Battle-ready OG

Baron Davis sure knows how to prepare for war.

BDiddy is pimpin'. Straight-up gangsta.

These being said, his Golden State Warriors lead the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, 3-1, in their best-of-seven first round series.

Pic taken from The Basketball Jones

Cell change

I've been comtemplating getting a new phone for the past months. I finally got one last night.

My early choices were:

Dopod 838 Pro: easily the hands-down winner, but it was just too expensive.
Treo 680: : Not-so-good reviews.
BlackBerry 8800: : Kick-ass phone, but useless if I won't use the push-email technology. No camera though.
Nokia E61: : Excellent reviews, and it's a Nokia. No camera as well.


Then they released the Nokia E61i recently. It's basically the E61 on steroids, with a 2mp camera to boot. It was a no-brainer. I just had to get one.

Road-tripped

Went to Calatagan yesterday to facilitate another strategic planning session. It was such a long road trip, that we had to cut short the program due to pure exhaustion. Most of the participants haven't had rest so we felt it was better to take it easy and postpone some of the activities. The trip back to Manila was worse. Traffic was bad from Batangas to Tagaytay. I was out cold the moment I got home.

Trip to Calatagan: 3.5 hours
Actuall Planning session including breaks: 3 hours
Trip back to Manila: 4.5 hours

Not exactly one of my better days.

Mid-shifting

I went on midshift today. And it seems fun.

I'm liking this shift cause I don't have to get up early. And since I'll stay late anyway even on normal schedule, I might as well lobby for this.

Of course, it will never see the light of day. Just wishful thinking on my end.

Offsite stress

I was totally drained out yesterday. I spent the more than 12 hours offsite at the Daksh office in PBCom Tower as part of the Daksh-IBS transition. We're pulling out our P&G and Kodak Tier 1 operations from Daksh and consolidating it within our own Contact Center group. We were running the formal offers for the Daksh employees who will be affected by move. Those who accept the offers will be absorbed by IBS, their tenures retained.

So far, we're at about 63% acceptance. Not bad.

On meetings...

I went to a meeting that I wasn't even supposed to attend. Heck I wasn't even invited. I just had a simple question that needed an immediate answer. And the best resource people were part of the meeting.

Two-and-a-half hours later, I step out of the meeting with no clear response to my question. Apparently, it wasn't so simple at all.

Unearthly A-Rod

Through April 21st (15 games played)... this is Alex Rodriguez's stats:

Avg: .372 HR: 12 RBI: 30

- Two walk-off homeruns (1 grand slam, 1 three-run)
- Has hit successfully on all games
- leads the majors in HR, RBI, and total bases.

Dude killing it early in the season. I hope he murders the rest of the way.

Bleeding Carolina Blue

I came across this inspiring story while going over the AOL Sports Blog site.


http://www.aolsportsblog.com/2007/04/19/unc-mascots-death-gives-nj-man-life/

UNC Mascot's Death Gives NJ Man Life

Posted Apr 19th 2007 7:05AM by Sportz Assassin. Filed under: North Carolina Basketball, ACC Basketball, Carolina

By now, most of you know the sad story of University of North Carolina mascot Jason Ray, who died three days after being struck by an SUV in northern New Jersey. Rest assured that while his passing was a very sad story ... everything else about Ray is a happy tale.

The kid who was full of life decided to help others get a second chance at one. Ray was an organ donor and his organs have already come to great use. The Press of Atlantic City share a remarkable story of a New Jersey man who's life was saved because Ray was a donor. Dennis Korzelius, 43, was married just two months before being told that his liver was failing and he was certain to die. Not, may or could die ... he was already preparing for his death.

Ray's death made another liver available to the long list of people needing one. Korzelius was 2nd on the list, and was called to come to the hospital immediately because the top person on the list probably wasn't going to live long enough to receive the liver [in an ironic twist, the top person was from the Georgetown section of Washington. The Tar Heels lost to Georgetown the night before Ray died]. The man from Georgetown passed away and Korzelius can get Ray's liver.

Dennis Korzelius used to hate basketball. He would rather have watched ice hockey or ride his Harley-Davidson motorcyle instead of taking in a game of hoops. But Korzelius said that changed when doctors told him his life was saved by a 21-year-old who bled "Carolina Blue."
Now Korzelius said he will have "Carolina Blue" pumping through his veins for the rest of his life. Ray's other organs have, no doubt, saved numerous other lives.

Donations to the "Jason Kendall Ray Memorial Fund" can be sent in care of Concord Christian Church to 3101 Davidson Highway, Concord, NC.

Krazy Korean

Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui mailed NBC a package in between the two shooting incidents on campus. Officials said the package contained a rambling and often-incoherent, 1,800-word video manifesto, plus 43 photos, 11 of them showing him aiming handguns at the camera.

Some excerpts:

"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today, but you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off."

"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people."

"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your hedonistic needs. You had everything."

---------

This is one deranged person psycho. Imagine the motherfucker comparing himself to Jesus. What an asshole.

He should've shot it out with the police instead of doing the most cowardly act of killing himself. He ain't got balls. Got no sympathy for him nor his family.

We are all Hokies fans

Having been a North Carolina fan for most of my life, I've seen many UNC-VT games over the past years albeit via television. Naturally, I was always rooting for the Tar Heels.

For now, it's time to drop the affiliations and what-not. I feel for those 32 innocent people who were killed by a Korean student during a shooting spree at the Virginia Tech campus a few days ago. May they all rest in peace.

As a result, I think there will be some form of racial backlash or prejudice towards Koreans. I doubt it will be major, but I'm sure it will induce some isolated incidents.

Go Hokies!

Another day at the office

It's been a crisis-management-and-conflict-resolution-filled week.

God, I love this job.

For real.

Pacman KO

As expected, most pinoys are going gaga over Manny Pacquiao's win over Mexican challenger Jorge Solis.

Bullcrap. I'm unimpressed. Yes, Manny scored a knockout. Yes, Solis was previously undefeated. But it was a whitewash from the time they signed the fight contract. Everyone, including Manny, expected nothing but a Pacman victory. Hell, I foresaw an early round stoppage.

As Freddy Roach said, Manny gets a barely passing mark - a 5 out of 10.

Next time, I hope he fights a real contender. Not some average dude who racks up wins going against nobodies.

Pearl-driven

Just came home from a successful strategic planning session with the Madeira Pearl group at the Linden Suites in Ortigas. More than three-fourths of the team were relatively new so the turnout was great. There was excellent participation and interaction among everyone. I enjoy facilitating a rookie crowd as against a set of veteran employees primarily because you can see the dedication and commitment in their eyes. It's something that escapes the more senior IBMers.

They have an outstanding team at the F&A delivery. I wish for nothing but their continued success.

Holy-days

Can't believe I actually missed work. The 5-day weekend was just too much. It was boredom at its finest.

I tried logging on to the IBM network over the weekend. Lo and behold, my AT&T connection wasn't working. No access to Sametime and replication. I think the IBM VPN was on holy week break too. Not sure if that was good news or bad since I was so bored I wanted to get work done.

Obviously, I couldn't.

A-Rod gets back at critics

Maligned for not being clutch since he joined the Yankees a few years ago, Alex Rodriguez showed everyone why he is baseball's highest paid player.

Bottom of the ninth. New York down 6-7. Bases loaded. Two outs. Two strikes. A-Rod hits a line drive over deep center. Walk-off grand slam homerun. Yankees 10, Orioles 7.

New York is lovin' A-Rod. For now, at least.

See full story below.

NY Yankees 10, Baltimore 7

By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball WriterApril 7, 2007
AP - Apr 7, 5:17 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez turned Kei Igawa's forgettable debut into a day he'll long
remember.

Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs and the Yankees trailing by a run. Just the type of pressure situation Rodriguez failed at during the last two Octobers. Nearly the same circumstances as two nights earlier, when he popped out and tossed his bat to the ground in
disgust.

"There's no way out," manager Joe Torre said. "There it is: You either produce, or you're going to read about yourself again."

This time was different. This time, A-Rod wound up getting shoved back onto the field by Derek
Jeter for a curtain call.

Down to his last strike, Rodriguez came through in the most dramatic way, sending a soaring drive into the center-field bleachers, Yankee Stadium's famed black seats. His grand slam off Chris Ray, A-Rod's second home run Saturday, gave the Yankees a memorable 10-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

"It felt awesome," Rodriguez said in the clubhouse, still smiling, the ball perched on a shelf in his locker. "I was so excited, I felt like a fool running around the bases, like it was Little
League." New York fell behind by five runs early, and Igawa left after five mediocre innings with a 7-3 deficit. Dice-K he wasn't.

Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Danys Baez to get the Yankees close. But Ray (0-1) got the first two outs of the ninth.

"Somehow, I knew it was going to come to down to me. Even with two outs and nobody on," Rodriguez said. "Somehow or another, it always ends up with me somewhere."

Robinson Cano singled, Derek Jeter walked and Bobby Abreu was hit on a knee by a pitch.
Rodriguez then connected on a 1-2 fastball. As soon as he hit it, he knew it was gone, and what
remained of a crowd announced at 50,510 on a 39-degree afternoon went wild.

On Thursday, he popped out with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay.

It's something about New York, that I love it here," Rodriguez said. "There's just energy. It's crazy, one way or another. Every night is always exciting."

A-Rod arrived at spring training, admitted after several years of denials that he and Jeter no longer were best buddies and has seemed more relaxed than during his first three seasons with the Yankees. He can't erase going 4-for-41 (.098) without an RBI in his last 12 playoff games
dating to 2004 and was dropped to eighth in the batting order in last year's final game, but carrying New York to big regular-season wins would be a start to putting past failures behind. He was 3-for-4 with six RBIs Saturday, hitting a two-run homer and doubling, and is batting .389 with three homers and nine RBIs.

Fans wanted a curtain call, and Jeter took the initiative to make sure A-Rod gave them one.
"We needed that," Jeter said. "We didn't want to waste another game."

Rodriguez has 14 slams and three of them ended games, tying the major league mark shared by Vern Stephens (1946, 1949, 1950) and Cy Williams (1924 and twice in 1926).

"He's a big key to this team," said Giambi, who last year criticized Rodriguez for not getting enough big hits. "We are definitely rooting for him. There is not a situation where we want him to do bad. We want him to do great."

Mariano Rivera (1-0) pitched a one-hit ninth, completing four shutout innings for New York's bullpen. Yankees starters have allowed 22 runs -- 19 earned -- and 28 hits in 17 1-3 innings for a 9.87 ERA.

Igawa was the fourth flop in a row for the rotation. Two days after Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched seven dominating innings to win his debut for the Boston Red Sox, Igawa started hearing boos after his 12th batter. He failed to string together a 1-2-3 inning and gave up seven runs, eight hits, three walks, a hit batter and two home runs, a performance that left him with a
12.60 ERA.

"Please don't compare me to Matsuzaka," he said through a translator, "but as a Japanese, I have to do my job."

His fastball, clocked from 89-91 mph, was the only pitch he consistently threw for a strike. Nick
Markakis hit an opposite-field homer into the left-field seats in the first. Melvin
Mora, who tied a career high with five RBIs, had a three-run double in the second after the 26-year-old left-hander walked Brian Roberts with the bases loaded.

Igawa bobbled Markakis' nubber in front on the mound for an error, fans started booing. The jeers were louder when Mora added a two-run homer in the fourth for a 7-2 lead.
"He threw funky, but he had a pretty good fastball," Mora said. "Maybe today was not one of his better days."

Baltimore, which had been hoping for its first 2-0 start at Yankee Stadium since 1997, was understandably depressed. Ray said he left the fastball to A-Rod up.

"He just looked like he was trying to overthrow to me," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "He was rushing his delivery."

New York evened its record at 2-2 and avoided what would have been a three-game losing streak, an unacceptable skid at any time of the season. Having heard the boos, A-Rod embraced the cheers.

"I'm doing the best I can to enjoy the game," he said. "I'm in a good place."

Notes
Hideki Matsui strained his left hamstring running out a second-inning grounder and left in the fourth. Torre said he probably wouldn't play until Friday in Oakland. Johnny Damon still recovering from a strained right calf, pinch hit in the eighth and struck out, then went to center. Steve Trachsel, making his debut with the Orioles after six seasons with the New York Mets, gave up four hits in 6 2-3 innings, allowing his only runs on A-Rod's first homer and Jorge
Posada's RBI single in the fourth.

Updated on Saturday, Apr 7, 2007 8:18 pm EDT

Rosie

Rosie O'Donnell is plain trash. She's one fat, ugly and insane bitch. She's again trying to create controversy with her outrageous comments on 9/11 and the British sailors who are held captive in Iran. I don't understand why she's even a host on ABC's The View. The bitch is baloney.

I hope the Donald buys her out of this universe.

Gator-raid

Congratulations to the Florida Gators. 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions. Two in a row. Back-to-back.

Props to the three juniors who sacrificed guaranteed NBA money to go back to school. Al Horford. Corey Brewer. Joakim Noah. They have nothing left to prove now. Go ahead and get rich in the big league.

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On a side note, the North Carolina will probably be the consensus top seed next season barring any early departures. There are no McD's All-Americans coming in but they still have a very stacked roster. Pretty much anyone in the Tar Heels lineup can start in most D-I schools. They're looking fantastic for next season.