FOOTIE, FOOTIE...

...and more footie!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Yep, the world is round... indeed, it is! And it has stars all over it... that one kicked around by those oh, so lovely, lovely men as they ran and tried to outmaneuver one another in that most beautiful green field amidst the roar of the incredible crowd around the field in the most sensational fashion... and passion! Football! The world is a football... my world is round - and it's football! :)

Aaaah, I have been raring to write a sports blog for the LONGEST time now. I have so many materials about tennis and Roger Federer, and football and Lionel Messi, and FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF... the list goes on and on - all in my head. Year after year, Grand Slam after Grand Slam, Season after Season in football leagues, my Facebook Wall is "littered" with so many tennis and football stuff... and how I wished I had the time to sit down and organize them on a blog. But the wish had never came to fruition... until now! I thought I was too passionate and "fanatic" to be writing objectively about tennis and football when Roger Federer, or Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona, or Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid CF for that matter, were involved. So, I've been letting my Facebook Wall as the venue for letting loose my passion for tennis and football, and write bits and pieces about them here. But that unbelievable UEFA Champions League quater-final first leg tie between FC Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk FC at the fabulous Camp Nou yesterday, April 6, 2011, did it for me... and here I am "sports blogging"! Well... sort of! :)

After that awesome World Cup Season last year, which had me staggering from lack of sleep to work for a couple of months, my addiction to football reached the critical level that, uh... well, I've been talking to Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez in my sleep! Dang! Xavi's voice is so sexy... in my sleep, that is. And Messi's is heartwarming as a lovable child's - yes, in my sleep, too! I know, this is quite alarming in its weirdness! :) It has gone so bad, that lately, I've been exchanging cusses with Daniel Alves (in a funny way) - yes, in my sleep, too! =) If anything, sleep has never been this exciting for me lately. So, nah, I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm kinda waiting for David Villa to grace my dreams with his presence as well! ;) When he does, I hope he'd bring Sergio Ramos with him so I could slap him for hurting Leo Messi in their El Clásico clash in November last year... or, Mesut Özil so I could try convincing him that he's better suited for Barcelona. But, hmmm... I wonder, would they need permission from José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola if they were to come together? Aaargh... even logistics in my dreams have become so complicated! :|

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UEFA Champions League is champion!

Honor Roll: The two Spanish La Liga giants, three-time winners FC Barcelona with Josep Guardiola at the helm, and nine-time winners Real Madrid CF with their master tactician, José Mourinho, who had guided Real to book a slot in the last 8 to revive their quest for the Champions League title for the first time since 2002; English Premier League's brightest superstars, led by the three-time winners Manchester United FC, and the hungry-for-the-title, Chelsea FC and the Tottenham Hotspur FC; FC Schalke of the going-strong German Bundesliga; the current Cup Holders, led to victory in the previous term by Mourinho himself, FC Internazionale Milano of the Italian Serie A; and first-time quarter-finalist FC Shakhtar Donetsk - the best of the Ukrainian Premier League.

With the biggest and the best sides in the European football all gaining a place in the last eight slots, the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal is exactly what it should be - the "Clash of the European Champions"!! And it's hot, hot, hot!!

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The side where my 'round heart' belongs

I have been following the UEFA Champions League this season, and I have been rooting for FC Barcelona, of course... part of it is because of the 23 yr-old Lionel Messi - the best football player in the world today. I just love him! Leo's brand of football is beautiful as it is skillful - genius. It is defined by speed, agility and a sharp sense for the goal. Sometimes, he seems like a computer-guided rocket when he approaches the goal... once set on target and locked, all there is left to do is to kiss the target goodbye! However, unlike Cristiano Ronaldo, or "CR7" - Real Madrid's famed "complete player" because of his heavy artillery of talents as a footballer - Messi ties himself to his team as "just another finger" in that big hand that crawled the football field. When he is not striking to complete a beautifully orchestrated play, set up by either the suave Xavi Hernandez, the brilliant Andres Iniesta, or the fearless Dani Alves, Leo himself is dribbling ably and sharply passing the ball to the open teammate, as dictated by the playmaker. Therefore, he is always an integral part of every single goal in Barҫa's score card. As Pep Guardiola himself said, "he can win us games in many varied ways." On the other hand, CR7 is widely criticized for "playing for himself", just because his tremendous speed, strength, and incredible dribbling and striking talents allow him to be a one-man demolition crew... that is, if his side is faced with a decidedly weaker side! He rarely passes the ball... when he does, it's only to direct a teammate to set up a goal for himself, or to get out of trouble! Therefore, if he makes a goal, it's his victory... if he doesn't, it's because his teammate didn't deliver! And since football is really a team sport - it is played and watched not because of one player but because of the whole team, in my book, Leo's great ability to gel his talents with those of his teammates for a truly engaging play makes him by far the better player between the two... and that makes FC Barcelona a more exciting side to watch in the field, too!

Having said that, while I admire Leo, the bigger reason why I'm rooting for Barҫa is their hunt-in-a-pack style of play that I so love - awesome teamwork all the time! It's like, once they set foot on the field, their minds were connected via that crest on their chest, and that they could hear Pep Guardiola in their head as he guided them with his sharp mind and authoritative voice. It's incredible how each one of them seems to have an extra-sensory feel for the ball... and for each other. Moving like fingers in the same hand as they ease the ball towards the goal, slipping through narrow cracks in the other side's wall of defense via their signature tiki-taka method of passing. They are very much "in the same wavelength" that pack-style communication seems so clear. It's mesmerizing how they pass the ball with just the right touch and speed, at exactly the right time, and to the right person, that they rarely lose the ball and that a play almost always ends up with an awesome goal. It's just beautiful to watch - absolutely addictive! :) This is the superb brand of football that they played against Shakhtar Donetsk yesterday, which they won, 5-1.

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A quarterfinal sweetness at Camp Nou

The first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie between FC Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk FC at Camp Nou opened with Lionel Messi setting the pace of the match, and Shakhtar showing they've got what it took to keep up! The goalmaking started early with the brilliant Andres Iniesta banging the ball, World Cup style, into Shakhtar's goal within the first two minutes of the match, stunning Andriy Pyatov - Shakhtar's goalie. The goal-in-a-hurry sent an electric shock to Mircea Lucescu's men! The message was clear: if the Pitmen were still getting into the rhythm, they'd better do it quick because Barҫa was on an attack and that they have no intention of conceding Camp Nou to the visitors.

Accepting the challenge, the Pitmen regrouped quickly and tightened their defense right away... I have to say, they were a very good defensive team, too - if I understood anything about defense at all! And then, the Pitmen went for a counterattack aggressively, even showing willingness to pick up yellow cards if that's what it took to throw Barҫa's game to a disarray. But the Catalans weren't about to be derailed. If Dani Alves's obvious agression everytime the ball was in his posession didn't show that, I guess Xavi's silent menacing focus - all shown in his dark eyes and firmly pressed lips, Iniesta's fakes with quick back passes and steals that must've been really frustrating for the other side, and David Villa's greased, slippery moves as he forced himself through narrow cracks on the Pitmen's defense should've done the job. No, we are not even talking about Messi yet, who, sensing his teammates heightened intention to dominate the tie and the Pitmen's watchful eyes on him, changed gear from striker to playmaker. Obviously, the Pitmen didn't expect that, so that when Iniesta made a long pass, everybody, including the goalie, was looking to bar the speeding Messi, and the marked #2 finisher - David Villa - from getting near the ball... and the path went wide open for the unmarked Dani Alves on the opposite wing. Iniesta, Messi and Villa seemed to understand one another, and Dani Alves seemed to pick up his teammates intentions from across the field, and went sprinting unchallenged through a path that intersected Iniesta's long pass. Andriy Pyatov saw Alves just in time and rushed towards the ball for a save, but Dani Alves, without any hesitation to rise to the occasion, broke the ball's flight and changed its course tangent to Pyatov's approach. He then followed it past Pyatov and pushed the ball to the net with a clinically clean, simple-as-ABC kick! 2-0! Sweet! :) Camp Nou errupted as they celebrated the simplest yet the awesomest of goals with Dani Alves! Another electric shock for the Pitmen.

And so, the first half of the match saw Ukraine's best down by two goals.

Obviously pepped up by Lucescu during half-time, the Pitmen came back with a stronger resolve to narrow their goal deficit. The fast-paced game continued, with the electrified but undeterred Pitmen matching the Catalans - speed por blistering speed, kick por ferocious kick. Messi still sensing that the Pitmen marked him as the triggerman, used that to Barҫa's advantage by pulling the Shakhtar's defenders toward himself, cracking up the Shakhtar defense. In one of those many brilliant moments, he forced a breach on the Shakhtar defense by magneting the Pitmen defenders towards himself and David Villa, who seemed to understand Messi's intentions. That left the masterful Xavi Hernandez, backed by Andres Iniesta, to have an open field to set up a game for the unmarked Gerard Piqué, who guilely approahed and guided the ball to the goal with not as much as a thud! 3-0! Sweeter than sweet! :) Camp Nou joined Piqué and Xavi in their goal celebration - too beautiful!

A few minutes after Piqué's goal, Iniesta was booked for the second leg of the tie with a yellow card. That shook Barҫa and the Camp Nou crowd momentarily, allowing a persistent Rakitskiy of the Ukraine side to slip the ball through the distracted Victor Valdes and into the goal, following a free kick. That narrowed the hosts's lead to just two goals! 3-1! There was hush, hush in Camp Nou....

Unperturbed, Lionel Messi went back to business quickly, resuming the upbeat tempo. Eyeing Seydou Keita who was positioning himself on the left wing for a possible assist, Messi picked up the ball while Camp Nou was still in a daze and sprinted away in a blinding speed towards the center of the Shakhtar goal. The Pitmen, keen on protecting their newly found capacity to get closer to Barҫa's goal haul, snapped out of the dizzying rate at which things were unfolding and all sped to hunt Messi. And just before three Pitmen could catch him, he suavely directed the ball to the expecting Seydou Keita, a good eight to ten meters ahead and closer to the goal at the left wing. Keita took Messi's cue and brought the ball home from the left wing without a challenge because the Shakhtar goalie and the other defenders were poised to stop Messi from the center of the goal! 4-1! And so, they went back to their comfortable three-goal advantage in a snap - taking the momentum back from Shakhtar! Sweet, sweet, sweet! And the Camp Nou crowd's energy was renewed, the stadium shook in the Catalan fans' frenzied excitement.

The next minutes were speed match between the two sides, each side testing the other's ability to keep up and to keep ball possession. Knowing that they had the speed and the feel for the goal that matched the Catalans', the Pitmen pushed harder! They knew that all they had to do was to make another goal, or to prevent Barҫa from making another one. With only a three-goal deficit, they knew it might not be impossible to turn that around to their favor in the second leg of the tie when they host Barҫa in the Donbass Arena, where they remain undefeated. All the reasons to hope fell to the Camp Nou ground, however, when Dani Alves, with his usual menacing agression, slipped the ball through a two-man challenge and passed it with his eyes to Lionel Messi, who had Xavi Hernandez a few feet in front of him. The sharp Pitmen defenders anticipated the move, and so, they turned towards Messi behind them who rushed and looked like he was going to intercept the ball and make the shot. Alves, for all the ferocity in his bullish charge, cunningly controlled his pass that the ball slowed as it approached Messi, bringing it at a point close enough for Xavi to reach out, who was momentarily unmarked. Xavi wasted no time. As the Pitmen aimed at Messi, Xavi quickly but very smoothly reached for the ball and touched it gently towards the goal, with the goalie still waiting for the strike from Messi!! 5-1! Aaaaaah, sweet, sweet, so sweet!!! Of course, Pep Guardiola almost did a sommersault if he didn't have a bad back, and the Camp Nou crowd went on a mighty roar - and that's just about right! Woohoo!!

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'El Clásico' in the offing?

Everyone, myself included, is of course wishing for an El Clásico at the UEFA Champions League. With the Catalans and the Meringues both in the QF, and on colllision path, too, that wish is likely to come true. The day before the Barҫa-Shakhtar match, Real Madrid CF won the first leg of their own QF tie with Tottenham Hotspur at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The Merengues hammered the "limping" visitors, hauling 4 goals to nil, after striker Peter Crouch was booked early in the match with a red card. And so, with their 5-1 win over Ukraine's best, pundits say that Barҫa is sending a message to Real Madrid: "anything you can do, we can do better." Whether that is true or not, I'm not sure. But I know that Barҫa is playing absolutely hot football, they even made me write this entry in my blog - my first full-length entry on football. No other football club made me do this notwithstanding my passion for football! Woot-woot!


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Photo credit: All photos were grabbed from the UEFA website, Zimbio and the FC Barcelona website - thanks.

Aargh, leave me alone...

...please!!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Yes, I should actually be somewhere else doing something fatally boring rather than writing this entry in my blog. And what else could be more "fatally boring" than work - an imposed work, that is!

No, I'm not against work. In fact, I work very hard and I try to inspire others to work as hard. In fact, I am just a few shoves away from being a slave driver - close to being a workmaniac! I just despise being told what to do - how I should do my work to fit some egomaniac's taste! Or, worse, being told what to do by someone who has no clue, as in no comprehension at all, of the complexities and the rigorous nature of my work and my passion for what I do. I have no patience for this kind of people whose minds are of one-size-fits-all design.

Just because every one of us is on a push doesn't necessarily mean that we all walk with our arms outstreched in front of us bearing most of our body's power and walk in a straight line... because some might be pushing a light wheeled cart on a smooth surface while others are pushing decades old rusty truck with flat tires - uphill! And still, some maybe maneouvering the stupidest donkey on the face of the earth! Why others should be pushing a stupid donkey like that, while sad and incomprehensible, is sometimes necessary. Therefore, I refuse to speak with people who talk as if they understand a stupid donkey's mind when all they've ever pushed all their boring lives is a light wheeled cart!!

Call me smug, go ahead... I'm not about to deny it! I'd rather be called smug than be an audience to egomaniacs - that's for sure! My own ego is big enough to be a considerable burden! Ugh! And yet, this is the sad part about working in this part of the world... superiors expect you to conform - to the sick images of you in their unimaginative minds! And they cloak those sick images in their heads as you adopting to, in their sick words, "the realities of a Third World" - realities defined by submission to defeat, mediocrity and suffering! Imagine? If people "in the Third World" conform to those images and live those realities as if they were the only realities, then how... how do we progress?????? How do we move forward? How do we get ourselves out of this dinky ditch? If they've learned to embrace life in this ditch, then, I'm sorry, I refuse to close my eyes to this ugliness! I want to stare it down cold until it shivers to its knees... and be out of its grip! Because it's possible, because it is DOABLE!

What I don't get is why... why do superiors hold us back? What are they afraid of? Just because they were not able to make things work does not necessarily mean that things will never ever work! And even if it's hard to make things work, wouldn't it be worth it to, at least, TRY??? Therefore, there is no way - and, I mean, NO WAY - that I'd ever work with short-sighted, insecure people like them! I'd rather work with a stupid donkey if that was all the choice I had!

Uhmm-hmmm... I see you nodding your head... or, are you shaking your head? Are you shivering... with fright? Gotcha!! Late April fools!! Aah-hahaha... all is well! :)

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Photo credit: The comic strip was grabbed from phdcomics.com - thanks.

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Super Sunday

...and I'm not just talking about the English Premier League!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


No surprise

I did shout and "woot-woot" the whole time as I watched Chelsea battled Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on an English Premier League Super Sunday! The match was a "must-win" for both Clubs, as they tried to go up the League Championship Table - closer to the leaders, Manchester United (#1) and Arsenal (#2). Therefore, both sides started with their best men, with Chelsea opening with their epically expensive Spanish acquisition from Liverpool, the gorgeous Fernando "El Niño" Torres. The Blues had home advantage... and the Stamford Bridge fans didn't disappoint - not a surprise, of course! While the Citizens put up a tough contest, mostly preventing El Niño from scoring, the Blues trashed them via a 2-0 victory in an action-packed match. Of course, El Niño is yet to make his first goal for the Blues. The Stamford Bridge action was followed by another tight match between Sunderland and El Niño's former Club, Liverpool, which the latter won, 2-0, out of sheer pride - again, no surprise.

While there wasn't much surpise in the outcome of the matches, it was a satisfying afternoon of fantastic football!

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A 3D surprise

As my throat was parched from all the "whoa-ing" and "aaw-ing", two of my sisters and I refreshed with some shopping at the biggest Mall in the Philippines, SM City-North EDSA, which is about five minutes away from our place - without the Parking wait, that is. :) While SM City has always been jampacked on weekends, there was an unusually big crowd at "The Block" - one of the newest additions to "The City". We went to check it out... and were pleasantly surprised to see that the United States Embassy's Roadshow, "America in 3D: Diplomacy, Development and Defense", stopped by and stationed for three days at "The Block". We were lucky to catch it on its third day. So, we made the most of it! :)

We went around to check out the Show and Exhibits. My sisters and I found a mutual High School friend who worked for the US Embassy's Commercial Services Section manning one of the exhibits. It was a fun mini reunion... and then I was grabbed on the shoulders by someone. I turned to see who it was and I was thrilled to find my friends at the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF)/Fulbright Commission of the Philippines! They invited me and my sisters inside the PAEF Booth with a "we have a surprise for you" teaser, and what I found sent me reeling in excitement! It was a "Wall" of Fulbright Alumni Testimonials... and my own "testimonial" was part of it. Beside my testimonial - a sentence from my post-Programme report, to be accurate - was a photo of mine from ten years ago... from my Fulbright application packet in 2001! It made me feel kind of nostalgic and felt a pang of longing for those exciting Fulbright/Cornell University days. Aaah, those were truly incredible days... exploring what one of the best Universities in the world had to offer under the auspices of the "Mother of all Scholarships" - absolutely surreal! Until now, I am still figuring out whatever good thing I've done to deserve such an incredible experience - I am so undeserving. Nevertheless, my sisters and I were so delighted to re-live those days through the "Wall"! We posed for a few souvenir shots beside my testimonial panel, chatted with my PAEF/Fulbright friends for a few more minutes... and then continued shopping. :)

Hmmm... talk about Super Sunday!

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A cool surprise

As always, bonding time with my sisters culminated to a foodtrip. Our Sunday escapade was no exception. We voted unanimously for a "to-die-for" dessert... and ice cream got our triple nods. We escaped the heavily commercialized stores in the Mall though and went serching for a "unique" ice cream concoction... and we were happy to find a little ice cream parlor close to where we live. It was simply called "Ice Cream Store" - a small, two-car parking, four-table store, with no airconditioning. They weren't just serving ice cream concoctions with a surprisingly wide range of choices, but they were also selling packed ice cream in an impressive variety of flavors and formulations that were absolutely unexpected given the store's size. The Food Scientist in me was very impressed to see their coconut milk and virgin coconut oil (VCO)-based formulations. I myself am working on stuff like this in my research work, and I understand the challenges in formulation, processing and overall quality... thus the fascination.

My sisters and I ordered different Sundae concoctions, which were all reasonably priced and very satisfying in terms of taste and fun eating - truly to-die-for! And then, we brought home several of the varieties they were selling - in pints and cups - and continued eating at home without feeling "robbed" since all products were reasonably priced! :) The coconut milk varieties were very good - light and tasty, with decent texture. But what was best about them was that there weren't lactose intolerance-induced stomach upsets after enjoying them, and that added to the sweetness of sisters bonding. :) Naturally, we vowed to return to the Ice Cream Store soon... and to spread the word about the store's existence.

So, yeah, I had a Super Sundae, er, Sunday... uhm, both, actually!! :)

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Photo credits: (1) Fernando Torres during Chelsea's March 20, 2011 match against Manchester City in Stamford Bridge - Getty's Image, grabbed from the Zimbio website.

I own all other photos.

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132nd birthday

Albert Einstein... his memory lives on.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


I am currently engrossed in that bestselling classic, "Einstein, Life and Times" by Ronald W. Clark.

Inspired by Albert Einstein's approaching 132nd birthday and to celebrate a small success in a big stint with students, I went to hunt for an Einstein-related reading at the bookstore three weeks ago or so. By habit, and absent-mindedness (uh, ahem, don't know where I got that! Hehe...) my feet brought me to the food-related books section! :) Three-expensive-books-in-my arms later, I realized those were not what I came for to buy. So, I forced myself towards the Science Section, allowing a short stopover at Bestsellers Section, when all of a sudden a misplaced paperback caught my attention. Why? Because it was a book on Einstein! I looked at it, and I gasped... it was one of those books I wanted to buy back in my penniless College student days, which I cannot afford, of course! And I promised myself then to buy it the minute I started earning money. Of course, it took more than twenty years and a few stints at different universities before I could fulfill such promise! :)

So, after more than 20 years, a fateful circumstance reunited me with my "dream paperback"... and I hurriedly turned to "that page" that made me decide a long time ago that, perhaps, Ronald W. Clark should be trusted to write about Albert Einstein's Life and Times... yes, even if he was not a Physicist! :)

"The page" was page 37... and here's what Ronald W. Clark related that played in my head over and over again and kept me enthralled for the past 20 years or so:

"...Einstein decided on the work to which he would be willing to devote everything and sacrifice anything with steely determination which separated him from other men. On two occasions, he put down in simple words what the work was. The first came during an hour's meeting - apparently about 1911 - with the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, who pressed him hard 'with a concealed question about his faith.' Finally, in Buber's words, Einstein 'burst forth,' revealingly, "What we (and by 'we' he meant we physicists) strive for," he cried, "is just to draw His lines after Him." To draw after - as one retraces a geometrical figure.' And a decade later, walking with a young woman physicist to his Berlin University office, Einstein spelled out the same task in more detail. He had no interest in learning a new language, nor in food nor in clothes. 'I'm not much with people,' he continued, 'and I'm not a family man. I want my peace. I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.'"

Aaah... sweet!! :)

More than two decades after College, and now completely immersed in the exciting waters of the science and technology world... considering it was written more than a decade already when I first discovered it in College, how Einstein's passionate words still leave me in complete fascination - the way it did back in the days when I had no clue what his "Special Theory of Relativity" actually meant, and how much it encompassed most physical laws known then and now - is completely amazing!

That moment, I was ready to spend a fortune to own a copy of that book... as it turned out, a snack at that overrated coffee shop (if you could even call it that) called Starbucks - the hangout place for so many College students these days - is so much more expensive! Wow, my generation has degenerated so much! :( We have too many of those Wall Street, (even worse) Wall street-ish, and (worst) Wall Street big shot wannabe people these days, that's why! Perhaps, we need an Einstein to get us back on track? Hmmm... hey, a girl can dream! :)

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Photo credits: (1) My photo, (2) grabbed from http://www.mbbnet.umn.edu/doric/einstein.html - thanks.

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Celebration... to go!

...a birthday celebration - midlife style.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


The past how many years, my siblings and I normally celebrate birthdays and other special occasions with some preparations. By "preparation", I mean we cook... or, if we're not able to cook, we reserve a place in a fave restaurant and we eat together. With my five siblings (three of them are married), and a very close cousin (almost a sister who is also married), an uncle who is very close to us, nine nieces, two nephews and three grandkids (via nieces), our family is big enough to have a huge party... so, we normally do not invite friends anymore. We hold a separate celebration with our friends. Occasionally, we invite my siblings' in-laws... when there's enough time for cooking, or preparing the menu for pre-ordered food, that is.

My older sister's 44th birthday on March 12th was a different story. We were all very busy with work... she just texted us - siblings, telling us that she was dropping by our house with take-out food 'cause her husband was working late and won't be home until about midnight - they've already "celebrated" in the morning. One sister and I decided to go pick up food via drive-thru, while my other sister and her fiancé ordered food for delivery! And so, we got together at our house with our "food to go"... the funniest part was, we forgot to invite our Dad who lived in the same house! =) He was fast asleep when we all reached home, late in the evening... and so, we celebrated - party of five... with take out food! But we had so much fun... our Dad was awoken by the noise, and he got up to greet my sister, and eat - our left-overs! =)

Uh-hmmm... just when we had money to celebrate properly... what we didn't have was time! :(

***

Aussie Open 2011

Drama after drama = fun memories for a tennis fan
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


And so the first Grand Slam of the season kicks off, and it's here in the Asia-Pacific, too! Aussie Open... oy, oy, oy! Life makes sense again!

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It's a man's world... and I don't mind!

So, who will prevail? Would Roger Federer be able to defend his crown and go "17"? Would Rafael Nadal - the current Number One in the World - snatch it from him? Would the perennial World #3, Novak Djokovic, who bested Roger Federer in an epic five-setter semi-final in Flushing Meadows before bowing to Rafa Nadal in the final, take his second Aussie Open crown? Would Andy Murray step up to the plate and finally prove himself as a worthy Grand Slam winner? Would Robin Soderling steal everyone's thunder and run away with the crown this time? Would David Ferrer or Fernando Verdasco step out of Nadal's shadow and be the next Spaniard winner of the Aussie Open? Or, would Thomas Berdych, be up for a season opener upset? Would Melbourne be the venue of another epic Federer-Nadal Grand Slam Face-off? Hmmm... too many questions. Would the answers shock us, or would it subdue us? Would we rather be shocked or subdued?

***
Ladies a-gaga

Hmmm... I can't say I'm excited to see what happens at the women's side, especially that Caroline Wozniacki is seeded #1 again. *sigh* I know, I know... it's not her fault, and yet, I think tennis fans deserve something better than peeping backside and cleavage in colorful outfit and nails mechanically running around the court without an emotional connection with the audience. OK, so Serena Williams will not be participating... one less "legitimate" contender for the crown there. Venus William is participating though... oh, no, not again! Not another two weeks of skin-toned shorts all over the place! *gag* Safina won't be there... great! One less potentially catastrophic mental breakdown on court! Maria Sharapova is back... and in her competitive form, too. Oh, boy, here we go... time to get new earplugs! Kim Clijsters and Sam Stosurs are in the draw! Awesome! Now, it's a real competition! Huh... they're in the same half of the draw though... uh-oh! :( Francesca Schiavone is in the draw. OK, nice... a guaranteed drama - in a good way.

So, yeah, drama is guaranteed at the women's side... not sure about the competitive quality of the matches though. Who would win? Seriously, apart from Kim Clijsters, are there any other women in the draw whose competitive edge had been consistent enough to put our money on? Sadly, no. So, let's just get on with it... and enjoy their outfits - if that is even possible at all! :)

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3 Birthdays = Fun family day

We found another reason to spend a weekend with one another!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


We started the year with a big and fun celebration! Two of my nieces and a grandniece celebrated their birthdays in January and we grabbed the
We found another excuse for a get-together!chance to gather and do what we do best - eat together! Yaaay! :)

There was a fun coincidence. All born in the first month of the year, the three birthday girls happened to be the eldest in their respective broods, too! :) So, all of them are called "Ate" (Filipino word referring to an older female sibling). They have another thing in common - they all love chocolates... and we love all three of them! :)

I wish our three Ate's wonderful things and many, many more years of love, joy and laughter - hopefully, with all of us in the family! :)

***

My new manicure and pedicure...

...and why they make me say "aaaah..."!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


So, I finally made it to the hair and nails salon! And since this is my first visit in 2011, it's kind of 'special'. :)

Old folks say that whatever state the New Year finds you in, that would be your situation all year round. Since I started the year with a chipped nail and one-month old pedicure, I cringed at the thought of this being my "nail situation" all throughout 2011. And so, I pushed aside laziness and proved superstition wrong!

I was motivated by a guaranteed reading time, a possibility of finally updating myself on the latest trend in the most delicious world of food via my Food Technology magazines, which were still in their unopened plastic packages. I hauled myself out of the comforts of my room to follow the path to personal care salvation! And, it wasn't without substantial effort. I knew I can withstand the confines of the salon for an hour or so as some 'magician' tried to revive my nails to life, however, I was not emotionally prepared to spend a couple more hours for a hair repair, too. So, I avoided all sorts of eye contact with my hair cutter/stylist and contented myself in getting my nails worked on - for now. It wasn't very difficult to do that either as I was absolutely engrossed in my book, and the people in the salon knew enough of this side of me by now. They knew that once I opened a book, I get lost in another world. I would've preferred to be more social... if TV sets in these "beauty" salons were tuned in to sports channel - but they never were! And it makes me wonder why... oh, well.

While my feet were soaked in warm soapy water - aaah, that felt good, my kind manicurist was coaxing my fingernails out of beauty coma. Luckily, my fingernails never play hard-to-get when coaxed like that. :) And so, they 'giggled' with excitement of being groomed to clean state with every stroke of the nail filer and with every twist of the clipper and the tweezers. As dust of sawed nails and dead skin piled on the floor, my nicely shaped nails were revived to life! Soon, I was holding my book carefully with eggplant-colored nails... and it felt very nice! And then, it was time to dig my toenails from the abyss of extreme unkempt state. I had to set aside my book for a while to pay attention - the process of reviving my toenails as they are hauled out of the painful trap of thorny ingrown is always an experience worth savoring for me. Aaargh, those punishing ingrown - they make every moment in pumps or stilettos seem a forever of torture! Flashbacks of having to inwardly groan as I endured the thorny pain from inside my work pumps, standing in front of my students as I gave lectures or pretending to walk gracefully as I walked with well-dressed colleagues and superiors, I winced in pain.

The coaxing started... my stubborn toenails resisted - painfully. More coaxing, my toenails started to soften their resistance in a flood of cuticle remover... I held my breath, held on to my seat. And then the punishing thorns were slowly pulled out... one-by-one - relief each time! It's like being slowly lifted from a bed of nails and transferred to a bed of roses. And then the biggest of them thorns was finally pulled out... a BIG sigh of relief from me and from the manicurist/pedicurist! Aaaah... on the bed of roses at last!! And then the manicurist/pedicurist started to hum... I knew then that the worst is over... and I went back to my book.

In the end, while I loved what she did with my nails, I was kind of "disappointed" with the efficiency of my manicurist/pedicurist... it made me a-wanting for more from my book! But I was just glad to have a few more minutes exploring the furniture and electronics stores nearby. I ended up buying a new stand for the TV set in my bedroom - on sale... 50% off the original price - and making a vow to myself to think about the economics of getting myself the new state-of-the-art Samsung surround-sound entertainment package... the kind that makes watching tennis and football (soccer) more interactive! :)

Contented with my conquest of the day, I "retreated" to my bedroom... and into the sweet coziness of my walk-in closet for some peace and quiet as I browsed the internet for a few things I am passionate about, outside teaching, that is - tennis and Roger Federer, football (soccer) and food, of course! :) And it was extra special to be "turning the pages" of the world wide web with clean eggplant-colored fingertips, and with legs outstretched where the pain-free eggplant-colored toe nails point up nicely into the ceiling in a "thumbs up"! :) My walk-in closet has never been that cozy, I tell ya!

Aaaah... what a day - life is beautiful!

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Photos: I own all photos.


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A life of goodbyes...

...and it starts now.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


I had an important realization a few weeks ago, just before 2010 was coming to a close... and it's all about goodbyes. I realized how fleeting everything truly is in this life... here today, gone tomorrow - everything... and everyone! And yet, some beautiful memories stay with us, especially those life-changing ones, those that touched us in many special ways. They leave vivid images in our minds because they are engraved in our hearts.

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Goodbye to exhilarating victories... and on to more subtle but meaningful ones?

"Variety", "precision" and "grace" are just some of the words usually found alongside the brilliant and high-class tennis that the cool and sublime genius, Roger Federer, plays. For most of the last decade, Roger Federer was the lone and towering wave of enormous force in the world of tennis... not that he no longer is these days. He remains to be a formidable force to be reckoned with in the tennis world... except that, these days, he no longer is the only one.

After years of being on top, he is now a "second fiddler", as mean sports analysts would say, to his long-time former second fiddler, Rafael "Rafa" Nadal. After winning his fourth Aussie Open Crown - his record-breaking 16th Grand Slam single's title - in the opening of last season in Melbourne, he shocked the world by failing to defend his crown in Roland Garros. He fell in the Quaterfinals from that hungry-for-a-win racquet wielded by the then up-and-coming Swede superstar, Robin Soderling. Because of the glory of his career that left tennis enthusiasts and the legends who made historical achievements awestruck for a decade now, that occurrence in the City of Lights felt like an anomaly! As he staggered his way to the Quarterfinals in Wimbledon... and losing to the hard-hitting shot trickster, Thomas Berdych - in that grass court of the All England Club where he was the undisputed King of his hard-hitting generation, the tennis fandom fell speechless from the shock! And in Flushing Meadows, where he was edged by Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in a tightly contested final match in the previous year, he couldn't recover from a self-induced hiccup and exited in the semi-finals as his opponent, the perennial #3 in the world, Novak Djokovic, stared and shook his head in disbelief!

While the Swiss Maestro regrouped, picking up a title each in Stockholm and Cincinnati, and capturing the prestigious ATP World Tour Year Ender Crown in London against the other Top 8 players of the world, beating Rafa Nadal in a three-setter final match - to equal the five-win record shared by Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl - he remained seated behind Rafa Nadal as World #2. And then sports analysts, damn them, upped the volume of their talks on "Federer decline", "the end of Federer", "Men's tennis without Federer", "Nadal is the New King", etc., and these are the same guys who were swearing a few years back that Roger Federer is the BEST tennis player that ever walked the planet, and will continue to be that for many generations. I'm not sure what was more heartbreaking for Roger, the actual losses or the piercing words. I will not begin to speculate how that made him feel... because it made me feel awful - and I am just a fan! Apart from occasionally shoving back with a hey-get-a-tennis-history-book-and-look-me-up sounding replies to acid questions, he never showed devastation. Instead, cheerful photos of him taking vacation with his young family emerged in the internet... and they were very pleasing and absolutely heartwarming to see. People then began to understand where is Roger getting this calmness and armor from devastation from: wonderful family moments.

But there's more....

While his own world - the tennis world - the world that thrived for a decade on the excitement he brought through his brilliance was being unkind to him, Roger reinvented himself and turned the tide once more to the tennis world's favor. In December, as he was diligently stitching together and firming up his winning form with a more "aggressive" tactic for the next season of tennis, he also organized the "Match for Africa" in Zurich, Switzerland. It is an exhibition match with his so-called rival, Rafa Nadal, organized through the Roger Federer Foundation. The event was aimed at generating funds to send impoverished African children to school. Rafa followed his lead and did the same, and Roger played another exhibition match with his "nemesis" in Madrid, Spain. Even when the tennis world was on a break then, the world was all excited with the wonderful exhibition matches Roger and Rafa played. Needless to say, Roger seemed exhilarated by the impact of his action... using his incredible talent, fame and fortune to extend a helping hand where help is badly needed. With this wonderful trend that he started - forging camaraderie even between "rivals" to make a difference - the tennis world, for sure, will never be the same again. And so, the tennis world assumes a great image of constantly evolving excitement and a care for humanity... once again, care of its El Maestro, Roger Federer.

Roger might've started writing his "goodbye note" to the tennis world as an active player just because he won't be young and strong enough to play forever. And yet, he is showing the world that a "goodbye" to his old world does not mean a "decline" from his previous status there. After all, how could one be achieving great things - one after another - worthy for the history books one moment, and then being a "second fiddler" to someone else the next moment? Life has stages... and Roger is showing us that we must move from one stage to the next. In fact, a "goodbye" from his old world could be a "hello" to another, which could even be a spawn of his old world, where he could once again generate an exhilarating energy! Only this time, it is more meaningful - not just for himself and his loved ones, but also for a multitude of people. Being able to see that, being brave enough to accept this reality even when you are still at the top of your game, I believe, is the real mark of great achievement and the real measure of a TRUE CHAMPION!!


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Goodbye to Love

For a little over three years, I was hanging on to keep the flame of long-distance love alive for someone special and dear. It's still hard for me to speak about it... even now that it's all died out. Perhaps, it was the way it ended that brings sadness to an otherwise perfect memory.

Distance is not a friend of love - I know that now. It makes love suffer... and suffering erodes love - even the truest kind. I know that I tempted fate by choosing the difficult situation of being away from the loved one - to feed that "selfish monster" called idealism, but I was faithful... and yet, suffering lingered. While I made all kinds of precautions... using professional preoccupation as a shield from suffering, distance muddled up communication, and a muddled up communication line confuses feelings associated with love. Confusion and sometimes conflicting feelings can inflict torturous suffering, too. Sometimes, even well-meaning friends can add to the confusion... passing on messages with hints of opinion that they honestly believe would help, and yet, they don't. But more than anything else, when honesty becomes an issue, and temptations start to actually tempt, then love slowly slips away. I think I suffered more from the lack of honesty from the other end... perhaps, that was a survival strategy... I wouldn't know 'cause I lost love the day honesty was thrown out of the back door.

But love is about forgiving and forgetting... and so, yes, I forgave... and I've forgotten, too! Therefore, goodbye to love - that love! But I'm keeping the good memories and the most wonderful friendship in my heart - both remain to be the very best I've ever had, and will sustain my hope for the right love... next time around.


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The last goodbye: Crossing over to the other side

I fought a number of exciting battles... most of them I won - out of the brute force of struggle and hardwork. I thought all battles could be won like that... until I had to fight the battle of my life.

Death, I found, has no mercy... it knows no boundaries, no race. It does not respect societal status, nor recognize a lifetime of kindness or achievements - no matter how brilliant! When it comes to take you to crossover to the other side, it does so with cold, unfeeling and impersonal efficiency. It leaves you with no other sane choice but to rise calmly to your feet and follow its lead. Therefore, it is more reasonable to just ask for time - a little time - to take care of the practical things so that no one would suffer as you embark to crossover to the other side.

Memories... these are the very best things that you could possibly leave behind - more meaningful and useful than any material inheritance... more lasting, more enduring. Therefore, build as much as you can while you have your "little time"... and share them with as many people as possible - especially those who need them. As others would say, "live today as if it was your last...." I completely agree.

Embrace life with vigor and enthused excitement! Cast away sorrows and worries 'cause they won't buy you time. Endeavor to commune with happiness and love... and when they're not there, persevere to look for them. When you finally found them, stay in their heart and keep them in yours. Live life as if it was your last chance to say goodbye! And saying goodbye begins at every chance you get.


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Photo credits and acknowledgement: All the Roger Federer photos are grabbed from various sites (#1: Roger after winning the Australian Open in 2007, BBC Sports, #2: Rafa and Roger at the ATP Final 2010 from tennisthoughts.com, #3. Roger and Rafa from Roger Federer's Facebook Wall photos, and #4. Roger from live-onlinetennistournament.blogspot.com.) Thanks for the use of the photos. I own all other photos.

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Christmas 2010

It's family time!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Aaah... and the long wait for "the day", the most joyful of all days of the year, is finally over! It's Christmas - all over the world!!

And the kids pranced about cheerfully - waiting for him, good old jolly St. Nick, and his kind elves to give away Christmas cheers. The young at heart wore broad smiles on their faces - all traces of troubles gone - for Christmas day is the day when the Conqueror of all troubles was born! He who vanished the darkness of sins - in the illuminating light of His Love. And all that there is, is joy, joy... and more joy!

The Christ Jesus is born! And so, the Christian world pause from the daily grind to celebrate the birth of its King!

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Joy to the Family

While Christians celebrate Christmas in various fashions, depending on the culture in that corner of the world where they live, my family always celebrate Christmas as a most special Family Day! After all, it was the day when the Holy Family was finally complete. And so, my family and I commemorated the special occasion with a solemn prayer through the Holy Mass, gathering around the dining table at our home to partake of a simple meal we all prepared, and exchanging gifts to celebrate God's most precious gift to save humanity from the death of sinfulness: His Only Son. And we prayed for His blessing... to let us remain in His most precious heart, in the company of His obedient servant, St. Joseph, and the Blessed Virgin who carried the Messiah in her womb... and brought Him into our midst, in that one silent night... the holiest of nights!

And there was nothing else but joy, joy... and more joy!

And so, from my family: Happy Christmas!

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Thomasian Paskuhan 2010

Being the seat of Catholic education in the Philippines, once again, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) celebrated Christmas with its yearly tradition: "Paskuhan". The event was defined by that distinctive grandeur that befits the coming of The King! The one-week feast started with a Holy Mass and then followed by a slew of truly unforgettable events: "Christmas Concert" - a serenade to the Baby in the Manger by the world-renowned UST Singers, the UST Symphony Orchestra and a host of Thomasian talents. The event was attended by members of the 'high society' of Culture and Arts enthusiasts in Manila, as well as international dignitaries. The joyful "Gift Giving" to the adopted indigent communities of the University followed. On the last day of the Celebration, more activities were enjoyed by the Thomasians: the colorful "Christmas Parade", the annual "Rock Concert and Party" at the UST Grandstand, and the much-awaited magnificent 5-minute fireworks. The Blue Cross atop the UST Main Building then saw everyone home for the holidays.

While most were exhilarated by the fabulous Paskuhan, more than the lights, the colors, happy cheers and awesome fireworks, the University celebrated Christmas with the renewal of bond among members of the Thomasian family. Every Office and College held its own Christmas gathering, which are all highlighted by fun bonding moments. Many alumni took time to join the annual Thomasian Christmas traditions.

And there was nothing else but joy, joy... and more joy!

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Photo labels: #1. "The kind elf and his favorite star", ornaments from our Christmas tree; #2. "Christmas Day with the Family", images from our Christmas celebration at home; #3. "Paskuhan 2010", images from the UST Christmas celebration with my colleagues at the Chemical Engineering Department; #4. "Paskuhan scene at the Plaza Mayor", in front of the UST Main Building.

Photo Credits: I own all photos, except the last (Photo #4), which belongs to Norberto Villanueva.

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