a little tribute to my mama
My mother and i were never close. i remember having World War III sessions in department stores when we used to shop together (this was during my younger days, now we learned our lesson, we never shop together ;0) and it always seemed that there was this distance between us.
when i was a kid, i remember my mama visiting me at the province. life was hard for my parents then who were both working. they could not afford to bring me to Manila when i was a baby. that's why they had to leave me with my lola in the province. she visited me every now and then. when she was supposed to go back to Manila, i remember my lola had to bring me somewhere else so that i won't see and stop her from leaving.
i went to manila when i had to go to school already. but my mom became a stranger to me. i guess its because we spent many years apart, not to mention the fact that my brother always had the "most favored nation clause".
today is the birthday of my mother and i want pay tribute and tell her things.
to you mama, these are the things i don't' tell you often or that i don't tell you at all, but this is how i feel. i am grateful that you have brought me to life (ikaw pala ang may kasalanan kung bakit may isang pasaway sa mundo, mwah!). i admire you because you were not only the light of our family, but together with papa, you were also our cornerstone. you endured many hours at work and less with us because you wanted us to be financially stable. you endured many heartaches, (some of which i was personally responsible for, and for that i am TRULY sorry), but you never gave up and just kept on going. i admire your strength and faith in God, you taught me to go back to Him, and to always trust in Him during my most difficult times. You have always wanted to shelter me and kuya's life from any harm, but it's just that there are lessons in life we need to learn by ourselves.
i know we may never "recover" the lost times, we may never be really close the way i wish we could/would be, we may still disagree with a lot of things, you may not seem to say the right words to me whenever i seek your advice, you may favor kuya more than you favor me, we may still not understand each other, but i love you no less.
Happy birthday mama! Mahal na mahal kita!
one more time for Taufik
ok ok, i got excited with my previous post, that out of nowhere, i just placed his pics and put some caption on it and a wishful thinking that one day we'll meet. Hay! i am simply charmed by the guy!
My going gaga over Taufik started when i first saw him play in one of the European badminton tournaments (sorry can't remember) He was Indonesian, so i expected that he was really good. (i think badminton is considered the national sports of Indonesia and generally speaking, team Indonesia is always at the top of world badminton rankings) and he didn't disappointment me. from then on, i got hooked with him!
I always make it a point to watch his games, win or lose. The closest thing i ever got to watch him was during the last SEA games which was held in the Philippines. I was actually close to getting his autograph!!! kaso i chicken(ed) out!!! Kainis! si rey kasi ayaw ako samahan magpaka jologs, hehehe!. I was ready to be a fan tlga and was supposed to ask him to sign my shirt (the one i was wearing) but i simply chiken(ed) out! his presence was just too mesmerizing! hay, so i just took his picture when he was saying hi to us! (hay his sweet but killer smile!)
he plays with such smoothness, coolness and suave. He shows no emotion in court while playing, unless he contests a call (he even walked out of a game because of a bad call in the Hongkong Open) and at the end of a game, that is if he wins. (i remembered he cried during the Olympics where he won Gold! i wanted to hug him that time, as if!!!) But he can also be moody in the court. If he's not in the mood to play, he couldn't care less if he lose, but if he's in the mood, he is absolutely at his best (Note that he is still the only badminton player who won the Olympic Gold and World Badminton Championship back to back and he holds the fastest backhand smash! galing tlga ng love ko! aruy!)
anyhow, i didn't limit myself to watching his games (obsession na to!). i searched a couple of info about him. here are some:
Name : Taufik Hidayat
Nickname : Taufik (
aka my love, bwahaha!)Place & date of birth : Bandung, August 10th 1981 (
See!!! magkasunod kami ng bday!!!)Height/weight : 1.76 m/64 kg
Religion : Moslem
Hobby : Travelling and football
Right handed
World Ranking: (as of October) 16th ;(
Status: married (ok lang di ako selosa, joke!!! i am happy for him, hahaha!)
I'll stop the info here. if you want to read his interview, click on this (please pardon my love's (pinanindigan) grammar, he doesn't speak fluent english)
link . You can also use google for searching infos about him. He also launched his biography but it's in their native tongue Bahasa(wah! bakit ba German ang pinag aralan kong language!!!) I think for now, i will settle for the autographed picture of him from my Indonesian classmate Jimmi. (Jimmi, you better get that signed picture or else i will smash you back to Indonesia, just kidding kuya!)
Anyhow, this is my little tribute to
"my" Taufik Hidayat who never seems to stop captivating me and inspiring me to play badminton.
the one, the only Taufik Hidayat
Taufik is the only player to have scooped back to back the Olympic and World championships titles. He was said to be a true talent and gift to the Badminton World.
with sweat and all, he still look so damn yummy ;0)
killer smile ;0)
one day... we will meet... hay wishful thinking!!!
fake coins
it was in the news, i think a couple of days ago, that a businessman returned worth 40K of fake P10 coins after learning that a taiwanese involved in counterfeiting coins was arrested. the news also said that "it is easy to tell the genuine coin from the fake one. The former is composed of copper, nickel, aluminum and zinc. The latter is made solely from steel, which means it will stick to a magnet." (Source: "Trader surrenders fake coins" http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=53836)
and last night, during our management economics class, the topic of the fake coins came up. a classmate who was fond of collecting/keeping coins told us that she discovered she had P800 worth of fake P10 and P5 peso coins. She kept her coins in old (but washed and clean) stockings (parang lola, hehehe!) When she heard about the news, she got a magnet and tested the coins and voila! she got P800 worth of fake coins.
In class, while we were waiting for the reporting group to set up, she got her magnet and tested the coins that we had. My gulay, almost everybody in our table had a minimum of 1 fake coin in his/her wallet/coin purse! but it is however fortunate that only the 25cents coins were fake, which stuck to the magnet instantly!
As for me, I found one fake 25-cents in my purse!
Hay! lahat ng lang pinepeke, minsan pati feelings (wink * wink)
that gentle cool breeze
i felt it the other night, but i was having second thoughts about it. I thought it was a residual feeling of being exposed to the aircon in the office for the whole day. i had to let another day reconfirm the feeling, and last night it did.... the cool breeze of the holiday season is here! ;0)
every year, it seems that preparations for Christmas is getting later and later. I remember during the more prosperous years of the Philippines, decorations are up by mid to the end of August. Buildings along Ayala lit the street as huge and bright Christmas decors were put in place. Christmas lights and decors were everywhere, in all sizes, shapes and colors! The Christmas carols were playing very often on the radio, products usually show Christmas versions of their commercials, tv networks came up with greetings. artists launched christmas albums. all of these happened on a much earlier time.
But it is almost the end of October and last night, according to "Igan" (host of saksi), it is 66 days before Christmas but it seems the spirit is still not there ( or is it just me? scrooge naman tlga ko noh, ay naku, possible topic ito for another entry) except i guess for the midnight madness at megamall and galeria last weekend for an early gift-shopping spree.
Is this because of economics? even the spirit of Christmas has depended on it? scrooge that i am, i am hoping this is not the case, though something tells me, it is quite like that (sigh)
well, i still enjoyed that cool breeze i felt last night, the subtle air that touched my face. I was looking forward to feeling it this morning, but it was the sun that kissed me... later tonight then cool breeze.
atty. jake padua?
This morning i had a little chat with my boss about a case of a friend (Ms. M). A friend of mine was "kicked out of the office " because of a pending case in one of the MTCs in the metro. I already had a previous discussion about it with Ms M. according to her, the office found out about the case and gave her the option to resign or else be terminated. the office said that she had "misrepresentations", as she did not disclose about the case upon her employment in the office. she said that the case was bogus, and that she was sued because of what she knows about the office she was formerly working for. after her story, we were discussing her options.
I didn't want to speculate on the legal aspects of the case (as i am no laywer) but somehow i had an opinion about it. if she was being "fired" because of her non-disclosure of the case, she can claim that there was no malicious intent when she did not "tick the box", that there was no intent to cheat or not to disclose the said case against her, that it was due to pure carelessness (?) or to brutally put it,
katangahang hindi nabanggit.
Second, if indeed she was guilty of something (at least as far as the office policies are concerned about disclosure), she still should have given proper treatment, the due process of law, the opportunity to defend herself on the accusations against her before rendering a judgment on her.
I shared this humble opinion with my boss who is a "legal expert". and he was surprised (tadu yun ah, kala ata eng eng ako, hehehe!) that i gave the exact right legal opinion about the case. he said that i had a lawyer mind (whatever that is!). anyhow, he asked me, actually he convinced me to take up law (no way! baka maging teacher ko pa sya noh! ;0)
I remember my mother and brother telling me that indeed i should take up law, as i always have a way of arguing (with them most of the time, hehehe), They even volunteered to finance my law study, if only i agreed to pursue it. My father even made me take up political science in college as he really wanted me to take up law after. Honestly, when i was a kid, i enjoyed court room shows, (i remember perry mason sa channel 9, gosh, ang tagal na nitong show na to, siyempre wala na siya ngaun noh) and enjoyed reading books that have a court room drama base. I guess one time or another, i have also dreamt of becoming a laywer. but when i heard of the horror stories of law school, (the professors and the demands of the course) i said never mind!!! wala akong balak maLawko ;0) i wanted to be a laywer, but not a law student! my gulay, 4 years ulit ng pag-aaral? not to mention the Bar! no way! masisira social life ko. hehehe!
But it actually tickled my mind. hmmm... ano nga kaya? Law school? Bar? Atty. Jake Padua? Dream on ;0)
a family affair
it was a much awaited affair for my family, especially for my parents (the excited lolo and lola that they are). after a long time, we were able to "borrow" my niece pia.
we prepared early as we will be picking pia and her mom in antipolo. upon seeing us, pia jumped on me and gave me a big hug. She ran to her Boss Art (this is how she calls her lolo) and Bunso (this is how she calls her lola) and gave them kisses. Then off we go to Tagaytay.
On the road, Pia and I were talking about her subjects in school and how she was fairing. She said that her highest grade was Music (Music? was that even a subject? hehehe! just kidding baby) and her lowest was Math (hahaha! mana sa ninang! I am her godmother by the way)
We reached Tagaytay around lunch time and we went for the buffet at Taal Vista. i really don't usually go for buffets knowing that i have such a small appetite (lugi ako sa bayad noh). Actually we are a family of "small eaters". We were not blessed with big appetites (is that good or bad? ;0)
I started with the pumpkin soup and worked my way around. I tried a little of everything, but after just one round, my stomach was complaining that it can't take no more (heller! wala pa akong dessert, ano ba!?) so i rested for a while and took some pictures of my niece (hoping that after some time, i'll get some room for desserts) pero wala na tlga (argh!!) white flag na ang stomach ko for eating.
So, habang nagpapababa ng kinain, we watched the cultural performers at Taal Vista. They performed various folk dance including that of the Ifugaos (I heard the people from the highlands consider the term Igorot as a pejorative, thus i used Ifugao). The women dancers carried pots while dancing, and as a finale, a woman carried all the pots on her head while dancing gracefully.
look at the number of pots she's carrying on her head.there was absolutely no tricks ( hindi dikit dikit yung pots, eventhough they were, it's still heavy) because the pots were set on her head on the spot! and i thought i was hard-headed, hehehe! after lunch, we went to go horseback-riding. pia really wanted to ride a horse, but she became afraid when she was about to ride one, baka mahulog daw siya. so she opted for a bike. she pulled me and said that i drive the tri-bike for her. my gulay!!!! it's either, the bike was defective or pia was too heavy as i found it so hard to pedal! after one round, i gave up! hinihingal na ko! magbabadminton na lang ako! ayoko ng bike! ;0) but she had fun going around, there were many kids biking too.
we went home at 3:30 coz we didn't want to tire pia too much as she has an early class the next day. But i was so thankful that this happened, i know how my parents miss their only grandchild and they were absolutely ecstatic about seeing pia again. well, til the next bonding ;0)
adultery
i am reposting an article from
triple x which he posted sometime ago.
last night, a friend of mine poured his heart out on me, because of his "fallin out" with his wife (sigh) because of another girl. he insisted he still loved his wife, but was confused (really, hehehe! boys!)
sabi ko nga, talaga naman, ako pa pinagtanungan ng mga ganitong bagay bagay ;0) i have never been married, at least not technically, wala pa kong "I do.... and in sickness and in health til death do we part". I have not professed this to GOD and to a priest or any person authorized to administer marriage.
This is why i thought of reposting this article i got from triplex. i decided to post only the article, in the original blog entry, triple x shared some of his thoughts na baka hindi kayanin ng readers ko, (hehehe! i may be "violent" in my blogs, pero at least wholesome pa rin)
so read on.... let's be good boys and gels, oki? ;0)
ADULTERY
Adultery happens when you start looking for what you don't have."Wow,this girl in my office is a real looker. I'mcrazy about her because she's also understanding,intelligent, tender - so many things that my spouse is not."Somewhere along the way, you'll find a woman or a manwho will be more charming or sensitive. More alluring.More thoughtful. Richer. Have greater sex appeal. And you will find a woman or man who will need you andpursue you and go loco over you more than your spouseever did. Because no wife or husband is perfect. Because a spouse will only have 90% of what you're looking for.So adultery takes place when a husband or wifelooks for the missing 10%. Let's say your wife is melancholic by nature. You may find yourself drawn to the pretty clerk who has a cherry laughter. Or because your wife is a homebody in slippers and pyjamas, smelling of garlic and fish oil,you may fallfor a fresh-smelling young sales representativethat visits your office in a sharp black blazer, highheels, and a red pencil-cut skirt. Or because your husband is the quiet type, your heart may skip a beat when you meet an old college flame who has the makings of a talk show host.But wait! That's only 10% of what you don't have.Don't throw away the 90% that you already have! Add to your spouse's 90% the 100% that represents all theyears that you have been with each other. The storms you have weathered together. The unforgettable moments of sadness and joy as a couple. The many adjustments you have made to love the other. The wealth of memories that you've accumulated as lovers.Adultery happens when you start looking for what you don't have. But faithfulness happens when you start thanking God for what you already have.But I'm not just talking about marriage. I'm talkingabout life! About your jobs. About your friends. About your children. About your lifestyles. Are you like the economy airline? The main message:If you start appreciating what you have right now,wherever you are is FIRST CLASS!
my new badminton buddy
my first badminton shoes was an addidas wirano which i bought on sale. as in sinadya ko siya sa megamall during one of their mega sale last year to save extra bucks. for the time it has served me, masaya naman ako, kahit na twice ako namatayan ng kuko (thank God nagresurrect sya!) unfortunately, i complained of ankle pains after games. mike told me that this was the defect of addidas shoes, it doesn't have much of ankle support daw. he suggested that i get a mizuno. now, i decided to give the wirano a rest.
after brownouts and milenyo (remember my end of the world post?), i was able to get a new pair. my new badminton buddy is a silver, red and black mizuno wave lightning 2. (Thanks Toffie for picking it up for me... mwah! promise di kita irerebond, hehehe!) after using it twice, i say i am happy. no ankle pain yesterday, at masarap syang tlgang ipangtakbo sa court. I was just wishing that with the shoes comes the ability to play badminton better. ;0) to my badminton buddy, here's to more baddiction!
badminton addict.... in retrospect ;0)
i started playing badminton during my sophomore year in college as my P.E. subject. I remember challenging my instructor to a singles game. he said that if i beat him, i'll get a flat 1 in my grade. unfortunately, after being made a wiper in court ( as i was made to run from left to right, like a car wiper indeed!, i lost ( can't remember the score though, and i am pretty sure it was not worth remembering anyhow) so in the end i got a grade of 1.25.
i also had an early share of playing competitive badminton. in my junior year in college, my father volunteered me to play for their office. I thought it was just a "fun" competition, but after finishing the elimination and qualifying for the finals, i found out that we are challenging a team from Indonesia for the finals! Heller, Indonesians eat shuttle cocks for breakfast! (no pun intended) I mean, c'mon badminton is the national sports of Indonesia and what, i played it just to pass a PE subject? after being played around, (oo, as pinaglaruan nila kami, para kaming dalawang wiper ng kotse!) expectedly, we lost the game and i remember that the day after, i was bed ridden!!!
i guess the last badminton experience was traumatic for me (hehehe!) as it was only after six years that i got hold of a badminton racket and a shuttlecock again. A friend from the Philippine Airforce invited me to play in Villamor. At this time, badminton was slowly establishing itself to be a prime sports/hobby in the Philippines. I remember villamor was packed with people waiting to play.
This games extended, not in villamor though but in Malacanang Park, the home of the PSGs. Allan, invited me to play. There were many officers, men and women who were so good at it. I can't help but watch in awe and tell myself "how they do that?!?!?!" The smashes, the drop shots were simply amazing. I guess this inspired me to take a serious interest in badminton.
and then i got hooked with it. i played 3 times a week and thank God for those people who have patiently played and taught me the basics of the game. Up until now, some of the things i've learned, i still can't apply, like the backhand, hmp! Later on, i found out that my boss was also playing badminton. So my work as his Executive Assistant included playing with him at the park, hehehe! this is one part of my job i really enjoyed! ;0)
and then che-che, (my buddy for life!) told me that her college friends (the likes of erwin, holden, eugene, noreen, louie, carl and reggie) were regularly playing badminton every sunday. so one sunday, we joined them. They played in QC and makati alternately and i played with them even when che-che was not around. This time, i was playing 4-5 times a week! Yes, ganun ako ka-addict! ayoko tumigil! hehehe!
then i got hold of my fraternity brothers and sisters who played badminton every saturday naman in pasig. if i have time, nakikilaro din ako sa kanila, but the sunday group was the more regular thing for me.
when i worked in ADB, yung badminton club lang yung gusto kong salihan besides the dance guild. and so i became i member. later on, i tried the competitive side of badminton, i started joining dual meets in the club, tournament outside office and mini-tournaments with friends.
This addiction is not limited to playing it. I love watching badminton games too! i watched the badminton games during the last SEA games. unfortunately, team Philippines didn't do well. I also thank God for Solar Sports for tv coverage of international badminton tournaments! kahit ilang replay na ng mga badminton games, i still watch them! ( di ba addict tlga ako!) the last one i got to watch was the World IBF Championship in Madrid. I watched the games til 5am in the morning! literally, naduling ako kakapanood. i was seeing two Taufik Hidayat! I had to cover one eye to watch properly!
i can go on and on to tell stories about my baddiction (badminton addiction) pero baka maging isang libro na tong blog ko. ;0)
taufik hidayat, former world No. 1 and Olympic gold medalist holds the fastest backhand smash. i took this picture during the last SEA games in the Philippines... simply DELICIOUS!
world's no. 1 men's doubles pair fu and cai from china (fu, the one on the right holds the fastest smash with 337 kph, i think);0)
end of the world? ;0)
this blog is a little bit delayed, given that almost everything has normalized a week after milenyo hit manila. but i really wanted to share that friday night experience.
Friday, after the Thursday hit, it all came to being... the effects of milenyo. when i woke up friday morning, still no electricity. i knew i wasn't goin to the office, heller! not when i didn't take a bath noh. ;0)
anyhow, i have thought of ways to take a bath because it was imperative for me to go to the office, because i had to meet with my groupmates in MANSCI (management science) since we are the reporting group come monday. likewise, i was meeting some friends after work. so after much contemplation, i thought of one thing, how about checking in to a motorist hotel (ok fine, motel for short, di kasi maganda ang impression pag motel lang sabihin ko eh, hehehe! mahal naman kasi masyado kung magchecheck in ako sa isang hotel para lang maligo!)so after looking for options, that was the only feasible at that time. so i went to a motel. after going thru traffic, i reached the place, only to be "rejected". I think it was their policy that no one was allowed to check in alone. i guess this is due to people who check in alone and then commit suicide, siyempre nga naman bad rep for the motels yun.
anyhow, di daw tlga pwede, policy daw tlga. i begged, i said i just wanted to take a bath, i even asked if i looked suicidal to them, hehehe. after much persistence, they allowed me to check in for 3 hours, but they asked me first to pay, so i did (come to think of it, eh kung magpakamatay ako dun sa loob, ano namang diperensya kung nagbayad na ako? at least bayad na ako? hehehe!) anyhow, i enjoyed the warm water and strong pressure. after taking a bath, i went to the office to meet with my groupmates.
it was a week before since some of my badmintonmates and i scheduled to check and buy a new badminton shoes ( i am using an addidas wirano for my badminton, and by the looks of it, gusto na nya magpahinga. at gusto ko na rin ipahinga ang paa ko, twice na ko namatayan ng kuko dito noh! buti na lang marunong sya mag resurrect!) according to a friend of mine, mas ok daw ang mizuno na badminton shoes. he asked me if i experience pain in my ankle and knees after i play, and i said yes. He said that it was the defect of addidas, it doesn't have much support for the ankles.
so after office, i was off to makati. the plan was to take the mrt. when i went out of the office, the guard informed me that there was no mrt!!! wah!!! so i had to take a different route. damn! edsa was dark! as in dark! since i didn't want to be late, i took an ordinary bus to go to ayala. my golly! there was so many people on the streets!!! and traffic was really bad. north bound, the traffic stretched from ortigas til ayala!
i took off at ayala, and again a lot of people were on the street, as in ang dami. i asked myself, where did this people come from! we met at dusit hotel, and to me and my friend's surprise, even SM Makati was closed! and again people were flocking, it was damn dark! i told my friend, that this was really scary. so we decided to leave makati. when we went to edsa to take a ride, my friend was surprised of the number of people who were on the street, told you so!) after bumping with the people in EDSA, we caught our ride, standing bus only--- to the door!!! what was happening! along edsa, we saw a couple of billboards torn down by milenyo and if you see them, you can't help but wonder, how in the h*ll did this happen? because the billboards were huge!
we finally met carl, who was bringing us to the mizuno shop in magallanes (di ba ang tigas ng ulo namin, sa gitna ng bagyo at brown out, badminton shoes pa rin iniisip namin) and we told him of the situation we saw in makati. we reached the mizuno shop, but it was closed (heller! what were we thinking!) because the area had no electricity.
so we decided to leave. but carl had to gas up first, and so we went to shell magallanes. there were lots of cars, and posts that DIESEL -OUT of STOCK. huwat! ano na ba ang nangyayari sa mundo? ;0) and even the music in carl's stereo was in the mood.. it was playing the end of the world (why does the sun go on shining... why does the sea rush to shore.... don't they know it's the end of the world) wah!!!
we can't help but comment "katapusan na ba ng mundo? walang mrt, ang dilim, and dami ng tao, ang ttttrrrraaaaaaaffffffffffiiiicccc!!! sarado ang SM, out of stock ang diesel!!!!
just thank God everything is ok now.. well til the next "end of the world" experience! ;0) hopefully not!!
