Saturday, December 25, 2010

A Heart-Thumping Victory of Orlando Magic(Dec.25,2010 game)












It's December 25,2010 in Amway Center, Orlando,FL. It's the 4th game of the newly-traded players. And it's gonna be against the number one team in the East, Boston Celtics. Celtics had just won a 14 game winning streak until this day when Magic snapped it! Last Thursday, Dec.23, they also snapped the 10 game winning streak of San Antonio Spurs, the number one team in the west. They head Spurs 22 points behind, 123-101. It's kinda scary because they just traded 4 new players from other teams. Gilbert Arenas from Washingotn Wizards. Then, Hedo Turkuoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark from Phoenix Suns. They only had one practice last Wednesday. They lost the 1st 2 games which is understandable because the 4 players just flew from their roadtrip games and barely has clothes to change. Not even a good rest. But then, after they practiced last Wednesday, after a "not-so-bad" loss from Mavericks, Magic came out strong against the Spurs on thursday. Then come saturday, on Christmas Day which is a tradition every year, Magic almost lost it to Celtics until Jameer Nelson made that two 3-point clutches under 3 minutes in the 4th quarter. Then JJ made 2 in 50 seconds left. Then Jameer made 4 free-throws that lead Magic on an 8 point win against Celtics, 86-78. The first 4 minutes of the game, Magic came on fire with 13-0 but Celtics managed to snatched that away and led the scoring from 1st to 3rd quarter. The biggest lead even came to 12 points I think. Start of 4th quarter, Celtics is ahead of 10 points. But Magic fought...and they got it! The much needed win, to boost their shattered confidence for the last 8 lost games they had. But honestly, they didn't play that good tonight. I thought they were terrible. Their shots are failing. They didn't play as good as with Spurs the other night. Dwight only had one field goal and only made 6 baskets and a rubbish technical foul. But what matters most is...they won! That's all that matters for the team. So, ESPN analysts, what's up? Hey Magic Johnson, were you laughing and taunting Magic earlier, right? So what now?

Monday, December 20, 2010

Will The Magic Still Works?




There has been a drastic change for my favorite basketball team, Orlando Magic last weekend. Four key players are traded to other teams. After they had proven themselves for the past 2 years for being a team that will bring championship to their homecourt, some internal issues came up and believed there are some personal reasons why the team is not making magic for the last 7 games they had. After that stomach virus that hit the team in Chicago, although they won the game against Chicago despite Howard, Nelson, Redick, Pietrus,and Anderson was out, they were able to win it and proved that the bench players can do it! But even then, the team's chemistry, for some reason, fell apart. Was it the virus? Is there some ego tripping going on? Who knows, but there's definitely something's going wrong. Otis Smith, the general manager is in a bad position for making this abrupt change.
And so, last Saturday, he traded Rashard Lewis(my favorite Sweet Lew!) to Wizards's Gilbert Arenas and will play as back-up for Jameer Nelson as point guard. Then, they got Jason Richardson,Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark from Phoenix Suns to trade Vince Carter, Mikael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat. I have seen Jason play and he's pretty good, Hedo is always been Hedo. But he never played good since he left Magic last year. I dunno about Clark, I know nothing about him. This change that Magic does is pretty scary for me. Well, I don't play basketball, I am just merely a fan of the game and I know little. But I wish this change they made will make the people of Florida proud. Though we have the big 3 down south(Miami Heat), I don't particularly like Lebron, so I don't care much about that team. I wrote this blog because I want to express my sadness. I love Rashard Lewis, I love Vince Carter and I like Mikael Pietrus a lot! But I agree that I noticed that sweet Lew's not doing great lately. I still believe in Vince, but it seems like he's not the "go-to" guy that they need. Mikael is hurt all the time and lacks aggression in driving the basket. Rashard and Vince is both 33 yrs old now and i guess age has to do with it. I think they were passed their prime. I feel sorry for Vince. He was so happy that he plays for Magic this past season because he was born and grew up here in Daytona. He was supposed to be the hometown hero! He had done a lot of community service for this city and even built a nice restaurant recently. I dunno...I hate to see them go. There's a game tonight in Atlanta against the Hawks. I don't know if it's even worth watching. But I will...out of curiosity. I wish them all the best.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The BB Experiment






I guess you'd say it's just one of those bored days and I just thought of doing some revisions of Brandon's photos. Actually these are taken from the video. I made like still photos of the video and did some revisions or say, experiment, as i would like to put it. Enjoy...

Friday, November 19, 2010

Live Long and Prosper!







Wow...I didn't realized it's been almost 6 months since my last post. I actually penned some but for some reason, I didn't get to visit my blog site. Anyways, I just want to post some of the photos from the Starfleet Reception, Star Trek Party my friends had recently. Though I admit I am not a "trekkie"(wish I spelled it right)...I was invited and been quite excited to dress up, honestly speaking. And so I pack up my camera and had fun taking pictures. Pardon my poor lighting. My built-in flash is no good so I just rely on the natural light Aaron's house provides. Plus some adjustments on my camera and a little help in photoshop. And I enjoyed it! Hope y'all too....Live long and prosper!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Great American Dream



Sa puntong ito, tatagalugin ko ang blog ko. This is gonna be my first blog post in Tagalog actually. Una, medyo maselan kasi ang tema ng blog ko at ayoko namang makasakit sa mga kaibigan kong amerikano. Pangalawa, para sa mga pinoy talaga ito.
Ito ay tungkol sa masugid kong obserbasyon sa bansang pinapangarap ng lahat. Ang Estados Unidos ng America. Tutoo at aaminin ko na ito ay isang magandang bansa. Paraiso para sa ilan at tunay na isang malaking tulong pang-pinansyal lalo na't meron kang pamilya. Maraming magagandang benepisyo. Bawat estado me kanya-kanyang batas. At ultimong pagbabayad ng buwis, iba't iba ang kanilang patakaran. At makikita mo naman kung saan napupunta ang buwis. Magaganda ang kalye, walang traffic, public schools, parks, library( na pwede kang manghiram ng aklat,CDs,DVDs ng libre!) at marami pang iba. Pero ang di ko maintindihan eh pagdating sa Medical Assistance. Kanya-kanya ng insurance dito. At pag wala kang insurance lagot ka. Konsulta pa lang sa duktor, 100 dollars na. Wala pa dun yung mga ibang di naman kailangang mga examinations and laboratories, ek ek! Kaya dito, "BAWAL MAGKASAKIT!" As in!!!May mga over-the-counter-drugs pero pag kelangan ng prescription ng duktor, kelangan me insurance ka or magbayad ka ng duktor! Pagdating sa mga benepisyo at buwis, minsan at madalas, hindi parehas. Lalo na kung nasa middle-class ka, talo ka! Yung mga tamad at walang trabaho pa kung minsan ang mas nakikinabang sa Social Security. Ike-claim lang nila na disabled sila o kung anu-anong pamemeke o kaya mag-aanak sila taun-taon para makakuha ng benepisyo. Libreng pabahay, gamot, duktor, ospital, atbp. mula sa gobyerno. Libreng pagkain pa kung minsan. At yung mga nasa middle class ang nagdurusa. Kasi pag ang income mo eh nasa certain bracket, you may or you may not qualify for certain benefits. Which is a bunch of bull.
At eto pa, isa sa pinakaiinis ko. Andaming Kano na tamad at mareklamo! Mas gusto pa nilang tumambay sa bahay, magreklamo at magpalaki ng tiyan kesa magtrabaho sa mababang sweldo. Pag minimum o maliit lang ang bayad, ayaw nilang tanggapin. Mas gusto pa nilang magutom at magreklamo maghapon kesa magtrabaho. Tapos eto pa, galit na galit sila sa mga latino kasi di marurunong mag-ingles at pinag mumura nila at pinapalayas nila sa bansa nila. Eh ang problema kasi, eh yang mga latinong yan ang gumagawa ng trabahong dapat sana para sa inyo! Binibigyan kayo ng gobyerno ng trabaho pero ano ginagawa nyo? Tinatanggihan nyo kesyo mababa ang sweldo o madalas kahit okay naman ang bayad, pero sadyang mga tamad lang kayo at ayaw nyong mapagod at mahirapan. Kaya tuloy, binibigay ng gobyerno nyo ang labor sa mga latinong ito. At mas masahol pa, mas gugustuhin pa ng mga pribadong sektor na ipadala ang trabaho sa China, India at iba pang bansa sa Asia. Na tumatanggap ng kahit magkano para lang mabuhay at me makain sa araw-araw. Oo, dapat mas malaki ang makuha ng mga taong ito sa pagtatrabaho, pero wala silang magawa kundi magtiis. Pero minsan naisip ko, kasalanan din ng gobyerno nyo. Imbes na obligahin ang mga tamad na magtrabaho, mas sila pa ang nakikinabang ng mga benepisyo. Konting pilay lang, disabled na, ayaw ng kumilos.
Pero in fairness, marami pa namang masisipag magtrabaho. Marami akong kaibigang kano na kahit 60 plus na ang edad eh nagtatrabaho pa rin. At hinahangaan ko sila. Pero mas marami pa ring tamad at reklamador. Yun ang di ko maarok. Marami sa kanila ang gumagawa ng sarili nilang problema tapos magrereklamo at ipapasa ang sisi sa iba. Ngayon, natutunan ko kung bakit uso ang depression pills dito. Kasi maloloka ka talaga! Kaya nga sinusulat ko na lang hinaing ko. Pasensya na mga Igan. Dahil kung hindi, baka maloka din ako sa bansang ito! Sayang, maganda ang bansang ito at maraming magagandang benepisyo sa mamamayan nila. Kung masipag ka, yayaman ka dito. At hindi ako nagtataka na maraming banyaga dito na mas mayayaman pa sa mga kano. Maraming mga Indiano dito na may-ari ng mga hotel chains, gas stations and convenient stores. Tapos, yung amo ko, turkish. Yung negosyo nila eh successful at trabahador lang nila ang mga kano. Maraming intsik at mga latino na nagmamay-ari ng mga chinese and mexican restaurants. Maraming commercial establishments dito na mga banyaga ang may-ari. Maraming pinoy sa medical field.Duktor,dentists,nurses,caregivers, Physical therapists...also accountants,engineers,computer technicians, programmers atbp.
Siguro yun ang bentaha ng bansang mahirap. Magsusumikap kang mabuti para makaahon. Gagawin mo ang lahat para mabuhay. Sana lang wag magbago pag-uugali ng mga banyaga dito. Manatili sana silang masipag at matiyaga. Para maging inspirayon sila sa mga tamad at iresponsableng kano. Ano kaya mangyayari kung halimbawang dumating ang panahon na pamunuan ng banyaga ang bansang ito? Sigurado giyera ito. Pero kahit ano pwedeng mangyari. Kagaya ng nangyari nung 9/11. Sinong mag-aakalang sa loob lamang ng isang araw eh napabagsak ng mga terorista ang ekonomiya ng bansang nag-aangking pinaka-makapangyarihan sa buong mundo? Okay lang sana kung apektado eh yung mga karapatdapat na maapektuhan. Kaso damay lahat. Kawawa yung mga inosente at masisipag. Pero, alam ko naman kung bakit ganito. Kung bakit ganito ang pag-uugali ng mga tao at bakit ganto kalagayan ng mundo natin. At lahat ng iyan eh patutoo lamang na hindi kaya ng tao na pamunuan at ituwid ang sarili nyang landas kasi nga tao lamang siya at hindi sakdal. Sa alabok nagmula, sa alabok din ang uwi. Isa lang ang kasagutan, kailangan natin ng gabay ng Maylikha. At iyan ang hindi maamin ng mga tao. Na kailangan nila ng tulong at di nila magagawa ang lahat sa sarili nilang kakayanan. Pero darating naman ang panahon na lahat ng ito eh mawawala na at papalit ang sakdal na gobyerno na mananatili magpakailanman. Mabuhay!!!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Red River, New Mexico





We had another bike rally weekend. This time at Red River, New Mexico. It's a 4 day show. It's a nice country-like little town in the mountains. The elevation makes our nose bleed. I was worried at first but then I realized all of us got it. So, here's some photos of the bike rally. The house that we stayed in, which is I so loved! Wish that could be my vacation house(just a wish!)Also, according to one local, Red River is where the movie "Wild Hogs" was shot. The ultimate biker movie, I must say. Enjoy....

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Know Your King


For the past few weeks, we have been studying more about Jesus. From our weekly Bible study, Come Be My Follower, to several consecutive weeks of study articles in Watchtower, and we even had the special issue of Watchtower that focused on Jesus alone, I wonder and I thought, I think we were like being "getting prepared" to get to know the King of God's Kingdom. And that's just makes sense. Just like in human politics, voters need to know their candidates. But here, we don't need a candidate, because there's no other candidate than the ultimate ruler that God appointed, Jesus-Christ.
In our studies, it describes how Christ would be the greatest ruler of all. It just amazes me how his character is so humble and gentle and yet firm and strong. That he even stay away from fame and be glorified publicly by people despite his greatness, and yet he never claimed it. Instead, he gives all the glory to his father, Jehovah. And how it is sooooo opposite of human politicians. Our bible highlights this past weeks is the book of Samuel. And it tells about how the Israelites are wanting to have a human king, a king that can be seen, despite all the miracles that Jehovah showed them, they fall on the snare of "sight". And so God chose Saul, who started as a humble young man, but he was consumed and corrupted by power. Which most human rulers are today. Once they had the power in their hands, they can't control it. They want to control everything instead.
But I want to concentrate on Jesus's personality as a King. His humility, his kindness, his disposition, his wisdom, and his power. But in our studies, it always emphasizes the importance of humility. It's like there is a great need for us to work on. And I agree, I think this is one thing that most people should work on. The snare of pride, the temptation of arrogance of one's success, all came from....whoelse? Satan the Devil. It's all his machinations to put in our imperfect hearts to seek fame, glory, greed and all sorts of covetousness. It's amazing how Jesus choses the lowly-ones as his apostles. Fisherman, farmer, no one really out of highly educated circle so to speak. Not that he's got something against it, but God only wants to prove that the "meek ones" will possess the earth.(Psalms 37:10,11) And meekness means "teachable". But if you're too high-minded, however good you are, if you're not "meek", you're not "teachable"....you're OUT! And look at the world's rulers and their constituents. Most, if not all, are "high-minded", some even to the point of wanting to rule the world, and trying to erase a certain geneology in history (Hitler for example).
I can spend all day talking about Christ, but it all comes down to one thing....Men cannot direct his own steps(Jeremiah 10:23). It has been more than six thousand years when men tried to stand on his own, but to no avail. The issue that Satan raised right from the garden of Eden is now almost finished. His uncanny manuevering over the world has now come to a halt. The time for God's appointed King is fast-approaching. And we are being prepared to get to know our King. We have been praying the "Lord's Prayer" since we were kids, we say, "let your kingdom come, as it is in heaven, also upon the earth". It all makes sense at the end, why do we pray for God's Kingdom anyway?
It's funny when some would say "just accept Christ in your heart!" But the question is, will Christ accept us? It's not for us to invite Christ, it's him who's asking us to follow him. Follow his footsteps. He left a model for us. And it's a great privilege for us to be invited by the Greatest Man who ever lived on earth. So, it's up to us to accept the invitation and be his follower. Are we humble enough to be his follower? Are we humble enough to be meek and teachable so we'd be able to be a citizen on his Kingdom?

Friday, May 7, 2010

Got To Believe In MAGIC








Okay, alright, pardon me but I gotta do this. This is like my blog post last year. About the Orlando Magic team. The difference is....I have more confidence in them now than before. Why? Simply because the team is much stronger. With a fab five starters consists of Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, Matt Barnes and the Daytona native Vince Carter. Plus, the bench players whom play like starters, namely Mikael Pietrus, JJ Redick, Ryan Anderson, Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass, Jason Williams, Anthony Johnson. Like last year, when Cavaliers, even though they are the number one team in terms of wins, had a hard time playing against the Magic. Magic has the deepest bench in NBA. Give all the credit to general manager Otis Smith for trading in a very good line up.
The first round with a sweep against the Bobcats and now facing the Hawks for the second round. You would think that the Hawks has more weapons compared to Bobcats(Al Horford, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford). But the humiliating defeat in the first game is really something. Hawks struggled the whole game and was defeated by 43 points. Another first in NBA history since 1958. But they should not be over confident since the Hawks will go back with a vengeance. And so, the second game came. But despite the more improved game of Hawks, Magic still got it for 14 points ahead.
There are too many highlights in the game, not to mention Dwight sat on the bench mostly during the first round for foul trouble. But in the second round, Dwight dominates the game, avoiding foul trouble, he really makes a difference on the floor. Team mates Jameer's stellar performance, Sweet Lew's(Rashard Lewis) 3-pointer dagger, Matt Barnes's offensive rebounds and tough defense, and Vince Carter's last-minute plays.
During the whole regular season and up to play-offs, hearing more and more of Lebron is sickening. His injured elbow is probably the most famous elbow in history of mankind. Awarded the MVP award without being 1st in any of the categories. He is 2nd only to Kevin Durant in scores, then the rest, blocks, assist, field goal percentage, they all belong to Dwight Howard. And yet, the Queen James is still the MVP. No doubt, he's a good player but I can't see why they keep on promoting him, they didn't even made it to the finals and he doesn't even have a ring! He throws tantrums, a poor sport and treats a towel boy like a crap. Oh well...
My point in this post is Magic should have the respect from media. Even coaches from other teams agree. NBA veteran coach Larry Brown can't think of words why they lost to Magic in a 4-0 sweep. He just said that this team is so good. And that they cannot match up. He recognized Dwight as MVP and doesn't have to score. Doc Rivers once said to his Boston Celtics team when the team said they are greater than Magic, Doc Rivers said " No, you're not. They just beat you up 3 times in a row!" And now, Hawks's Mike Woodson comments after the 2nd loss to Magic, "It takes a perfect game to beat this team."
Though Magic has their ups and downs, but so far, they are playing excellent, the bottomline is....you just GOT TO BELIEVE IN MAGIC.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sneak Peek at The Whalens






We were suppose to have a family shoot at the park last March 21st, Sunday. But heavy rains came in the afternoon. And nobody knew that it's gonna rain that day. I am pretty much updated with the weather as far as I am is concerned. But anyways, the Whalens still invited us for dinner. It was like 5 o'clock in the afternoon when the rain stopped and the sun finally came out. So, I thought I will just take snap shots of the kids. We had a wonderful turkey dinner and a nice association. We will re-sked the photoshoot at the park again.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Acceptance


When people experience troubles, grief, or any kind of disappointment, for most part, acceptance is the hardest part. Most friends will say "move on" and that's true. But moving on is hard when you haven't accepted the truth. It's not easy realizing the truth...specially when it hurts. Time heals wounds is what they say. And I guess that's the best cure.
I was amazed when I see a lot of tv commercials here in the United States advertising different kinds of Depression pills, which I am not used to from where I came from. So, that means deppression is common in this country. And to think that this is a rich country. But regardless of where we live, depression is something that's becoming common. Economy, job loss, delinquent kids and adults alike, prejudice, sickness, death and the list goes on. I am glad that because of the truth I learned from God's word, the Bible, I knew that all of these was caused by Satan. He's the one behind all of these. And very soon, this will all come to past.
But because we are only human, sometimes things overwhelms us. We're not perfect, we are not superheroes with superhuman powers. We have to fight this battle.
It's been almost 8 months since my mother died. But I still have recurring dreams of her. Even though I could say that I have accepted her death, the sadness still haunts me. Probably I just missed her. Probably I haven't fully accepted the truth that i have no parents anymore. I was only 8 when my father died. Good thing I had my mother for a long time. But I admit that I still cannot comprehend that my parents are gone.
Then I have an old friend, a childhood friend, or say my childhood sweetheart. He left when I was 12 and we did not see each other since. All this time, I never forgot him. And occasionally I was wondering what had happened to him and such. All I know is that he married an american lawyer. Then I got hold of his sister just a few weeks ago. I was so excited that finally I could get news from him and maybe catch up with him. But I was surprised when she said that he died only last December. He died in a car accident. And what surprises me most is that he died in Manila(He's based in US), and I was in Manila during that time. We were both on a vacation in Manila! But I have no idea that he's there and he passed away. I would even pass by the funeral home where he lies all that time i'm in Manila!
It shocked me. Not that I am longing for him and all that, but to think that we are so close and just a thought of catching up with good old friends is what I've been longing to. Then, i'd find out that he's gone. All i see is his pictures that his sister sent me. She even told me that he's been so depressed too and had a bad marriage that's why he went back to Manila and considering of staying there for good, with his siblings.
These are just some of the things that sometimes hard to accept. we can easily say, "that's life". But sometimes moving on is hard when you still cannot accept the truth. But for my part, i'd say i have moved on. I only have lapses of sadness from time to time, missing loved ones and such. Plus, my uncle also died recently.
For my childhood friend, I want to dedicate this blog for him too. although we had a brief time together, I want to thank him. And although it's just a "puppy love", i want to thank him. He's the first man who ever said "i love you" to me and even gave me a gold necklace with his name etched on it. He's the first one who wrote me love letters. He's the first one who gave me flowers and chocolates. He's the first man who cared for me. He's the first man who made me feel special. I guess it's true, "first love may die, but you won't forget it"....

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Playing, playing....with PS.






Just had photoshop CS3 installed in our laptop and I am currently learning to use it. I need it. If I wanted to do photography as a side job. So here's some experiments I did....