Synergizers Are Going To The Semis

Five straight victories, 4 straight loses; what a way to end the elimination round of our basketball tournament! As a result, Matadors, LCWD and our team are triple tied for the fourth and final slot. Good thing, a quotient/pointing system will be applied to break the tie. So, our win over the Matadors (who defeated LCWD) by a 32-point margin puts us on top. In effect, we are going to the semi-finals against Wild Buddies. Yahoo!

It's payback time!

I'll be right back after the semis for another update.

Maktub!

Cinderella's Drinking Buddy

Sigh, another wasted day! I'm still sleepy and definitely not feeling well. :(

At 4 pm yesterday, I was surfing the net for some stuff before going to school. While online, Peach told me that Francis wants to spend time with us since he will not attend his class. And by spending time with us, I know that what he actually mean are shot glass, pitcher, iced tea, pulutan and Mr. GranMa, and not just meeting up and chat about anything under the sun. With that idea in mind, I texted Francis "May klase ako, 'tol. Pero kung mapainom ka tas may pwerteng pulutan, pwede man baga mag-absent." (Got class bro. But if you're going to sponsor a drinking spree coupled with delicious finger foods, I can cut class.) See how easy-to-get I am! Exchanging my class with a drinking session. Very wise decision, huh? Tsk, tsk. Poor me.

And so, Peach and Francis came over to my place and welcomed the night with a liter of Mr. GranMa and 1-whole roasted chicken. As time passes by, we had a few good laughs, gave updates about ourselves, talked about others and of course, bragged a lot. Hahaha. Alongside those things, Mr. GranMa is gradually being consumed. Soon, the last shot was taken. BUT, the story didn't end there. The night is young and so is the effect of the alcohol in our body. Eheh.

Soon afterward, we decided to find another place where we can have our washing. For those of you who do not know what washing is, it is the part of a drinking session wherein you drink a round or two of beer after a 'hard' one. And by the term itself, washing is done to make something clean, meaning, it should 'make someone feel better' so to speak. However, based on several experiences, washing only worsens my dizzy feeling and eventually causes me to puke my gallbladder out - the reason why I really don't get why it is called as such. So if anyone out there knows the rationale of this apparently ironic drinking activity, kindly enlighten me. Eheh. Anyway, to continue with my narration, Peach and Francis wanted to sing the night away so we went to Myrnel's because they have a karaoke machine, aka video-singko, there. While we were there, we sang a couple of songs while gulping a round of beer or two. As the night grew a little older, we were told that it is time for the last order and so we agreed to pay the bill instead of making another order as the place will soon be closed. BUT then again, the story didn't end there. Yes, the night grew older but not enough to make us sympathize with it.

And so, we decided to go to another venue with a karaoke machine for another couple of rounds of beer. The agreed place? Peñaranda, Aircon Edition (the one in front of the infamous Lady Anne Disco Bar). While on our way, we pulled over at Tiya Bita's Fine Dining, aka Foodstep and Jollibombay, for our late dinner, then proceeded to Peñaranda right after. There we spent several hours singing, drinking, laughing, singing, drinking and laughing (Mr. Papacologne slash Folded and Hung slash Reebok indeed made our night! He's the man. Rofl). At 4 am, we left the place and proceeded to Biggs' Diner for a cup of coffee. After an hour, we parted ways and went home.

Whew, what a night!

But why Cinderella's drinking buddy, you mas ask? It is because I am making another resolution for myself (a follow up to my previous resolution). Can't wait until New Year for this one. From now on:

Alcohol intake stops at 12 midnight.

Yes, you read it right. I want to keep myself from drinking alcohol past 12 midnight. If I can't stop drinking, at least I should put limit to it. I assume this is easier than limiting the number of bottles that I should drink or that I should only drink beer. I can still stay beyond 12 midnight though but will just have to drink anything but liquor and devour the finger foods. Eheh.

Are you in doubt if I can make it? I, too, am in doubt. But you see, it has been more than 3 months now since I made a resolution regarding smoking (which I am faithfully abiding) so I guess, this resolution will not be that hard to keep. Hope it really is. Anyhow, I'll stand by it, slowly and steadily.

Maktub!

You Can't Win 'Em All

2nd Season Basketball Tournament

[Synergizers] Our team's five-game winning streak (one win is courtesy of the Happee team who already backed out from the tournament) has just ended earlier this evening; thanks to you Wild Buddies! Eheh. A 41-point margin is somewhat devastating on our part, but please allow me to excuse our team from this shame for the reason that two of our starting five players were not able to play. Oh well, a lose is still a lose, no excuses. But the Wild Buddies are a seasoned team; they have joined several tournaments already as a team. Imagine them playing against our young team which was just formed for the sake of this competition. Tsk tsk. Okay, I know. No excuses.

We still have three games remaining and we must win a couple of those games for a guaranteed slot in the semis round, fingers crossed. I'll post another update at the end of the elimination round.

By the way, Matadors also lost against DMS tonight (Season 1 Championship rivals). I miss playing with my old team. Hope they also get to join the semi-finals, and eventually meet them at the Championship round. Eheh.

Until then.

Maktub!

What's In A Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
William Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

According to Mosignor Moraleda, the celebrant of the mass I attended this evening, there are three names that we carry as we live.

One is the 'name' we inherited from our predecessors. It is the name that our parents inherited from their parents, which will then be handed down to us the moment we are born. It is the name to which we belong in the sea of people here on earth.

The next one is the 'name' given to us by our parents. It is the name by which we are called by others. It is the identity that we are superficially known for; the one that somewhat makes us unique from the rest of the world.

And the last one is the 'name' that we will leave to our children or to our loved ones. It is the name that speaks for what we have done while we were living. It is the name that matters the most. The same name may have been bequeathed to us by our predecessors, and we may have the same name as others have, but the name that we have made out of such names will be the one that will be remembered long after we have departed this world.

The name founded on love is the only name that will matter before the Lord.

And so I quote Stephan Grellet's words:

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

How about you? What's with your name?

Maktub!

Reckless Imprudence Resulting in Guilt Feelings

[Monday ; 4:25 pm.] While rushing down the street on my motorcycle to beat an enrolment deadline, I accidentally hit someone. A girl crossing the pedestrian lane got me stunned when she suddenly appeared right in front of my somewhat fast-moving vehicle. Good thing, I was able to depress the brakes strong and timely enough to keep myself from fatally injuring an innocent student. After the untoward incident, the girl, without saying anything or even looking at me, immediately walked towards the other side of the road where a number of people are standing by and waiting for a ride. While walking away, I was left asking her if she is alright. When no response was given to me, I parked on the streetside at once, got off my bike and looked for her in the crowd. When I couldn't find her, my guilt feelings grew stronger. Upon asking a couple of witnesses as to where she went, that was the only time when I learned that she already rode a passenger jeepney. Clueless about her condition and terribly feeling guilty, I just thanked God for saving the both of us from severe injury. And with nothing else to do, I then drove to school.

To the victim of my reckless imprudence, whoever you are, I'm so sorry my dear. I pray that no injury or trauma was caused to you by my carelessness. :(

Lessons learned: That even if you are already in the right place, you can still be in deep shit if you are there at the wrong time. That, from now on, I should drive prudently for the next untoward incident might be a disastrous and fatal one. And lastly, that God is really good.

Again, I praise and thank you dear God!

Maktub!

Saintly Shower

November 1, 2008 is a wet, flooded and muddy All Saints' Day at Bicol Memorial Park, Legazpi City. The rain poured down heavily for a couple of hours, causing a lot of people who usually spend time with their dearly departed ones until midnight or morning the following day to go home early.

As soon as we arrived at the cemetery, we placed several bouquets of flowers at the tombstone or tomb marker, lit some candles, offered prayers and recited the rosary for the eternal repose of the soul of our beloved deads, especially the soul of Papa. After a couple of minutes, the sky slowly darkened, drizzle followed and eventually started raining cats and dogs. Armed with an umbrella, I attended a mass celebration at 7 pm under the rain. The priest anchored his sermon to the verse of Matthew 16:26 which says:

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?".

He also mentioned that even if we spend 24 hours at the cemetery, offer lots of flowers and lit a dozen of candles, they will all be inutile and of no good if we can't say a prayer for the souls of our dearly departed ones. It struck me and made me realize that yeah, we spend time at the cemetery but spend only several minutes in prayer. What a shame. Sigh! Although the rain halts once in a while, it didn't completely died down until around 8:30 pm; but still, drizzle periodically poured down throughout the night. Minutes later, we drove home to avoid being caught by another downpour. Besides, we can always pray at home!

Maktub!