Ready, Get Set, Play!

I was talking to some friends a few weeks back. We agreed that women by nature are emotional creatures. As much as we say we could play the game side by side with the men, we always end up whether consciously or unconsciously, emotionally involved. I think I have to agree that women can’t be players because the more we gamble, the more we can’t get out of the game. It’s like digging a big hole for ourselves. The more we play along, the more we realize it’s not that fun to play anymore. It’s a lot like playing too many rounds of a bad poker game. You’re winning the first few rounds and you think, ‘alright!’ but come the latter part, you start losing all the money that you initially won and you start thinking, ‘this sucks!’. And suddenly it stops being fun anymore. It makes you want to stop the game and not play anymore. We think playing for fun would have lesser risks and repercussions as opposed to being serious about something, but come to think of it, it’s all just the same…We become so attached to the game that we actually end up losing and for some, hurting.

So before deciding to play the game, ask yourself what’s in it for you. Ask yourself what you want out from it. If none, then don’t play. Don’t go into a game looking for something because you won’t find it there for sure. Don’t waste your time. Don’t waste your heart. The game is not worth it.

A New Find

I had my first yoga class last night. My cousin invited this yoga instructor to his house so that we could have a more personal slash one-on-one class with him. Since I have not been getting enough exercise, I decided to join in and give it a try. With the dimmed lights and slow music playing in the background, I thought I would fall asleep. But surprisingly, I enjoyed doing all the breathing and stretching exercises even if I wasn’t able to do some of it properly. I did not feel an entire hour has passed by at all.

Our yoga instructor’s name is Herman who incidentally is a German. How apt, meet Herman the German. He has been a practicing yogi for almost 20 years. He has lived in India and Boracay for a couple of years already before finally settling in Manila for a good solid 6 years now. I think he’s the real deal. He IS passionate about yoga. He even took the time to introduce yoga to us prior to the actual class itself. All the positions had an explanation as well. We did Hatha Yoga, which is supposed to be good for exercising, stretching, and freeing the body. I liked the Sun position the most. It’s where you start from the ground and slowly stretch out with arms reaching out to the sky and slowly widening them apart until they reach down to the ground again…never mind, I won’t bother explaining it in words. I don’t think I made sense anyway.

I’m not sure though if I’m into these spiritual meditation/reflection stuff. Yoga requires a lot of concentration and I’m no good at it. My mind usually wanders off easily. When I’m supposed to be ‘flying into the sky’ as what yoga master Herman instructs, I’m thinking ‘what will I eat later?’ Hehe Then yoga requires lots of flexibility and I’m no good at it either. I can’t even stand on one leg, which is already so simple to do. And even if I do stand up on one leg, it’s only for a few seconds.

We’re planning to make this yoga a twice-a-week thing. I don’t know if this current hobby is going to last long. I’m not giving up on yoga just yet. I think it could provide a lot of benefits. It’s supposed to make you clear-minded and fill your body with vitality. I also heard yoga could help you grow taller with all the stretching that you do. So I guess it’s going to be all breathing and stretching for now. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Aahhmmnn…

On Not Being Perfect

I was chatting with Nicole awhile ago. She mentioned about this particular scene in Desperate Housewives that struck her. I’ve yet to watch the show though. Anyway the story goes something like how nobody likes to show other people their weaknesses. We pretend that everything looks perfectly rosy on the outside when it’s actually the other way around on the inside. The character in the show tired of always being a failure finally breaks down. Then she founds out that she wasn’t alone in her misery. She finds out from her other “perfect” fellow housewives that they too were apparently not that perfect after all. One of the housewives mentioned how they shouldn’t keep these things from one another and how they shouldn’t be afraid to tell each other their weaknesses.

I agree. While we all have our own insecurities, we shouldn’t be ashamed to share it. It is what makes us more human after all, don’t you think so? Sometimes sharing it can actually be beneficial in more than a lot of ways. Being open about it can help us cope and deal with it more easily. Having someone to sympathize with us eases the burden as well; what seemed to be a heavy load becomes a hundred times lighter. Besides keeping everything to one’s self can be dangerously explosive and destructive at times. It’s not healthy. You have to accept yourself for what you are, with all weaknesses included. If loving the self requires that you accept your insecurities then so be it. If accepting one's insecurities requires that you be judged for it then so be it. You can’t take away the fact that we will always have our weaknesses. Nobody’s perfect…a cliché I know. But true right?

Just a side note. I think I spoke too soon. TNT lost to the Gins. =( Shucks. Eric Menk was extra strong today, weirdly strong if I must say so. I can’t help but think he’s on steroids. I sound bitter I know. Hehe Nah he’s probably just pumped up and too hungry for the crown; gotta give him some credit though even if I don’t like him that much. If only TNT’s first win hadn’t been nullified, it would have been tied 3-3. Then TNT could have won the series. Oh well.

Go Go Gooo TNT!

Go TNT! Go Go Gooooo!! Hehehe

The series is now tied 2-2, Gin versus TNT. I’m rooting for TNT all the way. Tonight’s pivotal game will surely be an exciting one. I think the one who wins today will have bigger chances of bagging the championship crown. And I do hope it’ll be TNT. With or without Asi, TNT is a strong team to beat. With guards like Miller and Alapag, and big men like Telan and Ocampo, there’s no way the Gins can stop them. Menk and Caguioa should better work double time. Okay I think I’m now sounding like a basketball fanatic. But really I’m not. I just watch the game but I don’t follow religiously, well unless it’s the finals and it’s my favorite team who’s playing.

Dinner and Coffee

My sister finally graduated yesterday, and with honors at that. Val will also graduate this coming March. I can’t believe we’re all through with school. We’re all so grown up now though I’m not sure if we really are. I still feel like a kid at times…no direction, no purpose, inexperienced, confused, and dependent on a lot of things.

So anyway, we had dinner after at Shanghai Bistro in Eastwood together with everybody. Dinner was good. I walked around Eastwood afterwards and was surprised to see Fuente Circle transformed into a bright festive atmosphere that night. I think the mini-carousel along with the lights and hanging heart decors made all the difference.

Then I met up with Roanne and Kim afterwards at the new row of restaurants in Greenhills. Surprisingly, I didn’t want to go home that night. Normally I would cancel and just go home instead since it was late already. But I’m glad though I opted to have coffee with them. I haven’t seen and talked to them in awhile already and it was nice catching up with them. Kim unfortunately had to leave early so it was girl bonding with Ro that night. It was funny how we actually had a lot to talk about. Maybe it’s because we don’t get to talk to each other that much, so updating each other on the ‘happenings’ and ‘not happening’ in our lives automatically became the agenda that night. Sayang the others were not able to go. Hopefully we’d all be complete next time and have dinner together.

Big and Small Likes List

I like Fridays. I like weekends. I like watching movies. I like marathons, of tv shows in dvd/vcd that is. I like to travel, be independent, and live on my own in a foreign country like say, San Francisco. I like to be committed. I like to stay committed. I like work, well most of the time I do. I like nice long conversations. I like short meaningful chats. I like sense. I like feel-good music. I like coffee breakfasts. I like to go scuba diving and be able to swim with the fishes. I like humility. I like simplicity. I like being inspired. I like to be inspired. I like eating and not gain an inch. I like getting together with friends. I like car rides without traffic. I like rainbows. I like celebrations. I like babies. I like funny people. I like sincere people. I like people who stay true to themselves. I like good news. I like good long walks. I like to learn new stuff. I like to be fluent in Chinese. I like to learn how to swim without a life vest on. I like a good long 8-hours sleep. I like sitting in the beach and wait for the sun to set down. I like rainy days. I like seeing beauty that most people often don’t or fail to see. I like swinging, be it clubs or irons. I like sweating it out. I like dressing it up. I like laughing until my head or stomach hurts. I like singing alone, in the bathroom. I like philosophizing about things. I like to psycho analyze. I like to have a golden retriever, a chow-chow, or a pug. I like to have my own koi pond. I like to be more open. I like to own something. I like to do something. I like to say yes to everything. I lke to be somebody. I like being happy. I like to be happy. I like to stay happy.

I like. I like. I like.

So many things to do, so many things to see, so many things to learn, so many things to want…all with so little time.