An unwritten rule
I'm back at my parents' place for the weekend.
We just broke our no-Internet-chez-parents rule.
Because you see, we both work at home.
We both have our little work stations.
Most of the time we are always online.
So our deal was to go Internet less, whenever we visit the parents.
To break away the monotony of being 'connected' all the time.
But sis has a deadline by Sunday.
We came straight here after checking out of Linden Suites.
Voila.
She gets to file her story.
I get to blog.
We will leave it at that.

World Cup
Games scheduled for tonight are Germany vs Argentina at 11 pm.
Italy vs Ukraine at 3 am (Saturday)
Boy oh boy I hope Italy wins.
Or I might not see his Gorgeous Highness play again.



For the uninitiated, that's Fabio Cannavaro.
The Italian defender who is also the captain of team Italia.
No, he doesn't play naked, unfortunately.
And neither was I surfing the Internet for naked pictures of football players.
My sister forwarded the above image to my inbox.
If you thought I was a World Cup freak, you're wrong.
My sister is the bigger World Cup fanatic.
She reads every World Cup related news on the Internet.
Then she proceeds to pepper me with trivia of the players while we watch the games live from the comfort of our parents' couch.

A true Linden Suites story
Our room was located on the 17th floor.
You need to insert the key into a slot just below the numbers inside the elevator to reach the executive floors.
This morning after breakfast, we went to the jacuzzi.
We soaked for about 1 hour then had to go back to our room from the 9th floor where the health club is located.
My sister inserts the key. Then she pressed 17.
The freaking elevator won't move.
A message kept repeating 'Insert key to gain access to executive floors'
Or something to that effect, I wasn't paying attention.
After several tries, the elevator closes and it descends to the ground floor.
Door opens and tata!
We had this deer caught in the headlights look on our face as a bunch of Japanese businessmen in suits entered the elevator.
We tried to do the whole insert key into slot scenario again, it won't work.
So we went out to the reception area to have our key checked.
I looked like a ragged doll in the oversized bathrobe.
The hotel slippers were too big for my tiny feet.
And worse my curly hair was dripping wet.
To say that I was embarrassed is an understatement.
The worst thing though is that I couldn't stop laughing.
I have this tendency to giggle a lot when I'm nervous.
So you can imagine the giggle fit I had this morning.
Geeez.

Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I'm here online blogging from my room in Linden Suites.
That's my sister's laptop.



Yesterday (Thursday) sister dearest and I checked in around 3pm.
We relaxed in the indoor jacuzzi which is located at the health club on the 9th floor. We soaked in bubbly warm water until hunger pangs set in.
And also the skin on our fingers turned pruney.
Then we ordered pizza delivered to our room.
I took a long bath. The bathtub filled with lukewarm water.
As if, I didn't just spend hours soaked in water. Heh!
Well there are two things I always take advantage of when I stay in hotels => Hot water and a bathtub.
A luxury I cannot afford at my crammy condo unit.
Then we capped the night with a late dinner at Azzurro.
The Greek restaurant located on the second floor of Linden Suites.
I had Ravioli stuffed with spinach for appetizer.
A Horiatiki Greek salad for my main course.
A nice blend of tomato based sauce for the ravioli and the feta cheese with vinaigrette for the salad left a pleasant taste for my palette.

I think that all these sleepless nights has totally messed up my body clock.
It is already 2:50 AM and I am wide awake.
But this image is so inviting.



I better just lie down and try to sleep a bit.
I have about 4 hours before the health club opens at 6 A.M.
Yes, you guessed it right.
I'm going back to the jacuzzi before I check out at noon, today.

Oh by the way, excuse the blurry pictures.
I used my cellphone for the shots.
I will post more pictures taken with my digicam.
In our hurry to rush over here to the Linden Suites, I forgot the cable that connects the digicam to the laptop.
Maybe next week when I get back to my place.

Signing off from Room 1706 of the Linden Suites! =)

Tonight
I'm back.

Because there are no live matches.

Today and Tomorrow.

For the past 3 days, I've consumed soccer like a sponge.

I'll hopefully sleep like a baby, tonight.

I thought I was a nocturnal being.

But I think.

Even owls need full uninterrupted sleep every now and then.

My mind is totally blank.

So it can only process short sentences.

Tomorrow night I will be here.

For an overnight stay.

I might go for a soothing massage.

Or relax in the jacuzzi.

But I'd probably just end up.

Sleeping, sleeping and sleeping some more.

Bliss!

Oh France and Italy won their games.

I'm happy as a clam.

My brain is shutting down now.

Sleep time. zzzzz

Crunch time
I'm off to my parents place shortly.
I'd probably stay there for the whole week.
Or maybe not.
My favorite teams Italy battle Australia on Monday and France play against Spain on Tuesday.
So even if the commentary would be in Japanese, it's fine.
The positive part is I get to see the games, live.
The drawback is I don't have Internet access there.
Thus I probably won't be able to bore you guys with my World Cup posts by blogging about it non stop. Heh =)
But that is just a minor inconvenience for a few days.
Surely I can survive without my computer.
Or can I?
We'll see.

Before I go.

A short tribute to the Swedish team.


They lost to the host nation Germany, last night.
With 2 goals to nil.
Young Lukas Podolski scored twice.
Sweden played with just 10 men.
After Lucic was given a red card.
Larsson could have made it 1 for Sweden.
BUT he missed the penalty shot. WTF???
Oh well!
Hasta la bye bye to Olof Mellberg, Freddie Ljungberg and most especially to you pretty boy, Henrik Larsson.
You should have scored that ONE goal against Germany but unfortunately you blew it. Such a disappointment!

In the second game, Argentina got quite a scare from Mexico.
Mexico scored first within 6 minutes of the game.
Then shortly after, Crespo (ARG) made it 1 for Argentina.
The score remained 1 - 1 for the rest of the match.
The game had to go to full extra time.
No golden goal rule is instituted for this World Cup.
Then a powerful kick from Maxi Rodriguez (ARG) found the net.
The 2nd half of the extra time found Mexico desperately trying with all their might to even the score.
But finally Argentina prevailed and won.
Argentina 2 - Mexico 1.
Who would have thought that Mexico would give the mighty Argentine team a game worthy of extra time.
Way to go Mexico! Great game.
The unpredictability factor of the game just strives on. Woohoo!

Alright I'm out of here. =)

Another World Cup post
Yes to my 3 loyal readers out there, you better just get used to the fact that I am going to keep blogging about the FIFA World Cup as it unfolds in Germany.

So you can either read on.

Or read another blog which talks about more important stuff.

But if you are kind enough to loiter, then thanks! =)

Alright now on to the World Cup.
Last night or rather early morning here in Manila, I was glued to the TV once again. Solar Plus mercifully broadcasted the France vs Togo match live at 3 A.M.
The first half saw my Frenchies players try then miss. Try again and miss yet again for about 8 times to score a goal past the Togolese goalkeeper, Agassa. It was quite a thrill to watch him save all those attempts.
I was getting an ulcer because I knew that France had to win by 2 clear goals to progress to the second round.

Half time - it was time for me to empty my full bladder which was about to explode. I don't dare go during the game in case I missed all the action of offsides, free kicks, tackles, any yellow cards being shown and of course any precious goal.

Second half - French Coach Domenech stuck to the same line up. Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet even Franck Ribery continued their onslaught attack towards the goal. I was already getting soooo frustrated. Blah!
Then birthday boy and current captain (Zisou Zidane who was also celebrating his 34th birthday was suspended for this game) Patrick Vieira, 30 years old yesterday FINALLY scored the first goal for France.
Then in a span of 6 minutes, Vieira made a vital pass to Thierry Henry whose foot kicked the second goal in for France.

So France managed to avoid any form of embarrassment by NOT being eliminated from the World Cup. Next Tuesday, France goes head to head with Spain.

But till then I'm just really relieved France made it worthwhile for me to stay up till 5:30 A.M. Phew! All these sleepless nights just to watch 10 guys in shorts chase around a ball to score against two goalkeepers. I ain't complaining at all! But kudos also go to Togo for a good game. They didn't relent, they really played well against the 1998 World Cup champions.

World Cup Update
Last night, Solar Plus showed the Ghana vs USA match live at 10 p.m.
It wasn't the game I wanted to see live but I stayed glued to the TV. Nowadays my TV is permanently on Solar Plus and my little condo unit is buzzing with the drone of the commentators annontating the games.

It was an exciting game. Ghana scored twice against the USA. Woohoo!
The first one was a legit goal passing through American goalkeeper Keller's hands. While the second was a dubious penalty that referee Markus Merk from Germany awarded to Ghana. Stephan Appiah, the Ghana captain scored on behalf of this west African nation whose teams goes by the name "Red Devils".
It is refreshing to see other football obsessed nations aside from the usual European/South American teams go through the final 16 round.
Way to go, Ghana!

Since the Italy vs Czech Republic match was also on, I had my computer logged on to the Internet to monitor the live match play by play on the official World Cup website.
I ran up and down the stairs to my bedroom, every 20 minutes to check if Italy had scored against the mighty Czech goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
They did! Marco Materazzi and Filippo Inzaghi netted the ball, twice.
Pavel Nedved with his curly blonde mane from the Czech Republic had his numerous efforts thwarted by Gianluigi Buffon.
The Azzurris, as usual played their defensive game. But Nesta was replaced due to an injury within minutes of the first half, while Francesco Totti only found his bearings in the second half of the game. Italy still won by two goals to zero goal effort by the Czech Republic.

So Italy and Ghana are in for Group E.
Italy whose team members are currently embroiled in a very controversial illegal betting/game fixing scandal would play against Australia on June 26. While Ghana will battle the giant Brazil, the next day June 27.

Later at 3 AM (Saturday) local time, three teams will battle out for the top two positions in Group G. Switzerland, South Korea and my beloved France. Switzerland vs South Korea would just need a draw to reach the next round. While France who plays Togo NEEDS to definitely score at least 2 goals if they want to level the field.
Gosh I'm amazed how lackluster France's performance is in this World Cup. A team composed mostly of aged players who aren't delivering the goods as they are expected to. France are currently in third place in their group standing. It all boils down to how both matches play out later. Very nerve wracking night. Quel horror if France doesn't qualify for a place in the second round.

But my friend Philippe said:
"Attend ce n'est pas fini pour la France, j'espere qu'on va gagner"
("Wait it isn't over for France, I hope we will win." )

How's that for some positive wishful thinking, huh?

Allez les Blues!!!

Funny SMS
Women are like places
Age 15 - 20: Palawan => Virgin & Unexplored.

Age 21 - 42: Boracay => Hot & Exotic.

Age 43 - 54: Manila => Dirty & Polluted.

Age 55 UP: Jolo => Only the brave dare to go!


Yay I'm still hot and exotic! (kuno) =)

A little game
Try playing this game about parking perfection.

Warning:
It is very addictive. Don't play when you are @ work!
I managed till level 3 then I ran over the little doggie!
Teehee. =)