04:44: bravo, barcelona!!! thierry henry finally has his champions league title. barça makes history as the first spanish club to win 3 titles in a single year. josep guardiola is in the books as the youngest manager to achieve such success, and on his first year, no less.

barcelona truly was the better team in this match, and i'm not just saying that because i'm a barça fan. between the giving little robert downey, jr. look-alike, xavi, the under-appreciated iniesta, the brilliant striker, eto'o, argentina's hope, messi, the quiet confidence of henry and the big courageous heart of captian carles puyol leading and a host of other brilliant young players, pep guardiola could not hope for a better team. (ok, except maybe to have casillas as a keeper, but valdes does seem to be getting better.) is his success beginner's luck? perhaps. though i highly doubt it. =D



josep guardiola

don't you think pep looks like henry cavill from the tudors?


henry cavill

dang....

Labels: football

 
01:57: here we go, here we go...

i've been waiting all week to watch the champion's league finals. i was hoping to watch it with other fans, but beggars can't be choosers. etoile and i intended to watch at her folks' place, but she remembered that she had to be at someone's birthday party. pfffft... man u fans! such flakes! so i'm watching via streaming instead.

it's barcelona versus manchester united in rome. here's the story:

this is alex ferguson's 35th year coaching and man u's chance to defend their title. they're hoping to get back-to-back titles in the champions league. they've been great all season and they do play really well outside of the premiere league. ronaldo was voted world player of the year. still, however hot (i mean both skilled and yummy) cristiano ronaldo is, he tends to croak under pressure. then there's wayne rooney. i hate that bastard. and rio ferdinand and all the others.

this is josep guardiola's first year as a coach for barça (2nd, if you count last year, coaching barça's b team). so far he has done extremely well, with barça bagging both the copa del rey and the primera liga titles this year. if they win the champions league, they will be the first spanish team to win triple titles. guardiola will be the stuff of legend. and my favorite player still active on the pitch, lionel messi, is with him all the way. messi came in second to ronaldo in the race for player of the year, but he currently leads in this season's champions league goal count. eto'o, who some consider as the best striker in the world, is in the top scorers too, whereas man u has no real major scorer in the champions league this season. then there's xavi and henry and all my usual favorites. but is it enough? dunno.

so who am i cheering for? barça from the very beginning, baby. if they lose, it's cool. pep guardiola has done well and so has the team. but it would be sooooo sweet if they win.

Labels: football

 
01:20: been watching this mini-series on tv5 (the french channel, not the former local channel, abc 5) called fete de famille. it's about a family, the merciers, who meet to celebrate their mother's birthday. before they can even start lunch, the mom leaves to run off with another man. last week, there was this scene where the children were asked to meet with their mother and her new beau. just as she arrives with the new guy, the father shows up, walks into the diner, punches the guy in the face, then walks out and drives off before anyone can talk to him. i had a look of shock for about 3 seconds before i exploded into laughter. man, i wish i could do that. i wish any of us could. better yet, i wish my dad could magically rise from his grave, or ashes, i suppose, and just pummel that guy's fat face.

yes, i have a lot of anger. i'm ok, for the most part, as long as i am not provoked. i was provoked last friday over an otherwise excellent dinner prepared by my brother. my brother handled it with excellent tact and wit. hopefully things will go smoothly from now on, but i really highly doubt it. that f******d just seems completely oblivious to all the grief he has caused and continues to lay on us.

anyway, back to that mini-series i was watching. i just watched its final episode, where charlotte, the youngest girl refused to have her wedding unless her father walked her down the aisle. after almost 10 years, i just realized something. it's embarrassing, mostly because it isn't the sort of thing i'd really think of. but i really would have wanted for fuzz to have walked me down the aisle and even dance with me on my wedding day. =(

Labels: yuloys

 
18:08: the feeling of waking up from a good dream... i haven't had that in a while. in this dream, you stay with me. awkward at first, like an overgrown child on an adult's knee, but later in perfect comfort and security. once again, i have you in my arms. i know it won't last for long, so while the moment is perfect, i tell you i love you in that tongue that we share. i expect no answer from you. i never do. but after a pause, you concede and tell me you love me too, surprising me with a certainty and conviction that i had never seen before. i lean in and we kiss. my heart swells. in the real world, you will never understand how much i love you. but in this dream, in this moment, you do. in this moment, you are mine. in this moment, there are no doubts, no jealousy, only you and me, truly together. then the scene shifts into something strange, like a flashback from a childhood that never played out. i wake up. the perfect moment is over. but my heart is still smiling that same smile it does whenever you hold my hand in the middle of a crowd. i miss you.

Labels: little nothings

 
17:13: thomas's birthday last night. it's funny. i hadn't seen thom and arni since thom's birthday party last year. it's turning into some sort of annual reunion. it was like the exact same party, only one year later. same caterers, same food, same table settings and flowers and all that. pretty much the same guests, too. thomas has food and tables ready for about 50 people, but no more than 3 tables are ever occupied. when thom's girlfriend asked him where everyone was and who he invited, he just paused to think and didn't say anything, at which point she screamed at him "you didn't invite people, no!" hahaha... our theory is that he's given a budget and everything is arranged for him and that pretty much all he has to do is show up on the night itself.

anyway, this time around richie and rina weren't with us. rich just got discharged from the hospital. he hadn't been feeling well lately. turns out his cholesterol level is way too high and now he's on a strict diet. richie z on a diet... he'll never live.
people, we are talking about a guy who gets his picture taken with bacon because he loves bacon so much. i remember that he once blogged about how he orders a double cheeseburger meal from mcdonald's, takes the fries, puts it in the actual sandwich, then adds some barbecue sauce on it. the guy eats fast food everyday. richie sans cholesterol? i don't see it happening. i only hope rina can keep him in check and keep him healthy.

joining us at thom's party this year was abby. i hadn't seen abby since they graduated from college, but since we last met after the 8-year gap, we've been going out a lot. in fact, in this past week alone, we finished a total of 2 bottles of red wine at my house on thursday, an equivalent of over 2 litres of red horse and 1 bottle of san miguel premium at 2 different bars on saturday, then at thom's party, more beer, some goldschlagger, and a variety of vodka-based drinks. yup. she's not the same innocent abby we used to know, but she sure knows how to party.

other additions to our table at thomas's party this year were thom's cousins, josh and migs. migs apparently plays guitar for a local group. he's a cool kid. thanks to him, i may have found a drummer (possibly the perfect drummer) for tinola. although now i hear our bassist just quit all his bands as of lunch today, so i don't know how that's gonna go.

it was nice to hang out and reminisce about the things we'd do and our screw-ups and famous one-liners from college. it's also good to see where everyone is now. thom seems to be taking school seriously. arni's career as a rapper looks like it's about to take off soon. richie's killing himself with cholesterol. abby and i are slowly turning into alcoholics. and karen cannot stand living in her grandma's house but is quite happy with ted. i hope joey, karl, jel and the others are just as happy.

Labels: hang-out stories, trips and long weekends, updates

 
05:37: i've always been the type of person who believes in signs. it's silly, but i do. last weekend, i lost something very important to me. i got it back the next day and thought nothing of it. i did not think of it as a sign, merely an unfortunate incident that could have gone worse. the following day, i lost something else. it was not as important to me but it was valuable, none the less. again, i thought nothing of it. just an unfortunate incident. it was no big loss. yesterady, that first thing that i lost, that valuable and important thing, died on me. died.

so, ok, i'm listening now, universe. you have my attention, although i do not like what you're saying. still... i believe in signs. if that's what it comes to, then that's what i have to do. maybe this was meant to happen a long time ago and i just tried too hard to fight it. i guess the difference is, i'm tired of trying now. i've been trying for so long, and i never get anything back. i've practically bled myself dry and my efforts are always wasted. i have nothing left. so maybe it really is time. i give up.

Labels: little nothings

 
02:12: this second half of my first entry back from the dead will be very different form anything i've ever written before, seeing as how i was never really interested in this sort of thing. yesterday, i had a meeting with dd and while reviewing the site, we got around to talking about strengthsfinder. it isn't like me to assess myself this way, but i found the concept interesting and figured it would help others understand me better, and help me to figure myself out, too. so here, for anyone curious enough, are my top 10 strengths and top 5 opportunities based on the 34 identified themes.

strengths:
1.) communication - people strong in the communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. they are good conversationalists and presenters.
2.) harmony - people strong in the harmony theme look for consensus. they don't enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.
3.) context - people strong in the context theme enjoy thinking about the past. they understand the present by researching its history.
4.) intellection - people string in the intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. they are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.
5.) adaptability - people strong in the adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." they tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.
6.) achiever - people strong in the achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. they take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.
7.) developer - people strong in the developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. they spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.
8.) analytical - people strong in the analytical theme search for reasons and causes. they have the ability to think about all factors that might affect a situation.
9.) connectedness - people strong in the connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. they believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.
10.) learner - people strong in the learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. in particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

opportunities:
1.) futuristic - people strong in the futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. they inspire others with their visions of the future. (i don't even really get this, but it sounds real hokey and it's definitely not me!)
2.) maximizer -people strong in the maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. they seek to transform something strong into something superb. (not me, either. this is why i would not make a good team manager)
3.) competition - people strong in the competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. they strive to win first place and revel in contests. (growing up with brothers who always beat me at everything did this.)
4.) self-assurance - people strong in the self-assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. they possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right. (these days, more than ever, i am filled with self-doubt.)
5.) significance - people strong in the significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. they are independent and want to be recognized. (eeew. i hate the spotlight.)

brewed by lifecafe  

 
01:14: yes, yes, i know. i haven't posted in over a year. so why the hell am i writing again? i don't know. i've kept silent for so long, i'd forgotten what i sounded like.

oh, if i could talk/write in detail about everything that happened while i was away from this beloved blog... but that would take way too long. here's 15 months in one breath: i got the job i wanted, moved out of town, missed home and certain people like mad, got sick and also got sick of being away from home, went back home, and here i am.

trips of note in said 15 months:
1.) trip to pagudpud >> on my own, i traveled for more than half a day on the road. 3 bus rides, 1 tricycle ride, no food, and a cell phone that died before i could get clear directions. wanted to kill my friends when i found out they brought a frickin' van with them and drove in a fraction of the time it took me to get there.
2.) allan's team building at crystal beach >> the same weekend this huge storm hit the area.
3.) tech lead outing zambales >> no sleep at all for 3 days and 2 nights + little food in my tummy + neil handing me endless shots of alcohol because everyone else had stopped drinking = the end of what was once a well-kept secret
4.) xvgts @ redmond >> went to the states for a training summit with the whole team (+ x - les) and got fat on 3 cans of soda, mostly dr. peppers, a day.

there were other noteworthy incidents in the past 15 months, of course, but i will not mention them in this blog. hah! and you thought i would spill dirt....

Labels: little nothings, trips and long weekends, updates