Me at the office on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. I need to be home by 4PM to catch the Federer-Murray match. Australian Open 2010 Men’s Finals, baby!

I’ve been sitting in front of the TV practically the whole day watching some terrific tennis matches. And I really mean TERRIFIC matches. From the one-sided Isner-Murray match, to the boring-turned-exciting match of Karlovic and Nadal, to the epic battle between Cilic and del Potro, and of course the Wickmayer and Henin match – a match made in heaven.

Omigod, Henin is a genius. Good thing she decided to play tennis again.

The Australian Open is only being shown in Star Sports. One of the channels I decided to remove a few months back to lower my monthly Sky Cable bill. I thought all the tennis grand slams are being aired in Balls. But I was wrong. I had to ask Sky Cable to add Star Sports in my channel list again. Doing so means additional 150 pesos in my monthly bill. But that’s okay, it is still way below my old monthly bill of 800 pesos. One more thing, Star Sports is bundled with ESPN. The bad thing is I never tune in to that chanell. lolz

That’s all for now. The Henin and Wickmayer match is still in progress. I’m pretty sure I’ll being seeing more of Henin’s magical shots.

Cashier: Sir, Jun-Jun po ba talaga ang real name nyo?
Jun-Jun: Yup. Yan na ang pangalan ko hanggang sa pagtanda ko.
Cashier: Ang tipid naman ng parents nyo. Pero ok na rin, at least pag sinabi mo ang name mo, iisipin nila e bata ka pa kahit tumanda ka na.

and little brother’s kiddie party. para akong adik o. lolz

The following pictures were taken during Cory Aquino’s funeral procession at Ayala Ave.

Pictures were taken by Allan Arengo.

I think it would be best not to.

Anyways, congratulations to Roger. And good job, Andy. It was indeed a superb match.  I’m looking forward to the US Open.

Need to read some nerdy stuff. Gonna catch up on tons of reading.

After attending the birthday party of Trek in Cavite, I caught a bus going back to Makati. As expected, the traffic was terrible. I was able to reach Ayala a little past eight.

While I was inside the bus I’d been thinking of a place where I could watch the Wimbledon Women’s Finals. Yeah, the Williams sisters again. National Sports Grill in Greenbelt came into my mind first.

So I walked briskly, thinking the championship match has already started. When I arrived at the said resto, I immediately asked one of the waiters the schedule of the match. He said he wasn’t sure but they have tuned-in to Star Sports awaiting the match.

I headed for the couch and was happily seated with the best view of the 6 x 5 ft. screen (I had to ask the crew the dimension of the screen so I can post it here. LOL).

Star Sports recapped the recent matches of the two finalists. With Venus having the more impressive run going to the finals.

And the match began.

Venus double faulted in her first game but was able to hold serve. Then, it was Serena’s turn to serve. She didn’t have a problem holding serve.

The sisters had a very impressive first set. Each holding serve until 6-6. But in the tie-break, Serena demolished her sister and pocketed the first set.

I just realized that I favored Venus. The moment Serena had her first mini-break, I was like “Oh Shit! Dammit!” Maybe because Venus is the defending champion and a place in the tennis history is at stake for her.

Then the second set started. During that time, I was trying to be positive and hoping that Venus would outplay her sister. But as the match progressed, Serena seemed to be getting better and better. Serena had three match points in the second set but Venus luckily saved all.

But on the fourth match point of Serena, Venus failed to save it. And the younger Williams took the Ladies’ crown.

I still admire Venus even though she has lost to her sister. She’s played a real good match. And another thing, she seldom shows her emotions. Even after being defeated in her favorite grand slam event, all you could get from her is a poker face (Lady Gaga, music please… Popopopopopopopoker face. LOL).

So congratulations to Serena. She did play a very nice game.

The next face off would be that of Federer and Roddick. As most of the tennis fanatics out there, I’m rooting for Fedex. Go Roger!!! I’m positive that you’ll break another record.

I attended two events last Sunday. The first one was the birthday party of my inaanak, Hershey – cute daughter of Ada – at the Big Red Barn.  Buti na lang at naka red talaga ako.

And of course, the other one was Pau and Mau’s wedding.  Reception @ Wack-Wack Country Club. Cool di ba? Wala akong picture nung mga kinasal, kaya yong pic na lang nung umattend. LOL

I started with my journey at the Endah Parade Mall in Sri Petaling. I had dinner of roast pork, roast chicken, chicken rice and soup. It was one hell of a dinner – a very delicious and heavy meal. I then walked my way to the Bukit Jalil LRT station. It took me no time to get into the train and after 20 minutes or so, I found myself in the busy Plaza Rakyat station. A lot of people were headed to the said station because it was a long weekend and most people were going back to their hometowns. I reached the terminal two hours before my schedule. Many of you might think that I was overly excited but I tell you that it was part of my plan. So, I waited and waited and waited. Esti came after an hour and I accompanied him to the food court for dinner. The food court was nothing but a messy hawker-type food establishment. A few minutes later, Ariel and Ruiza arrived. They also had dinner in the same place.

We were advised to go to our respective bus platforms at least fifteen minutes before the scheduled time of departure. So, we obliged. The funny thing about this 7-hour trip was that my bus was different from their’s. So we parted ways and waited for the bus. Esti texted me saying that their bus has already left and they were already at a certain hi-way. As for me, I, together with some locals, was still waiting for the bus to open its door. To our surprise, the bus suddenly left. It was crazy. Some of us ran after the bus hoping that we could still get into it before it leaves the gate. Unfortunately, there was nothing that we could have done to stop it.

So, I went back to the ticketing counter and narrated what happened. The saleslady just asked me to wait for the next bus scheduled to depart at 10:30PM. I told myself that it was ok. One hour delay was still bearable. But as the clock ticked 11PM, the bus was still not in sight. A man asked everyone going to Kuala Perlis to follow him. We went outside the bus station complex and proceeded to the street in front of an Indian Resto. More than a hundred of stranded passengers were there. I started to get pissed off but I was able to control myself. There’s nothing I could do but wait. And wait I did.

Then the bus came at 1230AM. I was relieved. It was three hours after the original schedule. I got inside the bus and tried to get some sleep. Six hours later, we stopped by the Kedah station because some of the passengers had to alight from there. We got another surprise of the day when the bus driver just slept with all of us waiting in vain to get to our destination. Everyone was starting to get pissed. Everyone was speaking Malay which made me guess what they were talking about. I suppose the driver thought that everyone on board was headed to Kedah not knowing that some of us were also headed to Kuala Perlis. After a lengthy discussion, the driver gave in and started driving.

I reached the Kuala Perlis Port at around 8:45AM. The earliest ferry ride I could book that time was 10:30AM. So I decided to have a nice breakfast first. I found a resto beside a hotel which offered buffet breakfast. At RM5, it was surely worth a try.

After breakfast, I went back to the ferry terminal and waited. The ferry arrived more than 30 minutes late. But again, I didn’t complain. Every time there was some delay, I was always reminded to stay cool. For this particular instance, I was with a local carpenter who was carrying his tools. He’s also headed to the island for work. It left me no reason to complain because I’m going there to relax and enjoy while others were running late for their work.

I forgot to share with you that I also had some Aha! moments. When I queued up, an old lady was in front of me carrying a big luggage. I smiled at her and lifted the other end of the luggage to make it easier for her. This small deed didn’t just help the old lady. I was able to get inside the ferry in a flash because I was with her. Hahaha. You can see in the picture that the seats were still vacant when I got in.

And the ferry left.

<to be cont’d>

More pictures for my multiply contacts.

May bago akong nadiskobreng Chinese Resto na malapit sa condo namin. Ito ay ang Nam Heong. Bukod sa masarap na ang pagkain, sulit pa ang presyo. Kaya kahapon ng umaga ay kumain ako doon. Ngumiti ako sa store manager. Wala lang. Ganun talaga ako para mas asikasuhin ako ng mga crew. Kung ano ang bilis ng pagkuha ng order ko, ganon din kabilis ang pag serve ng bagong lutong mga putahe. At dahil sa sarap, mabilis ko rin itong naubos.

Nang lumapit ang store manager para ibigay sa ‘kin ang bill, sinabi ko sa kanya na masarap yong pagkain. Ngumiti s’ya sabay banggit ng “You should come here often.” Ngumiti naman ako at sinabing, “I will definitely come back.”

At noong kinagabihan nga ay bumalik ako doon. Umorder ng katulad ng inorder ko noong umaga. Pag nasarapan kasi ako sa pagkain, ayos lang na ‘yon ang kainin ko paulit ulit kahit ilang araw pa ‘yan. At nang tanungin ako ng store manager ng “So, are you a student?” napangiti na naman ako. Ang sabi ko sa sarili ko ay talagang mukha pa akong estudyante. Tinanong din nya agad ako kung saan ako galing. “You guess.” ang sagot ko sa kanya. Tapos ang sabi nya sa kin. “No, I mean where are you from.” Ako pa ngayon ang hindi nakaintindi sa kanya.  Pero naipaintindi ko naman sa kanya ang ibig kong sabihin. Kaya bigla na din syang sumagot. “Are you from the negro side?” Napa- Oh My God ako. Last time lang ay napagkamalian akong Eurasian, tapos ngayon ay Negro naman. Hahahaha. Hindi ko makuhang mainis kasi mas natawa ako. Inisip ko na lang na Eurasian + Negro = Ako. Hahaha. Sige na nga, Malay na lang ako.

I waited for more than forty minutes this afternoon just to have a haircut. When it was my turn, the only available staff was a young Chinese lady. I liked her right away because she can converse in English pretty well. I told her to trim the sides short but to leave the top untouched so that I can make it a bit spiky.

She then asked where I’m from. As always, I asked her to guess. She said it’s hard to guess so I gave her a clue that it’s near Malaysia. “Indonesia!” she answered. I just shook my head and smiled. “Thailand?” she guessed once more. “I’m from the Philippines,” I replied just to finish off the game.

Afterward, I asked her how old she thinks I am. “I think you’re twenty three,” she answered without hesitation. This put a wide smile on my face but I did not answer back whether she’s correct or not. After a couple of minutes she told me that I still haven’t revealed my age yet. I just told her that it is something close to that. “But I think I know where you are studying,” she continued. I couldn’t help but smile more. She genuinely thought that I was a student. “I bet you’re studying in APIIT!” she said referring to the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology. So as to avoid lying, I just smiled again.

Though she was very nice to me, I didn’t give her a tip. LOL

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”  – Kahlil Gibran

When you ask for a favor from someone and get an unfavorable response, would you still say “thank you?”

My answer would definitely be “yes.”

But for some people – the kapalmuks – saying “thank you” is just a waste of time.

I have two separate encounters with two different people just this month. The most recent was just this morning. Kapal ng mukha. Sarap i-umpog sa pader. Badtrip.

I had the chance to watch the last few games of the Safina-Kuznetsova’s final match in the 2008 Toray Pan Pacific Open. Being a Safina fan and finding out that she’s up 1 set, I was really happy. And she went strong until the match point and won her 4th title this year. From rank 15 at the start of the year, she finished off rank 3. Kinda amazing.

Looking forward to seeing her get on to the top spot next year.

A few weeks ago, Esti, Manny, Bea and I went to Genting Highlands. We reached the place by riding the world’s fastest cable car called Genting Skyway. It is also Southeast Asia’s longest cable car which spans 3.38km. The cable car ride was smooth except for some isolated turbulence. Haha.

Okay, so the primary reason why we went there is the casino theme park. The truth is I’m not a fan of thrill rides. This is because the first time I rode a Ferris Wheel, I almost passed out. Alam nyo yong maliliit na peryahan sa probinsya?Ganun. So after the whole ride, I felt like throwing up due to severe dizziness. Since then, I never thought of riding any thrill rides again.

Not until this Genting getaway. I just convinced myself that I should give it another shot.

The funny part is that we started with a stupid ride. I don’t know how it is called. But it is just your ordinary horror train. Natapos na yong ride, e wala man lang mumu. Nakakabadtrip. Haha.

Then, the real deal came. Flying Coaster. In this ride, you will play the role of superman. Para kang si superman dahil lilipad ka talaga. At one point there are 2 consecutive 360-degree turns. Amazing. Tapos may part din na bubulusok pababa. All in all, I enjoyed this ride.

Next stop is the Corkscrew. Isang malupit na roller coaster na may 360-degree turn din. Pakiramdam ko e ang tagal nung ride. Tapos may kasama pa ako sa car na sumisigaw ng I-O-W-A sa takot habang umiikot o bumubulusok pababa. Ayoko na ulitin ‘tong ride na ‘to.

We also tried Pirate Ship. Eto yong pic. Gusto nila sa bandang dulo. E ayoko. Umupo ako sa gitna. Hahaha. Ayun, sumunod naman sila sa akin. Haha.

Then we tried the Grand Prix Fun Kart. Ang galing ko pala… May na overtake pa akong anaps. Haha.

Tapos ang next ay ang walang kwentang Flume Ride. Parang wild river lang ‘to. Nabasa ang sapatos ko. Badtrip. Ang lamig lamig kaya sa Genting. Tapos ang kapal pa ng fog nung araw na yon. Pero masarap naman. Ang sakit sa tiyan pagpababa na yong sinasakyan mo. Hay.

Then uwian na. Madami din kaming kinain. Hehe. Next time na lang yong ibang kwento. Haha.

Her name is Ime. She’s probably in her late 40s now. What I admire most about this woman is her high sense of optimism and joy. Despite her disability, she always manages to smile and she doesn’t simply keep her happiness to herself. Her smile is so contagious that it can make other people smile as well.

She reminds me of the days when we attend the REACH mid-week service in UP Los Banos. During those times, I, together with other guys, would go to her house to pick her up and assist her in riding the car. Most of the time, she would remind us to be careful not to drop her. Her reminder seemed very threatening all the time. Everyone’s serious when we start to move her to the back of the car. Except me, of course. Sometimes, I would ask her if I could borrow her wheelchair one time to stroll around the campus. She would laugh out loud and say, “Ikaw talagang bata ka!”

There was a time when we had the mid-week service in a different venue. We finished late that time. Maybe 10PM. I’m not so sure. The nice thing about it is that we had the opportunity to just accompany Tita Ime to her home. We just walked all the way to her house while we were pushing her wheelchair. The goofy me kept on resurfacing. I asked her if I could sit beside her on the wheelchair. Or if I could just sit on it and she will be the one to push it. And we laughed and laughed until we reached her house.

I also remember that whenever we see each other, I would hold her hands and say a sweet hello. I would also smell her hair while massaging her shoulders. I know she’s very happy when I do that to her.

Tita Ime is one of the many people that makes me wanna come back to Los Banos. The truth is I haven’t seen her for more than 4 years already. Maybe I should pay her a visit the next time I return to the Philippines.

When I went back to the Philippines last month, I made sure to drop by my former office to see my friends there. I saw a lot of them but failed to see some. The lucky ones are in the following picture. Haha. Feeling artista.

Thanks allanG for the pic.

The French Open Men’s Single Finals turned out to be a disappointing match. It’s not because Federer Express was losing and that I’m his fan. It’s actually because I hate Nadal and I didn’t want him to win. It’s also because of Nadal’s very annoying habit of picking at his underwear once every 2 seconds. Verrrry Irritating.

I went swimming yesterday afternoon because it was terribly hot. I don’t usually go swimming because I can just stay in my room and sleep. But yesterday was a different case because I had to buy some grocery items in the mall near our condo. I didn’t anticipate that there will be lots of people in the mall. To my surprise, there were so many people just like the usual Sunday rush. And to add to the mess, the temperature outside was soaring. I had to deal with the scorching heat of the sun going to and back from the mall – walking for more or less 300meters. 

So, after sorting the grocery items in the kitchen cabinet and the refrigerator, I just pulled out my favorite blue towel and headed to the club house. I was quite disappointed because I saw two people swimming. I wished that there will be no one in the pool that time. I just wanted the pool to be mine so that I can spend some peaceful time. But as I was nearing the pool, I noticed that the two people were actually an old couple. Probably in their 50s. They were very sweet to each other. It was amazing to see both of them swim from one end of the pool to the other.

I gladly opened a conversation with the old man. I asked him how deep the water is. I thought he didn’t understand me. So, I asked him if he is a local. He said he’s Japanese. I impressed him by asking, “Genki desu ka.” “Hai,” he replied. He then tried to tap the floor using his feet to measure the depth of the pool. He was holding his right arm while he was submerged in the water to show its depth. I smiled while he was doing his nice gesture. After that, he asked me if I’m staying in the condo. I said yes. He also confirmed with me If I’m working or studying in Kuala Lumpur. (Do I still look like a college guy? Haha. ) I just told him that I’m already working. I also told him that I’m from the Philippines. He asked me what island. “Manila,” I answered. “Ahh, Manirrra,” he believed. Then, he told me that he stays in Malaysia most of the time. He would only stay in Japan for three months and the rest in KL. It was also nice to know that he has been to the Philippines. He went there with his wife for their honeymoon. They chose Cebu. Imagine that!

Before he and his wife went back to their unit, he even invited me to visit them one time. I just nodded but I don’t know if I will be able to visit them. That time, I was thinking of my favorite Japanese food – oyakodon. Haha.