Tagaytay birthday weekend

A few weeks ago, I took my family to Tagaytay to celebrate the birthday of 'Nanay', my grandmother on my mom's side. We stayed at Crosswinds Resort Suites.

We actually stayed there last year for my birthday but almost the entire time we were there, it rained a lot and we were unable to take photos and enjoy the scenery. When I saw another online voucher for this place in Deal Grocer, I figured it would be good for us to revisit in better weather so we could appreciate it more.

We got there in the early afternoon and since we hadn't had lunch yet, I took everyone to Buon Giorno at the Cliff House. My family had never eaten here before and they did enjoy the food. Actually, every food place that I took my family to that weekend, they had never been to before so it was a weekend of firsts. I think the Buon Giorno Special salad portion size got smaller but it was still good.

After resting a bit in our 1-bedroom suite in Crosswinds, we headed to Picnic Grove since one of my nephews really wanted to go horseback-riding.

It was still late afternoon when we left Picnic Grove and we still had a couple of hours to spare before dinner so I decided to take my family to Java Jazz Coffee. I really like this place and I figured my family would too (they did, and I guess the warm and friendly service made our experience here even better). The artwork on display that day were photos of the churches in Bohol that were devastated during last year's Visayas earthquake; proceeds of the art sales would go to church restoration efforts. We looked through the photos and enjoyed some coffee over the next hour or so before we headed to our dinner destination.

I've seen Pamana Restaurant in Tagaytay several times before and I actually saw it featured on a TV show a few years ago but I never got to try it until that weekend. We got there at around 7 PM that evening and thankfully we arrived when we did because I didn't make any reservations and when we got there, only one table was available. Perfect! We actually took a short tour of the place before ordering because on display throughout the entire restaurant were a lot of Filipino showbiz memorabilia. The food here is decently priced, with most dishes being in the P200-400 range. Along with the great service, our dinner in Pamana was a really good dining experience.

We checked out at noon on Sunday and for lunch, I took my family to Chateau Hestia. While waiting for our food to arrive, my mom and my grandma took a look at the items on sale in the deli and they eventually got several items, including some really good cookies (which they served to us while we were waiting) and bread. I'm also happy that everyone enjoyed the food. The cool thing about our lunch here was that they actually gave us a small cake on the house for Nanay's birthday. One of the waiters actually overheard me mention that it was my grandmother's birthday. Cool! Oh and the cake was really good too.

We had initially intended to pass by Good Shepherd on our way home but we stopped by Rowena's instead. My family got several items and I also bought a couple of boxes of their delicious assorted tarts. We also stopped by Paseo de Sta. Rosa where we did a bit of shopping. I ended up getting a pair of shoes.

I was completely knackered by the time I got home but it was well worth  it. Everyone enjoyed the great food and some new experiences over the weekend. Definitely an incredible way to celebrate Nanay's birthday.

Midweek reunion dinner

My friend and ex-manager, Els, was in the Philippines and as such, our team decided to organize dinner with her. Els actually spent most of her time outside Manila during this trip so the best time for us to meet up was the evening before her flight back to Europe.

I actually had some very important business meetings that same night that I couldn't cancel so I told everyone that I would be really late and that if they were still together by 10:30 PM, I would catch up. As it turned out, Els' flight back to Manila from her dive trip got massively delayed so she had just been with the rest of the folks for maybe half an hour or 45 minutes when I finally got there.

We had dinner in Chili's Greenbelt and we stayed there until around 12:30 AM. It was my first time seeing a few folks from our old team in a while. In fact, we told Els that she was the glue of the team since we all got to see each other only when she was in town so we told her she had to come back to Manila more often. :) As always,  it was really fun catching up with her and with everybody else. Hopefully, those of us in Manila also get to meet up more often since we're all here anyway.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Thanks to the May 1 holiday, I managed to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 at the cinema within the first couple of days of its Philippine release. I'm a fan of the first Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield so I was determined to see this second installment despite the fact that it has been getting more than it's fair share of not-so-good reviews. I was ready to be a bit disappointed but it didn't turn out that way and I actually really enjoyed the film.

photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2

First things first, this isn't your typical super-hero movie. There are only a handful of action sequences where Spider-Man battles his enemies (and those scenes are very visually impressive; I've read that this movie looks great on 3D so maybe I'll go see it again LOL). In my opinion, it is more like a human drama framed in the context of a superhero film. Yes, one could argue that it is borderline chick flick, but it was important to highlight the intense and complicated relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy to tie the story in with the first installment and set the stage for The Amazing Spider-Man 3. In fact, when you look at it, the villains in the movie seemed almost like they were there to move the story along and lead it towards its explosive climax.

I've also read that there wasn't a lot of character development, specifically for the villains. I personally don't agree with this. I think the plots of these characters were defined well enough to make the audience understand exactly why they both had it in for Spider-Man. The fact that both Jamie Foxx (Electro) and Dane De Haan (Green Goblin) put in great performances made their characters even more believable.

Speaking of, this is probably the best acted superhero film I've seen (alongside the first Thor). Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy), and Sally Field (Aunt May) all put in very solid performances. I will echo what so many other people have said that Andrew and Emma really do have the best chemistry of any superhero couple I've seen. I had a discussion with a comic book geek friend of mine who hadn't seen The Amazing Spider-Man 2 yet and he mentioned to me that Spidey really has one of the most unstable personalities among all superheroes because he was an awkward teenager when he gained his superpowers. Well, if that truly is the case, then this film stays very true to the comic books as you will definitely see an emo Spidey/Peter Parker here.

Clearly, I'm not the only one who enjoyed this movie. A lot of other friends of mine who saw it also thought it was good if not great. I read a very articulate and in-depth review by Mark Hughes on Forbes.com that analyzes why this film is the Spider-Man we've been waiting for and why it does a great job in staying true to the comic books. Check it out here.

I definitely recommend The Amazing Spider-Man 2. If you're a bit concerned about the bad reviews you've been reading or hearing about, I suggest you set that aside and go see the film since I'm guessing you will still enjoy it.

Code Name Vivaldi by The Piano Guys

I was in a CD shop when I heard a song being played that really caught my attention so I checked what CD was playing. I learned that it was The Piano Guys and the song that I heard was was Code Name Vivaldi, a mash-up of the Bourne Identity Soundtrack and Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor by Vivaldi. It's a brilliant and captivating piece:


video uploaded in youtube by ThePianoGuys

I now have their CD and I have listened to it multiple times already. There are a lot of amazing tracks in the album and I highly recommend it.

Shipping from US via Forexworld

I recently discovered Forexworld, a relatively inexpensive way to get stuff shipped from the US to the Philippines. It was recommended to me by a couple of friends who have been using it for years now and I decided to try it out.

In the past, whenever I wanted to purchase something from Amazon.com (usually because the item I'm looking for isn't readily available in Manila), I would have it shipped to a friend in the US who would be traveling to the Philippines. More recently, my friends who were using the services of Forexworld told me that if I needed anything from the States, I could include my order in their shipment and just pay for my share of the shipping costs. However, I realized in the last few months that I wanted to order enough stuff from Amazon to fill up my own balikbayan box. As such, I asked my friends about Forexworld and decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed and I have now in fact availed of their services twice now.

I placed my first order last December. I ordered several items from Amazon, a few of them bulky. Once Forexworld received all my stuff, it took about a month for my package to be delivered from the port in LA to my doorstep. (Note that it does take a few days for your order to be shipped once all items have been received by the warehouse.) Not bad.

Once my first package arrived, with all items complete and in good condition, I decided to place another order. Once again, it took about a month for my package to arrive.

Both of my packages were medium-sized (red box) so the shipping cost was about $45 each or about P2250. Payment can be done by depositing into the Forexworld BDO account which you can find in their FAQ. They apparently have an air shipment option if you want to get your stuff more quickly but it is of course a lot more expensive than the regular option. I now have a next set of items lined up for order but I'll probably wait til mid-May before placing my next set of orders. :)

Friday Fast

I wasn't really sure whether I would successfully survive with just one full meal on Good Friday. After all, I've been exceptionally busy the last several weeks and I was running very low on energy. I guess I managed to get enough rest on Maundy Thursday though since my food intake yesterday consisted of the following:

• Salt and Pepper Squid + Rice (my full meal)
• small pack of uraro
• two biscuits
• three slices of cheese

I also decided not to have any dessert. Considering that I wasn't able to fast on Ash Wednesday and I also wasn't able to abstain on all Fridays of the Lenten season, I am happy that I was managed to have just one full meal on Good Friday.

Superb 80-year old dancer

This has to be one of the most amazing performances I've seen on Britain's Got Talent. Paddy, who turns 80 in July, performed a ballroom dance routine with her partner Nico on the show. I'm guessing they really intended to throw people off by starting off the number quite slow and basic before going into overdrive. The stunts they pull off are just mind-blowing.


video uploaded in youtube by Britain's Got Talent

Amanda pressed her Golden Buzzer which means that Paddy and Nico go straight to the live semi-final. I'm slightly worried that they threw in their full array of stunts in this routine and audiences later on might not vote for them anymore but I certainly hope they do. I can't help but be absolutely impressed by Paddy's strength, flexibility, and poise. Hopefully they get really far in the competition, if not win it all. Good luck Paddy and Nico!

The Philippines places second in the Street Child World Cup

What an incredible result this is. Last April 7, the Philippine girls' football team achieved a second place finish in the Street Child World Cup held in Brazil. Congratulations team!

OFFICIAL RESULT: @SCWC2014 girls final Brazil 1-0 Philippines Gutted. But so proud of the girls. pic.twitter.com/nkqWgi1cox
— Roy Moore (@roymondous) April 6, 2014

This story is truly inspirational on so many levels. First, let's talk about the event itself and how amazing it is. Street children from all parts of the world get to experience competing in a sporting event that will allow them to develop teamwork and camaraderie while being able to travel to another country. This will surely be a life-changing experience for all of them and it will provide opportunities to its participants that can help them all have a better future.

Then of course there is the team's success. Reaching the finals of the Street Child World Cup is no small feat for a nation that has had little football success on a global scale. The girls easily beat their first three opponents - South Africa (9-0!), El Salvador (3-1), and England (6-0) before getting past Mozambique in the semifinals. That the team lost in the finals to to Brazil, a country that is arguably the most successful footballing nation in the world, by the smallest of margins (1-0) in a match that could have gone either way just goes to show how superb they are.

This impressive result has to be attributed in large part to Coach Roy Moore. This Englishman who currently lives in the Philippines (he is taking up political science in UP) is Executive Director of Fairplay for All Foundation. As part of this role and his desire to make a difference, Roy set up football teams in Payatas and Kasiglahan. I can't help but be inspired to see someone from another country be so immersed in trying to improve the lives of the underprivileged here. (Here's an 80-minute interview with Roy Moore on youtube where you can learn more about how he ended up in the Philippines.)

While Pacquiao's win over Bradley will be the top sporting result in April for most Filipinos, my vote goes to the Philippines' success in the Street Child World Cup. While the boys didn't do as well as the girls (they lost in the quarterfinals), this is just one of those events where no one is really a loser. Thank you to Roy Moore and Fairplay for all and congratulations to our amazing girls and boys teams!

Way to go, Manny!

Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao for reclaiming the WBO welterweight title by routing Timothy Bradley.

photo courtesy of http://www.telegraph.co.uk

While Manny was not as destructive as he was back in 2008-2009, he still won a unanimous decision by boxing smartly and effectively. He landed 198 punches to Bradley's 141 but what's even more amazing about this decisive win is that Manny actually landed 148 power punches, more than Bradley's total punches.

It's such a shame that Manny's record is marked with a previous loss to Bradley when in fact the WBO President later came out and said that after reviewing that fight, Manny should have won by unanimous decision and by a pretty comprehensive margin. Unfortunately, the WBO cannot overturn the official results of a fight so at least Pacquiao got his title back.

This was a well-deserved win a great way to reclaim a belt he should never have lost in the first place. After his back-to-back losses to Marquez and Bradley, Manny Pacquiao has now beaten two fighters in a row and is back to his winning ways. Hope Manny can continue on this path before he finally calls it quits.

Movie time

I finally got to watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier and I was pleasantly surprised. It isn't your typical superhero movie. In fact, it was more like a spy film or an action thriller. While Captain America is significantly stronger, faster, and more durable than any human, he can still be hurt by "normal" weapons like guns, bombs, and knives (unlike the Hulk, Thor, or Iron Man when he's in his suit). The same is true with Nick Fury and Black Widow. As such, it doesn't take a supervillain to threaten their existence, although in this case, they do run up against the Winter Soldier who almost evenly matches Captain America in every respect.

Spoiler alert! Please stop reading now if you don't want to know what happens in the film.

As I mentioned, this movie had the feel of a spy thriller. Its revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been had successfully infiltrated over the decades by HYDRA leading to its subsequent dissolution makes for a very interesting storyline. How this will impact the rest of the Marvel franchise films that are coming up (I'm guessing the next one lined up is Avengers: Age of Ultron?) remains to be seen.

As is the new Marvel movie tradition, there are two bonus clips at the end of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier. One of them which is shown pretty early during the end credits introduces two new characters: Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch (not sure when exactly we will see them next). The second clip is quite blah and not worth the wait.

Amazing Parkour skills!

A friend of mine shared this video with me recently. I didn't know who Damien Walters was. Well now I do. This guy is absolutely unbelievable!!


video uploaded in youtube by Amobea

Celebration Saturday

It was a double celebration earlier this evening at my tita's house. Our family gathered to have a simple dinner to celebrate my grandmother's birthday and my cousin's graduation. My tita got chicken and chap chae from Bon Chon Chicken since apparently my cousin loves the food there but she also prepared a lot of other food, including rellenong bangus and kare-kare. The kare-kare was a hit; apparently, my tita had been experimenting with a lot of different peanut brands brands and variants to find the one she really liked. When I got there, I thought I was really hungry but once I polished off my plate, I realized I was not that hungry and I had just overeaten. As such, I no longer had any room for dessert so I wasn't able to try the yema cake from Caramia. Too bad for me.

It was almost 10pm when I left my tita's house. Thankfully, I was driving home quite late because there is currently a whole lot of work being done on EDSA, resulting in a few lanes being blocked off in certain areas. It took me a long time to get to my tita's house because the traffic was really bad due to all the road work but thankfully, I had already been alerted that EDSA traffic would be very bad so I knew what to expect. I can't imagine how Metro Manila driving will be once all those skyways get built over the next couple of years.

Sony Open

Happy April Fools' Day everyone!

I wish it was just a practical joke brought on by the "holiday" but unfortunately for me, Novak Djokovic did just wipe the floor with Rafa Nadal in the final of the Sony Open in Miami last Monday. Novak is now getting very close to Rafa in their head-to-head (Rafa still leads but the record is 22-18 now) and Rafa's lead at the top of the ATP rankings has gotten even slimmer. Here's another interesting stat: Novak has now won the event four times and Rafa has lost in the finals of this same event also four times. I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic takes over the #1 ranking within the next couple of months since Rafa has a ton of points to defend while Novak doesn't. Hopefully Rafa finds his form of last year again and starts playing significantly better as we go into the clay court season.

Catching up

I met up with my college friends last night because a couple of us who are now based abroad were in town. While it is great that we got to see each other, it was not under very good circumstances. One of us was undergoing a pretty bad personal situation so we all decided to meet up to show our support.

I met up with the gang in Greeka Kouzina in SM Aura for dinner. As I was very late, almost everyone had already eaten so I went through their left-overs, all of which were really good. As I was still very hungry, I ordered another dish - the Arni Keftedes Pasta or Lamb Meatball Pasta - but this dish was just so-so so I regretted picking it instead of the Moussaka which I initially thought of getting. Ah well.

After dinner, some folks had to go home already so the rest of us who was still there headed up to Coffee Bean where we stayed for the next couple of hours. We decided to sit outdoors since there wasn't much space for us inside. We got there shortly before Earth Hour which meant that for about the next hour, we enjoyed our coffee in relative darkness.

It was an interesting night to say the least and unlike most we've ever had as a group. While there were a lot of good, positive stories that people shared with each other, apart from the difficult personal situation of our friend, a lot of us also shared some not-so-good stuff happening in our respective lives. Hopefully the next time I see the gang will be under much better circumstances.

Negatives to CD

As everything continues to get more and more digital and more and more data gets stored electronically, I felt that I needed to convert my negatives into digital photos. After all, my negatives could continue to degrade over time. I saw an option in Kodak that isn't too expensive. Converting 250 pictures from negatives to digital copies that would be saved in a CD costs P500. Not bad.

I got my first digital camera in 2001 and while I did use a disposable camera in 2002 when I went to China because the battery didn't charge properly the night before and it died at the start of our day out, almost all of my negatives are from the 90s. Since it is Throwback Thursday, here are some photos I took with a non-digital camera back in the day:

This is me from my first international trip to Singapore, taken in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I barely even recognize myself here!

I can't believe how absolutely skinny I was back then. Here's another pic of me in Singapore, this time in Sentosa Island.

I had several business trips to Japan from 1999 to 2001, during which time I got to visit Rokko Island in Kobe...

....as well as Tokyo, where I got to see Steffi Graf play tennis in early 2000 during her farewell tour (she played against Kimiko Date).

The oldest set of photos I have is from 1995. My friends and I went to Agoo. La Union for summer. You can clearly see that the negative has degraded quite badly over the years. :)

I have now converted almost 500 photos from negatives into digital pictures. I plan to do the same for my mom's negatives; she has a whole lot more than I do.

Great Innovation

Amazing how the basic and omnipresent paper cup actually helped innovator Michael McDaniel come up with the idea for the Exo, a portable, easy-to-build temporary shelter. Check out this incredible idea.


Reaction Call to Action from Reaction on Vimeo.


Hopefully we can see this soon in the Philippines and use it to help victims of natural disasters.

Tragic news about MH370

Very sad news to start the week. The Malaysian Prime Minister announced a little more than an hour ago that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), which disappeared last March 8, ended its journey in the Indian Ocean. It is claimed that all 239 lives were lost.

I've been watching the breaking news on CNN for the better part of the last hour and there aren't a lot of details being shared yet. The plane hasn't actually been found yet but the official statement from the Malaysian government says that the evidence shows that the plane went down with no survivors beyond all reasonable doubt. My heart goes out to everyone who lost loved ones in MH370.

Wakeskating in the Banaue Rice Terraces

I discovered this video recently and think it's pretty incredible.

video uploaded in youtube by Red Bull

You can see breathtaking views of the unbelievably beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces, often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World, and this video definitely makes me want to visit again. Who knows, maybe next year.

My blog gets a facelift

I finally changed the look and feel of my blog!

I didn't really intend to change my blog template until a friend of mine chatted with me the other day and mentioned that my blog still didn't have a "previous" button. I told him I hadn't figured out how do it yet and he said that his blog automatically came with an "older posts" button. I thought it might be because I was using an old template (after all, my blog is almost a decade old).

So I quickly decided to update my template to the newer version to see if  it would indeed address the problem and voila! My blog now has an "older posts" option. The archive section is also a lot cleaner and much easier to navigate. Now I don't have to worry about blogging too much and not being able to automatically find older posts within a month. While change isn't always easy to deal with, this one is. I'm really happy about it. :)

Weekend birthday celebration

My brother recently turned a year older and to celebrate his birthday, I booked a 2-bedroom suite at the Greenstone Serviced Residences. I had never stayed there before but I saw a pretty good deal for it in Groupon Beeconomic and thought it would be good for us to try it.

2-bedroom premium suite at Greenstone Serviced Residences

As you can see from the photo of the living room above, the 2-bedroom suite here is very spacious (it has an area of 151 square meters, so that is quite a lot). There are two bathrooms and the kitchen is fully furnished, complete with kitchenware and dinnerware that guests can use. If you wanted to cook your food here, you could. You can check out the room details here.

master bedroom in the 2-bedroom premium suite at the Greenstone Serviced Residences

Instead of one birthday cake, I got a few different desserts for our celebration. For the first time, we tried the Mango Torte of Cuerva Bakeshop which is located at the 2nd floor of the Petron station along Edsa and Pasay Road (next to the Pasay Road gate of Dasmariñas Village). The website doesn't indicate the prices but the small torte is P1000 while the large one is P1,200. It was a small price difference so I decided to opt for the large size. They don't accept credit cards so be ready to pay with cash. (It was good but I prefer the mango torte of Dulcelin and personally, even that of Conti's.)

Mango Torte from Cuerva Bakeshop

I also decided to get cupcakes from The Noodle Bakes. I got to try a couple of cupcakes from this place before when they set up a booth at the Baker's Dozen in Powerplant and I enjoyed them so I thought it would be good for my family to try something that wasn't readily available. I ordered two flavors: Garth Vader (P70 each), which is a peanut butter sponge cupcake filled with peanut butter cream, thick chocolate ganache frosting, and garnished with butterfinger, and Thirty-Seven (P70), which is a chocolate cupcake with an Oreo bottom then stuffed with cheesecake filling and crowned with chocolate ganache. If you order cupcakes from them, you have to get at least six of one variant and you have to pick up your order in Greenmeadows. (You can check out their cupcake selection along with the prices here.)

Thiry-seven (left) and Garth Vader (right) cupcakes from The Noodle Bakes

To complement our multitude of desserts, I got all of us coffee from Figaro which was just around the corner from the hotel. In the evening, we went to Glorietta 5 to do some shopping. I already got my brother a couple of shirts and some cologne but I decided to also get him shorts and sneakers in Cotton On. I also got one of my nephews a hooded jacket and the other nephew a shirt, both from Uniqlo. I had planned on us having dinner in Yabu so my family could try it but the waiting list was so long. Instead, we headed to Greenbelt 5 where we had a fantastic dinner in Kai. We ordered a few Japanese food staples but I also got some real crab California Maki, soft-shell crab tempura, and soft-shell crab roll, all of which were incredibly good.

The next day, we headed to La Cocina De Tita Moning. I once again made use of a Deal Grocer voucher so we got a big discount for our meal. It was the same set menu that we had before but I have no complaints since I really enjoy the food and the service here. I decided to purchase a couple of bottles of their salsa monja for us to take home. I would have also gotten some of their legendary bread pudding but we still had a lot of mango torte and cupcakes left. :)

table setting and set menu at La Cocina De Tita Moning

It was another great weekend that I got to spend with family and I'm happy that we got to try some new things as well as a few "old" things that we really love. I guess over the last few (many?) years, I've become the family celebration organizer and I actually really love that job. :) My grandmother will be celebrating her birthday soon as well and I've already got that all planned out.

Aswang on Grimm

It's great to see a Filipino mythical creature being featured prominently in a US TV show that has global viewership. Over the weekend, I caught the Mommy Dearest episode on Grimm where the wesen was the Aswang.

How did a Pinoy creature make it on Grimm? Apparently, Reggie Lee who plays Detective Wu on the show is Filipino and he submitted the aswang (along with a few other Filipino monsters) for consideration on the show and it was eventually picked up.

This episode was cool on so many levels. First, it was a pretty scary episode and was well-received by viewers, whether Filipino or not. Also, while the producers did take some liberties in defining what an aswang is and how it operates, they stayed true to a lot of its important and popular characteristics, such as making a 'tik-tik' sound, climbing trees, and attacking pregnant women. It was also cool that some dialogue was done in Filipino and English sub-titles were provided. While I thought the Pinoy accent wasn't completely accurate - I'm guessing they got Fil-ams who don't really have a Filipino accent so they had to fake it - it was a good enough effort.

Apparently, this Aswang episode of Grimm topped US television ratings, with about 5.65 million people watching it. Now that Detective Wu's character has been identified as Filipino, hopefully it provides an opportunity for more of the Pinoy creatures he submitted for consideration, such as the tikbalang and kapre, find some airtime on the show.

#ABYlieve: DLSU settles for second place

UAAP Women's Volleyball concluded yesterday with Ateneo pulling off a comeback in the series, surviving elimination five times and eventually besting the De La Salle Lady Spikers, despite DLSU having a thrice-to-beat advantage. It was a very well-deserved win as Ateneo showed a whole lot of fight and determination and really peaked at the right time, with tournament and finals MVP Alyssa Valdez leading her team to their school's first ever UAAP volleyball title.

Being a fan of the DSLU Lady Spikers since 2009 when I started watching the games on TV, I was (am still) naturally very sad that they lost. I was hoping for a fourpeat and I really wanted team captain Aby Marano to end her collegiate volleyball career with a championship trophy (she just graduated). Alas, it was not meant to be. Players like Mika Reyes, Ara Galang, Kim Fajardo, and Mika Esperanza experienced their first title loss since joining the Lady Spikers and their anguish was evident in their tears.

This photo courtesy of Joseph Nebrida from the GoArchers.com facebook page is pretty heartbreaking to see but it shows how much respect the team have for their captain.

La Salle fans worked on making #ABYlieve trend online to show their support for the player who has been the heart and soul of the team for the last few years. It will be tough for the Lady Spikers next year without Aby Marano, especially when you consider that current champion Ateneo won't be losing any players next year and other teams are continuing to get better. But hey, I will keep the faith and continue to hope that Esperanza's words to Aby - ""babawi kami sa susunod para sayo" - will come true.

I also hope that DLSU retires Aby Marano's jersey #2. I really think she deserves it.

The Billboard that produces potable water

This is such a brilliant innovation. It manages to earn money through billboard advertising while at the same time addressing a key local issue (lack of potable water) by making use of what's available in the environment (high humidity indicating large amounts of water vapor in the air).


video uploaded in youtube by locoteve2

International Women's Day

I saw this in the news today and thought it was pretty cool. The government's commission on women and the local bottler of Coca Cola gathered together 10,168 people in Quirino Grandstand yesterday - International Women's Day - to form a giant female gender symbol.

photo courtesy of http://newsinfo.inquirer.net

Apparently the group is attempting to set a world record for the most number of people gathered together to form this symbol. It'll take about a week for the Guiness Book of World Records to confirm this but even if they don't set this record, it was still a great effort.

Spectrum by Florence and the Machine

Great song (with a bit of a strange video) by Florence and the Machine. Once again, it showcases the incredibly haunting and beautiful voice of the band's lead vocalist, Florence Welch.


video uploaded in youtube by FlorenceMachineVEVO

Amazing night at the Oscars

Lots of great moments at the recently concluded Oscar Awards. Lupita Ngyong'o won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 12 Years a Slave. "Let it go" from Frozen won Best Original Song. And I just found out that one of the writers of this song - Robert Lopez - is Filipino American. He is now one of only twelve members of the very exclusive EGOT club - people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. I also just learned that one of the other guys Robert Lopez beat for best song - Pharell Williams - is half Filipino. Cool! Then of course there was the pizza delivery that had several guests in the audience enjoyed. And John Travolta butchering Idina Menzel's name (apparently he called her Adele Dazeem).

A record was also made during the Oscars, when Ellen took a star-studded selfie. Of course I'm really happy that Meryl Streep is in it, and it actually started out with Ellen and Meryl before Ellen started pulling a lot of other people in including Lupita, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Jared Leto, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie. Lupita's brother upstaged her by photombombing this amazing set of A-list celebrities.

If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

Here's how this record-breaking selfie came about:


video uploaded by The Showbiz 411

This pic now holds the record for being the most retweeted tweet. In less than an hour, this selfie had been shared more than a million times, easily eclipsing previous record holder President Obama with 778,000 retweets. As I write this, I see that Ellen's selfie has now been retweeted more than 3 million times. Amazing!

Tico Tico by Paco De Lucia

A friend shared news the other day that Spanish Flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia passed away. I learned about him when I saw this impressive video of him playing Tico Tico on youtube:


video uploaded in youtube by gommodor

Amazing how he stays perfectly calm and at ease even as his guitar-playing becomes unbelievably fast while still mistake-free. Rest in peace, Paco De Lucia

A Weekend in Cocoon Boutique

Months ago, I bought a Deal Grocer voucher for an overnight stay at the Cocoon Boutique Hotel in the Tomas Morato area. I decided to use it recently since the last several weeks had been very busy and I needed some time away from everything familiar to unwind and relax without actually leaving the city.

I first learned about this hotel when my cousins who are now based in Canada came home a couple of years ago. They stayed in Cocoon and they said it was a really good hotel. When I saw the voucher I decided to try it for myself. It's a small, cozy hotel and the main lobby is quite welcoming, with its comfortable seating and high ceiling.

I think I got the Deluxe Room which was actually really spacious.

When making a room reservation, I opted for the "Twin-together" bed that mimicked a California King bed. It was really comfortable!

The bathroom is pretty cool because it has glass walls with blinds on the inside. You can open the blinds so you can still watch TV while you are in the shower or the bathtub.

Too bad I didn't get to use the bathtub. However, the bathroom is quite spacious and has a luxurious feel to it.

The elevator control panel was pretty cool and unique too.

There are things about the hotel that I wasn't such a fan of. My room overlooked Scout Rallos and there was a bar outside so late at night, I could hear the noise from the bar. Also, while sitting at the desk and working on my laptop, I could hear the person from the other room speaking so the walls aren't completely soundproof.

Despite these disadvantages, my overall experience here was pretty great. As mentioned, the room is really comfortable and spacious, Also, the service is excellent - both check-in and check-out were a breeze and when I made a reservation via phone, they asked me if I wanted a parking slot at the basement and they did reserve one for me. The breakfast staff was also very friendly and helpful. My room came with free breakfast and while the buffet spread itself isn't that extensive, you actually get to order an ala carte item to go with it so everything combined means that you have a pretty good meal.

The location is also great. A 24-hour McDonald's is almost right next door and Causeway is just a bit further down the road. Tomas Morato itself is about a ten minutes away only. I got to walk along most of Tomas Morato that evening.

Cocoon Boutique Hotel is actually ranked #1 on Tripadvisor among hotels in Quezon City as of this writing and I am not surprised. I definitely enjoyed my stay here and I wouldn't mind going back. They actually have one and two-bedroom suites here so maybe the next time I visit, I can also bring my family with me.

Cool Whisky Ad

Okay so heartwarming isn't normally a phrase you would associate with a whisky commercial but this advert of Bell's Whisky South Africa is an exception. Check it out:


video uploaded in youtube by Bells Whisky

High School Mini-Reunion

One of my closest friends from high school, Eugene, moved to the US almost shortly after we graduated and he has been living there ever since. The last time I saw him was in 2004, almost exactly ten years ago because it was end-Feb when I met up with him and his wife Lorraine in New York. He hadn't been to the Philippines even longer than that - his last time here was in 2001! - so when he and his wife came for a couple of weeks, we definitely had to meet up.

It didn't start out the way I hoped it would though. The plan was that we - including our other friend Mitch - would take a tour to Corregidor before having dinner somewhere in Makati after. Unfortunately, a couple of days before, my laptop conked out and I lost about two days worth of work because of it. This meant that a ton of urgent tasks piled up and I had to get them all done before our Corregidor trip. I got stuck in the office until the wee hours of the morning and while I had set three alarms to hopefully wake me up, I unfortunately slept through all of them. It was a call from Mitch that finally woke me up and by then I didn't have any time to make it to the pier. I told them that I would just meet up with them when they got back from the tour.

I finally caught up with them later that afternoon at the Lobby Lounge in Shangri-La Makati. Since we would be having an early dinner at 7pm, we just ordered the Classic Afternoon Tea set. There was a decade of catching up to do so it was pretty cool that while we shared stories over tea or coffee and finger food, we had a live orchestra playing great music.

We then moved to Rambla in Rockwell for dinner (Mitch's family joined us there as well). Mitch had eaten there before and she said the food is really good. We ordered a few starters, all of which were delicious, but the most memorable thing I had was my main course. I didn't note down its exact name but it was Risotto with Chicken and Prawns:

And oh my God this dish was so exceptionally good! Rambla is quite expensive - most of the main courses were in the P500 to P1000 range and my risotto cost P695 - but if you do want to splurge, this is definitely a good place to do it.

Folks still had work the next day - it was a weekday and I took the day off for our mini reunion - so we called it a night quite early. I drove Eugene and Lorraine back to their hotel in Makati before heading home myself. While it didn't start out great with me missing Corregidor, it was still a fantastic and very memorable day. Hopefully we all get to reunite again soon.

Everything is awesome: The Lego Movie

I finally got to watch The Lego Movie! It's a really good and enjoyable film for the most part. Not only is it entertaining story-wise, it is also very well and uniquely animated. Practically everything in the film was a Lego structure or piece. I was especially impressed with how the sea and the waves looked like they were built out of Lego pieces. I also liked how the characters "moved", resembling stop-motion animation and giving the impression that someone is actually playing with or moving the pieces.

photo courtesy of The Lego Movie wikipedia page

Adding to its appeal is its myriad of popular characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Dumbledore, Gandalf, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and even Shaquille O'Neal. Despite the starstudded "cast", it's normal, almost forgettable guy Emmet who is the lead character. In traditional underdog fashion, Emmet is supposed to be "the special" who saves the Lego world from Lord Business.

Spoiler alert! Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

As mentioned, I really enjoyed this film for the most part. I can't say I completely enjoyed it because I was let down by the ending. As Emmet sacrifices himself to prevent, or at least delay, the destruction of the Lego World by Lord Business' secret weapon - the Kragle - it is revealed that all the pieces are being played with by a kid. His father is gluing all the Lego pieces into place in an effot to build a model of a city for his work. In essence, Emmet is kind of a representation of the kid and Lord Business that of his dad.

Of course, there are different interpretations of this twist. One is that the whole animated part of the film is really just the imagination of the kid. This is kind of how I interpret the film and this why I find the ending a bit flat. I guess I was really looking forward to how Emmet and the rest of the master builders would defeat Lord Business as themselves so to find out that the whole storyline is just the kid's imagination was very anti-climactic. Of course, there is that part when Emmet actually moves in the "real world" which can lead to another interpretation, that the whole thing wasn't just imagination and that the Lego pieces are "alive" as well. Personally, I would have preferred the movie to have just stuck to one "universe" where only Lego pieces exist.

Despite my disappointment at the ending, The Lego Movie is still really fun and definitely worth watching. It brings out the inner kid in its viewers and it also has a lot of clean humor that adults will appreciate. Special note: when Lord Business says "Release the Kragle" - a clear allusion to the popular "Release the Kraken" line from Clash of the Titans - it seemed like only a few people in the audience picked up on it because only a couple of us laughed at that gag. :)

If you haven't seen the film and are wondering why I have the words "Everything is awesome" in the title of this blog post, it is because "Everything is awesome" is the movie theme song and all the characters in the Lego World. You can check out the song here.

#PHthankyou

This is a beautiful video showing the gratitude of our country to everyone who helped us get through the Yolanda disaster. Here's a snippet of the video description:

Three months after Typhoon Haiyan, a whole nation wants to show its gratitude to the whole world. This is the Philippines. And this is our way of saying thank you to every one who is helping us rebuild after the storm.

video uploaded in youtube by DOT Philippines

Great job, Michael Martinez!

A lot of history was made in the Men's Figure Skating Competition in the Sochi Winter Olympics. The record for highest score in the short program was broken, when Yuzuru Hanyu scored a 101.45 on Thursday. This also marks the first time that a short program score exceeded the 100-point mark. Hanyu also pipped favorite Patrick Chan to become the first Japanese man to win Olympic gold in figure skating.

Of course, the history that mattered most to the Philippines was the fact that Michael Christian Martinez was competing. Michael is the first Filipino - and in fact the first South East Asian - who participated in men's figure skating at the Winter Olympics. The fact that Michael comes from a country that doesn't have snow makes his achievement even more significant. It's reminiscent of Cool Runnings, the 1993 film about the Jamaican bobsled team.

Michael learned how to skate in SM Southmall. As his talent grew and his skill developed exponentially, he and his family took figure skating seriously and he started training in the US. His solid results in international competition allowed him to qualify for the 2014 Olympics. That in itself was already a huge achievement but he took it a step further. He scored a personal best of 64.81 in the short program, putting him in 19th place among 30 skaters. This was very important because the top 24 would proceed to the medal round.

Michael eventually scored a 119.44 which, added to his short program, gave him a total of 184.25 points. He ended up in a very respectable 19th place. You could argue that this means that at this point in time, he is the 19th best male figure skater in the world. When you think of if this way, it is truly impressive! At only 17 years of age - he was the youngest contender in men's figure skating - one would think he has a shot at making a return trip to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018.

Way to go, Michael!

Wicked in Manila!

I finally got to watch Wicked in CCP and wow, what a truly beautiful and powerful musical it is! It definitely lived up to the hype and met and even exceeded my expectations!

Wicked is the 11th longest running musical on Broadway and is also the third highest-grossing musical, currently behind The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera (not counting inflation, of course). It tells an alternate story about the witches of Oz. Here, the Wicked Witch of the West named Elphaba is the protagonist and she in fact becomes best friends with Glinda The Good. Rather than talk in detail about the story which you can read about in the Wicked wikipedia page, I will instead talk about why this musical moved me very deeply.

"Defying Gravity" became more popular than it already was because it was featured in Glee. I think most people are fans of this song because of its obvious theme of going beyond your limits to achieve great things. Personally, I love this song much more for other reasons:

• It shows how Elphaba suddenly realizes that the things she wanted before - pleasing the wizard and making a positive name for herself in Oz - are now taking a backseat to wanting to fight for what she strongly believes in, even if it means getting vilified and scorned. When Glinda says "You can have all you ever wanted" to which Elphaba replies "But I don't want it. No. I CAN'T want it anymore," I feel the strength of Elphaba's principles and I get chills.
• It showcases the friendship of Elphaba and Glinda. You feel how much they value each other when Elphaba, who has now determined that she wants to overcome the oppression she has witnessed, tries to convince Glinda to join her, saying "Unlimited, together we're unlimited, together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been." Glinda then joins Elphaba to sing "Just you and I defying gravity" as they both look at the potential of making a difference together.
• It also marks the moment when they realize that they are now about to take different paths in life that will lead them in opposite directions. Their initially sarcastic lines of "I hope you're happy" turn into well-wishes later in the song: "I hope you're happy, now that you're choosing this" and "I hope you're happy in the end, I hope you're happy, my friend".

In just one song, there are so many defining moments that, as it builds towards its impressive climax, I had goosebumps all over. Here's a clip of the New Zealand cast performing Defying Gravity. I'm sharing this clip because the performers here are same ones we saw in Manila: Ali Calder as Elphaba and Suzie Mathers as Glinda.


video uploaded in youtube by Dr Ben Kirk

Of course, this isn't t the only song that moved me. Another piece that I have loved ever since I got my CD of the Original Broadway Recording of Wicked is "No Good Deed". Similar to Defying Gravity, this number also showcases a massive range of emotion. Here, Elphaba starts to have doubts about her own intentions - "Was I really seeking good or just seeking attention?" This, coupled with her despair (believing she has lost Fiyero even as she tried to save him) and self-pity (believing that every good thing she has tried to do has only resulted in misery for those she has tried to help) leads her to fall even further into isolation. The song marks another important and defining moment in Elphaba's life as she now spitefully and almost begrudgingly accepts her role as the Wicked Witch of the West. This piece is tremendously well-written and Ali Calder performed it so well that she got thunderous applause. You can hear her sing it here.

Photo of the stage right before the show started

"Dancing Through Life" was never a memorable song for me until I watched the musical and saw how critical it is to the story. After all, it is here where Glinda and Elphaba become friends. But more than that, it is the give-and-take of Fiyero and Glinda just as Elphaba starts dancing by herself that resonated with me. As Fiyero marvels at Elphaba's attitude saying "I'll say this much for her, she doesn't give a tweet what anyone else thinks", Glinda replies "Of course she does, she just pretends not to." Beyond the musical, it reminded me just how 'outcasts' in society have the unfortunate and very difficult task of having to develop a thick skin and trying to let pain and hurt roll off their backs to help them just get through life. This is where Glinda, who at that point was still shallow and very self-absorbed, discovers her considerate and caring side, which then marks the start of her own growth into a truly good person.

Apart from good and bad and fighting for what's right, another underlying theme of Wicked is friendship. And nowhere in the musical is this highlighted more than in "For Good". While "Defying Gravity" made Elphaba and Glinda realize they were taking separate paths, it is in "For Good" that they bid farewell to each other, knowing that they will most likely never see each other again ("It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime. So, let me say before we part: so much of me is made of what I learned from you.") It's a very powerful, heartbreaking moment. Everyone can relate to the lines "Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you...I have been changed for good." Then there's the bridge. When Elphaba sings "And just to clear the air I ask forgiveness for the things I've done you blamed me for" and Glinda replies "But then, I guess, we know there's blame to share" before they sing together that "none of it seems to matter anymore," you can see and feel the strength, beauty, and honesty of their friendship.

Curtain call

Of course, by the end of the musical, everyone was on their feet to give the entire cast and crew a well-deserved standing ovation. I saw many folks wipe tears from their eyes. I haven't seen that many musicals in my life but I must say that Wicked is now one of my favorites. While I do think Phantom of the Opera (one of my other favorites) is the better overall musical, I left that show being utterly impressed and amazed. The difference with Wicked is that while I was also impressed, I left this show being very moved and affected by it. I think this is because I connect deeply with many of its underlying themes: friendship, fighting passionately for what you believe is right even sometimes at your own expense, valuing inner beauty, and not fearing and hating what is different. Unlike other musicals where I feel like an audience member looking in, the character development in Wicked allowed me to feel like I was part of the journey.

Wicked is showing in CCP until March 9 and you can get your tickets at Ticketworld. If you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend that you go and see it. You won't be disappointed.

Aches and pains

Earlier today, I played volleyball for the first time in months. Now my body is battered and bruised LOL. Which shouldn't be surprising given that I played for two hours, during which time I had to do a lot of running and jumping.

While I am in a lot of pain right now, I am glad that I finally got to exercise again. I haven't hit the gym in about 3-4 weeks so when my friends set up a volleyball afternoon, I knew I had to join. Hopefully we get to organize more games in the coming weeks.

Friday night dinner

My friend Sharon is an ex-colleague from back in my first job and she's been living in the US for more than a decade already. She is currently in town to attend a reunion and we managed to have dinner with her while she is still here. Our friend Jette organized our get-together and we initially planned to meet up somewhere in Makati before things changed late in the afternoon and we ended up having dinner in Greenhills instead. Not really the ideal situation for me since the traffic was bad and it did take more than an hour to join the rest of them.

The initial plan was to have dinner in Banana Leaf in Greenbelt. I guess because people didn't want to think of other options, when we moved to Greenhills, we still stuck with the same restaurant since there also is a Banana Leaf at the Promenade. By the time I got there, everyone had already finished eating so I just polished off the rest of the food. :) Unfortunately, Sharon had to be somewhere else later in the evening so we only got to stay there for another 30-45 minutes before we said our goodbyes. Despite a relatively short time together, it was still a great night.

"Let it go" in 25 languages

Here's an amazing version of "Let it go" from the movie Frozen performed in twenty-five languages.


video uploaded in youtube by WaltDisneyStudiosDE

Interesting that the singers of these different versions sort of sound like each other. I guess the Disney and the casting folks had a specific sound and vocal profile in mind. After listening to this, I now want to hear the full Japanese movie version. The pop version by May J is available but the one from the film isn't available yet because "Frozen" hasn't been released in Japanese cinemas yet. It's supposed to come out in March so I will definitely be looking for the Japanese movie version then.

Perfect Month Part 2

In January of last year, I achieved a first as I was able to put up one post per day for an entire month. I have now managed to duplicate that effort. And guess what? I did it again in January.

I guess it's also because I'm "cheating". :) I normally take a couple of weeks worth of leave during the Christmas season and this allows me to catch up on my "backlog" or stuff that I wanted to write about but hadn't been able to due to lack of time. For instance, my trip to Austria almost seven years ago and my second Tagaytay Food Trip in the middle of last year. I tend to do a lot of catch-up writing during the holidays but I don't publish posts more than once a day so I end up saving a lot of what I write as drafts then just publishing them later on. So yes it is kinda like cheating. :) But hey. My blog, my rules. :)

Since I posted a ton this month, my January 2014 archive doesn't show all my posts anymore. So since I haven't really figured out how to set up a "previous" button yet, here are the links to all my posts in my second ever perfect month.

Jan 1: Happy 2014!
Jan 2: New Year resolution?
Jan 3: Mini Family Reunion
Jan 4: Youtube Rewind 2013
Jan 5: Dinner at URBN
Jan 6: Nadal wins in Doha
Jan 7: Customer Service Surprise at Conti's
Jan 8: Tagaytay Food Trip Part 2
Jan 9: Tagaytay Food Trip 2: Breakfast at Antonio's
Jan 10: Tagaytay Food Trip 2: Chine
Jan 11: Tagaytay Food Trip 2: Mano's Greek Taverna
Jan 12: Tagaytay Food Trip 2: Java Jazz Coffee
Jan 13: 1,000!
Jan 14: The LEGO Movie
Jan 15: Fun, food-filled weekend
Jan 16: Trip to Clark
Jan 17: The Oscar nominations are in...
Jan 18: The Power of Words
Jan 19: Free Parking in Shangri-La Plaza Mall
Jan 20: K Style Hair fix
Jan 21: The Smartphone Generation
Jan 22: Dinner at Ukokkei Ramen Ron
Jan 23: Austria!
Jan 24: Vienna
Jan 25: Salzburg
Jan 26: The Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg
Jan 27: Austria: final thoughts and travel tips
Jan 28: Australian Open 2014
Jan 29: What would you do with $25,000?
Jan 30: "The Prayer" by the Loboc Children's Choir and Various Artists
Jan 31: Perfect Month Part 2

"The Prayer" by the Loboc Children's Choir and Various Artists

It's been almost three months since Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck Visayas and left behind a trail of devastation. Relief operations are still ongoing and there are still many ways to help out. One of those ways is to purchase the version of "The Prayer" performed by the Loboc Children's Choir and various OPM artists.

You can download this version of The Prayer at www.spinnr.ph. All proceeds will go to the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation to help rebuild the lives of those in the Visayas.


video uploaded in youtube by UniversalRecPH

Here are some excerpts I took from the information about this video on youtube:

On October 15, 2013, an earthquake with the energy equivalent to "32 Hiroshima bombs" devastated the Visayas, and parts of Mindanao and southern Luzon. Two days later, the Loboc Children's Choir sang, "The Prayer," with the rubble of the hundred year old Loboc Church as their backdrop. Their performance moved so many people here and abroad.

Then, tragedy struck again. On November 8, Typhoon Yolanda, the most powerful tropical cyclone of the year hit East Samar, Samar and Leyte.

This is where we took inspiration from the Loboc Children's Choir's performance."

"...we asked the help of various Filipino artists to lend their voices, to represent our country, and show the world that the Philippines has one voice, one prayer -- that we work together to help our countrymen rebuild their lives brick by brick. The resulting song will be used to raise funds through downloads. The proceeds will go to the helpPH campaign, a project by the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF). It is a non-profit organization made up of major companies from the private sector and leading NGOs.

You can also still donate to the Philippine Red Cross through this link.

What would you do with $25,000?

On November 12, 2013, Casey Neistat received a letter from 20th Century Fox. They asked him if he wanted to create a video with the theme "Live Your Dreams" as part of the marketing campaign of the film studio's new movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". Casey replied that his idea was to use the US$25,000 budget to help in the Yolanda disaster relief efforts. 20th Century Fox agreed.

Check out this amazing video.


video uploaded in youtube by Casey Neistat

Thank you Casey Neistat, 20th Century Fox, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and everyone who was involved in making this happen!

Australian Open 2014

Close but no cigar. Rafael was one match away from even greater legendary status. A win in Australia meant that he would have been the only male player in the open era to win two of each Grand Slam events and he would be the only man to do it at a time when the majors are all on different surfaces. (Roy Emerson and Rod Laver won each major event at least twice when three of the four events were still played on grass.) It would also have allowed Rafa to tie Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slam titles. Alas, it was not to be. Rafa ran up against an on-fire Stanislas Wawrinka who blew him off the court in the first two sets. Rafa had some physical problems that prevented him from competing at the highest level but maybe in the end it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

As such, Stanislas Wawrinka becomes the first man outside "The Big Four" - Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray - to win a Grand Slam event since 2009 when Juan Martin Del Potro won in the US Open. He also goes up to #3 in the world and becomes the highest ranked Swiss player for the first time in his career.

Nadal of course increases his lead at the top of the rankings. He now has an almost 4000-point lead over Novak. The catch is that Rafa has a ton of points to defend between now and the French Open but if he can manage to hold off Novak until June, he may actually hold on to the top spot at least until the US Open since he has no points to defend in Wimbledon.

On the women's side, Li Na wins her second major title. You can argue that Australia is her most successful tournament since she has gotten to the finals of this event three times already. She beat Dominika Cibulkova in the final. What? No Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, or Victoria Azarenka? I guess you could say the women's tour featured more than its fair share of upsets, none more shocking than Serena's loss I guess. Sharapova hasn't been doing well and was coming back from injury, Azarenka was seeded 3rd but she lost to an inspired #5 Agnieska Radwanska (who was then tossed out an an even-more-inspired Cibulkova). But Serena Williams, who was on a 25-match winning streak, was upended by a resurgent Ana Ivanovic.

It was one of the most unpredictable Australian Open tournaments in the last few years. While I am disappointed that Rafa lost (and that he was booed by people who seemed to think he was resorting to gamemanship when he took a medical time-out), Wawrinka definitely deserved to win. Congratulations to Stan and also to Li Na, Aussie Open Champions of 2014. Here's hoping though that Rafa can rebound from this loss and win the French Open.