From the Courtside: Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open 2007 (Part 1)

Here are some pics I took while watching the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra). These are from the Semi-Finals last Saturday. It was unfortunate we were only able to watch the last 3 games that day because we were late. Not our fault since it was raining so hard and my husband's car had a flat tire, so there.

A shot of the audience who trooped to the Philsports Arena despite the pouring rain outside

Zhongbo Xie of China giving a hand signal to his partner Zhendong Guo

Defending champions Susanto Njoto and Yohan Wiratama of Hong Kong (former players of the Indonesian National Team)

Another shot of the Men's Doubles game between China and Hong Kong

Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng of Chinese Taipei (who won that day and eventually bagged the Women's Doubles title the following day.)

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On a different note: I just finished reading Harry Potter Book 7 today! Finally, I can now function properly. Don't worry, you won't find any spoilers in this post. I just have this to say -- J.K. Rowling is such an excellent storyteller. I'm so sad this is the last installment in the Potter series.

My Most Expensive Pictures Ever

Caught your attention 'ei? Well, you have to read the rest of my post to understand.

18 July to 22 July 2007 saw the staging of the 2nd Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra). My husband was able to watch it since Day 1. But since I couldn't get off work to watch the games with him, I had to content myself with watching the weekend games. The semi-finals was scheduled last Saturday, while the finals was scheduled last Sunday. I will be posting more pictures during the event in my succeeding posts.

Badminton fanatic that I am, I was able to convince my hubby to wait for the champion of the Men's Doubles event (Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia, now ranked #3 in the world) to emerge from the press conference room and have my picture taken with them. Here are the pics:

With Koo Kien Keat of Malaysia

With Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia

While my husband was busy taking these pictures, he felt someone's hand brush up his butt but took no notice of it since he wanted to appease my desire to have my picture taken with these world-class players. Immediately after taking these photos, his hand went to his pocket to check if his wallet was still there, but lo and behold...it was already gone!!! Some evil conscience-less person picked his pocket despite the presence of several police officers in the vicinity !!! Gggrrrr...I hope whoever did this rots in hell!!!!

Fortunately, my hubby was not yet able to withdraw so there was only a minimal amount of cash in his wallet. But it wasn't the money we were worried about but all the hassle of having to replace his ID, driver's license, ATM cards and credit card. Aside from anger at the person who did this, I also felt guilty because my hubby wanted to go home immediately but I convinced him to stay so that I could have pictures for posterity. Sheesh! If only we'd gone home immediately after the games. (Ang pagsisisi talagang laging nasa huli.) I should have listened to my "gut feel" telling me not to wait for these players and go home already. But I didn't listen. Instead, I persisted with the original plan. A lot of "if-only"s and "what-if"s.

So, yeah, these pictures truly are unforgettable and my most expensive pics ever. Lesson well learned indeed.

My Romance with Harry Potter

I have a confession to make. I'm a BIG Harry Potter fan. A friend of mine introduced me to this series when Book 2 was just released. Since then, I've been hooked and I always buy the latest book on its first release date. This time is no different. I've been carrying this book I bought from National Book Store all day and I couldn't wait to get home to read it. I'm giddy with excitement as I tear open the recognizable red plastic and behold the latest AND the last installment in the Harry Potter series. Tantararaannn....

Hmmm...somehow, there's something different this time. I've been home hours ago but I still couldn't get myself to read the first few pages. Perhaps it's because it's the last installment and I want to savor every word. Or perhaps I've been forewarned that another character will die and I know when I reach that point in the book that I'll probably get depressed. Ok....I think I better shut up now and start reading. Have a happy weekend everyone!

Quick Post

Sorry guys. I've been remiss in my duties -- I haven't updated my blog for quite some time now. I even forgot to blog about my 1st BLOGSARY!!! Shoot. Anyway, just wanted you guys to know that I'm still alive. My hubby's competing in a tournament this weekend. Will probably post some pics after...that is if I get decent ones out of my new digicam (ehem). Have a nice weekend everybody!!!

Update: Too bad my husband's team lost. The tournament was a team event. A team has to win 3 out of the 5 events in order to win. My husband didn't even get a chance to play. So, too bad, I wasn't able to get a chance to take pictures.

VAMOS RAFA!!!

Photos courtesy of Yahoo news.

This Spanish tennis phenomenon, often booed during his matches at Roland Garros, proved to everybody once more why he is worthy of the title "King of Clay." Rafael Nadal Parera, or Rafa to his family and friends, just won his third consecutive French Open Title in a row. My voice is almost hoarse from cheering, even if I just watched the French Open in the comfort of our bedroom.

I was surprised to find out that this left-handed Capri-wearing Spaniard is not naturally left-handed. Rafa is really right-handed. However, when he was ten years old, his uncle and current coach Toni Nadal discovered that this young lad had a future in tennis. Toni Nadal then decided that his two-handed backhand would benefit from a strong right arm, so he taught Rafa to play with his left hand.

What really amazed me most is the fact that he still lives in his hometown, in the island of Majorca in Spain, in their family home with his parents, grandparents, his sister, Uncle Toni and his family. His family is what keeps him grounded. There are talks that he still occupies one room even if he is already a millionaire. The locals have gotten used to having him around so that he doesn't get special treatment. He still has the same set of friends he had before he became famous. Humility among successful sports figures is a rarity nowadays.

As well as producing a champion, the family is happy it has brought up a well-mannered young man. "He has never broken a racquet in anger," Toni said. "It would be showing a lack of respect to people who actually have to buy the equipment to play the sport."

With this, I leave you with a funny video I found featuring Rafa. Enjoy!

RAFAEL NADAL "La Bamba"
Uploaded by sportvideos

Vamos Rafa!

End of summer and holdapan blues...

The reason for my long absence??? I've been trying to enjoy the last remaining weeks of my maternity leave, taking care of things that need to be taken care of, before I go back to work and before my husband and I could even think of conceiving another baby.

First off, I had to have my impacted molar removed. Ouucchhh...that was really such a painful experience. What does it have to do with getting pregnant again? Well...nothing really, except that I read in the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting" under the section "Preparing for the Next Baby," the authors advised women to go see their dentist and have any necessary work, including X-rays, fillings and dental surgery completed so that it won't have to be done during pregnancy. Believe me, the pain was unbelieveable even after the surgery and I could not imagine having survived it without painkillers afterwards. Remember when I had to have my dermoid cyst removed???

I was also busy helping my husband arrange a mini-badminton tournament for all of his students at the Kimoni Badminton Academy. Kimoni Badminton Academy was estalished by Kimon Philippines in order to give high-quality badminton lessons in their headquarters in Sta. Mesa Heights, QC. They have tapped the services of former national players to teach its clientele the rudiments in badminton. The mini-tournament was a lot of fun since beginners were given a chance to experience how joining a tournament feels like.

Jojo Mance (in the middle) with the rest of the participants

Unfortunately, the day was not without its hitch. A couple who joined the tournament arrived late. Apparently, they had lunch in this small restaurant along Kamagong St. in Makati which was held up by 2 armed men aboard a motorcycle. The customers were told at gunpoint to give these 2 armed men their wallets and cellphones. The cashier (of the restaurant) was left unharmed. Tsk tsk tsk...to think that this restaurant is just near the Makati Police Station. According to eyewitnesses, this restaurant was already held up twice already in the past. Unbelievable.

So, beware when eating out in restaurants. Me? I prefer to dine inside malls or established restaurants where there is sufficient security.

Happy Mother's Day 2007

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I would like to greet my mom and my sister a Happy Mother's Day, as well as all the mothers out there who happen to read this blog.

While everybody is celebrating Mother's Day today, I am just observing from the sidelines with an ache in my heart. I was truly happy when one of my nieces greeted me Happy Mother's Day during lunch today, a fellow blogger Major Tom greeted me in his blog, and another blogger Meily left a Mother's Day greeting in my previous post. Aside from my husband, who understands and also happens to share the pain that I feel, I did not expect anyone to greet me a Happy Mother's Day.

In fact, there are times when I forget that I am a mother also, because of the fact that I have no baby to hug, to feed or to take care of. But no one can erase the fact that I am still a mother to Raphael Roque, even though he's already in heaven right now. He means the world to me and I try to honor his memory as much as possible. While he may not be with me now physically, he will always be with me for I always carry him in my heart. I am still his mother after all.

The Blogging Phenomenon

While trying to keep myself occupied last Saturday afternoon, waiting for my husband who was having his racket strung at a sports store inside Virra Mall, I happened to browse through some books at A Different Bookstore nearby. I was not planning on buying this book, The World Is Flat written by Thomas Friedman, but eventually did so upon the prodding of the store salesman. This book is an interesting read and talks about globalization and its impact in the business community.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't finished reading it yet -- all 571 pages. But I want to share with you some stuff that the author wrote about this phenomenon called "blogging."

"A new blog is created every seven seconds, according to Technorati.com, a site that tracks these easily updated Web journals. Technorati says there are more than twenty-four million blogs already, and the number is growing at about seventy thousand a day and doubling every five months -- from Iraqi bloggers, who give their own take on news from the front, to bloggers who follow and critique golf course architecture, to poker bloggers, investment bloggers, to just plain you and me bloggers."

I'm sure that this number has multiplied since the date of the release of the updated version of this book in 2006. But those are still large numbers. The author also mentioned that companies like General Electric even hire someone to plow through the various blogs and respond to them on a daily basis. Big companies are starting to take notice.

"It is impossible to imagine what it is going to be like in ten years when virtually everyone has a blog. But that is where we are heading."

This is awesome technology. I'm glad I live in this age of advanced digital technology. :-D

Badminton...for a cause

The 1st LifeBridge Badminton Tournament was held last Saturday at the Greenhills Badminton Court. The Tournament Director was no other than my hubby (Jojo Mance). I have to admit that I knew nothing about this organization when I first heard about it. I decided to tag along since I needed to keep myself busy.

When I arrived at the Greenhills Badminton Court, the venue of the tourney, I was able to talk to the organizers of the tournament. I learned that LifeBridge is a non-governmental Christian organization helping people who were in need. For this particular badminton tournament, the proceeds will go to the Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Support Group headed by Mr. Don Suarez. When I talked to Mr. Suarez, the first thing I asked was what the Cornelia de Lange syndrome (“CDLS”) is all about.

What is CDLS?

Cornelia de Lange syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. The features of this disorder vary widely among affected individuals and range from relatively mild to severe.

Cornelia de Lange syndrome is characterized by slow growth before and after birth, mental retardation that is usually severe to profound, abnormalities involving the arms and hands, and distinctive facial features. The facial differences include thin, arched eyebrows; long eyelashes; low-set ears; small, widely spaced teeth; and a small, upturned nose. Many affected individuals also have behavior problems similar to autism, a developmental condition that affects communication and social interaction.

The parents of children afflicted with CDLS created a support group in order to help one another. Moreover, since children with CDLS require constant care all throughout their life, it causes quite a financial strain on the family. The support group is a critical component of caring for the children. My discussion with Mr. Suarez was very uplifting and reminded me all too well of the tragedy that befell my son. It aroused in me the desire to reach out to others.

I also got to meet the consultant of the CDLS support group, Dr. Eva Cutiongco-de la Paz, who, aside from being a doctor, also happened to be a genetic counsellor. I believe that this was no ordinary coincidence. Jojo and I really need to see a genetic counsellor and we had no idea who to go to. Aside from this, I was also toying with the idea of forming a support group here in the Philippines for parents of children who have trisomy 18 or Edward’s syndrome. I mentioned this to Dra. De la Paz and she thought it was a good idea. She said she could help me since she has several patients who were also parents of children with trisomy 18. I really hope that our plans would push through. For the first time in months, I went home that day full of hope.

All in all, the tournament was a success. Here are some pictures from the tournament.

The organizers, tournament director and coordinator of the 1st LifeBridge Badminton Tournament

Jojo having an animated conversation with Mark Anthony Fernandez.

(Oh, did I forget to mention that some celebrities also participated in this event?)

Daisy Reyes with a crazed fan (???!!!)

Remembering Raphael

When I got pregnant last year, I fully expected my birthday this year to be a very happy event -- I would either be holding a baby in my arms or just about to give birth.

Instead, this day proved to be one of my loneliest birthday ever because of the recent happenings in my life. I started it off by attending a mass in honor of my son Raphael. I know that my son is already an angel in heaven but I still like praying for him because it is one of the few things I can still do for him as a mother.

Hubby and I then went to Dangwa to buy flowers for him. After that, together with the rest of my family, we went to the cemetery to visit my Lola's grave where we kept the urn of Raphael. Lunch was a delicious affair by the bay as we bought various seafoods and had "paluto" in one of the restaurants nearby.

I received a lot of text messages greeting me a happy birthday but the ones which I appreciated the most were those which mentioned my son. For to remember my son is one of the greatest joys I will have as a mother.

Take a look at my yummy birthday cake which my husband ordered from Estrel's:

And of course, this is the portion I got:

"The mention of my child’s name may bring tears to my eyes,

But it never fails to bring music to my ears.

If you are really my friend, let me hear the beautiful music of his name.

It soothes my broken heart and sings to my soul.”

- Author unknown.