Wii Tennis

Advantages:

- Playtime is not subject to weather condition (provided that you own one).

- Game practice is not dependent on the coach’s availability (you can always play against the system generated player)

- No need to invest on pricey rackets which upgrade is more frequent than salary increases can cope up with

- When boredom sets in, try bowling, golf or boxing instead

Disadvantages:

- I have to go to Bagonawa to play (because I don’t own a console)

- Unless some good soul from the USA will lug one home, I wont be able to afford one if I buy locally.

- There is no looker coach to ogle.

Note: Warm up exercise is still essential. My right arm is still smarting from last Monday’s exertion.

“Love in the time of Cholera”

It’s absurd how the weather or how a film ends affects one’s disposition. After watching “Love in the time of Cholera” (while the pelting rains and strong winds beat the hell out of the acacia overhead), a great sense of depression set in.

When allowed a certain degree of liberty, the mind travels the road back in history, reliving memories and the might-have-been which were better off left in its current state of near obscurity.

The film, based on the novel of the same title by GG Marquez, struck me as the story of Florentino’s love for Fermina which transcended time and circumstance. His wait lasted 53 years, with the intervening time spent trying to forget (if I may add, without success).

If “love is an illusion” can be translated to “thank you”; and if the feeling is mutual (as it seemed), then there is only 38 years of waiting left.

hitting the hard court

"I am an Athlete

My sport is tennis

It is my first love

And it will be my last"

In my case, tennis is not my first love. Swimming was. Soccer ranked next. But definitely, it will be my last.

It was some five years ago when tennis became a means to an end. The need was so dire, it necessitated cutting off on some of the essentials to feed the malignant appetite of the inexplicable madness.

Unlike soccer, it only needs two players to get a game going and it isn’t at all difficult to find a willing partner. Just utter anything that has something to do with losing weight. It usually does the trick.

It’s funny how easy the game is like when watching from the baseline. But it is entirely a different matter when wielding a racket and being on the receiving end of the ball.

I started to receive formal instructions in June. The coach of choice is “kumpare” Jet of course. All issues considered, meeting him once a week sounded right (twice, maximum) so the lessons began on the week the Sta. Rosa assignment ended.

The first meeting was disastrous as expected. After being conditioned to receive balls only when it’s threatening to make a goal, this time there’s no time to neither choose nor wait. The balls just kept coming. One hour seemed forever especially when excitement beats preparedness and essentials like water is forgotten.

Coach was late during the second meeting. Well, he is a father first, Coach nth (?). The wait was bearable though. One of the seventh day pastors who came by invited to hit some balls. The exchange was a welcome one and my backhand got better.

Rain beat hard for almost three weeks and playing was impossible. Eating became an alternative. What was lost in two weeks (2 kg, ahem) looked like it didn’t go anywhere at all. But the skies seemed to have cried enough and decided to make up for the days when this piece of earth was cast in gloom.

Last week’s third session witnessed a great change in my forehand. That followed after observing pastor’s wife returning the balls with ease from the baseline. It basically involved swinging the arms casually. The perfect brush was inspiring; it was already 8:30 A.M. when we called it quits. That meant practice lasted almost two hours with minimum breaks (used only five balls).

The heat was shortlived. Well, it's season has passed, that's why. Thank heavens for wii. The game requires the same amount of effort. Unfortunately, nothing can substitute the fun (-) of the real thing.

[Food] Trip

23 July

1400-1500 –enjoyed a cup of Kuppa Sumatra Brew (with cream and raw sugar) and nibbled a brownie (with a generous walnut topping) at Silay International Airport to kill time

1525-1635 - Aboard Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 478 trying to catch some zs…the ample leg room plus sans trouble getting out of the seat to the wash room is well worth the additional Php 200

1635-1700 – Zipped through Roxas Blvd on the airport yellow taxi, which cost me twice the usual taxi fare

1700-1900 – Browsed through NBSs treasures and bought 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (Tagalog version) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1900-2000 – lounged (on a cushioned wicket chair) at the lobby of Robinson’s Ermita reading Jules Verne while waiting for Carmela

2000-2100 – Dinner at Manukan, where we had sizzling squid and tokwa’t baboy plus 12 oz cola

2100-2200 – Dessert at Café Breton back at Robinson’s. I had cappuccino and two varieties of crepe (la pinay ~ mango filled topped with a scoop of ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce and gwen ha du ~ topped with a reddish jam which sweetness was tempered by the cheesy saltiness of the crepe)

2200-2300 – took a taxi to NAIA, argued with the guards who did not live up to their org’s theme to SMILE, and waited for Mae to get her bags

24 July

0000-0400 – sat around the sofa table inside room 1012 of BSA suites trading love stories or the lack of it, attending the homecoming in two years or not, generally catching up in between gorging on lemon dew and watermelon bites, assorted chocolates, nacho chips dipped in chilli salsa and sipping red wine

4000-0600 – hit the sack for the much needed sleep while the two got busy calling people around the globe (Jen in UK , Kuya Bong in Riyadh etc), carmela left for her meeting for monday's SONA

0600-0730 – slowly downed the complimentary breakfast (fish fillet, salad, watermelon garlic rice and juice)

0730-0745 –walked from palanca to ayala ave in search for 'our' building

0745-0800 – cappuccino at fiorgellatto on the ground floor of Ayala Life building

0800-1000 – mae met with issy of Fulbright under closed door while I read both Inquirer and Star broadsheets waiting for them to finish. wow, she contemplated about handing me a fulbright application after hearing that i came from elbi (that's good enough for me)

1000-1200 – lunch at Barrio Fiesta along dela rosa consisting of ‘kare-kare’ for 4, fried chicken (half), plain rice for 4 with bess (mae's friend from uts)

1200-1245 – walked around greenbelt and glorietta, each lugging a laptop bag after checking out of the hotel

1300-1340 – taxi trip from BSA Suites to Centennial terminal

1400-1640 – after checking in, nursed another cuppa (Delifrance), read a page out of Jules Verne, chatting…waited, generally

2030 – home finally, dinner is "tilapia" stewed in coconut milk and unlimited rice

First five…

There is a growing trend of my being the last to know about the goings on in the entertainment world. Had bro not told me about the davids’ concert in MOA and friend Makay about MTV exit, I would have missed attending both events. Today, an agent informed me during a call that my all time favorite band, Bamboo, is in town for Tanduay’s “first five” nationwide concert tour happening at the old airport just across the office. My!

Knowing about whom to get in touch with served me well…colleagues Jireh and Johanna. It was already 9pm when I got back from home after a short bonding with sis and pooh watching wolverine on dvd and the airport was already teeming with people when I arrived. As soon as I have deposited my stuff somewhere safe, armed with my vitamin C bottle, camera and some cash, I went in with the throng of bodies going through the narrow entrance which opened to the tarmac.

It took me ages figuring out how to secure a ticket. A man in uniform informed me that tickets are issued in exchange of 10 caps of the intoxicating drink that is sponsoring the concert. That posed to be a huge problem. Where on earth can I secure 10 caps at such a short notice especially when I wasn’t drinking at all?

At the parking lot I saw a man peddling some tickets for Php 50 apiece so I left the concert scene (Rico was already performing) and sought for the person in question to no avail. I went back inside dejectedly and was resigned to just listen to the concert at the back near the entrance to the VIP turf. Not completely relying to the information from the guard, I asked two girls who were just about to enter the gates as to where they got their tickets. One said they had a neighbor working at the plant and asked if I had company. When I said none, she gave me the ticket she had on hand. Boy, this night was mine to keep.

When I finally get to join Jireh, Johanna and Ronnie, Sandwich frontman Raimund was entertaining the crowd with his antics. Eraserheads alumni never cease to amaze me. After tonight, I will only need to see Buddy and Marcus, and still hope to see all four of them perform together.

Sandwich was followed by 6 cycle mind. Some songs were familiar but I only managed to sing along with their Eraserheads number.

Chicosci’s turn was the most eventful. It has been raining on and off and was almost midnight. Everyone’s impatient and couldn’t wait for Bamboo to take the stage. Well, we all have our ways of coping. Well, some weren’t that good at waiting and started to get a little rowdy (confounded by the chemical reaction of the alcohol in their brains from the rum that they imbibed). Well, Miggy (that cute vocalist) was a ‘little upset’ about some people in audience (which we couldn’t see being located right next to the dais :D), which escalated to his throwing profanities back at the ‘crowd’. That went on at least once in between their numbers and the guards had to finally take the kibitzers out of the concert grounds).

When Bamboo’s turn came, the crowd came alive and were either banging their heads or jumping up and down just as Bamboo did as he performed the 6(?) numbers on their repertoire. I did not get a high five from the main man when he jumped off the dais and pacify the screaming fans but I reached out my arm as far as it can go and managed to fleetingly press his right arm…a feat i wasn't able to make back in Sinulog...hahaha!

What a night! More than it being a fan’s dream night, it meant reporting for work sans sleep.