My Ateneo DREAM TEAM

Disclaimer: I really got into the UAAP during the "rebuilding" era. It was the final year of Ryan Pamintuan and Jean Alabanza. It was Enrico Villanueva's Sophomore year.

Anyway, I got this idea from Luiboi, a follower of the blog.

If I were to get a selection of Ateneo players from different eras, and build a dream team, these would be it.
In a 16-man line up.

My Starting 5. I believe that this is THE strongest starting 5 in my honest to goodness opinion.

1 - LA Tenorio
2 - Larry Fonacier
3 - Wesley Gonzales
4 - Rich Alvarez
5 - Enrico Villanueva

In 2002, these guys were all present! C'mon, at their UAAP primes, these guys got it!

LA is the best point guard of Ateneo in recent years. In his rookie year, man, he kicked ass! Larry was the all around guy. He had defense, offense, style, class, the cold blooded shots and he was humble. Larry was a King Eagle. Wild Wild Wes plays best when he's up against La Salle. I put him there because you need someone who won't take crap from anybody. You need an enforcer and Wes is the best at what he does. Rich will always be my favorite player of all time. The back-to-back MVP was the king of the boards. He improved year on year, he can take the 3-ball and man can he dunk! Enrico is the most dominant center in recent year. He was Rookie of the Year and MVP. Enrico also won't take crap from no one. To this very day, he still gets boos from La Salle. That's how popular and dominant he was.

The remaining 11 is a tough call. As much as I want to put in more, I can't.

Since I'm a fan of defense, the first 2 I have to put are

6 - Nonoy Baclao (4)

7 - Kirk Long (2)

For my guards, I'm a fan of these 3 guys so I have to put them

8 - Chris Tiu (2/3)

9 -  Emman Monfort (1)

10 - Kiefer Ravena (1/2/3)

My big men

11 - Greg Slaughter (5)

12 - Rabeh Al-Hussaini (5)

13 - Japeth Aguilar (5)

Forwards

14 - JC Intal (3/4)

15 - Ryan Buenafe (3/4)

16 - Magnum Membrere (3)

COACH: Norman Black

VROOM! VROOM! (Only a Ferrari can do that in style!)

I remember when I was in Grade 6 I had this huge interest in collecting model cars. I got the 1:18 and 1:24 scaled MAISTO and BURAGO cars. Since I couldn't get a real one, I decided to get the smaller ones instead. I had a lot of the different sports cars but the ones I really liked were the red Ferraris! 

I had a classmate in Grade 6, Gelo, we became best friends since we found out that we collected these cars. Now, the guy's going to take the BAR and he'll probably have a Ferrari in no time once he's a big time lawyer! Haha! If you'll buy a sports car, you have to go BIG! Gotta get a Ferrari! Not just any color! It has to be RED! NagFerrari ka pa kung black or navy blue or silver! Diba?

I remember that the F50 was the in thing when I was in Grade School and that you could get them in SHELL Gas Stations! I loved going to SHELL Select when those cars were out! (Did you know that SHELL and Ferrari have been partners since 1929? Best Friends in the corporate world! I wonder if the Shell CEO drives one?) I think it's cool that the gas that powers one of the most powerful engines in the world is powered by Shell. 

Anyway, I don't do this much but this post is a special one! Yep! If you're a Ferrari fan, you might want to join this! I'm giving away SCUDERIA FERRARI merchandise from ITALY courtesy of SHELL! 

4 Scuderia Ferrari Coffee Mugs 

AND

4 Scuderia Ferrari Caps

Now, I need 8 winners. (Can't have em both sorry. You have to choose! :) )

It's easy! All you have to do are the ff:

1. CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK ICON TO LIKE IT!  (found at the bottom of the post)

2. CLICK ON THE TWITTER ICON TO RETWEET IT! (found at the bottom of the post)

If you like the Coffee Mug, 

Click on the instagram link ( http://instagr.am/p/M4y4e/ ), to view it and like it. After that, answer the question. What Ferrari model is placed in the bookshelf? YOU HAVE TO COMMENT ON THE BLOG TO ANSWER :)

If you like the Cap,

Click on the instagram link ( http://instagr.am/p/M4zXe/ ) to view it and like it. After that, answer the question. What is the name of the Ferrari Autobot in "Transformers: Dark of The Moon" ? YOU HAVE TO COMMENT ON THE BLOG TO ANSWER :)

When you comment, YOU HAVE TO PUT IN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so I can let you know if you won. :)

You have until SEPTEMBER 17, Friday to answer :)

Winners will be randomly selected! :) 

BUT! I will give someone a cap/coffee mug whoever can give me a cool idea for a blog post! :) 

GAME? :) Good luck guys!!!

(OPEN TO THOSE LIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES, IF YOU LIVE ABROAD, MAYBE WE CAN WORK SOMETHING OUT!)

Heebie-jeebies / shivers

Earlier today at lunch, my team mates and I were talking about stuff that creeped us out when watching movies. There were a couple of memorable scenes mentioned but the one that really stood out was from The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Remember when Frodo showed the ring to his uncle Bilbo and then the frikkin Hobbit's face morphed into this scary face with fangs? Yeeech! $#@^##&# Ugh... I hated that scene. Gives me the frikkin creeps!

Next was a scene from The Passion of The Christ. I remember it was Judas being crowded by this group of children and they suddenly changed into creepy old men in bodies of kids! AAAAHHHHH!!! Scary Sh%t man!!! Ugh...

But the worst for me would be from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I hate rats. I effin hate rats. No way hozay. Anyway, there was a scene wherein Indy had to avoid a fire and he enters this coffin. In the process, rats that wanted to survive entered the frikkin coffin!!! YUCK!!! YUCK!!! YUCK!!! Worst scene in the history of cinema!!!

There are also other scenes that scarred my innocent mind and still haunts me to this very day. Remember Danny DeVito as The Penguin? There's this scene from Batman Returns where he bites a person's nose?

What about you? What movie scene scarred your mind?

I AM FILIPINO

I was talking to one of Misha's uncles last night and we had this great conversation about the attitudes of people in the Philippines. There are a lot of proud people here in the country and I can't blame them. The Campampangans, Ilocanos, Batangenyos, Cebuanos, Mindanaoans, etc.

I only noticed last night that mentality we have as Pinoys. There's a higher rank to "Filipino" and it's where your from... There's really a lot of pride instilled in our hearts and minds but maybe too much pride is bad?

Don't you think it makes us divided as a people? Shouldn't we just say we're FILIPINO?

It's just a thought to ponder on... We're all on the same team here... :)

Ako'y isang Pinoy, sa puso't diwa!

Crazy Stupid Love

Movie #28 in my 50 Movies in 2011 goal... I have a looong way to go. I need to watch 2 movies each in the next month to catch up... 

I watched a movie by myself today. Not just any movie. I watched a romantic comedy alone... Sucks to be me. I texted Misha and said that I was crazy and stupid to watch it alone. I just missed her more... I can't watch another romantic comedy alone. Never again. Lesson learned. 

It was a pretty good movie. The cast brought it together. Steve Carell was awesome as usual. But I thought Ryan Gosling was hilarious! Emma Stone proved that she's the next Hollywood IT girl. I couldn't predict the movie really. Which was good because if I get surprised, it's a great flick! There was something about the film that I couldn't predict. You'll just have to watch and see.

Romantics will enjoy this movie. You never give up on your soulmate as the movie says. No matter the challenges or speedbumps along the way, you never give up. Right? :)

Love... How can a four letter word be so complicated? Hahaha. Honestly, who knows what it means? I think it's relative. But you know what? I believe it what makes us wake up everyday to go to work or to school or to where ever it may be. We wake up for the people we love. 

BEANTOWN ADVENTURE!

I'm back after a long hiatus! I know I haven't posted for quite some time now. A lot has been happening and I've forgotten that posting on this blog has been my way of destressing. Anyway, I have a pretty cool entry here. 

My cousin Brian who is the oldest in the Cruz side of the family got married in the US. (He lives there) So we went to his wedding. I'll have a separate entry for that.

Anyway, after the wedding, Jonty and I had a side trip to Boston. I've been to Boston once but it was just for a day. My Lola was still with us then... Bitin na bitin ako. I wanted to see more of the city where my family lived from 1980-1983.

First stop was the new Boston Garden! It's called the TD Garden now. The home of the Boston Bruins and of course, THE CELTICS!

There was no game since there's still no NBA. But! They give daily tours at the garden. :) Part of my bucket list is to see the 17 Banners of the Celtics and I can now cross it out! Entering the arena was pure bliss. It was so frikkin awesome to see where the Celtics play! 

Below you can see 2 ecstatic Celtics Fans.

I didn't know this and I'd like to share a bit of trivia. The TD Garden is owned by the Boston Bruins. The Celtics are just tenants of the garden. However! They are tenants that really well taken care of. :) Thus the banners are present. But it makes sense since the seats of the garden are black and gold.

At the lobby of the TD Garden

The entrance to the Boston Celtics' Locker Room. Sayang bawal pumasok.

The sacred Red Auerbach court! 

Aww yeah! 2008! We were robbed in 2010! 

Other than that, I'm a big Red Sox fan! Yes,  I follow MLB and I don't like the Yankees! But I hate the Lakers more. Ugh... Don't get me started on the Lake Show... Anyway, I treated Jonty to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Just like the garden, seeing the home of the BoSox was fantastic! I particularly loved seeing the famous Green Monstah! (For the non baseball fans, the green monster is this huge green wall at Fenway Park :) It's a towering wall and you need to let the baseballs fly really high to get a home run)

At Yawkey Street, the entrance to Fenway Park :)

 

The GREEN MONSTER!!!

The Sox played the Oakland A's that day and unfortunately, Jonty and I witnessed a Beantown Beatdown on Boston! Sigh... They played so bad that day. But nonetheless, it was still awesome to see the Red Sox LIVE at home! I saw Dustin "Lazer Show" Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, and of course BIG PAPI David Ortiz!

For a regular game, the place was FULL! Another bit of trivia, the Red Sox is the most loved team in Boston. The Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots aren't as popular as the Red Sox. Man, do they love the Sox!

BIG PAPI's intro

Let's go Red Sox! (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)

But the most significant part of the trip to Boston was meeting up with my Lola's Best Friend in Boston. We call her Tita Cherry. She's a dentist and she's married to a Doctor, Tito Steve. Unfortunately, Tito Steve passed away years ago. They were the best friends of my Lolo and Lola when they lived in Boston. Tita Cherry also took care of my mom and her siblings when they were in Boston. She's such a nice and warm person. She's lived in Boston since the 1950's.

 With Tita Cherry and her grandson Stephen

She took us around Boston one day. We had lunch in Chinatown and went to Harvard Square. :) She also brought us to her home and there she showed us my Lolo's draft of his arrival speech. It was typewritten with corrections. He then gave it to Tito Steve. His typewriter was also given to Tita Cherry's family. :) It was so cool to see my Lolo's final speech. It was framed in their living room. 

After the trip to her home, she brought us to Newton which is a town in Boston. It was where my Mom, Lola, Lolo and her siblings lived. They stayed in 175 Commonwealth Avenue. My Lola always said that it was the 3 happiest years. Now, 2 old women have been living there ever since. Jonty and I went down in front of the house to have a picture taken.

I fell in love with the city of Boston. I prefer the East Coast more really. Just the atmosphere, the brick buildings, the Charles River, the duck boats, the Boston Common... Aaahhh... Beantown! So cool! Til the next time! :)

Thundercats Reboot is effin awesome!

I have a new favorite show!!! Thunder... Thunder. Thunder! THUNDERCATS HOOOO!!!! July 29 2011 was the debut of the much anticipated relaunch of the beloved 80s cartoon, Thundercats. It had 1 hour season premiere on Cartoon Network.

I've seen the first 4 episodes already and they're worth it! I'm a happy fan. I'm a big fan of the 80s cartoon and I loved that cartoon to death. I was a bit worried on how this would turn out but man this cartoon is effin awesome!!! Yes. It's THAT good! 

There are some changes from the original version but I can accept it. I like it. The biggest change is that Lion-O isn't a kid trapped in a man's body anymore. He's the new lord of the Thundercats who has to learn the ropes. 

The story's fantastic and the animation is even better. I'm really happy with it! What made me even more happy was the fact that they retained the sound effects. From the sword of omens to Cheetara's running. Fans of the old cartoon will like this and even new watchers. 

I HIGHLY. HIGHLY. Recommend this cartoon. Go watch it!

Sword of Omens! GIVE ME SIGHT BEYOND SIGHT!

Lion-O and Tygra

Cheetara