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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Sugary fictional romance...
Ugh! So I've been stressing out the whole day today thinking about the sneak preview, which I saw last night, of today's episode of "My Binondo Girl". In the preview, the desperate Patrice, who has a thing for Andy, came on to him like a woman-gone-mad in his office. Andy struggled to shoo her away - like a faithful married man in love with his wife... which he was! But the desperate girl threw herself on Andy's lap like an awfully bishy home wrecker... which she was, too! And then, in

Sweetness...the name of all that's incredibly soap opera-ish, Jade walked in! Of course, I was like, "oh, no, not again!" and with feelings, too! Tsk!
Naturally, I went back and forth imagining the next scene! What will Jade do? Will she let herself be influenced by the half-truth she just witnessed, walk out in tears... and crawl into the darkness of the I-felt-cheated-ow mental breakdown? Will she go ballistic and walk out of Andy's life... this time, for good, and never to return again? Will she finally admit to herself how much she loved 'her Mr. Wu', assert herself and her feelings, channel her inner tigress, and claw Patrice from Andy's lap - with an angry growl?? Aw, gosh!
Of course that got me so distracted the whole day that I'm not sure I did justice to the wonderful Kremser Equation in one lecture, and the incredible dietary fiber in another! Whew! Uhm, nah... Kremser is in no way related to dietary fiber. The lectures are for two different purposes, I assure you! Haha..... But I digress... I know, there are more pressing problems in the world than the Andy-Jade primetime TV romance to be stressing out about... but, hey, this is too sweet, it deserves a day of stressing out... and a blog post, too! :)
Well, to make the 30-min long story short, it turned out that the Patrice "sneak attack" led to a myriad of confrontations: between what Jade thinks and what Jade felt, between Andy's feelings and his ever-faltering will to assert it, between Jade's love for Andy and his even bigger love for Jade. True feelings won, and the victory was celebrated with a kiss! Aaaaawww... kilig! :)
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Speaking of 'sweet'... ants 'beelined' to Camp Nou
FC Barcelona 4-0 CA Osasuna... Fabregas (14'), Fabregas (18'), Messi (72), Messi (90+1). Oy, sweet!
And so, 'Incredible Barça' opened 2012 with a spectacular win over CA Osasuna in the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie at Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona in action... dazzling!With the well-oiled Barça ball-hogging artillery once again displayed on the pitch, the Pep Guardiola tactical prowess-fueled win showcased the brilliance of Barça's midfield Maestro, Xavi, and the awesomeness of Camp Nou's prodigal son, Cesc Fàbregas. And then there's Dani Alves's lethal all-around game on the pitch showing up a number of times and the impressive Sergio Busquets rocking the defense-midfield interface again with a silent flair that could only be associated with his name. Of course, El Capitan Carles Puyol and the maturing talent, Thiago Alcantara, were beautiful to watch on the pitch, too. It was as if the squad was unaffected by the holiday break at all!
Oh... and then there's Barça's dazzling superstar, Lionel Messi, who just got back from his holiday in Argentina barely two days before the match. He was initially 'parked' by Pep on the bench due to a suspected flu in the morning, and then he came on for the just-recovered-from-injury, Pedro Rodríguez, during the last 30 minutes or so of the match. Like a real magician, he defied sickness and banged in two massive goals like the best player in the world, which he is, should!
Sweet! :)
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Sweet Homecoming...
...not mine, but by my former student's who is currently based in France - doing something really awesome there. :) It is always heartwarming to meet again a former student who comes to reminisce the "good old days" at school... and to share with us, their former teachers, their exciting adventures, as well as their funny (and not-so-funny) misadventures. It's like seeing the world and the exciting field of

Seeing the world... through someone else's eyes.engineering through their eyes - sometimes quite a peculiar experience... most of the time, absolutely refreshing!
Earlier today, I had a great time catching up with a former student. She was this quiet and serious, and really diligent honor student who never realized how pretty she was, oblivious to the admiring boys around her. Now, she has transitioned to being an important part of a giant multi-national and have become a really engrossing conversationalist - no longer shy and quiet. :) She's bloomed to a truly lovely person... and I'm really proud! :) More than all her joyful accomplishments and her incredibly fun adventures, it warms my heart to see that she's never forgotten her roots... and she swings joyfully to reach and touch that place where her roots lie the deepest.
Shhh... yep, she's still single. And I hope she's not thinking that I am advocating that she stays single... 'cause I'm not! =) Therefore, I wish her sweet 'love and romance' in 2012... a la 'Binondo Girl'! ;)
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Photo credits: Barça photos grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
Jade (Kim Chiu) and Andy (Xian Lim) photo grabbed from "My Binondo Girl" Facebook fan page public album - thanks!