That's the spirit! (Thrillah in Manila: Manila Spirits 2009)

To be honest, I didn't really want to join Spirits this year because it was quite pricey, and I figured that I had "been there, done that," and didn't need to repeat the experience. But I'm so glad my teammates convinced me to join! Even though I had a heartbreaker of a play that I'm still replaying in my head, it was an awesome tourney over all.

Reg par-tey

Oldies (Mundz, Mina, Dino, Cel, Kring, me), newbies (JM, Lloyd), and in-betweens (Yelle, Jacq, Jim). People were surprised to see me with a beer.

The registration party was held at Giligan's--free food and booze, but I didn't get to really enjoy it because I was stuck in a room for the captains' meeting. (Hmm, didn't I resign from this?) I was one of maybe three girls out of an entire room of male captains from all over the world. Thirty-two teams in all! Met a Korean guy from the team KUNT, a French guy based in Sri Lanka, a Pinay-looking girl from Guam...and the common complaint was the traffic! Welcome to Manila, y'all!

Day 1

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't utterly frustrated the first day. I really should work on my temper. We were all still feeling each other out because this version of the team hadn't really played together. I sorely missed the old members, but saw a lot of potential in the newbies. We're a work in progress. Again. Haha. Funny scenes:

A Mindanao team dressed up as fairies when they played against the Hong Kong Fairies! The boys were even skipping and doing jetes on the field when they came out!

Another Mindanao team teaching us to "bumba."

Z-Day Party

The theme: Z-Day. The costumes: zombies. The music: courtesy of a totally bitchin' band that played 90s rock music! (And Sherwin rapping to "Humanap Ka ng Panget." Hahaha.) The highlights: good food, free-flowing drinks, stage divers and body surfers...

Zombie killers spraying the zombies with booze from their water guns, a team full of zombified Elvises...

It amazed me how teams from abroad made an effort to pack costumes!

And a photo booth!

From baicapture.com. One of many many photos we took when we monopolized the photo booth!

Too bad we don't have the boys' photo with the Spotlight security guard! Classic!

Day 2

We finally won! I realized that, save for that heartbreaker point, I'm much more effective on D than on O. I had a lot more blocks than points last weekend. BUT I also realized that maybe it was a little easier for me to mark and defend since I didn't have to play with the usual speedy ones that I guard. No matter. My new objective is to work on my D. Which means I'm going to have to have to start running again.

The Finals and the After-Party

The finals were a bit of a snoozer, but oh well. Hung out with Peng (who didn't play) and Dindi, and played with a Ben Affleck-lookalike's daughter. Met Jim, an American dude from China--he ducked under my (er, Mundz's) umbrella and offered me a free beer in return. Woohoo! Peng calls him Wengweng. Haha. He's taller than me but there's something so lovably hobbit-like about him and his brother Joe (Dusk-til-Dawn candidate who wouldn't stop dancing). As we were talking, the bleachers behind me--filled with my teammates and sister team, Circus--chanted "Ger ger! Ger ger!" Real mature, guys. Haha.

With Jim (in black) aka Wengweng, who offered to, uh, rescue me should the beer bring about an allergy attack. The Warriors took a papparazzi shot of the two of us talking before they rushed forward and joined in.

The highlight of the party: getting our pic taken with various ultimate superstars (e.g., Panoy of Dragons, members of champion team Black Flag) and random people from other teams, such as this white dude who, under his shirt, had taped nipples. Don't ask.

After about ten minutes of talking with us, he said, "Who ARE you guys?!" Hahaha.

Too bad Team Pilipinas didn't even make it to the finals. But everybody wins when the parties are rockin'!


My husband took our cam with him on his trip abroad, so all pics stolen from Kring, Ogee (Z-Day pics), and Jacq (last pic).

Scenes from M&M 2009

(Clockwise from top left) Bumbum buddies--me with Peng's "beyonce"; Gali's freaky-ass act; Warriors--Cheng's back!; my last league day as a single girl

So. I got home from girls' night out at 5:30 am, still kind of buzzed after having a bit to drink. I jumped in the shower, packed my stuff, and was picked up by Fel (aka Kapitan Dukot) at 6:30 am to go to Alabang for the Malakas at Maganda finals! I had to play one crucial game that day, and tried to figure out how on earth I was going to do it when I hadn't slept since the night before. Lo and behold, I had a couple of blocks, assists, and points! I therefore conclude that no sleep and alcohol = a good game! P.S. We won that game, and we thus retained our original ranking. Yay!

Pool B champs Circus; Pool A champs Askalz and runners-up Chopacabras

Our "sister" team Circus won the Pool B championship, and we stayed to watch the Pool A finals--it was Askalz vs. Roaches/Chopacabras, D vs. Galile-oh and Teammate. Askalz emerged victorious, but the Ipis succeeded in giving everyone one hell of an LSS. "I want nobody, nobody but you *clap clap clap clap*..."

I ran some errands, went home, showered, and didn't even get to rest before I headed out to the party.

(Clockwise from top left) With Lolo D (D: "Lola ka." T: "At least hindi nirarayuma tuhod ko." D: "At least champion kami." Hahaha); surrounded by PUA's hot men;with Teammate/Indie Rakstar God X; lurve this bebeh girls pic! I'm not singkit for once; with my pretty teammates and new Warrior Mark

Slept at 4:30 am on Sunday. Forty-four hours straight with no sleep. Hmmm. Maybe I do have the stamina to do the whole motherhood thang after all. Eventually.

(All photos stolen! Ahehe. Click to enlarge.)

An unforgettable November

November 2008 is just chock full o' highlights, but the number one highlight, undoubtedly is...

Me, with happy tears, and my hot fiance right beside me

Getting engaged! Come on, people, what could possibly top that this year? It's most likely THE highlight of 2008!

Of course, there were a couple of other things that sure made this month truly one for the books:

The Warriors joined their first international tournament, Manila Spirits 2008. We were seeded at the bottom (no exag here), being the most inexperienced team, but we clawed our way up three spots by the end of it! We won all our games on the last day! Woohoo!

Here we are with the first international team we ever played with, Team Japan!
(Click photo to enlarge!)

It was awesome playing with Team Japan, who awarded MVP shirts to Sarah and Ian on the first day. On the second day, they gave shirts to me and Czar! Woohoo! I gave my black-and-white racerback jersey to Yoko in exchange. I didn't play particularly well, I was probably given the shirt coz I was nice to Yoko. Haha. But I did score a couple of times during the tourney I think. And I even had a "double happiness" play--a layout block converted to a point. Yay!

We also stayed to watch the totally awesome finals game: Team Pilipinas vs. Black Flag. And Team Pilipinas emerged victorious! Congrats to them, they worked so hard!

And of course, the last major highlight of the month: New York, baby! The trip I thought of on a whim some months back has finally become a reality. Ahh, New York--the sights, the sounds, the FOOD, and best of all, my family!

Reunited with Kuya Vic, Gedo, Ate Udes, and Carlos (click photo to enlarge!)

It is gonna be so damn hard to leave.

But hey, I've got a fiance waiting back home!

We've got spirit

We won all of one game in the just-concluded Malakas at Maganda 2, but it was a game that bumped us up a notch. At the end of the league, Ultimate Warriors-Women came in sixth out of seven. I am actually happy with that! I'm happy enough that we won one game, and...won the Most Spirited Team award! What a lovely surprise. Sarah and I went up to claim our prize--a bottle of Tanduay.

And one of the funniest highlights of the night:

Fel has better pics!

PUA parties: where your wildest dreams come true! Hahaha.

I'm getting too old for this

It's Wednesday and I'm just posting about my weekend now. It took me that bloody long to recover.

Friday night
...was turnover night, but wonder of wonders, we ended before midnight! I thus hightailed it to Harbor View Bistro near the Mall of Asia for AMP's anniv after-party. I didn't get to stay long, and I looked like crap (especially since most everyone else was in semi-formal finery), but it was worth the out-of-the-way trip to greet our new partner/financier. Hehe.

Saturday
Surprisingly, I had practically the whole day free! Mike and I were planning on joining a pick-up game at the Sunken Garden, but 1) it turned out to be some sort of closed practice, and 2) the rain was coming down in sheets! So instead, I indulged in something I hardly get to do on the weekends anymore--a delicious afternoon nap. Ahhhh. I loved getting reacquainted with the TV and remembering how good I am at being a couch potato. I loved reading a few chapters of my novel before going off to Snoozeland for an hour. I loved having nothing to do for a change!

And then I was off to Urda for our regular pick-up game. Afterwards, we headed to Yelle's place for a team goal-setting meeting/mature drinking session. Dondi was voted captain; Greg, Sarah, and I are now co-captains. (I like to think of myself as Dakilang Taga-text though.) We had to pull a Cinderella because we had three games the next day--including a really early one--but, for once, I was the delinquent who stayed out late. Met up with the CADsters at Piedra for some dancing--our first real dance gimmick (not counting Pam Q's birthday last year)! Would've been cool if there were more of us, but it was great hanging out with them nonetheless.

Sunday
The next day, I dragged myself out of bed after getting just three hours' sleep. The sun was just relentless that day, beating down on us on what was supposed to be the Monsoon League. All hopes of rain were shot with puffy white clouds marring an otherwise pristine blue sky and the intense glare of the sun. (I am hesitant to call it "sunshine"--too harmless a name for something so merciless.) I scored about three points in the first game but we still lost. Damn. I would gladly have traded my points for a win. I scored in our two other games--which we won!--and was involved in the now-infamous gulungan sa damuhan scene. How embarrassing. But thankfully, only about half the team was there to witness it, and they were all too busy laughing to remember to take a picture. Bonus: No recap!

That evening, I went to mass with H, who played the part of Awesome Boyfriend and gave me a foot and back massage. I promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Monday, I woke up with a runny nose, watery eyes, a sore throat, and an even sorer body. I ain't gettin' any younger.

A good weekend

I realized that I like it when we have games on Saturday instead of Sunday, because I need the next day to recover. Often, I find myself dragging my aching body to work come Monday!

There was none of that yesterday. Both our summer league games were held on Sat--and even though we didn't win (and, in effect, ended our glorious winning streak), we still had fun! Let us not forget--this is the Warriors' primary objective!

After our own games, we watched an awesome Pool A game, before claiming an unused field and playing 10-on-10. It was absolute madness--with so many players, you couldn't tell who your teammates were (especially if you were drunk. Ahaha). I discovered what grass stains were, and managed to tear a hole into my jeans (now I've got me a distressed pair. Must buy new jeans). BUT I had such an awesome time! A couple of times, I actually just collapsed on the field in laughter (di ba, Gladys? Nice pass to Lawee Boy! Hahaha).

We then headed to Congo Grille, where we chowed down on our free crispy pata, as well as sisig and all the other bad stuff you could think of. I particularly liked the sisig--nice and crunchy. (As H said, I am not a fan of "authentic sisig"--the chewy kind.) It was cool just hanging out with the team, and great fun seeing some people--who shall remain unnamed--rather inebriated. (Di ba, Lei? Hahaha.)

Then I headed home and, even though all I wanted to do was stay in bed with my big fat book, had to get ready for a night out. First stop: The Penthouse at Tektite where Jun had a thanksgiving dinner to celebrate his passing the bar exam! Woohoo! Good job, dude!

Second stop: Hai for after-dinner drinks for BFF Chingy's birthday. Met some new people, and had a couple of drinks which surprisingly didn't affect me at all. Malibu pineapple, I love you!

Final stop: At 2:30 in the morning, we ended up at Piedra. Last time I was there at that hour, the place was packed. This time, there was lots of space to move around...people must've been at the beach, soaking up the...rain. I didn't dance much though--the heels weren't made for dancing, plus I had to take care of a certain friend who had a bit too much to drink. Nooneenoo.

Next day, I woke up early, but Hamil didn't, so our plan to go to mass at Gesu didn't push through. But it was cool just chillin' with him the whole day--it was just what I needed to recharge.

If I had been able to spend time with the family, it woulda been a perfect weekend. But as it was, it was pretty awesome.