Friend day Saturday

Two different sets of friends wanted to meet up last Saturday but thankfully, one group wanted to meet during lunch while the other group wanted to meet during dinner. The venue: Burgos Cirlce/Forbes Town Center.

My work friends decided to have lunch in Locavore. Me-ann and Hannah were both in town and when I suggested this place which serves very good Filipino food, Hannah actually said that she was going to suggest the same place. So it was set! While a few others were unable to make it, Mike and Alvin were also able to join us. I had eaten in the original Kapitolyo restaurant before but I had completely forgotten about it until I got there and I recognized the decor and the street food platter (fish balls, squid balls, kikiam, and kwek-kwek). Both Hannah and Alvin seemed very familiar with the menu and they proceeded to order for everyone. I gotta say, I'm not normally a fan of oysters but the Lechon and Oyster Sisig was very good.

photos and Instamag layout courtesy of my friend Me-ann

After our meal, we all decided to have coffee and gelato in Casa Italia. Mike wanted three different flavors so he ordered three scoops, and as it turned out, he got a whole lot more gelato than he expected. He decided to share it with us. I would have ordered gelato for myself but I realized that I was too full and with Mike sharing his order and Hannah sharing her sans rival, I felt that coffee would be sufficient. We parted ways at around 2:30PM.

I stayed around in BGC and headed back towards Burgos Circle at 6PM for dinner with my Yaminoy friends. It's amazing how I ended up becoming friends with other fans of Elliott Yamin almost 10 years ago and we are still pretty good friends now and a few of us still manage to meet up at least once a year. I had always wanted to try B&B Burgers and Brewskies because I saw their menu a while back and discovered that they served a burger that came with mac and cheese and bacon. It is appropriately named "Call the Nurse". :) Only Marie and Meg were able to make it that night - Meg herself had a bit of a cough - but we decided to push through anyway because our heavily conflicting schedules have led to many cancelled plans to meet up this year. Thankfully, we all got to enjoy dinner together because there was a whole lot of catching up to do.

US Open 2016 and Graf's continuing legacy

What an amazing fortnight for Angelique Kerber. She took home the US Open trophy, her 2nd Grand Slam title of the year, by beating Karolina Pliskova in a very tough three-setter. With this win, Kerber takes over the #1 ranking from Serena Williams. She is the first German to be ranked #1 since Steffi Graf. Furthermore, she snaps Williams' streak of 186 consecutive weeks at #1. This is the exact same women's record that Steffi has, a record I thought she would lose this year. As such, Steffi and Serena now share the women's record for most consecutive weeks at #1 (the men's record and the overall record are both held by Roger Federer at an astonishing 237 weeks). Congratulations, Angelique!

For her part, losing finalist Karolina Pliskova made headlines herself when she announced her arrival at the top echelon of tennis when she defeated Serena Williams in the semifinals. Pliskova had been slowly making a name for herself over the last two years, and even moreso in the last couple of months. She led the women's tour in number of aces last year and she is the current ace leader this year as well. More recently, she beat both French Open winner Garbine Muguruza and Kerber en route to a Cincinnati title. She was actually ahead in the final as she was up 3-1 in the third set and seemed on the way to another upset win but in the end, you could see she was just a bit more tired than her more seasoned opponent. If Pliskova continues to work on her fitness and movement, she could very be a future Grand Slam titlist and even a future #1. Her rise to #6 after this tournament is a solid step in the right direction for her.

On the men's side, Stanislas Wawrinka just made a case for a Big Five instead of a Big Four as he won his third Grand Slam trophy, beating Novak Djokovic in four sets. He now has won in three of the four Grand Slam events - the only one missing in his collection is Wimbledon - and at 31, he becomes the oldest male player to hoist the trophy since Ken Rosewall who won in 1970 at the age of 35. Things could have gone very wrong for him though as he faced a match point in the third against Daniel Evans. He saved that and four rounds later, he becomes a champion.

Interestingly enough, Angelique Kerber herself could have had a not-so-good year if not for saving a match point in the first round of the Australian Open against Misaki Doi. If she lost that, she may not have gained the confidence she now has that allowed her to reach the final of Wimbledon, win a silver medal in Rio, take the US Open title, and become world #1. Imagine that. Oh, and Karolina Pliskova had to save a match point herself against Venus in the fourth round.

I understand that this is also the first time that Serena Williams was seeded #1 at the US Open and didn't win. She actually had a solid shot at taking home Grand Slam title #23 that would have allowed her to take over Steffi Graf's current Open Era record (Margarent Court has the all-time record with 24). Instead, her loss keeps her at even footing with Steffi in the Grand Slam title count as well as in the consecutive weeks at #1 record. Amazing how Serena's incredible success has somehow reminded people of Steffi's otherworldly career.

With the last Grand Slam event of the 2016 tennis season having been played out, it would be interesting to see what happens in the WTA Tour Championships and who will end up being #1 at the end of the year.

Philippine Madrigals win the 64th International Choral Competition!

Congratulations to the Philippine Madrigal Singers for winning the Grand Prize at the 64th International Choral Competition held in Arezzo, Italy last August 27. Along with the Grand Prize, the Madz as they are popularly called also took home several awards:

• 1st prize: Compulsory Program
• 1st prize: Monographic Music
• 1st prize: Musica Sacra
• 2nd prize: Secular Music
• Best Performance of a Renaissance Piece
• Listening Committee's Choice: Folk Song
• Listening Committee's Choice: Pop/Colours
• Public's Choice: Pop/Colours

Check out this unbelievably amazing performance of Ama Niamo (which is Bicolano for Our Father). I get goosebumps each time I listen to this (and I have been listening to this quite a lot). The low humming throughout a large part of the song is just done so effortlessly, ethereally and impeccably and that build-up that starts at around the 5:30 mark is stunning and magnificent and never fails to take my breath away. Being awestruck while listening to a recording on youtube makes me wonder how amazing they would have sounded live. After hearing this, it is easy to understand why they won.


video uploaded in youtube by UP Madrigal Singers

This win qualifies them for the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing to be held in Tolosa, Spain next year. Only the winners of the six European choral competitions get to participate in this very prestigious event and the Madz are only one of four choirs that have won the Grand Prix twice.  Imagine that! A win next year would make them the most successful choir in this event. I will pray for their continued success but whatever happens next year, this win in Italy proves that the Madz are truly one of the best choral groups in the world.

Congratulations, Philippine Madrigals!

Celebrations and Catching Up

This last month has definitely been a full and rich one, with many celebrations and get-togethers. For my mom's birthday, we had dinner in Relish in Tomas Morato. My family and I have always enjoyed the food but we hadn't been to Relish in a while so I thought it would be a good place to have my mom's celebration dinner. I also brought home a Strawberry Pavlova from The Bandana Baker because I wanted to try something different and not easy to purchase to make the celebration just a bit more special. It was my first time to try this dessert and it was very good. My mom really loved it. I may just get order this again for another occasion.

Strawberry Pavlova from The Bandana Baker

The Bandana Baker
https://www.facebook.com/The-Bandana-Baker-60508551947/
For orders, call or text 0916-780-6521
Email: thebandanabaker@yahoo.com.ph
Located in Makati
Check out how to place orders here: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150203405320346

It took a while for me to figure out what I could get my mom as a birthday present. The idea came when I saw an advertisement online indicating a weekend sale of NESCAFE Dolce Gusto Oblo machines in Robinson's Magnolia. I didn't have time to go there but when I went to S&R shortly after that, I saw that the Oblo machines were still on sale. As I learned more about it, I found out that this machine requires the user to decide how much water to add which I felt to be too much of a hassle. I decided to get the Mini Me which is a lot more expensive but which allows you to set the recommended amount of water for maximum coffee enjoyment. (I figured that if people had to figure out how much water was necessary, they might not like the coffee as much and they might not use it.) So far, this gift has proven to be a fantastic idea because within 24 hours of me setting it up at home, my mom and my nephews had all enjoyed a cup and a whole box of capsules was consumed within a week. Cool!

NESCAFE Dolce Gusto Mini-Me

(photo from https://www.dolce-gusto.com.ph/machines/mini-me/mini-me-unbranded-white-black)

For my nephew's birthday, we went to SM MOA to get him new sneakers. It was the first time we went there on a Sunday and wow, it was overflowing with people! We took a snack and coffee break in UCC Vienna Cafe before my nephew finally decided on the pair he wanted. Given how crowded SM MOA was, I suggested to my family that we just have dinner in BGC. We dined in Frank and Dean and we all enjoyed the food we ordered. I especially loved their Sour Cream pancakes (they were like a light and fluffy mix between pancakes and bibingka and I wouldn't mind having them again).

We weren't able to properly celebrate my brother's birthday last year because his work schedule makes it challenging for all of us to find a common time. Thankfully, this year, we were able to have dinner at Conti's. I also ended up getting Nike Flex shoes for myself that night. I had checked them out on a previous trip to Planet Sports but I decided to think about it carefully first before getting them. Luckily, the pair that I actually wanted were on sale on that return trip. The guy at the shop told me that those shoes were on sale for only 5 days. It was already the 4th day of the sale when I got them - at 20% off! - so I was really pleased with my luck and my timing.

I also joined many of my friends over the last few weeks for a variety of occasions. My friend G went to the US for further studies so he treated us all to dinner and drinks at The Stockpile in Sapphire Bloc in Ortigas. Joh celebrated her birthday at The Grind in BGC. Jim celebrated his birthday at Reserve in Burgos Circle. I was unable to join Mark's birthday celebration dinner but I caught up with him and the rest of the gang at Coffee Bean in Rockwell Business Center in Ortigas. I also got to catch up over coffee with my friend and long-time colleague Auds who had just resigned from work. Now that I am writing about this, I realize that this last month has really been a full one, and I'm just thankful that I got to spend a lot of quality time with the people in my life.

August hodgepodge

The Rio Olympics ended a few weeks ago and it was significant for many reasons. For Filipinos, Hidilyn Diaz took home a silver medal in weightlifting. Usain Bolt also added to his legendary status by once again taking home another three golds. This is the third Olympics in a row where Usain won all three events he participated in. Nine golds for a sprinter is unheard of. In fact, before Bolt, it was rare for anyone to win both the 100m and the 200m in the same Olympics and yet Usain did this feat three times. That is just staggering. Then, as if one all-time great wasn't enough, Michael Phelps came out of retirement to win five more gold medals and a silver. He now has 23 golds, 3 silvers and 2 bronzes for a total of 28 medals. Both Phelps and Bolt are considered by many to be the greatest Olympians of all time and it's great to have witnessed their success.

However, it wasn't just the medalists that imprssed me. A non-medalist from Ukraine shocked me to my core (in a good way). 41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina made it to the finals of the Vault in Gymnastics. I actually had the TV on when she was competing and it took a while for me to realize that the 41-year-old that the commentators were talking about was her. They said she learned a new vault at the age of 40 and then I suddenly recognized her and remembered who she was. This was the 7th consecutive Olympics she competed in, her first being in 1992 (24 years ago). Wow. To be the 7th best female vaulter in the world at that age is just jaw-dropping. Oh and she is only the fourth woman to return to Olympic gymnastics after becoming a mother. She is just truly inspirational.

*****

Wicked, the world-renowned Broadway musical, is making a return to the Philippines on February 2, 2017. This time, it will be staged at the Theatre at Solaire. I watched it the last time it was here but only with my mom and my brothers since my nephews weren't interested to see it back then. But now, one of my nephews said he wanted to see it so I got tickets and I will be watching it again. Thankfully, Visa credit cards holders could purchase tickets a bit earlier and at a discount. The Visa-only sale is over though so everyone can buy tickets now.

*****

I upgraded to Windows 10 on the last day of the free upgrade. I did some research and everyone seemed to have positive things to say about Windows 10 so I decided to make the leap. However, I am now regretting it. My laptop now takes a whole lot longer to boot. I don't really like the new explorer layout and how the shortcut to select the views is no longer readily available. I don't like how I lost the recent documents option. I don't like the pinned stuff (I had to manually remove them all). Oh and my Plants vs. Zombies, which I still play every now and then, no longer works. Ugh. Maybe I should do some research on whether its possible to downgrade my Windows.

*****

Of course, no month would be complete for me these days without more board and tabletop gaming. :) In this last month, apart from games that I am familiar with, I also got to play a few new ones: Celestia, Grimoire, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Machi Koro, and Carcassonne. Shockingly, my winning average is still pretty solid as I won 4 of the last 8 games I played, including Grimoire and Carcassonne which I won on my first try. I played Above and Below again and while the first time was very confusing for me, the instructions were a lot clearer this time around and I did a whole lot better. I actually lost by only one point and I attribute that loss to bad die roll as I was close to the end of the game. :) The game that I seem to do really well in is Bruges. I have played this game four times now, and I have won three times and been a close second in the only time I didn't place first. I hope that streak continues. :)

UPeepz win Gold in Hip Hop International 2106

This post is a couple of weeks late but it is still definitely worth writing about. UPeepz continue their international success. After winning the World Supremacy Battlegrounds Street Dance last year, they take home the Gold in the Hip Hop International 2016 MegaCrew Division. Congratulations, UPeepz!


video uploaded in youtube by OfficialHHI

This wasn't the only Filipino success in this event. The Alliance also took home Bronze in the Varsity Division. As it turns out, one of the dancers here is the son of one of my friends. Cool! Way to go, UPeepz and The Alliance!

Firebird and other ballets at the CCP

Earlier today, I went to CCP with my mom to watch the Firebird and other ballets which kicks off the 47th season of Ballet Philippines. The program was broken down into two acts. The first act consisted of three parts. The first, Weighted Whispers, had the dancers wearing corset/harness costumes. The choreography smartly involved lifts using these harnesses and provided movements that would otherwise not be possible, making it incredible and breathtaking to watch. The second part, Moving Two, was a light and fun pas de deux performed to Pachelbel's Canon. The third part, Ne Neh Ledej, is performed to the captivating and enthralling music of the same name by Iva Bittova. It was a lively and powerful number.

The second act consisted of The Firebird, which is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky. The original ballet is 50 minutes long but it does have three shorter suites (I'm not sure which suite was used during out show.) This second act was mesmerizing to watch, not only for the amazing technique, skills, and stage performance of the company but also for the vibrant and dazzling costumes and set. Needless to say, the company and the crew got a massive ovation at the end of the show.

The cast featured some amazing artists, such as Rita Angela Winder, Garry Corpuz, Denise Parungao, Katrene San Miguel, Lester John Reguindin, and Cyril Aran Fallar, whose performance that night as Korschel the Immortal would be his last with Ballet Philippines (at least for now). He had his own curtain call moment and you could see how much Ballet Philippines means to him as he bade a fond farewell to everyone. (I wonder where he is going or what his plans are.)

Here's a video from Ballet Philippines with some pretty amazing snippets of the rehearsals:


video uploaded in youtube by balletph

Interesting moment: it turns out that Cherie Gil and Margie Moran were in the audience that night and my mom was able to have a photo taken with both of them separately. My mom even had a short conversation with Cherie during the intermission. I myself wanted to tell Cherie that I was utterly impressed with her performance in Master Class many years ago but there were so many people in line to have their photo taken with her that I wasn't able to say what I wanted to say.

This is the first time I had been to CCP since watching Beauty and the Beast there early last year because all the shows I watched after that were staged in the Theatre at Solaire. I'm really happy that I got to see Firebird and other ballets with my mom.

F2 Logistics: 2016 PSL All-Filipino conference champions!

Congratulations to F2 Logistics Cargo Movers for winning their first ever Philippine Superliga trophy! The La Salle-stacked team bested the previous champions Foton Tornadoes 2-1 in their best of three finals, winning their last match in four sets with a score of 18-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-19.

Congrats to @F2CargoMovers 4winning #PSLAFC ! @SuperLigaPH @Abymarano @mikareyesss @VSGalang @KiannaDy @Dawnt_ask pic.twitter.com/pHNBuKx5ag

— winston baltasar (@foto_geek) August 17, 2016

The F2 Logistics Cargo Movers started the tournament as front-runners, winning all their preliminary matches. However, they lost in the second round to a rampaging Foton team that seemed to be peaking at the right time. However, with a team that features league and finals MVPs as well as players that had won multiple championships, F2 proved that they have the fighting spirit and winning mentality needed to claim the PSL trophy. In fact, similar to DLSU in the recently concluded UAAP Season 78, F2 were beatable but they didn't lose to the same team twice in a row. It didn't look like that though in the early goings of their do-or-die 3rd finals game, with Foton winning the first set and taking an early lead in the 2nd set. Nevertheless, F2 found their form and their confidence and with that, the next three sets were in the bag. (I'm also quite happy that Mika Reyes won the final point of the tournament with an ace. :) She and Ara Galang were also game MVPs.)

And that's it! The F2 Cargo Movers give Ramil de Jesus his first PSL crown! Congratulations! @FOXSports_PH pic.twitter.com/jycgSVREqq

— Benggadora (@Benggadora08) August 17, 2016

As if that wasn't enough, the Cargo Movers won most of the individual awards. Aby Marano was 1st best blocker, Ara Galang was 1st best outside spiker, Kim Fajardo was best setter, and Dawn Macandili was best libero. My favorite moment though was when Dawn Macandili was also awarded League MVP. Wow! This is a first time a libero was awarded league MVP in the Philippines. (It reminded me of Yuko Sano being awarded MVP at the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix.) Way to go, Dawn! Very well deserved!

Dawn Macandili an unexpected but worthy pick for PSL MVP, says F2 Logistics coach https://t.co/zoN5q5dvSW

— Philippine SuperLiga (@SuperLigaPH) August 17, 2016

The Foton Tornadoes took second place but it's a strong finish for them because they started the tournament with a handful of losses. The fact that they jumped from 4th to 2nd and were in strong contention for first should give them confidence going into the 2016 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship where they will be representing the Philippines as champions of the 2015 PSL Grand Prix. Rounding out the podium finishers is RC Cola-Army who placed third. It's amazing to see how much volleyball talent there is in this photo that combines this season's top three teams:

And that concludes the #PSLAFC! pic.twitter.com/SZFdmYNvmc

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) August 17, 2016

This really has been a great year for La Salle's star players. Kim Fajardo is best setter in both the UAAP and the PSL, Dawn Macandili has been awarded best receiver, best digger, best libero and tournament MVP, Kim Dy has a finals MVP award in the UAAP, Ara Galang is best outside spiker in the PSL, Majoy Baron is best blocker in the UAAP, Aby Marano is best blocker in the PSL, and Mika Reyes was named PSL Ambassador and she joins Kim Fajardo as part of the Magnificent 7 that will be competing against some of the world's best in the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship that will be held in Manila in October. Fantastic job, ladies! Congratulations F2 Logistics!

Filipino weightlifer Hidilyn Diaz wins Olympic silver at Rio!

Wow, this is great news! Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in the 53-kg category of Women's Weightlifting. This is so significant for many reasons. First, Hidilyn is the first female Filipino Olympian to win a medal in a non-demonstration sport. She also wins the first weightlifting medal for the Philippines and the first non-boxing medal since 1936 (80 years!). Finally, her silver ends the country's 20-year wait for Olympic glory, with Onyok Velasco being the last Filipino medalist after his silver in boxing in 1996. Amazing!

Congratulations Hidilyn! Thank you for bringing home the Silver to end our 20 year Olympic medal drought! #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/Svba5DHEkI

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) August 8, 2016

Watch her win the silver in this video from Sports5:


video uploaded in youtube by Sports5

Congratulations, Hidilyn! The Philippines is very proud of your incredible achievement!

31% discount in Baskin Robbins

I had visited Baskin Robbins several times in the last year thanks to Metrodeal, which had vouchers that provided 50% discounts on a few select flavors. In one of those trips, I was told that every 31st of the month, all fresh packs (12oz, 24oz and 48oz) are sold at 31% off (Baskin Robbins is known for its "31 flavors" slogan even if it actually has significantly more flavors than that.) The person behind the counter explained that while the Metrodeal voucher does provide a higher discount, the 31% off discount can be better because it applies to all flavors and not just a select three to four that the voucher includes. I took a mental note of this and looked up which months had a 31st day that fell on a weekend. The first one I saw was July (31st was a Sunday) so I decided then that I would head to Baskin Robbins on the 31st to get some ice cream. And I did!

I didn't want to choose any of the flavors I had already tried before (although I really do love Baseball Nut, I wanted to try something else). I decided to get Jamoca Almond Fudge - Jamoca coffee ice cream with roasted almonds and a rich chocolate fudge ribbon. When I told the sales staff my choice, she told me that since I wanted to get the 48oz, I could actually get two flavors. Cool! I wanted to get something fruity so I ordered the Cherries Jubilee - cherry-flavored ice cream with pieces of dark sweet cherries and a hint of rum flavor.

I checked the 2016 calendar and the next 31st that falls on a weekend is in December. I guess it's sort of good timing because it is right before New Year. I have to check if Baskin Robbins is open on that day and if their 31% off will still apply then. If it does, I think I will be paying them another visit at the end of the year to get another fresh pack (or two). :)

Rak of Aegis

I finally got to watch Rak of Aegis. This PETA show is now on its fifth run, and many of my friends who have seen it have had very good things to say about it. It's a fun and interesting concept: it's title is a play on Rock of Ages, a musical based on rock songs from a variety of bands. Similarly, Rak of Aegis is based on music of Filipino band Aegis.

Aegis songs, such as Halik, Luha, and Basang Basa sa Ulan, are not easy to sing, so you have to give props to cast. There are three to four people who alternate performing the lead roles. In the show I saw, the lead character Aileen was portrayed by Alisah Bonaobra who gained fame as a viral star with her performance of Let it go in a mall before finishing as a runner-up in The Voice Philippines. The role of Kiel was performed by OJ Mariano, a multi-awarded singer and stage performer who is also currently part of  The CompanY. Tolits was portrayed by Benj Manalo, who has been a member of the Bayanihan Dance Troupe and has competed in the Hip Hop International in Vegas with the group Unschooled. Vince Lim, a member of Kundirana and the Ryan Cayabyab Singers, performed the role of Kenny. Phi Palmos does an incredible job at scene-stealing in his portrayal of Jewel.

While the roles of Tolits and Jewel are surefire crowd-pleasers - you could tell by the number of people who were taking pictures with Benj Manalo and Phi Palmos after the show - I thought the best performers were the two mothers. Sweet Plantado-Tiongson as Mary Jane and Kakai Baustista as Mercy. Both of them had incredible voices and strong stage presence, and they both acted tremendously well.

Apart from the solid performances of the cast, I really loved the set. It's a multi-level stage with a "flood" running right smack in the middle. It even includes actual rainfall and a boat running up down the canal. Awesome!

 

(I will say though that parking is a challenge at the PETA theater. You can have your vehicle valet parked, but I think there is no building parking so vehicles are just parked on the street. I actually arrived just in time for the show and I missed the queue for the valet so the only place I could park was a fair distance from the theater.)

I also found the story to be very good and its themes to be very timely and relevant. It highlights the desire of many for instant wealth and fame, and how sometimes, people focus too much on instant gratification when they should instead be building towards a more sustainable future. Given this, I appreciate how story is resolved in the end.

With solid performances from a strong cast, an awesome set, great entertainment value, and smart writing, Rak of Aegis is truly worth watching. It is currently staged at the PETA Theater and shows will run until August 28. Tickets are available at Ticketworld. Catch it while you still can!

"She Used To Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles

I discovered this song about a week ago and I have been hooked ever since. It is written and sung so beautifully by the incredibly talented Sara Bareilles.


video uploaded by SaraBareillesVEVO

She wrote this song for the musical Waitress (for which she got a Tony nomination for Best Score and two Drama Desk nominations for Best Music and Best Lyrics). This version is taken from her album What's Inside: Songs from Waitress and I now intend to get a copy of this album.

The board game addiction continues :)

Board gaming (and tabletop gaming) now seems to have become my main hobby. I probably meet up with friends 3-4 times a month - sometimes more - to play games, both new ones that I had never played before and old ones that I am pretty familiar with.

I had been planning to get Castles of Burgundy for a while now because it is ranked #9 on boardgamegeek. As it turns out, one of my friends has this game so I got to play it. It's very complicated but once you get the hang of it, it becomes really interesting. It does make use of dice but somehow, strategy still plays a huge part, reducing the impact of luck of the dice roll. Shockingly, despite playing Castles of Burgundy for the first time, I ended up winning. Wow!

photo from www.amazon.com

That same day, a couple of new friends introduced The Castles of Mad King Ludwig (what an interesting and long name for a game). This game is interesting because aside from figuring out what kind of rooms to build to maximize the points they earn, players also gets to sell their services to build rooms for the other players. You have to find the right balance between selling your services at too high a cost that prevents other players from buying rooms while making sure no one takes the rooms you want to build for yourself. I really enjoyed this game too and I was tremendously surprised that I also won this game. All four players were playing The Castles of Mad King Ludwig for the first time and the board game owner actually said that we had very good scores for first-timers.

photo from www.amazon.com

Another game I played for the first time this this month and won was Tokaido. This is a relatively quick and easy game and while it still requires strategy to maximize points, it isn't as intense as other games. I played it for the first time using the regular board in Ludo Cafe but when I met up with my board gaming friends, one of them actually had the Collector's Edition (kickstarter version) with its uber-cool pre-painted minis, larger board, metallic coins, and awesome cards. The Kickstarter edition kind of spoils you because after playing it, you almost don't want to play with the normal version anymore. :)

photo from boardgamegeek.com

Other games I got play for the first time were Puerto Rico, La Granja, and Above and Below. I actually placed third in all these games, but I think I forgot to claim my extra point in one round of Puerto Rico that could have given me second place. :) When I played La Granja, I was playing it for the first time with people who had all played it just days before and my score was apparently higher than the score of the winner of that first game. I guess that makes my third place finish not so bad. I also played the very popular Exploding Kittens (I won one game and lost the second game badly because I kept drawing the exploding kitten card LOL). I also got to play Concordia again. While I had played it once, we played with the wrong rules so I guess you can say I was playing it properly for the first time.

I also got to play many other games that I had played before: 7 Wonders, Istanbul, Splendor, Stone Age, and Bruges. It now seems that because I play board and tabletop games so often, I have gotten a lot better at strategizing and getting solid scores. I just did a count and it seems I won 13 of the last 25 games I played. Wow! I am pretty sure I won't be able to maintain this very high winning percentage but it's good to know that my board gaming skills have improved.

Congratulations, Mika Reyes!

Mika Reyes was just named as the 7th and last Filipino player to join the Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Star team that will compete in the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship that will be held in Manila in October. Way to go, Mika!

Mika Reyes gets the last Golden Ticket! @SuperLigaPH | @JoeySVillar pic.twitter.com/Hb0HhbAFPi

— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) July 28, 2016

This really does seem to be Mika Reyes' year. She was key in helping DLSU win the UAAP Women's Volleyball tournament a couple of months ago, giving her a third UAAP Women's Volleyball championship. This led to a series of TV and even radio appearances: ASAP, Gandang Gabi Vice, Tonight with Boy Abunda, Showtime and MOR. A few weeks ago, she was named as the Philippine Superliga Ambassador. And now, she joins Rachel Daquis, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Kim Fajardo, Jaja Santiago, Jen Reyes, and Frances Molina as the Filipino contingent that will compete with some incredibly strong volleyball clubs from all over the world (they will be joined by seven imports). Whatever happens in that tournament, I am sure it will be a truly amazing experience for all these seven ladies).

@mikareyesss receives the last golden ticket to the FIVB Women's Club World Championship @abscbnsports pic.twitter.com/ViMYdPKNpI

— Mark Escarlote (@fromtheriles) July 28, 2016

The cool thing too is that Mika's team in the PSL, the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers, remain undefeated so far, having beaten extremely strong teams like RC Cola-Army and Petron twice already. While a championship trophy is definitely not guaranteed, they do have a fighting chance. If Mika's good fortune continues this year, she may end up with a PSL trophy as well. (I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.) Congratulations, Mika!

Movie-watching 2016 part 3

Star Trek Beyond

photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Beyond

Of all the Star Trek reboots that have come out, I think the first one is still my favorite. That said, I did find this latest installment entertaining even amidst the many strange cracks in the story. SPOILER ALERT: please stop reading now if you don't want to read more about Star Trek Beyond. I guess I just found it a bit unbelievable that a ship that was in ruins for ages and a motorcycle that hadn't been used in centuries would be made to work, and work extremely well. I also found it strange and unbelievable how easy it was to destroy Krall's uber-cool space fleet. As fun as that scene was, I thought the loud music was just going to throw the ships out of whack; I didn't think the ships would start exploding. I can still get past all these things though because I like the cast and I'm a sucker for sci-fi action films set in outer space.

Finding Dory

photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Dory

This is the first movie I watched on 3D in a long time, but that was because the 3D screening had the best schedule when I took my nephew to see it. Finding Dory is entertaining but definitely not as good as Finding Nemo. In fact, it's a bit of a step-down from other Pixar films like Up, Inside Out, Wall-E and the Toy Story series. This comment would sound like scathing criticism except that Pixar has just set an incredibly high bar with its previous films, most of which have won the Oscar Best Animation award and are among the best movies in the last 20 years. Finding Dory is still a really good animated film and beats out a lot of other non-Pixar, non-Disney movies. The animation is superb and the characters are quirky, interesting, and funny. My gripe though is that I feel that Dory was made into some kind of wonderfish in that she could achieve whatever it is she wanted to achieve, and that somehow made the character and story development feel a bit lazy. It was almost like they could write whatever crazy, impossible situation and Dory would somehow figure out how to resolve things. Nevertheless, it was still good fun.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles:_Out_of_the_Shadows

My nephew really wanted to watch this so I took him. It's really for kids and teens. The story isn't that sophisticated but as someone who grew up watching TMNT on TV back in the 90s, it was pretty cool and a bit nostalgic to see Bebop and Rocksteady. And the Turtle Van. This movie is full of fun action sequences and cool effects. It was interesting to realize later on in the movie why it is entitled as such. I am guessing there will be another installment to this movie series.

July hodgepodge

The highlight of the month was catching up with two of my closest and dearest friends, Amy and Duncan, along with their kids. I last saw Amy 2 years ago while I last saw Duncan a couple of years before that. I hadn't seen the two of them at the same time since maybe the mid-2000s. They were staying in the Ortigas area and since I didn't want them to brave Manila traffic, I volunteered to meet them there. We meet up in Podium and Amy decided that we would have dinner in Bonifacio because it served Filipino food. The great thing about great friends is that even if you don't see each other in years, when you finally do, you just pick up so easily and comfortably from where you left off.

We got to spend a couple of hours together over dinner before they had to call it a night. Before heading home, I decided to get some food from places I don't normally get to visit. I got a cronut and a carrot cake from Wildflour (the cronut wasn't as good as I remember the Wildflour cronut being, while the carrot cake was decent although a bit on the sweet side), the stuffed chicken pasta from Gino's Brick Oven Pizza (the price went up since I was here last), and brewed coffee from Figaro (it's been a while since I enjoyed their locally grown coffee).

I also purchased a new shoe cabinet. My previous one had been broken for a while now but I didn't feel the need to replace it. That is, until I visited SM Our Home recently and found this shoe cabinet that had a mirror on its sliding door. It was on the expensive side but it was the only one I had seen in the last few years that I was interested in getting so after thinking about it for a couple of weeks, I finally made my purchase. Good timing too because SM was on sale so I got it at 10% discount. Cool!

My recent spending (including my Singapore shopping spree) must have been noticed by my credit card provider because when I went online to check my outstanding balance, I noticed that my credit limit had increased by almost 70%. Whoa! While high credit limits aren't always the best thing for people who can't control their spending, I am generally pretty good when it comes to managing my expenses. A higher credit limit also comes in pretty handy when you need to make big purchases.

Oh and I am pretty excited that the latest season of Suits already started. This is the first time in a long time that I have been eagerly anticipating a TV series. The first two episodes have been really interesting so far, and the big twist in the first episode has me really curious how this season is going to unfold and what will happen to Mike, Harvey, and the rest of the characters.

Phish Food!

My S&R membership has finally paid off! I posted before that I got S&R membership because I found out from a friend that they carried Ben & Jerry's Phish Food, one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors. It wasn't in stock during my first shopping trip there but it was available when I returned last weekend. Awesome!

I can't remember the last time that I had Phish Food. There was a time - maybe a decade ago? - that Rustan's Supermarket carried it along with other Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavors. It must not have been popular with the grocers - maybe its weird name made people stay away - because while Rustan's still sells Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Phish Food is no longer available there. After years of pining for Phish Food, I ended up getting three pints at S&R. I gotta say that after making my purchase, I suddenly had a slight concern that maybe my memory was amiss and that I would end up not enjoying this ice cream as much as I thought I did. That doubt disappeared after my first spoonful. This chocolate ice cream with gooey marshmallow, caramel swirls and fish-shaped chocolate chunks is really very good.

Tina Turner and the Ikettes

I discovered this video a while back and even after watching it many times, it still puts me in a good mood. The choreography is not as complex as many routines we see nowadays but Tina Turner and the Ikettes just look like they are having so much fun and joy while performing that their energy becomes infectious. It helps too that the music is just so upbeat. It's a perfect way to open a show and get everyone excited.


video uploaded in youtube by TrelleStar

Tina Turner is truly a legend and one of the best stage performers of all time.

Congratulations, Andy and Serena!

Every tennis Grand Slam event now seems to be an opportunity for an important milestone to be set. The recently-concluded Wimbledon tournament was no exception. On the men's side, Andy Murray won his second Wimbledon and third major title. As a tennis fan, I can't help but wonder how many more Grand Slam titles he could have won if he he didn't have to face Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, all of whom have won an astounding 43 of the last 53 Grand Slam events and together have had a stranglehold on the world #1 ranking since 2004. While Andy may be a far fourth among the Big Four, his continued hold over the #2 ranking and his appearance in the finals of all Grand Slam events this year prove that he is clearly a cut above everyone else. I'm just happy that Andy's win-loss record in major finals has now slightly improved. He has played in 11 Grand Slam finals but has lost 8 times - all of them to the tennis big three - and won only 3 (including his latest Wimbledon trophy). If anyone needed and deserved a trophy after getting close to many times, it's Andy.

Two worthy champions...#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/QosmSqu1PK

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2016

On the women's side, Serena Williams just tied Steffi Graf's open era record by winning Wimbledon and claiming her 22nd Grand Slam singles title. After succumbing to immense pressure in the last three major events, she finally shook off the nerves and the lofty expectations and achieved history. When she won her 17th Grand Slam singles title, making her one short of the number that the legendary players Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert had, it took her four tries to tie their record but she she went on to win four in a row right after that, bringing her total to 21. Now that she has tied Steffi's record, again on her fourth attempt, she may just win another succession of Grand Slam titles and break the all-time record of 24 held by Margaret Court. Serena is now also only 8 weeks away from breaking another Steffi record of consecutive weeks at #1 (on the women's tour). I still don't see anyone in women's tennis capable of taking over the reins from Williams so who knows what other records she will have when she finally retires.

*****

As a Steffi Graf fan, I am a bit sad that her records are now being broken one after the other but at least she will always have the Golden Slam - all four major titles + Olympic Gold, all in the same year! - which to date has not been matched by anyone else. Last year, Serena was close to a calendar Grand Slam last year but stumbled at the final hurdle, so close to the finish line. This year, Novak Djokovic had a chance to win a calendar Grand Slam by winning the first two. It is also an Olympic year, so he had a shot at Golden Slam glory. Alas, it was not meant to be as he was stunned in the third round by Sam Querrey. What's interesting to note is that Serena won 4 in a row and Novak also won 4 in a row before they both lost, eliminating their chances to win a calendar Grand Slam. I have written about this in the past, but four in a row doesn't carry the same degree of difficulty or psychologically pressure as a calendar Grand Slam. Either, or even both, of them, can still achieve it, but based on what we've seen, it definitely won't be easy.

A day in BGC

Last weekend, I needed to run a mid-morning errand in BGC. Since I had to be there anyway, I decided to do a few things in the area that I had been wanting to do for a while. First up was to have brunch at Kuppa. I hadn't been to Kuppa for a while and I enjoy the food and the coffee here. The cool thing was that the dish I wanted, The Englishman (sausages, bacon, eggs, potatoes, beans, mushrooms and toast) is part of the weekend all-day breakfast selection and as such, it comes with free coffee. No need for me to shell out more money for my caffeine fix. Awesome!

I then walked a couple of blocks to MC Home Depot to look for shops that did custom countertop cabinets. There seems to be only one shop there that does these. I showed them the design I came up with years ago and they said that I could just scan my design and send it to them so they can send me a quote. This plan of mine has been several years in the making so I hope I can finally get my cabinet sorted out.

At this point, it was right smack in the middle of the afternoon and the sun was blazing so I figured out I would look for a place to enjoy a cool dessert. I somehow ended up finding my way to Bonifacio Stopover where I spotted Hobing Korean Dessert Cafe on the 3rd floor. I ordered their regular Milk Redbean Bingsu (P175) and I really enjoyed it.

To close out my afternoon, I decided to go to S&R and apply for membership. There was one primary reason for this: I had heard from friends that they sometimes have Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Ice Cream here, and that is one of my absolute favorite ice cream flavors. Unfortunately, when I was there, this particular flavor was not in stock. Nevertheless, I still bought a few bags worth of stuff. The cool thing was that their apple pie was on a buy one, take one promo, and P299.95 for both pies was a deal I just couldn't refuse. Hopefully, they stock up soon on Phish Food since I have been wanting to have that ice cream again in a really long time.