UH night

Mondays and Thursdays are underwater hockey nights!

My uhockey “classmates/gullible friends” and I went out to check out new gear. We all wanted to buy new fins because we couldn’t use the open heel diving fins we already have. The preferred type for uhockey are footed fins because they’re lighter than the open heel ones. We went to 3 different places but only the guys were able to buy fins, the Mares Avanti Quattro, the length is around 2.5 feet so they could be really fast if you have powerful legs… when my legs get strong enough, I’ll buy the Mares Avanti Quattro But in the meantime, I will build my skill and strength using my Techni-Sub Stratos fins that we gals bought in another store. They’re longer than other fins available, around 2 feet length, but still not as long as the Quattros.

My new fins were great! It allowed me to do my job as right wing well, swimming in front at an attempt to be the first to secure the puck. What’s great, my team won…

I found this great website for women’s uhockey drills so I downloaded some lectures so I can practice puck handling. Let’s see how that improves my game. Also managed to borrow a puck to practice with… which I did last night and I ended up dreaming I was practicing puck handling.

Events organizing …

I am ready to crawl home and the beatings didn’t come from underwater hockey… it’s from organizing a “small” event on Thursday and everything is crazy here. Programs, more meetings, less meetings, post meetings… pesteng meetings (pardon my French), guest lists, lunch guest lists, breakfast lists… AAARRGGGHHH

plunging into underwater hockey

It was melee of sorts from the surface … fins fluttering in the air, bottoms bobbing as players dive to attempt puck handling… splashes of water… people gasping for air… we probably looked like victims of a capsized boat, struggling for dear life… that is underwater hockey… wannabe series

I tried underwater hockey last Saturday with some friends. The introduction was held at La Salle Greenhills from 1-4pm… Yes … under the intense summer heat, we were breathless as we tried to dodge our opponents and guide a 3-pound lead puck onto our goal, an untended 10-foot metal thing lying at the swimming pool floor.

Sounds easy huh? Just try imagining 12 players wearing masks, fins, snorkels, and holding 12-inch hockey sticks dodging and beating each other to get to the puck underwater while breath holding… by the way, you have to relax because we all know panicking just makes you consume more air. You’re lucky if you get to surface with your face intact

Seriously… that was how it was for us … and since those poundings and beatings weren’t enough, we lined up and got ourselves into the underwater hockey school, two evenings a week… we never learn Last night was the first of 12 sessions, after an hour of chit-chat lectures, we were in the pool being taught puck handling, curling, reverse curling and then it was game time. We were the underdogs, competing against a group of divers… they played with brute strength relying on 2 strong players… while our team discovered how much better team work is in this game of breath holding… we managed a goal out of 3 games and although we lost we felt good because we played as a team without realizing it. I especially feel great because I caught the puck and brought it near our goal till I ran out of air, good thing my teammate was there to give it 1 more push to the goal

All in a days work…

Every working day has been long… so many meetings, reports and documents to write. I sometimes even wonder how I manage to cope “” Good thing I’ve finished my graduate school and have that one out of the way. Especially now, I am currently performing the tasks of 2 persons, one of which is the one who is supposed to supervise me. Kewl, huh? You’d think it’d be easy for me get a promotion but not in this office. I found out recently that I actually have to gather evidence so I could request for a position upgrade. Imagine that?!?! “” This means that even when my boss recommends or endorses a position upgrade, I need to gather evidence, like hordes and hordes of the papers/reports I drafted; the communications, newsletters, emails I made; and probably even all the meetings I attended.
But it is the system that I am in so I have to deal with it and work hard to make it employee-friendly and not employer-friendly “” So let’s hope for the best and expect the worst ““

Crazed Shoe Shopper…

I went on a shoe shopping spree … ““

We recently went to Nagcarlan, Laguna to visit some friends and relatives. Nagcarlan is a beautiful place, nestled amidst mountains and lakes, the weather there is cool. We were served a scrumptious lunch of steamed prawns, pork sinigang (my favorite), crispy dried fish and steaming hot rice. To top that, we had strawberries and leche flan for dessert. Haayy, great food, great company, what more can you ask? Ooops, I forgot about the afternoon snack… we had shrimp crackers and coca-cola… and the second snack, (yes, there was a second snack) was a slice of brazo de mercedes… Food was so YUMMY and we were so full ““

After the chitchat, we were given 2 options, to go swimming in the fresh spring water resorts or visit Liliw for some serious shoe shopping… you know what I chose of course “” Liliw is located at the foot of Mt. Banahaw, known for its historical church and beautiful shoes and slippers. Any woman would have a field day in this town’s center because both sides of the street are lined with shoe shops filled with beautiful pairs of shoes “” 10 minutes hasn’t even passed and I was already strolling up the street with 2 pairs of slip ons for only 380 pesos… a couple of shops further and I was trudging 4 pairs totaling 900 pesos! Can you believe that?!?!

Shoe shopping in Liliw has ruined me… “” I can no longer look at a pair of shoes here in Manila without wondering how many more pairs I could buy in Liliw for that 1 pair… but give me a couple of days to recuperate ““

1978-2005… do not be afraid

My Pope John Paul II has died and has been buried… my Pope because he is the only pope I’ve known… even though 1978 was the year of the 3 popes, I was only 3 years old and too young to remember any of the 2, Pope Paul VI who died in August and the “Smiling Pope” John Paul I who reigned only 33 days when he died in his sleep in September. Then, Poland’s Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, succeeded and took Pope John Paul I’s name maybe to signify continuity.

While Pope John Paul II has a lot of accomplishments, I find his Rhapsodic Theater the most interesting. Together with Dr. Mieczyslaw Kotlarczyk, a clandestine theater company was founded amidst Nazi occupied Poland. Also called “Theater of the Word,” it used dramatic theory with art, philosophy, poetry, and theology to communicate the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. Rhapsodists performed highlighting the “beauty of the spoken word” leading the listener to explore the inner self. The Rhapsodic Theater Company continued on with Pope John Paul II even performing and writing some of its clandestine productions until it was closed down by Stalin’s communists.

Now, the College of Cardinals must choose the next Pope. Early popes were chosen by local clergymen living near Rome and politicos and other interested stakeholders did their best to influence this process with disagreements sometimes resulted to an antipope. Then Pope Nicholas II decreed that only cardinals can elect the pope. Pope Alexander III added that all cardinals have equal votes in the election. Then Pope Gregory X added that cardinals must meet within 10 days of a pope’s death after the 3-year vacancy in the Holy See because the cardinals were divided in 2 camps following Pope Clement IV’ s death. Pope John Paul II added that if after 12 or 13 days there is still no pope, the conclave by majority vote could invoke the rule permitting pope selection by an absolute majority.

Let us pray that our College of Cardinals see who is truly most holy.