Realmer Ballers

It was around 5PM when I made my way to Glorietta. I only brought with me my Ravager Affinity deck. Bringing my top loaded Ur Fish deck is just too heavy, on top of my basketball gear and Molten MX7 basketball.

I got there and saw a couple of friends. When I saw Cesar Famorcan, the guy I offered my 2x Foiled Akroma's Vengeance for 2x Non foils, I asked him if he wants to playtest Standard and we did.

After a couple of games, the rest of the Realmer Ballers came. Paolo and Jeff came together and watched us play. Carlo came after a couple of minutes. We only need to wait for Philip to come.

I told Jeff I’ll having some light dinner with Paolo so we went to KFC to get our meals. Once finished, we went back to the playing area and played some more games.

Philip got stuck in traffic so I decided to get myself some energy drink at Mercury Drug and took it. I hope by the time that we arrive at the Powerplant mall, the energy drink will give me enough energy to play well.

So Philip finally came around 7:25PM. After some greetings, we made our way to the car park to get Carlo’s car and go to Powerplant. We brought Jeff at the gate of Dasmariñas to get his car so we can convoy on our way to the mall.

After arriving there, Paolo asked me to accompany him to the Adidas Store at the third level. He needs to use the gift checks he have worth 1,500. He decided to get black and white soccer jerseys and added some pesos.

Then on the way back to the court, we dropped by to Mercury Drug to get some Gatorade and Red Bull.

It’s time to play ball.

We played a couple of games but the players from the opponent are clearly better than us. There is no way we can win if we just play against them. We later decided to split up the players and we ended up playing two more games before we stopped. The shoes I got were great. They were comfortable and light. The practice jerseys were good too. Syempre, they match my shoes =)

After dressing up and paying our contributions, we went to brother’s burger for some snacks.

It was the first time I got to talk to Glen. He was a nice guy.

As we finished up our burgers that were tasty and good, Paolo told me he can ask his father to give me a ride home.

Good games, good company, good food.

VC IV

I finally got my VC IV. :) In a twist of fate while strolling at SM, i saw a very nice reversible practice jersey from Accel. There were two colors to choose from. One is Red/Blue/White, and Black/White/Red. I fell in love with the Black/White Reversible immediately. I went on to look for matching shorts and had difficulty finding one but found an Accel pair. After fitting them on and realizing that the Large Jersey is ok than medium, I went ahead to pay for the items.

After walking out of the store, I decided to go to Nike and check if they have VC IV stocks available.

I was really rushing because it was almost 9PM and I am afraid that the store might have closed already. Luckily, they were still open when I got in.

I then asked the sales person if they have a size 8 of the VC IV and she went on to get it at the stock room. When she returned, I went on to wear the adidas socks i got with my Accel gear and then slid into the VC. And behold, it fits but it's not a comfortable fit. So I asked for an 8.5. After a minute she came back with the 8.5 and I went on to try it and it was perfect. I then asked them if I can pay the shoes using Citibank Paylite Plan and they gave me the rates. I will end up paying it for 9 months at 840+.

After 5 years, I finally have an original basketball shoe. Not a Class A imitation. An original. An original VC IV.

VC IV

I have always wanted to have a good pair of basketball shoes. My last original pair was an Adidas Superstar Supreme 2000. from there on, I ended up buying China-made imitations of Nike Shox, Adidas, and Nike Presto. Unfortunately, those China-made Class A imitations doesn't provide the quality of material that the originals do and I end up getting dead toe-nails.

But here's the chance I've been waiting for. My good friend Wendell is currently in the US and will be coming home the end of this month. We are planning to buy the new VC IV from Nike.

The shoe costs $109 and it's all worth it.

The problem is, I just got the information that all of my savings from the Holidays will be spent up paying for credit card bills. But, I really love the shoe and I'll try to get the money to get it. :)

Powder Keg

I was so lucky to meet Jeff. He works in Citiland just beside GT Tower. We first met before the scheduled basketball game at Greenhills and we did some playtesting together.

He was one of the few players who really know how to play ball in the Realms Basketball players. After the game since his way is to Dasma, he offered me a ride home here in Makati. Cool humble guy.

During one of the play testing session, we were discussing about Fish and Landstill and I told him I want to play Budget Landstill but my problem is I just can't find any Powder Kegs around for sale. He then said he has 2 extra copies and was willing to let it go.

So yesterday we met at Country Style in Citiland and I got back my 2x Nevs Disk from him plus the 2x Powder Keg. It's just like we traded my 2x Nevs disk plus cash for his 2x Powder Keg.

He is a good guy so way to go Jeff! Basketball uli this weekend sa Rockwell and Playtest before the game!

Recovery

The ankle sprain I suffered last Saturday evening is healing faster than I expected. I thank God that it was not severe. I went to the clinic to have it wrapped yesterday and I did it again this morning. I also placed a salonpas strip to help it feel warm.

I asked my my Doctor Sister, of what medicine to take and luckily, our friend Doctor Lumapas who shares the same clinic with my sister and their other friends informed me to get Celebrex 200mg. The prescription is to take it in 2-3 days.

The medicine is expensive and costs Php43/capsule. I need to reimburse it at the end of this month then.

North Greenhills Basketball

We went on to have dinner at Bacolod Chicken Inasal to talk about the proxy tournament being planned to lure in Standard Players here in Manila. After having dinner, Carlo, Phillip, Jeff and I made way to North Greenhills to play basketball.

And wow, the court was sporting wood flooring, and fiber glass boards. It was my first game in that kind of court and it was wonderful. Using my MX7 basketball bought last christmas, I played Point-Forward in winning the first two games being able to penetrate at will and dish when the defense collapses.

After recognizing that the matchups weren't balanced, we split the teams up and decided to play 4-4 half court sets. We all knot how crowded that can be as half court sets are more ideal for 3-3. With us again edging the opponent significantly, I rose for a drive to the basket but accidentally stepped on Paolo's foot on my way down.

Ouch.

I immediately grabbed my ankle and aligned it. Ankle sprain. I then begged off from the game.

I'm so sorry to have the injury at a time when I was playing better every game.

I hope this injury will not sideline me for more than 2 weeks. But this we have to wait and see.

Evaluation

I just got my evaluation result for the first half of the Fiscal year from May 2004 to November 2004.

My strengths have increased significantly but my Needs Improvement remained the same.

Areas for Development:
- Review work of team mates more.
- Ensure that team and teamates take necessary action promptly in order to complete deliverables on time.
- Give effective feedback to teammates to understand situation better, identify necessary action items and carry them out promptly.
- Learn to communicate effectively with teamates such that they react positively and constructively on your ideas.

I wish to do better and improve this areas to gun for a promotion this coming evaluation.

Waiting In Vain

Waiting in Vain by Bob Marley

I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
From the very first time I blessed my eyes on you, girl
My heart says, "Follow through."
But I know now that I'm way down on your line
But the waiting feel is fine
So don't treat me like a puppet on a string
'Cause I know how to do my thing
Don't talk to me as if you think I'm dumb
I wanna know when you're gonna come

See, I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
'Cause it's summer is here
I'm still waiting there
Winter is here and I'm still waiting there
Like I said,
It's been three years since I'm knocking on your door
And I still can knock some more

Ooh, girl, ooh, girl

Is it feasible, I wanna know now
For I to knock some more?
Ya see, in life I know there's lots of grief
But your love is my relief
Tears in my eyes burn
Tears in my eyes burn while I'm waiting
While I'm waiting for my turn.

See, I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love
I don't wanna wait in vain for your love

Oh, I don't wanna, I don't wanna
I don't wanna, I don't wanna
No, I don't wanna, I don't wanna
I don't wanna, I don't wanna
I don't wanna wait in vain.

It's your love that I'm waiting on
It's my love that you're running from.
(Repeat)