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.

lobo

'katapos ng halos 5 oras na biyahe mula lobo, batangas pauwi ng makati, sabi ko sa sarili ko... ba't ba kasi sumama ka pa 'ko sa lakad na 'to?!! una, masyadong matagtag ang minibus na sinakyan namin, bukod pa sa sobrang pikpik na puwang na pumipigil sa anumang naising mag-inat-inat. pangalawa, masyado ring malayo ang lugar, halos biyahe na paakyat ng baguio ang ginawa namin, paikut-ikot sa bulubunduking bayan ng lobo. pangatlo, ang baybayin kung saan kami naligu-ligo ay di naman gaanong kagandahan. malalaki ang mga bato, di gasino ang buhanginan, maraming kati-kati sa tubig tulad ng salabay at kung anu-ano pa, na nag-iwan ng 4 na malalaking pantal sa kaliwang pulso ko. 'karaan ng halos 3 buwan, di pa rin naaalis ang peklat! di rin maayos ang mapanunuluyan, sabagay dahil uwian lang din naman. higit sa lahat, nag-abono ako ng higit sa halagang dapat naming ibinayad kung kada miyembro ng pamilya ang bilangan. ito'y dahil sa kapalpakang dulot ng di mahusay na pagpaplano at paniningil sa ibang taong nagsisama. ok lang sana kung ang kasama ay ang buong pamilya, ngunit hindi... mga taong di namin gaanong kakilala at karamihan ay pawang mga sabit lamang. haayyy, buhay nga naman.

pagdating ko sa macabulos, nailapag na lahat ng gamit at humupa na ang magkahalong bagot, inis, pagal, at dismaya, naisip ko ulit. "ba't nga ba sumama ako sa lakad na 'yun?"... dahil kasama sina papa, tita, liezl, izhi, ate nice at kuya utoy! makikita pa namin sila ate joy at kanyang mga supling na sila el, ia at one. 'yun naman talaga ang dahilan... pamilya. anupamang masamang hangin ang dumaan, maigi pa ring makasama ang pamilya sa mga gan'tong lakad. minsan na lamang mangyari ang mga ito dahil sa may kanya-kanya na ring buhay ang bawat miyembro at mahirap pisanin ang bawat isa sa malayuang mga biyahe. ngunit sa susunod, dapat mas maayos ang lahat!

olympics

higit isang buwan na lang at beijing olympics na! ilan at anong mga events kaya ang sasalihan ng pilipinas? batid ng karamihan na dehado ang ating mga atleta ngunit buo ang pusong makipagpaligsahan at ibigay ang lahat. salat sa suportang galing sa gobyerno bunga ng korupsyon at pamumulitika, kailangan din nilang isaalang-alang ang pang-araw-araw na gastusin at kung paanong masusuportahan ang pangangailangan ng kani-kanilang pamilya. sa kabila nito, marami pa rin ang nagpupursigi. maging dahil sa pagmamahal sa larangang pinasukan o sa naising maghatid ng karangalan sa bansa. nawa'y mahalihan ng buwenas ang ating mga manlalaro at makasilat ng anumang medalya. laban pinoy!

tops

data gathering. interview. setting up and confirming all interviews. work. talking to sales crew of retail outlets. this trip was all about these things. but still, i managed to squeeze in some time to see cebu spots that i haven't been to (ako pa!!!). the usual stops were there: mactan shrine, fort san pedro, sto. nino basilica, magellan's cross, taoist temple, opon's virgen de la regla church. lahug's tops view 'though was the tops for me... the cool breeze and view of metro cebu gave me a very nice and relaxing time. then i headed to larsian for dinner.

i stayed in pacific pensionne, along osmena blvd. the food was reasonably priced; the room was cheap (700 per night) and ok, fit for short stays only; the staff and crew are pretty friendly; but the best thing was the free and unlimited wifi access! thanks to manong lito, i got to have a roadtrip of metro cebu. the downside? i was alone.

kalbo

pagkatapos ng kasal ni ate joy n'ong setyembre 2000, nagpakalbo ako. magmula n'on, di ko na muling pinahaba ang buhok ko. magkaminsan, hinahayaan kong humaba ng bahagya sa loob ng 2 buwan, ngunit agad-agarang pinaaahit kapag may nahihila na akong hibla.

mainam ang pagiging kalbo. di na kailangang magsuklay… pagkatapos maligo, punas lang ng tuwalya ang kailangan, maaari nang sumibad at bumiyahe. di na kailangan ng anumang produktong magpapanatili ng ayos o istilong nais, kaya't matipid din. kuwarenta pesos lang ang halaga ng pagpapagupit, gayong n'ong mahaba pa ang buhok ko, umaabot ng 300 daan ang bawat bisita kay bb. susie sa parlor ni david sa megamol. anumang hangin o tagal ng lublob sa dagat ay di isyu, tulad ng sa mga indibwal na may mahabang buhok.

sabi pa ni tim tayag, maka-kalikasan ang pagiging kalbo! kakaunti ang duming idinudulot bunga ng di malimit na paggamit ng mga produktong pambuhok tulad ng gel, sprey, kondisyoner, syampu, liv-on at kung anu-ano pa. pero siyempre, kailangan pa ring syampuhin… upang maiwasan ang labis na paglalangis ng bumbunan na magdudulot ng balakubak.

sa kabilang banda, dahil sa kalbo ako… walang proteksyon ang aking bumbunan laban sa init ng araw. kung kaya't madalas kaysa hindi, may sunog sa balat ang aking ulo tuwing luluwas sa dalampasigan. sabi naman ng yumaong si ma'am delia, ang pagiging kalbo ay nagpabata pang lalo sa akin n'ong nagsisimula pa lang ako sa aydisi, gayong kailangan sa trabahong magpakita ng bahid ng pagiging may-gulang na upang makamtan ang respeto ng karamihan. nang lumaon, maigi pa rin para sa akin ang pagiging kalbo.

ngayong nalalapit na ang ika-8 taon ng aking pagiging kalbo, iniisip ko pa kung pahahabain ko na o pananatalihin ang gan'tong istilo… di ko pa alam.

snowball

what a great trip this was! the agustin family (ate she, kuya george, nice and utoy); liezl and izhi; jel and myself headed to baguio last may (i was supposedly busy, so this was posted only now… hehehe!). we were there for ate nice' enrolment… she's the family's newest iskolar ng bayan!

on our way to baguio, izhi called me "snowball" because of my bald head… wahahahaha!

we stayed in hotel henrico, kisad road. the hotel was generally ok, near burnham park and UP baguio was walkable from there as well. we had a family room, which was good enough. but the service was super tagal… it took over an hour before they could serve our breakfast. good thing, coffee was free and unlimited.

anyway, we went to the usual baguio tourist spots. the afternoon rain was the party pooper… at around 2 pm of each of the 3 days we were there, it rained. among us, utoy was the most disappointed. but he'll have more chance to tour around baguio coz his ate nice will be based there for a longer time.

kabli

it's official. manang nila (our landlady) had global destiny cable tv services connected, shifted from the shitty sky cable.

i don't exactly like this shift... for one, it happened during the course of 2008 french open, which was being shown in balls (channel 34) a channel missing from global destiny. the coverage was very good, primetime, no need to stay up late to catch the big matches... the last matches are shown at around 1 am, so i could've definitely enjoyed seeing rafa demolish the opposition.

also, global destiny has a lot lesser channels than sky cable. no star sports, espn, star world, star movies, cinemax, anc, national geographic, among many others. ok, global destiny has discovery travel and living, living asia channel, al-jazzeera news, fox news... but it also has pointless channels (my own consumption, ehem!) like mgm movie channel, turner classic movies and zone reality. this cable provider only have 2 sports channels, basketball tv and solar sports, both of which do not address my choices because these 2 only show dated basketball and boxing matches, and does not even cover other sporting events like badminton, volleyball, beach volleyball, table tennis and worse, tennis!

so if you ask me, sky cable has it. all the channels that i want are in their roster: 4 sports channels, news channels, movies and they have a steadier service, almost no interruption and has less blurry signals.

however, during the last week of may, sky cable suddenly cut their services in bangkal. that is, even if we're already paid for the rest of june, up to june 18 actually. this was due to the company's move of curbing multiple tv connections to a single subscription. the company wanted to charge every subscriber on a per tv set basis, which means if the subscriber has 2 tv sets in the house, the subscriber needs to buy a tv transmitter box worth 152 pesos for the other one. this also means that sky cable wants at least 1 subscription per household, since this new move won't allow a subscription to be split between multiple households (our landlady has 3 units, including their house, 1 subscription divided in 3 households). all in all, aside from the 870 pesos (or so) monthly subscription fees, the subscriber would need to buy that transmitter box for 152 pesos (or so again!).

but the shitty thing doesn't end there. that tv transmitter thing would need to be plugged in 24/7, otherwise the configuration would need to be redone by sky cable... which of course could easily take weeks, given the "extra efficient" sky cable service. with the surging power rates, this would definitely add up to our monthly consumption of electricity.

is this another lopez way of re-allocating revenues to help one of their bleeding subsidiaries? meralco is under fire from all sectors of the society due to the rising eletricity rates... and could wound up losing billions when they return some of their "should-have-not-been-collected" portions of eletric bills like transmission cost and metering components to their customers. a lot has been discussed on how the lopez group recycles revenues from other subsidiaries to re-fund some of its under-performing units. of course, sky cable might say that they're actually moving to cable-less cable tv services, since transmission would be done via the transmitter box. but all these additional charges actually negate the advantages of the move. as a consumer, additional charges like these greatly tote up our monthly bills and you wouldn't want to have additional worries.

according to manang nila, 75% of the legal sky cable subscriber population in bangkal opted not to renew their subscriptions due to this unreasonable change. buti nga!

for now, i'll make myself contented with global destiny... only 500 pesos per month, 1 subscription can be split into 3 lines. plus, they have a promo of free first 2-months subscription. haaaayyy... but this means goodbye (for now) to live tennis matches, grrrr... wimbledon, u.s. open and the olympics coming up.

'nyetang kabli yan!

sorry

after 2 weeks of ruthless display of claycourt prowess, finesse, muscle, grit and all-around mastery, rafa won the french open... now 4 years in the running! true to what zel has alwasy told me, i didn't watch the live match. instead, i kept myself glued to other channels, waiting patiently. i checked the score after seeing the sisterhood of traveling pants, and saw 5-0... that was my cue! he won in 3 straight sets, 6-0 in the 3rd set... complete waxing of the great federer! roger only won 4 games, in a final touted to be roger's chance of unseating nadal. cnn immediately flashed the breaking news with the headline, "nadal humiliates federer in french open final".

rafa was even embarrassed to celebrate when roger's final shot sailed long. in the awarding ceremony, the gracious rafa said, "I'm sorry for that final, but you played well." overall, this year's french open was really a good one... ana ivanovic won her first grand slam, while also ascending to the top of the women's game; virginia ruano pascual won her fifth roland garros crown with doubles partner, anabel medina garrigues; first time partners, cuevas and horna took home the men's doubles titles; and bob bryan and victoria azarenka won the mixed.

some great pointers on roland garros men's final:

The men's singles final in figures
Sunday, June 8, 2008
By Guillaume Baraise

2 Rafael Nadal is the second ever champion to have won four consecutive
titles in the French Open’s history. Björn Borg accomplished the same feat
between 1978 and 1981.

2 It is only the second time in the history of the open era that a
singles Grand Slam final line up was identical for three years running. Boris
Becker and Stefan Edberg went head-to-head at Wimbledon in 1988, 1989 and
1990.

3 Roger Federer has notched up three finals so far at Roland
Garros and has lost them all. He has won all twelve other Grand Slam finals he
has played in.

4 It is only the fourth time in the Open era that a men’s singles champion has won without dropping a single set. Before Rafa, only Ilie Nastase in 1973, and Björn Borg in 1978 and 1980 managed this feat.

4 With four victories under his belt, Rafael Nadal has equaled Henri Cochet’s record, who won in 1926, 1928, 1930 and 1932. Only Björn Borg, with six titles, beats the Spaniard in his number of wins at Roland Garros

5 This was the fifth consecutive Grand Slam final to be fought between two Europeans. Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, finalist in the 2007 Australian Open, was the last non-European to play in a major tournament final.

15 This was Roger Federer’s fifteenth Grand Slam final. Only ten players have ever equalled this in the history of the Open. The record is held by Ivan Lendl, who notched up 19 finals.

17 This was Nadal and Federer’s seventeenth head-to-head, and takes the Spaniard’s lead to 11-6.

28 Rafa has won all 28 matches he has played at Roland Garros. He now holds the position of fifth best winning streak in a Grand Slam tournament. The record is 41 consecutive victories, held by Björn Borg at Wimbledon between 1976
and 1981.

44 Rafael Nadal has chalked up his 44th win on the ATP tour this year. He overtakes Novak Djokovic, who has won 37 times so far.

149 Roger Federer’s Grand Slam victory tally stalls at 149. He has now lost a total of 24 times.

2001 The last number one seed to win the men’s singles final was Gustavo Kuerten in 2001.

1.000,000 Nadal takes away a cool one million euros for his win today.