Learn about stocks and the like
Read my emails especially those from CME
Go to work earlier than 10am
Have some pictures printed out
Take photos of bf and me
Save! Save! Save!
Read the Complete Idiot’s Guide on ….
Use my facial moisturizer
aaaarggh! And so many more that will be left unwritten.
Upon checking my “referrals”, I happen to come across this website in which my own blog was featured. I’m really honored.
The Top Rank boxing game happened today November 15, 2009 (and November 14, 2009 in the States). This is the first time I was going to watch a Pacquiao fight after all these years he was building his reputation. But now that he was making history, I’m not going to let it pass. Besides, we’d like to make most of my grandfather’s visit here in Manila to be the best quality time he could get out of us. Every weekend, there should be an activity for Tatay (grampa).
The time indicated in our tickets was 8am and a few minutes after 8am. We were wrong to think that we are just a few minutes late because we were almost 4 hours early for the Pacquiao game. We knew we were too early when the MGM Garden Stadium was almost empty while Filipino boxer Evan S. won an undercard fight.
After an hour finishing of our Taco Bell nachos per Tatay’s request to have something to munch on, the three supporting fights were about to start. I was computing the minutes or hours left for us to wait before the actual fight. Since there were 3 minutes in every round x 12/10 rounds x 3 fights, we have to endure another 2 hours before the main event.
First fight was between Gomez and Korass. There was an accidental bump on the head between the two which produced a gushing open wound on the lateral aspect of the right eyelid of Gomez, hence, he was looking like he just came from a murder spree with his face bloody and all. The wound was just a one cm longitudinal laceration (from Korass spiky hair, probably) but it was producing a lot of blood. Too bad, he was already doing very well in the first 2 or 3 rounds. And in the next three rounds, his vision was slightly hindered by the bloody wound. And the fight was getting messier literally. Gloves of Korass was probably bloody as well every time he hits Gomez on the right side of the face.
Orange-Black Korass hit below Gomez’s yellow-black belt twice, I think, during the 6-round fight. Gomez won the fight by technical occasion.
And now, there’s Yuri Foreman from Israel and Daniel Santos from Puerto Rico. I was rooting for Santos since I preferred his skin color. Excuse my reason. It’s just because I have this thinking about bronze-skinned people that they are the tougher ones. But I proved that theory wrong after the 12 rounds of Foreman running around the ring away from Santos to maintain his stats. Ulk! He was no fighter. He was all footwork and no punches.
Oh, I forgot that Foreman threw a punch at Santos to throw him off balance. But it was behind his head (or ear) and came unexpectedly because I gather it wasn’t allowed to hit the back of your opponent.
To my dismay, Foreman lays a knockout punch on Santos’ face twice on the 4th and once on the 5th round. And he gets more from Foreman. On the 6th round, he gets 3 knockout punches from the Israelite.
On the 11th round, Yuri was running around like a headless chicken and Santos was getting frustrated wanting to throw his own KO punch at Yuri. But since Yuri wanted to maintain his stats as best as he could, he wouldn’t go near Santos until the end of 12th round. Lucky bastard! Heheh!
Yuri wins by a unanimous decision as the new featherweight champion of the world.
When the 3rd supporting fight between Chavez and someone (forgot the name), I opted to go out and have my bathroom break. It has been almost two hours and my buttocks was aching from all the seating we were doing. We were supposed to buy Choco Banana Energy drink from a nearby fruit stand but they had no stocks left for the banana drink. We decided to go down to Starbucks to get our first Christmas drink of the year.
We were back just in time to see Chavez win. I cannot give details of the fight since I was busy waiting for our coffee.
It was the ladies who sang the national anthems. The LaDivas (first time I’ve seen and heard them) sang the Philippine National Anthem. A lady gloriously sang the Puero Rican’s national anthem as well. And former American Idol contestant, Ramielle, sang the US anthem. Ramielle is also Filipino by blood.
Personally, I thought the VTR for Pacquiao was perfect. It made him look the tough fighter that he was. It was ruined though, by the big smile on his face as he was entering the arena. Cotto was not smiling in contrast to the playful face and aura (if I could actually see an aura) that Pacman was exuding to everyone. (I only saw Cotto trying to smile through the awful pain of his facial wounds and traumas when he was congratulating Pacquiao after the fight.)
I’m not sure if I could do justice on how well Pacman played in his 7th winning fight. But I sure could try.
I tried to remember this set of numbers: 2, 4, 9 and 12. These were the rounds Pacquiao threw those KO punches of his and these were the rounds when he got Cotto cornered or against the rope.
I tried not to get nervous when Pacquiao gets hit or somehow trapped against the rope. Excuse my ignorance on Pacman’s abilities but this is the first fight that I watched so I don’t really have any idea on how good he is inside the ring.
During the first two rounds, Pacman was welcoming any punch coming from Cotto in order to know how powerful and how damaging the punches would be. He took punches in the face, jaw, abs and more.
I cringed when Pacquiao received a horrible punch from below when Cotto was able to go through his forearm wall or whatever the professionals call it. Also, Cotto gave a number of KO punches of his own towards Pacman’s way. Cotto was a suitable match. If he wasn’t then he wouldn’t have lasted until the 12th round when his team was ready to throw the towel into Pacquiao’s 7th victory.
I do have to be fair to the Puerto Rican though. He has given Pacquiao a good fight. He wasn’t like that of Hatton who didn’t bother to train hard for his fight against Pacuiao. I think Cotto didn’t underestimate Pacman’s ability unlike what Hatton did. I could have probably loved this game better than his previous fight. Cotto brought out the punches in Pacquiao so that everyone is reminded how powerful those fists are.
While watching Pacman’s fight today, I kind of derived a couple of principles that he applies to win.
1. Never throw the first punch.
2. Take each opening as an opportunity to throw your own punches.
3. Don’t get caught on the edge of the ring (or a dead end for that matter) where you cannot create a distance from your opponents’ punches.
4. Act fast.
5. Before you engage in a fight, have a plan and at best, a good strategy.
6. A good training can get you through any battle.
Well, I’m just turning something I saw from the fight to something philosophical and some truths in our lives. Pacquiao has been looked up to in terms of success, courage and discipline. There is so much to learn from him in how he harnessed his skill. And despite all of the seriousness of his devotion to his work, he never forgets to smile.
It doesn’t matter if he’s still fighting for his country or solely for himself. As long as he gives Filipinos a good name, that’s what I only care about. It doesn’t even matter to me if he loses his fights. As long as he remains as a good citizen of this country, he lessens the numerous problems of this country.
Today was just all in a day’s work in the life of Pacquiao.
http://dell-anne.weddingannouncer.com/
To make it a little more official, we are creating a separate blog on the preparations we are undergoing for our small intimate wedding.
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me down
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
Oh yes I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
Look all around there’s nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead there’s nothing but blue skies
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
Bri-ri-ri-ri-right
Bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
Oh yeah
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It’s gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day.
We scheduled one weekend to go around the Home Department of the nearby mall. The agenda was to scan the prices of some of the basics we need in the studio type apartment we were to stay in after the wedding ceremony/reception. We were psyched to pool in our savings for decent appliances. We came up with this list by the end of the day.
Double Size Bed
He wanted the inflatable bed but I don’t think I would like to inflate and deflate our bed all the time we needed to lie down, take a nap or go to a deep sleep. Besides, I don’t think, I could really get a good sleep with the inflatables.
Which reminds me the time we visited our aunt and uncle in the States and they offered us their regular bed and they had to sleep in an inflatable for days. That shouldn’t have been the case. They should have slept in their own bed and we could sleep in the sleeping bag (not the inflatable for me) in their den.
We saw this double sized bed hid behind a desk divider/cabinet. I didn’t even recall there was a double size bed before. I only knew the single, queen and king. It was the perfect size for both of us. We were planning for a sofa bed but when I saw this bed, I thought that the size is just perfect hence, when the time comes that we need to buy a bed, we’re going to double size it.
Refrigerator/Freezer
It was easy for us to spot which size we want. It was the one which was shorter in height than our own. There’s a little freezer (since we’re not really planning to store a lot of frozen food in the future) and space for a big bottle of water. It comes with a cabin for fruits. Fiance is into fruits so I guess we need that. Its top would allow us to put another appliance like a microwave or something of the sort (but I don’t think it was safe or appropriate electronically or electrically – I have to check more about it).
Microwave
I’ve read that we save electricity by reheating your food using the microwave instead of the gas or electric range. So, our list has to have a microwave if we plan to save up on our home expenses. Also, a microwave is important to have my favorite snack – popcorn – which is also the least favorite microwavable food of fiance.
Clothes’ Covered Rack
This one’s the regular improvised clothes rack that is cheap and perfect for those starting out on their own. I’ve seen my fiance’s cabinet of clothes in his own home. And so I had to make a request that he brings with him only the clothes that he actually wears. He’s closet is bigger than mine and more cramped. He doesn’t have a problem with the amount of clothes I would be bringing with me in our new home. I don’t have that much clothes. I usually wear the same outfit day in and day out. I’m leaving the clothes I don’t plan to wear here at home anyway.
I’ve seen a lot of these improvised closet and I haven’t seen any that has a subtle design for the look I was going for. Each one was too colorful or snazzy or messy or girlie. I wanted something plain. So I’m still hoping I’d see something I like in the coming months.
Desk Divider/Cabinet
I’m planning to buy a cabinet that would divide the sleeping area from the dining area. We’re going to live in a studio type apartment hence, I don’t think we need to have a space for an actual living room. There will be two main areas in that apartment: the sleeping/tv area and the dining/kitchen area. I thought a desk-height cabinet would be perfect to define these areas. I thought of putting picture frames on top and a classic lamp to make our small space elegant and not just a “rat hole” like what my fiance said of a very small sample unit in Eastwood City.
Dining Table and Chairs
I wanted to buy what we saw in the mall that weekend but I know it was too early. Every passerby was eying the same piece. It was dark-colored oak-like dining set with beige seats. It was sturdy looking for its price. I checked the way it was manufactured and could tell it was durable enough to last at most 10 years of wear-and-tear.
Television
If budget permits, we were going to get an HD TV. I think it’s in my fiance’s wishlist and so I placed it on my wishlist too. I liked the idea of an old fashioned small television for the apartment but I think fiance would be really happy if we could have the HD TV he was eying in the store awhile back. My only concern is if it’s energy-saving. The 22 inch HDTV is within our means. Hopefully, it still goes on sale when we are actually about to buy one.
Rice Cooker with Steamer
We were planning to cook pasta all the time. The game plan was to boil the pasta in the rice cooker and steam the vegetables – tomatoes, mushrooms, etc – in the steamer part. Also, I’ve learned on my own how to cook rice con chili and salt-and-pepper baby potatoes while I was staying in an apartment in med school. I could learn more so that fiance would go home directly from work. Hopefully, he would prefer my cooking over the time he could spend it with other people, if you know what I mean.
Bookshelves
I bought my bookshelf in my room right now. And I’m planning to bring it with me on that day I have to move out. So the main wish for this one would be a truck and some people to carry it with me to that apartment.
Lazy Boy
I have one right here beside my bed. I couldn’t bring it with me without permission from my parents. But I do hope they could allow me to bring it to my new home. It was my favorite reading seat. And still is. And I was hoping it could be a favorite TV Watching seat in the future.
Mirror with Coat Hanger
We came across this one way before we planned of getting married. Well, we were passing by the Home Section of the department store with marriage at the back of my mind (I’m not sure about his thoughts, though). It’s almost a full length mirror that conveniently moves around and has a coat hanger at the back. I thought it was perfect for us to have. He thinks we don’t need a mirror but I fervently beg to differ. Of course we need a mirror!
Washing Machine
I wanted to have a smaller laundromat-type of washing machine where in you put all your clothes in one bin where it would be washed, soaked and dried at the same time. But we saw other cheaper types. We were discussing the pros and cons of a metal versus and “plastic” case of washing machine. His argument was winning over mine. I thought the metal casing was going to be better and more durable. But he told me that it would be prone to rusting and so on. Hence, I’m now considering the plastic casing type.
There’s a terrace in the unit. And I thought it was a waste of space. But then I thought the terrace would be our utility area – but we don’t plan to make an eyesore by hanging our laundry in sight for everyone to see.
Hoping we could get a good washing machine which would wash our clothes as thoroughly as our washerwoman here at home would do.
Others
Here belongs the other smaller appliances and furnishings and necessities that we couldn’t get away from.
Crossing our fingers for a bigger budget when the time comes. We are sacrificing a lavish wedding for a good new home and new life. Hope it all works out well – more than I’m expecting right now.
We packed our bags to go to Tagaytay last October 25, 2009. There was nothing in the itinerary when we got there so there was really nothing to do but breathe in the fresh air. Not so much smog that weekend because only few were going up to Tagaytay since it was not the usual (Philippine) “long weekend”.
Waiting for our room in the lobby
Oh but wait. There was something to do. My sister and her hubby, my brother and I had something to do that night. We scheduled our usual Warm Herbal Oil Massage at the Ylang Ylang spa. It is my ultimate favorite massage. I slept through the massage and only woke up for the turning and repositioning. It was an absolute treat!
Checking In Our Room
We were displaced to another room with a bigger bed. A blessing in disguise. One of the rooms assigned to us had a terrible view. And so we requested for another room. And they gave us a room with a bigger bed… just what we need.
Dinner Time
Waiting for our orders in the lobby restaurant.
There was a 3-man band playing old and new songs. They had violin, cello (my favorite) and guitar as instruments. Enjoyed the dinner especially my curry meal.
Gabino and Yaya Lucy
Sooo Kulit
Gabino And Yaya Lucy
It was my idea to hire the cotton candy man in the nearby church for the village trick or treating day which was held last October 30, 2009. There were relatively few who attended the trick or treat compared to the past years but the 400 sticks of cotton candy were still completely used up.
I was with my sister when we bought my nephew’s vampire costume. We were choosing between a Peter Pan and a frog costume but then we opted for the cheaper vampire get up. Besides, the cloth used was more tolerable than the previous two choices.
So here are the pics of that day:
Cotton Candy Man Waiting For The Clock to Strike 4pm
I asked Kuya Manong (excuse the redundancy) to wear the witch / clown hat. Witch since it was a pointed hat and Clown since it comes with red wig in it. A couple of bags of cotton candy was already spooled beforehand.
We don't have any tricks and only have treats to share
I’m quite confused with the tradition. Do the kids threaten us with a trick and we have to say treat to spare us (adults) any pranks? Or do they mean we have to choose from their bag of tricks and treats? And then if we say treat then they have to give us a treat, not the other way around.
The Long Line For the Cotton Candy
My Nephew Joining The Other Kids
I Love This Kid
After a few minutes of walking up and down the street, my nephew had to go back the house and eat his snack before he joins the crowd outside once more.
Christmas Decor on Halloween heheh!
The only clue that this was taken on a Halloween was the subtle costume my nephew is wearing. It is quite embarrassing to share that our home has it’s Christmas decor up for everyone to see.
Taking A Pic With Bob
That’s me and my sister with Bob the welcoming skeleton. There’s a more meaner-looking mask inside that I don’t want to take a picture of. It’s a demonic-looking mask that was placed on the end of the stairs. I try to ignore it all the time when I see it.
Young Lady Viking
When I saw her passing by in front our home, I just had to take a picture. She looks so cute rather than menacing in her costume. She’s a neighbor and didn’t even ask her name. Where are your manners?!
Lola and My Nephew
Meet my cousin, Tostado (Toasted)
Here is my cousin whom I didn’t hear even a peep from him when he came to visit us that day. His nickname is Tostado (Toasted in English) because of his skin color due to over exposure to the sun. He’s always out playing in the streets. I hope he enjoyed his bag of cotton candy.
We didn't get a lot of candy but we had a lot of fun.
Al Gore’s documentary “The Inconvenient Truth” has been the basis of my sense of impending doom. The thought of continents underwater scares the heck out of me.
Some of our mountains in this country was found to have seashells on its peak areas. It has been one of the proofs that this country was underwater long ago. Makes me think that a long period of low tide allowed our country to appear on the map.
It is frightening to think that the icebergs that is melting faster than expected would eventually drown the land I’m standing on. The blame is on global warming increasing the temperature on the Earth’s atmosphere that could melt ice caps and boulders of ice.
Due to abuse of the Earth’s resources for hundreds of years, we might not live for another hundred. The documentary stated that in 50 years, 2/3 of the world’s land will be underwater.
After the latest 2 storms, Ondoy and Pepeng, that hit this country, both happening within 2 weeks time has left so much destruction by producing the heaviest rainfall this country has ever recorded. And of course, the aftermath has left most to look for someone or something to blame.
They’ve been blaming politicians, the engineers that helped create the flood ways, the squatters who clogged the flood ways with their by-products, the global warming and so much more. The one cause that they’re pointing out to be a major reason why the great flood had to happen in their lifetime is the abuse of the resources, particularly of this country, due to overpopulation.
Presidential elections is just around the corner and last October 6, 2009, after the Ondoy and Pepeng typhoons, many questions, during a speaking engagement with some of the candidates, were raised regarding the support of all the victims of these two typhoons that also led to the environmental discussions.
People have been pointing out that the current administration is deficient in addressing the overpopulation. Some of the citizens’ only answer to overpopulation is to allow practice of abortion. One candidate did not see it as a problem. He saw each man of this country as an asset only if the administration knew how to harness it.
It has been a perpetual debate over the control of the consuming population that continuously depletes this country’s resources. Many countries addressed this by imposing laws that limit the number of children each couple could produce. Some uses the “freedom of choice” banner to eliminate unwanted unborn children conveniently – in which I derive the “freedom for convenience” purpose of it all.
Most solutions that have been presented are ways to eliminate as if we have the right to choose who lives and who should not. They see those who occupy the space next to them as someone who doesn’t deserve to be there at all. They see squatters as the ultimate eyesore and cancer of the society that keeps growing and growing. The poor can do nothing but be those who abuse the land they live in, the water they excrete in and the air they sneeze into because they have not been taught to do otherwise.
I just wonder why the poor who should have been known to be powerless and helpless are so hard to eliminate from the areas that is potentially in danger. They might not be helpless at all as what they seem to be. Their potential for growth might not only be limited to their number but to their capacity for manpower.
Why see them as waste of space when they could be of use to themselves, to their community and to their country? It’s not the number of the population that is the main problem but the quality of people we bring into life.
Man has always been the cause of all kinds of destruction. I don’t think there’s any being alive on earth that has been wreaking havoc as much as man have done. This makes it a valid reason why man should be banished from the face of the Earth. But it is not reasonable to think about someone to be less deserving for life. No soul is better than the other to be able to judge as God only could.
Sure, our neighbors caused a lot of damage that we will be suffering in the future. But so did we. Then why not eliminate our own sinful beings? Why suggest to take someone’s life, especially those of who have done nothing wrong – the unborn.
Our number reaches to billions and each one consumes and pollutes this Earth every minute we build an appetite for convenience and excessive living. The truth is the number is insignificant and doesn’t really contribute to the end of life but the lack of conscientiousness of the billions of people.
We may putting the Mother Earth to her knees right now – pulling trees of her scalp, drilling our homes on her chest, leaving our dirty tracks on her bloodstream and stomping on her very soul when what we create is more pain.
From my grade school days, I’ve learned that we were created to use, to enjoy and to take care God’s creation. That was one of the first roles He handed to us – way before He created the 10 Commandments or the Golden Rule.
Use. Enjoy. Care.
Pray that it is not too late for all of us.
I’ve been writing out of emotions and point of views and opinions of my own. I want to write with more foundation to increase the credibility of what I write. And so, to address this need, I grabbed a book from the single bookshelf in my room. It has been so very long ago that I have finished what I have started reading. There are so many newly-bought books in my shelves but I don’t find the time to read them since I didn’t see the need. But now, I thirst for something to read, something new to know. I wanted to feed my mind before I start feeding the minds of other people.
