That Rant at the End of This Post

is brought to you by the Number 3, and 76, and the Letters G, R, E, E and D.

---------------------------------------------------
My throat (or my tonsils or whatever it is at the back of my tounge/top of my throat) hurts. I woke up yesterday (while I was sleeping on the ride home) and it was just suddenly sore. Damn it.

---------------------------------------------------
Anyone here a subscriber to Bayantel's SkyDSL? Is it good (in terms of quality of connection, technical and after-sales service, etc)? I'm looking to subscribe to a DSL service provider (the sooner the better). I've actually applied for a PLDT myDSL connection already, but it's taking them too freeking long to respond to me and I'm getting impatient so I'm looking for alternatives. Any suggestions?

---------------------------------------------------
Last week, I had dinner with some college friends of mine at Fish and Co. in Greenbelt 3.

Saraaaap!

I ordered the baked salmon and it was really really tender and tasted really really good. I want to eat there again but the food is way expensive... So I did the next best thing and pimped the resto for all its fishy-seafoody goodness to my parents so that maybe, just maybe, they'll to treat me there one of these days for being an extra good boy. Hah.

---------------------------------------------------
Tennis season is almost over, with only the WTA Year-End Championships (YEC) in Los Angeles left for the women and the ATP Masters Cup (AMC) in Shanghai and the Davis Cup Final for the men. The YEC and the AMC are essentially the season-ending tournament for the women's and men's tour (respectively) where only the top eight players for the whole 2005 season get to play.

The Davis Cup Final will be contested by East European underdogs Croatia and Slovakia. Croatia, led by Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic, upset the heavily-favored US team that included Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, and the top-ranked doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan in the first round early this year. The Slovakian side meanwhile will be led by Dominik Hrbaty and Karol Beck. Slovakia beat last year's Davis Cup champs Spain, also in the first round early this year.

On the men's side, Swiss Roger Federer will lead the field as the top seed and is already assured of ending the year as the top ranked player for the second year in a row even if he doesn't win a match here. A quick summary of his year would read: He won 2 of the 4 Grand Slams this year, losing in the semifinals on the other two Slams. He also won 4 of the 9 ATP Masters Series tournaments this year (Masters Series tourneys are the next biggest tournaments after the Slams) plus some smaller tournaments for 11 tournament wins in all and has only lost a whoping three out of the 70+ matches he played this year (lost to Marat Safin(RUS) at the Aussie Open semis, to Rafael Nadal(ESP) at the French Open semis, and to Richard Gasquet(FRA) at the Monte Carlo Masters quarters). All this despite having to take a break for about a month twice for an injured ankle. Talk about dominance... Enough about Federer.

The women's season ender seems to be more interesting as we have American Lindsay Davenport and Belgian Kim Clijsters fighting for the prestige of becoming the year-end No. 1 player. Lindsay has had a great year, being the runner-up at the Aussie Open (losing to Serena Williams) and Wimbledon (losing to Venus Williams) this year, and taking home 6 titles for herself. I would have to say though that Kim had the more successful year, after missing almost the whole of the 2004 season because of a career-threatening wrist injury and falling down to the No. 130's in the rankings last March, Kim quickly got back to the swing of things winning back to back Tier-1 titles (Tier-1 tournaments are the WTA's version of the ATP's Masters Series) then going on to win her very first Grand Slam title at the US Open this year. Kim has won a total of 9 titles so far this year, and a win at the YEC will seal her comeback year with the No. 1 ranking in her hands.

Maria Sharapova also briefly held the top ranking this year but several injuries have stopped her from challenging Kim and Lindsay for the top ranking and without any Grand Slam trophy to show for this year, will most likely finish at No. 3. The other three Grand Slam champs of the year, Aussie Open Champ Serena, French Open Champ Justine Henin-Hardenne, and Wimbledon Champ Venus will not be participating in the YEC because of injuries. That's just too bad because it would have been really interesting to see these 6 players play head-to-head.


And did I mention the winners for the WTA Championships and the ATP Masters Cup take home a cool $1,000,000 in prize money???

Damn. If only I was taller, moved faster, had better hand-eye coordination, was more focused, is generally in better physical condition, and had the natural talent, I would've dropped out of college and played tennis professionally until my bones broke and my ears dripped blood.

Much Has Been Said...

Bought the Bamboo album "Light Peace Love"

I have to admit it's a really good album... Not really a big fan of the band, but after hearing the whole album, I gotta say, yeah it's very impressive.

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

Happy Halloween kids.

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

I finally got to eat at Cibo last week. I always wanted to do that place but never got around to actually eating there. So last Sunday, we went over to my brother's house in Cainta where we had lunch, then later that night went to Gateway Mall in Araneta (site of my 7-hour Neil Gaiman Experience) because my parents have never been there and they wanted to check out the place. I treated my parents, my kuya and his wife (my sis was in Puerto Galera, where apparently, she got stung by a jellyfish) to celebrate (celebrate nga ba talaga ang tawag dun??? gagastos ka para sa kabusugan ng iba? not that I'm complaining, but....) my first paycheck. Anywayz, I highly recommend the Funghi Pizza, forgot what it's called but it's the pizza with mushrooms in it, and the La Foresta Pasta.

/end of plug

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

Caught season 3 of 24 on AXN some days ago. That show is damn good.

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

Pasira ng Umaga

talaga yang mga FX drivers na yan na may existential crisis...



Unsolicited Advice: Kung hindi mo alam ang dapat mong gawin sa buhay, magpakamatay ka na lang. Kawawa ang mundo sayo eh.

Hate the Player, Hate the Game.

It's easy, no instructions necessary...

In a voluntary gesture of fair play, De La Salle University is surrendering last year's University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men's senior basketball trophy and forfeiting its second place finish this season after confirming the ineligibility of a player who joined the varsity in 2003.

It's all over the sports news these past few days... Apparently, one of our Green Archers was admitted to La Salle under false pretenses, submitting fake papers to gain admission (whether he was alone in this action or was coerced or worse, backed up, is another matter.)

Uncovering the player's ineligibility came by accident, said La Salle representative to the UAAP Board Lito Tanjuatco. Tanjuatco said La Salle conducted its own investigation of students whose DECS certificates were hand-carried and found the player's papers to be spurious. The player is in his third year on the varsity team. "It is a painful admission," said Tanjuatco. "But the school has chosen to take the high moral ground on the issue."

Damn... Right now, all I hope for is that this really is a gesture of fairplay, and not a bad cover up of something filthier inside the system. Because that? Is just downright shameful. And wrong. I wouldn't want to find out that the institution where I learned my x,y,z's operates on such low levels of integrity (and extremely high levels of hypocrisy.)

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

For the moment, I'm really enjoying Death Cab For Cutie's Transatlanticism.

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

Fernando Alonso wins this year's F1 Driver's Championship, while his team Renault wins the Constructor's Championship after they comfortably out-pounted McLaren Mercedes in the season's last race in China. McLaren could've still won the championship since Renault only held a two-point lead coming in to the China Grand Prix. However, McLaren has this knack for screwing up in the most inopportune time, and screw up they did. (Note: Being a McLaren fan myself, when I say they have a knack for screwing up, I do mean this in the most endearingly jaded way.)

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

Almost a month now as a member of the "Employed" column. Enjoying it so far, although this enjoyment is not stopping me from plotting my career path using a hyperbolic formula.

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

P7.50 Na Ang Minimum Pamasahe Ko, Officially

Last Wednesday we had our grad practice at school, and it was really great to see many of my friends and batchmates again after some time. It was nice to go back to La Salle again (last time I was there was for our MOTA defense, where things weren't exactly memorable for the right reasons. Heh)

Anywayz, alot of people probably saw the DLSU-FEU game, and even if you didn't see it, I'm sure you probably heard of the thing that happened shortly after the buzzer went off. Well, all I can say there is that ASSistant team manager got what he deserved for that stupid thing he did. I don't want to come across as someone who claims to stand on higher ground, but seriously, what he did was shameful and dragged the whole La Sallian community down on the dirt, making us look like we are a group of people who lacked integrity and respect for others. I don't know if I'm a good judge of character, but hell, that's my opinion on the matter.

Enough bout that shit. I wanna talk bout Saturday now.

Last Saturday was my College Graduation day. I can't really say I was all that excited since I had to wake up early to get to PICC (Philippine International Convention Center) by 7:30 a.m. but still, it's a nice, formal way to say goodbye to the great, good and bad times in La Salle so it really meant something to me.

Here are some pics (courtesy of Gelsen):

After the ceremony, My friends (Del, Joan, Gelsen and his gf) and I had lunch together at Italianni's because my mom gave me an Italianni's gift certificate. After that, we went our separate ways. Gelsen and his gf Rina went to a bazaar, I went to meet up with my family (for another eating session haha) while Del and Joan went to the movies... (hmmm, ano kaya pinanood nila? hehehe) Anywayz, as I said, later in the day I met up with my family and some of our close family friends and we had dinner at Gerry's Grill. Ang sarap ng Crispy Pata! sheeet... I know it's bad for the health but what the hey... Masarap eh!

I'll try to upload some pics here (I don't have my own camera so I'm counting on my camera-owning friends to send some pics over to me so I can post them here... Damn)

So now, I'm officially a graduate, and I've been employed for a little over two weeks already (wahooooo lapit na payday! payday na! wooohoooo)

List of things I want to buy on my first paycheck:

1. The rest of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series that I still don't have, and Neil's new book Anansi Boys.
2. CD's!!! (hindi blank cd's ha, yung may lamang kanta naman)
3. Digicam!
4. Music Player!!! (Ipod Nano? Zen Vision M? something else?)
5. TV for my room!
6. The Amazing Race Season 1 DVD!!!
7. A new tennis racket! (Kahit hindi na ko nakakapag-tennis lately haha)
8. A new jacket!
9. Sapatos for office. The one I'm using right now is the same one I had since I started college hehe, kawawa na...
10. Flash disk!

Holy sheeeet... Mabubutas yata bulsa ko sa wishlist na yan ah... I should probably rethink it hehe (or, anyone of you, baka naman gusto nyong magdonate sa Alvin's Wishlist Fund? Anyone?)

Week One in the Rat Race

This was a pretty good week.

Hell yes it was...

Last Monday marked my first day on my first job. I arrived at the office (at the tenth floor of our building) a few minutes before 9, but I didn't get to meet my officemates until about an hour later (thanks to Mhia for getting me out of that frikkin cold conference room hehe. No, I didn't get trapped or anything like that...)

After that I was sent to the 34th floor so I could join my fellow trainees for some SQL training. The training lasted for four days, for about 8 hours a day and was basically a crash course of what we were taught in the DBAPDEV days of college plus some new tricks too. We had free snacks in the mornings and the afternoons so that really kept me well-fed and happy, which is never not good in my book.

Anywayz, since the training didn't finish until Thursday, it was only on Friday that I spent significant time at the 10th floor, which basically explains why most of my conversations with my officemates turned out like this:

Officemate: Ikaw yung new hire? Kelan ka nagstart?
Me: Yep, first day ko nung Monday
Officemate: Talaga? Eh bakit ngayon lang kita nakita?
Me: Nagtraining kasi ako from Monday to Thursday eh, kaya ngayon lang talaga ako napunta dito hehe...

So it was only on my fifth day of work that I actually met my officemates (and I don't think I've actually met all my teammates yet) and from what I was told, I'm gonna have the duty manager role (the same role Mhia has, or used to have as she said on her blog) and training for that won't be until October so I'll have the whole of next week doing, uhm... nothing in particular really. Hmmm... Maybe I should practice my "suck up to the boss" routine next week then. When I tell people that I probably won't be doing anything next week, they basically tell me (and I paraphrase): "Enjoy it while it lasts..."

In that case, I'm gonna stretch every damn second.

We ate lunch at PBComm Tower's food court, and I think they have better food outlets there than our own building's food court.

Highlight of the day however was definitely the dinner/s15 reunion with my college friends (s15 was our original block) at Teriyaki Boy and although not everybody was there since the dinner was just short notice, it was still hell fun ("Less sense, more fun" is one of our guiding principles. Haha)

Next Wednesday should be equally interesting since most of us will meet up again for grad practice, college recognition, and the baccalaureate mass, and on Saturday night some of us will meet up again in Dandan's house in Katipunan for some after-grad celebration (Our grad will be in Saturday afternoon.) So if your a friend of ours and you are reading this, consider this an invitation to come, just contact Dandan for detaile hehe (You wouldn't want to miss Dandan and Eliza's karaoke showdown would you?)


PS: Someone told me a very amusing story last Thursday. One of the most amusing ones I've heard all year, actually. It might be disturbing to some, but I gotta admit, there's humor in it you won't find in everyday-average jokes.

If I was more Socio-Politically Relevant...

I'd Look Like this:

Nice.

Now go and do yourself here and don't forget to show me -> hellgod_13@yahoo.com. (And if you get really bored, you can go do me there too... I mean, draw me... with the southpark thing... you can draw me there. Good)

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

If your looking for good music to listen to, I'd recommend music by Badly Drawn Boy (Silent Sigh, A Peak You Reach and The Shining are some highly-recommended songs) and Death Cab for Cutie (The Sound of Settling, We Looked Like Giants and Transatlanticism) and Damien Rice (his whole O album is great) and Nick Drake. Really nice to listen to especially if your sitting in front of a computer, or a desk, or in a car, or a bus, or a jeep, or a plane plain plane (oh my fucking g, I can't spell a-i-r-p-l-a-n-e)

A Peak You Reach

Winners this weekend: Kim, Roger, Kimi... WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!

Belgian Kim Clijsters finally grabbed a Grand Slam title, after losing in her first four GS finals (to Jennifer Capriati(USA) at the French Open '01, then to Justine Henin-Hardenne(BEL) at the French Open '03, the US Open '03 and the Aussie Open '04.) She beat French veteran Mary Pierce 6-3, 6-1 in a match that lasted just 63 minutes (Mary's other Grand Slam final this year at the French Open lasted all of 61 minutes as she got walloped by Justine.)
^ Kim reacts after winning the match.

With the win, Kim finally gets rid of the title "The Best Player Never To Win A Grand Slam", at the same time taking home a whoppin $2.2 million in prize money (the biggest payday for an xx chromosome in sports history.) The original prize money for the winner was $1.1 million, but since Kim won the most matches(and points) at US Open series (a group of tournaments held before the US Open), she got a 100% bonus on her prize money.

A day later, Roger Federer reaffirmed his status as the best tennis player in the world (and closes in on "The Best Tennis Player Ever" title) by beating 35-year old Andre Agassi in four sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(7-1), 6-1. Even Agassi, who in his career has squared-off with such legends as Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, was left in awe. Roger went home with $1.1 million prize money (He finished just fourth at the US Open series after playing in only one tournament before the US Open.) The 24 year-old Swiss has now won 6 grand slam titles in a span of three years.

Both players also won a 2006 Lexus GS 430 sedan. Not bad for two weeks work, donchathink?

In the other events, twins Bob and Mike Bryan(USA) won the Men's double's title by beating top-seeds Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Swede Jonas Bjorkman. This is the Bryans' first Grand Slam title of the year after losing the finals of the Aussie and French Opens, and Wimbledon.

Lisa Raymond(USA) and Samantha Stosur(AUS) won the women's doubles while my girlfriend Daniela Hantuchova won the mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi(IND). Mahesh has now won 9 grand slam titles (all in doubles) while Daniela has now won all four Mixed Doubles Grand Slam (She won Wimbledon with Leos Friedl in 2001, the Aussie Open in 2002 with kevin Ullyet, and the French Open this year with Fabrice Santoro. Daniela also won the Hopman Cup for Slovakia with Dominik Hrbaty earlier this year) Woohoo! Now go win them singles titles Daniela.

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

Kimi Raikonnen won his sixth Grand Prix this season in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, in an incident-filled race. I wasn't able to watch any part of the race, but from what I read, McLaren for the nth time, loses their chance to grab a 1-2 win as Juan Pablo Montoya crashed out on the latter part of the race while at the No. 2 position. This allowed Driver's Championsip leader Fernando Alonso to move up one spot, and maintain his lead over Kimi by 25 points, with just three races more to go. More heartbreaking was the fact that McLaren could've grabbed the lead from Renault had Montoya finished second. Instead, Renault still leads McLaren by 6 points for the Constructor's championship. Jenson Button of BAR-Honda finished third in the race.

Move out of the house, deadweight

Quarterfinal action in the US Open begins today, with top-seed Maria Sharapova facing fellow Russian 9th seed Nadia Petrova, and Belgian 4th seed Kim Clijsters facing No. 10 Venus Williams (fresh from beating lil sis Serena in the previous round). Tomorrow's matches will feature second seed Lindsay Davenport(USA) vs last year's US Open runner-up (6)Elena Dementieva of Russia, and No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo vs Mary Pierce in an all-French match up (after Mary defeated the French Open champ, No. 7 Justine Henin-Hardenne(BEL) in the previous round.)

The men's quarterfinal line-up has yet to be completed, with No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland facing German Nicolas Kiefer, No. 11 David Nalbandian(ARG) facing Italian veteran Davide Sanguinetti, Aussie No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt vs No. 15 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, and the unseeded match-up of Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland all playing their fourth round matches later today.

Alreay through to the quarterfinals are No. 6 Andre Agassi (def Belgian Xavier Malisse in five sets), unseeded American James Blake (who defeated the second-seeded teen prodigy Rafael Nadal of Spain in the third round and the 19th seed Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the fourth round), No.8 Guillermo Coria of Argentina (who beat Chilean Nicolas Massu in a 4-hour and 30 minute (the longest match of the tournament so far), heated, controversial match), and another unseeded American, Robby Ginepri (who beat seeded players Tommy Haas of Germany (No.29) and 19 year-old Frenchman Richard Gasquet(No.13) in the 3rd and fourth round respectively)

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

Another great race this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza! It was again dominated by the top two teams of the season, McLaren-Mercedes and Renault. McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya(COL) won the race despite having some tire problems towards the end of the race. Renault got a two spots at the podium with Championship Race leader Fernando Alonso(ESP) and Giancarlo Fisichella(ITA) finishing 2 and 3. McLaren's Kimi Raikonnen(FIN) saw his challenge for the Driver's Championship title derailed by tire problems and just missed out on a top three finish.

With the results, McLaren narrows Renault's lead in the Team Championships by one point (Renualt still leads by 8) while Toyota is suddenly within striking distance of Ferrari's third place standing after Toyota's Jarno Trulli(ITA) and Ralf Schumacher(GER)'s strong performances (finishing 5th and 6th) and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher(GER) and Rubens Barrichello(BRA) both failing to get any points for this race.

Woohoo! Go Montoya!

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

Just signed. I'll be starting work on the 19th. =)

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

I dont know what came over my father, but last week, he bought 5 videoke cd's and he's been singing loads of reeeeeeealy old songs in front of the TV every night since. Is this his way of telling me "Move out of the house, deadweight."? (He's at it right now actually, with the mic on high volume.)

Oh no....no...noooo... Not freaking Barry Manilow!!!

Damn, I think I'm gonna need to buy ear plugs.

Do I see a pattern here?

Last Friday, I went to Navitaire's office in PhilamLife tower in Paseo de Roxas to discuss their job offer. Basically, the offer is pretty good... Associate Software Engineer, 6 months probationary status, good salary, good benefits... The only thing that bothered me was that I had to sign a 2-year bond with the company, and should I choose to leave them before two year's time, I would have to pay the company a somewhat sizeable amount of money, depending on the trainings I get from them.

I don't know bout you, but the thought of being tied down to the company for two years just makes me feel uncomfortable. My brother (who is also in the IT industry) has commented that two years isn't really that long, and his wife (who works at the HR department of another IT company) suggested that the job offer was actually a good one.

Hmmmm... but committing to a company that I'm not actually sure about, for two whole years. Let's just say it's enough to make me feel uneasy.




Do I see a pattern here?

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

By the way, I also talked about my other job prospects with my brother, and he commented that he knew some friends who work there that weren't doing anything significant at all in their jobs, and he thinks that it might not be too good for me to join that company because I might happen to get the same kind of job. Makes me think twice.

And to everyone else, I'd like to hear your comments (okay, okay.... advice) about the Navitaire offer, especially since they gave me only until Monday (tomorrow, kids) to give them my decision.

trying hard not to sound desperate here

I had my final interview with Navitaire's director for product development yesterday. She basically grilled me about my intentions of joining their company, considering that I'm also interested with joining another company. Of course I couldn't really say that the other company was ranked higher on my list since that would definitely affect their evaluation of my application (d'oh) (I haven't even recieved a job offer from the other company yet.) I had a hard time convincing her that I was really interested in joining Navitaire, and I wasn't even sure she was convinced... so in the end I just decided to tell her that I was as interested with Navitaire as I was with the other company, and I'll choose who/whichever company gives me a better job offer(that is, if I actually get a job offer from both companies).

Speaking of the other company, I just got another call from them asking me to come to their office on Monday, 11:30 am (hey, lunch time yan ah... Anyone want to treat me to lunch after??? No? No one? Anyone? No? that's okay...) for another interview, which was strange since I got a call from them last week saying that my interview last monday was my final interview... So I guess this is my final final interview? Whatever it is, I (trying hard not to sound desperate here) really hope it gets me closer to a job there.

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

Day two of the US Open saw 2003 champion and No. 4 Andy Roddick(USA) get upset by No. 68 Gilles Muller(LUX) to the score of 7-6(7-4), 7-6(10-8), 7-6(7-1). Roddick was one of the favorites to challenge No. 1 Roger Federer(SUI) for the title, but was beaten by the 22 year-old Muller, who was making his US Open debut and is the first man from Luxembourg to play at the tournament. Muller is no stranger to creating upsets, he had a big win over Andre Agassi(USA) last year and was also responsible for defeating No. 2 and French Open champ Rafael Nadal(ESP) at the second round of this year's Wimbledon (on his debut as well). Incidentally, Roddick was celebrating his 23rd birthday on the day he lost.

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

Navitaire just called me up some odd seconds ago, I'll be there to discuss their job offer tomorrow. Nice.

of Road Rage, being a Professional Interviewee, and the US Open '05 Day 1

The most annoying thing about living here in Las Piñas city is that except for a short span of time between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m., traffic is always brutally heavy. It's like someone gathered the most incompetent MMDA traffic aides and made them stand up right smack in the middle of Alabang-Zapote Road, just so they could purposely congest the city's main thoroughfare.


Dumb. Fuckers.

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

Just had an interview with Navitaire this afternoon. Actually, I had two interviews (right after passing the first interview, they scheduled for my second interview just a few minutes later.) I was supposed to have my third and final interview the same day too, but my interviewer was not available so I would have to come back tomorrow morning for that. Yesterday, I had my final interview with HP. To sum it all up, I have been interviewed by 6 people in the past 4 days. If being an interviewee was a career, I bet I'd make good money out of it.

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

The US Open in New York is now underway. Some notable first round results:

Monday, Aug 29
Men's First Round
(2) Rafael Nadal(ESP) def. Bobby Reynolds(USA), 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
(7) Andre Agassi(USA) def. Razvan Sabau(ROM), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
(8) Guillermo Coria(ARG) def. Felix Mantilla(ESP), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-3
Brian Baker(USA) def. (9) Gaston Gaudio(ARG), 7-6 (11-9), 6-2, 6-4 (this is 20 year-old Baker's first ever win in a Grand Slam event, and only his fourth win in the pro ATP Tour)
(13) Richard Gasquet(FRA) def. Alberto Martin(ESP), 6-2, 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
(14) Thomas Johansson(SWE) def. Mariano Zabaleta(ARG), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
(18) Ivan Ljubicic(CRO) def. Tobias Summerer(GER), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
(19) Tommy Robredo(ESP) def. Daniele Bracciali(ITA), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
(24) Mikhail Youzhny(RUS) def. Florian Mayer(GER), 6-1, 6-0, 6-2
(29) Tommy Haas(GER) def. Peter Luczak(AUS), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Ivo Karlovic(CRO) def. Mardy Fish(USA), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)

Women's First Round
(1) Maria Sharapova(RUS) def. Eleni Daniilidou(GRE), 6-1, 6-1
(4) Kim Clijsters(BEL) def. Martina Muller(GER), 6-1, 6-2
Ekaterina Bychkova(RUS) def. (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS), 6-3, 6-2 (the Kuz makes history by being the first ever US Open defending champion to lose in her opening match, just like Anastasia Myskina at the French Open earlier this year)

Insisting that the back injury she sustained two weeks ago in Toronto was not a factor in her loss, Kuznetsova had 45 unforced errors and only 15 winners in the 65-minute match.

(8) Serena Williams(USA) def. Yung-Jan Chan(TPE), 6-1, 6-3
(9) Nadia Petrova(RUS) def. Eva Birnerova(CZE), 6-4, 6-4
(10) Venus Williams(USA) def. Rika Fujiwara(JAP), 6-3, 6-1
Shenay Perry(USA) def. (14) Alicia Molik(AUS), 6-4, 6-4
(18) Ana Ivanovic(SCG) def. Lindsay Lee-Waters(USA), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
(20) Daniela Hantuchova(SVK) def. Camille Pin, 6-3, 6-1 (woohoo!)
Maria Camerin(ITA) def. (21) Dinara Safina(RUS), 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 (Dinara follows big bro Marat's footsteps and goes home early from the tournament)
Laura Granville(USA) def. (22) Silvia Farina Elia(ITA), 6-2, 6-1
(25) Francesca Schiavone(ITA) def. Jelena Kostanic(CRO), 6-2, 7-5
(26) Nicole Vaidisova(CZE) def. Kveta Peschke(CZE), 6-3, 6-1
Sania Mirza(IND) def. Mashona Washington(USA), 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (8-6), 6-4
Emma Laine(FIN) def. Shuai Peng(CHN), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 (there goes my unseeded pick)


More first round matches later today in the second day of the 2005 US Open. Scheduled to play are Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Lindsay Davenport, and Justine Henin-Hardenne

Take Your Fast Car and Keep on Driving

Raikkonen and Schumacher - swap deal?

This morning's Bild newspaper in Germany claims a pre-contract agreement has been signed which will see Schumacher in a McLaren-Mercedes in 2007, with Raikkonen in a Ferrari.

You will die in seven days...

What?!?!??!?!?!?!???!! Wait, let me just gather my thoughts so that I'll know what I actually have to say about that news.

...........
.......
....
..

Nope, nothing... my head's still numb. The report did end by saying that even Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug himself has said that it is "rather impossible" for Schumacher to leave Ferrari.

In this weekend's F1 action in the Istanbul Grand Prix, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen grabbed his fifth title of the season by dominating the race, taking the lead right from the start and holding on to it until the checkered flag. Raikkonen also made history by winning the inaugural F1 race in Istanbul, Turkey. Championship Race leader Fernando Alonso took second place, taking advantage of crucial mistakes by Kimi's McLaren teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya, who made a wide turn a couple of laps near the end of the race to give Alonso enough space to overtake, settled for third place. So instead of a 1-2 finish by McLaren, it's another McLaren-Renault-McLaren at the podium (Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella finished fourth).

Alonso maintains a 24-point lead over Raikkonen with McLaren narrowing Renault's lead in the Constructors Championships to just 9 points.


----------------------------------------------
I had my first interview with my future employer* awhile ago, I'm hoping it won't be my last. (Or I'm hoping it's my last and I get hired immediately after, but that's asking for too much, hehe)

* speaking in hindsight :)

Tennis This Week Pt. 3

Results from the weekend:

Kim Clijsters wins another title (her sixth this year) by beating fellow Belgian and former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final of the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada 7-5, 6-1.

In Cincinnati, No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland won his ninth title of the year by beating American Andy Roddick 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the Western and Financial Group ATP Masters Series - Cincinnati. The win marked Federer's 22nd straight win on a final and improved his win-loss record this year to 64-3 (he has lost only 9 out of 147 matches in the past two years) and has been ranked No. 1 for 82 straight weeks.

It's constant pressure, when it's over, it's kind of a surprise. You can't expect to win all the time. If it keeps on going, it's incredible. -Roger Federer

With their respective wins over the weekend, I think Kim and Roger has got to be the hot favorites to win the US Open, the year's last Grand Slam. Spaniard teen-ager Rafael Nadal should post the biggest threat, as well as Russian Marat Safin (depending on the condition of his newly-operated knee, and his mental stability over the two-week competition). Justine should post a big threat to Kim, although she faded in the second set of their finals match and seems to still lack the stamina to win long matches, Justine has always beaten Kim in the big, important matches (including the first three Grand Slam finals that Justine won). Lindsay Davenport of the USA just got back from a back injury (she's playing in the Pilot Pen Tennis Open in New Haven, Conn. this week), her challenge to the title depends on how well her injured back has healed. She defeated Kim in the 4th Round of the French Open and Wimbledon, but Kim has made huge leaps in the rankings since then (she's now back to number 4) and Kim really has dominated the whole hardcourt season, so I'll still be putting my money on the Belgian to win her first ever Grand Slam title.


The draws for the US Open will be out later today, I'll talk about that on my next entry.

Tennis This Week Pt. 2

In my last post, I left off right before the semifinals of the three tournaments last week (Rogers Cup ATP Masters Series - Montreal, JPMorgan Chase Open - LA, Nordea Nordic Light Open - Stockholm)... This is what happened since then:

Semifinals
JPMorgan Chase Open, Los Angeles, California
Daniela Hantuchova (9) def. Elena Dementieva (3), 6-3, 6-4 (woohoo, nice win for Daniela over the world No. 6)
Kim Clijsters (5) def. Francesca Schiavone (13), 6-2, 6-4

Nordea Nordic Light Open, Stockholm, Sweden
(2)Anastasia Myskina(RUS) def. Emilie Loit(FRA), 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
(5)Katerina Srebotnik(SLO) def. (3)Vera Douchevina(RUS) 6-0, 7-5

Rogers Cup ATP Masters Series, Montreal, Canada
(1)Rafael Nadal(ESP) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu(FRA), 6-4, 7-5 (Too bad Matheiu lost, but this is his best performance in a big tournament so far. Nice to see him doing well after being injured for most of last year)
(4)Andre Agassi(USA) def. Greg Rusedski(GBR)

Final
JPMorgan Chase Open - Los Angeles, California
(5)Kim Clijsters(BEL) def. (9)Daniela Hantuchova(SVK) 6-4, 6-1 (This is Kim's fifth title of the year, four on US Hardcourts and one on Grass, she has lost only one match on hardcourts this year, to Shuai Peng(CHN))


For this tournament,
Kim wins a punch bowl...


Nordea Nordic Light Open - Stockholm, Sweden
(5)Katerina Srebotnik(SLO) def. (2)Anastasia Myskina(RUS) 7-5, 6-2 (Srebotnik beats two higher ranked players in the semis and the finals to claim her second title of the year)

Rogers Cup - ATP Masters Montreal, Canada
(1)Rafael Nadal(ESP) def. (4)Andre Agassi(USA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 (19 year old Nadal wins his ninth title of the year, and first on a hard court (his first eight titles came on clay), by beating 35 year old Andre Agassi)


Two big tournaments are going on this week, the ATP Masters Series - Cincinatti (www.cincytennis.com) in Cincinatti and the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada. No. 1 and current Wimbledon and US Open champ Roger Federer(SUI) and '05 Australian Open champ Marat Safin(RUS) both make their comebacks in Cincy, joining last week's winner and '05 French Open Champ Rafael Nadal and '03 US Open Champ and former No. 1 Andy Roddick(USA) in the list of contenders. Nine-time Grabd Slam winner Andre Agassi is not playing this week because of old age...

In the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto, 6-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams(USA) and 4-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin-Hardenne(BEL) also make their comeback from injury, as well as world No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo(FRA) who has not played a tournament in about a month. They join Kim Clijsters and Russians Elena Dementieva and '05 US Open Champ Svetlana Kuznetsova in the tournament. Still not playing is No. 1 Lindsay Davenport(USA), '05 Wimbledon champ Venus Williams(USA), and '05 French Open Runner-up Mary Pierce(FRA) who are out with a back injury, the flu, and a thigh injury respectively. Maria Sharapova also pulled out of the tournament because of her chest muscle strain, but will take over the No. 1 ranking anyway at the end of the week (see post below). Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro is also entered in this tournament

Second round action gets underway later today, but don't look for Rafael Nadal to be there. He's already got his ass booted of by fellow 19 year-old Tomas Berdych(CZE) yesterday, in a tight three-set match. Berdych was also one of the few players who beat Roger Federer last year, at the second round of the Athens Olympics.



My girl Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 13th for this tournament, retired from her first
round match vs Alina Jidkova(RUS) due to heat illness. Daniela has played in four tournaments in four weeks, so I guess this is good for her as she will get some much needed rest before the US Open which starts August 29.


I'll talk more about these two tournaments later in the week.

Tennis This Week

Tennis action this week is pretty lean... Considering that the US Open (the last Grand Slam event of the season) is just around the corner, most of the top players still seem to be a) Recovering from an injury or b) still finding their best games on the US Hardcourt circuit.

This week's tournaments takes us to Montreal for the Rogers Cup ATP Masters Series, and to Los Angeles, California and Stockholm, Sweden for the WTA's JPMorganChase Open and Nordea Nordic Light Open respectively.

Big names in the ATP Masters - Montreal include Rafael Nadal(ESP) who is up in the semis vs Paul-Henri Matheiu(FRA), Lleyton Hewitt(AUS) (lost in the first round with injury), Andy Roddick(USA) (lost to Matheiu in the first round), and Andre Agassi(USA) whose quarterfinal match vs 2004 French Open Champ Gaston Gaudio(ARG) was postponed due to rain. Not playing are Roger Federer(SUI) who is resting because of foot injury, and Marat Safin(RUS) who is recovering from a knee operation. Playing in the JPMorganChase Open in LA is Maria Sharapova(RUS), who would've taken the No. 1 ranking this week had she beaten Daniela Hantuchova(SVK) in their quarterfinal match (Daniela won via walkover as Masha withdrew with an inflamed right pectoral muscle) (Pectoral muscle is the muscle on the chest, as you can see on Maria right there), Kim Clijsters(BEL) who will play vs. Francesca Schiavone(ITA) in the semis and Russians Elena Dementieva(semis vs Daniela) and 2004 US Open Champ Svetlana Kuznetsova(lost to Eleni Daniilidou(GRE) in the first round). Not playing is current No. 1 Lindsay Davenport(USA), and former no. 1s and '05 Australian Open Champ Serena Williams(USA) and 05' French Open Champ Justine Henin-Hardenne(BEL). Two-time Grand Slam champ Mary Pierce(FRA) is also not playing because of a thigh injury. Despite her chest pains, Maria will still claim the No. 1 ranking next week when she joins the WTA stop in Toronto as Lindsay again skips this tournament because of her back injury.

Playing in Stockholm this week is '04 French Open champ Anastasia Myskina(RUS) and...... well, she's the only highly-ranked player in this tournament... Up-and-coming Russian teen Vera Douchevina is the next highest ranked player at No. 34. Not playing here is 05' Wimbledon champ Venus Williams(USA) who got hit by the flu and last year's champ Alicia Molik(AUS) who's also out injured.

I'll talk more about these tournaments after the finals are held and the winners have been decided over the weekend. I'll be rooting for Daniela and Matheiu to win in their respective tournaments (although it's unlikely that they actually win, hehe.)

Spitting

I'm bored and it's always raining so I'm stuck at home with nothing to do (I like rain, I just don't like travelling when it rains) and my computer is starting to give way and I can't get it fixed because I have close to no money and I can't ask my parents to give me some because I don't go to school anymore (even though the school term hasn't ended yet) but I'm not working yet either and there's nothing good to watch on tv and I don't have any interesting dvd's on stock and there's not much food to pig out on and no new books to read and most of my friends are either still in school or are already working or are also drop-dead bums with no money to spend and I've become an insomniac after just a couple of months of working on our thesis and the only times I get to eat breakfast is when I stay up until 7am and then sleep after that and I am just so bummed out that the only fucking thing that I actually get to do nowadays is complain about having nothing at all to do but complain.

R.I.P. Senator Raul Roco

This is sad news.

Former Senator Roco Passes Away

He was a good man, who would've made a good leader, had things gone differently.

I wish I could say that I proudly voted for him in the last elections, but I can't.

He will be missed by a nation that misses many things.

Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered by the evening:
You can be me when I'm gone.

Michael Jackson and the Brownie Factory

Watched Charlie and the chocolate Factory yesterday. The movie was really good... Fun to watch (especially the Oompah-loompahs' musical numbers, hahaha...) I was seated beside Mela (my life in a box), who (I think) was hyperventilating when Charlie finally found the last golden ticket (don't worry, she survived the rest of the movie ;P), and behind us was a group of grandmothers, who were reacting to every fucking thing that happened in the movie
Grandmother 1: Ay, mabait kasi si Charlie eh...
Grandmother 2: Gwapong bata pa, ano?
Grandmother 3: Ay, ayan na! ayan na! Tanggalin mo na yung wrapper Charlie, bilis!
(short silence) ay... wala pa ring golden ticket?
Gotta tell you though, their reactions were as funny as they were annoying...

Johnny Depp was also really creepy as Willy Wonka. Two words: Michael Jackson.
------------------------------------------------

I used to buy these brownies in the cafe inside Aristo in La Salle. Those brownies were awesome!!! They were really fudgy, it's like you're biting into a brownie that was 90% chocolate fudge... yum... For some reason though, they stopped selling it some months ago. I probably shouldn't tell you, but I mourned that for about a week (the same way that I mourned when Tubby's raised the price of their Mocha Mud Pie to P150), and every time I pass by Aristo, I'd always come in and check if they had those brownies for sale again. They never did. Sometimes, when I think about it, I still feel kinda... sad and... empty.

Or at least until I got a taste of Sugarhouse's chocolate brownie, woohoo! Out of all the brownies I've tasted, this is the only one that comes close to the taste (and it's also like biting into a brownie that's 90% chocolate fudge. )




I gotta say, those brownie are so good it makes me want to write something in metaphors.

Pass It On

Floi(Cluelessss) tagged me (weeks ago...) to answer these music-type questions from her blog (that someone else also passed on to her for answering. Sort of like chain mail, except without all the luck stuff attached to it)

I've written (typed) down my answer for this weeks ago, just never got around to actually posting it because either I never had the time or was too lazy to log on here. Nowadays I got lots of time to do stuff(to be more accurate: I got lots of time to waste), so here goes mine...

Total volume of music files on my computer:
somewhere around 2 gb.

The last CD I bought:
Imago's Take Two... But once I get out of my prolonged "I'm broke" state, I'll buy Coldplay’s X&Y cd, The Killer's Hot Fuss cd, and all the other cd’s that I've missed out on because I have zero money (or because I can't get over the fact that if I spend the last remaining pesos in my wallet, I'll have zero money. Did I ever tell you that being a soon to be ex-student is tough?) I also dug up my brother's cd collection recently. I think he has all the Pumpkins and Pearl Jam discs in here. Good thing he didn't take them with him when he moved in to his awesome new house. Now I'm (musically) enjoying a 90's throwback.

Song playing right now:
Nine Inch Nails - The Wretched Travis – Why Does It Always Rain On Me

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
(There's alot... so I'll just limit this list to one song per artist)
1. Coldplay – Shiver

So I look in your direction
But you pay me no attention
And you know how much I need you
But you never even see me

2. Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye

Here

3. Skunk Anansie – Hedonism

I hope you’re feeling happy now
I see you feel no pain at all it seems
I wonder what you’re doin now
I wonder if you think of me at all
Do you still play the same moves now
Or are those special moods for someone else
I hope you’re feeling happy now

4. Damien Rice – Delicate

we might kiss
when we are alone
when nobody’s watchin’
we might take it home
we might make out
when nobody's there
it's not that we're scared
it's just that it's delicate

5. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run

Five people to whom I'm passing the baton:
If you go crazy answering these kinds of questions then go right ahead and post it on your blog. Let me hear about it.

Go Fish

this little fish went to the playground

this little fish watched a movie

this little fish sang its heart out

this little fish sold its gills to a smuggler

this little fish tried to learn how to play the drums

this little fish taught itself how to speak Spanish

this little fish ate itself at a sushi restaurant

this little fish died in the hospital

this little fish thought it was smart enough

this little fish was wrong

this little fish swam to the ocean

this little fish lost its way home

the last fish stayed on its aquarium

like the good little fish it always was

it's not talking to me anymore though.






Well done last fish, and fuck you too.

Stupid Phone Number!

Tomorrow (later actually) I'll be starting my job hunting as I take the P&G test. Hope I do well. Really well. And on Monday, I'll be taking the the test for SPL WorldGroup, where my brother works in. I'm applying there coz the company seems to be in very good standing (and not because my bro's wife just so happens to conviniently be working there too, for the company's HR department, as the recruitment head (no, I am not taking advantage of that opportunity) (i think)). Anywayz, hope I do well in there too...

Last Friday there was a job fair in DLSU so I went there and passed my resume to some companies. It's been three working days since, and I haven't received a call from them yet, so I kind of start to wonder. Don't these freaking companies want my ass?? Then I see an extra copy of my resume lying around the house and I realize, wtmf!?!? The contact number I put there was wrong! My phone number read 805-2**5 instead of 805-2**4...

STUPID!

Now they're gonna call some other house in Las Piñas looking for me (assuming they do try to contact me), expecting to talk to my ass but instead get told off because they have the wrong number.


That house better be polite.