Text Me Not #1
I recently received a text message that went something like this:
2 w0rds dAt gUy nd gUrL d0nt wAnt 2 hir nd afrAid of: 4 a gUrL,"its ovEr.."4 a guy,"im dELayEd.."ühahah!Tama db?=pSure, people would argue that it is just a forwarded message, a joke which should not be taken seriously. However, I believe that such statements should be worthy of a second look.
4 a gUrL,"its ovEr.."Why? If the guy does not want him, then to hell with him. It should be a mutual thing, it should also be just as scary for the guy to hear these words. If not, then there was something wrong in their relationship in the first place. Unfortunately though, this is some truth in this. A lot of girls I know become so dependent on their boyfriends that it becomes so hard for them to move on.
4 a guy,"im dELayEd.."Funny? Not really? If you meant it when you said "I love you" before you had pre-marital sex (I assume that most married couples would be glad to have a baby), then you should not be afraid of the results of your actions. If a girl is stupid enough to have pre-marital sex with someone, at least make sure that he is responsible enough. Here's a suggestion, go ahead and tell that boyfriend of yours that you are delayed. If he runs out, then at least you found out early on that it was all BS. If he stays, you were still stupid to have sex with him in the first place, but at least you were lucky enough to find a responsible man.
Bato-bato sa langit, ang tamaan wag magagalit..
Back to playing the game I first loved
Nope, not basketball. As much as I am addicted (that's what my GG calls it) to basketball, it is not the first game that I fell in love with. My first "real" sport was tennis. I started young, hitting, or trying at least, balls at the UP tennis courts with my sisters friends.
When we moved to Jakarta, I became more into it. My dad hired a personal instructor to teach my bro and myself. That didn't help much though since he was not really a professional. But since I was so into it, I bought books and magazines about tennis, and spent countless hours hitting the ball against our garage wall. Something that my mom did not really appreciate =P
My dad was a constant winner in monthly
FILCOMIN (Filipino Community in Indonesia) tennis tournaments. When Kuya and I first joined, another Salvanera entered the medal tally. Unfortunately, it wasn't me. Kuya won in our first tournament we joined while I ended up without a trophy. What made it worst was that there were only six of us in that division so I ended up as the butt of all my brother's jokes. And if you know my brother, he can really get under your skin. =) Peace, bro!
Anyway, call me a sore loser but I stopped joining those tournaments for more than half a year. I did not stop playing though. I continued hitting the balls in our garage, reading all those books and magazines, and playing against some friends.
After a while, I decided to join the tournaments again and showed significant improvement. I won numerous medals and trophies, even bagging the MVP trophy for the year 1993, just before I finished high school. When I entered the university, I was still very much into tennis. I even joined the varsity team but, somewhere along the way, the excitement I got from the game was lost. Maybe it died down when dad passed away, maybe it was because more people were into basketball or maybe I just burned out. In any case, I'm back.
I may not have the same stroke or same volleys as before, but the important thing is I enjoyed myself on the court. In the end, that's all that matters. Of course, winning is always a bonus.
On a sad note, one of my favourite tennis players will be retiring soon. Andre Agassi has decided to
say goodbye to the game (at least professionally) after 22 years.
Goodbye, Andre! Thanks for the wonderful memories!
The Eagle will not fly without the poor
I got this link from
TA's blog entry:
Man for OthersThe Eagle will not fly without the poor
(Address delivered by Antonio P. Meloto, executive director of Gawad Kalinga, a nationwide rehabilitation program for communities, during the commencement exercises for the Ateneo’s School of Humanities and School of Social Sciences on March 25, 2006, in Loyola Heights, Quezon City.)
Why Blog?
Actually, I don't have an idea why I keep this blog. I figured that it was a good way to keep my friends (who are scattered all over the world) updated about my life. But, come to think of it, I don't really think many of them are even aware that this exists.
Hmmm... Maybe, just maybe, this blog was inspired by one of my favourite TV shows when I was a kid:
Doogie Howser, MD. I know, I am trying to be psychological about it but, hey, this is my blog so just play along...
The teenage genius Doogie Howser, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, kept a digital journal on his computer which he updated at the end of each episode and I was always fascinated with that. (Nope, it was not an online journal. Back then, the Internet was unknown to the public yet. No jokes about my age!) Since then I've kept numerous journals which I've kept in my own secret place ;-) No, I will not share these journals here. The details in it are not for public consumption. Hehe..
Coach Ryan
I created this post a few weeks before we had our first lost in two years. I guess losing was not that far off from happening after all. The good thing about it though was that I was right. Losing certainly brought out their character as a team.
Again, Congratulations to Team Enema!
This is the second coaching stint for me. For two straight years, I have been asked by Team Enema to coach them. Last year, they were 11-0, sweeping all the games from eliminations to the semis up to the finals. This year, despite a change in lineup, they are well on their way to yet another sweep.
Most people would think that this wonderful record is the reason why I stayed on as caoch. Truth be told, if I had a choice, I would want this team to lose a game. Why? Because that would be the best way to teach them what I wanted to teach them in the first place. You see, basketball is not simply a game to me, basketball thought me discipline and this is what I aspire to give to these kids.
Losing would have thought this team so much more than winning but since I cannot ask them to lose intentionally, I try to do the next best thing. I try to teach them while winning. Fouling hard is allowed, but cheap shots will not be tolerated. Complaining to the refs are ok, but getting T's will keep you in the bench (starter or not) even in the final minutes. Trash talking is ok but, after the game, I expect everyone to share hands and be real sportsmen.
For me, one can have that killer instinct, going for a 103-48 blowout, without being arrogant about it. I'd love to lose a game just to teach these kinds to be gracious in defeat.. but since that is far from happening, I'll just continue to teach them to be humble winners.
SFC Basketball [Update]
Just to update everyone, we lost in the championship game last Sunday. It was a really frustrating game for us. Nobody (apart from Brian) had a good game. Our passes were easily read and intercepted by the opponent. Easy shots were missed. There were some missed calls by the referee but I have to admit that it did not really affect our game. Diana was right, we deserved that ass-whoopin'. We simply did not play our game...
Of course, it was not all that bad. I really thank our loyal fanatics who continued to cheer (although they sometimes got mad at us) despite our lousy game.
Also, congratulations to the 3-Point King, BJ, and Freethrow Queen, Diana!
Updates.. Updates..
It's been an eternity since my last post! Oh well, what's new, right? The bad thing about it is that I did have lots of stories to tell but I've just been so busy lately that I never had the time to write them down here. I try to avoid blogging at work and I usually just doze off when I get home. Weekends were never an option either since my schedule was always full... I guess I did not follow my own Blogging 101 tip.
Anyway, here's a summary of what went on during the last couple of weeks. I decided to write in bullet points to make it easier. Click on the sub-headings to view pictures on Multiply.
Teambuilding @ Villa Escudero - 20060610
:: Airline Operations and Recovery team went to Villa Escudero with Russel (from Austin) and Alma (from Auckland)
:: Traffic sucked so we got there just in time for lunch, which was the only thing I had time for.
:: I did not get to spend much time with the rest of the team because I had to rush back to Cainta to coach Enema.
VEEH Summer Basketball 2006
- RubySoHo Basketball
- Back-to-back champions in the Senior division
- Did not play in all the games (was even benched at times) but I did play considerable minutes in the crucial games
- Had to wear goggles because of an my eye's allergic reaction to contact lens solution
- None of my teammates were chosen to be part of the subdivision's All Star team that played against the (ex) PBA All Stars. Ain't that supposed to be for the champs?
- Enema Basketball
- Back-to-back champions in the Junior division
- Realization: Coaching is more stressful than playing
- Lost first game in two years! It was a shame but, at the same time, it was something that the team needed. It tested the team's character, and they passed with flying colours.
CB Basketball
:: First time to play in an SFC Inter-Chapter Basketball tournament. I was in the OZ mission trip last time.
:: Breezed through the first game but had some difficulties in the second game.
:: Will be in the finals tomorrow against Taytay. They have a pretty big and tough team so let's see what happens.
Nana in Manila (Sorry! No pictures yet!)
:: This is Nana's second time in Manila since I got here.
:: We only got to hang out twice but, as always, we had a blast.
:: It was fun seeing Hazel and Fredo again.
:: Alaine met this Jakarta bunch for the first time (she's only met Cal, Franz and Aldo), and she totally loved them. Her grandma was also very fond of them.
Izar in Manila (Sorry! No pictures yet!)
:: Izar's first of a series of business trips to Manila
:: It was great to hangout with her again. She's still as wacky as before, and she's one of the most down-to-earth girl I know
:: Alaine totally loved Izar as well. She especially loves her crazy antics like "Why not coconut?"
CLP Graduation and "Outing"
:: The CLP is finally over and we have four new graduates.
:: The graduation ceremony was supposed to be done together with the Chapter Outing last Saturday. Unfortunately, the outing to Loreland resort did not push through because of the thunderstorm causing some major traffic
:: I had to walk from Village East to Junction so that I could get a ride to the Gonzales' place (where the event finally pushed through)
:: I slept outside their gate for awhile since they were still stuck in traffic
Till the next update!!!
