Viva Espana!

Today in Vienna, Austria, Germany and Spain faced each other again for the European Championship. Looking back at some numbers and history, they odds were against Espana. During the penalty shootout between Italy and Spain, the latter had a horrible record. The day was June 22. On 3 different occasions, Spain lost in PKs. First, Jun 22 1988. In a World Cup match against Belgium, the Spaniards lost 5-4 during the quarterfinals. Second, on Jun 22 1996, they lost again on PK. Finally, in 2002, South Korea defeated Spain again, 5-3. It was also a quarterfinal match. I somehow expected for a 4th this year. But they surpassed that.

Looking at Spain’s success in the Euros, they managed to grab the trophy only once in the entire 48-year history of the competition (13th this year) whereas Germany had already won it 3 times. Hence, another challenge for the team. But after 2 hours of play, 1 unanswered goal from Fernando Torres, and 100% hard work, all I can say is, OLE OLE OLE OLE! Viva Espana! Spain have been crowned the new European champions. It was a good decision on my side to have woken up early (915am) and head for a British pub, taking an hour bus ride.

What I always loved about watching a match in a pub was the atmosphere of the crowd. Countless times did we all shout, Es-pan-ya! Es-pan-ya! Es-pan-ya! It truly didn’t suffice we had to cheer the classic, OLE, OLE, OLE OLE OLE OLE! The pub surely had more Spanish fans than the Germans did but both sides were eagerly waiting for our respective teams to score. But in the 32nd minute, Fernando Torres became Espana’s hero when he kicked the ball past keeper Lehman. That proved enough for the country to gain the victory. Honestly, I was hoping for a much more tensed game. 2-2 by the end of 90 or even ET then PK victory for Spain. That woulda been AWESOME.

Gotta love the day still. Sweet victory. Sweet experience. Sweet everything.

The victory is ours.

7.3 or 7-3?

Following is an article by Dr. Cielito Habito, former NEDA Director (and professor) published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer 3 months ago regarding some concerns expressed over the reported 7.3% GDP increase for the year 2007, which was one of the highest in the Asia Pacific region. This is a bit long but it’s worth a read.

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Is our GDP growth overstated?

First Posted 03/16/2008

A GOOD NUMBER OF ECONOMISTS AND financial analysts I know continue to scratch their heads over the reported 7.3-percent GDP growth of our economy in 2007, which made us the fastest growing economy in our neighborhood last year. Have we Filipinos become so unaccustomed to success that we find it hard to believe it when it comes? Or is it that we Filipinos have become so accustomed to deceit and lies from the government that it’s hard to believe information coming from their direction anymore—statistical data included?

Well, in the case of the recent data on the growth of the Philippine economy, there appear to be compelling reasons to question the reliability of the numbers we have been getting lately. I have mentioned in past columns the continuing work being done by former Neda chief Felipe Medalla to analyze data on our gross domestic product (GDP) over time. A key finding he makes is that the trends in these data have been in direct contradiction to the data that actually feed into it. I will cite just two instances here.

Expired.

No more junk food. That’s what happens when you have too much.

God forgive me. No more hogging.

My Sacred Place

I used to fear being alone. The notion that I wasn’t liked or that I wasn’t likable enough kept running in my mind. I tried to change myself, perhaps even unnecessarily. The issue of being socially detached, of being in my own world concerned me deeply. Many times in the past, I ate alone. I shopped alone. I even went to movies alone. I couldn’t care less before, until I thought I was being too “detached”. It was the notion that being alone is a taboo that got the best of me. I always clung to the idea that one always has to be with somebody else.

However lately, I see myself in the same situation yet again. I eat by myself. I work by myself. I do stuff by myself. But things seem to have changed. The issues that I had to fight with in the past have been replaced by some level of understanding, of ease, of complacency. Hours and hours I spend reading, sipping what looks like a bottomless cup of iced coffee, staring at different people, listening to (and silently following) songs that randomly play in my iPod, even playing racquetball and working out – all of them give me a new sense of ‘me’. Of being by one’s self and of being ‘free’.

Gossip.

Fat. Ugly. Old. Smelly. Lesbian. Gay. Bitch. Drunkard. Asshole. Trash. Stupid. Horrible. Annoying. Halitosis. Flirty. Slutty. Dark. Short. Ridiculous. Unworthy. Cocky. Famous. Boring. Strange. Disgusting. Shady. Irresponsible. Late. Mad. Fake this. Fake that. Fake all. Serious. Airhead.

Spaces

For being born. For breathing. For living. For aging. For dying.

For looking. For greeting. For speaking. For listening.

For touching. For holding. For feeling.

For cuddling. For spooning. For kissing. For making love.

For breaking up. For crying. For making up.

For thinking. For knowing. For wondering.

For confusing. For questioning.

For agreeing. For disagreeing.

For having. For losing. For winning. For defeating. For loving. For hating.

For becoming close. And for drifting apart.

Ethics?

My evenings are slowly being taken over by movies. The Devil Wears Prada, Meet the Spartans, In Bruges, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, There Will Be Blood, and then Die Falscher (The Counterfeiters). And I thought I wasn’t a movie buff. I’m slowly realizing I might be after all. And foreign flicks, I believe, are occasionally more interesting.

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The winner of an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Die Falscher brings us back to more than 50 years ago when the Nazis were still pronouncing hatred to the world and the Jews were still being eradicated.

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Amore Nel Paradiso.

Alfredo said, “Life is not like the movies. It is much harder.” And this is the very story that Cinema Paradiso presented. A man helplessly in love with a woman fails to witness a fairy-tale ending to their love story. It was one that wasn’t lacking nor in excess of romanticism. The secret meetings, the waiting and hoping, and even the traditional writing of letters were all there. This could only cover one of the many themes Cinema Paradiso was able to encapsulate throughout the 3-hour running time of the movie. If there was one prominent theme here, it was that of love. But it wasn’t just about love for a woman.

Amante. The romantic love that lingered between two characters until their old age is one of the strongest proofs that even as time passes by, despite the number of people we meet, the heart surely never forgets.

Holland, Hollander, Hollands.

Due to the currently ongoing Euro 2008, watching Netherlands play aroused my curiosity as to why they are oftentimes also referred to as Holland. In the case of the UK, it was kind of understandable that they were called Great Britain. But Holland and Netherlands when put together do not make up one whole name as is the case with the UK. Netherlands of Holland or Holland of Netherlands? No, although the latter is a bit more appropriate. Find out why, after the jump.

(This picture is a perfect representation. Well, sort of. You have the flag, the people, and who knows maybe they’re speaking the language too!)

#2: Kids at heart.

1. I’d like to think that I’m generally not mean, but if there’s really one thing I can’t tolerate, it’s the stench that emanates from, well, smelly people. I need not identify who they are for the sake of not having to state the obvious.

2. Proposals to seek alternative forms of energy as the price of oil continues to skyrocket point out to the use of corn as a potent source. Yet issues arise with regard to possible scarcity if this particular commodity is used. It is a valid point. I’d like to think it is part of social responsibility. Therefore, any proposal to push through with this plan for the sake of profitability and with utter disregard for possible starvation is just plain ridiculous.

3. I’m slowly realizing, late is at might be, that no matter how difficult something is, it still becomes enjoyable as long as our interest lies in it. The level of difficulty is surpassed by the amount of effort we put into it. Because our heart is in it.

4. I wish comforting someone to easily get over the grief of losing a family member is as simple as regular people enjoying the beautiful positive words of a considerably comforting song.

5. And he says, “Dad, I love you. Can you hear me? I promise I’ll be good. So don’t worry about me and [our] family. You’ll always be with me wherever I go.” It sounded as if it came from a kid. Perhaps grief and sadness reminds us humans that no matter how old or tough we seem, when things like this strike us, we are indeed still kids- vulnerable to the forces of the world to which we don’t have control.

RT#1: Keeping things grande.

1. Sundays are generally boring. Not only is it because there’s considerably few emails that get sent but also it is a time when no one is around. Well, except for Starbucks peeps.

2. I am a bad movie critic. I’ve gone from being positive to being, well, neutral, after seeing the movie ‘The Oxford Murders’ to which I initially had a good though until I read some reviews post-watching (therefore the neutral stance to balance things out).

3. Usually, I don’t believe in alms-giving because I think it might promote abuse or tolerance of the practice. However, in the Philippines, I think I am more inclined to give to the kids that roam the roads than to the (white/black) old men here. Case in point: the regular beggar in Starbucks who asks for $2 to buy diapers for his daughter.

4. I feel repressed not being able to sing whenever, wherever I want to. Instead I do silent performances. Whenever, wherever. At least it makes me believe I can reach all the notes with utter perfection.

Shoot now. Sightsee later.

A friend recommended this movie and without a clue as to what it’s about, I obediently downloaded it. Not even exerting some effort to look for the plot, I quickly watched it after it finished downloading. Even with some work that needs to be done, I thought this is probably worth spending some time on. It had an interesting title.

In this movie “In Bruges”, I personally thought Colin Farrell did an amazing, and interesting, acting in this movie. The expressions, the witty remarks, the humor… Gotta love the Irish guy in this movie. Add to that the irony that is found between the violence/goriness/thrill and the fairy-tale-ish/romantic/idyllic scenery that is Bruges.

Watch the trailer and it might interest you as well.

PS I thought “Bruges” was some foreign language that meant something… interesting. At the risk of sounding stupid, I even read it “Bru-ges”. Perhaps the most unsophisticated way of reading it. HA. HA. HA. I didn’t know a place as such existed in Belgium. Plus it was recommended by a German lad. I must be forgiven…

Whinging Statistics

I can sense the intense pressure creeping up my spine. In 2 months’ time, I will be done with school. Finally done with school. And it only points to one thing- getting a job. I came here in the States with so high hopes, with so much expectations. Even some air of arrogance, thinking it should be easy for me. After all, I am smart, pursuing my graduate degree, went to top-tier universities… how hard could it be? Well, it IS hard. I guess I am still to completely prove it. I can’t say that I have made a looot of applications. Some people I know have submitted 30-40 applications for an internship and got only a few call backs. I probably haven’t even sent out more than 15 applications total. Who am I to complain? I shouldn’t and cannot complain. It is partly something I realized recently (and as weird as it sounds to say this, I realized it after watching the movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada’). Whining does not get me anywhere, doing something does.

As frustrating as it may seem, receiving rejection emails, one at a time (sometimes two in a night), can and should only push me to do so much more than what I’ve done before. I am in no position to complain. I haven’t sent an application to all companies out there, have I? No. True, I have my own preferences of where I want to work, company-wise and geography-wise but if it means having to send multiple applications to the same firm for different positions just to gain entrance to that company, then why not? Maybe it is one way. Maybe it IS the way.

‘Sweet ‘these’ are made of dreams’

Two dreams I had within the past week stuck in my mind. One got me excited and the other one got me somewhat scared and worried. About 2 days ago, I dreamed getting a haircut again. It was just 2-3 weeks ago that I did. And yes, this was the one that got me excited. Well, it was the thought of having a new (good) look. You can’t blame me, can you? Especially looking at the fact that I usually don’t cut my hair until 4-5 months after I last had it. Every single time I do get it, it makes me feel much better. I look good. (Okay, this is the end of vanity for this post.) Anyway, it always rouses my curiosity as to what these dreams mean. Perhaps even without scientific verification (or is it even necessary?), I do hold some form of belief in these random interpretations you find on the net. Maybe because, sometimes they do have a semblance of accuracy and logic. So here’s what I found out about my haircut:

To dream that you are cutting your hair suggests that you are experiencing a loss in strength. You may feel that someone is trying to censor you. Alternatively, you may be reshaping your thinking or ambitions and eliminating unwanted thoughts/habits.

Divorcing marriage

Having had lunch at one cafe in school allowed me to catch a glimpse of some news on TV. It was interesting enough to have caught a report about marriage in the United States for 2 consecutive days. Yesterday, it was reported that in a span of 7 years (?), the number of couples getting married declined by 20% and co-habitation is now at a rate of 80%. In today’s news, viewers sent their opinions and the following were just some of them:

• It is becoming socially acceptable to have children out of wedlock. So why get married when there’s no need?
• One guy, after going through 3 divorces, already thinks marriage is not worth it (SURPRISE!)
• Marriage is merely a glorified and expensive pinky-promise.
• (If I understood it right…) Filing your ITR individually, rather than as a couple, actually increases your rebate and this allegedly makes for good (economic) argument against marriage.
• A guy said his grandparents celebrated their 50th and his parents are about to celebrate their 25th. Thus, he would want to have his own wedding and break some records. (Glad to hear!)

Three of the views above only prove the gravity of are and how rare is it for you to see people who still believe in the value of marriage. One guest in the show yesterday said that people now have more fears of getting married due to the growing statistics of people getting divorced. As a result, they just resort to co-habitation, where they don’t get tied down. There’s no commitment.

I don’t know what else to make of this. As someone who was brought up as a Catholic with my own view of the sacrament of matrimony, its value and sacredness, it is difficult to be impartial hearing things like this. It is not fair to blame the country and say it is not a good place to settle down and start your own family. Rather it is in the people who are involved and the society itself that creates pressure among everyone else, giving the impression that marriage is almost sure to fail. I hope I don’t see that day when marriage becomes a societal taboo because the society dictated it to be so. Legalization of gay marriage, departure from heterosexual marriage, co-habitation, and either children out of wedlock or abortion… Something must be terribly wrong with this country.