Novak is King of the Australian Open

You are not mistaken!

It's not Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal.

Novak Djokovic, the world's number three, became Serbia's first Grand Slam singles champion, when he defeated Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets, 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(7-2) at Melbourne Park, Australia.


Good for him.

Novak turned pro in 2003. But if I remember correctly, the first time I saw him play on tv was in 2005. I instantly became a fan. Saw the potential in him (naks, feeling tennis guru naman ako, hehehe) and he was super cute (ayan, mas forte ko
yan :P)! I'm glad that he won his first grand slam, though, a bigger part of me wanted Tsonga to win. The Frenchman was the one who beat Rafa in the semis, while the Serbian won over Federer.

As you probably know by now, next to Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal is my next favorite tennis player. And you might have guessed that I am no Federer fanatic. I cheered for Novak during his match with Federer and was super happy when he beat the world's number one. But as my karma would have it, Rafa lost to Tsonga.

But I still cheered for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Final. Instead of wishing Novak to win so he could avenge the loss of Rafa, I had other twisted things in mind.

* Tsonga needs to win so that Rafa's loss would be easier to accept - at least he lost to the Champion, and
* Novak must not win because I don't want him to get closer and closer to the number 2 spot and take it away from Rafa. He can remain at number 3 all he wants, but he must not overtake Nadal in the rankings.

I am that selfish.

Hmm...did I say that I was glad Novak won? Wachutink?

Gone too soon

I was brushing my teeth this morning when my dad suddenly blurted out "Sweetheart, patay na yung isa sa mga cowboys." No idea as to who he was referring to, I asked "Sinong cowboy?" "Yung dun sa brokeback mountain," my dad replied.

"Huwaaat? Sino dun? Shyet! Si Jake Gyllenhaal?" I specifically said Jake's name because I didn't want for Heath Ledger to die so soon. Then my dad said "Hindi, yung si Ledger." My heart skipped a beat.

Actor Heath Ledger dies at 28.

I know we're not related (well, we should have been if he didn't pass away so early hahaha), but I was really devastated when I heard the sad news. To quote Mel Gibson, his co-star in the movie The Patriot, "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss."

Gone too soon.

Truth is, I always get scared when someone young or younger than me passes away. Morbid thoughts cross my mind and I always end up thinking "what if it was me?" I'm afraid to die - there I said it! I'm not ready to leave this world yet. I have so many things I want to do, so many experiences for me to take part of. I have to ask forgiveness from a lot of people, and at the same time, I have a lot of love & happiness to share. I can't leave just yet.

Having said that, I also don't want for people I love to leave so soon. I've experienced the pain of losing a loved one when my mom passed away almost 4 months after I turned 7 years old. I didn't really feel the impact of her passing away until I think I was in high school already. Sure, my dad, brothers and sister were there for me, but it was different not having a mom. I can imagine what Heath's daughter, Mathilda, will go through when she grows up.

Life and death - both are difficult to master. Life, you want to experience more, death, you try to avoid. And yet, when you explore life, this may actually lead you to your death. How ironic.

Open/Idol

Two things I love about the month of January:

(1) Australian Open - first grand slam event of the year. It kicked off yesterday and will run for two weeks. No doubt i'll be rooting for Rafael Nadal. He's a three-time grand slam champion, but these are all from the French Open. Hope he'll do well in the hardcourt and have a fruitful (read: win his first Australian Open) fortnight.

(2) American Idol - Simon, Randy, Paula & Ryan are back. It's that time of the year when America and I start looking for the new American Idol. Hehehe! The thing I like about this show is, it helps me appreciate different types of music. But the downside is, if I didn't like the performance, I could be worse than Simon. Hahaha, just kidding.

Only the first month and I'm already busy. Busy watching tv.