Plans for my vacation

Here’s what I’m gonna do when I get back home. I haven’t purchased my ticket yet but, assuming walang aberya, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to go home for the Holidays. Three weeks maximum. I just need to know my research schedule from my supervisor (ie, will he expect me to work in the lab on certain days?) and get updated with promo fares. So, here’s my list — in no particular order:

Manila leg

1. meet up with former Barangka housemates. We call ourselves “housemates sa bahay ni Ate Lyn”. But we’ve all parted ways now. Four stay in Cubao, two near Market Market, one in Tacloban, one in Germany, one in Saudi, and one in Seattle (that’s me). It would be nice if we could all meet up for some housemate bonding. Hey, it’ll be Christmastime anyway so having our housemates from Germany and Saudi come over to Pinas wouldn’t be impossible.

2. meet up with Aling Nelly and Mang Jess, my very kind landlords. The “housemates sa bahay ni Ate Lyn” parted ways as early as the second half of my senior year. I ended up staying at Aling Nelly’s place. They were such a blessing to me. I felt like I wasn’t their border. They treated me as their own son/apo, as their own family member. The last time I saw them was during my 2-day stay in Manila last August.

3. play volleyball with high school classmates and schoolmates and college friends and their friends. We used to play in the covered courts of Barangka but it would be nice if we try playing on professional volleyball courts. I heard there are a lot around the QC area. I will probably volunteer as setter. But I also want to play as open spiker so I should probably shift positions from time to time. So excited!

4. drop by OAA. OAA has been very kind to me and has been there since I entered Ateneo.

5. meet up with a special friend whom I consider my mentor and spiritual advisor.

6. meet up with my undergrad supervisor. He’s also one of my mentors. He opened a lot of doors for me.

7. have dinner with my special someone.

8. meet up with blockies.

9. meet up with orgmates. There are only two orgs in college which I have been an active member in.

10. meet up with some friends over at the San Jose Manggagawa Parish in Chorillo.

11. meet up with high school classmates who work/study in Manila.

Tacloban leg

1. attend my elementary school’s alumni homecoming. I haven’t seen my classmates in ages! Would be great to do some catching up with them!

2. drop by my high school and have chitchat with my HS teachers.

3. skim through our photo albums at home.

4. meet up with cousins.

5. meet up with high school classmates who work/stay in Tacloban.

I know the list is not complete yet so I should be updating this post from time to time. The idea is that come vacation time, I would have this post as check list. I want to make sure I get to meet up with people I have to meet up, and do the things I need to do before going back to the great Pacific Northwest.

Love on May

There’s this girl that I’ve been in contact with for quite a long time. I want to court her. But I don’t know how. Do I send her a message and ask her “Will you be my girlfriend?” Or do I continue being in contact with her and hope that she realizes I’m courting her already?

I’ve never been in a relationship before. It’s been pretty much school and research for me. But I was trying to imagine what my life will be like 20 years from now. I don’t want to live alone. I want to have a wife and have as many kids as my wife and I can support. That’s why I should start psyching myself up and opening my mind to the idea of having relationships.

Damn, told you I’m not an expert on this thing called love and relationships!

Back to the girl I was talking about. Among the many things I’m worried about is that she’s been through quite a few heartbreaks recently. What if we enter into a relationship and we suddenly realize we weren’t meant for each other? Hey I don’t want to make girls cry! I never will. Well if I made some girls cry these past 22 years, I’m sorry!

There’s also another girl whom I see as a possible special lady friend. She’s sweet. But I retreated to my own bubble when she hinted that she wants an older brother (she’s the only child). Oh well.

Ever heard of the concept of God’s best? That’s what I’m now holding on to. We all deserve God’s best. Right now, I don’t know if I’ve already met her. I’m holding on to the idea that God is still working to make her and me ready. I just pray for an open mind and an open heart to see what He wants me to see.

How we can change the world

It is 11:57 in the evening now. Friday. Just got home. Exhausted from volleyball. Didn’t play badminton today. I tried lifting weights. I figured I should start hitting the gym (hey it’s one of my New Year’s resolutions — I’m way behind obviously). I should start living a healthy lifestyle not just for myself but for the people who love me, for the people who are waiting for me back home. I owe my health to them. I owe my life to them.

Anyways, on my way home, I opted to cross on the pedestrian lane to get to our side of the street. Even if there were practically no cars passing by, and it would be totally safe for me to cross the street at any time, I still waited for the figure of the man in the streetlight to turn green. When I reached the other end of the street, I became proud of myself.

You know why? Because I think the real test to a virtue which we think we uphold is what we do with this virtue when no one is looking at us.

Honest students will mind their own exams even when their teacher leaves the classroom for a bit. True friends don’t back stab each other. Good citizens will collect and segregate their litter and throw them in the proper garbage bins. Excellent students will study not just for exams but for the sake of learning.

Get this: Honest government officials will continue serving the public and will avoid giving out and accepting bribes even if they find themselves in situations where there is an easy access to personal gains.

I believe that we can change the world. But we have to change ourselves first. And me crossing on the pedestrian lane is a good start.

What have you done to change the world?

U District Street Fair in Seattle

Last May 19th and 20th, the U District Street Fair — “an energetic and exciting celebration of arts and crafts, music, and food” – was held. Here are a few photos I took.

It was nice to see The Ave closed to vehicular traffic and populated by so many people. There were a lot of booths, much like the baratillo (rummage sale, flea market) events which were regularly held in RTR Plaza back home in Tacloban City.

If I were 15 again …

I often find myself wondering how things would have been different if certain events in the past did not happen, if certain decisions were not made, if certain words were never said. Definitely, things would have been totally different today. But just how different would they be? There’s no way to tell. All I can do is to perform thought experiments. But unlike lab experiments which can be verified, these thought experiments can’t. The most I can do is to stretch my imagination.

If I were 15 years old again, I would audition for PBB. I will be selected as an official housemate and will be known as the Smart Cutie ng Leyte (haha). Since ex-housemates claim that PBB is all about pagpapakatotoo, magpapakatotoo ako. I will impress my fellow housemates and the televiewers with my carefully planned tactics, calculated risks and numerous talents. I will be nominated because my fellow housemates will see me as a threat. But the taumbayan will save me. I will be the Big Winner.

I will receive offers to join showbiz. I will do acting. Alongside the likes of actresses Bea and Anne, veteran actress Vilma and other seasoned actors. I will do hosting. I will do dancing as well. I will try out singing. I will be faced with intrigues because chismis fuels showbusiness. I will in turn welcome these intrigues with open arms but I will get past them with my wit.

I will get rich doing the things that I like. I will donate money to charities. But more than just donating money, I will let these charities feel my presence as I will visit them at least once a month.

But in reality, I was a third year Pisay student when I was 15 years old. I was a diligent student who brought a really big backpack full of books to school, came to class well-prepared for the day’s lectures, listened attentively to his teachers and finished homeworks the day they were given.

But if one day, a genie appeared to me and gave me the chance to turn back time, I would probably not choose to go to Pisay. Not because I didn’t enjoy my high school. In fact, I had lots of fun in Pisay and I owe much of who I am today to my alma mater. It’s because I would want to be a student-athlete . Being one in Pisay would be difficult, if not impossible, given the course load. I would probably go to Leyte National High School and still excel at my academics. I will do sports. Definitely. Do extremely well in my academics and in sports. Become part of the school’s volleyball or badminton team. Compete in the City Meet, make it to the Regional Meet and eventually make it to Palarong Pambansa. Win the gold for Eastern Visayas. Represent the Philippines in international competitions.

And then join PBB.

But what the heck. Past is past. There’s absolutely no way I can turn back time. If you know anything about time travel, then let me know. The die has been rolled. The ballots have been cast. The entries have already been entered.

But on a more serious note, I am happy things happened the way they did. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t have made my mom and dad proud with my achievements in school, I wouldn’t have gone to study in Italy for one year and meet fellow young scientists from developing countries, and I wouldn’t be here in Seattle learning from the best lecturers in my field.

There’s definitely a lot of things to be thankful for. Still, the what-ifs remain.

When does an acquaintance become a friend?

Two key terms: acquaintance and friend.

I define acquaintance as someone we meet and interact with but not on a personal level. Sometimes we meet them by chance. Sometimes we meet them because they are part of our everyday life — officemates, business clients, teachers. We say “Hi!” to them and engage in small talks because this is the social norm.

On the other hand, a friend is someone we interact with on a more personal level. Before one becomes a friend, he should be an acquaintance first.

But when does an acquaintance become a friend? How is an acquaintance promoted to a friend? Can friends be demoted to acquaintances? What makes an enemy?

As I said, friends start by being acquaintances. Frequent interaction enables both sides to know each other’s personalities. This knowledge either intrigues both the parties and hence encourages more interaction or turns off both sides and hence cuts off the interaction. The situation favored by friendship is a positive feedback that develops between interaction and personality compatibility. By personality compatibility, I don’t just mean similarity. There could be compatibility in differences too. The end product of this positive feedback is essentially trust. And when this happens, interaction on a more personal level necessarily follows. Friendship is formed. An acquaintance has now become a friend.

Friendships are always tested by time. They are strained when either or both parties change personalities. People change. Hence the personality compatibility which was at the very core of the friendship can be challenged. It is also possible that back when the friends were still acquaintances, some traits of either or both parties were sort of buried such that had these traits been highlighted during the positive feedback build-up stage, the personality compatibility wouldn’t have been affirmed in the first place.

When friendships are strained and eventually broken, it’s either interaction is still welcomed by both parties but not on a personal level this time (ie, friends are demoted to acquaintances) or interaction is not entertained at all (ie, used-to-be friends avoid each other at all costs). I would think that people whose friendship ends up as the latter call themselves enemies.

Philippine women’s volleyball: my dream team

So here’s a hypothetical situation. Suppose the Southeast Asian Games were to be held in 6 months, and suppose you were the head coach of the women’s volleyball team. Which players deserve a spot in the Philippine team?

Before I enumerate my picks, here’s a photo of the team that competed in the 12th Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Vietnam. They lost all of their matches.

Members of the RP women's volleyball team which competed in the 2011 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam. The players are (standing, left to right) Rachel Anne Daquis, Aiza Maizo, Nica Guliman, Cherry Rose Macatangay, Mary Jean Balse, Charmaine Velez, Tina Salak, (kneeling, left to right) Suzanne Roces, Mayette Carolino, Pau Soriano, Dahlia Cruz and Michelle Carolino.

If I were to choose 12 players, I would make sure that the following players will be recruited. Here’s my starting six:

My choice for main setter is Tina Salak. I heard that she’s been with the team for a long time already. But I picked her as main setter not simply because she’s been the national team’s setter for a long time, but because I believe she is one of the best setters we have in the country. She is effective in not only giving out sets that her hitters like the most but also giving out the sets in a manner that fools the blockers of the opposing team. Her experience surely contributes to this ability. Her height is undoubtedly also an asset because her position requires her to block open hitters who usually receive the most balls.

Tina Salak doing what she does best.

My main utility player would be Aiza Maizo. Just like Tina Salak, she has the height advantage to block the opponents’ open hitters. She has received a lot of awards from Shakey’s V League and UAAP — Best Attacker, Best Server, Best Blocker and MVP, among them. She’s a power hitter and her quick hits are deadly. She’s a total asset when she’s in the back row as well as she has good floor defense and she has excellent backrow hits. She can set the ball well too so this is definitely a plus.

The lefty Aiza Maizo has been named Best Attacker, Best Server, Best Blocker and MVP in the Shakey's V League conferences and UAAP seasons.

I would choose Rachel Anne Daquis and Alyssa Valdez as the team’s main open hitters.

Rachel Anne Daquis was the biggest revelation in the 2011 volleyball tournament in Vietnam (not to mention the cameramen seemed to have had liked her as she probably got the most air time). Daquis is a power hitter. But as we all know, volleyball is not just about power. And Daquis knows this. She is an expert in hitting balls off the block. She might have to work on her drop shots and backrow attacks though. But with intense training for 6 months, I’m sure she’ll improve whatever needs to be improved. And one more thing that I like about Daquis is that she always has the swagger. When Daquis is in the backrow, she might have to be replaced by a floor defense specialist.

Rachel Anne Daquis is a fighter and she always finds a way to score a point.

The open hitter opposite Daquis will have to be Alyssa Valdez. She’s just 18 years old but she plays like a veteran. There has been much hype about this teenager and this hype is definitely warranted. Valdez is a power hitter. But just like Daquis, she’s a smart player too and she knows when to hit the ball off the block and when to just drop it. She has good backrow attacks. And she has a good floor defense too so she doesn’t need to be replaced when she’s in the back.

18-year-old Alyssa Valdez is truly a "phenom" as she plays like a veteran.

My middle hitters would have to be Abigail Marano and Jacqueline Alarca.

I’ve always been impressed with Abigail Marano. We already saw the huge potential in her during her first UAAP playing year with DLSU but boy, she improved a lot on her second year. She has turned out to be one of DLSU’s go-to girls. Marano is quick and being quick is an important requirement for middle hitters because they should at least try to go for double blocks. This means that middle hitters must be quick enough to move from one side of the net to the other. Marano also always goes for quick hits even if she won’t be given the ball which is a plus since this fools the opponents’ blockers. Her quick hits and running spikes are excellent as they are but these can still be improved in 6 months. And this girl always has the swagger. She celebrates each point as if there’s no tomorrow. It would be great to see her and Daquis, both brimming with swagger, in a team.

Abigail Marano is quick, has good timing and has the swagger.

The middle hitter opposite Marano would have to be Jacqueline Alarca. Just like Marano, she has the height and the long arms. She’s quick too and has good block timing. Alarca graduated a few years ago and I don’t know if she’s been playing since graduation but she definitely has to undergo a rigid training to get her back in shape.

The tall Jacqueline Alarca has excellent quick hits and running spikes, good blocking and deadly serves.

My libero would have to be Jen Reyes. The photo below says it all. Reyes is one of the smallest liberos we have seen on Philippine TV but for me, she’s the best in the business. She always goes for the dig and she makes digging look easy. She has an impressive anticipation for the ball, meaning it seems like she knows where the ball is going to land. This is precisely the reason why she was responsible for something like 60% of NU’s reception during her first UAAP playing year.

This photo says it all. Jen Reyes is without doubt one of the best (if not the best) diggers in the country.

So far, I have mentioned 7 players already. 5 more.

Let me start with my second libero. I would choose Christine Agno of FEU. Just like Reyes, she is very quick and she has a good anticipation one would always wonder how she manages to come out of nowhere for the digs and receptions. She is a prized recruit of coach Nes Pamilar and it would be good to have her in the national team.

Christine Agno is making a name for herself in the libero position.

In case Salak is having a bad day, I would take Rhea Dimaculangan off the bench. She’s definitely one of the best in the business. More importantly, having a tall setter such as herself would be a huge advantage as, I have repeatedly been saying, they usually block open hitters.

UST ace setter Rhea Dimaculangan would be a good addition to the team as she is an excellent setter and she has the height advantage.

When Maizo is having a bad day, I would take Michelle Gumabao off the bench. While she has been criticized for being a trash talker, I would consider Gumabao to be one of the best utility players in the country. She’s been named Best Blocker and Best Attacker in the UAAP because of her well-timed blocks and strong attacks from the right side of the court. And speaking about trash talk, well it’s part of the game. It would be good to see her bring this attitude to the national team.

Michelle Gumabao should bring her well-timed blocks and hard-hitting spikes from DLSU to the national team.

I would also recruit Nerissa Bautista to the team. She’s versatile and can play middle or open. She’s a power hitter but she’s a thinking player as well. When she’s in the back row, she doesn’t need to be replaced by any player as she has good floor defense (beach volleyball surely honed her digging and receiving skills) and she can do backrow attacks as well.

Nerissa Bautista deserves a spot in the national team as she can play open or middle, has strong attacks, and has good floor defense.

I would also add Mayette Carolino to the team. She’s versatile as she can play hitter and setter. She has good floor defense as well.

Mayette Carolino is another versatile player who deserves a spot in the national team.

There you have it, my dream team:

1. Tina Salak*

2. Aiza Maizo*

3. Rachel Anne Daquis*

4. Alyssa Valdez*

5. Abigail Marano*

6. Jacqueline Alarca*

7. Jen Reyes*

8. Christine Agno

9. Rhea Dimaculangan

10. Michelle Gumabao

11. Nerissa Bautista

12. Mayette Carolino

Those with * after their names are my starting 6 (fine, starting 7).

I would say that the future of Philippine volleyball is not at all bleak as some would claim. In fact, I see it as very bright. Televised tournaments such as Shakey’s V League, UAAP and NCAA have played a big role in introducing once again this game to the Filipinos and we have to thank the organizers for this. We have witnessed the entry of players oozing with potential and we have seen the very same players mature with the game — the likes of Angeli Tabaquero, Charo Soriano, Manilla Santos, Lizlee Gata, and a lot more.

One thing is for sure: if we want to be at par with teams from other countries, our team needs more international exposure. This could mean either joining competitions abroad or holding invitational leagues in the country.

They say that the Philippine team used to rank higher than the Thais. But look at how far the Thai team has gone. They are now rubbing elbows with the world’s best — Brazil, China, USA. And what about our team? What has our national team achieved internationally? I believe our team has the potential to rise up again and be known as a volleyball powerhouse at least in South East Asia. But this won’t happen overnight. We need international exposure. We need funding. We don’t need politics in sports.