Sunday, October 4, 2015

Foul Play

Let me start by saying that though I will try to be objective, I probably won't be, and this post may be driven by my biases as a Filipino, and as an alumna of the University of the Philippines.

 Once a year, my school spirit intensifies, and I become an internet troll... only for the UAAP Cheer Dance Competition ;) I think it's because our school had never won, or even contended, in any other major sport, that I defaulted to pouring all my heart and energy into supporting the UP Pep Squad's athletic efforts. It was during my time in college that the Cheer Dance Competition started to gain popularity, and our school enjoyed an era of being undefeated. In more recent years, all the schools have raised their standards so high that it has really become anyone's game; the three teams that have been fighting for the top spot have consistently included UP, UST, and NU. Each year, though I always rooted for my alma mater, the performances had always clearly shown who the deserving winners would be. That's why I was shocked when I discovered that this year's champs were the NU Pep Squad. In fact, after watching their spot, I was sure they wouldn't even place!

I'm not dissing their entire routine: I loved the strength of their flips and somersaults, the neatness of their lines; but they had at least 5 major errors in their lifts and pyramid formations! (Also, what about that girl who dropped her pepperoni?)
OOGAH OOGAH
What really happened yesterday at NU's performance. Created by micvindelmer (http://twitter.com/micvindelmer) to help him move on. Please have some humor :)
Posted by Michael Vincent Delacroix Mercado on Sunday, October 4, 2015
UST's, on the one hand, was nearly flawless.


UP Pep Squad, now here's where my bias comes in, made me feel things! 


... and even inspired a new detail to my long-running fantasy.


Now, I don't want to believe that there was foul play in the judging, but how can that outcome be respected? *sigh*

 I took a short break from my fan-girling, and attended a mass service, sponsored by my high school batch. My heart needed that, because a few hours later, I was back home cheering not just for a school, but for our national team. 

The game had not yet started, and I was already getting riled up over news that the Chinese team had not been following FIBA rules (like having special lodging arrangements,) that administration had made it very difficult for the Filipino entourage to get tickets to the game, and that Gilas was delayed because of their faulty (*ahem*fishy*ahem*) electric car? I knew that game was going to be fought dirty, and I wasn't mistaken. 

From the second the game started, it became evident that the referee had a preference. Quick to call fouls against the Filipinos, no calls made against the Chinese. The players weren't showing good sportsmanship either, what with their excessive flopping and trash talking (you can tell from their body language and the tension on court.) 

In the end, we lost by 11; and it wouldn't have felt so bad if it had been a fair fight. Granted, China's shooting accuracy beat ours, but other factors could've made that match more even. 

 That's why this afternoon, with the UP men's basketball team losing to Adamson, our loss was easier to swallow seeing the teams put compassion before victory, there was respect on and off court (especially in that moment when one of our players got injured,) and there was no foul play involved.
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Friday, October 2, 2015

September Surprises


Those last weeks of September just flew by, and I was kept busy by the remaining workouts of the Manila Throwdown, trying out Mystery Manila for the first time, and spending time with family and friends. Some of my best friends' birthdays are in September, as well as my dad's. For my dad's birthday, we hosted a small dinner at home for his high school buddies. Mom, Yaya V, Yaya Rose, and I started cooking as soon as I woke up. On the menu, we had steak, eggplant parmigiana, sardine puttanesca, sweet and sour butterflied tilapia, and mom and I experimented on deep fried apple pies. I was so excited for dessert that night, and was happy to hear that Macy enjoyed it! It went really well with this Silverlake Riesling that my mom brought home from Washington. 

My friend, Anna, had been so busy with her multiple jobs, that her husband wanted to get us involved in planning an early birthday surprise for her. Her post below sums up how it went, and seeing how happy that made her was more than I could ask for.

On her actually birthday salubong, she wanted to host a Mexican night. Chris, her husband, said that Anna had wanted a piñata, and was wondering where he could get an inexpensive one. I volunteered to attempt one,... and got a little ambitious with a macaron peg for Mrs. Graham. 

Macaron Piñata
The finished product: a macaron piñata in the colors of her Salted Caramel flavour
Mini-Piñatas
Mini-piñatas for each of my Girlies, represented by their favorite colors. 
Strung on a doorway, with Anna's Mexican table setting in the background.

I made the mini-piñatas with cups, based off a sample I saw on this Brit + Co article. As for the macaron, I had to wing it! If you want to see how I did it, keep reading below, and I uploaded photos, too. Unfortunately, I might've made them too sturdily (for fear of it not holding up) that when we started hitting and pulling them respectively, they didn't break! Overall, it was all such good fun, with very little help from the spiked punch and Bacardi. Anna served chili con carne, quesadillas, tacos, this new Jalapeño-flavored Nova (I love Nova!) with Anapet's salsa. So grateful for these friends of mine.
Oh, and one last thing »
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Sunday, September 20, 2015

A Part Apart

Getting tipsy at a wine fair, Christmases, graduation,
family trips, and the long-distance runs we joined last year
For the past weeks, since she'd finalised paperwork and itinerary, my sister has been out with friends having mini-despedidas for her #CountdownToSydney. The latter half of this week was spent at home, packing and arranging last minute details for her trip. During this time, I was priming myself for her departure, reminding myself that she'll be back sooner than I think. One year might seem irrelevant to some, but this is the longest I'll be apart from my "twin." While it may sound like a Sweet Valley High cliché, no one else can finish my sentences, understand a look, and know what to say when I'm sad as well as she can.

It'll be her first night in Sydney, and while it saddens me that I didn't get to watch Masterchef on her bed like we do on Sundays, and that Bruce came up and sniffed outside her bedroom door, I'm excited for her new adventure. I'm sure this short migration will change her in many ways (hello domestication,) but I hope she comes back as the sister I've always known her to be.

Oh, and one last thing »
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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Reading Dangerously

That morning light and tree-cast shadows
It was a combination of I-Couldn't-Put-It-Down and The-Traffic-Is-Stressing-Me-Out that made me whip out the book I'd been reading. I had reached the plot twist, and it was making me antsy. At the climax of most books, I have this bad habit of glancing ahead, wanting to find a word or phrase to lessen the weight of not knowing what's about to happen... and then I feel guilty the moment I glean exactly that, regretting I did not wait for the proper build up. 

 I finished it this afternoon. I really liked this book, "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan (you can find it on my Shelf in the sidebar,) maybe because it hit close to home, despite it bordering on fantasy. Those first couple of pages describing the protagonist, Clay, was painfully familiar, because I saw myself in his shallow day to day; and then his dull life transformed slowly, just when his life needed an upgrade. I'd like to think that sort of thing could happen to me, but then I don't think I have the curiosity and daring to get involved in an adventure like he did. 

 Many parts were actually too predictable, too convenient for my taste, especially how each character was set up to respond to Clay's every obstacle, but it soothed me. The author blended books, languages, technology, a little bit of history (however fictional,) and even knitting (very briefly) -- all things I love -- so effortlessly and humorously, that I remained in that world for a little bit longer, even hours after putting it down. 

 Now, all I can think about is immortality...
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Monday, September 14, 2015

Family Friends

Is the concept of a "family friend" one of those Filipino-isms? I don't think I've ever heard any other nationality use this exact phrase as we do, oftentimes as modifiers instead of nouns. Others say, "she's a friend of the family," but we say, "she's a family friend." There is also a connotation that the relationship is much deeper than others: a family friend is someone you roll deep with, possibly spent endless summers with when you were younger; and no matter how far life has stretched your band of friendship, across years and miles, you just snap back together so easily and naturally. 

 I have a small handful of family friends that fit that description, but one particular girl is top of mind when I think of someone who is not technically related to me (not neighbour, not carpool, but godsister -- a private joke of ours) but feels like family.

 Ryan, my sister, and I had lunch with Lora and her husband for the first time since they got married and moved back to the Philippines. I had not spent more than our traditional New Year's Eves with them, and had only met Jason once before, but everything flowed like we had not aged or changed. Even if we all had aged and changed drastically. Nothing was taboo, as the conversation started off with religion, and we covered healthcare, education, parenting, travel, interspersed with very little gossip, over chicken wings, nachos, fries, and beers.
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