topload

serene sagada.

our trip here was a year ago, but this surely is one of the best i've had so far. not only because it is nestled up in the mountains and is free from the usual uproar of urban life, but the sleepy town beams with an uncanny gift of adventure, relaxation, commune with nature all rolled into one.

the trip was short. but the experience of traversing sumaguing's cathedral-domed caves and all of its crevices, cliffs, nooks and cranny, going the distance to and dipping in freezing waters of bomod-ok falls, and getting a first-hand account of a living and breathing native culture that is truly pinoy, gave me an escapade that'll make me smile every time i remember this place. not to mention passing thru winding, unpaved roads, high above cordillera mountains, and in the process, seeing manmade marvels such as banaue and mayoyao rice terraces. i also had a chance to experience toploading! and of course, the food was also great, all natural! the one thing i missed was a sampling of their sagada coffee, but i made sure to try some of their native rice cakes, blueberry jam and the famous yoghurt at its house.

i'm glad that i made this trip. although the almost half a day bus ride was a ho-hum, this is a must stop for any peregrines... even if we're already in the age of cheap airfare. (",)

~~~thanks to elke and agnes for the pics.

abuela

on a day when torrential rains lorded over the metro, Lola passed away. that was july 23, two years ago, one of my saddest days. i know she lived a life of pain and a lot of suffering, but i know that she enjoyed her time. wherever she may be, she's in a better place… she's with Mama now. it was also a good thing that she didn't suffer much during her final moments.

i'm glad that i was able to talk to her that night, the last night of her life actually. i told her that i love her and thank her for all the things that she's done for the whole family and me. although she wasn't able to respond verbally, i know that she heard me right. i told her that if it's her time to go, i'll be sad but i'll let go. she mouthed to me that "wala na si lola bukas" and she was gone the day after, at around 4 pm.

she's a big part of my life. when i was a kid, i'd make sure to sleep with her, so that i won't have nightmares. i felt secured when i was sleeping with her because she can easily wake up and help me when i have difficulty breathing due to bad dreams. i was one of her favorite apos, one who ran around buying stuff for our sari-sari store. moreso, i miss her asikaso… ginataang kung anu-ano, from gabi leaves to different kinds of fish and even talbos ng kamoteng kahoy… all the recycled ulam, plus the jokes and the sigaw sa kung sinu-sino. and of course, her trademark, "noy, wala na akong pera…" she was always the first to wake up, the one who gets me up for early schooling and preps me for the day's activities. of course, not all were dainty, but i'm just thankful that she was given to me, for all of my 26 years. thanks to her, the only grandparent i knew, i learned a lot from her experience and her very person.

when mama died, i wasn't able to say goodbye. i'm glad that when it was lola's time, when one of the most important women in my life passed away, i was able to bid her goodbye… for the moment. this has helped me ease through the process of letting go. i was ready, i was even the one who was there, when she was being revived due to her third arrest. but, there was flat line already, she wasn't responding at all. i know at that moment that her time had came, she just waited for my sisters to step in front of the ICU, then she let go.

looking back, the aftermath of lola's passing could have been a lot different. but fate and the choices that the family and individuals have made were all pieced together for a grander reason. it's always sad when there's a huge misunderstanding between family members, but i know, in God's time, things will turn out ok. after all, we're a family… we all wanted what was best for lola.

right now, i want to thank God for giving lola the peace that she needed.

'la, salamat ulit sa lahat!

sandaan

nakakuha ka na ba ng sandaang salaping papel na may limbag sa ibabaw na imahe ng UP obleysyon??!!! ako, oo... kahapon nang mag-widro ako sa metrobank, glorietta. ipinagbibili rin ang mga ito, sa halagang 1000 pesos (nasa isang polder, may apat na salaping papel) mula sa kawing ng UP Diliman. maaari ring makakuha nitong aytem-pangkolektor na ito sa UP Alumni Center.

ibang klase talaga ang impluwensya ng UP! maging pera ng bansa, maaaring dagdagan ng anumang palamuti alinsunod sa pagdiriwang ng sentenaryo ng pamantasang hirang. higit na tataas ang ihi ng mga palalong isko (tulad ko!) dahil sa mga bagay na tulad nito na nagpapatibay ng mataas na pagtingin sa UP, sa tradisyon nito, kalidad ng edukasyon, malayang pamumuhay ngunit nakakimpal sa responsableng pakikibaka at kabuuang pinakadiwa ng dalisay na kabuuran ng pamumuhay sa 'pinas.

sapagkat di ko napuntahan ang anumang pagtitipong ukol sa sentenaryo nitong mga huling buwan, itatago ko na lang muna ang apat na pirasong ito ng sandaang UP piso ko! tumaas nga sana ang halaga ng mga ito sa pagdating ng panahon... o ayon kay alvin, may bumibili raw nito sa halagang 250 pesos bawat isa. nasa'n kaya ang taong 'yun?! (",)

binatog

'pag gan'tong maulan, may pabugso-bugsong ambon at malamig ang simoy ng hangin... kakaibang galak ang dulot ng mga kakaning tulad ng binatog! sarap kumain nitong mainit, malagkit at bagong hango na pinakuluang butil ng mais, pinaibabawan ng ginayat na niyog at may kaunting asin! haaayy! sarap! samahan mo pa ng toknene at señorita, ayos ang buto-buto!

sana sa susunod na linggo, champorado naman ang masumpungan ko! (",)

Beijing

with the beijing games about to start next month, tennis celebrates the olympic spirit through a coffee table book aptly titled, journey to beijing. this book contains photos of tennis players donning various attires of other sports. no doubt that rafa, given the chance, would trade his claycourt shoes for a chance to represent spain in soccer, just like his uncle. would roger's hands still be magical if he holds a sword instead of a racket? how about maria's movement... rhytmic nga kaya? ana ivanovic should've worn the sexy beach volleyball attire 'though. the bryan bros might make a good baseball team, while serena had a costume specifically designed for this photo shoot (according to espn.com). novak grew up on serbia's ski slopes, while mario & ivan's croat national team won the world championship in water polo. some of the photos... (",)

the footballer - rafael nadal.


the fencer - roger federer.


the rhytmic gymnast - maria sharapova.


the beach volleyball player - ana ivanovic.


the baseball players - bob and mike bryan.



the ice skater - serena williams.


the skier - novak djokovic.


the water polo players - ivan ljubicic and mario ancic.

since we have solar sports, and they've already said that the coverage of the games will be shown, i wish that they would include tennis matches! or if not, at least badminton games... please!

barong

in late april this year, i headed to kl to attend idc's asean directions. actually, i was one of the speakers. the presentation turned out quite ok, but of course i forgot a whole lot of things and i couldn't see the monitor from where i was standing. so even if i should not be looking at the screen, i did. what helped me was the proper lighting, i could see the faces of the attendees, so i didn't panic like what happened during the directions here back in 2005.

anyway, since i was representing the philippines, i wore barong during the event, which was good coz i didn't blend in the sea of suits around me. plus, it's pinoy na pinoy... suited to my topic - pinoy IT market.

since this was a business trip, there was practically no time to go around the city. this was my 3rd time in kl, but still, i didn't have any chance to go around. i managed to see menara kl this time 'though. on my way to prince hotel, i took the train from the airport to kl central, then taxi to jalan conlay. on my way back to manila, i also took the same route coz i can see kl's insides, unlike when i take the 45-minute taxi ride all the way to klia.

sublime

i'm so happy!

after turning a new leaf in his career through his first grasscourt title at queen's club in london, rafa is now the new wimbledon champ! by snapping federer's 6-year grasscourt winning streak, the sublime spaniard is the first (since borg in 1980) to win roland garros and wimbledon back to back. after manolo santana, he's now the first spaniard to win wimbledon after 44 years! more than that, he prevented federer from winning a modern record of 6th consecutive wimby crown.

i was practically frantic last night on my way home from having dinner with ate she, utoy and izhi at sm fairview. i took a quick look and saw from wimbledon.org that rafa was ahead by 2 sets to love, then i went home. bbc reported that the game was suspended due to rain. around 2 pm or so, i was even rattling varbs' tv watching just to see some breaking news about this match. then, i got up early to see cnn world report... rafa stunned roger in 5 epic sets!

his first slam outside paris was very memorable... one for the ages! the great martina navratilova even said at the start of the tournament that her money is on nadal... and her judgment was correct. even marat said that nadal was the one to beat. one stat to note - roger only had 1 out of 13 break points, which showed how improved rafa's game was, adapting his game to grass by staying close to the baseline, as well as improving his slice serve and backhand slice. of course, the volleys were there as well to finish the points in the net. to win this big, your ego could've turned even bigger! but no, rafa was still gracious and humble...

"Well, it is disappointing for me I am in the same time as the best player in history, Roger Federer... I just congratulate Roger, because he always fights unbelievably. I lost the two finals, close finals. But he's still the number one. He's still the best. He's still five times champion here. Right now, I have one, so for me it's a very, very important day."

in addition, venus williams won her 5th wimby crown. i was also rooting for her to win it over her sister coz anyway, they also won the women's doubles titles. nestor and zimonjic won the men's, while bob bryan and sam stosur won the mixed over bob's twin bro, mike and katarina srebotnik.

yeheeey!!! US Open at Olympics naman! (",)

trillion

Another set of interesting factoids from Sir Allen... (",)

The human body is a machine that is full of wonder. This collection of human body facts will leave you wondering why in the heck we were designed the way we were.

1. Scientists say the higher your I.Q., the more you dream.

2. The largest cell in the human body is the female egg.

3. The smallest is the male sperm.

4. You use 200 muscles to take one step.

5. The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.

6. Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.

7. A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands.

8. A full bladder is roughly the size of a softball.

9. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.

10. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

11. It takes food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

12. The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.

13. Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.

14. At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.

15. There is about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

16. Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

17. The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.

18. Your teeth start developing (in your gums) 6 months before you are born.

19. When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

20. Blondes have more hair than dark-haired people.

21. Your thumb is the same length as your nose.