Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I just read today the news about the canceled fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. This is a big blow not just for the boxing world but to all boxing fans and all other businesses surrounding the mega fight. People always say that this bout could be the biggest earning so far, an estimated $30-40 million for each fighter but unfortunately it was too good to be true.

What made the fight a no-go?

First, Team Mayweather demanded an Olympic style of testing athletes for PED or performance enhancing drugs which athletes use to have an edge during competition. This Olympic style of testing is random blood and urine test, any day and any hour before and after the scheduled fight. According to Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, it is so random, they can get blood test during nights or even hours before the actual fight.

Second, Team Pacquiao refused to undergo Olympic style random testing because Pacquiao has never tested positive in all his fights and believed regulated testing by Nevada boxing associations were sufficient to prove that he is not using PEDs. Furthermore, Team Pacquiao believe that the Mayweather group is asking too much and are way over their heads to dictate such a condition of blood testing before a boxing fight. Olympic style testing was never done before for a boxing fight.

Now, different opinions are beginning to surface on which fighter did not really want to go on with the fight. For Mayweather fans, of course it would be Pacquiao. A good example is a regular writer of Yahoo sports who actually made a statement asking why wouldn't Pacquiao agree with the Olympic style tests, mentioning Pacquiao hates needles and pointing out that he has tattoos all over his body. It is unfair to actually question Pacquiao since having tattoos is totally different from giving blood for test within the same day of the fight. Does it have physical effects? Majority says no, but who are we to actually judge a boxer before one of the biggest fights of his career? Truly no one needs any distraction before a fight of this magnitude. How about Pacquiao fans? Obviously the common reason for the fight to be canceled is Mayweather really doesn't want to fight the smaller Pacquiao. He has avoided big name fighters such as Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams or even Antonio Margarito. He asked for an Olympic style of testing just for Pacquiao but not for Marquez, Dela Hoya or Hatton. How could he doubt that Pacquiao is using PEDs? He actually went through the same thing. He started to collect his championship belts at 130lbs, then 135, 140 and 145. Pacquiao went the same road. Even Oscar Dela Hoya. All of them started on a lighter weight.

Anyway, a lot of boxing fans are really disappointed to what happened to the much anticipated boxing fight of the year or possibly for the decade. Who wants Pacquiao fighting Yuri Foreman or Mayweather fighting Malignaggi? Foreman may have a bigger future but Malignaggi? This guy was actually beaten bad by Ricky Hatton who was destroyed by both Pacquiao and Mayweather. Who will watch these fights? No wonder people are turning to UFC and MMA. These guys really fight, no cowards, no conditions. They fight for themselves and their fans. Nobody cares about the money except their promoters. Mayweather should think again and again before walking away from this fight. He will be known as one of the biggest cowards who stepped on a boxing ring. He will not be remembered by his big fights with Dela Hoya, Hatton and Marquez but as a boxer who ran away from his biggest rival. Now everybody thinks that even he himself believes that it is actually Manny Pacquiao who will give him his first loss and give him a beating he will never forget.

Back to Badminton Days

I started playing badminton seriously when I took it up as a P.E. subject when I was in college. I was so into it that I always come in early and stay even after our class hours. I practice with my regular partner and my professor, who noticed our interest, regularly plays with us to enhance our skills. After college, when I was employed at Haribon Foundation, when the annual NGO sportsfest included badminton as a one of the activities, I got serious, practiced hard with my partner and eventually became the 1st place among 5 different organizations.

Even during holidays and vacations, my friends and I would line up for more than an hour at a local indoor badminton court just to play and enjoy the game. After 4 years at Haribon, when I was employed at PBSP, another NGO, I also joined groups who regularly play badminton after office hours. I even joined a tournament with a close friend, but unfortunately we lack practice so we were not able to land a decent finish.

When my knees started to hurt and playing time was shortened because of limited time, i decided to retire my racket and just concentrate on my work and my family. Honestly, I miss the fun and the excitement. When the year started, my friend mentioned that she and her husband needed to go to the gym, lose some weight and start exercising. Suddenly I remembered she mentioned she wanted to play badminton before but we never got a chance to play together. Well, i guess, this maybe the time. I mentioned to her that we can play, even just once or twice a week just for the exercise. She agreed so i started to look for a court to play and sent a message through text to a few friends who I knew were playing before. To my surprise, my friends were also willing to play again for fun.

Hopefully, this activity will help me be active again and have a regular exercise program. Badminton is not difficult to learn and is a relatively an affordable sport. You just need a good racket, dependable shoes and about 3-5 friends to play with. Badminton also helps relieve stress and fatigue and forces you to drink lots of liquid to remove toxins inside your body. I surely hope I will be consistent this year, and maybe restart my days of running and swimming too.

Plans for the year 2010

My wife and I have been anticipating this coming 2010 as one of our most productive years. First and foremost, looking back at 2009, we had several accomplishments and we really thank God for all the blessings he gave us. Thank God for our good health and opportunities that come in our way. Since 2010 will be within a few days, i will prepare a list of our plans, or let's say our prayer wishes so I can look back by December 2010 and analyze our achievement and blessings we received.

Here is a list of our plans and prayer wishes:

1. For my wife to have a safe and healthy delivery of our second child
2. To have our second baby baptized within a month or two after his or her birthday
3. To renovate our house bathroom
4. To renovate our kitchen and dining area
5. To finish car repairs specifically shock absorbers and other under chassis parts
6. To have our car's paint restored through rubbing
7. To buy car seat covers
8. To buy new car mats
9. To buy or repair our bed and add beds for our son and for the new baby
10. To get a decent salary increase
11. To earn from blogging and get a payout every month
12. To help my sister and her family look for a new house
13. To help my sister by a new van for her food business
14. To have a new watch
15. To have a new pair of sneakers
16. To increase our savings and start (again) to look for our own home
17. To start the application for a house loan through Pag-Ibig Fund
18. To look for a new nanny for our second child
19. To renew our exercise habit, walking and jogging around UP Diliman or Marikina Sports Complex
20. To teach my son how to ride a bike
21. To learn a new recipe to cook
22. To enroll my wife to a driving school and get her a new license
23. To help my wife fix our legal documents (marriage, birth, etc.)
24. To pay the land tax of my wife's parents' house
25. To buy new tiles for our house
26. To buy a new electric fan for our room
27. To pay at least half of my credit card balance
28. To learn internet SEO
29. To meet more internet and blogging friends
30. To donate more to our church and to Haribon Foundation
31. To increase our son's savings for his future
32. To help my wife's mom get the retirement pay of her late husband
33. To help my friends learn how to earn online
34. To buy our own camera
35. To have time to learn photography skills

It is a long list, but I know, and I believe with God's help, we will be able to accomplish most, if not all our plans and prayer wishes for the coming year. Hopefully everything will come out fine.

Christmas 2009

My family and I celebrated Christmas this year at home together with my mom-in-law and brother-in-law. We attended the midnight mass and arrived at home an hour before midnight. I had enough time to cook the pasta sauce for our spaghetti and prepare other dishes for our Noche Buena. Everyone was very happy and excited. After dinner, it was time for the kids (my nieces) and my son to open their much anticipated gifts from their parents, relatives and friends.

My son enjoyed every minute opening his gifts. He particularly enjoyed receiving a new pair of Crocs sandals, 3 Transformers toy robots and several toy trucks and cars. I was really happy seeing him enjoy his gifts and my wife and I are really grateful to all our relatives and friends who gave gifts to my son. It was also nice seeing my nieces enjoy their new dresses and stuff toys given by their grandmom and their uncle.

My wife and I also decided to give a gift for ourselves this year, we got a new desktop so we can be active in blogging here at home compared to going out to internet cafes when we decide to write a post or visit our friends' sites. We also decided that it was time to take advantage of earning online while at home most especially for my wife when she will be staying at home after giving birth to our second child this coming May. Hopefully everything turns out well so we can have other sources of income other than our regular day jobs. We are praying that the coming year will be very fruitful for us so we can eventually start looking for our own place and call it our own home.

A Gift For The Environment

This holiday season, people are very busy finishing their work and shopping for Christmas gifts for their friends and love ones. Other than the usual gifts we buy from the malls and bargain stores, we might want to consider giving a unique gift. Haribon Foundation is still selling tree seedlings as a gift and upon purchase, you will receive a certificate of donation saying you have purchased seedlings to be planted at Haribon's rainforestation sites in the Philippines.

You may indicate your friend or relative's name on the certificate so it will show that you have donated in behalf of your friend's name. My wife and I have given several certificates to our relatives and friends last Christmas and upon reading their names on the certificates of donation, they really appreciated our Gift of Tree.

To know more about the Gift of Tree program of Haribon, you may visit their website at http://www.haribon.org.ph or you may call at 02-4211209. You can also purchase other items such as kiddie books, research books, kids and adults t-shirts, postcards, bird stickers and a lot of other souvenirs. All proceeds will go to Haribon Foundation's environmental conservation projects within Metro Manila and several provinces around the country.

Manny Pacquiao - Philippine's Boxing Legend

Filipino athletes have been known to be very determined even against all odds. We have Manny Pacquiao, Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, Jerry Penalosa, Luisito Espinosa, Onyok Velasco, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Django Bustamante, Paeng Nepomuceno, Caloy Loyzaga, Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Benjie Paras, Eric Buhain, Akiko Thomson, Tony Leviste, Lydia de Vega, Elma Muros and so many others. Even with limited resources and minimal support from the national government, these athletes have contributed pride and glory to our nation. The Philippines, though has not won a single gold medal at the Olympics, have continued to defy odds and challenge other athletes from different parts of the world.

Manny Pacquiao may be considered the country's greatest boxer. No other boxer, even abroad has won 7 different weight divisions. Even the Golden Boy Oscar dela Hoya or Floyd Mayweather has not earned this feat. Both have won only 6 weight division belts. Don't underestimate that, winning 6 different weight divisions is amazing, winning 7 is crazy. No matter how you put it, Pacquiao's achievement has never been done before, and not only that, his past 4 fights, Diaz, Dela Hoya, Hatton and Cotto are all very convincing wins, 3 were knockouts and 1 by submission. These 4 boxers were all heavier, taller and are said to be more powerful than him in terms of punches. His only clear advantage was his speed. But in the end, his speed was only one of his skills. He has matured into an intelligent boxer, thanks to his coach and trainer, Freddie Roach.

Filipinos should be very proud of Manny Pacquiao. We may not have another boxer of his stature in probably 10-20 years. All the news about his extra marital affairs are all being blown out of proportion by the media. People who judge him are being unfair. If all the gossips about him are true, who are we to judge the guy? Are we no different? Haven't we done anything wrong in our lives that we were ashamed to admit? People say that it is unfair to his wife and children, which is true, but we should not exploit the issue by showing their emotions on national television and talking about their lives at showbiz talk shows. Manny Pacquiao is a public figure who should be responsible since he is idolized by many, but he is still a normal human being who commits mistakes. Nobody is perfect, it is just very poor judgment that the media is exploiting his weaknesses, all just for earning more and more millions for their media corporation.

Manny Pacquiao is a gift to us Filipinos and we should thank God and him for bringing pride and glory to Filipinos all over the world. Let us try to be decent human beings and give what is due to Manny. Not only did he brought pride to us but he has helped thousands of Filipinos by donating funds to typhoon victims and provided jobs to his people in General Santos through his businesses. He will try for the second time to run for public office because he believes he can help more if he is elected. All of these are from his fists which once were hitting coconut trees when he was just a young boy dreaming to be a good boxer one day.

Applying for US Visa

Ask any Filipino you know and most probably they have a relative or a friend living in the States. We are a nation of people who treats the US as our second nation ever since they set foot on our nation during the Spanish regime. Our parents, uncles, aunts and just about anybody in their generation tried to go to the states either by looking for work or just want to have a vacation. It was generally known that if one goes to the states, life is better there, easier and you earn more. If you pass by the US Embassy, chances are you will see a lot of people applying for a visa or are scheduled for an interview. Is the grass really greener there?

I have known a few people who tried to apply for a visa. An adult who had a scholarship to the states was denied. Another who has no plans of working there, who owns a small business here was granted a visa, a couple who planned to have their honeymoon there - the husband was granted but the wife denied and another person who plans to accompany her father to see their relatives there was denied twice. People say that consuls at the embassy do not have a clear criteria on granting a visa or denying one. They say that one must have a fat bank account, travel experiences abroad and good credit standing will help. Basing on a friend's story, it does not work that way. They say that consuls just rely on their gut feelings. Do you think that is fair?
As for me, i hope that i will not be required to get a US Visa in the future. I have no plans in going there. I heard that life there is more difficult than here. It makes twice as difficult because you will miss your family here. The only logical reason for applying for a US Visa is work there pays better compared here, far much better. Vacation? There are other places better to visit. How about Europe? Other Asian countries are also worthwhile to have a vacation.

I really hope that the time will come that Filipinos will not be so restricted in going abroad, not just to the US but other first world countries as well. Filipinos are known to be very hardworking and family-oriented. Since the government here can not provide enough and decent jobs that can pay well, Filipinos should be given a fair chance to work abroad. As we all know, the government very much rely on remittances sent by OFWs to their families here, so it is logical that we need more opportunities.