Team Work

My wife and I are planning to co-author a blog. She's currently into blogging now, writing about a lot of stuff. If you want to read her blog, just click here. I think its a great idea!. There are a lot of stuff that we can certainly write about.

Its not the first time that we'd work as a team. Even before we were husband and wife, we always did things together. My best man in our wedding said that we were like a team and that we were always focused and had a plan and would get or achieve whatever we wanted. At that time, I thought that he just said that because it was my wedding and he was my best friend, but looking back, and looking at where we are now, I actually think he's right.

We would never be where we are now without helping each other. We've always supported each other in whatever we do.When we were still dating, whenever we went out of town,we both saved money for each  and every trip. Even when we got married.  Our parents didn't spend a single centavo. We used our own money that we saved up for a year (It's a good thing my Tita Maday gave us the hotel accommodation as our wedding gift also Thanks Tita!). We planned the wedding ourselves from top to bottom.
 
Even in our household, in raising our kids, our finances, or whatever issues we have at home,  we talk about it. Is this the secret of a good married life?

NO. I don't think its THE secret. Everyone knows that everything works out as long as communication lines are open.

 Hopefully, we'll have our new blog soon. I'll still maintain this one, of course.

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Speaking of team work, how 'bout my San Antonio Spurs? Best record in the NBA. Everyone's healthy. Everyone's doing their part.  I can smell another trophy!

Go Spurs!

I was ecstatic when I read on the internet a few weeks ago that the San Antonio Spurs got Richard Jefferson (the NJ Nets' 2nd all-time leading scorer who was traded to the Bucks) from the Milwaukee Bucks by trading Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabracio Oberto. While I was sad to see these players go because they were a good part of the Spurs' system, I was glad that they made that move because, as everyone knows, they're the oldest team in the NBA. They also signed Antonio McDyess (I remember some kids in our subdivision calling him MacJESS),one of the more consistent players in the league who was also an All-Star.


Richard Jefferson

Antonio McDyess

To top it all off, the Spurs had a draft-day steal, when they drafted DeJuan Blair (a monster of a player that was projected to be drafted in the first-round) in the second round of the draft. Teams passed up on him because of a knee injury he had when he was in High School. He said that his old injury never bothered him during his college career and hopefully, that old injury doesn't bother him during his pro career.

DeJuan Blair

The line-up looks very promising and deep to me. Obviously, the Spurs made these moves to maximize the Tim Duncan era. He's already 33 years old and he'd probably have 2-3 more good years left. With Ginobili healthy and part of the line-up, the Spurs are sure to become the top contenders for this season's championship!

:)

rants and raves

Just saw in the news that Prudential Life can no longer sell their pre-need plans because of lack of investments or something to that effect. In other words, just like the Legacy Group, they don't have enough resources to support their plan holders. Sheessh. Things are getting bad, especially for parents like us.

I used a CAP (which, by the way, is also in a fiancial bind) when I entered college. It was a good investment. Imagine, I studied for 4 year for just a P6,000 investment? At those days, our tuition fee ranged from P6 - P10k (or more, I think) per semester. Before these things happened to the pre-need industry, Jan and I were actually thinking of buying an educational plan for our kids (or future kids at that time). Now, it seems that getting one is a sure way of losing your money.

What gives? Don't these financial people see that a lot of people's future are in their hands? Now we're thinking of other ways to save-up or invest in Sophie and Sam's college education.

I pity those people who lost money because they invested in these companies.

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On a good note, the Spurs won game 2 versus Dallas today. They lost game by 8 points and they won today by 21 points. Talk about winning with a vengeance. Manu Ginobili is out for the playoffs, which is bad for the team, but I think Duncan, Parker plus the supporting crew can make it to the Western Conference Finals, as long as they focus on their defense and work on their offensive sets.

My fearless forecast in the Spurs - Mavs series: Spurs in 6.

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After experiencing the scorching summer heat this month, rain finally came last Sunday and its still raining today. Its a welcome development for all of us here in Manila. There was this one time when I was on my way home, I passed through a mall and when I went out for a cab, the humidity hit me like a brick wall.

Ironically, Sophie was singing "Rain, rain, go away . . ." since Sunday hehe!

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I've noticed that some politicians are coming out with their TV ads as early as now. Wala lang, hehehe.

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The Wolverine movie is coming out next wee. As an X-Men fan, I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie. There are already pirated dvds out, but I heard that they don't have the ending and you could still see the straps and ropes used by the actors during the stunt. Its interesting how Wolverine became the face of the X-Men all these years. He wasn't an original member of the team. In fact, his first appearance was in a Incredible Hulk comic book. I guess his rough features and personality appealed to a lot of people.

Personally, I like Gambit, Cyclops, Night Crawler and Cannonball (Samuel Guthrie, which is why I like the name Samuel and gave it to our new baby) who were all in the previous movies, although Gambit had a short appearance, and I had to review the credits to confirm that he was actually there.

I saw the poster and I think Cyclops and Gambit will both be in the movie.

Enjoy the rest of the week boys and girls!

:-)

Jump Start

Since starting this blog, I've felt a lot better and more energetic. Maybe its because now, I am able to express myself more freely than before. I've haven't felt like this in a long while. Getting feedback from people about the things I write about is so cool. Sometimes I get sms messages, emails, ym / meebo messages and some people even talk to me about my blog. THANKS FOR READING BOYS AND GIRLS!

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As part of this "jump start" feeling, I've been listening to a lot of music lately. I find myself watching MTV. I actually played the guitar at the house, which I haven't touched in a long, long time. There was this one night when I came home late and there was a power interruption. Sophie was still awake so I decided to play with my kid. She wasn't really in the mood to play 'coz it was dark and a bit warm inside the house. Rather than agitate her and make her cry (which she often does whenever I suddenly grab her and smother her with kisses hehe) I grabbed the guitar and played some chords. Now, Sophie has seen the guitar in the house but I don't know if she knows the sound that it could make. So when I started playing, she laughed and went near me. She wanted to strum the guitar so she can also make the sounds. Of course I told her not to because the guitar was a bit dirty since I haven't used it in a long while.

As I was playing the guitar, a thought entered my mind. I had this urge to play a song that I would never, ever would have played even if it was a matter of life and death. I wanted to play Barney's song "I love you, you love me . . . " for Sophie. I didn't know the chords of the song but due to the daily dose of Barney (who I still hate by the way) shows that I get because of my little princes, the melody and the lyrics stuck to my mind. So I started "widowing" the chords until I've had (to my mind) the right chords for the song. I sang the song to Sophie while playing the guitar and she laughed and started hugging me. Haaaayy the things you do for your kid.

Here's the song. Sana ma-LSS din kayo like me. Torture! hehehe

After that, I was even started my widowing for Barney's song "Mr. Sun" (please click) but Jan came home and to save me the embarrassment and another kaltok moment, I stopped.

Now every time I sing the song to Sophie, she runs towards me and hugs me. Sweet!

By the way, the chords for "I Love You", just in case you have the urge to play it, is: D - Dm/Dm7 - G - Em (1st line) D - Dm - A - G - D (2nd line). At least yan yung na-kapa ko nung brown-out samin :-)

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Nowadays, I'm finding myself watching MYX and MTV more often than before. I have a TV set in my office that I use to monitor our competitor and during afternoons, I tune in to these music channels. I've found out that I've missed a lot since I haven't been listening to the radio for a quite a while now. Now I watch new local and foreign bands play on TV and I have to say some of them are quite talented. I also listen to www.odysseylive.net so I can stream music while working.

Some of the local bands that I listen to are:

1) Urban Dub
2) 6 Cycle Mind
3) Sinosikat?
4) Kamikaze
5) Kiko Machine
6) Imago
7) Kala
8) Join the Club
9) Chicosci
10) Sandwhich
11) Parokya ni Edgar
12) Callalily
13) Session Road
14) Narda
15) Sugarfree

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One basketball team that needs a jump start is the San Antonio Spurs who fell to the Lakers 89 - 85. They were leading all through out the game when Kobe took over and led a scoring rally. The Spurs turnovers also led to the Laker's rally and they couldn't make crucial shots that they normally make. Oh well, its a 7 game series and I'm sure they'll find a way to bounce back.

Manu Ginobli reading about their game loss to the Lakers

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Oh yeah, by the way, David Cook won in American Idol which will surely jump start his career to rockstardom just like fellow rockers Chris Daughtry (who's coming to Manila in July) and Bob Bice (who sounds a lot like The Black Crowes). I actually thought that David A may win because of Simon's comments to Cook but fortunately his fans rallied together and voted for the Idol rocker. I myself wasn't crazy about Cook's performance during the final performance night but I think his previous performances was enough to make him the American Idol this year.

DAVID COOK

CHRIS DAUGHTRY

BO BICE

AI rockers ROCK! hehe :-)

Concerted Effort

San Antonio won over the New Orleans Hornets 31-82! I never doubted for a second! This is the first in the series that I saw them play like a good basketball team in New Orleans. The Hornets were playing well in the first and second quarter but their lack of playoff experience showed on the third quarter when the Spurs led as much as 17 points. Watching them play was like listening to an AC/DC song. Solid rhythm with spectacular riffs.


The Spurs will face the LA Lakers on Thursday (Philippine time) on the Laker's home court. Another classic match in the making. In my opinion, as long as the Spurs' big men keep Gasol in check, they'll come out of this series as the western conference champs. Kobe will always be Kobe and he will always find ways to score. Its the other contributing players they should be concerned about. Put Bowen on Kobe to make it harder for the reigning MVP to score.

Duncan and Gasol can be a good match-up also. It will be a battle of the Forward-Centers. I think Gasol can be faster than Timmy, but I know that Timmy has more aces up his sleeve. Odom can be a problem too but I'm sure the Pop will have a good player rotation this series. With Tim, Manu, Toni, Bowen an the rest of the guys playing like the defending champions that they are, I expect the Spurs come out of this series as the victors.

Man! I'm looking forward to the next game!

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The James Blunt concert was ok. I only know one of his songs so I wasn't really expecting anything. His lyrics were heavy and deep. Jan commented that his concert was just like attending a poetry reading plus the background music. As for the music, I found some of the songs to be so sad, that if I were loaded with ganja, I would have cried.



The band was ok. I thought the guitarist was great. As for the other members, they were pretty solid too. He's a good performer also. There was a time that he jumped from the stage and ran through the crowd. The show started at around 8:45pm and was over by around 10pm.

His music caters to the thinking, intelligent crowd. But I bet some of the fans were there because of his looks, and the song "You're Beautiful", the only song I know. I'm actually glad that I went to the concert, because I'm always open to any kind of music.

*** I'll upload the video of "You're Beautiful" once I've transferred it already :-)

Oooh Yeah!

Its Friday and what better way to spend it than celebrating the Spurs victory over the Hornets 99-80. I saw the first 3 quarters at home and they were leading all through out. Game 7 will be at the Hornets home court so the San Antonio boys better be ready. This will be a test of who wants to win more. The veteran Spurs will surely show their championship experience and the young Hornets will show that they're hungry to reach the top. Game 7 will surely be a classic match.

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I was planning to bring Sophie to Luneta tomorrow because I want to take pictures of her in this historic sight but with today's weather, I don't think that will be possible. The last time I was there was (really there and not just passing by) was years ago and I've wanted to visit it again just because I feel proud of this historic land mark. Watching the Living Asia Channel opened my eyes on how beautiful the Philippines is, and I'd like to visit a lot more places in the country to experience it first hand.

I've been to Davao, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Iloilo, Guimaras, Bacolod, Baguio, Zambales, Bicol, Quezon, Batangas, Mindoro, Boracay and Laguna and it feels good to see these different places. I told my wife that when Sophie grows up, I'd like to spend at least 1 summer visiting the different places in our 7,100 islands (high-tide and low-tide). I want my daughter to see how beautiful her country is before she develops colonial mentality like most Filipinos have. Its a shame how a lot of Pinoys think that anything imported is better than locally made products. What they don't know is most of these imported products are made locally, sent abroad and then sold here for an arm and a leg.

Mt. Apo Davao. Beautiful!

Boracay!


Iloilo!

Guimaras Costa Aguada

Guimaras

Puerto Galera on peak season!

Baguio ages ago: Mama, insan Nainah, bro Ian, Me, insan Mel and Tita Chit. When we were younger, we were there almost every year

The beauty of the Philippines, is shining through . . .(PAL jingle . . . if you can remember. click to re-live the commercial). My regret is I never had good pics of the places that I've been too. Maybe now its time to start taking them :-)

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Its a rainy weekend and its time to relax, spend time with the family and maybe read a good book.

Happy weekend everyone!

Outwitted, Outplayed and Outlasted

One thing that I have learned in the reality show SURVIVOR is never, ever, EVER give your immunity idol or necklace to ANYONE! I mean, only a stupid person would do that! In a game full of back-stabbing and blind siding, who would want to take that risk? The answer to that question is Eric, the latest jury member of Survivor: Micronesia. Its stupid enough to be complacent (e.g. Ozzy) in the game, as history will tell you, most of the people who will vote you is the same people that you had alliances with. Eric was coaxed to give his immunity necklace to Natalie, one of the remaining 5 survivors.

OUTWITTED!

The funny thing is, Eric is a self-proclaimed Survivor geek, who knows by heart everything that happened in the all of the seasons of the show. He showed it when he won in the last reward challenge wherein questions about previous seasons were asked. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Outwitted and Outlasted. I can't say Outplayed since Eric had been winning challenges. That's how he survived this long.

I was actually rooting for him because I used to be a Survivor geek myself. Now I'm rooting for Amanda who outwitted everybody last week by getting the secret immunity necklace,thereby negating all the votes for her during tribal council.

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The 3 remaining American Idol wanabees OUTPLAYED Jason Castro. Finally, finally, finally! It should have happened weeks and weeks ago! America made the right choice this time!

I don't think he could have pulled it off even if he did the Eric Clapton version

Mr. Tamborine Man shot the Sheriff!

It think its David vs David! I like Mr. Cook cuz we both have the same style hehe!

Another performance like this will leave David A in Teenage Wasteland!

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Toni, Toni, Toni!

Finally, the San Antonio Spurs OUTWITTED, OUTPLAYED and OUTLASTED the New Orleans Hornets, winning game 3 of the western conference semi-finals. No team has ever won a series at 3 -0 and the Spurs know this. Good thing Pop made the necessary adjustments, assigning Bowen to Peja who did a lot of damage in Games 1 and 2. Well played boys . . . well played.

GO SPURS!

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My thanks to Garet for teaching me how to up-load videos on my blog. I couldn't have done it without you, classmate!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Whatever . . .

I do not know why controversies follow this (please click) guy wherever he goes. Does he have the wrong set of friends? Are the people around him just using him? Can he make decisions for himself like a grown-up should? He went out of the country after a scandal and now he's making waves again with all these court cases (please click), new and old ones. If I were him, I would've just stayed in the States and live a peaceful life.

Kaya nga hindi ako nag artista e . . . . haay. hehe

I don't believe I'm even talking about this!

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Naks!

Someone's suing the Calayans for a botched penis enlargement procedure. Bwahaha! Wala lang . . .

Nakakatawa lang :D


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I've felt a little bored since Monday. I don't know why. I go through this once in a while and I'm looking for something to jump start my working days. I'm usually a workaholic and idleness was never my thing. I always go out of my way to find something to do.

This too shall pass . . .

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The Spurs are down 0 - 2 against the Hornets in the NBA's Western Conference semi-finals. I can't believe it. In the first game, the Hornets defensively checked Duncan. Today, they held Ginobli and Parker to low scores. Pop should do something about this. I hope that playing in their home court would help the Spurs. This could be their last shot for a championship. Most of their players are getting old: Horry, Barry, Finley, Soudamire, Bowen and Thomas. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli are relatively young but they'll need a solid supporting cast if they want to dominate their conference in the next few years. I wish the didn't trade Scola to the Rockets, who did pretty well this season.

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Sophie has a slight fever today and we're thinking that's because of a new tooth coming out. Hope she's gets well soon. It's so sad seeing children not feeling well. Specially if it's your kid.

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Everyone's raving about David Cook in American Idol. I liked his rendition of Always Be My Baby.
It was darn good. I never liked the song but now I can't get enough of it. I'm hoping to find a full version of the song with him singing it. I'm a rocker at heart and I know a good rocker when I see one. He can sing any genre too!

The way he sang Billy Jean, Eleanor Rigby and Day Tripper was just . . . uh . . . brilliant! And he's a pretty good guitar player too!

Btw, just press the link to go to the videos. Can someone please teach me how to freaking upload youtube videos here? Thanks!

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PLEASE VOTE ON MY POLL QUESTION! FEW DAYS LEFT! Hehe!