(This post is a bit belated since we are waaaay up there in the mountains. LoL. Still, I couldn’t help but post my thoughts on this subject matter.)

When both guys came out after the sounding of the bell for round 1, that was what initially came to mind. The disparity between height and build was so obvious that once couldn’t help but notice it. Add to that that the betting odds were 2 to 1 in favor of the big guy. Amid the excitement, I was still able to send my dad a text message, and it went a little something like this..

“It’s David versus Goliath..Pacquiao is dead..”

But then again, as the rounds went by 1 by one, I was like a child mystified and awestruck by what I saw. Instead of Oscar dela Hoya (ODLH) giving Pacman a boxing lesson, it went the other way, with Pacman tagging and rocking ODLH’s head numerous times. And he was as precise as clockwork.

At first, I was ecstatic, watching Pacman connect again and again, to the delight of the jampacked theater in downtown Legaspi. But as the bout went on, I no longer felt that way. I felt pity for Oscar. Here was a guy, a respected and accomplished boxer during his prime. I had high regard for him, having watched him fight quality opponents time and again. But here he was at the mercy of our modern day David. I pitied him, and wished that his cornerman would stop the fight. Everytime Pacman would fake a punch, I could see him visibly retreating and almost cringe in anticipation of the next barrage of power punches.

After the fight was over, and as I looked back in retrospect, I could only hope that Pacman would be spared the same beating he gave Oscar that day. I do hope he would have the sense to retire while he is still on top. I could only hope. For history has always told us of a different story. Many boxing greats exited the stage pretty much the same way. Even the great Muhammad Ali retired in the same fashion. It’s Oscar dela Hoya’s time now, and soon, it will be Manny’s.

After Oscar refused to come out for the 9th round, I got this txt message from my dad..

“Goliath retired after the 8th round”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Here’s to you Manny! Let’s drink to that!

..sometimes I find myself whacking the shuttlecock in my dreams..

One of the avenues I resort to in order to stay fit and keep my weight down is badminton. Well, you could say I am a badminton addict, having started playing the game with Borski since December of 2005, shifting from my previous sport of lawn tennis. Before I got transferred to Bacolod, we used to play a lot. First we did it thrice a week (M-W-F), and then graduating to being full-fledged addicts, playing 2 hours 7x a week.

..only 1 man was left standing after the count..

We eventually dropped the Sunday schedule as we were already being reprimanded by our dad for being late for our regular Sunday family rosary. Haha..talk about being addicts.

Being into lawn tennis before had its pros and cons. On the positive side, i had no problem with eye-hand coordination and I had no problem whacking the shuttle as if there was no tomorrow..lol.The only problem was that with badminton, it was more of wrist action and I was used to using my whole arm for power in lawn tennis, so during the first few months, my shoulder was so sore that sometimes in the middle of the game, I would find my dominant hand no longer able to lift the racket up. I have since solved this bit of problem with combination of practice and some weight training.

..delicate hands at work..

With regard to footwork, with badminton, the footwork was opposite that of lawn tennis. In badminton your dominant foot would be in front when playing a net shot, while the opposite was true for lawn tennis. Sometimes I still am guilty of this fault as I was quite used to my lawn tennis stance.

Whenever I am on days off, I would always take advantage of the chance to sweat it out and play with the gang. Last Thursday, however, I think I overdid it (plus I think I didn’t stretch enough prior to playing) and found myself cutting short my scheduled play time and heading home earlier than our supposed 10pm end time.

..the human body can only stretch so far..

I think I overstretched myself reaching for the shuttle and found myself feeling a “needle-like poking pain” in my left lower back, just immediately above my hip. It was the first time I felt pain this much. Bending over forward was really hard. Rarely would I pass up an opportunity to play one more game, but that evening, I found myself raising my hand in surrender everytime they would call me up for another game.

The next day, I had to go the blind massage clinic for a “hilot” session. Boy was I glad that Ruel (our suki) was able to work magic with his hands as I felt relieved after that. There is still a little bit of pain left, but already less compared to the one I felt last Thursday night.

..diha..diha..kana..diha dapit..

Whew! I guess I’d have to acknowledge soon that I am feeling the telltale signs of aging…for now, I am still in denial..hehehe

As I expected, I knew that my body would need some adjusting to the weather condition (read: pollution) here. Right now, my throat hurts, which is usually an indication of not-so-good things to come my way. If left unchecked, this usually escalates into cough and colds, and then to fever, in extreme cases. Good thing I brought along with me a bottle of my most trusted oral antiseptic, Betadine garlgle.

This is truly a godsend for me especially when I am feeling the itch on my throat, as it has been proven time and again, that if only I stick to the schedule of gargling every 4 hours, usually I find that the itch goes away, with no more onset of the complications I mentioned earlier.

Now, who says that only those on the field should be eligible for hazard pay? :p