)

Best Starbucks Pastry That I Eat With My Cafe Mocha:

Banoffee Pie

In second place:

Cinnamon Swirl

2009 Pinoy Hero:

Muelmar Magallanes

In second place:

Efren Peñaflorida

Best Of '09... Part 1

2009-12-27T03:31:00.014+08:00

Best movie I saw this year:
(500) Days of Summer

In second place:

Most under-appreciated TV shows (because I don't know any friend who watches this show):

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

In second place:

The Soup

Best Trip I Took In 2009:

Coron, April 2-6

In second place:

Caramoan/CWC, Feb 21-24

Best Nickelodeon TV show:

Spongebob Squarepants

In second place:

The Fairly Odd Parents

Best "The Amazing Race" elimination:

Season 15, Dubai Leg Part 2: Mika and Canaan gets eliminated after Mika refuses to go down a 90-foot waterslide, allowing Globetrooters Flight Time and Big Easy to overtake them (this after the GTs fell behind by almost an hour when they couldn't figure out the right sequence that would open the combination lock of a briefcase that holds their next clue)

In second place:

Season 14, Beijing Leg Part 2: Kisha and Jen gets eliminated after Jen insists on taking a bathroom break, allowing Jaime and Cara to overtake them (this after Kisha and Jen gets U-Turned, and Jaime and Cara got lost for 3 hours++ finding a Chinese Opera House)

Most Unwelcome News of the Year:

Typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) Flood + Damages. :(

In second place:

Ampatuan Massacre. Grrrr.

Most Addicting Website of the Year:

Facebook

In second place:

Tie: Television Without Pity/Twitter

Best Sporting Event of the Year:

Roger Federer wins a record 15th Grand Slam title in Wimbledon, 16-14 in the 5th set, over Andy Roddick

In second place:

Roger Federer wins his 14th Grand Slam title and 1st ever French Open to complete a career Grand Slam.

Before Our Noche Buena Starts...

2009-12-24T23:34:00.004+08:00

Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, and Merry Christmas to you all!

Here are some Christmas things I found on youtube:

Wherever you are and whoever you're with, enjoy the happy, special moments this day brings and the love of the people around you!

And The Weekend Brought Friday

2009-12-20T01:34:00.006+08:00

A week late on the follow up post, but anyway:

So after the GO!EMEA Team Building/Pool Party at Pansol, next on the agenda was the company-wide Christmas Party on Thursday night, ok food, ok venue, but it pales hugely in comparison to the Christmas parties of previous years. Back then, it was an actual party, everyone got a door prize, and beer was overflowing; this year, there was neither.

There was the usual Jam and Groove performances though:

Groove@HP performance

The next day, we had our group/tower/bundle's offsite team building. Since we had the Christmas party the night before, and the bus to Subic was scheduled to leave Makati at 5am, that meant no sleep for me. I decided that I would just sleep on the bus, but the travel time from Manila to Subic wasn't that long... so I didn't get that much sleep. So I thought I'd just sleep while I was on the ferry, but the ferry ride didn't take too long either, so I though I would just stay at the assigned room and sleep till lunch time. Except the room wasn't available yet, check in time wasn't until 1PM. By this time I was pissed.

But since Christmas is coming, I'll just be generous and just say that I enjoyed riding the banana boat (side note: this guy didn't), playing tag on the swimming pool (and bullying our teammates who couldn't swim by tagging them and swimming to the deeper end), eating dinner in the open garden (food for lunch was CRAP!), watching our teammates/managers dance/rap/embarrass themselves for charity (I have incriminating videos), and drinking/walking around the island from room to room to look for drinking buddies.

Pics!

It Started On A Monday

2009-12-13T21:28:00.010+08:00

So this was a really busy week...

It started out last Monday, when weeks usually do. Our team (Global Operations EMEA + CDW L3, both current and former members) and the Capacity Management Team rented a pool house in Pansol, Laguna. And getting there was a challenge. For me, at least. So I decided that since Laguna is down south, and I live down south, it made sense to just join the carpool from one of the gas stations at South Luzon Expressway. I've done this several times, so I didn't really think I would run into problems, but then I usually wait at the Shell station. This time I decided to wait at the Petron station, because I got a text from Jerwin (who lives in Laguna) that he'll be waiting there too. Anyway, when I finally got to Alabang, I couldn't find a jeep that would stop at Petron. Turns out I had to go inside the Alabang terminal and ride a GMA-bound jeep. So when I finally found the jeep, I told the driver that I'll be getting off at the Petron station, but I guess he didn't understand me because he kept on driving until we got to Carmona exit, about 4 kms away. I got off just after the toll gate, and since I wasn't familiar with the area, I just decided to ride a jeep back to Alabang and retrace my steps. Luckily, the other carpool groups coming from Makati were still at the Sucat exit, so I texted them to wait for me at the Shell station, which is a lot easier to get to from Alabang. I arrived at the Shell station at just about the same time as the carpool group, and it was smooth sailing from there.

So the point of this story is: Good thing I know how to take public transpo.

Once we got to the pool house in Pansol, we had lunch (pork adobo cooked by Cez, and tilapia that was expertly gutted by Cla), swam for a bit, played cards, and had dinner (liempo grilled by the new hires.) We also sang our lungs out all night on the videoke (especially Cla, most especially Cla. BTW, tell me if you wanna see her straight-from-the-heart wild and awesome "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" performance :p) and got drunk on beer, vodka and Bacardi 151, which is how team buildings should be. We left early the next day and went back to work in the afternoon.

Pics!

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Now playing: Up Dharma Down - the world is our playground and we will always be home
via FoxyTunes

Polar Opposites Don't Push Away

2009-11-29T17:58:00.005+08:00

I condemn the Ampatuan Massacre.

It's the work of barbaric monsters. Something like this should not go unpunished, and should not be forgotten. This shouldn't be handled with kid-gloves just because the main suspects of the crime are allies of the president.

It's sickening that this was done, and for such a shallow reason as the illusion of "power". I condemn the Ampatuan Massacre and I condemn all political war clans who hold such abusive power.

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I support the Reproductive Health Bill.

Because it can prevent this:

Official estimates put annual abortions at 400,000 to 500,000, and rising. The World Health Organization estimate puts the figure at nearly 800,000, one of the highest rates of unsafe abortions in Asia.

Seventy percent of unwanted pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion said Jean-Marc Olivé, the country representative of the World Health Organization. One of four pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion, according to Pro-Life Philippines, an anti-abortion group.
According to the Department of Health, nearly 100,000 women who have unsafe abortions every year end up in the hospital.
The Philippines, with its high population growth rate (2.6 percent) and low rate of contraceptive use (an estimated 35 percent) also has an increasing number of teenage pregnancies. As many as 17 percent of all unsafe abortions are done on teenage or young mothers, according to the Department of Health.
Compounding the problem is the fact that 36 percent of Filipino women become pregnant before marriage and 45 percent of all pregnancies are either unwanted or ill-timed, according to the World Health Organization.

The source of that quote is the article Philippines abortion crisis from The New York Times, an article that was written 4 years ago but is sadly still valid today (and whose figures are likely with even worse now.)

The RH Bill will help prevent unwanted pregnancies and all the troubles that are attached to it. It will help couples plan their family's future, and help them attain these plans by making the means more accessible. It will help educate people on how to act responsibly when it comes to their reproductive and sexual health.

Because that's what education does, and that's what this bill brings. What it doesn't bring is narrow-mindedness on issues and ills that are actually affecting hundreds of thousands of Filipino women and men.

I support the Reproductive Health Bill and I will support the politicians who bravely take a stand for it, even if it means they stand against the political blackmail that the Philippine Catholic church is sending out.

It's Elementary.

2009-11-17T17:05:00.002+08:00

Ika nga ni Sherlock Holmes: Change is afoot.

Well, no, that's not what he actually says, but it fits my narrative, so whatever.

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500 Days of Summer = Awesome Movie. In fact, it's the best movie I've seen this year. It's like the '00s version of Before Sunrise for me (the only other romantic movie that I actually like.) (Yes, I know neither movie actually ends up with anyone being together, which isn't really romantic, but that's what makes them awesome and true.) (and please don't judge me and my ideas of romance just based on the types of romantic movies I like) (yes I'm being defensive)

Also, Zooey Deschanel rocks my socks. Zooey is in a folksy band called She and Him, where she's all kinds of awesome.

See? Eto pa:

No wonder Tom went in and out of a couple of quarterlife crises because of her.

Nasty Santi

2009-10-31T13:28:00.003+08:00

That typhoon was nasty, eh? Was up all night because of work, and the wind was howling like a hungry wolf. And when I say howling winds, I mean HOWLING (and yes, it was literally howling, I'm not even misusing "literally" here. However, I have to admit that I've never personally heard a hungry wolf howl before.)

The tube connecting our water tank to the pressure tank also got deattached during the typhoon, so I had to put my plumber's cap on and reattach it (by using a straw rope to tie the thing together, ha!)

I also just found out that the banana, jackfruit and other trees in my parents garden in Quezon got uprooted. But I get the feeling from my mom's text message that she's is more concerned about the TV antenna getting uprooted from the roof (there's no cable tv in their hilly provincial area.)

The good thing about this typhoon is it looks like it didn't create as much damage as Typhoon Ondoy (as of the moment, at least.) And it's gone within 24 hours, and right before Halloween and the Monday holiday comes around too. OTOH, a typhoon on Halloween would've made for one befittingly spooky night.

(and since tonight is Halloween, and electricity was out earlier in the morning, I decided to get in bed and re-read The Wake. The artwork on this Sandman volume is all kinds of epic.)

Keep safe and have a happy Halloween!

Da da da, da da, Da da da.

2009-10-27T08:21:00.007+08:00

Great song, awesome voices.

Randomly stalking people while singing? Sounds like a great idea while walking around the streets of Paris.

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And here's another good one. Great old school song sung by a great old school voice.

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Been watching the 15th season of the Amazing Race on Studio 23. They broadcast it via satellite, so it starts on time, and with no commercial breaks. Best way to watch TAR! Only six teams left, and I like all of them. It's been a pretty good season so far, they've been to Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Dubai. The last Dubai episode was AWESOME.

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I had another bout with the flu 2 weeks ago which lasted for more than a week. Never went to the doctor though so I have no idea what kind of flu I had. What's annoying is this is the 2nd time I've gotten the flu this year, after paying for flu vaccine earlier. Before the vaccine, I've gotten the flu maybe once or twice in my life.

Thanks, flu vaccine. You were worthless.

Us vs Typhoon Pepeng

2009-10-09T17:31:00.005+08:00

Typhoon Pepeng/Parma has really devastated Northern Luzon, and has been pouring a huge amount of rain for about a week now.

Barangay Balili, La Trinidad, Benguet

Here are some tweets from @mlq3 via Danny Durante:

Rainfall 8am yesterday to 8am today is 685 mm., more than Ondoy in Manila.

Ave rainfall in baguio october past 30 yrs only 461mm, but within 24 hours has reachd 685mm already.

(and again, it's been raining there for a week already...)

and via @PlanetEarth101:

NDCC said people affected by Pepeng has reached over 1million people with nearly 40,000 inside 162 evacuation centers

The mountainous topography of Northern Luzon means they're very prone to landslides, and at the same time, the heavy rains has already brought floods to the provinces

Typhoon Pepeng may not have affected Manila as badly as the tropical storm Ondoy did, but I hope people still pour in as much help this time as they did last week for Ondoy victims.

Let's donating as much as we can:

http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/wtd.aspx

http://www.quezon.ph/2009/09/26/how-to-help/

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/27/09/tropical-storm-ondoy-how-you-can-help

http://www.kapusofoundation.com/donate

Problem Record #66369

2009-10-04T22:26:00.007+08:00

I'm not an expert on flood control... but I do hope the government finds a few of them, and ensure that the plans they come up with gets implemented. Also, I hope our infrastructures and disaster management (prevention, response and recovery) is improved in direct response to the Ondoy calamity.

I don't think I'm alone in wanting to read the post-mortem report on what went wrong and what are the next steps so that we can avoid another disaster like this (because storms like Ondoy will come to our islands again and again...) (Asiaaid, pagawa ng PR) (sorry, work-related line...)

I also hope people realize that we can do something about this. Nagging and blaming the government isn't the only option. Let's be more environmentally concerned (taking food out from a fast food store? Tell the server you don't need the plastic. Got trash? DON'T THROW IT ON THE STREETS!) Unfortunately, I still see people in the city throwing candy wrappers, cigarette butts and small papers around... As one of the better blog posts I've read about Ondoy said, in a democracy, we the people are the government, we don't need to wait for them to do something. And it's true. Getting pissed at government officials can only do so much... If we don't actually hold them (and ourselves) accountable for the problems that we are encountering, if we don't monitor their (and our own) actions, and if we don't make solutions for the problems on our level, then how can we expect change to happen for our country?

Lastly, just because it can't be said enough: Seeing the spirit of volunteerism and the amount of care and compassion that people have shown for the typhoon victims, and our general resilience against these kinds of dire situations makes me really proud as a Filipino. While do have our problems, we don't suck people! We're actually pretty great!

p.s. US Open 2009

2009-10-04T00:48:00.007+08:00

I've been a bit busy the past 3 weeks (with work, with bugging/harassing PLDT customer service about my suddenly non-existent phone and internet connection, and finally, with watching out for crazy ass Ondoy), so I haven't been able to write about the semifinal and final matches of the US Open... and if you kept up with it, there were some crazy matches there.

After 3 weeks, I've finally been able to catch up with work (I think), my phone and net has finally been fixed (after 1 whole week, DAMN YOU PLDT!), and Ondoy and his evil stepbrother Pepeng have gone away, so I think this might be a good time to catch up...

On the men's side, Juan Martin Del Potro wins his first grand slam in sensational manner, beating 5-time US Open champ and world #1 Roger Federer in 5 sets, 3–6, 7–6 (7–5), 4–6, 7–6 (7–4), 6–2. JMDP previously defeated #2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. That was really huge result for the (then) 20 year-old Argentine. He joins Roger, Rafa and Novak as the recent Grand Slam winners, and puts himself firmly in contention for the grand slams next year (I'm putting Murray out of that circle until he bucks the trend and actually wins one.)

Congratulations JMDP!

Anyway, while DelPo won that tournament, I have post this, since it's definitely one for the Hall of Fame Career highlight reels:

On the women's side, Caroline Wozniacki got to her first grand slam final by beating Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-3. That's a great result for Caroline, who's always been on the brink of a grand slam breakthrough the past two years. Unfortunately for her though, she ran into a more formidable Belgian, Kim Clijsters. If at the start of the year, someone said that Kim would win a grand slam in 2009, I think even Kim would've laughed at that person's face... But after playing in only 2 other WTA tournaments this year, Kim mounted an amazing career comeback by winning her second grand slam title, becoming the first non-ranked player to win the US Open, and the first mother to win a grand slam since 1980.

2005 and 2009 US Open Champ Kim Clijsters with daughter Jada

Kim did it by beating Venus in the fourth round and Serena in the semis too.

Speaking of Serena, it wasn't just the semifinal match that she lost...

Totally lost her mind too.

Before the semis start...

2009-09-12T00:00:00.010+08:00

Just a quick review of the results just before the semifinal matches start... (it's been raining here in Manila the whole day and looks like it's been raining in NY too, the Kim-Serena semifinal match has been delayed by rain.)

On the men's side, Andy Murray followed the other Andy in an early exit, losing to the 16th seed Croatian Marin Cilic. Though Murray has had good results the past months (and even overtook Rafa for the #2 ranking), he hasn't been playing his best tennis (in the matches I've seen him play, at least). Losing to Cilic in straight sets in the 4th round might be a sign that he's not coping well with the "Can he win a Grand Slam"/"He's #2 over Rafa" pressure, or it might just spur him on to lift his game to match Roger and Rafa in the Grand Slams. The bottom line for him though is 0 Grand Slams for 2009.

But you know what the best news here is? We won't have to see this face while watching the US Open Men's Final:

/cheapshot

Cilic went on to lose to JMDP (who is my pick as the finalist who'll play Roger in the final) in the quarters. Roger will face Novak Djokovic in the first semis, while JMDP is still waiting for Rafa and Fernando Gonzales' match to finish (suspended last night due to rain.) Rafa's knee injury has flared up again, so Gonzo might sneak that one in...

For the women's draw, the news has been all about Melanie Oudin's huge run (with a little bit of Kim's great comeback sandwiched in the news). She beat 4 Russians to get to the quarters (former Junior #1 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, 3-time Grand Slam champ and Screaming Shriekster extraordinaire Maria Sharapova, and former #3 and current top 10 player Nadia Petrova.) Unfortunately for her, current French Open champ

Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to #9 Caroline Wozniacki, and Oudin's tennis powers apprently doesn't work out as well versus blonde Danish tennis players. Caroline won their quarterfinal match easily, 6-2, 6-2.

I've been waiting for Caroline to get a big grand slam result since last year, but she would usually lose in the 3rd or 4th rounds, to the point that I was starting to think she won't make it and the Azarenka really was this year's teen queen... But now Caroline has made the semis (Azarenka's best was a QF at the French Open and Wimbledon), and has a pretty good chance to reach the finals. She'll be facing the other surprise of the tournament, unseeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. With Dinara and Jelena getting the upset axe, Yanina sneaked in to the semis playing big, aggressive tennis. It's great to see another Belgian coming up the ranks, a year after Justine retired. And speaking of Belgians, Kim Clijsters' comeback is officially a success. She beat Venus Williams in the 4th round 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 and will now be up against Venus' little younger sister, Serena for a place in the final. I want Kim to win, if only to spur Justine Henin to make a comeback of her own, but this match (and the whole tournament) will probably go to Serena.

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I'm using Google Chrome right now instead of Firefox... And while I'm liking some of it's features, I don't think it can handle the US Open website too well. The browser hangs a lot, especially when I open the Live Scores page. Boooooo Google Chrome!

US Open Men's Draw, Update #1

2009-09-07T22:55:00.003+08:00

While the women's field has been decimated, there are no such upsets on the Men's side. No teen-aged sensation to talk about either (I think that spot may be reserved for Grigor Dimitrov next year...) All the top 16 male players made it to the 3rd round, the first time in Open-era history, and in the Round of 16, the 14 of the top 16 made it.

The only two casualties? #9 Frenchman Gilles Simon, who had to retire in his 3rd round match vs former #1 (and former King of Clay before a guy named Rafael Nadal came around) Juan Carlos Ferrero. JCF was a finalist here a few years ago, so it's not like he's a pushover on the hard courts. Too bad for Gilles, who was in a bit of a slump during the clay season... he was starting to get good results again, the knee injury came at a really bad time for him.

The other casualty is #5 Andy Roddick, who got served out of the court by the unseeded 6'9'' giant John Isner in another heart-breaking (for Roddick) scoreline of 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)

The only match I saw Roger play so far was the first one, against 18yo American Devin Britton. He played well enough there, but according to some reports I read, he didn't seem to be as precise in his match against Hewitt. Same thing with Rafa, I only saw his first round match. He easily dumped the just-returning-from-my-coccaine-ban Richard "Reeshard" Gasquet and I was really impressed with his shots and his movement. It didn't seem like he came from injury at all. It will be interesting to see if Roger can hang on to his good pre-US Open form, and if Rafa can keep his body injury-free even while playing 5-set hardcourt matches.

Dark horses? Last year's US Open runner-up Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro. Murray didn't play well Wimbledon, where the hometown pressure may have been a factor. This time he doesn't have as much pressure to win, so he might be able to pull this off. On the other hand, JMPD doesn't have to deal with much pressure. In fact, not much attention has been given to him since most of the contender spotlight still falls among the top 4. That may be good for him (I predicted that he'll go all the way to the finals... so he better not screw this up, at least for my sake.)

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