Forza La Salle

Here's a link to my Multiply entry expressing support for the DLSU Green Archers.

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Update: We won!!! Thank you both to the DLSU Green Archers and ADMU Blue Eagles for 5 classic ball games, where the average winning margin was just 2.4 points. Five memorable games, indeed.

In fact, the Eagles won more games in their head-to-head series with the Archers at 3-2. However, the Archers won when it mattered the most. As Coach Franz said, this may be the only time when 2 wins are better than 3.

Congrats to the Blue Eagles for a great season and for those 5 heart-stopping games!

Special Congrats to the Green Archers for prevailing! Now, on to the Finals!!

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Link to the "Never Shall We Fail" banner.

 

How Nagging Affects Hearing

One of the posts from the Indexed blog:

I especially like one of the comments in the post about how the commenter thinks her Grandpa turns down his hearing aid so he doesn't have to hear her Grandma. Grandpa always seems to have a hard time hearing when Grandma tells him to do something, but he could hear her (the commenter) perfectly fine.

 

Happy One and One and One!

This blog is 1 year, 1 week, and 1 day old...

Happy 1st Blog Anniversary!!

 

(Late) Into the Pottermania

The boy wizard's spell has finally been cast upon me. Late as it is, I now consider myself a "legit" Harry Potter fan, an upgrade from the previous "mild" status. I've picked up on my reading on the HP Book series and have just finished reading the third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (like you don't know what the third book is).

I still wonder why only now did I decide to read the HP series, knowing myself as someone with a major interest in books and HP as the biggest phenomenon to have hit the bookshelves in our lifetime. It's not that I wasn't interested, I certainly was. Whatever the reasons and circumstances, I decided to catch up and am totally enjoying it.

A small price I'm paying is the notion that almost everybody has finished the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and found closure with the story, while here I am getting up and excited each turned page midway into the series. I also have the unwelcome foreknowledge about the broader parts of the story, having watched all the movies so far. But, as with most cases, I find the books far better than the movies and I find whatever small consolation in that ("at least I know this is how it really turned out to be").

Still, I'm trying to finish the series before the next movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) comes up on November 2008 (quite a lot of time I have, no?). That way I'd be reading the last two books with no idea at all on how they will end. Finishing the books would also make the wait to November '08 more exciting.

 

New York Times Article: Ateneo-La Salle Rivalry

Got this from the New York Times:

A Nation’s Passion Lives in a Rivalry of Green vs. Blue
By RAPHAEL BARTHOLOMEW

QUEZON CITY, the Philippines, Sept. 21 — Senators, foreign diplomats, cabinet ministers, a smattering of Forbes’s 40 richest Filipinos, movie stars and enough professional basketball players to play five-on-five. They are the elite of Philippine society, and they all gather at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City to watch the men’s basketball rivalry between the universities Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle.

La Salle Coach Franz Pumaren said, “The janitors in Araneta always say, ‘If there’s an Ateneo-La Salle game, once everybody’s out of the coliseum, it still smells good because of the all the socialites watching.’ ”

In the basketball-crazed Philippines, where former players have become senators and nearly every public square has its own court, it is hard to imagine a crowd like this assembling for any other event. Kristie A. Kenney, the United States ambassador, attended the season’s first meeting between Ateneo and La Salle in late July.

Ateneo and La Salle are the most prestigious private universities in the country. The question of which institution provides a superior education is a toss-up; the tie breakers take place on the basketball court.

Read the rest of the article here

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Honestly, and no offense to my Atenean friends and supporters, I was wondering why the article seems so biased until I read that tiny description about the writer: Raphael Bartholomew, who did research at Ateneo de Manila University and was an adjunct lecturer there, is writing a book about Philippine basketball.

Just a quick note on Mike Cortez and the game fixing allegations: I am not totally sure but the rumor might really have originated from a fellow La Sallian. However, I am more certain of this: the La Salle community continues to support "The Cool Cat". I was there when he was welcomed back on campus, as he was playing in the Alaska - TNT exhibition game at the DLSU Sports Center, several months after the UAAP finals and game fixing allegations. And I can only tell from experience.

And what's with the "squeaky-clean" image of Ateneo? I'm ready to admit about the swagger of DLSU players - or most UAAP players (not just La Salle, and including Ateneo) for that matter. I'd say each school has its share of bad apples. And please, that a player's surname is "Salamat" (meaning "thank you" in Tagalog) doesn't have anything to do with the school's image, in the same way that saying that the La Salle point guard's nickname is "TY" (Thank You), is frivolous and irrelevant.

 

Back to School, Glendale, and Borders Day

Yes, I went back to school. Driving school, that is. After completing the 6-hour session about a month ago, I enrolled for an additional 4 hours since I haven't been able to practice driving with my dad. I had the first 2 hours this morning and will be having the next 2 tomorrow.

I actually said that I'd get my license before summer ends but I missed the deadline. Sorry, my bad.

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This afternoon, I went to Glendale to consult with a lawyer about immigration concerns.

While there, I also took the time to meet with an old friend and classmate of mine, Trisha. While I've been in the US for a year and a half, and she for more than twice that duration, and while I was staying in Tarzana and she on Glendale/Eagle Rock, less than 30 miles apart I suppose, this was the first time we've seen each other in about 5 years.

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At Borders this same afternoon, I skimmed through some interesting books. But, more accurately, I had had my attention on, and found a particular interest in, only the last book I grabbed. The cute girl a couple of seats from me was just too distracting and I recovered my focus only when she left. I used to think I'm a fairly good multi-tasker.

That last book is The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Al Iggulden. I still wonder what's so dangerous about it and will likely find myself buying it. I usually just borrow books from the library than buy them.



In the meantime, I still have a pile of books in my to-read list.

 

Powerful Campaign Ad

From my friend Donelle:

This one shows the power of words. So it's best to listen to it quietly.

 

Timely Readings

Here's the book I just finished reading:

See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism by Robert Baer

Here's the book I've just started (a couple of pages into):

Terrorist Hunter: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman Who Went Undercover to Infiltrate the Radical Islamic Groups Operating in America by Anonymous

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As I do read books with these kinds of themes, it is but unintentional that I ended up reading (and transitioning in between) these two books on Sept. 11 - what with their relevance to the event that shook the world exactly on this day, 6 years ago.

Anyway, I don't intend to dwell on this trivial coincidence. But my readings have their effect. I know that there are people everywhere who live in extreme poverty, persecution, violence, and other inhumane factors. I just hope leaders and citizens all over can work out a way to make the situation better, significantly better, for everyone.

 

Las Vegas Weekend

Last weekend was Labor Day Weekend (Monday, Sept. 3rd is Labor Day). It also turned out as an unplanned Las Vegas weekend for me.

I got a call on Thursday night from my uncle asking me if I wanted to come with them to Las Vegas. They'd be driving from Sacramento early next morning. I decided to tag along, making me the 7th person in the party along with: Uncle Jose, Auntie Fely, Ate Marilyn, Mark, Erick, and Micah.

Instead of having me take a train or plane to Vegas, they decided to just drive down from Sacramento to Los Angeles (about 375 miles or 6 hours) and then drive up to Vegas (about 280 miles, 4.5 hours). That's 655 miles of travel or almost an 11-hour drive.

During the drive, I didn't feel how hot it was outside until we got out for a restroom break. From the cool comfort of the aircon, we stepped out into a scorching heat that maxed out at 113 degrees Fahrenheit (or 45 degrees Celsius). It's almost hard to imagine how other places could be hotter and drier than that.

We arrived mid-afternoon and checked in at the hotel. Las Vegas turns out to be hotter than the Philippines, I think. I tried out a few slot machines in the MGM Grand Casino and lost. I had a few winning moments but lost all that I won to subsequent tries.


The next day, we went to Stratosphere - another hotel and casino. At 1,149 feet (350 m), it dwarfs all other structures in Vegas including other hotels. The top of the tower had 3 thrill rides which we rode: Big Shot, Insanity, and XScream. They are the top 3 highest thrill rides in the world and it is no wonder that they incorporated that "altitude-element" in their features. I can't believe I'd had another thrill ride experience just 2 months after the Magic Mountain Experience.


We just walked along Las Vegas Strip at night and caught a few shows along the Mirage and Treasure Island hotels. The Strip was so busy that you just had a few inches of space from another person in all directions. Traffic was also heavy along Vegas boulevard that it took about an hour to trek its few-couple-of-miles length.


On Sunday morning, we left and proceeded to meet a couple of my cousins in Anaheim. We'd spend the night in a hotel there. We also met and dined with some extended relatives at night.


On Monday before driving to my place, we drove to El Monte to visit my grandmother (the sister of my mother's father). She's 89 years old but her face and arms were almost wrinkle-free. She is also still able to carry conversations and seems to have her memory intact. I couldn't figure out what she was saying though as she spoke in Cantonese. The way she spoke and looked at people just suggested a certain sharpness that defies her age.


Nevada turns out to be the second state I've been in the US. It comes as no surprise and I had an inkling before that it would be so because of Las Vegas and its proximity to California. I have no idea which state I will set my feet on next but I would guess that it would be somewhere in the East.

More pics can be found on my Multiply site.