The Old Snail

Every night, I jog my way back to Robertson Quay Hotel. It's a lot easier to push myself at these times rather than wake up early in the morning before the sun shows up.

Interestingly enough, I got to talk to an old snail every time I pass along Alexandra road. She's too slow of course, and I only manage to say a few sentences to her before I completely pass her by.

Monday night, I almost stepped at her. My mind was too occupied and it was flying somewhere else. I lost focus on where my feet were landing until the old snail got my attention.

"You kutchi-kutchi little thing, you shouldn't be on the sidewalk, you'll be crushed in no time." I picked her up and placed her on the grass far away from the side walk.

"Bye bye, I'm so hungry I couldn't talk to you more, I'll see you tomorrow." And then I jogged my way to the hotel.

Tuesday night, I saw the snail again, about half a kilometer away from yesterday.

"You're good ma'am. Keep walking."

And she answered, "Yeah, Yeah.. You bet. How are you? You're mood seem to be lighter now than yesterday..", she remarked.

"Pressure kept on piling up till the point where I exploded. I knew it was coming, I just didn't think it will be that frustrating. I slammed my luggage bag to the floor, It was late Saturday night, and it woke everybody in the house up. At that time, I couldn't explain to anyone what and how I felt, I just felt terrible." And then I passed her by.

The following day, she was only a few feet from the last time I saw her.

"Why? What's the matter? Are you sick?," I asked.

"You of course. Why did you do that? Slam your bag to the floor? Are you always like that?."

I stopped jogging, sat down on the grass, caught my breath and told her "I don't know. I was just so frustrated."

"And how could you be so frustrated young man?"

"Let's put it this way, I kinda expected things to happen.. they did not.. and then I just saw myself in a bad mood."

"Things like that happen.. I mean, most of the time.. Life is too unpredictable for you to expect."

"It's not like that ma'am. I planned carefully. I wasn't hoping, I was in control.."

"Yeah.. that's nice.. planning. But you could only plan as much.. couldn't you?"

"Maybe.. I don't know.. But I figured out, expectations led me to frustrations.. And so I'm better now.. I figured I just have to do what I need to do.. Have a good day and probably things will go in my favor.. someday I hope. That's probably the reason I can smile.."

"It's funny how you depend on hope now.. I'll see you tomorrow young man."

I got up, smiled at her and started to jog again.

Thursday, I decided not to jog. I think I'll easily burn out if I jog everyday, I needed some rest. I missed the old snail though. She's like my grandmother, they always have something to say.

Friday, I caught up with her again. She's now a lot farther away from the very first time I saw her.

"It's nice to see you again my lady, how are you?."

"I'm finally here. I'm glad I saw you today. Take a seat (Her eyes pointing to the soft green grass to my left)."

"This is where all that walk is for ma'am?," I asked smiling, hoping to make her feel good about all the walking she's done.

"Yeah. This is it as far as you see me. I'm so tired now but it's all worth it, I'll be crossing the opposite road starting tomorrow and it'll be a long and far journey. Listen son, you just keep on going.. promise me that. You'll be frustrated again, sooner or later.. I might not be there for you no more.. but listen, You just keep on going."

"Thank you.," that's the only words I could utter.

Weekends came, I stayed at the hotel cause it's been raining hard the past few days.
I still jog every night. I miss the old snail. I'll probably won't see her again.

Sports Weekend

War for 4 Highlights
Erik Morales returned fire for fire, displayed the courage and machismo that has been attached to his legendary name for the past few years, and in the end, showed the world that he still has the skills to fight. Nobody expected him to last the distance against the aggressive and defending champion, after all Manny Pacquiao demolished him in only three rounds in his last fight prior to this one. Never under estimate the heart of a champion. Erik, the challenger and former three-time world champion in as many weight divisions, dropped the defending champion in the very first round of the championship bout. Diaz, the defending champion, caught him with a series of vicious punches to the face and seems to end the fight by pursuing the aging Morales to the ropes. Morales fought back and landed a crisp right to the jaw of Diaz sending him down to the canvas with the time about to end the first round. The following rounds were unforgiving, being a fan of the ever-engaging Morales, I seem to feel both pity and admiration for Erik. Pity because it's clear to me that the punches that he absorbed seems too much for his age, admiration because no matter how many punches he absorbed, he still fought back. And Erik even seems to be winning a lot of rounds, plus the 1st round knock down.

In the end, the previous wars that Erik has been to affected him. He is not the same legendary fighter that once beaten both Barrera and Pacquiao. His legs and body movement were not there anymore, his mind is willing to fight, his heart is not be questioned, but his body is no longer responding in his favor. And in the last three or four rounds, he was breathing heavily, he was practically a stationary target and he eventually lost on a points decision.

Thank you Erik for those memorable wars. Please retire and avoid the ring punishments, you've already proven a lot.

In the same fight card, Rodel Mayol of Cebu, Philippines fought for the WBC junior flyweight title (108-pound limit). The first three rounds, Rodel seems to be too eager to land his powerful punches. I can't blame him for this attitude, he is a young challenger wanting to gain respect from the champion and show the world that he is deserving to be the next world champion. His eagerness worked against him as the champion was able to counter the punches coming from Mayol.

In the fourth round, probably advised by his cornermen, Mayol began to throw the jabs and box beautifully. He was more relaxed and he was boxing smarter. In round six, he caught the champion with a power left hook to the face and the champion stumbled down with both knees on the canvas. The referee erred in calling it a slip. Mayol, robbed of a knockdown, wasn't able to capitalize. The referee by not calling it a knockdown, has given Mayol the opportunity to attack the champion that was visibly hurt by that wicked left hook. Have it been ruled a knockdown, the referee will have to count from one to ten until the champion gets up on his feet, giving him time to recover from the knockdown.

It wasn't meant to be for Mayol. He wasn't able to finish off the champion. He won the seventh round, again by outboxing the champion and by delivering the more accurate and more powerful blows. At the start of the eight, were the commentators were already applauding Mayol for his gallant effort and for leading the fight on their unofficial score cards, a disaster happened. Mayol was caught by a right straight across his jaw that was perfectly setup by a left jab. Boom! The referee need not count, Mayol was out for good in his second failed attempt to win a world championship.

It was sad for this young and brave Filipino. Will he fight again? Will he be as gallant and as eager to win? He is the only one who could tell. I hope he still fights, and bring in a hungrier heart and a more determined will to finally hold a championship title. Remember that the test of a man's true character is in the face of adversities.

FIBA and UAAP
Team Pilipinas beat China for the second time in the tournament and earned the 9th spot (out of 16 participating countries). They failed to land a spot for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but all is not lost. It's just the beginning. I hope that the PBA and the Philippine basketball officials continue to work together and regain the Philippine basketball supremacy in Asia. This is a basketball crazy nation that unfortunately seems not to be doing so good in basketball over the last two decades.

The UP Fighting Maroons dropped their seventh straight games against the FEU Tamaraws. They are now in the very bottom of the team standings with a 0-7 win-loss card. Sad, but as Ronnie Magsanoc said, it does not matter how many games you lost in the previous games, every time you play, you carry the hopes, pride and honor of your school so you've got to give it your best every time you play. Good luck UP. Win or lose, you have the support of all of the "Iskolar ng Bayan".

Extras
I will be going back to Teraoka Weigh System, Singapore this August 12. Yehey, I can earn more plus I will have more time to write as I will no longer have to travel five hours a day to work and back home. I will definitely miss the sinangag (fried rice), lumpiang shanghai and piniritong isda (fried fish) of my mother every morning.

Thanks for reading.

sa bawat araw

kagabi.. sa huling gabi ng tatlong-araw na pahinga..
napag-isip-isip ko na dahil sa mga pangarap ko..
nakakalimutan ko na halos i-appreciate yung bawat araw na dumadaan..

na parang hinihintay ko na lang dumating yung araw
na makukuha ko eto.. at mabibili ko yun..
pero wala yung pagtanggap at pagpapahalaga sa maliit
na detalye ng bawat lumilipas na araw.

naisip ko na.. kung makakamit ko yung pangarap ko.. e di masaya..
pero nde dapat winawalang-bahala yung kasiyahan..
yung kasimplehan.. at karamihan ng mga bagay na pwede kong
mapulot sa isang ordinaryong araw..

maikli lang ang buhay..
kakaunti lang ang mga pangarap ko..
nde naman pwede na maappreciate ko lang yung mga araw
na nakuha ko yung pangarap ko.. o yung gusto kong gawin..

mas simpleng mga kasiyahan.. sa bawat araw..
mas marami.. mas masaya..
mas mapapahalagahan ko yung bawat saglit ng maikling buhay ko..

/=====

nde ito isang ordinaryong araw..
ilang araw na ba ang lumipas sa kasaysayan ng mundo..
na eto ako at buhay.. humihinga.. gumagawa..?
dapat akong magsaya.. ang bawat araw na nandito ako sa mundo..
ay ispesyal..

Joke Time

Classic itong isang 'to para saken. FM Radio joke sa bus.

Minsan may isang barakong lalaki, matikas at may katangkaran ang nangailangan ng serbisyo
ng isang dentista. Bakas sa barakong lalaking iyon ang kaba at takot na ipabunot ang isa
sa mga ipin nya. Agad naman itong napansin ng beteranong dentista, isang magandang
dalaga na nasa 26 hanggang 28 taong gulang.
Dentista: Natatakot ka bang magpabunot ng ipin? (nakangiting tanong ng dentista)
Barako: Meeedyo (nanginginig at kabadong sagot ng lalaki)
Dentista: Wag kang mag-alala, bibigyan kita ng pampatapang (anesthesia).
At kalmadong naturukan ng anesthesia ang lalaki.
"Ngayon, matapang ka na diba?", Nakangiting tanong ng dentista.
Sumagot naman yung barako "Sige, galawin mo ipin ko,
pag hindi ko binasag yang pagmumukha mo." (ang tapang !!!)

back to blogging

I welcome myself back here to friendster blogs. ;)

Recently, I've been too busy thinking of what topics to post. And in my fickle and disturbed mind,
had already attempted to start two different sites for my blogs. Still, I'm not satisfied with my writings.
Still struggling to have a continuous flow of thoughts that would keep me writing. Not enough exciting
events to write of, insufficient motivation perhaps. Whatever the case, I find myself interested enough
to get my thoughts ready for the next few months of blogging.

More than half of 2007 had past. Much has to be done still. Here's my priority list of goals before
I can happily say goodbye to 2007:

One: Dream house. I have consulted with my father, I call him 'Papa', about my plans of building
our new house in Cavite. I showed him my drafts and rough sketches of a dream house that I
have been eagerly wanting to build. He slightly modified it, asked some questions, resketched
the house, estimated the cost, and have agreed to build it. It's fun drawing where the rooms will be,
where the stairs will be built (it's 2 floors with a rooftop, Papa fondly calls it a 2.5 building),
the overall design in general. I really have a lot to say about this dream house, and pardon me if
this writing has gone in disarray.

I designed it with a Europian castle in my mind. The era of the noble knights. After several revisions,
it now includes modern designs with a lot of modifications to fit my budget. I've chosen three colors
for the house, red, black and white. Up to now, since we started building last April 9,
it is not finished yet. I see my dream house standing proud by summer of 2008. And then my
plan is to prepare it for the graduation days of my brother, taking up Computer Engineering, and my
little sister, a Nursing student. I have to buy furnitures and beddings and curtains and study tables
and book shelves and gym equipments and a billiard table.

It's been very busy, the financing for it is a continuous source of headache and stress for me. Yet, I
consider this project as the best event of my young career. Working close with your family, planning
together, discussing and combining ideas with your loved ones - it has got to be the best!

Two: Boxer's Body. I've been in the gym for a year and a half. I still have a concentration of fats
around my belly. It's not a problem for me, I think its cute. I play with my belly tapping it like a drum.
Hahaha. But then again, the company outing in Cebu this November has got me worried. I have
stopped going into the gym for two months now.

I decided to go through an intensive cardio vascular training to go with the abdominal exercises to
trim my belly fats. It's so hard to maintain the weight training in the gym with my work schedule -
that is a month here in Manila and then the next month in Singapore, then back to Manila the
next month, then to Singapore again. So I just decided to take a boxer's training.

My new training program involves skipping ropes (4 sets with 75-100 repetitions per day), shadow
boxing (two 3-minute rounds of punching, weaving and footwork movements), push ups (30 counts followed by 25
counts for the next set), bicep curls (2 sets of 12 repetitions for each arm), tricep curls (2 sets of
12 repetitions for each arm), leg raises (for the lower abs, 40 counts per leg), crunches (upper abs,
50 counts), rowing crunches (lower and upper abs, 50 counts) and bicycle crunches (for the
oblique abs, 50 counts). I have done these sets of exercises every day except for Saturdays (I help
with the construction of the house) for 8 days now every 11 pm, when I reach home from the office.

That's the Manila schedule. In Singapore I will retain the abdominal exercises and the pushups.
I will be jogging every morning during weekdays except Fridays maybe to rest. And then go to
the hotel's gym during the weekends for weight training.

Three: Mastering C++. I've spent three years being a software engineer. At first, I just wanted to
work to support my family, and then try to get my Masters degree in Electronics Engineering,
preferably in the field of robotics. My work, which I appreciate and love to do, demands a lot from
my time and prevents me from reentering school. So I just decided to make the best out of it,
improve my software development skills while I'm at a software company.

I've learned a lot already from reading two C++ books, and I intend to learn more particularly about
software design, UML, and programming patterns in the next couple of months. I's never easy to
learn, it requires time and dedication and motivation. So what motivates me? I just like to give back
something to my company which have given me the opportunity to realize my dreams. My Masters
degree can wait for another two years perhaps.

Four: Blog weekly. In whatever you do, you feel better when you can do all the things you want to
do in life. It's like being able to hold and control things your own way. From time to time, doing what I
want to do despite a complicated and busy schedule makes my life a little easier and a lot more fun.
And writing has been one of my favorites. And so here I am trying to squeeze more of life out of me. ;)

Extras:
Team Pilipinas lost to Jordan recently in the FIBA asian basketball tournament serving as an
Olympic qualifier. Pilipinas is out of contention, but a lot of thanks to Kerby Raymundo and Jimmy
Alapag. They showed tremendous heart fighting for the country. Kerby with his 6'6 small frame
against the 6'10 and 7'1 centers of Iran and Kerby sent them to foul troubles never hesitating to
bang it up with the bigger guys. And Jimmy Alapag, the Mighty Mouse, help us beat team China
for the first time in 22 years. We lost in the tournament, but we never surrendered. That's fighting
spirit. Here's hoping that we could learn from our mistakes, continue with the current basketball
program for Team Pilipinas and maybe we can see the team in the 2012 London Olympics.

Rodel Mayol, my second favorite Filipino boxer, will be fighting for the world title this Sunday in the
supporting bouts for the Morales-Diaz WBC lightweight championship fight. Here's hoping he could
be the third Filipino world champion following the steps of Florante Condes
(IBF minimum weight champion) and Nonito Donaire (IBF flyweight champion).

Thanks for reading.