If you’re a fan of the two-time defending champion at Roland Garros–Rafael Nadal–or if you’d like to take a peek at what goes inside the daily schedule of one of the world’s most celebrated athletes, check this out…
Month: May 2007
More on this Paradise named Boracay…
Before our family vacationed in Boracay last week, my last visit to the island was in 2005. Then, I had three major complaints: First, the beach line was littered with garbage. Second, stray dogs ran amok and chased you everywhere. Third, “pump-boats” docked as they pleased, often right straight at you while you’re swimming on the beach.I’m happy to report good news: Boracay is cleaner, free of stray dogs, and the boats are no longer on the beach front.
White-Water Rafting in CDO
Last month, together with a few friends named Jourdan and Ronnie and Jingle and Steph, we got wet, our muscles ached, we starved for a few hours, swam, paddled, laughed, high-fived, and our hearts beat 168 times in 60 ticks as we did the one adventure that’s become more and more famous each year: Rafting in Cagayan de Oro. Enjoy this clip…
CDO Rafting from John Pages on Vimeo
Joke for the Day!
A 245-lb. man signed up for a weight loss program complete with a personal trainer. It included a run each morning at six. So when the doorbell rings the next morning, he’s ready. As he opens the door, he sees the most beautiful blonde he’s ever seen. Tall, well-endowed above a slim waist and long legs, she’s dressed in a pair of shorts that can barely contain her. She smiles and says, “If you can catch me, you can kiss me” and starts off at a fast run.
This continues each morning. After three frustrating weeks, the man gets in shape and can almost keep up with her. One day he’s barely able to touch her shorts but can’t hang on. Tomorrow will be the big day. He barely sleeps that night.
The next morning, the bell rings. He runs to the door and throws it open. There stands a huge burley woman, six-foot-five and 260 pounds. She’s muscled up like an ox and has a large wart amid her facial hair. She smiles and says, “I’m your new trainer. If I can catch you, I can kiss you!”
Wall-Climbing in MetroSports
If there’s one activity I recommend all parents convince their children to try, it’s this: Wall-Climbing.
At first, staring high up at the 21-foot climb, your eyes pop wide open, your heart pounds, and your palms sweat. You’re scared. And that’s OK. That’s normal. Aren’t we all scared trying anything for the first time? But after a few horizontal walks up the wall, you gain confidence. You smile. You say to your inner self, “I can do this!” And you do it.
R or R? In this City of P, the winner is T
The French Open—also known as “Roland Garros,” in honor of the heroic French aviator who braved the clouds during World War I—is the only tennis Grand Slam sortie played on clay. The U.S. and Australian Opens are on hard-court; Wimbledon is on grass. The difference?Clay is slow. On cement, the ball skids off the floor. On grass, it’s even speedier—the ball ricochets. Clay? The yellow ball bounces up… up…, then it floats… floats…
This makes the French Open special. The rallies prolong. Sweat drenches the sand. White socks turn brown. Muscles ache. Smiles disappear. Cries echo the air. On clay, if you’re flabby, if you haven’t jogged 16 kms. during training, if you’re unwilling to sprint for 4.5 hours, you’re out. Like the dust in the wind. Goodbye.
12th Gullas Cup Tennis Champions
Last May 19 to 23, Cebu held the biggest junior tennis event in the Visayas and Mindanao: The Gullas Tennis Cup. Now on its 12th year, the event attracted 216 entries of boys and girls aged as young as seven years old and as old as 21 years old. Thanks to the tennis-loving tandem of Congressman Eddie and Dodong Gullas, this event has thrived and smashed in Cebu!
My favorite ‘Quotable Quotes’
I love reading quotations. They’re quick, at times funny, and always mind-provoking. Take what Muhammad Ali once said: “I’m so fast I could hit you before God gets the news.”
My favorite? “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot… and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why…. I succeed.”
Who said that? (Clue: Read on… he also said No. 17.)
1. “My doctor told me jogging could add years to my life, I told him ‘Yeah, since I began, I already feel 10 years older!’” – golfer Lee Trevino
2. “The man who will whip me will be fast, strong and hasn’t been born yet.” – Muhammad Ali
3. “Golf is the only game where the worst player gets the best of it. He obtains more out of it as regards both exercise and enjoyment, for the good player gets worried over the slightest mistake, whereas the poor player makes too many mistakes to worry over them.” – David Lloyd George
4. “Brazilian football is not only a sport. It’s a kind of stage play, a theatrical movement.” – Muniz Sodre
5. “When I was 40 my doctor advised me that a man in his forties shouldn’t play tennis. I heeded his advice carefully and could hardly wait until I reached 50 to start again.” – Hugo L. Black
Dr. Jovito Lee writes…
Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama with (left to right) Allan Lim, Jovito Lee and Domingo Te
I share with you an e-mail sent by Dr. Jovito Lee:
1. We read your article regarding the (PBA) event last May12, 2007. Our chapter and leadership training organization, Metro Cebu Uptown Jaycees, Inc. and its foundation, the Metro Cebu Uptown Jaycees Foundation, Inc., were responsible for bringing the PBA to Cebu City after a 2 year drought.
We concur with your assessment that we need a new venue (mega or super dome) to be able to host events like this but due to some obvious reasons (no investors), the New or “Hot” Cebu Coliseum is the only venue at the moment we can offer to the public when big event like the PBA comes to Cebu City. We did all what we can do to make the atmosphere comfortable but again we are in a venue beyond our control and we are in the summer months. We apologize to the public for such inconvenience.
Gullas Cup on its 12th Year
The biggest junior tennis event in the Visayas and Mindanao is now on-going: the Gullas Tennis Cup, now serving aces and firing smashes after one dozen years. The two venues are Cebu Country Club and Casino Espanol. The games started last Saturday (May 19) and will run until Wednesday (May 23). Drop by and watch our top juniors!