Dinner Reunions

I had an opportunity over the last couple of weeks to meet up with some friends who are now based abroad.

Dinner #1: Kapitolyo

I didn't realize how many restaurants there are now in the Kapitolyo area until I drover there several days ago to meet up with Pia and our other set of friends for dinner at Open Kitchen. I was actually extraordinarily late since I had a ton of work to do and I couldn't really leave until around 8:30 PM. I was worried it would take me forever to get to Kapitolyo but surprisingly, the traffic wasn't debilitating and I made it to the restaurant in about an hour. By then, my friends had all been together for about two and a half hours LOL. I arrived just in time too, because as I got comfortable in my seat, the waitress arrived to ask everyone for our last orders. I chose the Anise Pork Belly for my main and that was really good. For dessert, I got the Creme Brulee and had the Le Grande Reserve coffee. My food was served very quickly, probably because I was the only one ordering at the time. As it was near closing time, we stayed there for maybe about an hour more before bidding each other farewell. While I didn't get to hang out with everyone for very long, I was still happy I managed to spend some time with them and with Pia while she was still in town. I also think I want to try more restaurants in this area.

Dinner #2: BGC

So it seems BGC is really the popular venue now for many of my sets of friends for catching up. My friend Maileen and her husband Nick were in Manila for the first time in about four years. Their daughter just turned five and they had a party last weekend but since I was sick, I was unable to go. When dinner was organized with them while they were still here, I made sure to go. Dinner venue was in Mogu. I had the sukiyaki and while it was good, it wasn't significantly better than other sukiyaki dishes I've had (but this one is a lot more expensive LOL). Next time I'm here, I'll probably stick to the Harami or the Pork Kakuni. After dinner, a few of us wanted dessert and coffee while some wanted alcohol LOL (I was taking antibiotics so I had to stick to dessert and coffee) so we opted for Cav so that there would be something for everyone. I have to say that the dessert here is pretty expensive (everything we ordered was in the P350-395 range and the portion sizes are quite small). It was a shame that I was under medication since I haven't enjoyed wine in Cav in ages. Nevertheless, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with great conversation and even greater company.

Inaanak #8

My cousin Rainier and his wife Doris asked me a few weeks ago if I could be one of the ninongs of their son, Joaquin. I was very honored that they would ask me so I immediately said yes. The Christening was held at the Serafic Hall of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. My cousin Fr. John, who is Rainier's brother, was in Manila so he officiated the sacrament. This was the first time that I saw a total immersion baptism where the babies were fully submerged into the water three times. Most other baptisms I've been in the past involved only affusion.

Our lunch reception was held a short drive away from the church and the party was initially set-up to be outdoors, with a tent covering most of the tables. Unfortunately, it started raining that morning so all the tables were crammed into the dining area under the tent. Despite having less space than originally planned, there was enough room for us to enjoy the party.

Joaquin is now my 8th inaanak. Call my OC but I actually have a file that lists down all my godchildren and their birthdays. That way, I will always know how old they are during Christmas to make sure I get all of them gifts that are a good fit for their age. :) Welcome to the Christian world, Joaquin!

An interesting birthday celebration

Well this was a first. My family had a celebration dinner for my brother's birthday without him. :)

We didn't really have specific plans to celebrate my brother's birthday but historically, we have always gone out for dinner. My brother works an odd shift so when I got home, I saw that he was still asleep so I couldn't ask him what he wanted to do. I decided to just pick my grandmother up and take her to the cemetery so we could visit my grandfather before heading back home. I had to run an urgent errand for my mom so I left my grandma at home first. When I returned, my brother was still asleep but it was quite late in the evening already. I figured, since my grandmother was already with us, we may as well go out.

We headed to Alex III. This place isn't as popular now as it was back in the day but the food here is still pretty topnotch. While the meal prices are a bit high, the serving sizes are pretty hefty. Some of our favorites dishes include the Pinakbet sa Bagnet, Bicol Laing, and the Premium Pork Barbecue. To make sure my brother could somehow be part of our dinner, I ordered take-out for him and I also over-ordered so that we could take home a lot of leftovers. That way, he would be able to enjoy some good food when he was finally up.

My Photobook Collection

I have always preferred looking at pictures in an album than in a laptop or some other electronic gadget. In fact, I have a few photo albums that display pictures from trips I took back in the late 90s to early 2000s. However, in 2007, a colleague of mine showed me a book that contained her family pictures. I thought this was a better alternative to photo albums mainly because a book is less bulky than a photo album. I did some research on these picture book options before finally settling with Photobook Philippines. I made my first photobook in early 2012 and I haven't stopped since.

some of my large landscape photobooks

Since then, I have created a total of 46 photobooks. 27 of those are mine (or my family's) and 19 of those were gifts for friends. That's more than 10 books a year! (I didn't realize until now how much time I have actually devoted to photobooking LOL.) I usually stick to two book sizes. I use large landscape (15" x 11") for trips where I have really good photos. That way, I end up with something like a cofee table book and I can appreciate the pictures even more. If I feel that my photos aren't that great, I will make medium landscape (11" x 8.5").

some of my medium landscape photobooks

I also tend to use just a bare white background for trips where I feel my photos are really beautiful so that the focus is on the pictures and not on the background.

sample spread of my Sagada/Banaue photobook

However, not all my travels have stunning pictures. In these cases, I will often opt to use a readybook template to make the pages slightly more interesting.

sample spread of my Copenhagen photobook

I also have a few books with different sizes, such as large portrait, medium portrait, and large square. I made these when I was just starting but I have since stopped using them. I figured I want most of my books to have the same size so it will be easier to store them. :)

some of my other photobooks of different sizes

Almost all my photobooks contain pictures of my travels (I do have one that is a compilation of the different corporate social responsibility activities I organized and participated in a few years ago). I have to say that I am tremendously fortunate and very grateful to have been able to travel - both locally and internationally - as much as I have. Over the years, I have gotten a lot better in laying out my photobooks and sometimes, when I look at some of my earlier works, I wish I could change how I put some of the pages together. However, a lot of my friends have told me that one of their favorites is the Iceland book, and that was one of the first few ones that I made (I guess it's because of the awesome pictures and the fact that not many people realize until they see these photos how beautiful Iceland is). Getting to look at my books every now and then always makes me smile and brings back a ton of memories so while it does take a lot of effort, I plan to continue making books in the future. My next project? My Russia trip. :)

Taking our dog to the vet

A couple of weeks ago, my mom texted me saying that we needed to take our dog to the vet. He had barely eaten in the previous two weeks and he looked very weary and lethargic. While there were some vet clinics near our house, I was more comfortable taking him to Animal House which is where we took our cat many times before. I already know the people there and I feel like they are better equipped at providing the necessary pet care so I figured the longer drive would be worth it.

Since we didn't have a cage big enough to fit our dog, I asked my nephew to join me in the car so he could keep our dog calm during the ride. Indeed, as I was driving, my nephew told me that our dog was shaking (it was his first time in a car). I tried driving a bit more slowly so as not to rattle him any further so it took a bit longer to get to Animal House. Once we got there, the vet took his temperature and true enough, he had a fever. She then took some blood so she could run some tests and she told us to wait for the results.

After around 20 minutes, the vet tells us that our dog's platelet count is quite low, most likely due to a parasitic infection. She prescribes antibiotics and tells us to make sure our dog takes 2 tablets a day. She told us that if the medicine does work, our dog will start eating more and he will become more energetic in just 3-5 days. True enough, after five days, my mom tells me that our dog was eating more regularly and was looking a lot better. When I saw our dog last Sunday, he was healthier than he was a week before and he also gained back the weight he lost (or at least some of it). It was a bit of an effort to take our dog to the vet but I'm happy we did because his condition may have gotten worse if he remained untreated. Hopefully, he continues to get better.

Angel by Sarah MacLachlan

One of the most beautifully poignant songs, sung by one of the most hauntingly captivating voices.


video uploaded in youtube by sarahmclachlanVEVO

Prayers for Ángel Ariel Escalante Pérez

This is one of the saddest things I've come across recently. 12-year-old boy Ángel Ariel Escalante Pérez was thrown off a bridge in Guatemala by a gang. The gang wanted him to shoot a stranger but he refused. He was then given a choice of being thrown off a bridge or hacked to death by a machete. He chose the former.

As if that wasn't horrific enough, Ángel somehow survived the fall. Unfortunately, he was too injured to move so he lay hidden underneath thick foliage for three days before his father and their family and friends found him. He stayed alive for 15 more days before he finally succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

Read more about this heartbreaking story here.

I haven't been disturbed and saddened by a story about someone I don't personally know since maybe typhoon Yolanda hit Visayas a couple of years ago. Just the through of the terror that a young boy would go through when asked to kill someone, then to be given a choice of how to be killed, then to be thrown off a bridge, then to lie injured and alone for three days before being found. I think the only possibly good thing about this is that at least he got to see his father and family before he died.

I have been praying for Ángel and his family since I learned about this. I hope you can spare a thought or prayer for him too.

Way Back Wednesday: Final Scene from Friends

This final scene from Friends is one of my favorite endings of a TV series (at least among those I followed). It is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time and it was a perfect way to say goodbye to a group of characters I had grown up watching.


video uploaded in youtube by Dreamer1422

The beautiful music used in this scene is Embryonic Journey by Jefferson Airplane.

Two movies in a week

I finally got to see Minions last week while it was still on its theatrical run in Manila. Shortly after that, I got to watch Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

photo courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

I really enjoyed this film. It has lots of great action, daring stunts and intense, heart-pounding sequences. There's even some political power-play and maneuvering to keep things interesting. The storytelling is brisk and the acting is solid. I love the relationship that the characters have with each other. This year has been about spy films as my favorite movies of the year have been Kingsman, Spy, and now this.

Minions

photo from sumnersunsettheatre.com

I heard from a couple of friends that Minions was just okay. I also saw on Rotten Tomatoes that it didn't have a very good score (it currently has a 54% rating only). Nevertheless, I decided to go see it for myself. The verdict? I tend to agree with my friends and rotten tomatoes. There are of course many really funny moments and it's still pretty good but I can't say I consider this to be a must-see movie. It would have been fine for me to just see it at home on TV.

Nadal wins, third time's the charm

Congratulations to Rafa Nadal for winning the Hamburg t. His win allowed him to exact revenge against his 2015 nemesis, Fabio Fognini, who beat him twice this year. His straight sets win over Fognini in the final was his first win over his Italian opponent in three attempts this year, thus taking home his third title of the year.

Nadal is still not quite there yet in terms of his fighting form, but a title is a title, and he is now trying to win enough points to rejoin the top 8 of the ATP tour and qualify for the year-end championships. He now has 47 clay court titles, just 2 behind the current record of 49 held by Guillermo Vilas. Hopefully, Nadal can tie or break this record.

While he is nowhere near his peak form (check out this video that shows just how phenomenal he was when he was playing well), I still believe he can still win at least one more Grand Slam title before he hangs up his racquet and calls it a career. I also think he's good enough to win 10 more titles. If that happens, he can tie John McEnroe in terms of number of career titles with 77.

*****

While we are on the topic, here's a funny moment during the trophy presentation ceremony. Rafa experiences leg cramps during his awarding speech. :)

Look at the bright side

I got up relatively early today to go to the clinic to see my doctor for a follow-up check-up. I got there with about 45 minutes before the end of clinic hours but unfortunately, I was told when I arrived that my doctor left early for some personal errands. Argh! It was very frustrating because I wasted a lot of time on a weekend morning that I could have spent sleeping or doing something else.

It was close to lunch time as I was heading home, so to make the most the most of my available time, I decided to pass by Century City Mall, which wasn't too far from the clinic. I saw a TV show recently where the hosts were trying out some restaurants in Hole in the Wall and I thought I would like to try this place out myself.

Once I got to the mall, I passed by Cotton On which was apparently on sale. I decided to take a quick look and as luck would have it, the shirts that were on sale fit me quite decently. For me, that's a bit of a find because it's not that easy for me to find shirts that fit well given how everything is slim fit nowadays. A couple of items on sale had designs and colors that I don't have in my wardrobe yet. As such, I ended up getting those two shirts at P600 each. Cool!

After my quick shopping detour (it took maybe 10 to 15 minutes for me to select those 2 shirts, try them on, and buy them LOL), I headed up to the 4th floor to have lunch at Hole in the Wall. It was a bit daunting at first because there are so many different restaurants there. I ended up trying the Black Vinegar Pork Chop at Kwong's Provisions. It was pretty tasty and the portion size was quite big. I didn't have room for dessert after that so I instead got a couple of cookies from Scout's Honor.

So while the day started out pretty poorly, it all turned out pretty well. I would most likely not have gone to Century City Mall earlier today if my doctor was at her clinic because I had an appointment in the middle of the afternoon and if my follow-up check-up pushed through, there wouldn't have been enough time for me to visit the mall afterwards. If I didn't get to visit the mall, I would've missed the two shirts I saw that were on sale and I wouldn't have been able to try Hole in the Wall. Pretty cool!

Smokey Mountain Greatest Hits

I was looking for a particular CD at a shop recently. As I was looking for it (and I actually didn't find it), I stumbled upon a Smokey Mountain greatest hits album. I looked at the list of songs and it had all their hits from both batches of Smokey Mountain. At P250, I thought it was very good value for money and as it was the last remaining CD on the shelf, I promptly picked it up and purchased it.

My absolute favorite song from this band is "Kahit Habang Buhay" which was performed by the second batch comprised of Chedi Vergara, James Koronel, Zhar Santos, and Jayson Angangan. As I listened to it again, I remembered just how good this song it and how much I love it. I learned that Yeng Constatino and Sam Milby remade this song but for me, the original is still much better. Check it out here:

video uploaded in youtube by Brian Sanchez

I prefer the second batch of Smokey Mountain to the first (although the first was good too). I remember watching Chedi, Jayson, Zhar, and James win the grand prize at the 1992 Tokyo Musical Festival with their stirring performance of Paraiso. It's pretty steady for most of the song but the finale from 4:27 onwards is sensational.

video uploaded in youtube by csntdualcore

I'm glad I walked into that CD store that day. I've listened to my Smokey Mountain greatest hits CD a lot since then, and I've replayed Kahit Habang Buhay dozens of times already. :)

A night of firsts in Serendra

My friend Anna was in Manila and despite everyone having a very hectic schedule last week, we still managed to meet up for dinner and drinks on Friday night. She wanted us to try the new Japanese whisky bar in Serendra so in keeping with the Japanese theme, we agreed to have dinner first in Mogu. We were all pretty hungry when we got there so I ended up ordering the Spicy Crispy Kani Maki and the Pork Kakuni (braised pork) and both were very good. I also shared Harami (thinly sliced imported marbled boneless beef shortribs) with Anna and Lala and that was a really solid dish. I can't believe I had never been to Mogu before given how good my meal was. I will be definitely be eating here again.

After dinner, we headed to LIT to enjoy some Japanese whisky. The three of us sat by the bar instead of getting a table and I thought that was a much better move for us as it allowed us to interact with Francis, the Japanese bartender (and I guess also owner?). He's a really cool guy and he took the time to share information about Japanese whisky with us. The ambience and the vibe here is so relaxed, comfortable, and inviting and having wonderful conversations with Francis made the whole experience even more enjoyable.

photo from the LIT Manila facebook page

I gotta say that once a menu was handed to me, I couldn't figure out what to order, mainly because I'm not a whisky connoisseur and also because there were so many options that I almost found it overwhelming LOL. I say almost because I eventually did make up my mind which ones to try. They have two serving sizes here: taste and experience. Taste, as the name implies, is a tasting portion while experience is a full shot. If you aren't sure what you want, you can order one of the four flight selections; these include three tasting portions and a highball. Lala ordered a flight, Anna got a Manila Old Fashioned cocktail, and I ordered two different whisky experiences. The first one was the Hibiki Japanese Harmony on the rocks (which is how Francis recommended that I have this drink).

photo from www.suntory.co.jp

The second one I ordered was the Nikka Takesturu (served neat, meaning a plain shot with nothing added to it; the other bartender suggested I have this one neat).

photo from www.masterofmalt.com

Both whiskies I ordered were good and I wouldn't mind having them again although I'm pretty sure that the next time I visit LIT, I will their other whiskies. :) As we were wrapping up the evening, I decided to order one last drink, a Manila Old Fashioned (similar to what Anna ordered) before we all called it a night. It was a really good experience and I'm glad I got to spend it with people who actually enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than I did. I am definitely visiting LIT Manila again.

90% Of People Can’t Pronounce This Whole Poem

I don't really know where this poem is originally from as I have seen it uploaded on several sites. I gotta say that while I was near-perfect, I didn't get everything right, mainly because some words such ague and Islington I hadn't heard of until I read this poem. Also, two new things I learned. First, Gertrude is apparently pronounced with a hard G sound instead of a J sound (I have an aunt named Gertrude and our family pronounces it with a soft G so it seems we have been wrong all this time but hey, I guess we have license to pronounce it however way we want LOL). Second, I learned about the word ere while working on crossword puzzles as a kid but I never knew how to pronounce it. I always thought it rhymes with here but apparently it sounds like air.

It's a pretty long poem so rather than copy-paste it here, I will just provide the link. Check it out.

90% Of People Can't Pronounce This Whole Poem - http://www.tickld.com/x/90-of-people-cant-pronounce-this-whole-poem-you-have-to-try-it

Here's a particularly interesting verse from the entire poem:

Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

If you can't quite figure out how to pronounce some of the words here, you can click on this link to see a video of how the full poem should be properly read. :)

Nora Aunor receives AIFFA Lifetime Achievement Award

This is actually more than 3 months late but I only learned about it recently. Nora Aunor was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards last April. She was introduced as someone "who has swept more than 60 different awards, internationally. She has won Cannes. She has won at the Berlin International Film Festival. She has won international awards in Russia, Hongkong, Venice and Egypt, just to mention a few." That is absolutely impressive.

This link provides a pretty comprehensive list of all the different awards and nominations that Nora has received over the years. Looking at her body of work and the recognition she has been given both locally and internationally, it isn't surprising that she was given this Lifetime Achievement Award. Here is a video of her receiving the award in Malaysia last April:


video uploaded in youtube by Bobby Bantay Rodriguez

This is truly an amazing and well-deserved honor for one of the best actors who has ever come out of the Philippines.

*****

While we are on the subject, I would also like to congratulate Cherie Gil for winning the 2015 AIFFA best actress award for her performance in Sonata. Check out this link for a list of all the AIFFA awardees which also includes other Filipino winners.

Cherie Gil wins Best Actress for role in "Sonata" #AIFFA2015 (Photo: @abs_catherinecc) pic.twitter.com/oeKfI1TiJ3

— ABS-CBN News Showbiz (@ABSCBN_Showbiz) April 11, 2015

A Christening and a day at SM Aura

About a year after my cousin Troy married his now-wife Joanna, they were blessed with a daughter, Jhoriel. Her baptism party was held last Saturday at Tramway Bayview Buffet along Roxas Boulevard. Naturally, most of our family, including my grandmother Nanay, were there to celebrate this special occasion.

Since we were out already, after our buffet lunch, we decided to go to SM Aura. I had originally planned to bring my family to Magnum Cafe for dessert so that they could try it before it closes later this week. Unfortunately, when we got there, the line was quite long. My other nephew didn't really eat anything at Tramway - he still wasn't hungry when we got there - so falling in line wasn't really an option at that point. Since he is a big fan of Japanese culture, I took him to Ramen Nagi instead. My other nephew had a lot to eat for lunch but he thought it would be cool to try some ramen as well. They ended up ordering different items - Curry King and Black King - and they both enjoyed what they got.

Curry King ramen at Ramen Nagi

Black King ramen at Ramen Nagi

I actually fell back in line at Magnum while they were finishing their big bowls of ramen but once they were done eating, they realized they didn't have room for dessert anymore. My mom and Nanay both don't eat a lot so neither of them felt like having ice cream. As such, I left the line and we just started going around the mall. Nanay went with mom while I took my nephews. After a short stop at Datablitz, we then went to Uniqlo, Cotton On, and Levi's so that one of my nephews could try on some jeans (I told him I would get him pants as my very belated Christmas gift since he couldn't make up his mind back then as to what he wanted and he only figured out what he wanted - or rather, needed - a few weeks ago.)

We decided to get the jeans from Uniqlo but I had to meet up with my mom to get her SM Advantage card. She was at the department store buying a few things and Nanay was looking at some clocks because the one at her house was broken already. When she made up her mind which clock she wanted, I decided to get it for her. We all then went back to Uniqlo - or well my mom and Nanay had coffee at UCC Mentore right next to it - so that we could get my nephew's jeans and so we could also have them altered.

It was around 6PM when my family headed home. I decided to stay at SM Aura to have dinner and maybe do some shopping myself. I headed to Todd English again and this time I ordered the T.E. Half Chicken. It was good but a few parts of it that were close to the bone were a bit too red for my liking so I surely prefer the T.E. Pork Chop that I had earlier in the year.

T.E. Half Chicken at Todd English

I then went window shopping (I've been looking for a red t-shirt that I really like that fits LOL but I still haven't been able to find one) before finding myself in Astrovision where I ended up buying 4 DVDs that were all on sale. I also snagged a CD of A Great Big World that was also on sale at P100. I had been planning to get "Say Something" - both the original version and the duet with Christina Aguilera - on iTunes for a while now and each would have cost around P50 to purchase online so a P100 CD with both versions on it was perfect for me. I also bought a Chocnut cupcake from A Taste of Slice and a Berry Cinnabon (this was so good; I was to have it again!) before finally heading home.

It was an incredibly long and tiring day but I am really happy that I got to be part of my cousin-niece's Christening and that I spent the day with my family. I'm especially happy that we got to take Nanay shopping since she doesn't get to do it very often anymore.

Driving dangers

Yesterday, as I was on my way to meet up with my family, I was driving along a road that was veering sharply to the right. I had my right turn signal on and as I was midway through the turn, I saw that a motorcycle had tried to whiz past me on my right side, between me and the curb. I almost hit him and he actually had to stop his bike. Crazy!

Gotta say that a lot of motorcycle drivers tend to be a hazard on the road. Many of them pose a threat to others and themselves by lane splitting and snaking in and out traffic, even fast-moving traffic. I've been sideswiped three times by motorcycles that forced themselves into the space between me and the vehicle next to me and of course none of them stopped or acknowledged the fact that they scratched my car.

Of course, I don't harbor resentment for all bad motorcycle drivers. I also feel a lot of compassion for many of them, especially those who are tasked to deliver food within a certain time period after an order is placed to avoid penalties. They not only have to drive by as quickly as possible through bad traffic, but in many cases they have to do it even in dangerous driving conditions. I remember I was on my way home at night and it was pelting and I thought of having food delivered once I got home. I changed my mind when I realized how difficult it would be for any delivery guy to bring food to me on a motorcycle that stormy night. So I decided to drive to a restaurant that was still open and have my late night meal there instead. Interestingly enough, not long after that, I was having a late lunch during a heavy downpour when I saw a McDonald's delivery man gearing up to drive through the rain. It took him several minutes to get ready to drive through the rain. I just started thinking how tough that work is.

That said, I still wish that motorcycle drivers, especially those who won't get penalized for missing a delivery deadline, would learn to be much safer on the road. I remember during the wake of my grandfather a few years ago, the wake right next to his was for a 30-year-old man who passed away because of a motorcycling collision. Not only can bad driving cause damage to other people's vehicles, but even worse, it can result in the bike driver's injury or even death.

Donaire wins in Macau

Congratulations to Nonito Donaire, the Filipino Flash, for winning his fight against Anthony Settoul in Macau. The former fighter of the year won by technical knockout in the second round after knocking down his French opponent three times. This win brings Donaire's career record to an impressive 35-3. It is his second win this year after defeating William Prado of Brazil last March. (Interestingly enough, he also won that fight by TKO and also in the second round.)

Watch the fight here.

An evening at Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe

Because July 17 was declared a Philippine holiday, I got to spend most of the day with my friends at Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe. My friend Jeoff seems to be a bit addicted to Resistance LOL and boardgame hangouts are starting to become more popular in Manila so we agreed to spend the holiday playing games at Ludo.

photo from Ludo facebook page

It actually started out with a lot of waiting. We were only waitlisted as we didn't have a reservation so when we got there in the late afternoon, we were still 6th on the list. We figured it would take some time to get a table so we decided to head over to Snack Shack along V Luna extension to have some burgers (actually, only my friends had food there since I was still pretty full from my late lunch). We got back to Ludo at around 6:30pm and we were still supposed to be 4th in line. However, a table became open a few minutes after we returned and the people ahead of us on the list were not there so we finally managed to get seated. Cool!

To get a table at Ludo, each person in your party needs to order at least one item - either food or a drink. This wasn't a problem for us as it was close to dinner time so everyone ended up ordering at least one thing (in fact, over the course of our stay there, I ordered a milkshake, spare ribs, iced tea, coffee, and brownie a la mode and I also shared in an okonimiyaki LOL). Other than ordering food or dinks, there is no other requirement (i.e. you don't need to pay an hourly to stay or to use the boardgames there). We ended up playing a few games: Ticket to Ride (once), Tsuro of the Seas (once), 7 Wonders (once), Resistance (three times), and Pandemic (three times). I have come to realize I'm not a fan of Resistance mainly because I feel it's pretty one-sided, heavily favoring the red spies over the blue resistance. True enough, the spies won all three rounds that we played.

photo from Ludo facebook page

Probably the highlight of the evening was Pandemic, which none of us had played before. As such, we struggled to figure out how to play it and we actually didn't play it correctly at all LOL. Unlike most other games, this one requires all players to work together to win. The first round was a major mess given that we missed following the instructions so many times and we ended up losing when we ran out of cards. We were stunned in the second round when we got hit by multiple epidemic cards almost in a row and we eventually lost when we reached the maximum number of outbreaks. (We later learned that we should be playing with only four epidemic cards that should actually be distributed throughout the deck in a manner that prevents them all from coming up early and in a row; it seems what we did was the "heroic" version which is definitely not what beginners should be attempting.) In our last game, we finally found all cures and won. However, we realized after playing that even then, we still missed following some rules LOL. After that third game, I was thinking that I didn't really like Pandemic but as we discovered what instructions we didn't follow correctly during our post-game review, I realized that this could actually be a fun game when played properly. I think I want to give it another shot next time.

photo from https://boardgamegeek.com

It was around 1 AM  when we called it quits. At that point, we had been playing boardgames for more than 6 hours. Cool! Despite being tired, everyone started thinking of when we should play again. I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Nephew time

Recently, one my nephews asked me to accompany him to the mall because the charger he purchased earlier in the day wasn't working. We had about an hour left before the mall would close so I hurriedly drove him there. As my nephew was discussing the replacement of his faulty charger, I ended up also buying a charger for my own phone. On the way out, we passed by an Adidas shop. I asked my nephew if I could check out some stuff there and he agreed. After several minutes of trying on many different Climacool shirts, I ended up getting four - three of which were on sale. My nephew told me as we were walking to the car that I actually benefited more from driving him to the mall because I ended up getting all those shirts. He was right.

I actually got to do a bit of driver/guardian duty for my nephews a few times over the last couple of months. Aside from that trip to the mall, I also picked up my nephew from an overnight stay with his school friends in Ortigas. On the way home, we stopped over at Cafe Breton since I hadn't eaten lunch yet. It was his first time there and he enjoyed the Blueberries & Cream crepe he ordered (he already had lunch so this dessert for him).

Prior to that, my nephews had been staying with our in-laws and they asked me if I could pick them up one Sunday morning and take them to the mall so they could go to Datablitz. I picked them up in the late morning and I took them to lunch at Conti's before they went video game shopping. We also passed by a music store so they could buy guitar strings. I got some Portuguese egg tarts from Lord Stow's before we headed home. I think it's great that I get to spend time with my nephews this way.

Way Back Wednesday: Sarsi "Angat sa Iba"

One of my favorite commercials from the 1980s.


video uploaded by Bebot*1943

A picture paints a thousand words

This is an incredibly inspirational story. About a month ago, college student Joyce Torrefranca saw a kid studying on a wooden bench outdoors, using light from the nearby McDonald's to study. Moved by what she saw, Joyce took a photo and shared it on her facebook page.

photo taken by Joyce Torrefranca; source:www.dailymail.co.uk

This picture then went viral, being shared thousands of times and was even featured in news websites abroad (such as on NY Daily news, Telegraph.co.uk, News.com.au, to name a few). The boy in this photo is Daniel Cabrera. His mother Christina works as a domestic helper to provide for him and his two siblings. His father passed away two years ago and his family live in the mini-grocery of Christina's employers after the shanty where they used to lived burned down five years ago. Even without this backstory, seeing that picture of an underprivileged kid make the most of his situation to try and study was so inspirational to many people that help started pouring in. Daniel and his family have since received donations of cash groceries, and school supplies. He was also awarded a scholarship. Wonderful news!

Hopefully, Daniel can get a solid education that will help make life better for him and his family in the future. I'm just happy that Joyce Torrefranco took this photo that helped move the world into action.

TBT: Universal Studios Japan

Back when there was still no Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I got to visit Universal Studios Japan.

I was assigned to a project in the Land of the Rising Sun back in early 2001 along with a few other Filipino colleagues. As luck would have it, Universal Studios Japan opened in Osaka on March 31 of that year. Since it wasn't that far from where we were, a few of us decided to check it out.

We visited the amusement park in late May but as it was still quite new, the queues to get into the attractions were quite long. As such, we weren't really able to try a lot of rides. We got on JAWS, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2:3-D. We also got to watch the Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll show. We also got to see some of the street shows that were going on.

Of the few attractions we got to try, my favorite was the Terminator 2:3-D, probably because it was the first time that I got to experience a 3-D ride where the images on screen really did look like they were coming out at you. I enjoyed it to so much that I bought a Terminator 2 mug as a souvenir, and more than a decade later, that mug is still with me. Another thing that stood out to me was that at each ride, there was a sign that indicated the approximate waiting time in line. I guess this is now commonplace in many amusement parks but that was the first time I experienced it, and the waiting times indicated were pretty accurate.

Digital photography wasn't as advanced then. I had a 3.3 megapixel camera that cost a fortune and I also had a128-Mb memory stick (yes, Mb, not Gb; amazing how technology over the last fourteen years has evolved). As such, I wasn't able to take a lot of photos. Nevertheless, I look at these crummy pics I took and they still somehow transport me to that really fun day that I spent with really good friends.

Another year, another early loss

Well this sucks. Rafael Nadal lost in the second round to Dustin Brown at Wimbledon. Brown was a qualifier in this tournament and the highest ranking he has achieved so far is #78. However, he has the game to trouble Nadal, with his big serve and strong forehand. Nadal hasn't been playing well this year and against Brown, he couldn't get his rhythm, mainly also because his opponent was playing incredibly tennis. Brown's level of play in their second round match kept Nadal off-balance and preventing the former #1 from finding his rhythm. As such, Brown sent Nadal packing with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

This is now the fourth year in a row that Rafa has lost early at Wimbledon:

2012: Nadal loses to Lukas Rosol in Round 2, 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.
2013: Nadal loses to Steve Darcis in Round 1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (8-10), 4-6.
2014: Nadal loses to Nick Kyrgios, 6-7, 7-5, 6-7, 3-6.
2015: Nadal loses to Dustin Brown, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.

Such a shame because Nadal won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and again in 2010, and he reached the final on three other occasions (2006, 2007, and 2011). Each of his losses in the last four years have been to low-ranked players who seem to have played one of their best matches ever when they met Nadal. This is definitely proving to be Rafa's worst tennis year in more than a decade. The only upside to this is that he has practically no points to defend in the remainder of the year so hopefully he can play with no pressure and find some of his top form again.

Hearing for the first time

This is one of the most heartwarming videos I've seen. It's amazing to see these deaf people get to hear for the first time or have their hearing restored.


video uploaded in youtube by Tech Ticking

A night of firsts

I messaged my friends Joh and Raffa recently to ask for some help and in the course of our discussion, we realized that our set of friends hadn't seen each other in a really long time. Plans were quickly set and a few days later, I met up with both of them as well as with Mike, Alvin and Doray. Mike wanted to have ramen for dinner so we decided to eat at Ramen Nagi in SM Aura. Ramen Nagi has been around for a while now but it was only that night that I got to try it. I ordered the Original King (Butao) and it was pretty good. I definitely wouldn't mind having ramen here again.

For dessert, we headed to Magnum. Dining here is a bit complicated: to get a table, your group must order at least one plated meal per two people; you can't just order ice cream. Thankfully, I was in the mood for a plated dessert, as were a couple of other folks so we managed to get seated. Once again, it was my first time here. I ordered the Crepe Du Jour and I am so glad I did because it was so good!

Crepe Du Jour, photo courtesy of http://lifestyle.inquirer.net

Joh and Doray said however that Magnum will be closing on July 26. Not because it isn't doing well but because it was established as a pop-up restaurant and intended to be around for only about a year. Too bad. There is about a month left before it closes though so maybe I will visit this place again while I still can. (I heard the rest of the food here is pretty good too.)

Weekend in Pansol

Due to some recent organizational changes, I joined a new team at work a few months ago. To help make sure people in our new team felt integrated, many of us spent the weekend in Pansol. We were asked to be at the resort by noon so that the activities could start at 1PM but since some of our teammates work the graveyard shift, a lot of them took quick naps to recharge so the organizers decided to start the games a bit later. As I waited for the games to start and as most people were asleep, I started walking around the grounds when I saw a dartboard so I decided to play darts to while the time away. I played darts a scant few times in the past so I had never previously managed to hit the bullseye but with some time in my hands, I managed to hit the outer bullseye twice! (I couldn't hit the inner bullseye or triple 20 though, so the next time I have a chance, that will be my goal. :))

The games finally got under way in the early afternoon. From the totem creation and protection to the fear factor-style games where I ended up eating Jelliyum soaked in patis to the retrieval of white marbles at the bottom of the pool that became practically invisible once the water was no longer still, there were definitely a lot of opportunities to bond with people we didn't get to interact with before. Our team ended up in a tie for second place so it was decided to break the tie through a beer pong-inspired game where each team had to shoot a ping pong ball in all the cups of the opposing team. I was crap at that game (I manged to shoot the ball only twice) but thankfully, my teammate was an ace as she managed to shoot the ball in about 1/2 to 2/3 of all cups, allowing us to win and secure the overall second place. Cool!

The evening was spent singing karaoke, having fun in the pool, and playing a variety of card games such as pusoy dos (I actually got a seven-high straight flush and a queen-high straight flush that evening!), tong-its,  and slapjack. The highlight for me though was playing bridge. I used to play bridge a lot in college but not a lot since then. In fact, it must have been more than a decade since I last played this card game. It all came back quickly though and me and my partner managed to win all but two of the rounds, sometimes by the skin of our teeth LOL. To be fair, though, one of the guys was playing bridge for the first time that night so my partner and I did have an advantage. Nevertheless, it was still a lot of fun and makes me want to play bridge again.

It was close to 3AM when I hit the sack, although plenty of people were still singing the night away so I guess I must have been quite tired since I managed to sleep through that. :) I woke up at around 9AM to a tasty breakfast of chicken fried rice, luncheon meat and eggs before heading back to Manila. (Thankfully, there was almost no traffic up until Magallanes so the trip was pretty quick.) It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and I'm glad I was able to go.

Zendee sings Flashlight with Jessie J

Zendee Tenerefe came into the public eye first when a video of her singing went viral. That video led to her guesting on Ellen. Now, another one of her videos is getting some online activity as she sings "Flashlight" with Jessie J. Check it out:


video upload in youtube by Zendee Rose Tenerefe

"Flashlight" is from the soundtrack of Pitch Perfect 2 and the radio version was performed by Jessie J. This duet was made possible through the Sing! Karaoke! app of Smule. I think the way the app works is that it has Jessie J singing parts of the song and anyone can "duet" with her. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I liked how light and easy it sounded and I love how Zendee harmonized with Jessie J. This is really fun to listen to. Makes me interested to look for other similar duets online. :)

A Jurassic World kind of day

I watched Jurassic World last Sunday with my mom and my nephew. Which means I was a contributor to this movie's record-breaking opening. It is now has the biggest US opening (it's $208.8 million US gross edges out the Avengers' $207.4 million), the biggest gross outside the US (it's $315.3 million gross outside the US overtakes the $314 million of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2), and it has the biggest global opening with $524.1 million. This marks the first time a film grossed more than $500 million internationally in a single weekend. Wow! I guess this shouldn't be all that surprising. When Jurassic Park came out back in 1993, it became the highest grossing film worldwide until it was dethroned by Titanic four years later.

My nephew told me last Friday that he wanted to watch Jurassic World, and he in fact wanted to watch that night but I told him I couldn't take him then. Instead, I could take him on Sunday. My mom had an errand to do that day and I agreed to do driver-duty for her so we decided to bring my nephew along so that we could head to the mall after her errand and watch the movie together. The last film I watched with my mom was Maleficent a year ago so I was happy that I was able to take her to see Jurassic World (now that I think about it, I watched Maleficent with my mom and my nephew as well).

We got to Shangri-La Mall at around 6PM and thankfully, there were still seats for the 7:10 PM showing. That gave us enough time to have a decent meal before our movie. I decided to take bring them to Duck & Buvette for dinner. I had eaten here a couple of times before and I thought that my family would enjoy the food here. And true enough, they did. My mom also really enjoyed the coffee she ordered. As we were finishing our meal, we thought it would be good to eat here again with the rest of our family. (I guess I should plan for that. :))

*** Semi-spoiler alert. Stop reading if you don't want to find out details about the movie. ***

Jurassic World is definitely a lot of fun. There is a whole lot of dinosaur action that will keep audiences entertained, the effects are awesome, and watching it makes you want to visit a theme park afterwards (even one with no live dinosaurs LOL). I also love how it even pokes fun at itself, with lead star Chris Pratt calling out co-star Bryce Dallas Howard's cheap shoes (I think he said cheap shoes), ensuring that people would notice how she managed to run throughout the latter half of the movie in heels that never broke. :) I did find the ending slightly over the top but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable movie. As an article said online, there is a universal fascination in dinosaurs that transcends culture. I am curious to see how much Jurassic World eventually earns. Can it beat the record recently taken by Furious 7 with the fastest time to earn $1 billion globally? With it's massive opening, I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

The 28th SEA Games

The 2015 Southeast Asian Games were held in Singapore from June 5 to 16. It concluded earlier today, with the Philippines placing 6th out of 11 countries with 29 golds, 36 silvers and 66 bronze medals.

Check out the final medal tally for the 28th SEA Games. Congratulations all and well done! #SEAGames2015 pic.twitter.com/DOeU39OUKm

— 28th SEA Games  (@seagames2015) June 16, 2015

Some of the notable results:

• The GILAS Cadets beat Indonesia to win Gold in Men's Basketball. This means that the Philippines has now won every basketball event at the games since 1991. It also means that the country has lost once once since the SEA games started in 1977. (We lost to Malaysia in 1989.) Talk about dominance!
• Josie Gabuco won her 4th gold medal in boxing. She has now won one gold medal in each of the last SEA Games (2009, 2011, 2013, and now 2015). Way to go, Josie!
• Eric Shauwn Cray was our only multiple medalist in the games, winning gold medals in the 100m and 400m hurdles. He broke the SEA Games record at the 400m hurdles and his win there allowed him to defend the gold medal he won in 2013.
• Other athletes who defended the gold medals they won in 2013: Mario Fernadez (boxing), Dennis Orcollo (10-ball pool), Kiyomi Watanabe (judo), and the Poomsae Taekwondo men's team.

Congratulations to all the athletes who competed!

Nadal wins on grass!

After a disappointing European clay season, at least by his lofty standards, Rafa Nadal has returned to his winning ways on, of all surfaces, a grass court! Nadal took home the title in Stuttgart, beating Viktor Troicki  7-6 (3), 6-3 in the final. I did not see this coming but it is a very pleasant and welcome surprise.

Rafa was in trouble in the first few rounds of the tournament but he still managed to make it through. In the latter round, he seemed to find his footing on the slick surface as he upended both Gael Monfils (in the semifinals) and Viktor Troicki in straight sets. This is Rafa's first grasscourt title since winning Wimbledon in 2010 (five years ago! I can't believe it's been that long). He only reached the 4th round of Wimbledon last year. Hopefully, Rafa can do better at Wimbledon this year, move back up the rankings, and finish the year strong.

Manila wedding

Deryk was my co-lead in our corporate social responsibility (CSR) organization at work until he pursued other opportunities.We still get to see each other every so often along with the other people we worked woth very closely as part of the core organizing team of our CSR initiative. As such, when we were invited to his wedding which was held last weekend, a lot of us made sure to go.

The church ceremony was held at San Agustin Church in Intramuros at 1PM. It was, for the most part, beautiful. The wedding vows allowed us to learn about the love story of Deryk and his wife Gle and the amazing journey they took together over the years. However, the challenge of having a wedding in San Agustin church is that so many people get married here that the ceremonies tend to feel rushed. I remember a friend of mine getting married here and she initially wanted me to be the lector but she was told by San Agustin that they don't allow other people to act as the lector because they really have to move things along. We definitely felt that during the wedding as the lector seemed to be in rapid fire mode. Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful celebration and Deryk ang Gle both looked very happy.

The Manila Hotel served as the venue for their wedding reception dinner which was held at 7pm. Since there was a lot of time between the church ceremony and the reception, a few of us - Zaza, Denise, Leianne, and Kristel - decided to hang out in Robinson's Ermita. We had a late lunch in Jack's Loft and then we started to go around the mall. We checked out Japan Home and a few folks bought some items there. I still can't believe that practically everything in the store costs less than P100! They even have a frying pan priced at P88. Wow! This is a perfect place to get Christmas gifts and I think I will visit this place as we get closer to the Yuletide season. :) As we were walking along the mall, we passed by the Robinson's department store and I saw many foldable fans. Zaza mentioned she wanted to buy a new fan so when I pointed the selection of fans to her, we ended up going into the department store where practically everyone else purchased something (except me LOL). At that time, it was already past 5PM so we decided to head to Manila Hotel so that we would have time to get cleaned up. As we waited for the reception to start, we spent more time sharing stories while chilling at the beautiful hotel lobby.

We were among the first few people who entered the ballroom at 7PM and as we stepped in, we were all in awe. The ballroom looked stunningly beautiful! It had sort of a fairytale-woodland-in-winter feel. Strands of crystal were elegantly draped from the the ceiling, the presidential table was decorated with a plethora of candles that gave the venue a more romantic feel especially whenever the lights were turned down, and the table arrangements and centerpieces were exquisite. All five of us were so wowed by the ballroom that we just kept going around and taking pictures. (The photos just don't do the reception area justice.)

The attention to detail was also remarkable. I noticed that the tables had four different types of decorations: there were two kinds of tall arrangements made of tastefully decorated twigs and branches...

and there were two kinds of snow globe-looking centerpieces.

I noticed that the shorter "snow globes" were featured on the tables closer to the center of the room and the taller ones were on tables that were further away. I realized that the room was set up in this way because if all tables featured the tall centerpieces, then people who were further away would have their line of sight blocked. Smart!

The reception served as a bit of a reunion for a lot of us from our CSR organization since it had been months since we last got to see each other. Aside from the 4 people I spent the afternoon with, I got to spend the rest of the evening with Melody, Enrique, and Lou and his wife Leda. We were all seated at the same table and I would like to think we were very good wedding guests as we were all very actively engaged, often being some of the first to applaud each important moment and frequently starting the clinking of glasses so that Deryk and Gle would kiss. By the end of the evening, it took a while for us to make our way to Deryk and Gle to with them well and have our photo taken again with them since so many people were in line to say goodbye. We even joked that it was like we were in a meet-and-greet with some very famous celebrities. :) This was definitely a very memorable wedding and I'm happy that I got to witness Deryk tie the knot while spending the day with great friends.

Happy Independence Day, Philippines!

Maligayang Araw ng Kasarinlan, Pilipinas! :)

Today marks the 117th year of Philippine independence. As has been the case in the last four years (or at least as far as I have noticed), Google celebrates Philippine Independence Day:

You can check out the previous times that Philippine Independence was featured on the google page: 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Wildflour and Farmacy night

To kick off the long weekend, my college friends and I decided to meet up in Wildflour in BGC for dinner earlier tonight. Our friend Weng was in town, albeit under unfortunate circumstances, so we decided to do something positive and happy while she was still in Manila. I was actually about an hour late for dinner because I had to close out a lot of issues at work before the long weekend. When I arrived, Weng, Letllet, Gosh, and Kermin were already there and the food that everyone ordered had already been served, allowing me to dive in immediately. Which was good because I was famished. I ended up overeating but it was so easy to do because the food was good and I was very hungry. Lala soon joined us and ordered more food - which I still shared with her LOL - and later on, Jed joined us.

After dinner, we moved to Farmacy, which I think is also owned by Wildflour, to have some ice cream. I had never been to Farmacy before and it's a bit interesting because it's supposed to be an ice cream and soda fountain place but they also serve craft beers. We were all still quite full so instead of everyone getting individual ice cream orders, we just decided to get a few items and share them. Everyone seemed to love the Banutter sundae (vanilla, banana, peanut butter ice cream with caramel sauce, candied peanuts and whipped cream) but while it was really good, I somehow still preferred the simple but classic flavors of the Rocky Road Sundae.

I had planned on leaving at around 11PM and I had in fact already started saying goodbye but just as I was about to leave, Gosh told me that I should try to play Quiz App since he felt I would enjoy it. Quiz App is a trivia game where you compete with someone else in the world to see who can score more points on a variety of categories. Points are awarded not only for correct answers but also how quickly you respond. We started off with the Pixar category. We didn't do well there since there were questions like which movie did this person write or who created the musical score for which movie. Gosh played the Game of Thrones category which he easily won. We then moved to Star Wars which I requested and I would have won had I not made the stupid mistake of selecting Jim Henson too quickly as the voice of Yoda (when I knew in fact it was Frank Oz ugh) so we lost by small margin.

It was at that point where we moved to the "Name the movie star" category and here we won practically every round we played. The only time we lost was when Weng made the mistake of pressing Jeff Bridges too quickly when the person in the photo was actually Jeff Daniels. Our success in this category allowed us to move quickly to level 6. Cool! This also meant that I ended up staying about 30 minutes longer than I had intended hahaha. But that was okay. Everyone was telling me I should get that app but I probably won't as I may end up losing so much time playing it. :) It was close to midnight when I left but hopefully we all get to hang out again soon. A couple of people are turning a year older soon so we may have a party to celebrate their birthdays.

Way Back Wednesday: "Ikaw pa rin" by Ted Ito

"Ikaw pa rin" came out in the early 1990s and became an instant hit and cult classic. Performed by Japanese Ted Ito, it is a Filipino version of the Japanese song "Saigo no Iiwake" by Hideaki Tokunaga. Thankfully, we now have youtube that allows us to have Way Back Wednesday moments by listening to music that we don't really get to hear on the radio anymore.


uploaded in youtube by TheGoddess461

W is for Win

Williams. Wawrinka. Winners. Wow.

What a French Open that was. Serena Williams and Stanislas Wawrinka won the women's and men's singles titles at Roland Garros. With both players having initials S.W. , it would have been a tad cooler if they both won Wimbledon (which is also called SW19 because of its area code) hehe but their wins were both pretty incredible for different reasons.

Stan Wawrinka became the oldest man in 25 years to win the French Open, his second Grand Slam title after winning in Australia last year. He is now in a tie with Andy Murray (who also has two) and anyone who achieves this feat in the era of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic has definitely achieved something special. By winning last Sunday, Wawrinka also snapped Novak Djokovic's 28-match winning streak and prevented Novak from completing a career grand slam.

Serena, on the other hand, is now halfway towards completing a calendar grand slam. This is actually the first time in her career that she is this close to achieving a feat that only 5 people in history have achieved, primarily because each time she has won the Australian Open in the past, she lost immediately at the French. That she is this close to achieving what is deemed to be the most prized achievement in tennis at the age of 34 speaks volumes of just how unparalleled Serena's talent is. Her win last Saturday means that she has now won 20 majors, only 2 behind Steffi Graf and 4 behind Margaret Court. With no one looking like they can consistently challenge her, I wouldn't be surprised if Williams passes Court's record of 24 within the next 2-3 years. Another record she shares with Court - she has now won at least three of each Grand Slam title (Steffi holds the record with four of each).

Wimbledon is just a couple of weeks away and it will be interesting to see who will win on the men's side and if anyone can stop Serena. Predictions, anyone?

Fall of the King

It was bound to happen at some point and unfortunately, it had to happen now. Rafa Nadal, the king of clay, has been unceremoniously dumped out of the French Open quarterfinals by his nemesis, world #1 Novak Djokovic. This has definitely been Nadal's most trying year in the last decade and this loss may very well drop Nadal out of the top ten.

Nadal fans - myself included - will have to wait to see if he can still add to his massive French Open title haul and claim a tenth trophy.