23rd

Before 5am in the morning I've barfed three times already. I saw the toppings of the Hawaian pizza that I ate earlier in the sink since I wasn't able to reach the toilet. It was gross. I haven't barffed that much in my whole existence.

Due to my upset stomach our breakfast out did not push through. I felt such a loser since my family was excited and woke up early. I told them to go ahead without me however they decided not to since it would be different. I woke up at 12:30 and wasn't able to hear mass with my folks.

I arrived at 1 for lunch. When I got there, everyone knew about my condition. Oh great. Since I was not confident with my stomach I wasn't able to enjoy the food. I didn't even get a slice of cake and scoop of ice cream due to the fear that I might throw up or whatsoever.

I slept again when I got home. When I got up again, I dragged myself to dinner which I didn't appreaciate that much due to my condition. I didn't stay that long since I had to hear mass and thank our Creator for giving me life.

And that was how I spent my 23rd year in this world. No small dinner with friends for this year. Tsk tsk.

Coaching 101

There were technicalities before the game. One team did not have a coach so a member of that team, who was suited to play, acted as a coach and did not play. While the other team placed in players who wasn’t in their line up. To top it off, those players weren’t enrolled in the university… ever!

How dim-witted can people be? You know how people are… why not try and break the law… who knows, we might be able to escape it. But if we get caught maybe we can talk it out and get away from it. On the contrary, if all excuses fail, then why not walk out?

Due to these, I did not have the opportunity to hold a pre-game talk… Yesh… You know those motivational speeches and stuff I did not have the chance to draw them up a play or what so ever. Haha. As if. A number of players did not stretch well. The first five on my mind wasn’t the first five. I got giddy. I got butterflies in my stomach.

Where will you find a coach who asked the player if she wanted to play? A coach who inquired if a player should be substituted? A coach who asked for suggestions on what defense to use and offense to execute? A coach who looked for answers from her players? Well, that was the case in my situation.

I would like to think that it was an entertaining game for those who watched. The score was close by the end of the first half. Our opponent had difficulty with the zone defense we had. However on the third period they started to pound it in. We changed our defense but it seemed that “Shaq” was unstoppable. No one was as big enough who can bang bodies with her. Thus by the start of the last quarter we were down by 11.

I thought that the team lost hope during that time since it seemed like we couldn’t find a solution to contain “Shaq”. Rather I had doubts on whether we can catch up. But lo and behold, we started to rally. Unbelievably, they had the legs to run and go into transition ¾ into the last quarter. Due to the fast paced style of game, two of the players wanted a breather. The other signaled a time out towards the official. However, I did not grant their request since we had the momentum. I called a timeout when there was only 9 seconds left and we were only 3 points down but we did not have possession.

The first foul came a lil bit late. During the next inbound pass, the ball went out of bounds but the officials called it the opponents. So, that was the end of it – still down by 3.

All in all it was a great experience for me. I felt the excitement and tension all over again. I wasn’t able to sleep properly last time. Plays were running through my mind. It was technically my first time to be coach. It was real helpful that the team had an idea on how their opponent played. It was also the first time I saw the team be there for each other. I was pleased that everyone gave it their all. Even if we lacked at the end, everyone had smiles on their faces. Despite being undermanned, the team did not give up until the buzzer sounder. Personally, that was how every game should be played.

YM Message

My officemates and I were discussing something with our PM suddenly a ym popped up his screen with this message:

love you...

To save face, our PM laughed it off and commented:

Wala kayo nakita ahh! Wala lang iyon.

Hehe.

Ice Cream-aholic

Since Tuesday we have had ice cream breaks at around 3-4 in the afternoon. No no no... this practice even started LAST week! I do not know if the summer heat is the cause of this craving or what but we always end up having ice cream breaks.

Even if the Jollibee branch at the ground floor of our office has sucky service, we always end up there for their.. Mango Caramel!!! I am a mango fanatic so this dessert suits my taste buds. In fairness, even if they have a sub-par crew my sundae is always overflowing with syrup! Mango Caramel is <3!

The Ube Keso Ice Craze is also a must try. It not just ube and keso in there but macapuno bits as well! Do not worry, they are not thrifty with the toppings. It is enough to give taste to the crush ice.

We made our way to Mini Stop for this popsicle stick called Big Stick. It is this huge popsicle stick which consists of watermelon and melon flavors. I tried it out of curiousity to find out why my officemate is so addicted to it. It was sweet... rather a lil bit to sweet for my taste. I do not agree with her comment... "Basta sa akin masarap.. e alam yo naman yung definition ko na masarap.. masarap para sa lahat". Hmm, I guess I am not a popsie fan. I find it rather stressful to eat it.

This ain't good for my body... as well as my wallet!

Better stop soon!

Noong Una

Cheap young thrills

First posted 02:14am (Mla time)

Jan 25, 2006 By Marla Miniano

Inquirer Editor's Note: Published on Page C4 of the January 25, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

BEFORE Lay’s and Hershey’s invaded the Philippine junk-food industry, children of the ’90s happily munched away on their friendly neighborhood sari-sari store’s treasures: candies and chocolate bars, crackers and chips, biscuits and bubble gum. There were corn snacks with little trinkets inside, cookies with colorful icing, and popsicles you had to share with a friend. And the best part of experiencing the junk food rush was this: for P20 or less, you were guaranteed to have a feast between your sticky fingertips.

Texas, Bazooka and Big Boy bubble gum. We loved Texas because it was softer than the other brands, and it stayed sweet for a long time, and we loved Bazooka for the comic strips inside the wrapper. But we loved Big Boy the best because, really, who can ever forget that commercial? All together now, “Big big gum, for big big bubbles!”

may contest pa sa e@t bul@g@... yung palakihan ng bubble... nakompleto ko ata yung buong comic strip e.

Cheezels and Chickadees. They didn’t really taste any different from the usual corn snacks, but they won our hearts because they had toys inside: temporary tattoos and those icky things that would grow when you submerged them in water. They also had the Hop ‘n’ Pop, which, according to one of my friends “was a disaster waiting to happen because it looked like something grownups use; something little kids should know absolutely nothing about.”

oo! bumibili ako nito dahil sa libre! hehehe!

Pritos Ring. The fun was in putting one ring on each finger before eating them up. The fun stopped when you accidentally bit yourself and ended up bawling your lungs out.

uhuh! i felt like a princess with those rings!

White Rabbit and Joy, aka the whistle candy. Simply because the idea of edible paper and candy that creates noise appeals to children of all ages.

minsan nga binibigay ko kay lola yung white paper kasi un malambot di tulad nung kendi mismo... baket ngayon puro un matigas na brown nalang nakikita ko? nakakainis din minsan yung joy kung nawawasak.. hindi na ako maka-whistle!

Iced Gem Biscuits. The cookie part tastes like Marie biscuits, and the icing part tastes like the candy flowers in our birthday cakes. The different colors of the icing were a definite plus.

kinder food! hehehe

Tivoli and Coney Island ice cream. Tivoli’s Funwich gave us sticky fingers and chocolate stains on our white uniforms, but since it was incredibly yummy, we didn’t care about the mess (or, at least, not until our mothers started scolding us). We miss Coney Island’s pistachio and bubble gum-flavored ice cream.

bakit wala na nito?!? sobrang nakaka-miss! tsaka yung eskimo roll!

Nips. Smarties were “cooler” than Nips because they came in tubes, but we loved the latter because they made a rainbow (chocolate Nips), a choco rainbow—and they colored all the flowers, and painted the trees, too. These tiny candy-covered chocolates were such a big part of our life that they even became an acronym for something else: Not In Proper Seat.

maka-nips ako! we make a rainbow!!

Snacku. We were such good little boys and girls back then. See? We ate our veggies without putting up a fight.

hindi ko ito masyadong nagustuhan. haha... kahit nung bata pa ako ayaw ko na ng gulay!

Haw Flakes. Because we were still too young to take Communion, we got someone to play the priest and lined up in front of him so we could stick out our tongues and receive our Haw Flakes. And, surprise surprise, they actually tasted like bread and wine!
body of Christ....

Brown Cow and Horlicks. Before Hershey’s, there was Brown Cow. Before Ovaltine and Ovalteenies, there were Horlicks and Horlicks Malties. We miss getting our chocolate fix from these oldies-but-goodies.
brown cooooooow! horliiiiiicks!!!

Fanta softdrinks. We insisted on drinking nothing else but these, refusing to acknowledge that the orange one tasted exactly like Royal Tru-Orange and the lemon one tasted exactly like Mountain Dew.Nano-Nano. The jingle says it all.
let's fantasize! nano nano....

So. Paging all junk-food manufacturers! Spare us from overpriced potato chips and overrated ice cream, please. If we plan to adapt an unhealthy lifestyle by bingeing on food with zero nutritional value, we don’t want to splurge. The way we see it, we want neither our stomachs nor our wallets to be empty. In our world, these cheap thrills will always rule. Always.