Dear Crabbies

I was wide awake from midnight to 3 in the morning earlier to watch the Philippine Azkals game against Kuwait Al Azraq so I woke up late today. I wasn't able to catch the rerun of the game which I've no plans of watching again. I was solemnly having my brunch when I overheard these guys talking about the game and how they bash the Philippines Men's National Football Team; like 'puro papogi lang ang alam,' 'di yan makakarating ng World Cup,' and 'mag-artista na lang sila.'


These crabbies! I'm pissed so Imma give these crabs a piece of my mind. So, listen crabbies, and listen very well..


First of all, it's not the Azkals' fault if they were born and blessed with good physical attributes. (Baka inggit ka lang kuya dahil pogi sila at ikaw ay hindi? Sisihin mo parents mo. Hehe :p)

Second of all, their good looks is NOT the issue and most especially, NOT the reason why they lost to Al Azraq. (Ambabaw mo. Or wala ka lang talagang masabi dahil wala ka namang alam sa football?)


Thirdly, there are reasons why they lost to the Kuwaitis: 1) The game last night was an away match for the Azkals and making an away goal is freakin' hard considering they are the visitors. There's the home Kuwaiti crowd and they are not that familiar with the pitch. 2) They played in a hellish 44-degree-Celsius weather. And most of the Azkals were not used to that kind of weather. You can just imagine how hard it is for them to play 90-minutes of running and kicking ball, plus those extra pushes and other physical counter-attacks by the Kuwaitis. That's exhausting and not to mention, dehydrating! 3) Kuwait Al Azraq is a better team than us. They rank 102nd in the FIFA World Ranking while the Philippine Azkals rank 159th, 57 steps under the Kuwaitis. They possessed the ball most of the game, the players' footwork was amazing, they had a superb defense, and they were really quick in counter-attacking, which just goes to show that they are really a tough team. 4) Captain Aly Borromeo and Stephan Shrock weren't able to play because of the suspension they got from their game against Sri Lanka. They were a big loss to the team. Captain Aly is a great defender as much as a great leader. Without him at the back really made a big difference. Though, Anton del Rosario, Rob Gier, Ray Jonsson and Jason Sabio did an amazing job at the back last night making sure the Philippine defense was tight. If not for their defensing, Neil Etheridge could've conceded more than just 3 goals considering how lethal those Kuwaitis were on the penalty box! Moreover, Shrocky's absence in the midfield area brought a slack offense to the team unlike on the games against Sri Lanka when they were more offensive and that was mainly because of Shrocky's great tackles and amazing passes. 5) There were no substitutions made until the last minutes of the game. That could've been a lone goal from the Kuwaitis if only Coach Weiss made an early substitution. The second goal was just plain stupid. The third one was due to exhaustion.


Yes, we still got a looong way to go and still got to learn a lot as a football nation to get to the World Cup but never tell me it's not achievable. Years ago, Philippine football was never this big. But now, every Filipino is talking about it. Meron na ngang haters e. That only means, Philippines is getting better and better as a football nation.


Now, crabbies, if you still don't wanna believe that..why don't you just go find yourself your own country and make your own football team? Or better yet, why don't you find a merchandise store where you can purchase a brain?

I *heart* LAKERS

Today is one of the darkest, gloomiest days of my life as a Laker fan. I've never seen this coming... I've never thought for a single moment that my team would end this way...this early in the season, but it is what it is. Today, Lakers were 'swept' -- 0 to 4 -- by the Dallas Mavericks off the NBA playoffs, losing the chance for a 3-peat championship.

There, I said it. The last time Lakers was swept off, if I remember it right, was in the year 2008 against the Boston Celtics. But also remember, what we got after that year..and the year next to that. A championship. We'll be back.

Yes, it hurts. It stings. But I understand that every team, every single fan, has their year. 2011 does not just belong to us. I know as well that we can't win every year..every title. Losing is a part of life. Circumstances such as this, brings a lesson and a promise of making you stronger. We'll be back.

If there is one thing good out of this though, is that we lost to a great team, the Dallas Mavericks, who have put up one helluva fight from the very beginning. Congrats! They deserved it. I just hope they play the same way til the end.

Yes, this is a tragic day for me as a Laker fan..seeing my team not playing in the finals..but even though and despite of that, I'll stick with my team no matter what. THE SEASON MAY END, BUT THE LOVE NEVER DOES. I am a Laker fan forever. Through thick and thins, and up and downs. GO PURP AND YELLOW!! :)

PS. I know this is so much for a send-off party but Phil Jackson, hats off to you, Sir. Thank you for everything. You will be missed. :(

Date A Girl Who Reads

by Rosemarie Urquico

(In Response to Charles Warnke’s You Should Date An Illiterate Girl.)

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent.  Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype. You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

*Note: Isn't it cute? Ima self-confessed frustrated writer. So I was kinda touched when I've read this. Now more than ever, I wanna pursue this writing passion that is in me so someone would date me! Chos! Hahahaha :P But really, this is brilliant! Aye, date a girl who writes! :)