I’ve rued so much about this blog entry — how I should write about each graduating player, or about how I feel more personally invested in this compared to basketball, or how I should try to predict next game’s outcome. But I’m not equipped for any of that, I just started watching last year.

The first full length Volleyball game I watched was last year’s Ateneo – La Salle finals opener. The DLSU Lady Spikers were poised to take the championship easily — they had a thrice-to-beat advantage after sweeping the eliminations — but the AdMU Lady Eagles weren’t going to hand it over. They took game one, ended a nine-game losing streak to La Salle, ended their 25-game winning streak, despite the psychological disadvantage. It was a message — Ateneo had finally arrived in volleyball.

While they eventually ended up 2nd to La Salle — that season was the charmer for a lot of Ateneans, it was time to pay attention.

This season, I tried to watch all the games live either in The Arena (trust me, it was an effort to get to and from that part of San Juan), or through livestream. More than the game, the players grew on me — Fille Cainglet, Gretchen Ho, Jem Ferrer, Dzi Gervacio, and most especially Alyssa Valdez. Boom Gonzales calls it, “The Jem Ferrer Era”.

I’ve come to cheer even more for the players, than the team, reminiscent of Chris Tiu’s days in Men’s Basketball.

Which is why last Saturday was really a heartbreaker — not because they were only one set away from winning, but because you know how much these girls have dreamed of getting here, and how close, yet so far they are from the championship. It’s the Fab Five’s last playing year, so even if Alyssa Valdez will still be here next year, it’s never going to be the same again.

Sportswriter and friend, Eugs Naredo (@camillenaredo) says that as a sportswriter, she believes that La Salle will take game two on Wednesday. But as an Atenean, she sure hopes so that Ateneo musters enough strength for game two.

More than anything, I feel like this season is like Ateneo’s 2002 Men’s Basketball performance — started strong, humps in the middle, eventually found their way into the finals. Ateneo was destined to win that season — what else could it have been? They had to win the last five games in the second round, had to beat a tough second seed to get to the finals, and had to duke it out with a much more experienced La Salle team, in which they emerged champs after three games.

I may have started watching just a year ago — but strongly feel that my hopes aren’t misplaced for the game on Wednesday. Destiny is waiting, our Volleyball history in the making, ready to be claimed.
Ateneo. In three games.

It’s a statement I’ve used in the all the job interviews I’ve been in for the past few years. Maybe it’s my way of convincing a potential employer to hire me, to make me look hardworking, dedicated, and positively workaholic.

But the truth is, I actually enjoy working on weekends. While weekdays are filled with client calls and meetings here and there, wherein you have less time to do actual work, weekends are totally up to you. There’s no pressure to finish anything, and when you do, you’re already ahead for the week. You get to choose where you work, how quick you wanna work, or how long you’ll actually do things.

Looking ahead at 2013, it seems like I’d need to work regularly on the weekends — the year has been roughly planned out, to what will be executed this time, to what needs to trend by this time, and to what needs to sell at this point — and it’s very exciting, actually. But I’m thankful — because I’ve found a job that bridges the gap between passion and profit.

I still remember the first time I received a commendation email (http://boyinplaid.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/validation/) from a client regarding a presentation I made, and it immediately brings back that feeling of fulfillment, and I honestly try my best to replicate that response for every important presentation.

Maybe I don’t know yet where I want to be in the long run, or what my career plan is for the next 10 years, but for this year, I will work on the weekends.

Bring it on, 2013!

In 2006, Doug Kramer buried a basket with 1 second left in the fourth quarter, delivering the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ first win in a best of three series finals against the UST Growling Tigers. Just imagine how that must have felt for the entire Ateneo community in Araneta Coliseum — some were crying, hugging each other, some were even praying. It was the first finals game I ever watched live in the UAAP, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

The Eagles eventually lost that year much to the heartbreak of the community. The year after was particularly worse, with archrival De La Salle eliminating the Eagles following the stepladder format. I trooped to Gesu after both games (2006 Finals Game 3 & Stepladder Knockout Game 2), and you can just imagine the gloom that enwrapped the place as MVP spoke to the community and the players – “We’ll win next year,” he said on both occasions.

Finally after two years of heartbreak, we won.

Octobers these last few years have been very eventful for me and my friends. “It’s the most exciting time of the year,” my bestfriend would describe it. Regardless if it’s against DLSU, FEU, UE, or UST, supporting Ateneo in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Championships has been a happy routine for us.

In 2008, we watched as Chris Tiu and Rabeh Al-Hussaini led the Blue Eagles into the first of the many championships to come.

It was the championship Coach Norman Black was so working hard for, and the championship we were very hungry for after being so close, yet so far the past two years. After countless LRT rides from Katipunan to Cubao, countless hours spent lining up and sleeping in the cov courts just to get tickets and countless classes cut, we were finally champions.

This Bonfire was held in the Bellarmine Field, and being muddy after an afternoon of rain, our shoes were all ruined. I remember how a friend, Rache, even had blisters on her feet after falling somewhere in the field. It was messy, and smelly, but it was the Bonfire we all waited for, and so it was worth it.

“Mas masarap talaga yung feeling ng nananalo,” MVP said in the Thanksgiving Mass. “After this, Coach Norman and I will regroup to see where the team will be going. We’ll win [again] next year.” And we believed.

2009 saw the Blue Eagles go back-to-back against an arguably tougher opponent – the UE Red Warriors. They beat us during the second game of the finals, only to lose in the third.

In the thanksgiving mass after that championship series, MVP and the boys joked about a third championship, and fast forward to the year after, we made history with a three-peat.We met Kirk Long, saw Erik Salamat and Nonoy Baclao grow that year — I remember friends Hallsy and Braggy even making posters specifically for Kirk Long. Too cute for words.

That year’s bonfire was a little more memorable as it was the perfect excuse for a mini-reunion with me and a couple of batchmates. We were kids fresh from college, still abuzz with idealism.

But it didn’t stop there. We won a fourth.

2012 was a befitting farewell from Coach Norman (and yes, MVP) for the Ateneo. That heartbreaking 2006 loss to UST was avenged, and the championships these past five years have all given us happy endings. I really feared a UST comeback — and it would have been really painful to have lost again to them this year. My bestfriend, Cands, actually stopped watching Ateneo – UST games after 2006, and together with the whole community, she exorcised the ghosts of 2006 this year.

These championships and bonfires were constants in our changing lives — through boyfriends and break-ups, through graduation, first jobs & promotions, through new friendships and falling outs. It was about voluntarily submitting ourselves to the vicious cycle of heartbreaks, and heart attacks, hoping to emerge as victors. We come each year to the bonfire as different people, but always end up saying, “I miss college” or “I miss Ateneo” as we walk around the campus.

It was never just about basketball. It was about friends coming together since 2008, it was about community, about school spirit.

…but I’d rather beat them to win prizes

Presenting our labor of love — the country’s first augmented reality game – Ibufluid Medicol Advance’s Tap Out Pain. Tap Out Pain is the latest installment in Medicol’s Advance Rewards Program (check out http://Medicol.ph), which makes winning super super easy. Simple social actions like tweeting or rating photos immediately enable you to win cool lifestyle prizes like an iPad, Samsung S2 and various GCs.

Tap Out Pain’s attractive full-color graphics promise visually stimulating eye-candy throughout the gameplay. The user is continuously challenged to take on ever-quicker reaction-time levels. Using either your PC or Android device, you can tap out the Pain Monsters that graphically represent a specific yet commonly experienced type of severe pain: SKULLDRILLER for Severe Headache, BRAINLEECH for Migraine, CRAMPZILLA for Dysmenorrhea and MAGMATOOTH for Toothache. Naturally, the augmented-reality “killing” weapon is the same as the real one: the Ibufluid Medicol Advance softgel.

Players just have to initially purchase specially marked MEDICOL ADVANCE 5’s Pack at Mercury Drugstore and Watsons Pharmacy. Then they simply register at http://www.Medicol.ph, enter the scratch code found on the Ibufluid MEDICOL ADVANCE 5’s pack, scan the special TAPOUT PAIN barcode to unleash one of the Pain Monsters, and it’s game on!

You can download the app on Google Play here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.medicol&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImFpci5tZWRpY29sIl0.

*Tap Out Pain was made possible by Ibufluid Medicol Advance for fast and advance relief for nakakapamaluktot na pain.

Let me know what you think of this game, and Medicol Advance in the comments

It was after Dulaang UP’s Passion of the Christ – he was sweaty, his face showing traces of make-up he obviously tried to remove quickly, and his hand, tightly pressed on his left cheek as he hid pimples that I hypothesized were the onset of that make-up.

I guess it wasn’t so cinematic. He felt awkward, he later on said he felt like he wasn’t at his best that day, and you can imagine QC on that rainy day in July – frantic, muddy, and yes, gloomy. But he charmed me instantly, because as our first date, I immediately invited him to come over my place in Katipunan.

Before you pass judgment, no, we didn’t do it (well, not yet). Instead, we spent the night playing Monopoly, Scrabble, and TaleCraft, a card game I found in National Book Store which required players to create and narrate stories based on the cards their dealt with.

And boy, the cards we were dealt with were so varied, yet we made the best out of it.

I think we ordered in, or I went out to buy food – that part I can’t remember, but what I remember was that instant attraction.

Was it love at first sight? No, I don’t and will never believe in that.  Was it lust? Hey inviting him over as a first date was a bit slutty, yes. But we didn’t do it. The night was innocent and pure, reminiscent of first loves. So what was it that created that sudden spark?

Maybe its just chemistry – we just bond, nothing is forced and I’ve never been more me until I was with him.

Approximately five years after, we both cannot honestly believe we’re still together. “Who would have thought?” Rj would always say every year when it’s our anniversary.

And as I watch you now, creating social ads that are clearly not part of your job, I look at you with the same fervent eyes I had when I saw you for the first time five years ago.

Happy 5^th Anniversary Hub. Here’s to the next few years, I daresay decades, of our lives, together.

Photo taken in 2009

And I think Oreo does it very well. Nope, they’re not running any sort of giveaway, or any of those ‘like’ and ‘share’ contests, but the page’s captivating content just wills you to comment/like/share. The posts are just so timely, delightful…

… and most of all, relevant

*All photos taken from Facebook.com/Oreo; the page has 27,656,841 likes · 325,785 talking about this as of August 19

I’m apologizing in advance for the incoherent thoughts and poor sentence construction. BUT ITS LADY GAGA OMGGGG. I can’t even!!! Best.Concert.Ever!!!!!

Now I have to admit, I’ve only seen a few — Kylie, Katy (twice, actually), Ne-yo (weird, I watched him twice as well), Maroon 5, David Archuleta x David Cook and others — but none of them compares to the Queen of Pop (Rolling Stone, 2011) herself!!! She sang almost all the songs on Born This Way, and a few from The Fame — Paparazzi, Just Dance, Alejandro & Poker Face to be exact. And my god, the production was too awesome. Ansabe ni Kylie sa Heavy Metal Lover horse ni Gaga.

And I may I just say, Gaga’s boys are soooo much more hotter, especially Mark Kanemura from So You Think You Can Dance Season 4

Pero yeah, hot pareho. Haha. In terms of the production, this is already the scaled down version ha — no Monster Pit here in this leg.

My favorite part was when she started singing “Hair” tapos may mini-speech pa. I almost cried!!! If I didn’t hold back the tears, seryoso baka humagulgol ako sa SM Arena!!!!

Here’s a video taken by Mich Eats and Shops from the concert –

Although she could have sang more songs from The Fame like my favorites — Summerboy, Dance in the Dark and Speechless — I’m not complaining.

Paws up!!!

—

Thanks to @mariaanamorada, @abbiereal & @smartcares for the Mosh Pit tickets #smartladygaga; photos taken by Mich Bugante and yours truly, some photos taken from http://www.facebook.com/SmartCommunications

Meet Tidal, a website that puts content from independent blogs onto large publisher websites. Bloggers only have to sign up & give Tidal access to their entries and the site itself will for publishers where the blog entry fits into. Now instead of brands looking for bloggers to invite to events/tap, it can work the other way around. Look at existing content – and use them. Bob Villa (a construction company) partnered with Tidal, and they used unbranded posts by hundreds of “housebloggers” renovating their own homes in small towns and big cities and placed it on their site.

This is great especially for bloggers overseas who are looking to get published on international websites Try it yourself – http://tid.al/

It was in Season 3 when that bubbly Filipina burst onto our screens. She sang imperfectly most of the time, failing to nail the lower notes as ironic as that may sound. But it didn’t matter  — she was a Pinay trying to make it internationally and we, I, supported her. Sure, Camille Velasco was there too, but there was just something about Jasmine that was more Filipino — was it her penchant for the ballads? Camille was a young Lauren Hill as judge Randy Jackson put it, but Jasmine was a Regine belting out the Whitneys and Mariahs as if she was one of those kids in amateur singing contests.

And so I followed her journey on Idol. Even though she screwed up “It’s Raining Men”, I wished, oh how I wished, that she’d make it to the finale.

She didn’t. But watching her was enough to get me hooked on the show.

And so I watched Idol from then — I saw how the show was on the rise after Kelly Clarkson proved that the show really can find and make stars. Carrie, Katharine, Elliott, Jordin, David Archie, Kris  — I picked my favorites season after season, anticipating their performance every week until the release of their albums. I even got published on Spot.PH for an Idol rundown of the worst contestants ever (link here, forgive the typos!).

It doesn’t stop there — during Season 4, I was even a member of an American Idol Yahoo!group in which we discussed each contestant’s performance, as well as shared mp3 files of those performances (iTunes did not exist at the time). For Season 6′s finale, I purposely missed my Japanese class finals just so I could watch the show live. And in Season 7 (which I think was the best one ever, hello Andrew Lloyd Webber week), Gab, Cands and I even made a bet on who can have the closest prediction of the top 12 based on the 24. Loser/s treats the winner to ice cream. This was also the season Rj & I intently watched together — you can imagine him, being a Theatre Major, get very excited about Broadway week.

But somewhere along lackluster Seasons 9 & 10 (which both spurred predictably lackluster stars), I gave up on Idol. I got tired of the formula, and the auditions weren’t even that funny anymore. Add to that Simon’s departure, I thought the show was done. I mean, how can a show that promises to find an Idol not be able to produce at least a top 10 album? A friend and I used to laugh at Jordin at how her first album only debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200, only to realize that she’d be one of the more successful Idol alumni later on. What’s the ultimate goal, anyway? To be on Idol or to be a superstar?

Not even Thia Megia of Season 10, another Filipina, can bring back that fervor. She wasn’t really that good — she was too young, and I think people supported her just because she’s Filipino. I became a hater, trolling on people’s Idol posts.

But this season is different. It’s reminding me of what I love about the show, and how I fell in love with it.

Not only is there a good mix of talent this year (hello, last year’s finale was a country showdown), but there’s someone to clearly root for — Jessica Sanchez.

Yes, you can say I’m rooting for her because she’s a Filipino, but it’s really so beyond that now. This is about pure, natural talent, about who can take on a Whitney and surpass expectations. Listening to how she opens Stuttering originally by Jazmine Sullivan gives me the shivers, better yet, the goosies.

Most of all, it’s that unpredictability that makes a great reality show. In Season 4, the top 4 was composed of Anthony Fedorov, Carrie Underwood, Vonzell Solomon and Bo Bice; you just couldn’t predict who would go next because they all had such awesome performances. Similarly in season 5, you just couldn’t tell who’ll make it to the following week — Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Elliott Yamin or Chris Daughtry?

And now were in the same scenario. Who will go home — Skylar, Hollie, Joshua, Philip or God forbid, Jessica? An argument for each can be made, but there is no certainty.

This unpredictability, this anticipation is reminding how Idol has excited me over the years — crossing my fingers hoping that Kat makes it over Daughtry, going against the whole family when I rooted for Carrie over Bo / Jordin over Blake, even screaming like a girl during David Cook & Archuleta’s concert in Manila. Season 11 is turning out to be one of the best.

Now I’m watching again because of Jessica Sanchez.