Early "explosions" on the pitch

From Spain to England, football "explosions" reverberate throughout the planet.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


And the long wait is over... The beautiful world of European football is alive again! BRAWL of wills and wits - on the pitch! Bring it on!

***
The clash of Spanish Titans ushers in the new La Liga season

And so, the 2011-2012 season of the Spanish La Liga is ushered in by a Clásico!

The 2010-2011 La Liga - Primera Division winners, FC Barcelona, clash with the Copa del Rey winners, Real Madrid CF, for the first leg of their Spanish Super Cup contest at Estadio de Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid today. Pundits rate the first Clásico as a must-win for Los Blancos, who were outclassed by Barça last season and, therefore, have a lot to prove this season. The Blaugranas, on the other hand, had an almost perfect 2010-2011 season, winning both the La Liga - for the third time in three straight years, and the UEFA Champions League - for the second time in three years, with only the Copa del Rey slipping out of their grasp through a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid on extra time. While many rate this season opener as a meaningless match and just a mere teaser for what is to come this season, hey, a Clásico is a Clásico! It's going to be as "explosive" as ever!

But, will it, really - be "explosive"? While admitting their desire to win the Super Cup, Barça's coach, Pep Guardiola downplays their chances,
Pep Guardiola, Barça's caballero boss.pointing out the late coming together of his squad for preparation with key players, including Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves and the new acquisition, Alexis Sanchez, not able to participate in the pre-season matches as they were called by their respective National Teams to take part in the Copa America last summer. That resulted in a defeat against Manchester United in their Stateside clash in Washington D.C. Six more men from his squad were called by the Spanish National Team coach, Vicente del Bosque, to play in a friendly with Italy last Wednesday in Bari, which the Spanish Team lost, 1-0. Add to that, Guardiola pointed out, the fact that Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol are still not 100% healthy for a 90-minute feature - in a Clasico no less - and you have a real problematic situation. But, Guardiola refuses to make excuses. His side travels to Madrid with an intention of winning, he insisted.

Real Madrid's coach, José Mourinho, on the other hand, didn't disappoint. He is being his "explosive" self again - off
José Mourinho... Real Madrid's oh,
so "special" manager. the pitch. Now, that is surely something to be expected. Mourinho does have something to be arrogant about though - in his twisted belief of "self-entitled" arrogrance. Real Madrid did fantastic in their pre-season friendlies. They were "trigger-happy" on the pitch, trashing all their opponents completely. They are definitely gelling nicely to a cohesive force... threatening to make good of Mourinho's boastful warning last season that his second season with a squad is usually his best year, not that he lasted more than three years in the three sides he managed before Real Madrid anyway.

But yes, after last season, it would be too optimistic to expect "friendly" competition between these giant Spanish sides. And with Mourinho running the show in Bernabéu, we pray that no incident would happen that might mar the reputation of Spanish football (if last season's tongue-clicker of Clasicos hadn't turned off some football fans yet) and football as a whole as that beautiful game. Amen. :)

***
English heavy weights feature at the EPL opening

Over at the English Premier League, three of the "big four" from last season are in action this weekend, and one will see action on Monday.

Arsenal went ahead yesterday, Saturday, with a disappointing scorless match against Newcastle United. The Gunners played without their team captain, Cesc Fàbregas, who is in the process of finalizing his transfer to FC Barcelona - finally! Samir Nasri, who was also missed in the Gunners' opening match is also in the process of finalizing his likely move from the Emirates Stadium to the City of Manchester Stadium.

Today, Manchester United, fresh from their exciting win of the
Manchester United, the EPL 2010-2011 Champs.Community Shield contest against Manchester City last week, will see action against West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea, on the other hand, will be away to meet Stoke City, in what the Portuguese hotshot coach, Andre Villas-Boas's maiden match as The Blues manager. Many are speculating on the outcome of his first outing with The Blues. Well, we will find out soon enough, won't we?

Manchester City will see action against Swansea City tomorrow, Monday, with their new acquisition, Argentine striker, Sergio Aguero taking part in their opening match. Aguero transferred from Atletico Madrid this summer. Roberto Mancini decided to bench his captain, Carlos Tevez, who just returned from vacation this week, following his Copa America stint with the Argentina National Team. The Citizens are the heavy favorites to take their first match to a win, with the exception of José Mourinho, who believes Swansea's manager, Brendan Rodgers - Mourinho's former second man during his tenure as Chelsea manager - can pull an upset against The Citizens. We shall see if the Special One's crystal ball is telling the truth.

***
Photo credits: Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.

Saturday photo

It's an explosion... of colors!

I took this photo back in the summer of 2006 in Ithaca, NY. I was going for a morning run outdoors. It was a "celebratory run" - for a major undertaking in Cornell, which finally came to a truly satisfying finish. Gooooaaaal!!! :) I slowed down to avoid a speeding squirrel as I rounded a corner... and followed the squirrel's path with my eyes by reflex. As I did, I saw this... and it took my breath away! I cut my run short and ran back to my apartment. I grabbed my point-and-shoot, and returned to the "crime scene"... to take this evidence. ;)

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Wednesday nostalgia...

...you're the best thing.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


One of my fave songs from the '80s... by one of my fave bands - ever...

"I may get it wrong sometimes but I'll come back in style..."

"You're the best thing" by the talented British act, The Style Council. TSC music was the result of the brilliant partnership between Paul Weller and Mick Talbot, and "You're the best thing" was one of their signature songs.

I like the song because it isn't your "regular" love song. While it does have a "healthy serving" of good old cheesiness that defines helpless romanticism (like I know what that is *wink*), it has pride, expressed in the eye-roll-evoking smugness - so adorable, I just love it! :) Aside from PW's soulful singing, the guitar strumming is fantastic, and the sax gives it a touch of sexiness as well. Add to that a dash of endearing British sarcasm ("I could be a lot, but I know I'm not" *eye roll*) and subtlety ("...and commit the sin of wanting more than I've already got" *wink*) - and you've got a real irresistible mix... unique and classy.

Needless to say (but I'm saying it, anyway), I like Paul Weller - a lot. Nevermind that his idea of dancing consists mainly of "vertical writhing"... it's the moody face, the grit in his voice (which he unleashes when the situation calls for it... and you wonder how a slight figure like his could generate so much power. Uhm... Second Law of Thermodynamics - in reverse - perhaps? :) Hey, I didn't say I wasn't a dork!), fantastic falsetto (which he exhibits in ample quantity - bless him!), great music - so full of soul, very smart, and a talented writer of many critically acclaimed songs too. Two words: '80s men. Oy! :)

***

And here's another awesomeness that usually compels me to do exactly what Weller and Talbot suggest, "Shout to the Top"!

"Y'see it's a frightening thing when it dawns upon ya... that I know as much as the day I was born."

I know... Mick Talbot is insane! =) And the Weller was doing his writhing thing - to the max - in this video! :) I remember having to put up with my sister's taunting when she saw this more than 20 years ago... she couldn't see the likeness between Paul Weller and John Taylor (the crush of my life - until now) of Duran Duran. :) I had to point out that it was about the talent and being brilliant in what they do that came first... okay, who was I kidding, right? Right! :) Hey, I was a teenager that time! But later, after seeing different parts of the globe, and meeting and conversing with interesting people from different cultures and walks of life, I came to mean that - with all my heart. :)

***

Ah, The Style Council. Hmmm.... I should thank them, actually... their songs were a constant source of "inspired topics" in my High School essays, even when they messed around with "my ever changing moods", too! :)

"I wish to stay forever, letting this be my food. Oh, but I'm caught up in a whirlwind... and my ever changing moods...."

And you thought it's just about one's ever changing moods, too, huh? Well, maybe we're wrong! ;) This could apply to our latest "economic woes", too, these days... as economists talk about "double dip" and stuff like that. ;) Oh, boy!

"The past is knowledge, the present our mistake.
And the future we always leave too late.
I wish we'd come to our senses and see there is no truth
in those who promote the confusion...
for this ever changing mood."

Ah, I miss those days... when songs actually mean something... a lot of things - things that evoke intelligent thoughts, ignite passion, and titillate the heart to incredible joy! While I know that it's impossible to bring them back, I'm just glad I experienced those good old days... and that wonderful past will always be my little happy place - and it's the best thing! :)

Alright, bring on shallowness!

***
Acknowledgement: Thanks, YouTube, for the videos.

What's up with the US econony now?

There is no way around that question, is there?
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Ugh, commotion - the economic kind!

I was still stunned by all the images from the London riots and all that report about the Asian stock market skidding dangerously, sending tremors to the US stock market, which is predominantly "in the red" right this very moment, and to the already battered European economy, as well, following the Greek economic woes, and the growing Spanish and Italian economic troubles that are slowly going out of control... and then there's that report on China's growing "displeasure" (why does that sound very "scary"?) for the Washington D.C. politics that's pushing the US government to the peripherals of default... when BBC announced that live feed from the White House - Pres. Barack Obama, the announcement said, will be addressing the issue on US government's downgraded AAA credit rating. Yeah, that issue, which evoked anger from many fronts in Washington D.C. the past few days... and is probably causing all sorts of panic from investors and creditors worldwide. Thus, the red downward arrows in the stock market? Uh-huh....

Tik-tak, tik-tak....

Okay, just heard Pres. Obama address the issue on Standard and Poor's downgrading of the US government's debt rating. Nope, didn't sound promising. Oh, boy! Tsk, tsk... and we thought we'd seen the worst of the recent economic catastrophe, didn't we? Are we ever going to see the light at the end of this long and dark tunnel? Okay, time to call in the expert to dissect this "mess" for us... Prof. Paul Krugman, who else! And let's do it quick 'cause Bloomberg Television is screaming "massive sell-out" in the NYSE! Uh-oh, here we go again....

***
Are they? Are we? Will we? Who will?

Is the US headed to another recession? Hmmm... but maybe, the more important question is, can the world withstand another US recession? 'Cause if the US failed, to whom would the world cling to? Eurozone is already deep in its own economic woes, with a lot of questions, the answers to which need a lot of figuring out. Japan is still reeling from the aftermath of that catastrophe in March and its own economic woes rooted as far back as the '90s. The rich Middle East? They are highly on "experimental" stage... while they provide a very exciting economic "playground", who knows about their economic resilience? China? I don't think so. It hasn't shown itself "open" enough for any sort of "clinging". :) That a US debt default should worry them, displease them even, is "interesting". That they have been proposing the use of an international trade currency, instead of the US$, which obviously is tied to the US economy's health, for the longest time now is "scary". The fact that they're at it again as the US economy is falling ill again... is "doubly scary"! How wealthy exactly are they? How much of the $ on the face of the earth is theirs? How much of the world is already "theirs"?

Uhm... *sigh* let's just talk about football again, shall we? ;)

***

Happy birthday, RF!

Three-oh... oooh-some!

Oh, and, uhm, on another cheerful thing... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROGER FEDERER!!! All the best in the US Open! Go for it! :)

***
Photo credit: Grabbed it somewhere... can't remember where - sorry... but thanks! :)

Footie! ManU prevailed over City to claim Community Shield

Ah, finally, footie days are here again... "emo days" are over! :)
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


And Wembley roared again!!

The battle for the FA Community Shield between The Red Devils and The Citizens didn't disappoint. It was an exciting match that thrilled more than 77,000 screaming fans in Wembley... and several millions more around the globe! Happy days are here again! Hurray for footie!

***

Manchester United FC - the 2011 EPL champs, and Manchester City FC - the 2011 FA Cup winners, went up against each other on the pitch of Wembley to battle for the Community Shield - the season opener. Fresh from their 2-1 win over (the mostly second team of) FC Barcelona in their Stateside friendly match, the nicely revived ManU squad asserted their dominance of English football by lifting the silverware - for the 15th time - via a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Citizens. And what a win, too!

While ManU dominated ball possession and attack in the first-half, all their attempts for goal were unsuccessful. The strong Citizens squad tightened their defense line, patiently waited for their own opportunities and slowly mounted their own aggression, too... their patience paid off. All of a sudden, the Red Devils had a steep mountain
Manchester City taking the early first-half lead, 2-0.to climb when the second-half opened, having been buried with a 2-0 City lead at the end of the first-half - to the sheer delight of the Citizenry in Wembley. The first City goal came on the 38th minute, through a crack in the ManU defense that was taken advantage of by Joleon Lescott via a follow-through header of David Silva's free kick. The second goal was a lucky try from Edin Dzeko, testing the new 20-year-old ManU goalkeeper, David de Gea, with a nothing-to-lose kick from several yards away, which didn't look unstoppable. De Gea had plenty of time to position himself for a clean save, but opted to keep his footing and went for a stretch. He caught the ball with the tip of his fingers, but only managed to slow it down as it went into his goal. Yep, I have to admit, I missed Edwin van der Sar right there and then... a feeling I'm quite sure Sir Alex Ferguson shared at that moment. :) De Gea hang his head as he walked to their dressing room on half-time. Aw, the poor thing!

ManU returned on the pitch looking unperturbed by the huge task in front of them in the second-half. They resumed their inspired
ManU's attacking crew, Ashley Young,
Wayne Rooney and Nani. aggression, stepping on the gas more forcefully, while City seemed to have cooled and slowed down their campaign. With the youthful aggression of Tom Cleverley, who came on from the bench for Michael Carrick, taking the rythmn up a notch with fast and decisive reactions, the Red Devil attackers were relentless. And, at 52nd minute, Chris Smalling finished Ashley Young's free kick with a flick to the goal, taking the score to 2-1. Wembley roared mightily as a wave of red in the stands rose and bounced! That rejuvenated the Red Devils, and they displayed brilliant partnerships on the pitch to create more chances, scattering the City defense. Nani then finished a nice play with a lift of the ball over City's goal keeper, Joe Hart, for an exciting equalizer! Wembley went berserk, of course! Patches of Red and patches of blue bounced crazily in the stands... and quite understandably, too!

And then, on injury time, de Gea channeled his "inner van der Sar" to stop an Adam Johnson aggressive attempt with a decisive punch. A-ha, our kiddo amigo has got "it" in him, after all! :) Wembley went crazy... and loudly, too! There was a stampede in front of de Gea's goal as 20 men scampered for the ball he just punched. Wayne Rooney caught it, and gave it a strong kick towards the sprinting Nani, who received beautifully and never looked back. City's stand-in captain, Vincent Kompany, gave Nani a spirited chase... the field in
Nani, the Portugese Red Devil - Man of the Match.front of Joe Hart was practically empty. I can almost hear Roberto Mancini's heart beating loudly in his own ears as he and his men watched helplessly the on-fire Nani sped towards Hart's goal with only about a minute to go. After seeing that Kompany, who was a step behind Nani, had no hope of overtaking the speeding Red Devil, Hart decided to try and foil Nani's approach with a block-of-passage advance - and positioned himself for an intercepting kick. But the Portugese Red Devil kept his composure... he avoided Hart with a fake and a quick side step to swerve to his left, losing Kompany behind him in the process, too, and then tapped the ball behind the goal keeper - the second in a brace of goals that scored ManU their winning goal! And that was how the Portugese winger became the Man of the Match, too. :) Whew!

While they were completely outclassed in all fronts and buried to definite defeat by the extraordinarily brilliant FC Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League fixture last May, also in Wembley, ManU seemed to have moved on from that humiliation. Granted that the itching-to-leave City's captain, Carlos Tevez, and the newly acquired Argentine striker, Sergio Aguero, did not
The Red Devils - victorious!participate in City's Shield campaign, hey, ManU was missing the retired van der Sar and Paul Scholes, and the sidelined Ryan Giggs as well. Therefore, it was as even a match-up as one could get out there on the Wembley pitch. And, if that ManU performance against City was an indication of things to come for the 2011 English Premier League champs next season, then it's going to be fantastic for the EPL! Add to that the possible arrival of Inter Milan's and Oranje's fast-and-furious and prolific striker, Wesley Sneijder, at Old Trafford, and you've got a problematic situation for Mancini, Arsene Wenger, and the new "pretty boy" of the EPL managers circle, Andre Villas-Boas. Ah, there you go... something to chase the economic blues away! :)

The new EPL season begins next weekend. Here we go, adrenalin pump! Can't wait! :)

***

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROGER FEDERER!!! :)

Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.

Saturday photo

Happie...

This makes me tingle with "happie-ness"... it was taken in the summer of 2003 - a lucky shot. :) The Cornell Institute of Food Science welcomed new grad students with an "uncork New York" wineries and vineyards tour in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. Since we were "old students", we helped host the event. These ladies in the photo - dear friends both - were "lightweights"... therefore, only two wineries later, their cheeks were pink and they were already giggly happie! :) While the rest of the group "studied" the lunch menu in one vineyard, these two were trying it out - as a sunblock! =) Needless to say, the new students felt the warm welcome! :)

I'm only talking about wineries tour here... just imagine when we spent a few days in Las Vegas... or, the French Quarter in New Orleans! Ah-hahaha... uhm, ahem, sorry. =) Memories - incredibly fun ones! I miss these ladies... I do.

***

Wednesday nostalgia...

...Trekker, trekkie!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


"When something is important enough, you make the time."

It's one of those important lessons that's incredibly vivid in my head, one which I always share with my students... and it came from Lt. Hikaru Sulu
"...to boldy go where no man has gone before." - a helmsman in the Starship USS Enterprise (NC-1701).

Yep, "Star Trek", baby! ;)

Call me geek, I don't care... I'm an avid fan! I got definitely caught up in that Starfleet-generated energy ribbon... starting from the original series, with Capt. James T. Kirk and his mandala-carrying half-vulcan, half-human Number One, Mr. Spock, to the "The Next Generation" of awesome techieness with Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his Number One, William Riker. I burned the boobtube to catch as many episodes as possible... and bought "used books", too! 'Cause, c'mon, which science fiction series is actually bold enough to tackle that incredible scientific abstraction called entropy without sounding like it was being presented with a footnote, huh? :)

Okay, so maybe "House" and "CSI" in the current times come close to cool geekiness... but, that's the
"...to boldly go where no one has gone before."thing, y'see... they are cool! =) The characters are wonderfully sarcastic or too pouty and fashionably flashy - too perfect to be true compared with the "traditionally geeky" spandex-wearing Star Trek characters with their seat-of-cheesiness fashion sense! :) In spite of that, the USS Enterprise crew uttered undying "quotable quotes" - the seriously serious kind. And they fearlessly took up "profound" engineering stuff like, uhm, a-hem, Fluid Mechanics, as if vena contracta is as common as an LV purse! :) Awesomeness? Definitely! :)

Alright then... beam me up, Scotty! :)

***
Photo credit: Photos are not mine - grabbed from other websites -thanks.

More reflections...

...on more of those very good things!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Many things happened during the past how many days... all very good things!

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All about choices

Like I said before, if I weren't starting the day in the University with a 7:00 AM lecture, I usually start it rather beautifully with a mass at the campus Church, usually at 7:30 AM... or 7:00 AM on good
The Santisimo Rosario Parish Church,
University of Santo Tomasdays. And, catching a homily from the Dominicans (you know, those "O.P. men") is usually a splendid experience for me... it brings out my most contemplative side - that part that is most aware of God's awesome presence in our midst! And the day proceeds in a fantastic way... like a walk in a fragrant garden with cheerful cherubim filling my thoughts with their delightful soft giggles, engulfed in the air of that mystic presence of the Holy Spirit.

Uhm, a-hem, yes, I'm exactly the same person who wrote that oh-gosh-inducing nostalgic post here a few weeks ago. =) Nope, I wasn't hallucinating when I wrote that either. :) It's probably another proof against the myth that we, "Catholic girls and women", are so boring that we are just about rosaries and prayer books. We are as
With former professor and fellow
Thomasians (UST Quadricentennial
Alumni Dinner, January, 2011). normal as every human beings in our natural ability to feel all sorts of human feelings. I guess, most of us are good in keeping things together in the right dosage. We slip up, of course... I believe it's called imperfection. But that's where the profound beauty of Catholic education comes in, I think. There's always that "buzz of reminder" engrained in our hearts that goes off when we slip up, or when we find ourselves trudging the dangerous boundaries of the "benign" zone of letting human frailities apparent. But this is not to say that other forms of education do not have the same wonderful effects on people. Perhaps, it's a matter of how a person let the good aspects of his or her education influence his or her conduct. That can be a struggle sometimes... but, hey, where's the beauty of living if there were no struggles?

Talking about "Catholic girls and women", I had such a wonderful experience last Friday... I was able to catch the 7:00 AM mass, and I got to hear the Gospel and the homily from one of my "favorite" Thomasian Dominicans, and in the company of a very good friend in the University, too. :) The Gospel was about the sisters, Martha and Mary... and the church was
The Dominican Fathers Residence,
University of Santo Tomas church. commemorating the feast of St. Martha, too, on that day. While I've always marveled the luck of the sisters and their brother, Lazarus, for being straightforwardly called "loved" by Jesus, I think that the difference in the sisters' personalities and how Jesus viewed them is totally interesting.

The practical Martha - always ready to extend a hand, render service lovingly to those who need them... and the contemplative Mary - who savors the sweetness of her faith in quiet contemplation, detached from the swirling hustle-bustle of the world around her. When Jesus and his disciples visited them in their house, Martha chose to take charge of the household chores while Mary chose to sit by Jesus's feet, which she bathed with her own tears, listening and thinking about his every word. But when the task was proving to be too much for Martha, she complained to Jesus about how Mary was not being of help to her. Jesus admonished Martha and told her to let Mary be... because Mary chose the "good part".

Hmmm... what a revelation, isn't it? Here we are, running around like crazy, thinking that our everyday activity is "crucial" to the continuous ticking of life's clock, forgetting to pause for the quiet contemplation of the incredible beauty that surrounds us. And, in the end, when our time is up, the swirling stops, the dust settles... and we find ourselves among the dust.

And yet, those moments when we took the briefest of pauses, those when we took the time to sit still, and made someone smile - by just being quiet and thoughtful with them as we savor God's kindness - were the little fragments of thoughts that seemed to float in the air endlessly into a beautiful swirl of awesome memories
The Fountain of Knowledge, UST campus.
of us in people's minds. It is probably why people hardly ever talk about a deceased person's professional accomplishments in eulogies... people often talk about how that person made them feel when he or she was still living. I myself never ever think about a deceased or dying person's professional accomplshments when I hear about their demise or illness. What comes to mind are always about how these people touched my life in ways that are unimaginable, and how their demise would leave a void in my heart... and that's what makes me miss those passed away friends and loved ones.

It is the choices we make in this life that define our legacy as individuals. And we can't go wrong by choosing God. Alas, it isn't about those shiny trophies and certificates in fancy cases - while they serve as helpful mileposts in our professional journey, they will rot and fade in time... it's all about the experience, the journey, and how much we have paused to appreciate the incredible gifts - of love, joyful moments with family and friends - that God handed to us along the way. It's about the time we spent thanking and praising God for these gifts. And it's about sharing those gifts with those who haven't found them, so that they, too, would find the courage to seek them... and rejoice in the awesome feeling of finding them.

***
Meaningful friendships: the condiments of a "tasty journey"

These days, I usually catch myself wondering why some days are less than enjoyable in my workplace. Today, I found the answer.

A former colleague and a very dear friend came with his wife - another former colleague and very dear friend - to give a career talk to our graduating students. These friends have been two of my great companions in that part of our professional journey where we confronted the towering challenge of modernizing our laboratory facilities and some aspects of our academic programs. Both being brilliant and extremely committed professionals, they were my stalwart allies in bringing changes that were unimaginable to our predecessors! The same changes that
A reunion with a dear friend and
her Dad (Singapore, Nov. 2010).fueled people's imagination and brought the "wheel of change" in motion in the four corners of our workplace. Those changes remained to be the solid framework on which more positive changes these days are laid upon... and we are joyful for it all!

During those joyful days, my two friends and I would spend many hours in those open-air good-for-the-budget fast food chains that served a great variety of rice porridge - for "25 hours" - as we figured our plans. :) We were dreamers - the very big kinds! We were incredibly in the same wavelength that we could talk about anything... and everything! From science to politics, teaching and engineering, love and marriage, family and friends, books and films, music and travels, faith and loyalty, romance and sex... and, shoes and clothes - the subjects are endless, and there was never enough time to cover all of them! And then, there was one more wonderful friend, younger than us, who joined our eating sprees... and she dropped by with her husband, too, today. Together with our other young friends, we made an incredible team. We were "feared" by so many... and admired by those who dared! =) But most of all, there was so much laughter among us, and we got everyone laughing with us, too. Great years, those were - most definitely!

And then, our paths slowly parted... I went to another continent - to study... and I missed my dear friends' wedding in the process. Another time, I went away again to study in yet another continent. When I came back, the husband and wife and their little family just completed a relocation to another country - career move - a
Somewhere in Stanford University, July 2010.decision made with a good future for the kids in mind, a fulfillment of a dream. Our young friend started to be busier with demanding studies, various scholarly pursuits, and budding family life, too. At one point, I contemplated another move to another continent... and it was the husband and wife, who spent one evening of their vacation in Manila with me, who helped me cement my decision to go for it - as usual, in that open-air rice porridge place! :) It was a fantastic decision with fantastic results! And I have the two of them to thank for so very, very sincerely.

After a short while, husband and wife went "country hopping" - career con familia move - while I served a self-imposed "lab slavery" in another continent. When I came back, our young friend was all set to move to another continent, too, with hubby - for "world peace" as we call it. :) And then, other friends moved to other continents, too. Soon, we were living in different countries... pursuing different things.

In our mini-reunion today, I re-discovered the immense happiness that I have been missing so badly in my workplace. They were the missing pieces of that "puzzle" - my dear friends. It was like being back to 15 years ago or so... when youth, not just youthful thoughts, were with us! Those days when we feared nothing... when age-related illnesses were unimaginable to us... when the world was a huge playground that was beckoning for us to explore... when our whole life was right in front of us - pregnant with exhilarating challenges!

While their brief presence brought me joy, I also knew that it was going to come to an end before the day ended. While we remained great friends, who understand each others' feelings without verbalizing them, I know, too, that we are now pursuing different paths - paths, that will no doubt cross often enough to savor friendship because they are made of the same basic stuff... faith, hope, idealism, sense of humor, and enduring love and care for each other. Therefore, I resolve to enjoy the remaining days in my present workplace without their physical presence... and to seek comfort and encouragement from our little successes as a team in the past when the going gets tough in the coming days... until the day that I myself depart for yet another "new adventure".

Life goes on... and we move on.

***
Photos: I own all photos.

Reflection...

...on an inspiring lesson in life - the very good kind.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Yeah, I'm guessing some of my students would be glad to know that I finally made time to visit the hair and nails salon, and the skin care spa... after more than two months now. Those kind souls,
Hmmm... I need to beef up the "blue section" of my
wardrobe. :)while they show touching appreciation of how I have been working like mad to make up for lost time at work when I was ill, they have been discreetly showing their disapproval at how I've been neglecting myself lately. I know it puzzles them why I've been looking like a "cavewoman" lately... not the delightful Carles Puyol-ish kind either! I did mention about putting work in the backseat for a day... but it never happened - but, of course! :( So, today, I thought I'd make an effort and do something to show my appreciation for their thoughtfulness - visit the salon and spa. :) But in doing so, I actually did myself a big favor! ;) I feel quite good... especially with my new nail lacquer color - metallic blue... and my first time to wear that color, too! :)

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(A wonderful) Life begins at forty...

If my spa and salon people's extra-ordinary delight to see me surrendering five hours of my life (and not in front of the TV tuned in to sports channel, mind you) and submitting myself to a five-hour session with them was any indication of how badly I needed the visit, then I must have been a total mess! =) But none of their reproachful look and distaste when they first saw me enter their doors could turn me away... I walked in with my eyes closed - in complete surrender! :)

Since I forgot to bring my Food magazines (another indicator of my appetite threatening to turn into an endangered species on me), I passed the time scanning the covers of the gazillion of "salon magazines". I found one that was more than one year old, and dared to leaf through it... just because its cover promised to mention "football" in its pages. :) It turned out that the article was a "photo diary" of a "noisy" showbiz couple's trip to South Africa to watch the England National Team go down on their knees as they were walloped by Germany in World Cup 2010! I'm not sure if the couple even knew who were playing? =) The only "legitimate" reference to football was a photo of the pitch with the couple's painted faces in the foreground. Huh? face paints? Hmmmm... Nah, I still doubt very much if those two had an opinion about that football phenom called "offside rule"! =) I sighed loudly... and all the salon employees turned their heads to me knowingly, rolled their eyes, and then shook their heads in unison! I have such a bad reputation, I know... and I deserve it, too, I think! ;)

Disgusted with the magazine, I tried to settle it on the table... but it slipped through my fingers and fell on the floor. When I picked it up, I saw an article about Che Che Lazaro - my fave Filipino female journalist! Hmmm... and I thought to myself, now we're talking, er, reading! :)

The feature on Che Che was written to commemorate her Probe Production's last airing of "Probe Profiles" on its 24th year. It chronicled Che Che's illustrious broadcast journalism career. Starting out as a brilliant academician from the University of the Philippines, Che Che left the Academia to respond to the call of respectable journalism in-action - when she was in her forties. She was one of those who valiantly chronicled the EDSA People's Power of 1986, when the late Ferdinand Marcos was ousted, and the revolution put the burden of leading the Philippines on the shoulders of the late Benigno Aquino Jr.'s widow, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. It was a glorious start of a truly incredible career. Now, she's on semi-retirement as she chose to play the role of a doting grandmother to her first grandchild at the age of 65.

Che Che's story was truly inspiring. It is wonderful how she started her "second career" - the more illustrious one - in her forties. Underneath her calm façade, which earned her the distinct reputation for hard-hitting journalistic diplomacy, was a steel determination and relentless passion to do well. At some point, she even had to stand up against "commercialized journalism" - the exploitative and sensationalizing kind - and faced the formidable challenge of building her own broadcast journalism production to carry her signature program, "The Probe Team". She borrowed money from her husband, rented a little townhouse, which she converted into her Production's humble office, and hired idealistic journalists like herself to work with her. Soon, it became a stable of credible journalists and a firm with the seal of reliability... the most sought-after group for intelligent and fair journalism in the country. She worked as field reporter under (much) younger producers at "Probe Team", where her tenacity to do well served as professional model for her Team. One producer, younger than Che Che, said that she'd always preferred Che Che to do the field reporting herself because she could always be relied upon to do her utmost best to get the most unheard-of "sound bites" from their interviewees... or, she'd die trying! Her colleagues admire her for her incredible focus - even in the face of grave danger. She said that when one is focused, one tends to not see the peripherals, and therefore, becomes unafraid of any danger around.

So, there... inspiring. It makes women to dare painting their nails with metallic blue - for the first time - and... to boldly launch a new career - in their forties! ;)

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