Changing of the guard

Since joining IBM in March of last year, I've been under the care of three managers. I'll be having my fourth manager starting next week albeit on an interim basis. My current manager is moving into a regional role effective June. I certainly wish her all the best.

My new interim manager is a pillar in the IBM organization having been in the company for the past 25 years. I will surely learn a lot from her especially with the wealth of experience she brings. I actually wouldn't mind having her as my manager permamently.

I'm looking forward to working with her real soon.

Goal! The Dream Begins.

Caught the movie 'Goal!' over at HBO earlier. I could relate to lead character Santiago Muñez primarily because of two things: football and asthma. I remember bringing my inhaler during games and tucking it under my compression shorts.

Fantastic stuff.

UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson

This was the most anticipated mixed-martial arts match since the Liddell-Ortiz bout in UFC 66. Chuck 'The Iceman' Liddell has avenged all his previous losses except to Quinton 'The Rampage' Jackson. Both fighters were screaming KO's prior to the light-heavyweight title fight.

It was kinda a disappointment because it ended too early. I swear it would've been one helluva fight should it lasted a few more rounds. Jackson clocked Liddell with a menacing right hook to the face that knocked him down. A flurry of punches to the downed Liddell forced Big John McCarthy to stop the contest.

At first glance, I think Big John intervened prematurely. But replays showed the stoppage was justifiable as Liddell was flat-down on the ground at one point, and couldn't intelligently defend himself from Quinton Jackson's pounding.

I hope a rematch will be in the works soon. This championship bout didn't live up to a lot of people's expectations.

Light workouts

I participated in a couple of basketball scrimmages this afternoon for the first time after a long hibernation. Last time I was in a game was early September 2006, which was about 8 months ago. My ACL reconstruction was last November.

My legs are still weak and I had very little lift. I could feel the exhaustion on both my thighs after my second game.

I'm feeling good about my progress. I think I'm still on track.

Major pain in HR's ass

Times like these, I'm glad I'm out of recruitment. They've been screwing up lately.

No go

It's final. I ain't leaving.

Sense and sensibility

It's not the person. It's the situation. It just doesn't make sense anymore.

You gotta do whatchu gotta do.

To fly or not to fly?

D-Day is just around the corner. I'm still confused. Everything is pointing to the latter though.

Serendra = Crap

Serendra is way overrated. Everyone's going gaga over this small place where there's not much to do. It's just a fad that'll soon go away and be forgotten. I'd rather hit Market Market than go back there.

Did I mention the condos/apartments look cheap too? Some low-end housing units elsewhere look way better.

Debt-free

After a long time of luxurious splurging, I've finally cleansed all my credit card balances. The only recurring charges I have now are a few gadgets I bought on layaway plans. Everything else is spot-free.

Now, I'm wondering how long I can sustain this.

Rehab: Day 1

I went to my first official post-op PT session yesterday. I was expecting difficult exercises but I gone relatively simple ones. The therapist told me that the doctor should've prescribed more complex exercises since I was an athlete back in the day. Regardless, my legs were hell tired afterward.

I'm up for two more sessions this week. I'm planning to finish the eight mandatory sessions by month's end.

Word power

Spent the weekend in Tagaytay with some recruitment folks. A colleague of ours volunteered her place for an overnighter due to the long weekend. For the uninitiated, it's Election Day today.

Anyhow, one of my highlights from the trip was that no one could beat me in Scrabble. I took this seriously cause we were positioning it to be a battle of schools. The lone Atenean lorded it over everyone else. We played three games.

Being humble in victory, I won't even mention their universities. =P

Is it just me or does anyone else find Kris Aquino-Yap calling her newborn kid 'Baby James' annoying?

Poor kid. He grows up carrying a stupid name while having to coexist with a retarded half-brother.

Corporate advice

I picked up some words of wisdom about work from one of my internal clients today.

"As long as you're still here, you can't complain."

Simple, yet it hits you hard. Couldn't agree with her any better.

Holy stupidity

I came across the blog of a friend recently and I went through some posts. Goodness gracious, they all seem like they came straight out from an El Shaddai or Jesus Is Lord gathering. Hallelujahs everywhere.

It wonders me how some people connect everything to God. I bet they think even taking a crap should be aligned with Him.

Reds are back

Manchester United is back on top of English football. Just right where it belongs.

The Red Devils clinched the 2006/07 English Premier League title with two games left on the schedule. They hold a seven point lead over second place Chelsea.

Coincidentally, in a sour twist of fate, Chelsea and United meet midweek at Stamford Bridge for the second of their two season matchups. Being non-bearing, expect Sir Alex Ferguson to rest their key players. About ten days after, they clash again to dispute the FA Cup crown.

Missing Moro

I held a basketball for the first time after nine long months. I went through some shooting drills at the Moro Lorenzo gym this morning hoping to get a feel of what's it like playing ball again. I haven't held a ball since tearing my ACL in a game last September.

My knee held up pretty well considering I haven't gone to rehab since recovering from surgery. My lateral movement was fine, and I was able to make quick cuts too. The only thing I was afraid on trying was jumping on full potential. I just didn't want to risk a bad fall.

I'll be spending the next eight weeks doing rehab so hopefully I can be back on the court by July.

The world awaited

When the dust settled, it was the Pretty Boy over the Golden Boy.

Floyd Mayweather Jr scored a split decision win against Oscar Dela Hoya in their Saturday night (Sunday morning) fight in Las Vegas. This ends weeks of jawing and taunting between the two superstars.

With the very successful turnout of the bout, I think it's clear that there should be a rematch. Despite both saying that this may have been their swan song, the potential hefty payday for both fighters is just too much to ignore.

Spiderman 3

I watched Spiderman 3 earlier today at Greenbelt 3's MyCinema courtesy of a colleague. She invited us to her cousin's birthday party which consisted of a private screening of the film, dinner and dessert at Capricciosa and Cold Rock respectively.

The film was okay, nothing spectacular in my opinion. There was one thing that annoyed me though. I just didn't like it having too many subplots. You watch movies to get entertained, not to work your mind out.

I hope this is the last of the series. Having another installment doesn't sound very appealing to me.

Can you believe it?

The eight-seeded Golden State Warriors finished off the top-seeded Dallas Maverick with a convincing 111-86 rout to capture their best-of-seven first round series, 4 games to 2.

Having been under the shadow of its more popular in-state rivals (LA Lakes, LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings), the Warriors are now California's finest.

How do you gauge a professional sports team's popularity? When celebs troop to the games and watch. On hand during Golden State's playoff run are Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Snoop Dogg and Woody Harrelson among others.

Photos courtesy of AP and Getty Images.

Rehabbing

After five months, I finally went to my first post-op rehab session. I was able to sneak some time off work yesterday afternoon to go to Medical City and see my doctor. He said that while my leg strength is remarkable, it lacks muscle endurance and it will get easily tired. The biggest thing was that he thinks that I'll never get my full ROM back as there has been a pretty long lull between my surgery and rehab. There is very little chance that my knee will get to the ideal flexion and extension range.

Regardless, he thinks I should be fine. The next 8-10 weeks will be spent in the gym doing rehab work. Hope it turns out good.