now why didn't my mom teach ME that?

overheard while strolling at the mall:

father, to his two little sons: "dali palitan ta mo ug donut. pila kabuok inyo gusto?" (hey, i'll buy you guys some donuts. how many do you want?)

older boy: "ay, isa lang... para di modako ako tiyan..." (just one, so my tummy won't grow large...)

smaller boy, nodding while jumping up and down: "bitaw... bitaw... bitaw..." (yup... yup... yup...)

hmmm... health conscious kids... THAT'S something new... now why didn't my mom teach ME that?

state of the nation addresses

everybody from gloria macapagal arroyo, to opposition politicians, street rallyists, newspaper columnists, and even the deposed president estrada will all be delivering their versions of the state of the nation address today. incidentally, the tropical storm now ravaging luzon was originally named gloria. how appropriate.

of blackholes and trains

on those afternoon breaktimes
we'd sit and talk
she'd speak of paths
i both long and fear to walk
she used to speak of blackholes
of failed relationships
where a star once existed
is now a void
pulling all matter, even life
pulling all joy, even light
from the expanses of her universe
i sat quietly
as i contemplated the weight of her words
each syllable heavy with sorrow
over happy times that now seem borrowed
i wondered what could stop
each drop of those tears
but all i had
to give was my ears
so listen to her i did
to each heartbreak that hid
the sunny days from her face
on those afternoon breaktimes

but now she speaks of different things
she sings, her words now
afloat with wings, high
upon the sky, to her castle
in the clouds wherein
reside her dreams
of chocolates and flowers
and happily-ever-afters

and here on the ground
my feet, my heart is bound
and i watch, wishing the wings
would grow too on my back
so i may fly
away from this lack, this black
empty railroad track
where i wait in vain, for this train
that never seems to come

what did you expect?

pacquiao wins over larios. not exactly surprising. you know what would be shocking news? if larios knocks pacquiao out on the first round. now THAT would be real news. everybody had already expected a pacquiao victory. pacquiao handlers were predicting a knockout in 6 rounds. eric morales also predicted pacquiao winning. even gamblers had a hard time trying to find someone who would put his bet on larios, so instead they did their betting on if pacquiao would be able to finish larios off before the 6th round or not.

yes, there were some nervous moments in the beginning of the 3rd round, but it was more a matter of overconfidence on pacquiao's part, i think. he just let his guard down, larios saw the opening and took advantage. this stunned manny for a few seconds and pushed him to the ropes, allowing larios to give pacquiao his own flurry of punches. but manny was still able to fight his way out of that fix, and the remaining rounds saw manny's domination till the end, plus two knock outs.

at the end of the match i had a feeling larios went into to this fight expecting to lose. he didn't fight to win, he just fought for the exposure and, of course, the money. but he did finish the match with his two feet on the canvass, so we should at least give him credit for that.

on other pacquiao related matters, he sure has a very unfortunate choice for nickname. other boxers have chosen names like el terible (morales), the golden boy (de la hoya), the flash (elorde), the bomb (jimrex jaca), the czar (amonsot), but pacman? like, that little moving yellow circle with a mouth you find in video games? remotely scary. i suggest a name change.