Told you. Tennis isn't sopoforic.

This palpable void in Roger Federer's resumé is temporarily eclipsed as he marches his way back to the GOAT (greatest of all time—I know, awful abbreviation) conversations. Fifth set, one all, 15-40. I grabbed the rosary randomly sitting beside me, gripped onto it, and started muttering invented prayers to help this forthcoming miracle surface before my eyes. Two smart serves, they were gone. Fifth set, two all, 15-40. I grabbed the prayer book randomly sitting beside me, gripped onto it, and started skimming the pages to look for a suitable prayer for one Spanish David to beat his Swiss Goliath. But forced prayers don't work all the time. The Mighty Fed reemerged and those chances never visited again.


Very stylish, Roger. But it's not the smartest idea to walk after your geared up opponent.

But what a match!! Unquestionably, an instant classic. So instant that it was on ESPN Classic just nearly 36 hours after its completion! What's more interesting about this match, or this rivalry, is the discernible contrast between the two. Roger came out in archaic fashion while Rafa paraded his bicep-bearing dernier cri. Each has his own homecourt; Paris' red clay for the Spaniard, green grass of London for the Swiss. On court, Rafa habitually roars and motions an uppercut with a loud "si" (yes!) or "vamos" (come on!) after each intense rally. While Federer, five years senior of his rival, is counted to be the coolest-headed competitor there is in sports—which is why his verbal discharge yesterday over technology was pretty disconcerting. The match not only had a decent share of drama but it also showcased the best tennis these two played from any of their collection of grand slam confrontations. It's just borderline disappointing that Rafa had to ultimately appear fatigued after hauling Federer to a fifth set. Nevertheless, another remarkable encounter between these two, and I can't be anymore lucky to witness one of the most astounding matches Wimbledon has ever staged.

Congrats to TMF for completing the Borg chase, and hats off to Nadal for fronting an almost shatterproof challenge against the world's greatest player. I hope the loss doesn't dislodge Rafa's focus because with all the ruckus he endured for the past two weeks, this tournament deservingly belonged to him as much as it did Federer. Now that inevitable question arises again... Will Rafa win Wimbledon before Roger wins Roland Garros? I certainly don't have the analytical percipience of Bud Collins, but after what Nadal has shown on Centre Court yesterday, it's almost a coarse disrespect to say he won't. Because if he almost toppled Fed's chances of winning while having to play for the seventh consecutive day and with a nagging knee injury, then one could only foresee his superiority if he competed as healthy and as well-rested as Federer was. Even Roger agrees and I quote, "I think he deserves a title here." But don't get it twisted. While I'm all for Rafalito winning Wimbledon one day, my hopes of a grand slam for The Mighty Fed—although I'm already getting satiated by his consistency in finals—is still very much incontrovertible. Will he win the biggie on clay before Rafa mows his ass on grass? Let's just say, yesterday's probability is now quite unlikely.


Great rivalries include inimitable streaks, golden memorabilias, and very tight manhugs.
Now we're off to the North American hardcourts where Rafa suffers the most. But with his exorbitant display on grass this year, especially at yesterday's final, he is not that far from being in the ranks of potential Feder-threats for the US Open crown. If a player of Andy Roddick's caliber—which isn't really saying much—can strip a set off Federer in the finals, then Nadal's flaws shouldn't be that badly exposed. As an obsessive tennis fan, I adore both Nadal and Federer, and there's nothing more gratifying than for this rivalry to produce more of these nail-biting, spine-tingling, and mind-blowing matches in future times. It's just sad that I'm redundantly pouring my heart out to this very same topic and you, my beautiful friends, are still not into it!! I'm telling you. Jump in before it's too late! Look at me, I'm witnessing history here!! Plus, with all the bonus yummy guys out there everyday.. Ugh, trust me.. You'll thank me later.

Indy Shebang..

So yesterday was supposed to be this country's anniversary of independence. Forget about what they celebrate, I'm just all about the food and the Kobayashi vs. Chestnut showdown! This time last year, I was busy photographing middle-aged nurses who are having a great time in the kitchen with an array of Filipino dishes on the table and loadsome of BBQs to chow down, while the youngsters (and I mean, those bratty little kids) enjoy our backyard pool despite the uncooperative weather. While this year, I found myself alone in the kitchen frying sausages with our cable provider anti-festively cutting the connection (thence, no hotdog eating contest telecast for me). And the worst part? The sun was shining bright outside and rain forecasts were uncharacteristically set aside.


Trust me, those tasted good! After all, they should me smoked, right? LOL.
Pardon my cooking frying skills, or lack thereof. That's one of the main reasons why I stopped pursuing being the next Paula Dean. But anyway, after that meaty breakfast that my mother and brother later feasted on, I was left with nothing but the internet, obsessive video-uploading at Multiply, and the crappy TV antenna to entertain myself with. I couldn't cook up an appetite to make more BBQ'd stuff just to make the day worthwhile, so I just spent the rest of my day chatting up with old friends from the Philippines.

This made me realize how ridiculous I am when I, a Filipino, forgot about my very own independence day a month ago. So with that, I want to segway to Alternati's question #4 in my "Interview Me" post (below). I was being vague for the only reason that there's just a bundle of things I miss about home that I wouldn't have enough space and energy to list them all for you. But since I now feel like I owe Mother Philippines an apology, here's a special 10 things edition about what I truly miss about my native.

1. My friends.
Because it totally sucks how half of my social life now tends to revolve around Friendster.

2. The village bakeries and "sari-sari" stores.
Here, whenever we run out of eggs, we always have to waste about ten drops of gasoline just to get to Kroger or Tom Thumb. Whereas back home, there's always Manang Rose's mini mart to buy or even utang eggs, salt, rice, etc.


3. Taho, halo-halo and sago't gulaman stands.
Diane and I, back in our childhood, would always call each other whenever we feel like buying taho (even during the hot summer) or going to this little burger joint by the church. And it was not just another burger stand, it probably had one of the best burgers I've ever had, plus, they also had halo-halo and sago't gulaman. While here? You can only get halo-halo from Chowking which is about 3-4 states away from here, and hamburgers, though generally cheap, are (per my brother) like heart attack on a platter. :))

4. The summer leagues.
My subdivision had a lame summer league—although John and Camille Prats (you know, those kids from Ang TV!) became regulars there over the years. I always hopped to the next village because that's where my friends were and the cutest guys played. Trust me, there's never a better place to catch the hottest sweating guy than on the courts. Y'all know that.

5. The party scene.
What I like best about the party scene back home is that it's waaaay more subtle than the wild stuff here in America. In Manila, it's normal to have a good time without having to shove one maniac's face to the bouncer because of excessive flirtation. Here? It's not an ordinary night without some horny guy feeling you up like he's never touched a woman in his life!!

6. Divisoria/Tiangge
The place for the cheapest dasters on earth!! And yes.. I wear dasters.


7. Bubble Gang
For some reason, I absolutely enjoyed that show. Especially Michael V.. Haha, I adoooore him!

8. Tagaytay and Baguio.
Tagaytay and Baguio both have the temperature I want for my wedding. Not too hot, not too cold. In Dallas, you get the best of winter and summer that you can barely feel any difference during spring and fall!

9. Tropical Hut Hamburger
Why the hell you never established a branch in America?? Are you blacklisted or something??

10. And lastly, cursing in Tagalog.
I don't get to do that anymore because I only get to utilize my native tongue when I'm at home. I mean, you just have to conceal the foulmouth when you're around the family, right? So just imagine how often I want to pull the malutong na P.I.M. whenever I encounter some bitch around here. Like, seriously. A bitch, go to hell, or fuck you is never more hurtful than that or a gago or tarando. Am I right, Talamasca? :-P

So there.. I've paid my dues. And if that's not enough, my family finally got The Filipino Channel, and I'm afraid, I might be hearing more of Kris Aquino now than ever before. Punyeta!