Way to go, Liverpool!

I was flipping through channels a couple of hours ago when I saw the beginning of the 2nd half of Liverpool's Champion's League match against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in Spain. With Barca having the home court advantage for the first leg of their match-up, you had to give the defending champions the upper hand.

So when I saw the score to be 1-1, I felt there was a chance. Even a draw would be acceptable to some degree. After all, it was Barcelona. But at the 74th minute, a lapse in defense by Barcelona gave Liverpool the lead, as Riise smashed the ball into the back of the Barca goal to give Liverpool the lead! Which they managed to keep the rest of the way, despite a few scares, giving them the all-important away win as they head to England for the second leg of their match-up on March 6.

Good luck, Liverpool!!!

[SWEDEN] Ash Wednesday

It took me all of 5 weeks to figure out where the Catholic church was. The first couple of weeks I was asking the receptionists at the hotel if they knew where I could find one, and they didn't know. So I asked my relocation person if she could get this information for me and she found me an address. I looked it up in mapquest but I couldn't find it. So I asked the hotel receptionists again if they could direct me to where this address was, and they still couldn't. Semi-desperate, I tried it out again in mapquest last week but this time I entered Katolska Kyrkan (Catholic church) and I found it!

I made my way there last Saturday morning to check out the mass schedule - apparently, masses are on Sunday at 10am and anticipated masses on Saturday at 6pm. I figure I rarely get up before 10am on Sunday so I attended the anticipated mass at 6pm. And towards the end of the mas, I realized that I had found the church "just in time" - the priest announced (in Swedish first, then in English, then in Spanish - talk about multi-lingual) that today would be Ash Wednesday, and he shared the mass schedule. If it weren't for that announcement, I would have most likely missed the only mass today which was at 6pm.

Aside from going to mass, I also fasted (i.e. had only one full meal but had some fruit and snacks the rest of the day). But I didn't abstain. There were two choices for lunch - one was potatoes with ground meat and the other was like a meat stew. Had to take the "lesser of two evils" (the potatoes). Normally they serve potatoes (either mashed or boiled) and I was thinking, since I was planning to fast, I needed to eat something heavy for lunch (and not the small side salads that are also available in the canteen). But there were no plain potatoes today, so I just had the one with ground meat. I'm guessing I won't be able to successfully abstain while I am here either. We'll just have to see what happens.

[SWEDEN] Stupid Mistake

Mistakes, actually. I've been quite the klutz and scatter-brain since shortly before I left for Sweden up until now. Here's a collection of the many bloopers I've made in the last two months:

1. I bought two packs of Gillette Sensor Excel refills to make sure I had enough to last me a few months at least. Smart plan. Would've been smarter if I bought Mach 3 refills since my razor was a Mach 3. Sheesh! To make matters worse, I only realized my mistake when I was about to shave, which meant I had already been here a few days. So my plan to save a bit of money by stocking up on razor blades fell flat on its face, and my initial expectation that razors would cost a fortune here was confirmed when I had to pay P700 for 4 refills! (I think this is about 2-3 times the price in Manila).

2. I have two pairs of running shoes at home. The older pair I've been using since my Pledge Run in 2005, and when I noticed lots of wear and tear after last year's marathon, I decided to get a new pair. I thought of bringing running shoes with me here, and I decided to bring the new ones. Of course, it totally slipped my mind that this pair (New Balance) is designed like Adidas Climacool - you know, with all those holes to allow air to come in and out of the shoe easily. Definitely not the shoes you want to have when you are running in a country where the temperature barely goes above 20 degrees, even during the summer.

3. I also bought a pair of leather shoes before I left for Europe - brown Rockports for use at work. I tried them on at Rustan's in Shangri-la mall, but the Rockport sale there (20% off on all items) was over. So I head to Rustan's Makati and see that the same pair is at 20% off. They didn't have my size though, they only had a pair that was a half-size larger. I try them on really quickly, and in the mad rush I think that they fit snugly. Of course I realized later on that I should've stuck with the correct size (Rustan's Shang had it), even if it wasn't discounted. Good thing is that at least these shoes have laces so I can just tighten the laces and the shoes won't fall off.

4. I brought only two pairs of jeans with me. So I guess you could say I was really unfortunate that when I sat down to work on my laptop in my hotel room last weekend, I heard a big RIP! My jeans ripped at the butt area! Now I only have one pair of jeans left. And I'll be damned if I buy jeans here. One the plus side, at least I was lucky enough for the jeans to rip while I was in my hotel room with no one to see it.

5. When I was purchasing winter clothes back home, I decided to just get sweaters and jackets and not to pick up any vests. In retrospect, this was a silly decision because it's quite cumbersome to wear sweaters on top of long sleeved shirts. I really should've gotten at least one.

6. I have this cerulean blue sweater that I got from Marks and Spencer which has now officially become my favorite sweater. (Okay, it's not cerulean. But it is some shade of blue hehe.) Anyway, I just got to my hotel room and I was taking it off when I hear another RIP. Damn! What the h*ll??? My favorite sweater now has a small rip in the collar area. Small enough to not be noticed but big enough for me to see it each time I look in the mirror while wearing it. I am so p*ssed off! I mean, I have a couple of other sweaters and I just had to rip my favorite one. I haven't even had my picture taken in it. Haay, oh well. That's life I guess.

Oh, and if you are ever thinking about buying those nose-hair cutting scissors in Body Shop, don't. Body Shop is a great store - no to animal testing!- but these scissors don't work. They look really nice and are stainless, but their "stainless-ness" essentially disables them from cutting anything. Waste of a whole lotta dough if you ask me!

Prince at the Super Bowl

I saw on the news a week or so ago that Prince performed during half time at the Super Bowl. Folks who watched the event said that Prince was the only one who turned up to play, and that his performance was the only redeeming factor of that rained out Super Bowl, with both teams not playing all that well.

So I looked around for the videos of his performance and I'm putting them up here. Oh and if arguable phallic symbols offend you, you may want to skip the part 2...

Part 1:


Part 2:


Awesome job by Prince. This guy is truly an amazing performer!

[SWEDEN] My Volvo

Remember I was talking about this Renault Modus I got as my rental car? Well, after having my car for a few days, it started displaying a "Change Oil Soon" message. Not something you expect from a rental car that you've driven for a couple of days only.

So I called Hertz and explained the problem to them. They said that I could return the car so they could have it looked at and fixed if needed, and in the meantime they would lend me another car. They made it clear though that I would be getting the other car back when they had sorted it out.

When I saw my car, I knew why.

I got a Volvo S40. Now I don't know much about cars, but this car was sooo much nicer! You can read more about it here and I'll make sure I take a picture of it (or of me in it haha) before getting back my Modus. After getting the S40, the first thing I thought was, I wish I could just keep this car!

Funny thing about the S40, in relation to me that is, is that it was an automatic. I have driven an automatic only once, with someone else in the car telling me what to do. So when I get in the car and I try to reverse, I can't get it to move. I go back into Hertz and ask them what I need to do and the lady said I need to step on the brake first. Haha, of course I should've known I needed to do that. After all, you have to step on the brake in a stickshift before you can change gears as well.

I had to text Raffa as well about what, er, "setting" the car should be on when I drive it (I figured it should be at D since there was only P, D, R, and N but I thought I'd ask anyway. I didn't want to ask Hertz anymore because they might get too concerned that they rented a really nice car to someone who can't drive an automatic hehe). But after that, it was smooth sailing. Just like driving a bump car, as they say.

But of course the main difference is that this car you can't bump into anything. =)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone who had a date had a great one. And I hope those of you who didn't still had fun. I certainly did. I got the best Valentine's Day gift today. My mom called me up this morning, and I thought it was because I got a new bill or something, but as it turns out, my nephews wanted to talk to me. They both greeted me a "Happy Valentine's Day" and told me about this "heart cake" that they had at home which they were excited to eat. It was great talking to them all at home. That call truly made my day.

[SWEDEN] My Swedish 'Amazing Race' experience

So I drove from Lund to Malmo today. Downloaded directions from mapquest then headed off. I had successfully navigated through the first 2/3 of the route with moderate ease, but when I got off exit 11/exit 16, it branched off into two roads and I mistakenly took the wrong road! (It's not easy driving while looking at directions on a piece of paper.) It felt like I was in the Amazing Race, sans the cameras and the partner who was supposed to look at the map and navigate.

There was no easy way for me to figure out how to get back on the right road, and there was no place I could stop either. So I kept on driving along the highway. Found an exit and turned into it, this time trying to look for a house. Drove around for a few more minutes before I spotted a house. Headed into the driveway and was greeted by a huge German Shepherd that was barking it's @ss off at me. Knocked on the door, and an old lady opened it, but either she really couldn't speak English or she didn't want to have anything to do with a stranger knocking at her door. So I get into my car and head back on the road.

Drove up the road for a bit and into a bed and breakfast. This time, the people there were able to give me directions on how to get back. Thank God! In the end, I just lost an extra 10 minutes, although the fact that I was scared that I would end up completely lost made it feel a whole lot longer than that. Hopefully, I don't get lost the next time I go there.

The Best of 2006 (part 2)

Here is my second set of top 5's of 2006. You can read about the first set here (or well, you can scroll down to the post right before this one).

Top 5 Old friends-New friends:

This list actually contains friends I've had for a while now, but events that occurred in the last year made me spend more time with them and re-experience them as new friends.

• Tricia - I've known her since Mike introduced us a few years ago. But this year, we had several long and great conversations during a couple of gimmicks and then in Bohol. After that, we hung out quite a bit more and had a lot of other great talks.
• Jenny - She was my classmate way back in 1st year high school (remind me how long ago that was again? =)). But in a very interesting twist of fate, it turns out that she usually hung out with her office friends in Bistro 110, which is where my band played regularly in the last quarter of the year.
• Jane - I met her during Ray and Joy’s wedding a couple of years ago. But ever since we had this text chat about computers in the middle of '06, we ended up getting in touch with each other fairly regular over SMS. And before the year ended, we managed to see each other perform.
• Tisha and Donald - I ran into them in Starbucks one night and we ended up chatting for three hours, way past Starbucks' closing time if I recall correctly. After that, I joined them in the G3 reunion in Greenbelt and hung out with them in Rockwell when Milenyo struck and left most of Manila without any power. They even managed to catch one of my gigs.

Top 5 new friends:

Actually, top 5 new sets of friends. With the massive changes in my life last year, I was bound to meet a lot of new people.

• Ipe - He's the new Still Oz lead guitarist. Bunky had always been playing a rhythm guitarist role even when we had no lead so he was a great addition to the band.
• Jhenn - Sep’s best friend, we got to spend a lot of time talking when she went through a rough patch in her life and now we keep in touch a lot (and the shirt she gave me for Christmas is so cool! =))
• Dessa - One of Tricia’s closest friends, I met her first after watching Pirates in the Carribean with some friends. We’ve hung out a few times since.
• New officemates - Oh God, there are way too many of them for me to list them out, but in the short time I’ve been in my new job, I’ve made a lot of really cool friends. Most of whom are much younger than me which is great coz it makes me feel a lot younger hehehe.
• Cath, Oneal, and Anj - Jenny’s colleagues and other Bistro 110 denizens who I got to share a lot of time (and alcohol) with after our gigs

Top 5 favorite movies:

• The Devil Wears Prada
• Superman Returns
• The Departed
• Cars
• The Queen

Runner-up: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Top 5 favorite athletes of 2006:

• Efren "Bata" Reyes - joined forced with Django Bustamante to capture the inaugural 2006 World Cup of Pool last August 26. Shortly after that, he won the 2006 International Pool Tour World Open 8-Ball Championship over Rodney Morris, winning $500,000, the largest prize money ever awarded to anyone in the history of pocket billiards. 52 years old, and still great.
• Manny Pacquiao - do I really need to explain?
• Ronnie Alcano - second Filipino player (Pagulayan represented Canada at the time he won so that win unfortunately counts as a win for Canada...) to winning the 2006 WPA Men's Nine-ball Championship
• Roger Federer - virtually cemented his place in the record books this year after another unebelievable year
• Amelie Mauresmo - Finally dropped the unflattering title of best female player never to have won a Grand Slam. After winning the Australian Open under questionable circumstances, she overcame strong favorite justine Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final.

And finally...

Top 5 Firsts:

In 2006, it was my first time to...

• Visit Bohol, and this great trip was made better by the fact that I went with great friends (Mike, Anne, JayGat, Tricia) and new friends (Mari, Richard and Berna)
• Stay overnight in Leo’s Leisure Park in Pampanga for the joint despedida of Meann and myself with our C&CS friends
• Get a free mobile phone! Globe gave me a Sony Ericsson K750i under the condition that I would not cut my line for the next two years (which I don’t see happening so that’s not a problem at all). Not too shabby for a “free” phone, ey?
• Go Trick or Treating as an adult! Well okay, it was with my nephews during Halloween. Loads of fun! And candy!
• Watch a live performance of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in the CCP. My friend Jane was performed with the PPO that night, and played the harp first then later the piano.

Here's look to more fantastic experiences in 2007!

The Best of 2006 (part 1)

It’s been a month since we all greeted each other a happy new year. But before we completely forget the year that just passed, it’s time to celebrate the moments and memories that made 2006 another great year!

(Note: I have to break this into two parts because there are too many great things to mention.)

Top 5 Favorite moments:

• Celebrating the Yuletide season with my family in Macau and Hong Kong Disneyland
• My grandparents’ amazing 50th wedding anniversary
• Running and completing my 4th marathon for a cause
• Organizing a highly successful Bukas Sarili Caroling at the Wards event (I still need to write about this...)
• My 2nd-to-the-last gig. It isn't all all the time that my voice is in absolutely great form, but when it is, it feels awesome. I reeled of twelve incredibly difficult songs in the second set, and I managed to hit every high note and hold every long note. Memorable songs of the night – Candlebox’s ‘Far behind’ and Counting Crows’ ‘Round here’. Both are very vocally challenging, and I sang them one after the other. After that, one of the vocalists from ‘Streamline’ (the other resident band), who is a formally trained tenor, asked me if I had formal training myself (I don’t). Apparently, he asked because he thought that the way I sing and hit my high notes is very ‘aral’ (studied). That is seriously one of the best compliments I’ve ever been given for my singing!

Most significant changes:

• Moving to my very own place
• Resigning from the company I worked in for many years and moving to a new company
• Being assigned to a project in Sweden (I moved here in 07, but the decision was made in late 06)
• Changes in the lives of people around me! Everyone had huge things going on in their lives. Newlyweds: Chris and Shar, Dino and Dennese. New baby: Joaquin (Gary and Winnie) and Isabelle Anne (Trixie). New pregnancy: Joh and Raffa, Paulo and Giselle, Gosh and Letlet, Ric and Lany, Dino and Dennese. New boyfriend: Kathy. New graduate: Mike (Stanford MBA). New house: Mitch and Ferg, Pia. New apartment: Hannah. New international assignment: John Q, Nemboy. New job: Iona, Lala, Mike, Anna (well, same company but new role). LOA from work: Joyce.

Top 5 memorable gimmicks:

• “PACMAN” Christmas party – from the charades (where I got all the Pinoy movies – ‘Patikim ng Pinya’, ‘Got to believe in magic’, ‘Lastikman’, and ‘Inang Yaya’ haha jologs talaga! =)) to the food to the home-made boy-band videos to the non-stop laughter, it was great fun with my new officemates
• Birthday party at Brazil! Brazil! – my friends from my first job met up for a joint birthday party with Chari and Bett. Raych, who we haven’t seen in years, was here from Australia just in time to join us.
• Clanberks dinner and coffee with Trixie – we hadn’t seen Trixie in years and the gang stayed out ‘til midnight on a weekday, a rare occurrence for us!
• Singapore dinner - with Ching, Steph, Donnabelle, Kiko, Bong, and Ronald then drinks later on at Ching’s house where Sarah joined us. I hadn’t seen Kiko and Sarah in a while, and it was the first time I saw Bong and Ronald in ages. What made it even greater was that Bong and Ronald joined and stayed even if they didn’t really know the other folks. So it was great that I got to spend time with a couple of different sets of friends on the same night, most of whom I rarely get to see and interact with.
• Christmas party with my office and ex-office gang – almost everyone was in Manila! Pau and Gi, Nenen, Suzanne, and Ian and Cathy were all home. Of course, the rest of us were there – Joh and Raffa, Pia, Che, Meann, Hannah, Tim, Peegee and Randee. To make thins a lot more fun, Raffa came up with a new rule for our annual exchange gift that was a lot of fun!

And while we're in the topic of reunions...

Top 5 Reunions:

(and of course I'm not counting those already mentioned above)

• Dino – he got married early in the year and he and his now-wife Dennese came home to Manila from Canada to get wed here. I attended the wedding and met up with them and their friends later that week in East 19.
• My cousins Joy and Gay! (The Wea twins, for anyone who remembers them...) They came home from Canada as well to celebrate Christmas here and it’s been years since I saw them. Not enough time to chat really but we managed to share quick updates on our lives and exchange emails.
• Kerwin – haven’t seen this guy in 18 years!!! I lost touch with most of my grade school friends after graduation, but because of friendster I found a few of them. Kerwin and I managed to catch up during a short visit he took to Manila (he now lives in Zamboanga)
• Duncan and Amy – I got to see them during Christmas. It is always great fun spending time with two of my best friends (and their ‘baby’ Lucas)
• Ray and Joy – the highlight of my trip to the US in Nov-Dec was the fact that I got to spend a day with them and just catch up, have great conversation, watch a movie, and shop! =)

Special mention: I had a fantastic conversation with Weng on the phone for more than an hour when I was in California. Since we didn’t actually see each other, I guess it’s not really an official reunion but it does merit being mentioned. =)

More memorable moments to follow, so stay tuned!

[SWEDEN] Back in the driver's seat

I finally got my rental car today, a black Renault Modus. Small car, but that's a good thing because it means it is easier to park.

So I drove in Sweden for the first time. It snowed for about 10 minutes at around 430pm and I got worried it would continue to snow so I decided to leave the office early and just work on some stuff at the hotel.

One thing though, I need to sit down one day and figure out how to use all the controls like for the heater and anti-fog stuff. I didn't figure out how to get the windshield wipers to work until I got to the hotel haha. The instruction manuals are all in Swedish too. Ah well, at least I won't need help figuring out how the CD player works.

The downside? Parking costs an arm and a leg! P700 overnight parking. Damn! And I thought I was gonna get free parking at the hotel. Apparently not. I hope I can get my apartment sorted out soon. At least parking comes free with my apartment.

Moulin HUGE

Yes, that's not a typo. Check it out!



Pretty cool, ey? =)

[SWEDEN] Walking around the city

It's a pity that I didn't have my camera with me when I left the hotel earlier today for lunch. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was blue. Would've been a perfect day to take pictures.

I grabbed a Big King Meal in Burger King before walking around the city to try and orient myself on how the streets are mapped out. I'm supposed to pick-up my rental car on Monday and I wanted to see where the Hertz office was so I wouldn't have to spend time looking for it on Monday morning. I walked a bit more, this time from the Hertz office, looking for the point in the road that I knew led to the office and I managed to find it. So hopefully Monday morning driving will be simple enough.

Because it was such a clear day and the weather quite friendly, I decided to keep walking and see other parts of the city I haven't seen. I found myself in the park that was a mere stone's throw away from my hotel. I slowed my pace and took in all the peace and serenity I could in the midst of the cool air and the tall trees. I saw kids frolicking in the playground, old couples sitting quietly on benches while basking in the bright sunshine that is so rare in winter, families at the edge of a pond feeding all types of waterfowl with bits of bread, and people walking their dogs or going for a run on the dirt path that went all around the park.

All in all, a nice calm and almost meditative afternoon. Now I know where to go for a run. Or to feed some ducks. =)

Legend

Who would've thought a couple of weeks ago that Serena Williams, after dropping to #81 in the world due to an injury-filled 2006 (during which she played about 4 tournaments) and coming into this year's first tennis Major relatively unfit and significantly lacking in matchplay, would mop the floor with the top seed (and newly crowned #1) Maria Sharapova on her way to the Australian Open Ladies Singles title?

After she nearly lost against Nadia Petrova, was in the ropes against Shahar Peer, and lost concentration when closing out the match against Nicole Vaidisova, Serena looked relatively shaky and vulnerable. The fact that she would be playing against a relatively in-form Sharapova, who trounced Kim Clijsters in the semis, made me think that the top seed would be able to expose her rustiness and take home the crown.

Too bad for her that Serena brought it during the final, making Maria look like a befuddled qualifier who didn't know what hit her. With that immaculate performance, she took home another Grand Slam title - her 8th, with her first trophy coming in the 1999 US Open. The reality is that when Serena is in this kind of form, only a few players at their phenomenal best can stay with her.

So what does that say about Roger Federer, who took his 10th Grand Slam title by winning the Australian Open so ridiculously easily that it almost seemed like he was giving a free tennis clinic to club players? Roddick, who beat Federer in an exhibition shortly before the Australian Open, had full confidence heading into their match. He must've been crushed when Roger allowed him only 6 games over the three sets they played. Fernando Gonzales was in the form of his life and had just demolished #2 Rafael Nadal in their semi. In their final, Federer taunted Gonzales with a couple of chances to steal a set, but then immediately snuffed them out.

In fact, none of his seven opponents took a set off him. Roger was in his menacing best and should've been arrested for beating up all his opponents to a pulp. 10 slams in 5 years. 4 short of Sampras' record. And with Nadal in poor form and no true contenders in site, this just may very well be the year that we have another true calendar Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, enjoy this interesting video where Serena loses to Conan O'Brien in tennis. (Thanks for the link, Mark! =))

Oops, looks like the video's been taken down!

[SWEDEN] I think I need to exercise

My trousers are telling me that, much to my dismay, my waist is getting larger. Damn!

It must be the fact that I now have a very sedentary lifestyle. I also think my body is trying to store as much fat as it can to protect me from the cold. Kinda sucks really. Especially since I haven't really been eating a lot. In fact, I've been eating a lot healthier since I got here. For one thing, I always have breakfast. Breakfast comes free with the hotel stay so it's been only a couple of times since I got here that I've missed what is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. Second, I am drinking a lot less softdrinks. One small glass during lunch another glass during dinner. Third, I'm eating smaller portions now.

I'm also eating a lot more fruits and vegetables. I always have a side salad during lunch. Mainly because everyone always has one and I don't want to be the only one who doesn't. And instead of all those donuts or pastries that I would normally have for merienda, to save on money, I always have a banana or orange or green apple (or some combination of those) because there always is a community basket of fruit in the pantry every day, and it saves me money to take some fruit instead of getting chocolates from the vending machine.

The only thing I'm doing right now that is more unhealthy is drinking a lot of coffee. About 6 small cups a day - one during breakfast, one or two before lunch, two in the afternoon, and one more when I'm back in my hotel room after dinner. Not the healthiest habit, I know. And maybe all the sugar in the coffee is more than making up for all the calories I save with all the healthy habits I've picked up. But in my defense, the cups of coffee I have aren't that big. I'd say about two of them match just one tall Starbucks Cafe Mocha. So when I think about it, I am probably having just as much coffee now as I used to.

Guess I really need to find myself a running path here and exercise a couple of times a week at least. No matter how bloody cold it is. =)

Family vacation in Hong Kong Disneyland

So there we were, on a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong for the 2nd part of our Christmas holiday which would be spent in Disneyland.

I haven’t been to any other Disney theme park, but I’ve heard that HK Disneyland is comparatively smaller. I also don’t know if it’s a good place to visit if you are an adult and don’t have any children with you because I grew up on Disney, which meant I was probably as much a target market of this place as my nephews were. Whatever the case, my family and I had an absolute blast.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how large the park is. There really is a truckload of stuff to do and if you want to go through everything, you have to spend at least a couple of days here. You also don’t really have to worry about the lines. We were there during what is supposed to be peak season, and for the most part, we would only have to queue for about 20-25 minutes on average. That's better than any other amusement park I’ve been to.

They also have what they call a FASTPASS for what I am guessing are their four most popular rides and activities – The many adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, Space Mountain, and the Festival of the Lion King. We didn't get on Space Mountain (not a good idea to put my nephews on a scary rollercoaster. Then again, not a good idea to put ME on a scary rollercoaster either. =)) but the only time we used the FASTPASS was for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was a perfect ride for kids and ended up being one of Ciera’s favorites (it was very, very well made – the colors inside the ride were so bright and vivid and special effects were so amazing that even the adults got excited). Our timing was perfect for the Festival of the Lion King and Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters – we got into both without needing a FASTPASS.

On our way to Tarzan’s Treehouse, an usher invited us to come in to the Lion King show without having to wait in line because there were still available seats and the next show was about to start. And what an awesome show it was! The production value – from the lights to the props to the dancing and performances – was simply outstanding. When you think about the brilliance of the Broadway staging of The Lion King, it isn’t really a surprise anymore that Disney can indeed put together a first-rate show like this, even on a daily basis.

We had just gotten off the Orbitron when my mom said she would just head into a shop in the Tomorrowland area to get a couple of souvenirs. On our way there, we saw that miraculously, there was no queue in the Astro Blasters ride. So we all decided to try it out. And it was good that we did because (1) it turned out to be the kids' favorite and (2) it turns out CJ is an amazing marksman! His scores? Round 1 - 200,000+, round 2 - 97,000+, and round 3 - 47,000+ at the halfway point (my mom, who joined us in round 3, didn’t get to see CJ’s final score in round 3). In reference, my scores: round 1 - 400,000+, round 2 - 27,000+, round 3 - 5,000+. I got a lucky 400,000 because during our first round, the ride had to stop temporarily (instead of moving forward continuously) so during the delay, I kept on shooting at the targets and racking up points. My scores from rounds 2 and 3 showed that I was clearly no shooting ace. But CJ is.

Other highlights:

#1. Photo ops with Disney characters. We spent a great deal of time having our pictures taken with the different Disney characters, most of whom we caught in the Fantasy Gardens – Mickey, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), Merlin (from The Sword in the Stone), and CJ’s favorite character, Mushu from Mulan.

We also had a character buffet breakfast in the Plaza Inn where Minnie Mouse and Mulan were going around to have their pictures taken with patrons. We caught Timon in Adventureland and Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland. Also, when we got into Disneyland on our 2nd day, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald were all at the entrance for photo ops. We queued only for Donald because he was Ciera’s favorite and Ciera wanted to have a pic taken with him. This turned out to be a great idea because that was the only place for a photo op with Donald, who wasn’t in the Fantasy Gardens unlike everyone else.

#2. Another thing you shouldn’t miss the 3-D show, Disney’s Philharmagic. It takes about a minute for the first 3-D effect to come up, but when it does, the kids won’t stop jumping and trying to grab all the imaginary stuff that seems to be just right in front of you.

#3. Water fun! Ciera and CJ were both relatively tired when we arrived in Disneyland, what with all the traveling and long rides by car, plane, taxi, and ferry. When we got to Disneyland, they were not in a very good mood. That is, up until we passed by , where the kids got to enjoy playing with water and getting wet. That good them into such a great mood that we managed to last up until…

#4. Disney in the Stars! What better way to end a fun-filled day than with a magnificent fireworks presentation? On the first night, we stayed in the park til 9pm to catch this spectacular fireworks display which was accompanied by great Disney music and the ever-changing lights and “colors” of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. And because we got a Park View room in Disney’s Hollywood Hotel where you can actually play the music that goes along with the fireworks display in one of the TV channels in the room, we got to experience Disney in the Stars in our 2nd night from the comfort of our hotel room.

It definitely was a great experience, and summed up a fantastic holiday I had with my family. I can’t wait til I get back to Manila and have more great experiences with them!

And of course, you can see a whole lot more pics from our Hong Kong Disneyland adventures by clicking here.

[SWEDEN] Trying to normalize

I've been in Europe now for about 3 weeks, but I still don't feel settled in. I am still living out of my suitcase in a hotel room in Lund, and even if it is a nice hotel room in a nice part of the city, I probably won't feel any semblance of normalcy until I've moved into my "permanent" apartment here and unpack fully.

As such, I haven't really done anything yet. For the most part it's been work, eat, watch TV and go online. I decided I needed to do something different this weekend. Something that would make me feel like I actually live here.

So earlier tonight I watched 'Casino Royale' in a cinema. The movie ticket cost a fortune, at least to me - 100 kronor or about P700. Geez! For that amount I could've watched seven films in SM, or 4 in Powerplant. I had to think about it for a while, whether or not I wanted to spend that much money on a movie. But in the end I decided it would be worth it for me to be some place I haven't be to since I got here and yet do something familiar. And when I stepped out the movie house, I did feel it was worth it. The movie was pretty good too.

Family trip to Macau (Dec. 26, 2006)

Christmas 2006 was made a whole lot more special and memorable by the fact that I went to Macau and Hong Kong Disneyland with my mom, my older brother Chummy, and my two nephews Ciera and CJ. It was great that I got to have this fantastic experience before I end up being thousands of miles away from my family and friends for several months.

My mom and I had been thinking about going to HK Disneyland for a while, but we more or less decided in October or November that we would push through with it end-December. My mom then found out from a colleague that it would be much cheaper if we fly to Macau via Tiger Airways then take a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong. The airfare to Macau combined with the ferry ride probably saved us P8,000 per person, and with 5 of us, that sums up to about P40,000 savings. It’s actually a special administrative region of China, and just like Hong Kong, Filipinos don’t need a visa to go there.

If we weren’t with my nephews, we probably would’ve spent more time in Macau. It used to be a Portuguese colony so it provides a unique combination of Eastern culture and Western civilization. The Historic Centre of Macau has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it includes the Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral (possibly Macau’s most popular tourist spot) and the Fortaleza do Monte, or Mount Fortress. It would’ve been great too if we got to visit the Macau Tower and check out the awesome views from the observation deck. However, these are things that are best saved for a time when my nephews, who could care less about historical sites and relics at their present age (5 and 7), aren’t with us.

So we decided that we would spend only one night in Macau, and just visit the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf while we were there. Macau Fisherman’s Wharf has an amusement park that is open until 10pm (or, we were told, possibly even later than that if there are still a lot of people who wanted to enjoy the rides). Normally that would be past my nephews’ bed-time but we were on holiday and they were excused from having to sleep early.

We get into our hotel, the Camino Real, at around 630pm and we settle down a bit before taking a 5-10 minute walk to Fisherman’s Wharf. It was dinner time so we decide to head to the Legend Wharf where there were a lot of really nice restaurants. We decided to eat in an Italian restaurant for pizza. The pizza was quite good (it was actually like your basic focacia but larger and with a lot more toppings) and the service was really good. After which we take some pictures in the Legend Wharf on our way to amusement park area.

The amusement park has two main areas – Aladdin’s Fort and Vulcania. Aladdin’s Fort has four main rides, each costing 20 MOP (or Macau Pataca, 1 MOP = P6). They had discounted rates if you buy a pass for three rides, and a further discount if you buy two tickets instead of one. We decided that I wouldn’t get on the rides so that I could take pictures of them instead. They first get on the Magic Carpet Ride…

…then head to the Flying Camels….

…before rounding things up on Aladdin’s Express.

Our final stop for the night was Vulcania. We were actually lucky to see a ‘volcanic eruption’ – I don’t know how frequently it happens, but during the entire time we were there, we saw the volcano spew fire only once. Even from the ground, you could feel the intensity of the heat, and it makes for a dazzling show at night, especially when you aren’t expecting it.

There are two rides in Vulcania: Dragon Quest, which was like a roller coaster that goes through caves under the volcano, and the River of Fire, which was a boat ride through an underground river. We opt to take just the River of fire. I have to say, it was a very good ride. Very well constructed and interesting enough even for an adult. It’s not really wild or crazy or anything, but it does go through a man-made river that twists and turns through a man-made cave, and the darkness and the water add another dimension of fun to the experience.

Before heading back to the hotel, we all decide to take a trek up the volcano and take a few more pictures.

You can’t really go to the top, but you get high enough to have a pretty good view of the city and all its brilliant night lights.

It was already past ten, the kids were getting antsy, and we had to go to Hong Kong the next day so it was clearly time to head back to the hotel. I told my mom that we should visit Macau again, without my nephews, so that we can see the rest of this fascinating city

Oh and click here if you want to check out more photos of our trip in my online album. Yes, I am actually in this trip and yes, you will see a couple of pics with me in it. =)

[SWEDEN] Winter has arrived, and with a vengeance!

So much for the supposed warm winter!

Yesterday, I asked the hotel receptionist to call a cab for me, and she mentioned to me that it was snowing a bit and that, based on the weather report, it would be a lot colder this week than it has been in Lund so far. I step out of the hotel to get into the cab and indeed it is snowing lightly. Once I got to the office, it started to snow a whole lot more. It stopped by mid-afternoon, but by that time, the city had turned into a winter wonderland.

I have seen snow before, a couple of times in fact, and while it is thrilling for folks who come from tropical countries to see snow (it still is), the knowledge that it can actually get a bit dangerous was in my mind a lot more and I was ended up being a bit more cautious than excited.

On my way home, I actually had to hitch a ride home with one of my colleagues here because taxis were fully booked last night and it would take half an hour for a taxi to become available. On our way to his car, I got to feel just how cold it was. Once again, I didn't have my gloves, scarf, and hat with me, but I never bring those to the office because I normally take a taxi and it drives up all the way to the door to either drop me off or pick me up, and so I would normally have about 5 seconds of exposure to the weather. But since I was riding with my teammate, we had to walk all the way to his car in the parking lot. And of course, his car was now covered with snow so he spent a couple of minutes scraping the ice off of the windows and mirrors.

When we get into his car, he checks the temperature reading and apparently, it's -3 degrees. Damn! So that's why I felt so cold! -3 with the wind blowing and no hat, scarf, and gloves again. This is starting to become a pattern! And here I thought I had a decent learning curve and never made the same mistake twice... =)

So this morning, I made sure I had at least my gloves and hat with me (I just stuffed them into the pockets of my jacket). Not that I needed them today, though. It was still cold (-13 at around 8am I was told) and it snowed for a short period of time in the mid afternoon, but as is normally the case, I got door-to-door cab service. Thank God!

One other thing about this kind of weather: it becomes difficult to walk on the ice-covered sidewalk. I nearly slipped on several occasions last night on my way to dinner and back. I was chatting about it to my friend Chris and he said I need a good pair of boots. I should've thought of that before I left Manila. I mean, I can imagine how much boots cost here. Although actually, I DID think about it before I left Manila, but I was running out of money and approaching my credit card limit so I decided against buying them. Let's just hope it doesn't snow too much while I am here.

[SWEDEN] My new favorite hang-out

I decided to take some pics of Espresso House. It’s my official hangout outside the hotel, as I’ve been there quite a few times already. They do have great coffee and the ambience is cozy.

There’s quite a selection of pastries as well. The first one I tried wasn’t very good. But since then I’ve tried two other items on the menu. The chocolate brownie was good, but my vote goes to this small, unassuming Mocca Cup.

I tried it out the first time because I wanted something sweet to go with the coffee, but nothing too large or heavy. I figured it would just be like any ordinary cupcake. But no! After you take the first bite, you realize that inside it are layers of different flavors! I’m no experienced cook or baker so I can’t tell you what’s in it, but all I know is that this Mocca Cup is amazing!

If only I could share the taste with you through the internet. (I wonder when technology will be such that you can capture the taste of something and upload it online and share it with other people somehow…)

This is so funny!

My friend Brian sent me this link a long time ago, after the 2006 French Open. Even if you aren't a tennis fan and don't know any of the players in the video, I think you may still find it funny. It is just two minutes long anyway. =)



My favorite part: at # 10 - the guy in the back opening the door as Celine Dion sings 'once more, you opened the door...' Actually, the two guys dancing at the back made this a lot funnier. I don't know who came up with this video (maybe the French Open website?) but I do wish there are more videos like this that come up with top tennis players.

I left my heart in San Francisco

Okay, actually, no, I didn’t. =) I did, however, have a great time there recently.

(Yeah, another one of my very late posts. But hey, at least I'm starting to catch up! =) )

I had to go there to attend a particular training course that is not being given very often, and which isn’t being given anywhere near the Philippines (it was either I take the course in San Francisco or I take the next one in the UK in March. Clearly I couldn’t wait that long).

The training course was just three days – from Nov. 29 (Wed) to Dec. 1 (Fri). I arrived there on Tuesday, a day before the training, at around 8am. I got to my hotel at around 9am and it is located in Belmont, right next to the Oracle HQ (it’s a really nice HQ actually) and a mile away from the training center where I would be taking my course. Check-in time is supposed to be 2pm, but since my room was already free the receptionist (who happened to be a Filipino named Mike) told me I could check-in already and in fact I could still have the complimentary breakfast. Cool right?

Well the thing was, the hotel I was in wasn’t a really good one. It was more like a serviced apartment – there was no mini bar and no room service. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Except for the fact that my hotel was located in the middle of nowhere. I mean, there were no convenience stores or groceries anywhere within walking distance, and there weren’t any restaurants either!

What it did have was a selection of delivery numbers and menus. I guess this hotel really caters to people who are staying in that area for a fairly long time and who most likely have a rental car with that would allow them to drive to restaurants or C-stores. As I had no car, I really had no choice but to keep ordering food in! I kinda wished I had stayed in one of the company-preferred hotels in the Bay area. One of them was actually located right in front of Fisherman’s wharf and it would’ve been a fantastic place for me to be in. Unfortunately, it was several miles away from the training center and I would use up way too much of company money on taxi rides so I decided to look for a hotel in Belmont instead. And what a decision that turned out to be! I ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere! Haha! Okay, it wasn’t all that bad. The room was pretty spacious and I got a lot of TV channels, and the breakfast was decent.

I overestimated how cold it would be too. I checked the weather report and it said San Francisco would be 9 degrees Celsius. I couldn’t recall how 9 degrees felt like so I thought it would be really really cold and as such brought two sweaters and two thick jackets with me. Naturally, when I got there, I realized that I didn’t need all that (check out my pic below, I was just wearing a shirt). I could’ve saved a lot of space in my luggage if I didn’t bring all those ‘winter clothes’ with me.

Okay now I started off saying I had a fun time in San Francisco and all I’ve done so far is rant hahaha. So let me tell you the fun stuff:

HIGHLIGHTS

#1: I got to watch One Tree Hill on the new CW! [SPOILER ALERT!!!] And it was a really cool episode as well, probably my favorite episode ever. Mainly because after four seasons, the Ravens finally win the State Championships! Of course, there’s a lot more going on in the episode to make it quite interesting, but you weren’t really sure how the game would go and if they ended up losing like they did in the season 1 play-offs, it would have been quite a disappointing finish.

#2: I spoke to Weng on the phone for more than an hour! Earlier that week, I sent her a quick email saying I was in SFO and asking if she might by any chance be traveling to SFO (in which case we could meet up). I left her my hotel details and my room number and on Thursday night she calls me. There was quite a bit of catching up to do and it was great getting to talk to her again.

#3: I got a new digital camera for myself and for my mom. Why did I need to buy two cameras? Well, both batteries of my old Sony digicam were completely dead – they don’t charge anymore – and being an obsolete model, I couldn’t find the batteries anywhere. Also, the Canon that I got my mom in early 2005 stopped working – the service center said there was damage in the optical mechanism and that fixing it would cost - P15,000! Can you believe that? Anyway, since my mom and I won’t be able to share a camera this year, I figured I’d get one for each of us. I ended up getting the Sony W100, with a 2Gb memory stick for myself and 1 Gb one for my mom (I’m sure to take a truckload more pics than my mom and she won’t ever come near 1 Gb of pics).

#4: I had lunch with Ron. I met him a couple of years ago when I paid Mike a visit in Stanford. Recently, we started working on some project together (along with Mike and a few other people). He works in Oracle which as I mentioned is right next to my training center so I thought it would be cool to have lunch with him while I was there (oh and FYI, he actually thought I was 26 years old haha that is the youngest age anyone has ever guessed me to be it’s so cool. =))

#5: I met up with Ray and Joy. They were living there because Ray was studying at Stanford. On the weekend, they drove from Stanford to Belmont to pick me up at my hotel. We drove to the city where I had to get something from the Academy of Art University – my friend Tricia is taking a virtual course there and won a discount card from Borders so she asked me to pick up her card for her. Ray and Joy then took me to the Cliffhouse, a restaurant located right on a cliff. The ambience is great, mainly because you get a fantastic view of the bay while dining.

The food here though isn’t really very good – or at least the food we ordered. In fact, Joy was so disappointed with her Grilled marinated Breast of Chicken Sandwich that Ray was thinking of complaining about the food. We of course decided against it. We headed out the resto after lunch and took a few pictures with the bay in the background. (Funny moment: when we stepped out, I made a comment about the trees in that area being awesome. I was looking at the trees when I heard a woman’s voice in Joy’s general direction ask out loud “do you wanna head there?” and I blurt out “Not really.” Joy and Ray look at me with this weird trying-to-force-themselves-not-to-smile look which made me realize that it wasn’t them who asked if I wanted to go there hahaha I couldn’t stop laughing after that.)

 

We then went to the Legion of Honor museum but just to take pictures (it’s a really good museum and I need to make sure to go inside and spend time in it the next time I am in San Francisco).

After that, we get stuck in the most horrendous traffic jam I’ve ever experienced on our way to the Great Mall in Milipitas. Joy and Ray were planning to go to Beijing in December, and as it gets really cold there (a lot more than SFO), they needed to buy heavier-duty winter clothes. We split up while at the Great Mall and I end up buying myself a red-orange fleece jacket from Nautica (it was on sale and the price was a steal).

Factor in to all this the really good training course that I took then clearly the pluses outweigh the minuses by a whole lot. =)

[SWEDEN] Bike City

(I've decided to change the way I blog since some people may only be interested in reading about my experiences over here in Sweden and not all the other stuff. So if you wanna know what's going on with me here, look up the messages that begin with [SWEDEN]. Cheers!)

It's common in university cities, at least in Western cultures, to have lots of people riding bicycles, and Lund is no exception. Meandering through the city center's web of intricately woven streets, you will be hard-pressed not to spot someone on a bike. It is, after all, a healthier mode of transportation, and a lot more environmentally-friendly than a car. I've also been told that it's not that easy to park inside the centrum*, and when you add that to the fact that a bike costs a lot less than a car and is a lot easier to maintain, then it shouldn't surprise you that the bike is the transportation mode of choice here. I was toying with the idea of getting one myself until I saw someone biking in the rain last night. Then I thought, I'm not particularly sure I'm ready to increase the wind-chill factor I am already exposed to in this very windy city, and with it raining half the time, maybe a bike isn't the best thing for me to use here at the moment.

So I guess I'm sticking to walking, which is always a good way to get a better feel of whatever place you visit and soak in the culture. You definitely know that you are in Europe as you amble along Lund's cobble-stone roads that are walled in by charming buildings and medieval architecture. I always wish the Philippines was more like Europe in the sense that Europe has managed to strike an impressive balance between preserving and promoting its history and being on the forefront of modernization and technological advancement.

I've mentioned before that on average, things are cheaper in Lund than in other major European cities. For the most part, it's true. The one area where this statement just doesn't hold is with taxi fare. I take a taxi from my hotel to the office and back everyday because the train doesn't stop anywhere near the office, and that 5-10 minute trip costs more than 100 kronor** (which is about P700)! Can you believe that? Taxi fare in Brussels for a trip two to three times that distance would cost just a bit more than that amount. And let's not even compare that to the Philippines.

So far, I'm still on business expense so cab rides are still within budget. But when I finally move to my own place (hopefully in the next 2 weeks), they just won't be affordable anymore. Maybe then, I'll think about braving the weather and getting my own bike.

* another word for city center
* plural of krona

6 Golden Globes

That's the number of trophies that Meryl Streep has won in the Golden Globe awards, tying Jack Nicholson for most awards that an actor has won (although Streep won her six in different acting categories). Of course, it helps that in the Golden Globes, you have a best actress in drama and another best actress in a comedy or musical. She just won her sixth trophy during Monday night's Golden Globe awards for her amazing performance in 'The Devil wears Prada'. Prior to that, she won Best Actress in a Drama for 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' and 'Sophie's Choice', Best Supporting Actress for 'Kramer vs. Kramer' and 'Adaptation', and Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture made for Television for 'Angels in America'. All in all, Meryl has been nominated a whopping 21 times. Only Jack Lemmon has gotten more with 22). Congratulations, Meryl!

Shout-outs also go out to:

• Helen Mirren, for winning two acting awards, one for Best Actress Drama for 'The Queen', and one for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television for 'Elizabeth I' (and in fact she was competing with herself in this category as she was also nominated for her performance in 'Prime Suspect: The final Act')
• Forrest Whitaker, who won best actor for 'The Last King of Scotland' (anyone notice a royalty theme going on here?), beating out Leonardo DiCaprio "twice". Leo, like Helen, was competing against himself as well in the Best Actor, Drama category so I kinda felt bad that he didn't win - it actually is quite unfair because getting nominated twice in the same category means that people who want to vote for him will end up having to pick one of the other (I guess for Helen, one of her performances was much better than the other so all her voters ended up voting for her from the same movie)
• Jennifer Hudson for living up to all the buzz and taking the best supporting actress in a musical or comedy. She had huge shoes to fill (and I still think no one can play Effie White like Jennifer Holliday) but Hudson did manage to pull it off with flying colors.

Speaking of Dreamgirls, here's a HILARIOUS take by Jake Gyllenhaal on the Dreamgirls classic song 'And I'm telling you'

Now tell me that didn't crack you up? =)

[SWEDEN] The effects of Global Warming?

Coming to Europe in early January, I had a suitcase full of jackets, sweaters, scarves, hats, and gloves coz it was going to be the middle of winter and I was fully expecting temperatures of about 0 degrees or less. I was in Brussels during the winter of 2002-2003, it was a warm day there when the temperature hit 5 degrees, and Lund is closer to the North Pole than Brussels.

So imagine my surprise when I got here and realized that the temperatures were a 'moderate' 5-10 degrees. People at work have said that they've started to see spring flowers starting bloom. Looks like even the plant-life is confused!

Of course, the wind and occasional rain make things a bit more interesting (I was told that because Lund is quite close to the sea the wind here tends to be pretty strong at times). And considering my propensity for getting into "fun" circumstances, it shouldn't be news to anyone that I've gotten a first-hand account of how much colder it gets when you combine winter with wind and rain. (Not that I haven't experienced it before but I should've used my head a bit more.)

My "boss" Martin told me that on Friday nights, the Lund city center becomes a lot more lively as the the students get into a weekend-party mode deep into the night. As such, I thought that, while I wasn't into a social party-going mode especially since I don't really know anyone here yet, it would be nice to see how kids here kick back and unwind. So I head out the hotel with no hat, no gloves, no scarf. After all, I had walked around on the previous nights looking for places to eat and I never found it cold enough to warrant the hassle of putting on anything but a jacket and sweater. Once I step out the door, I see that it is raining, so I got back in to get an umbrella and nothing else. Yeah yeah I know, pretty stupid really.

So here I am, trying to soak in the atmosphere and culture of my 'hometown' for the next several months, when the rain starts getting heavier and wind starts blowing harder. So much harder in fact that on several occasions, I had to hang on to my umbrella with two hands to make sure I didn't lose it. I only noticed that I had to get some shelter when I realized my hands were starting to hurt. Despite that, I end up walking around for several more minutes because I realized I had ventured into an area of the city center where there weren't many restos (add to this the fact that I was craving pasta; maybe the weather was making me seek carbs and comfort food).

I finally managed to find a pasta place and when I got in, my face was quite wind-burned already (can you say 'rosy cheeks'? :-) ) and my fingertips felt like something heavy fell on them. There was a tiny candle at my table and I thought of using it to warm my hands. But then the flame was a bit too short and the only way for me to get any warmth from it was to put my hands really close to the flame. Which I thought was a stupid idea considering my hands were a bit numb and by placing them close to the flame I risked burning them without even realizing it. So I did the next best thing which was to just rub them together while waiting for my food to arrive.

After that experience, I always had with me my scarf, gloves, and hat, no matter how warm or cold it is. Better to look like an overdressed person not used to cold weather than risk getting sick. Of course I should've remembered to protect my feet as well when I walked around last Sunday in my running shoes that were designed to let air in (kinda like Adidas Climacool). Not really the best footwear to have on during the winter.

Ah well, you live, you learn.

Gearing up for the Australian Open

The Australian Open just started yesterday. It’s being shown on Eurosport but at 1am and there’s no way I’m staying up for that. At least not during a weekday.

Anyway, check out this video of the AO final between Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1994. Steffi completely dominated this match from start to finish, thumping ASV, 6-0 6-2, in something like 47 minutes. 47 minutes!!!



This was Steffi’s 4th and last Australian Open title. In 1995, she won the 4th of her 6 French open titles and the 4th of her 5 US Open titles. So this 94 AO was a great win for her, as it gave her the distinction of being the only player to have won all Grand Slam events at least 4 times (she has seven Wimbledon titles). She truly is the most versatile women’s player of all time, dominating on every surface. And when you look at all five players who won the calendar Grand Slam, Steffi is the only one to have won it when all four slams were played on different surfaces (Rebound Ace, red clay, grass, and Deco Turf). When Don Budge (38), Maureen Connolly (53), Rod Laver (62 and 69), and Margaret Court (70) won their Grand Slams, 3 of those 4 events were played on grass. That puts perspective on just how amazing Graf’s ability is on any and all surfaces.

Good luck to this year's players! I’m hoping that Clijsters and Roddick can both win the title. Strange. I always rooted for Kim but I never really cared much for Roddick. But I guess after all his struggles in form, it would be nice to see Andy regain some of his old confidence back and ace his way to a 2nd Slam title. He did beat Roger in an exhibition last week which is a good sign, but then in the first round yesterday he struggled past a very in-form wildcard by the name of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Anyway, Roddick winning is a bit of a long shot, but I won't really be displeased if Roger Federer wins his 10th Grand slam title in two weeks.

[SWEDEN] I'm in Lund!

So how is it being in Lund?

From a geographical standpoint, most people think Stockholm when they hear about Sweden. And if not Stockholm, then maybe Gothenburg. In fact, I myself didn’t know about Lund until I was told I would be going here. And with me being here just a few days so far, I don’t really know that much more about it than the average person. In any case, let me take a crack at trying to tell you what Lund is like.

Lund is a city in the Southern part of Sweden. It’s more than 200 km away from Gothenburg and more than 600 km away from Stockholm. So for my friends who have said “hey, I know this person in Stockholm” to me before, I’ll let you know when I am ready to take that 600+ km trip to Stockholm (which I surely plan to do at some point over the next few months). Lund is actually closer to Copenhagen in Denmark. That’s why I flew to Copenhagen on my way to Lund. It’s also right next to Malmo, Sweden’s 3rd largest city.

One nice thing about this city is that you will find Lund University here. This means that there are a lot of relatively inexpensive places to eat here. Last night, I had a decent pizza meal with softdrinks for 55 KR (Kroner, the currency in Sweden), which translates to about P385 or under $8 (or about €6). I say relatively inexpensive because when I was in Brussels, a meal like that would probably have cost me €10. The variety of food is pretty good as well. So far, aside from the pizza, I’ve had a chicken pesto wrap and lasagna (both of which were actually about twice as expensive as the pizza). I’ve also eaten in Burger King (twice) and Subway. What’s missing here is Starbucks (so far I haven’t seen any) but there’s seems to be a local version of it – Espresso House. I had coffee and cake there yesterday (not sure exactly what cake it was, I just pointed at it and said I wanted to order it hehehe). The cake was okay, but the coffee was excellent. The ambience is just a notch or so short of being artsy fartsy which makes it quite interesting and cozy.

The other thing about being a university town is that there are a lot of young people around, so the feel of the city is vibrant and young and energetic. That kind of atmosphere certainly does help when you are alone in a cold country where you get sunlight between 830am and 430pm only. (For my friends who thought that I will be in that part of Sweden where you don’t get daylight at all, well, that’s way up in the North so I don’t have to deal with that, thankfully.)

Another nice thing about being in Sweden is that English is spoken by practically everyone here. So far I haven’t had any difficulty going around. In fact, yesterday, I got a couple of people to help me figure out how to go to the Malmo central station (I had to go there to visit the office – I’m a consultant here in Lund so I’m located in a customer site). Anyway, I haven’t had the chance to learn any Swedish words yet, but I will try to pick up at least 'Thank you', 'Excuse me', and some other common phrases ust so that I get to feel more like I live here. I also get a lot of English shows and movies on TV (am still in a hotel so I don't know what my set up will be once I move to my own 'permanent' housing here) which is great for me since anyone who knows me knows how much I love my TV. :-)

There are a few things to see here as well, but since I haven’t seen them yet, I’ll hold off on blogging about them until I do (and I’ll post some pictures as well). In the meantime, let me log off and head off to Espresso house again for my late afternoon coffee and snack. (I should check if they have wireless internet there too!) And click here for a link to the wikipedia entry of Lund in case you wanna read more about it. (There's a map here as well for you to sort of see where I am).

Birthday Celebration part 5 and a bit of bowling

This is essentially the last installment of my birthday celebration series. =) I celebrated with my friends from my first job – Bett, Chari, Anna, Jette, Raych, and Ric (unfortunately Lany had to rest as she was pregnant with her and Ric’s 2nd child! Congrats!). The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as one of our gang, Raych, was in the Philippines for a few weeks (during which time she also managed to watch my band) and she would be able to join us.

Chari and Bett had both just celebrated their birthdays as well, and we agreed to celebrate our birthdays together. Since there were three of us, we decided to treat everyone else to Brazil, Brazil mainly because I haven’t eaten there yet (most of us hadn’t yet, actually) and considering that three of us would be splitting the bill, we could share the load the pricey bill. =) As you could’ve expected, we raised the noise level in Brazil, Brazil quite a bit. After all, it had a few months since we all saw each other, and this was the first time we got to hang out with Raych after a few years.

For those of you who haven’t tried Brazil, Brazil, the set-up is buffet style (I’m guessing they have an ala carte menu too but none of us tried it). There’s a buffet spread at the side of the resto where you can have salad or pasta or some other food (there’s a dessert spread as well). But the coup de grace is the buffet of meats on skewers that waiters keep bringing to your table (if you read my entry on my Brazil trip ages ago, the setup is similar to that). Each table has a yoyo on it with a red side and green side. If the green side is being displayed, that means you are giving the waiters a go-signal to keep bringing meats to your table. These meats vary from beef cuts to pork to chicken to even seafood. Then when you feel you’re plate is too full with all the meat they keep bringing, you can flip your yoyo over to the red side which will tell all the waiters to stop bringing food to your table.

The food was okay. I felt thought that some of the meat they brought us was a bit too tough (too well-done for my taste, I would’ve preferred them being more medium-well). Pound-for-pound, I’d recommend Dad’s (with its Angus beef and amazing variety of food) over Brazil, Brazil. But well it’s cool that we got try a new place.

After that, we all decide to visit my place where we could all have coffee and dessert/snacks (Bett’s Banana Cream Pie, or was it something else? And Chari’s spinach dip). As you could expect most of our time was spent chatting about showbiz updates and trying to get inside info (what with Jette working in a TV station hehehe).

We all called it a day in the late afternoon. Bett’s husband Pikes had come to pick her up and Raych needed to meet up with her husband Nick who spent the day shopping. =) I on the other hand met up with my mom, brothers, and nephews. The week before, my nephews got free bowling passes during their trick-or-treating, and we decided to use them immediately because my nephews were so excited about the idea of bowling.



Anyway, when we got there, we started off with me and my nephews playing. We had the bumper guards raised so that the kids wouldn’t end up with gutter balls most of the time. And it was a lot of fun! CJ immediately picked up on the proper form and he was even holding the ball properly (you know, using the middle and ring fingers – and not the pointer finger – as well as the thumb). Ciera on the other hand kept hitting the bumper guard in the middle of the lane which meant the ball was headed towards the head pin or close to it by the time the ball had traversed the entire lane. CJ scored more than 70 pin-falls while Ciera got 60+. The kids were so excited that they wanted to play another game. This time they wanted their dad to join in. This time, CJ and Ciera had gotten slightly more used to how to play. Both of them scored spares in their games. But what was so funny was that Ciera kept rolling his ball very very slowly, but it seemed to keep getting great pin action because he ended up scoring a 98! CJ managed to score 80-something.

They enjoyed bowling so much that the week after that, we played again. This time, Ciera got tired in the middle of the game so CJ started playing the rest of his game for him. What was quite impressive as well was that on quite a few occasions, CJ actually managed to throw the ball in the center of the lane i.e. it didn’t hit the bumper guards and bring down quite a few pins. He ended up getting a 96 in his own game and a 94 in the one that he picked up from Ciera. It was so cool! We haven’t gotten to play bowling since then but it’s great that we got the chance to play bowling because now there are more things that my nephews are interested in and more things that we can bring them to whenever we go out.