The Rio Olympics ended a few weeks ago and it was significant for many reasons. For Filipinos, Hidilyn Diaz took home a silver medal in weightlifting. Usain Bolt also added to his legendary status by once again taking home another three golds. This is the third Olympics in a row where Usain won all three events he participated in. Nine golds for a sprinter is unheard of. In fact, before Bolt, it was rare for anyone to win both the 100m and the 200m in the same Olympics and yet Usain did this feat three times. That is just staggering. Then, as if one all-time great wasn't enough, Michael Phelps came out of retirement to win five more gold medals and a silver. He now has 23 golds, 3 silvers and 2 bronzes for a total of 28 medals. Both Phelps and Bolt are considered by many to be the greatest Olympians of all time and it's great to have witnessed their success.
However, it wasn't just the medalists that imprssed me. A non-medalist from Ukraine shocked me to my core (in a good way). 41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina made it to the finals of the Vault in Gymnastics. I actually had the TV on when she was competing and it took a while for me to realize that the 41-year-old that the commentators were talking about was her. They said she learned a new vault at the age of 40 and then I suddenly recognized her and remembered who she was. This was the 7th consecutive Olympics she competed in, her first being in 1992 (24 years ago). Wow. To be the 7th best female vaulter in the world at that age is just jaw-dropping. Oh and she is only the fourth woman to return to Olympic gymnastics after becoming a mother. She is just truly inspirational.
*****
Wicked, the world-renowned Broadway musical, is making a return to the Philippines on February 2, 2017. This time, it will be staged at the Theatre at Solaire. I watched it the last time it was here but only with my mom and my brothers since my nephews weren't interested to see it back then. But now, one of my nephews said he wanted to see it so I got tickets and I will be watching it again. Thankfully, Visa credit cards holders could purchase tickets a bit earlier and at a discount. The Visa-only sale is over though so everyone can buy tickets now.
*****
I upgraded to Windows 10 on the last day of the free upgrade. I did some research and everyone seemed to have positive things to say about Windows 10 so I decided to make the leap. However, I am now regretting it. My laptop now takes a whole lot longer to boot. I don't really like the new explorer layout and how the shortcut to select the views is no longer readily available. I don't like how I lost the recent documents option. I don't like the pinned stuff (I had to manually remove them all). Oh and my Plants vs. Zombies, which I still play every now and then, no longer works. Ugh. Maybe I should do some research on whether its possible to downgrade my Windows.
*****
Of course, no month would be complete for me these days without more board and tabletop gaming. :) In this last month, apart from games that I am familiar with, I also got to play a few new ones: Celestia, Grimoire, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Machi Koro, and Carcassonne. Shockingly, my winning average is still pretty solid as I won 4 of the last 8 games I played, including Grimoire and Carcassonne which I won on my first try. I played Above and Below again and while the first time was very confusing for me, the instructions were a lot clearer this time around and I did a whole lot better. I actually lost by only one point and I attribute that loss to bad die roll as I was close to the end of the game. :) The game that I seem to do really well in is Bruges. I have played this game four times now, and I have won three times and been a close second in the only time I didn't place first. I hope that streak continues. :)
However, it wasn't just the medalists that imprssed me. A non-medalist from Ukraine shocked me to my core (in a good way). 41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina made it to the finals of the Vault in Gymnastics. I actually had the TV on when she was competing and it took a while for me to realize that the 41-year-old that the commentators were talking about was her. They said she learned a new vault at the age of 40 and then I suddenly recognized her and remembered who she was. This was the 7th consecutive Olympics she competed in, her first being in 1992 (24 years ago). Wow. To be the 7th best female vaulter in the world at that age is just jaw-dropping. Oh and she is only the fourth woman to return to Olympic gymnastics after becoming a mother. She is just truly inspirational.
*****
Wicked, the world-renowned Broadway musical, is making a return to the Philippines on February 2, 2017. This time, it will be staged at the Theatre at Solaire. I watched it the last time it was here but only with my mom and my brothers since my nephews weren't interested to see it back then. But now, one of my nephews said he wanted to see it so I got tickets and I will be watching it again. Thankfully, Visa credit cards holders could purchase tickets a bit earlier and at a discount. The Visa-only sale is over though so everyone can buy tickets now.
*****
I upgraded to Windows 10 on the last day of the free upgrade. I did some research and everyone seemed to have positive things to say about Windows 10 so I decided to make the leap. However, I am now regretting it. My laptop now takes a whole lot longer to boot. I don't really like the new explorer layout and how the shortcut to select the views is no longer readily available. I don't like how I lost the recent documents option. I don't like the pinned stuff (I had to manually remove them all). Oh and my Plants vs. Zombies, which I still play every now and then, no longer works. Ugh. Maybe I should do some research on whether its possible to downgrade my Windows.
*****
Of course, no month would be complete for me these days without more board and tabletop gaming. :) In this last month, apart from games that I am familiar with, I also got to play a few new ones: Celestia, Grimoire, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Machi Koro, and Carcassonne. Shockingly, my winning average is still pretty solid as I won 4 of the last 8 games I played, including Grimoire and Carcassonne which I won on my first try. I played Above and Below again and while the first time was very confusing for me, the instructions were a lot clearer this time around and I did a whole lot better. I actually lost by only one point and I attribute that loss to bad die roll as I was close to the end of the game. :) The game that I seem to do really well in is Bruges. I have played this game four times now, and I have won three times and been a close second in the only time I didn't place first. I hope that streak continues. :)
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