The word palindrome is derived from the Greek palandromos, meaning running back again (palan = AGAIN + drom-, dramen = RUN). By etymology, a palindrome is a word or phrase which reads the same in both directions.
All palindromes are in Bold Typeface.
More often than not, the TITLES of the blogs are palindromes.
NOW WON
Observations of a Stranger in a Brazilian World Cup Victory Parade
I will save you from news on how Brazil (Brasil for Brasilians) won over Germany (CNN has enough of that) but as a foreigner in a foreign land I found out foreigners, Brazilians themselves, in a European country celebrate such victories....in a weird-fashionable but festive way.....
As soon as the final count of 2-0 was flashed, I counted 5 minutes from my watch and waited in front of our hotel-like room fronting Lac Lehman to see any car, much less a runner in a Green and Yellow attire shouting at the top of his lungs of the victory. I didn't expect much of Brazilians coming to this side of Europe, much less 30 or so cars all decorated with the Green and Yellow flag of Brazil honking their horns from Montreux, disrupting what could have been "siesta" time for Spanish blooded people like me....but in 4 minutes 30 seconds, they were there!
What's strange (not really ironic, just strange) is that you would see these Brazilians from sun roofs, waving the weirdest flag of all, in Benzes, Beemers, almost all in German cars. Oh yes, VW Brasilia has been in the graveyard for decades I was informed.
What's ironic (not strange, just ironic) is that some fanatics are sticking their bodies outside the cars, seated at the rolled down windows, with half of their bodies practically hanging out of the vehicles, just to whoop it up, holding that oh so weird flag (with that globe and sash) while their toddlers are at the back in their car seats, strapped in all....
What could be more strange than that of the driver of these cars who decide to turn on their headlights (in broad daylight) thinking it would be safer to drive at 100 kph with 4 other Brazilians (3 in each window and 1 in the sunroof) and a baby strapped in the back? You know what would make the whole celebration more festive? To smash head-on into a guy like that - stopping the whole motorcade - just to prove to him that his idea of safety (turning on the headlights at daytime) doesn't work.
I like BRAzil than GERMany, not because of their first syllables, well partly, but because they played well - but they celebrate it up kind of strange. (still, i am stranger, writing this blog and being a foreigner, which makes me a whole lot of a stranger)...
Finally, the magic has worn off. Korea succumbs to Turkey's own magic in the fight for 3rd place. A goal in the first 11 seconds by Turkey shows the world that Korea is also invincible (after beating Italy and Spain in controversial fashion). Korea missed so many golden opportunities by more than a foot from the goal, losing 3-2 in the end. Well, that ain't the big draw - its tomorrow's Germany vs. Brazil.
Korea, as hosts, should be proud of the turn out of events and as a team should even be prouder for the 4th place feat! Go Korea.
The rest of Rome was spent with the ancient part - the Colloseum, the Forum and the Palatine Hills. We literally walked where Julius Caesar walked.
Then we ended the next day, our fourth, with what else - shopping in Rome. We literally walked where the fashionistas walked. We already visited Via dei Condotti (too expensive), and Via Borgognona (too trendy and too young for our taste) so we contented ourselves with Via Nazionale and had our last Roman lunch along the strip.
Overall, the trip was an experience everyone should try. Four days is just right and not tiring. June is a good month but very very hot. (if not for the fountains). And the budget is really easily maintained with great authentic dining at reasonable prices.
My wife and I will surely be back. Remember? We dropped a coin at Trevi Fountain. Til next trip. ciao!
1:00 PM. The crowd thinned out and after grabbing a hotmeal from one of the Jolli-jeeps near the piazza (they have it here - maybe on franchise basis), I decided to go up the cupola or the St. Peter's dome! Way up there!
I wanted to whispher something to God, that I wanted close to His ear, hundreds of feet up the ground. I did.
XIX. POPE POP 12 noon. Expectant as we are, we knew from references that the Pope will be making his blessing and doing the angelus. And we were blessed that he did, albeit sickly and with a hoarse voice. I had to open my cellphone and call up Mama in Manila for them to receive the blessing as well. Remember that Papa is also fast recovering from his recent quadruple by pass.
The crowd swelled as Pope started his blessing. A drum and bugle ensemble momentarily entertained the Pope and chants of "Viva Il Papa" probably made him smile. Young teenage kids were ecstatic and were almost like seeing a pop star face to face.
Me? I saw him twice before, when he came to the Philippines. But this one is most special.
10:30-11:45 AM. After seeing the Pieta and rushing in to get good seats, we subjected ourselves to a mass we have to undergo by heart since we can't understand much of Italian, we had to translate it by mind in English. The mass although long was an experience. I always wanted to hear mass, even to the point of getting married in St. Peter's.
What I did was the closest thing - after the blessing, I took the hand of my wife and gave her our engagement ring (which she asked to be cleaned back home)....i guess that was the closest thing to having St. Peter witness the whole thing and get wed in Rome.
The Whole Morning. Surreal. Mass at St. Peter's - the seat of Catholic faith.
Solemn as expected. Men shouldn't be in shorts and women's shoulders shouldn't be shown. So at the gates, you will see people donning their jogging pants or women being creative by putting in anything just to cover theirs. The most creative one was a tad beautiful lass who was wearing a sleeveless shirt. What she did was pull down her sleeves and cover a part of her shoulders. The problem was her cleavage was showing. So its either the shoulder or the cleavage. Well, the last time I saw her, one of her shoulders was covered and the other one wasnt. Talk about Rome being a fashion capital.
7:30 PM. A decade ago, a skinny dork asked the most sought after co-trainee in Citibank for a lunch date as a post Christmas treat. Probably suggesting that he got some moolah as Christmas presents. The two ate at Atrium's "Pasta at the Piazza".
Fast forward to 2002. Now it was the lady's turn to ask the not-anymore-skinny-but-still-a-dork husband for a dinner date and it was indeed a dinner-at-the-piazza, as authentic as my love for her, 10 years ago.
'Nuff of the love story, but you can fall in love too with the place. It's at Piazza Farnese in front of the French embassy in Rome. The night even had a bonus - a film by the plaza (ala Cinema Paradiso) and we were able to cap a romantic night with a stroll out of Campo de Fiori - fingers tied like pasta.
We weren't able to catch the 1 pm mercato or market and its only 2 PM. So the stores along this so-called shopping district were still closed. We just had a coke and stared at Bruno - the statue in the middle of the Campo who's a cross between Darth Maul and a gregorian monk. The guy was considered a heretic who only wanted the separation of the state and the church. He was burned in the same spot of the life-size statue. A great reminder of how hot and sizzling Campo de Fiori will be by 10 pm on Saturday nights. I just hope no one gets burned.
XIII. GELATO. GELATO. GELATO. 1:30 PM. Mouth-watering. We scream for Ice Cream! I scream for Gelato! Soft ice cream. Creamy on a sweet cone. Stracciatella or Turtaffone or simply vanilla. The best ice cream I've ever had. Enuff said.
XIV. THE PANTHEON.
1:45 PM Breath-taking. The original big dome. No other light source but the one on the opening of its dome. It was like Star Trek. Not Sky Trek. It's where Raphael was buried and it's old. Super old and when you realize the genius of the old Romans to create such a big dome, you will pause for a while and decide to scamper outside because any minute now it might be another Roman ruin.
AMORE ROMA (Part 12) XII. INSIDE THE MUSEI and the SISTINE CHAPEL
9:00 am. The queue moved fast. It was moving at 25 meters per minute. Good enough to get in in 20 minutes, if you know your math.
Not wanting to miss the history of every Raphael room - or why Michelangelo did what he did in the Sistine - we booked an appointment for an English tourguide. But after knowing that we had to wait for another hour to do so, we decided to rent a CD audio guide instead. It was better.
We were amazed with the frescoes (done while the material to be painted on was still fresh, thus the word) that the young Raphael did from one room to another. Moreso, after getting in the Sistine Chapel, our jaws dropped upon seeing the Creation of Adam and the Final Judgment. It was surreal as we kept on saying in whispers (no cameras and no talking) that for years we contented ourselves seeing them from pictures, but here in front of us is the "real thing".
A trip to Rome is not complete with it. Simply Amazing.
XI. THE QUEUE TO THE VATICAN MUSEI and THE SISTINE CHAPEL
Saturday, June 22, 8:30 am. Wow! Forget about the long queue which was understandable, being a Saturday. We were a good half a kilometer away from the entrance after taking some sweet time staring at the St. Peter's Square in Piazza San Pietro. I would have kissed the ground upon marvelling at the immense size of the square.
But again the waiting was worth it. No need to elaborate. The waiting was worth it. Did I just repeat myself? The temperature was at 32 degrees and I can feel my sweat right there at my tiniest toe.
Saturday, June 22, 8:00 am. That's a great question. We're not debating on the best Italian tenor or the greatest Italian painter, but about the buses that travellers like us should take from Termini Station to the Vatican.
One thing to remember, if you intend to move around and ride the bus or the metro at least 5 times - get an All-Day pass. At 3.10 Euros (pronounced as uh-ros) - its a steal. You can get one at the nesstand or where the abonato signs are seen.
Saturday, June 22. Hotel Torino. Last night was a great start in our Rome travel. One of the many surprises everytime we travel, aside from a clean bathroom and a chocolate on top of your pillow is looking forward to breakfast. To go right to it, Hotel Torino has the best vantage point to start your day with breakfast served at their 7th floor patio. Great view of Santa Maria Maggiore and its twin cupolas and of seagulls passing by. Truly refreshing, even if you haven't had showers yet.
Before we go back to regular programming (Amore Roma) let's just do some mind-bending. How many times did advertising companies use palindromes in their ads?
Several times.....first there was : Aloc a Coc by no less than Coke themselves ("Aloc a Coc" in Filipino is, "offer a Coke")......and what else? ting...ting....ting....tididididididing.....
There's another one : I lov it - Tivoli. The soft chewy Chocolate Bars by CFC. Well here are several ones I'm willing to part with with no consultant's fee:
1. Mix a Maxim - for Maxim's Chinese Restaurant
2. Naive Evian for Evian Bottled Mineral Water
3. A Toyota! Race fast. Safe Car. A Toyota! - for no other than Toyota Motors
4. Sad? I'm Midas. - for Midas Escort Services.....(PG 18)
June 21 going to 22. Midnight. Ok. I'm the culprit. I was the one who made the first night itinerary - a walk to Rome's famous fountains. But after seeing the majestic Trevi Fountain and the titanic-looking sinking boat shaped as well as the Piazza Spagna fountain - I thought and my wife agreed - we had enough.
Besides its already the next day. And Rome - was fast becoming the Rome we read about. Rowdy. Crowded with cars and Vespas and Piaggios turning the avenues into a virtual moto rally.
Amore Roma. Our first day and night and we were involved with this beatiful city. ciao for now.
AMORE ROMA (Part 7) VII. THE TREVI FOUNTAIN Still the First Night. Nearing Midnight. Just on our first night we already booked ourselves a re-visit to Rome when each of us dropped a coin to this famous fountain - the Trevi. Remember, when in Rome, do what the Romans do....but the tourists were the ones doing it...what the heck.
Can you sing with me, "Three coins in a fountain, each one....na na na na na, which one will the fountain bless."
One other thing. If everyone was dropping three coins to this fountain and there are at least a thousand people that day doing it, then it should have been filled by now....but it's not. So what gives? Is someone getting rich? The tritons perhaps?
Trevi - which means three streets. Tre Vias -...impressive huh? I am half Italian - drop the last syllable and I will kill you....
June 21, Friday, Somewhere Along Via Della Croce, 10 PM. My wife has a good nose for getting us into great traditional and authentic restos whenever we are in a new city. From Chez Clement in Paris, Le Sifflet in Switzerland, and to this great ristorante in Via della Croce, just north of Piazza Spagna. Tsamba. As we term it. We just knew that the via has so many great reviews in the internet so we walked our hunger from the Piazza to the place and enjoyed the Roman Friday night out.
Food was great. Service was fast. Price was within budget. Only if I can remember the name of the place. It's the Othello. But try it out.
It's only surprise is the 3 Euros charge for seating down. hehe.
If someone asks you - "What do you think of the Spanish Steps along Piazza Spagna?" - you better be ready with an answer. Maybe a blank stare or a smile created by a pursed lips and a nodding of the head will be a natural reply. Maybe because we have the same steps - even better (or worse) in front of our Post Office, or maybe in any of the MRT Stations (especially along Ayala).
But trust Spain and Italy to combine their creative heads and do something out of nothing. No, I'm not talking about their World Cup loss to South Korea but - rather with the (duh) Spanish Steps.
3 Stars. But very pleasant first impressions created. Had we exited from the correct gates of the huge Termini Station and went right to Via Cinqueciento - our carry on Samsonite luggage would have endured less strain on its wheels and cut the walking into half.
The Torino, aside from having the cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in an Italian hotel, is near all the buses 64 and 40 which will take you to most of the sights and the Termini Metro station which will in turn fill your tummies with pasta, pizza and gelatto. That was just what we did barely an hour and a half into checking in to this well deserving of a 4-star hotel rating.
If you are in Rome. Try out Torino.
But wait. There were more surprises waiting for us the next morning.
June 21, Rome at 6 pm. Fortunes reversed. Sort of. After getting to a train and ending at Termini Station. We were ready to see our hotel which I personally booked via the internet. (I trust them with my wife's Visa number) - the Hotel Torino.
After walking for a good 20 minutes on cobble-stoned vias, past a hodge-podge of men we are familiar seeing on motorcycles and using umbrellas, we arrive at no.8 Principe Amedeo.
Well, thanks to my 2-minute course in Italian, but I was able to ask for directions and impress my wife. Well, actually, I pimped on using the back page of our Eyewitness Travel Guide to Rome, and merely said "Dove el Via Principe Amedeo?" Great huh?
Now, the only thing standing in front of us and the comfy bed is a door to Room 113.
June 21, Up there at 36,000 feet. The trip from Geneva to Fiumicino Airport of Rome was almost the same travelling time from Ayala Avenue to Greenhills on a good day. 70 minutes. Maybe even shorter on a bad Christmas rush.
The food? It was great. How can you complain, if your last meal was at 8am and its already 4 pm in the afternoon?
I literally ate a tree of green leaves and downed it with two bottles of vin blanc (white wine).
Yes, you can turn vegetarian and alcoholic at the same time in less than 70 minutes. Trust me. Burrrpp.
Introduction: If you are given the chance to visit one country from the ancient past (redundant), would you not choose the place where Cicero and Julius Caesar walked? Would you not choose the first great civilization before Christianity? I guess you would. Well here is my account of the couple's visit to ancient Rome. Our own diary of a tourist.
I. THE PLANE. CATCHING IT.
June 21, Geneva, Switzerland. Have you seen the movie, National Lampoon's European Vacation? Trust us, to do just the same wacky-disaster-filled introduction which includes left plane tickets, late airport arrivals, an almost missed flight - saved only by a ride to the airport in a Volvo limousine!
"Amazing Race" - the reality based travel TV show will cringe in comparison to how we ran from Gate 2 of the Geneva Airport, passed two immigration checks, an x-ray terminal in 1 minute 54 seconds.
A new world record - for 300-meter airport dash.
All this to find out that the boarding was moved by a couple of minutes. God loves those who love Him, and those who are just blessed with strong lungs.
Instead of Happy Hippie, I wanted my blog title to be a palindrome like Yo! Joy! because that's the rush I feel inside. But it sounded contrived as if I was hooting on someone on a streetcorner, "Hey Joy! Come over here". I also wanted something like Go Dog! because maybe I was hungry to be with my only one, but other than that, all connotation leads to something I don't want to expound.
There is one great reason why I haven't blogged lately.....I was on air....no not live on radio - but high up at 36,000 feet....slicing through clouds from Manila, to Oulan Bator to Aral Sea to Paris!....As I write this blog, I consider myself not Lonely Tylenol no more....I am changing the title for the next 30 days or so - to Happy Hippie....but that's not a Palindrome....so who cares.....
(by the way, the time is now converted to Swiss time - nothing can be more accurate from where I am!)
Tomorrow, papa is going to be discharged from the hospital. This after two weeks of staying where I considered my second home since June 5th and where I've kept to heart people and events who have played such a big role in papa's quick recovery.
This blog doesn't have a Palindromic title and was meant to be in A Blog of Listsbecause it really is, but with an epiphany of sorts, I'm putting it here. It's a collection of realizations from things, people and events. A list of musings from the other side of the bed.
Life is a Palindrome. Since God is our start and our end, however you read life, it reads the same way.
10. Pillows, blankets. Pills and tablets. Tissues and Straws. Ordinary items we see in ordinary times. But their insignificance is upgraded from a hospital bed as they turn from obscure things to their heroic qualities in very little time. God has placed what we think are insignificant yet important things around us for us to realize that they were there for a great reason.
9. Thoughts and Prayers are better than Pollens and Flowers. I was walking past a hallway and found at least 3 baskets of great floral arrangements lying in front of a door. Then inside our own room, an orderly mentioned that the flowers that were just delivered should be placed outside as well. Who would realize that such beauty as a bouquet of fresh flowers are a big no-no in an ICU of the hospital? Well they are. I guess when you realize it they must even be banned from the hospital after all. Simply put, they are beautiful yet they have pollens that might cause allergy or sneezing for a newly operated person. God created beautiful things. But there are beautiful things that are made more beautiful if used in the right way.
8. Oxygen tank. Although they don't come in cylindrical containers anymore as we see them in old films, these life preserving air constantly supplies the patient with hope, with the steady stream of happiness we have enough of but never really realized. In fact, we even destroy them unwittingly with no end. God should be our oxygen tank, our hope, our happiness whom we should always please and not destroy.
7. Chaplain. The man who provides the bread of life from those who need it. From room to room he prays the same prayer and does the same things. Does he do it mechanically? Looking at him, he does it with fervor and joy. Although there are at least 300 more patients waiting everyday to receive and hear his prayer. From room to room, the chaplain walks out with a smile and the satisfaction that what he just did fed the patient with another tray of nourishment, better than Hospital food.God has provided us with work that we should offer back to Him, unrelentless in our will to do our job and enjoy it, as it is God's assignment for us.
6. The Food Tray. It is rolled in at 7am, 10 am, 12noon, 3 pm and 7pm. I thought hospital food was meant for people without taste. I initially had my bias against it being bland, tasteless, and to the extreme, really disgusting to the point that the patient would want to be discharged fast due to craving for better nourishment. I was proven wrong. I had the chance of finishing off several trays and soon realized that indeed they were even better than some restos I frequent and splurge a thousand bucks or two. God has made me realize that our biases against certain things, people and places should be thrown away. It is for me to put into practice the maxim that you can't judge the taste of food from the food tray (without tasting it first).
5. The Intensive Care Unit. A place where the nurses come in without you pressing the red button beside the bed. I realized that God has placed us in the ICU of life and our red button is our prayer. We need not press it, more often than not, we receive His grace and mercy without us asking for it.
4. The Hospital Bed. Papa would always try to get the best way to sit down or lie, for him not to get bedsores or simply maybe to get a better angle of the TV. But he would use the hospital bed for him to minimize coughing discomfort and allow easy breathing to alleviate his chest pains (remember it was sawed open..). He does this by constantly adjusting the level of his head, by pressing the button adjusting the height of the bed's head and foot part. God has made me realize that we always want to have the best angle in life. Never really satisfied. Never really realizing that sometimes our previous angle was indeed the one for us and we just have to make that extra push on that lever thinking that the next position might be better. Actually, it was not.
3. The visitors. Noisy as they are. Nosy sometimes. People who we don't see normally are there to give us comfort and joy. God has allowed us to be in the company of people who care for us. Their presence is a gift albeit irritating some times.
2. The family. One group of people is constant - the family. It led us to let go of things we were doing just to be at the bedside of our papa. My sister, Linnor, flew in from Cebu leaving work to be done by her staff and probably by her boss too, her husband Jerry was here for 6 days when in Cebu a day in business is worth millions already. Not counting the fact that they left the care of their two bugoy kids and their first week in school in the care of their lola. Mama did not even see home for two weeks, May had to shun gimmicks and some phonecalls (those two are the most important things for her at this point) and me, I started praying as I never prayed before. God creates situations for us to realize that nothing is more important than family. Amen.
1. God is in control. It sends shivers, even my smallest hair in my nape stands when this line is uttered by Papa. It was the last line he mentioned when he was wheeled in the operating room. God indeed was in control. God will always be in control.
Did you just see what the Mexican players did to the US? The mehicanos had a second half full of second motions, head butts, fake diving, and all the rough acts known only to animals. They deserve to be slammed into the net and out of the World Cup!
Ok, ok, Coach Arena, proved a point. The US Team won over Mexico. But please, bring back the party animal - Clint Mathis. The US can at least put up a good fight against Germany with him in the striker position. Please please please.
I am not a Clint fan. No, not Eastwood, but Clint Mathis, the new IT boy of US Soccer. He didnt play the first half against Mexico and am still awaiting whether he will. Remember the Mexico-US tune up game prior to the World Cup?
If the US team wins this game against Mexico without Clint Mathis, I'll be damned....
Everything I Knew I Learned from Kindergarten. Not really. I learned about girls when I was 6. I learned (not practiced) about sex when I was in Second grade. I learned about the taste of beer when I was in 7th grade and smoking cigarretes at the age of twelve. Up until 10 years ago, I thought those four were the greatest discoveries of man. Well, not really. I stopped smoking, drinking beer (a period ago) since I found out that other than sex and girls, there are other things we continually learn and enjoy along the way.
Today is the first day of school (here in the Philippines, but the end of it back in the States). I didnt really learn it all in kinder school. Life is a continuing pursuit of knowledge.
Besides, I only spent 2 months in Kindergarten school.
When in Rome, do what the romans do. This day next week, I will be doing that. As part thanksgiving for my dad's recent successful operation and petition for more health blessings for the family - as a couple, we will be doing a pilgrimage to the Holy Seat of the Roman Catholic faith - the Vatican.
If you think that I'm excited to be with my wife again, you should see my packed luggage.
The past 3 days I have seen a myriad of personalities of people come in and go our room 442.
If only papa could talk I am sure he would have something to say.
From hyperventilated visitors, talking at 1,230 decibels to overeager ones (who want to fix everything around)
From testimonies of how they survived their own heart problems (to make papa stronger)
to stories of friends who were not as successful and didnt survive the operation (adding more anxiety to people hearing it)
From relatives who had their stories of papa's childhood (as if its the best time to look back)
to friends who just wanted to pray over him (we thank you)
From Hospital Staff who are pleasant to a doctor who doesn't even smile (a Video of "Patch Adams" is forthcoming)
From Elevator people who say "Going out" instead of "Going Up"
to Dietary staff who keep on banging the door
To friends who send their love through SMS but most of all
friends who came to donate blood and a part of themselves
From sisters who are given more time to pull hairs, and fight
To a mother who has been so selfless all this time
Thank you for all the prayers, my dad is now recovering fast.
By the way, it was a quadruple bypass operation.
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Last Friday was the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Then the next day was the Feast to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If its any Divine sign, my dad was diagnosed to have a heart that has multiple blocked arteries that same morning.
My dad is going to undergo a triple by-pass tomorrow at 1 pm (Manila Time, 10 am West Coast Time), please join me and our family in prayer.
Whattagame! The raccoon did it! David Beckham had his comeuppance when he scored the only goal a minute before the First Half ended. In a well officiated match, by Kojak look-alike Mr. Pierluigi Collina, we saw a great offensive game in the first half and a great defensive one in the second. Overall, if it werent for the grouping and drawing of matches. This could have been the World Cup championships four rounds ahead.
England's No. 10 guy was like a blur everytime a ball gets in his way. Twice in 6 minutes, Mike Owen gave the Argentines the same nightmarish goal he did 4 years hence. The first one was really an inch away from making the whole England stands erupt with a great goal in between the legs of defender Samuel. Michael Owen was also responsible for the free penalty kick scored by Beckham as he went in like a flash and was fouled in the penalty area.
Had me stop breathing everytime the ball gets near him.
After watching the Lakers-Nets game this morning, I meant to ask why didnt the NBA people just extend to Game 8, the Kings-Lakers series?...I wanted to be excited.....I don't need the juggernaut Laker team acting their way to the end to make it like a Hollywood film ending
Thanks to the Mollified Vehicular Reduction Program (seriously it is read as modified), I am able to see miracles in my un-saintly life. Of course the objective of the program is for vehicles with plate numbers ending in 1-2 for Mondays, 3-4 for Tuesdays, 5-6 for Wednesday, etc etc NOT to ply the major thoroughfares of Metro Manila from 7 am to 7 pm. That alone is a Mt.Everest-to-climb, a task undaunting. Personally, if you ask me, you are asking for a miracle. I have my second-to-the-last dream starting at 5:30 am and my dream's last full show is at 7:30 am. So, 6 am? that's right smack in the middle of the characterization and first act of Dream no. 4.
But this morning I was able to wake up at 6 and leave at 6:42 but arrived in the parking lot at the back of the building at 7:02 am. From Paranaque to Ortigas in 20 minutes and from Dreamland in 62 minutes! This is where the meat of this blog starts. In the parking lot, one would see 20 of the 21 cars parked with either a plate number of 5 or 6 (for Wednesday). Off this 20 cars, there will be 10 cars that are parked yet occupied still by their half-awake drivers. Eight of the ten (are you still with me) are females. Two are males (or so, I think).
Of the ten, five are reading the morning papers. And five are making their cars their virtual powder and dressing room. I even saw a lady practically change her blouse contortioning her body just to fit in her blouse while removing a white undershirt. And this is through tinted mirror. So virtually, you see Wonder Woman changing from Sleeping Beauty in 2 minutes. There is also a lady still in battery type hair rollers, trying to fix her lipstick and a man munching on a bagel while listening to music. You would know, since he kept on nodding his head, and doing that stirring-a-giant-soupbowl motion with his eyes closed.
At this time, as I walked a little over 1.74 meters away from my car, I discovered something.
My plate number ends in 4. I thought it was a Tuesday.
"There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.". I have learned early in life to take the lead, to be on the centerstage and to have that Michael Jordan-effect - that is "you live and die" with me as I take the last shot. It's a great feeling to be the marquee star, the ship's captain or the superstar.
In my recent experience, I have learned that to succeed, one must also have to have a supporting cast, a marine crew, and of course those who become "stars" as supporters. The game of life is like basketball. You can score 50 points & still lose if the final score is 100 for your opponent to your 50. Assists are important aspects of the game.
In my life, I have taken the role of a point guard in basketball - pass first - before I can probably score. I have gained a much rewarding life doing this.
KOBE / Derek FISHER / Rick FOX / Robert HORRY / SHAQ
THE 2001-2002 WESTERN CONFERENCE KINGS - THE LAKERS!
The supporting cast did it! All starting 5 of the Lakers scored at least 13 points or more. And the result was the best ending yet for any Western Conference Finals, an overtime win over the no.1 seeded Sacramento Kings.
The Kings though gave the future champs a good fight. They leave the court unbowed. On with the Generation NETS!!!
This Sacramento Kings and LA Lakers series is really keeping me busy. It's just that I would like to rekindle the passion I have with this series 2-3 years from now. That said, the reason i've encapsulated the NBA series in my weblogs, more so lately (last 4 blogs) is the fact that aside from having every game a nail-biter, edge of your seat, dont-go-to-the-john endgame is the fact that whoever wins this conference wins the 2002 NBA Championships.
Of course not every sane person in New Jersey will agree with that.
Anyways, to make the Kings-Lakers do-or-die game more interesting, I have compiled the following trivia:
Trivia No. 1 : Like Father Like Son Mike Bibby and Kobe Bryant are the stars of both protagonists. But their dads, Henry Bibby (6'1 PG) and Joe Jellybean Bryant (6'9 SF) were close teammates for 3 consecutive seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975 to 1978. Henry, just like son Mike, was the better shooter but Joe Jellybean, was, just like son Kobe was a better rebounder and had better inside game.
Trivia No. 2 : History Repeating Itself? The original franchise of both teams, Rochester Royals (Kings) and Minneapolis Lakers entered the NBA in the same year, 1948-1949 season. Both finished the season with the no.1 and no.2 won-loss records. With the Royals having a 75% winning percantage while the Lakers had 73%. Despite this, in the end, the Lakers won the championships.
Trivia No. 3: Exchange Gifts Mitch Richmond (LA Lakers) was the star player of Sacramento Kings from 1991 to 1998 and was traded to Washington Wizards for Chris Webber (Sacramento Kings) in 1999. Webber continues to score for the Kings while Richmond rides the bench for the Lakers as the 4th guard.
Kurt Rambis, Lakers Assistant Coach ended his career as a Sacramento King while Vlade Divac and Doug Christie, started their careers as Laker First Round Draftees.
One last exchange gift, Vlade Divac was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets for the rights of guess who? the Hornets' 13th pick - Kobe Bryant.
Trivia No. 4: Arch Enemies Both coaches, Phil Jackson (LA) and Rick Adelman (Sacramento) have seen each other before in an NBA Championship coaching different teams. Jackson was of course the coach of the Chicago Bulls while Rick Adelman was the coach of the Portland Trailblazers. In 1991-92 Season, Phil Jackson's Bulls beat Rick Adelman's Blazers in 6 games.
So these two (2) teams are really tied at the umbilical cord, thus explaining the fact that both do not want to give any game on a silver platter to the other. Believe it or not!
