Meet My Sunlife Family

I sometimes miss my neighborhood in Sunlife. There’s Nanay Joyce, Tatay Gali, Kuya Jas, Ate Cla, Ate Lian, and Esti the dog (JOKE!!!). There’s also Lola Cynthia, Boss Mike, Tita Wilma, Tita Beth (ang nanay ng bayan), Tito Ed, and other married-with-kids titos and titas. I also have distant cousins like Van, Mich, Leslie, Terto, Bullet, Crab, Tin, Francis, etc…  (Feeling close ba? hahaha)

Anyway, I also have neighbors from the Ingenium family. That family has a lot of kids (bagets) that I love haniging out with. If Channels is my immediate family, then these are my barkada. There’s Cami “crush ko dati”, Junie a.k.a “The Legend / The BIG deal / the Package”, Ron a.k.a “Manyak”, Pao “the Cow”, James “pala-utot”, Lloraine “The Main Man”, Sol “The Destroyer”, Cherrick a.k.a. “Nanay”, Jelly “Jude Law”, Ms Leigh (nanay ni Cami) , Ms Joy “pink”, Ms Dhey (na magaling sumayaw), Mote (the elder very-hip cousin), Ms Jan, and Florencio “I’m having support problems” Palmaria.

Of course there’s also the barangay captain Dennis, and his trusty assistant, Ms Louie. There’s also the local siga named Tenatz. The, other neighbors in Ops like Roslyn, Rico, Ning, Jon, Rhedd, Cocoy, Alvin, and others.

There’s also the “Dos Companieros” in Glenn Mundo and Mar Teope. Mga idol ko ‘to who really helped get me stated in my career. Teka, nasan na nga ba si Mar???

The point is, although I don’t see these people much, thinking about them always brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling deep inside. Just like family.

p.s. I hope no one gets offended.. To those not mentioned here, pasensya na di ko kayo na-mention dito dahil hahaba ng sobra ng blog, pero naalala ko pa rin kayo no!
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Losing in Basketball

There are two feelings you usually get after losing a game.

One: you feel guilty, you feel you could have done more. There’s regret, there’s guilt. You tell yourself and others, “Sorry guys. my bad.” This usually comes after a game in which you didn’t do your best. When you didn’t dive for that loose ball, you didn’t box out, you didn’t put enough effort in it.

The other feeling is contentment, when you keep your chin up. You know you did all you can. You sacrificed your body and played your heart out. You can look at yourself in the mirror and say a sincere “nice game”.

I realize that effort alone cannot win games, but effort can give you self-respect.

Anyway, I recently played this game of two against the world. We lost, but I’ve been able to keep my chin up. I made a lot of mistakes during that game, but deep inside I know I did all I could. I believe we both did well, we just didn’t have enough.

I wouldn’t worry. There are going to be other games, with other teammates, against different opponents, and maybe in different courts. Hopefully, with the expericence gained, we could win a game this time.  

Few Words that Make Sense

In an IM conversation:

I said something like: “I want glory, I’ll do what it takes. I’ll stay in the office for as long as it takes.”

Lian said something like: “Glory nga, wala ka namang life. Di mo ba nabasa ang blog ni JunJun?” 

It makes perfect sense. (Thanks, Lian!!!)

So I went home earlier than usual yesterday. I even had time to see Starsky and Hutch again. I love this movie. One of the funniest ever! I remember that I couldn’t stop laughing even though an hour passed after the movie ended.

Turns out that I think I’m a lot like Starsky in some ways, tight ass, by-the-book, hard working, good cop, naning (bisaya for trying hard), etc.. Nothing wrong with that, really. It’s just that, living like that doesn’t seem like so much fun.

Hutch, on the other hand, was more of the easy going type. He was relaxed, friendly, fun, and appeared less stressful. I want to be more of a Hutch sometimes. Hehehe.

I’m also looking to start a new hobby. Who knows what it’s gonna be? Hopefully, it won’t be DOTA or Metal Gear Solid. Nothing wrong with those, but I’d like to try something new.  Well, that’s it for now.

It’s funny what a few words that make sense can do to you.

I need some distraction, Oh beautiful release

Been working non-stop. Lately, it’s unusual for me not to be working on weekends. It’s not that we’re required to, but I have goals and I want to achieve them. It’s been really, really wearing me down. 

Then I heard this song. It’s really, really comforting. Not just her voice, but check out the lyrics.

Angel by Sarah McLachlan

Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There’s always one reason
To feel not good enough
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins
Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight

In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there

So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lie
That you make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference
Escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here

I guess that’s why I’m now a big Sarah McLachlan fan. Check out the text under the blog main pic.
That’s it for now. Basketball in less than an hour. Gotta go.

Fat Kid

Who would think a kid like this could run, play a few games of basketball, and go wallclimbing in one morning?

I don’t think so too.. But then, that kid did just that last saturday morning.  He started out running, then on his way home, he joined a group of guys playing pickup street basketball. He went home, took a shower, and left for wall climbing. He even went to the office and worked in the office right after that.

I’m glad that anything is possible.

p.s.  what happened saturday might not be much for some people i know, but it meant a lot to this big kid

Tag! You’re it

Now tagging…

This is how it works:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag three people.

In particular, the problem makes cascade save (discussed later in this chapter) useless for sets. We strongly discourage this solution (database identifier equality). A better way is to include all persistent properties of the persistent class, apart from anyy database identifier property, in the equals() comparison.

This is from the book “Hibernate In Action” by Christian Bauer and Gavin King

tag:

cami

pao

joyce 

On working hard and giving your best

Hopefully, this blog entry would explain why I “kill myself at work”

Don’t you feel like an underdog sometimes? Don’t you feel that if you had more money, a nice home close to work, a car and a driver, or a maid to do stuff for you, then you could’ve been already earning double what you currently earn? Don’t you think that without some of these daily difficulties, you could’ve done more?

I’ve always tried to give my best in things I do. I really don’t feel like I can get by with just giving an
average effort. I feel that others are born with better brains, better talents, better looks, and better-off families.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with what I have right now. I feel that I’ve been lucky all my life. I have a great family, a loving girlfriend, great friends here and at home, a good education, a good job, plus, I’ve been to another country. In short, I’ve got everything that really really matters in life. That’s more than what some people have.  But then, I still feel that other people are luckier than me. I still feel that there’s still a lot more out there. In response to this, I try to offset these percieved deficiencies through a ton of effort.

I feel a mix of love and hate whenever people underestimate me. I hate the way people look down on me saying, “oh this guy is too short to play basketball”, or “sorry, you only have two years work experience”. I hate that but at the same time, I love it because it challenges me, it motivates me to creep up behind them and whip their backsides. WHAPPPPPPACK!!!

You’ve probably heard all the success stories like how former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide used to study under a street light. How business tycoon John Gokongwei used to peddle candles on the streets, how Ben Wallace won 4 DPY’s after going undrafted, the list goes on. Even the man who owns the company I work for right now used to be a telephone technician.

These people were underdogs. These people had nothing but dreams.

As always, I also feel like an underdog. I feel that I need to put in at least two extra hours at work in order to match the output my peers produce. I want to be at least as good as they are right now, and if I could be better, then that would be a bonus. I want to be the next John Gokongwei. I don’t want my parents to be working anymore. I want to own my own white sand tropical island.  I want more.

It’s not that I feel I am better than these people around me, that’s just plain stupid arrogance. I’m even thankful to have them since they’ve already blazed a trail. All I have to do now is follow.

People have been telling me that I’m a workaholic. To me, it’s simple. I want to go all out in everything I do. Running, basketball, school, work, Cami, YFC, NBA Live, you name it. I hate the idea of ending the day knowing that I didn’t do everything I can, knowing that I could’ve done more. Nowadays, I only have my job and my friends with me. Cami is abroad, my family is in Cebu, PS2 is broken. Thus, all my time goes to my job and my friends.

So this is who I am now: A person with dreams who believes in hard work. A person who takes a blue-collar approach to a white-collar job and everything else.

Does this make any sense to you at all? Hope so.

I could not ask for more

by Edwin McCain

Lying here with you
Listening to the rain
Smiling just to see, the smile upon your face
And these are the moments I thank God that I’m alive
And these are the moments
I’ll remember all my life
I found all I’ve waited for
And I could not ask for more

Looking in your eyes
Seeing all I need
Everything you are, is everything to me

And these are the moments
I know heaven must exist
And these are the moments, I know all I need is this
I have all I’ve waited for (yeah)
And I could not ask for more…

I could not ask for more than this time together
I could not ask for more than this time with you
And every prayer has been answered
And every dream I’ve had has come true
yeah, right here in this moment, is right where I’m meant to be
Oh, here with you here with me…
Ooh, yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah

And these are the moments I thank God that I’m alive
and these are the moments I’ll remember all my life
I’ve got all I’ve waited for yeah
And I could not ask for more

I could not ask for more than this time together
I could not ask for more than this time with you
And every prayer has been answered
And every dream I’ve hads come true
yeah, and right here in this moment is right where I’m meant to be
here with you here with me…

I could not ask for more than the love you give me
‘Cuz it’s all I’ve waited for
And I could not ask for more (more)
ooh and I could not ask for more

This guy knows how it feels. All thanks in the world for everything.  I’ll always love you.

Home

They say that home is where the heart is. This is quite easy to understand. I may even say that home is being with your friends, family, and especially with the person you love. Now here’s the confusing part, what if your family and friends are in one place and the one you love is in another? In my case, this isn’t a “what if”. I’m home now, with my family, with some of my close friends, in Cebu, and I’m having the time of my life, but still I’m going out of my mind just thinking about how to go home to the one I love. It isn’t as simple as buying a plane ticket to get there. It isn’t as simple as having the right papers and the right amount of money in the bank. It isn’t simple convincing a trained veteran consul to give you a temporary gatepass. But then they say victory is sweeter when the odds are stacked against you. When the game is over, and I am left alone in the gym, I just hope that I’ll be able to come home.

My First Shot at Being a Charley Rosen

I’m no expert. I just read a LOT of articles. Anyway, here’s my take on a few things that happened.

The Utah Jazz:

UTA picked 14th. I was thinking they’d pick Saer Sene, Thabo Sefolosha or JJ Redick. I’ve read a lot of good stuff about Sene. He’s very athletic, but very raw. “Very raw” means he’s been playing basketball for only 2 years. I thought, “Good…someone who you can teach the fundamentals to…”. Well Seattle picked him. Too bad. More on that later.

Sefolosha was considered one of the best defending guards in the draft. Too bad Chicago asked Philly to pick him for them. JJ Redick was also another prospect because of the Jazz’s lack of a dependable SG. I didn’t like this guy. He seems too full of himself. He went to the Magic anyway.

So… they ended up picking Ronnie Brewer. I say I have to love this pick. A 6′7 SG with tons of athleticism and can lock opponents down on D (no jumper though). He’s not Sefolosha, but he’s good enough. I’m thinking another Raja Bell in a few years. The Jazz also got Dee Brown. He’s the guy who used to play college ball with Deron. He also looks like Carmelo. Hehe.

The Bulls:

The Bulls were really smart in trading Eddy Curry for a NYK’s first round draft pick. I mean, that’s a #2 overall in exchange for a very lazy big man who can’t rebound! They got Tyrus Thomas. Let’s just hope Thomas doesn’t turn out to be another Stromile Swift (all upside, but no results).  I still think that they should have kept LaMarcus Aldridge.
They also got Thabo Sefolosha from Philly. The Jazz could have used him. Damn you Bulls!

The Sonics:

I mean Seattle doesn’t even need another project at center. They already have Robert Swift and that french guy they drafted last year (Johan Petro). I guess they were thinking, “if least one of these 3 guys is going to be the next Amare or Dwight Howard, then it would all be worth it”. It’s a good plan I guess. They still need a real coach though. By the way, Rick Adelman is jobless…hmmm…

The Blazers:

I think they did well. They got LaMarcus Aldrige (who I think could be another Chris Bosh), Brandon Roy (experts say he’s the most complete player in the draft), and Sergio Rodriguez (i just like his name. ). The Aldrige and Roy combination could be great…or not. Now they just have to get rid of Zach Randolph’s fat ass and Darius Miles’ fat contract.

The Rockets:

They got Shane Battier. What?! Well, they got Rudy Gay (at 8th!!!) and traded him and Stromile to Memphis for Battier. I’ve always been a big Battier fan. He’s a great role player, a good presence, and a good citizen. Let’s just hope TMac doesn’t break down this year. Or wait…I hope he breaks down again. That way, there’s going to be less competition for the Jazz! Bwahahahaha!!!

The Knicks:

This has nothing to do with the draft. I just think it’s stupid that they kept Isiah Thomas and fired Larry Brown. C’mon!!! Whoopi Goldberg could do a better job than Isiah. Isiah was the one who put the Knicks in this shithole in the first place. Let’s see, Eddy Curry for pick #2 (a potential star for hmmm…lazy fatboy bigman who can’t rebound), Jerome James at $15,000,000.00 (they might have been better of paying for a piece of lumber), Steve Francis??!?!, Jalen Rose for Antonio Davis (a bigger contract in exchange for an expiring contract). C’mon!!! Does this guy even think?

The 23 win season was normal for Larry Brown. He usually messes up first seasons since he imposes a coaching style that very few players would agree to. But look at the results: See Philly’s finals apperance and AI’s MVP season. See how the Pistons won a championship. See how well Chauncey plays today. See how the Pistons fared in the playoffs this year. See Indiana. See San Antonio. At least give him another season, fix that roster, and PLEASE fire that GM.

Stupid Knick owner. 
 

On Sleep

I was typing up a blog entry yesterday, but I had a lot to do. Besides, I was really sleepy too, so I can only post it today. Here it is:

Yesterday…
I’m sleepy. My head hurts, everything feels hard to move. I’m yawning a lot. I’m messed up.

Today…
I finally got some well deserved rest. There’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep after
sleeping for a grand total of only 7 hours for the past 2 nights! That’s what you get for trying to earn a little extra cash.  (I was cooking lunch for everyone ’til 3am)
Oh yeah, we ate at this Japanese restaurant called Ramen Kan. It was pretty good. Katsudon (what I ordered) came with a complementary serving of salad. Add the full stomach to the already sleepy eyes..yeah, I could have slept on the table.  

Mike and Arnel left for home this afternoon. That means I’ll be heading home in a week. It’s always good to be home. I just wish I’d get to see Cami too.

Time to go home now. Time for more SLEEP!  

SpiderMan 3

This morning, I saw the Spiderman 3 trailer this morning. It’s OUT OF THIS WORLD! Spidey has a new costume, and it’s black. I saw the Sandman and the Green Goblin. Looks like he’s got his hands full. I just hope Venom is really another enemy, and not a “battle within himself” kind of thing like in Superman 3. It would be lame if that were the case. Anyway, see it for yourself.

I also saw the Transformers teaser trailer. It didn’t impress me…yet. Maybe when they add more meat into this trailer like more graphics and stuff. It’s produced by Spielberg though.

Roller Coaster

11:00AM, I got a call. It was somewhat scary.

The roller coaster ride started.

I was a very strange. I’ve never felt anything like that before. I’ve reached
highs and lows, all at the same time. It was great. Nothing ever felt like that
before. Nothing.

Then another conversation.

I’m out of the roller coaster now, but I still feel like i’m in it. I still feel
the highs and the lows. Pessimism and optimism. Worry and relief. Guilt and joy.
Confusion and clarity. All in one big bundle in a span of a few hours.

6:46PM I’m waiting for the call to call it a day.

Words

“It is not whether your words or actions are tough or gentle; it is the spirit behind your actions and words that announces your inner state.”
– Chin-Ning Chu