nostalgia... for home...

of the journeys you make, and places visited...
of cultures and peoples interacted with...

... you adapt,
... you assimilate,
... you strive to fit in...

but at the end of it all,
... you are still you,
... your heritage,
... your culture,
... your kind...

i'm a filipino working here in singapore; as much as we try to make this place
a home. with families, friends kept close to keep the feeling and sense of "pinas"
it almost feels like home... when i spend the day with Famela;
... walking the streets,
... malling,
... hanging out
home is wherever you have your family with you... and here, it almost... almost feels like home.

at work; we'll it's another story...
i stream... stream for true blue "pinoy" radio stations :) thanks to the internet these days...
10 years ago, when we were in brunei w/ my dad working... there was no radio streaming over the internet.
there was no internet even...

yeah, pinoy radio... it's kewl.... better than the stations here... at least for my taste..
here's a playlist least you feel like streaming too... just add them to your media player or winamp:
Monster Radio RX 93.1 Cebu
105.1 Crossover
96.3 WRock

New toy's a SCREAMER... an audio utopia for me...

Recently, an I.T. Expo has just wrapped up. It was held sometime on the last week of august here in Singapore at the Suntec International Convention Center. It was the COMEX Show 2008; as usual, it was a galore of I.T. toys for boys… an I.T and Consumer Technology Exhibition; basically, it's just one big grand sales thing to me. And come to think of it, it's usually every end of quarter of the year, so there's one around March – The I.T. Show; June – The PC Show; August – COMEX; November – SITEX; so guess there's no worrying missing the gadget that you've been wanting, and there're always something new for the show to showcase.

At the COMEX, we got an Altec Lansing VS2421; it's a 2.1 speaker system that is a screamer and I mean a screamer. It's small and compact and yet, when it's on full volume, the bass does not break. I mean, it can hold out unlike our old Altec Lansing 251, which would break at high volumes. Anyways, we can enjoy sound tripping and watching movies with having to strain on the tiny speakers from the laptop (another one of the toys I posted about previously)

We also got a wireless router, a D-Link DIR-300; enabling us to have wireless internet connection at home. Spares us from the limitations of wire connections, but with a compromise to connection speed hehehehe but the connection speed is just fine so far. We got our router at almost half the price so I guess it was a bargain enough since it came with a lifetime warranty.

The last was a webcam- a LifeCam NX-3000, helpful when chatting with families and friends. Especially for Famela, since her sister's in Canada & they have a webcam. It comes with a microphone, which makes it more convenient…

Now, if I could just get rid of the wires and cables…. Hmmm… Bluetooth?...

1,000 balls to start... 10,000 more to perfect... that's tennis...

I got to play tennis last sunday... I mean, TENNIS...
and it felt good again... really good... tiring good... but good...

It started when I posted at Tennis Friendz Network, a local (singapore) tennis network that I was looking for anyone looking for a hitting partner.
I was looking to hit with others who has higher NTRP level than me (I think I'm a 2.5-3) & who was willing to hit too. As usual, it's a weekend warrior thing (weekdays are work days, but I guess night games can be squeezed in should the need be). After getting delayed for a week due to rains, I  finally got to hit some real balls...

It felt good, to be able to hit again with players better than me. Obviously, after almost 1 1/2 years of not being able to play has taken their toll.
I couldn't hit the backhands as well as I used to (my left wing used to be my favorite shot)... be it a topspin, or slice... I just sprayed all over the place. I had to hit them defensively, just putting the balls back into play. On my right (forehands), I was hitting better but there are still some obvious rust in them. I just kept to the baseline most of the time, even if we were playing a doubles game. I couldn't hit the volleys even; other than the easy ones. I tried adapting to an eastern forehand grip sometime ago to no avail... I just can't control the shots; so I'm back the the ol' semi-western. As for moving around the court, well... what can I say :)  I've been out of it for awhile so I would make an excuse to be slow; a step behind, ...slow to react (you know where the shots are going, but your body is still slow to react), ...court-vision is off;well, all in all... it has all the symptoms of a long absense from playing.

My body was sore the next day :) the wrist numbs a bit (i'm glad it wasn't sore), my back was sore, my shoulders ache and so was my legs. The worst hit was lower back; it was really sore that I could not sit still for long. Even till now, I still feel the numbness on my lower back...

Probably, after a few more hits; 4-5 more sessions... then I'd get comfy again and start getting back in the zone. The 4-5 hitting sessions does not mean that I'll be able to play the way I used to but it should get me comfortable on the court again... be able hit on both wings, move around better, hit the volleys. But to be able to play, REALLY PLAY again... hmmm lemme see, 1,000 balls to get the rhythm and 10,000 more balls to perfect them...

At the end of the day, I'm just glad that I get to play again. It's a good stress reliever (all work and no play, makes a tad duller day) & a good sweat too (gotta rid some poundage too)...

The US Open is on now, hmmm gotta check who're still in the hunt; I know Rafa, Fedex, Nole are still in there...