King of Queens

Fresh from his French Open victory over Roger Federer, King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, was crowned King of Queens after beating Australian Open Champion Novak Djokovic, 7-6(8-6), 7-5 in the final of the Artois Championship at Queen's in London.


This is Rafa's first grasscourt title and now that he's won on this surface, I'm positive he'll have a pretty big chance of getting his first Wimbledon title this year, as well. Remember last year's final? Though he lost, it was not a lopsided victory for Federer. Rafa fought strong, it went up to 5 sets and lasted for I think about 3 hours and so. It could have gone either way. For all it's worth, last year's final proved that Rafa is also capabale of winning on grass. And now winning at Queens only goes to show that he really can do it.

So much for my being a Rafa-fanatic, hehehe.

Here are some related articles I've read in the net.
http://sports.indiatimes.com/Nadal_is_king_of_Queens/articleshow/3131675.cms

http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2008-06-15/h.php

Rafael Nadal: King of Clay

Annihilation!

That's what happened when Rafael Nadal, the number two seed, defeated the world's number one, Roger Federer in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in the 2008 French Open Final. With this victory, Rafa tied Bjorn Borg's record of four consecutive French Open titles. On the other hand, the loss prevented Federer from achieving his first French Open title, the only Grand Slam title that eludes him.

Since I am no expert sports writer (hey, I just love the sport :P), or any writer for that matter, let me share with you this article I read from tennis.com

Rafa Rampant: Nadal sweeps to 4th French crown
http://www.tennis.com/tournaments/2008/frenchopen/frenchopen.aspx?id=134652

Happy reading!

Happy Friday

Of all the other Fridays in the calendar, today's Friday is my favorite. Well, aside from the fact that today is my mom's birthday (happy birthday mommy), today is also payday (actually nung 14 pa hehe). Basta, happy-friday-mode ako today. ;-)

Amazing Asian Tour

It's been a month since I first set foot to a foreign land and I still can't get over it.

I don't remember exactly when did I convince my sister, Candy, to go out of the country with me, but I won't forget the day we left the Philippines. It was March 20, a Holy Thursday, around 730PM.

Afraid that the plane might leave without us, we got to the airport around 430-5PM. Excited, hahaha! Soon after, my officemates Joyce and Queenie arrived. In the immigration, my sister and I were completely caught off-guard. The officer who checked our passport and other documents (and who was old enough to be my father) was so obnoxious and condescending. Clearly, it was our first time to travel abroad. He didn't have to say it to our face. I was so tempted to answer back and tell him "Yes, it's our first time. But we'll be traveling to four different countries, old man!" Of course, I kept my cool, lest, he'd prevent me from leaving the country. Needless to say, it was kinda traumatic for us.

I thought I was going to experience the same thing when we got to the Macau International Airport. The lady kept looking at me, to her screen and then to my passport. After what seemed like forever, she finally let me enter their country. Thank heavens! What's with these people?!? Come on, I'm not a terrorist or some kind of bad element (hahaha!). We just want to have fun! ;-)

And what FUN we had!

First stop: Macau

We got to play some of the slot machines in the casino of the Venetian Hotel, got to go around the place and explore the wonderful Venetian Hotel, got our pictures taken in front of the Grand Lisboa Casino(hehe), got to see the amazing Prosperity Tree in Wynn Macau Casino. There is, of course, much more to Macau than casinos. We also got to visit different churches, museums & galleries, the Senado Square, which really made an impression on me. Even the temples and fortresses were inviting. Macau is not just an entertainment place, but is also rich in culture. Though I didn't really enjoy the Macau food, I can still say that the whole experience was worth it.

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Next stop: Hongkong

Most of the people I know relate Hongkong with shopping, shopping and more shopping. The only thing I can think of when I think of Hongkong is Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse equals Disneyland. This, I believe, is the reason why my sis got convinced to take this trip with me. We both love Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the gang. Imagine how happy we were getting our pics taken with Mickey and Goofy. Had the queues been shorter, we would have lined up again and taken another pic with them. =) I also enjoyed our trip to Ocean Park, prolly because I'm such a sucker for theme park rides, hehehe! Tip: try the The Abyss, if you want to get your money's worth. It surely made my day. ;-)

But of course, we also got to do some shopping. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! =) I bought a souvenir shirt from Disneyland for my dad and I, a ref magnet from Ocean Park for Margie (which until now I can't find, sorry girl) a Lacoste bag (yipeee!), pasalubong shirts for my siblings and pamangkins from the night market (hehehe), a jacket/blazer, a backpack and a (katsa) bag from Giordano. Good thing I got a hold on myself, otherwise, malamang super gasgas ang credit card ko.

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Singapura

After Hongkong, my sis and I went back to Macau and went straight to Macau International Airport to catch our flight to Singapore, while Joyce and Q went back to the Philippines. We arrived in Singapore around 10 or 11PM. After a good night sleep and waking up at almost around noon, my sis and I, together with her friend, explored Singapore via the MRT. It was fun and I felt kinda at home. Funny, coz I don't really like taking the MRT (especially during rush hour) back at home, but I enjoyed the train ride in Singapore.

I was really looking forward to this trip because I was excited to see my good friend, Apol, who now works and lives in Singapore. True enough, the following day, afer our Sentosa adventure, we got off at Lavender station to meet with Apol. 'Twas like a scene from the movies - we ran to each other, kissed and hugged each other (kulang na lang background song, hehehe). This definitely made the whole trip more special. I missed my friend so much and was just looking forward to spending crazy times with her.

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Last stop: Malaysia

I didn't get to explore Singapore with Apol, but we did spend time together in Malaysia. Right after meeting her at Lavender, we went to the bus station going to Genting, Malaysia. It was going to be a 6-hour long drive, but we didn't mind. We were busy catching up. So when we arrived in Malaysia, we were all tired and kinda not in the mood due to lack of sleep. But after getting breakfast at Mcdonald's and seeing the rides at the Genting Theme Park, we were all pumped up again. I was surprised to find out that Apol was also not scared of trying all the rides. We were thrilled in riding the Space Shot and Flying Coaster. But we had the time of our life when we tried the former. Space Shot is Malaysia's version of Ocean Park's The Abyss, so another tip: try and experience Space Shot! The best, pare! ;-) But be warned, this is not for the faint-hearted! ;-)

After exhausting all our energy in the theme park, we looked for a place to stay, dropped our things off, and went to have dinner in KL. Good thing, dinner was great (forgot the name of the resto, but they served mostly fish and chips)! This gave us energy to do our last task for the day - have our pictures taken, with the Petronas Twin Towers serving as backdrop.

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We went back to Singapore the following day. Apol and I said our goodbyes, this time around, we were not that sad. We were maybe thinking the same thing - it's more possible for us to visit each other, unlike when she was staying in China.

Eversince I was a child, I've been dreaming of living in another country, specifically, the US of A. I'm still far from realizing that dream. But I am more confident now that, it has a big possiblity of coming true.

I will forever cherish the opportunity of visiting other countries, may it be in Asia or Europe. This is such an amazing, amazing journey and I can't wait to take the next one.

American Idol and then some

I've been a fan of American Idol since Season 3 where Fantasia won as that season's idol. I was satisfied coz she was the one I was rooting for to win the contest. I didn't really care who'd win in Season 4 since my bet Nadia Turner was eliminated earlier in the show. Then in Season 5, I was really hoping Elliott Yamin would win, but unfortunately for him, he just finished third. And then last year, I've accepted the fact that Jordin Sparks had a lot more fans (or at least those who'd vote for her) than Blake Lewis, so I wasn't really disappointed with the outcome.

And now American Idol Season 7. Among the top 12, my favorites are Michael Johns, Jason Castro, Carly Smithson, Brooke White and David Cook. Aside from their looks, (the-kind-that-makes-me-want-to-stare-at-them-forever) I like these three guys coz they really make me listen and always be in anticipation of what they have in store for the viewers every week. I also love the song choices and style of MJ and David Cook since I'm more of a rock/alternative fan. I may not really like the style of Jason, but seeing and hearing him sing every week, gosh, it doesn't matter; he had me the minute he sang the first note. =) I like Carly and Brooke coz Carly can really sing (though she tries too hard to please everyone) and for Brooke, she can sing as well, but I like her more for her authentic 'good-girl' image.

So much for the long intro. :P Tonight is result's night, and since I couldn't wait, I checked out the blogsite of this girl who lives in the US, and I effing didn't believe of what I was reading from her blog. I was in utter shock to find out that Michael Johns has been voted off. He was never at the bottom 3, so it was really shocking to know that he was leaving the show for good. Upset as I was, I immediately called up at home to relay the bad news. My dad and brothers were surprised as well with the result. I just felt really, really bad. Oh well, shit happens! "Goodbye MJ, I will surely miss you mate."

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Speaking of goodbyes, I almost said bye-bye to my Zune, digicam, cellphone, wallet and my (sister's) entire bag last Sunday, April 6. I went to the baptism of Baby Deus (Cherry's baby) in Muntinlupa since I was one of the ninangs. On my way home, the jeep I was in got hold-upped by a thin and not-so-tall teenager. Yes, a hold-up(!) and it was in broad daylight on a Sunday at that! Even though the hold-upper was alone, I, along with the other passengers (who were mostly girls and there were even kids) were scared to death since he was holding an icepick and he was attacking us with it. When he turned to me and asked for my phone, I got into panic-mode and I wasn't able to find my phone. What I was taking out from my bag and was actually 'giving' him were the other items I've mentioned. Good thing, these items have their own 'covers/cases', so he didn't know what was inside. Also, the stupid hold-upper was just determined to get my phone, so he didn't even bother to take them away from me. And since I was taking too long to find my phone, he just gave up, released my bag and got off from the jeep. I was relieved that nothing was taken away from me, but was startled to see blood in my hanky. The other passengers noticed it too. I got cut in my left ring finger and I didn't even know it. I panicked so much I didn't even feel any pain when I got cut.

At this time, I was 100 percent more scared. I was starting to feel the pain and the sight of blood was really terrifying. Then my finger got swollen and suddenly felt numb. I so desperately wanted to get off from the jeep and go to a hospital and have my finger checked. Need to get an anti-tetanus shot, this was what was running in my mind the entire time. When I got off in Sucat (East Service Road side), I saw 2 policemen (or are they just traffic aides?) and told them what happened. They wanted me to go with them (I guess, to a precinct) to file a report, but I said that I would not coz I was afraid that the hold-upper might get back at me (ok, sorry but I've seen too many police-drama on tv and film already) and told them that my main priority was to get to a hospital. In the hospital, the lady doctor was so nice and I felt that she was genuinely concerned for me. While the nurse was cleaning my finger and was prepping me up for the anti-tetanus shot, I called my dad and told him my story. All these time, I was holding back my tears and trying hard enough to be strong. But when my dad and brother got to the hospital, I wasn't able to stop the tears from falling. I cried silently while my dad was trying to make me feel better.

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I am so paranoid with what happened to me. There are a lot of things in my mind. One of them is - is this my karma for being so maldita? I really want to believe otherwise.

TH

I am so friggin' happy. Can't help this big smile on my face from showing. Two words - Terrence Howard. =)

He's that guy from the movie The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster. He's relatively 'old' in the 'biz, but I just started to notice him after seeing that movie. Now I am drawn to him. I can't tell exactly why, but I don't care. This is one of those happy mysteries. And I'm just loving this big smile on my face. =)

A year after

In November 2006, I sent you an email. You said you were surprised and somehow flattered. You even thanked me. Then in February 14, 2007, you greeted me a happy valentine's day thru IM. It was my turn to be surprised, but not flattered. Tried so hard not to cry, but I did. A friend in the office took notice and asked me why. I said I didn't appreciate your greeting me a happy hearts day. She was confused, but I wasn't. I felt that you were just playing with me, with my emotions. You didn't even bother to greet me on my birthday, prolly 'coz you don't remember when my birthday is. But come on, neither did u greet me on Christmas and New Year! And on Valentine's Day you suddenly remembered? Dude, Christmas and New Year are more 'universal' holidays than Valentine's Day! Even those who are not really close greet each other during these times. Honestly, I would have appreciated it more if you had greeted me on these occasions. It's pretty obvious that you did what you did because of that letter. Maybe you were trying to be nice, thought it might make me feel good. WELL, YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IT TWICE!

After that incident, pissed-off feeling aside, I can sincerely say that I was able to start letting you go and move on with my life. We stopped whatever little communication we had and it was such a good thing for me.

Present time, February 14, 2008. Today, a year after, you confirmed that what I was feeling exactly the same time last year, with regard to your greeting me, was true. You met my expectation by not greeting me today. Now it's my turn to thank you.

6 months after

September, October, November, December, January, February. Six months have passed. No developments. Nothing at all.

Clueless but still hopeful. Never giving up on you.

Keep in mind that I will always be here.

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.

Happy 24th to me

I celebrated my 24th birthday last December 8. I was a bit sad because Nathan, my nephew was hospitalized. But I know he'd get well soon coz that was one of my birthday wishes. Though I didn't spend my birthday with my friends unlike last year, I still had a blast. Nothing beats spending time with your loved ones. My family never fails to make me laugh my heart out. To make me happy, to laugh out loud. To make me feel loved.

Thanks for being my family. I love you all! =)

Ok, since I'm suppose to start my year right, I confess. It's not my 24th birthday, but that's how I look and feel. Hahaha!

Happy 24th to me! =)

P.S.
Thank you to Aga Muhlach for coming to my pre-bday celebration in the office. Hahaha!

Thank you to the Waasaaak Gang for the wonderful surprise. I'm so touched. =)

And thanks to all who made my day extra special just by texting me. *hugs* mwah! =)

'Til next year. ;-)

I'd rather be blue than be green

Ateneo screwed up last Saturday when they lost to NU and today they paid the price. Big time!

They beat La Salle twice in the elimination round but they lost to the game that really mattered most, the game that would have given them the twice to beat advantage. It sucks! Shyet!

They will face UST and the winner of that game will face La Salle. Half of me is wishing they win so they can get back at La Salle and beat 'em again twice in a row. The other half wants UST to win coz somehow I think they have a better chance of winning over the archers. Any team but La Salle. Can't get over Ateneo's loss. Shyet!

Shyet! Shyet! Shyet!

I wonder how Norman Black is taking all of these. I feel for the guy.

Hope everything will still turn out great for Ateneo this year. Otherwise, any team but La Salle, pare!

Shyet!

ThePope

I've only seen you once.
I've only heard you talk
For about 5 minutes or so.
And yet, I'm into you.

I don't really know you.
In fact, I don't know you at all.
But why can't I stop thinking about you?

Time will tell
If we'll ever see each other again.
And only God knows
If we'll ever going to meet someday.

Oh, how I hope we do!
Am praying so hard
that my wish will come true!

Missing Andre

It's already Day 10 of the US Open 2007 and my baby, este, my favorite Rafael Nadal lost to his fellow Spaniard, David Ferrer, in the fourth round. I didn't want to go to work today so I could watch his game, but I think I made the right choice. Hehehe!

Anyways, I would surely miss Rafa since this is the last Grand Slam for this year. I won't get to watch him until the Australian Open next year. But heck, it's just 4 months away and it's not that long. I can wait. =)

If there's one person that I would definitely miss in the wonderful world of tennis, it's none other than my ultimate idol, Andre Agassi. For those who do not know (hellur! from what rock have you been hinding under?!), Andre retired from tennis last year after losing in the third round of the US Open to Benjamin Becker, who before that game, was a relatively unknown, but for me, would go down in history as the player who beat Andre on the day of his retirement. For me, he made Andre's stay shorter. Andre could still have played in the fourth round had Becker not beaten him. I could have watched him play another match. But then again, I knew that he was already playing hurt at that time. As difficult as it was to accept, it was his time.

I cried and still do whenever I see his final moments in the US Open. The standing ovation, his speech, his tears - who wouldn't cry, right? I just love the guy so much and miss him like the way I miss my brothers. Aawww. =)

I wanted to end this blog by adding the video I got from YouTube, but I don't know how to convert it and the site I bumped into can't seem to do the work. So here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLrqJNdfTG4 - and I bet your ass, you're gonna cry as well. :P

And one more

Picking up from my last post (and because of the weather today), I found out that there's one more weird thing about me...I can actually sleep for more than 12 hours straight. And I mean straight. ;-) There was even this time that I slept for 28 hours. I must have been really, really dead tired at that time. Hehehe!

ZzzZzzZzz... :P

6 Weird Things About Moi

I was thinking of updating my blog but didn't really know what to write. Good thing, I checked out Abril's blog first and found out that she tagged me to blog about the 6 weird things about myself.

So here it goes.

1. A human birthday calendar - Tell me when your birthday is and i'll remember it as long as I live. Okay, I maybe exaggerating a lil bit, but I do remember my gradeschool classmates' birthdays until now. And I mean classmates who were not even my close friends.

2. I can't keep my mouth shut - I'm the type of person who says what she feels. This can be from the harmless "I'm hungry" or "I'm sleepy" or "nawiwiwi ako" to the trouble-seeking comments like "ang ingay" or "miss yung hair mo!". Even if I know that it'll get me into fights sometimes, I just can't help it. I say what I want to say at that instance.

3. I am a stalker - I even get amazed at myself whenever I get hold of some juicy info about my "stalkee". Hehehe! Para hindi mabuko kung paano ako mag-stalk, I'd rather not elaborate. =)

4. A Fanatic - I've been a fan of basketball and tennis for a long time now. As much as possible, I watch all the games of my favorite basketball team and tennis player. But as the saying goes "you can't win 'em all." So everytime my favorite loses, I CRY. Yep, it's kinda embarrassing to admit, but I do get affected. Sometimes, my dad or my siblings would warn me and say "wag ka ng manood, maiiyak ka lang" or when my fave is not winning, they'd say "may maiiyak mamaya." And true enough, my tears just start falling as I see my favorite basketball team or tennis player goes out of the court with disappointment written all over their faces.

5. I wipe tables and sinks - I don't like the feeling of getting wet. Ok, don't think about dirty stuff here.=P I've noticed that whenever my friends and I go out and eat, and some piece of food slips out of my plate, I start wiping off my part of the table clean. Or when the drink I'm having starts to "sweat" and leaves "perspiration" on the table, I go crazy wiping it dry. I just hate the feeling of my elbows or my arms being wet. Same thing happens when I go to the washroom and the sinks are wet. I even go to the extent of wiping the other sinks even if I didn't really use them.

6. I'm always hungry - I love to eat. =) Who doesn't, right?!? But the thing is, even if I eat a lot or feel so full after a big meal, I see myself getting hungry after an hour or two. I don't know why, really. And I don't think I'm sick or something. I hope not. I'm just a lil weird and so is my tummy. ;-)


Weird enough? Wachutink? Hehehe! I can't tag 6 people to do this since I don't have enough blogmates. So whoever gets to read this, you might wanna give it a try. ;-)

Friday the 13th

Most people say that if a Friday falls on the 13th of the month, you should be more careful because something bad might happen. Some also say that Friday the 13th is an "unlucky" day. Not for me.

You see, after 4 months of not "chatting", he was the first one to send me an IM. That is probably because what he was asking me for was really urgent. Oh well, whatever! I just want to let him know that I was glad he did. Even if he'll just ask me if I can lend him a Vista or Office 2007 CD installer, or if I know someone who's selling his/her laptop, or what does he need to do if his pc is not working, I will surely appreciate it. Heck, maybe even if he says he's getting married, I'd still appreciate it.

I'm pretty resigned to the fact that we will NEVER be a couple. I certainly know that. All I want now is for us to have a "normal" relationship, a "normal" friendship. Hope you're ok with that.

Hate this day

Aaargh!!!

I decided I'm not gonna go into details.

I'm just not loving this day.

Cuteness :-)

- Get Your Own