Viktoria Azarenka

Azarenka only conceded 3 games, all in the first set, to former world no. 1 Sharapova before she finally shook off her nerves and found her game, beating Sharapova 6-3, 6-0.

Azarenka loooked disoriented and ill at ease in the beginning of the match. But once she found her range, she began to play clean and solid tennis. And that was enough to defeat the Russian who then started making a lot of errors. Too many, in fact, that she virtually handed Azarenka the match by making 30 unforced errors as against the Belarusian’s 12.

A win for the Russian would have been sweet, and I would attempt to guess that the majority of the crowd was actually rooting for her, including Australia’s Prime Minister, perhaps…

After being out for a while due to a shoulder surgery and dropping in the rankings in 2008, she has steadily worked her way up to reach world number 4. We would have wanted to see her win another grand slam title as a reward for all the hard work that she has done and as a statement that she is at the top of her game again.

But then again, she still wields powerful serves and groundstrokes and most likely, she will be hanging out for some time more. I would like to see her improve her net game some more, though, as that was clearly an advantage Azarenka had over her.

Maria Sharapova

Besides, Maria’s parents must be rejoicing, too. The country from which the Sharapovas came, Belarus, has finally been honored with its first ever grand slam singles title.

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We found ourselves again at Museo Pambata last Tuesday, January 17, 2012. My son had been asking for another visit to the museum for several months already but I wanted him to discover the other attractions in the Manila area so I brought them to Manila Zoo instead the last time. He was somewhat fascinated by the zoo. However, he still asked to go to his favorite museum afterwards. I did not oblige. 

Last January 17, luck was on his side. We were heading to the City of Manila again and I planned on taking them to the Manila Orchidarium. (I honestly wanted to see something new as well and was trying to do everything to keep us from going to Museo Pambata again!) While on the road, I kept looking up to the skies which foreboded rain. With my son’s request to visit the museum echoing in my husband’s ears, he inquired if I could, – or more like, pleaded with me – to accede to my son’s request.

I said, weather permitting, it would be good for them to be introduced to other places in the area. 

Our ambivalence was ended by my four-year old daughter when, upon reaching the City of Manila, she vomited her lunch of french fries and milk. Thereafter, the skies suddenly darkened, as if to tell me, “Just go to Museo Pambata. There is a roof, a wash room and benches”.

My son was overjoyed as we entered the gates of Museo Pambata. Having been there countless times before, the place offered me no more thrill.

I’ve seen the exhibits too many times, I was no longer excited as the kids were. Old Manila. The fish tanks. The tropical forest with the little plastic crocodiles. The human body. Empee’s Barbershop. The Palengke, The Carinderia. The Bahay Kubo. The Train. The Science room. And what else? Ah, yes, the library with the strange odor. And the dolls and musical instruments at the back of the building.

But then again, the Museo Pambata was not built for adults like me, who get bored very easily. It’s for kids who never lack for wonder and amazement and who discover something new at each visit.

But lo and behold! The fish tanks, tropical forest and science exhibit were no longer there. In their place were new, interesting and colorful displays about the environment, plants and the forest, among others.

There are lots of information that serve to make us more conscious of how we live. The lesson that I think wants to be imparted to kids is, what we do as individuals, and the choices that we make, have a direct impact on the world around us. If we want to make this world a better place or if we want to save the earth from destruction, the little things that we do CAN help.

This visit was different from the previous ones as I was once again as excited as my kids were to check out the new exhibits at Museo. 

I’m sharing with you some photos that I took so you know what new and exciting things await you next time you go there. 

Museo Pambata (Children’s Museum) is located at Roxas Boulevard corner South Drive Manila, Philippines 1000 Telephone: (632) 523 1797 to 98, 536-0595 Facsimile: (632) 522 1246

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After asking for my driver’s license which I readily gave to the first cop, a second police man came up to ask where I was headed. He told me that I should have taken the second lane upon making the right turn from E. Garcia. The first cop then asked the other one whether he wanted to give me a ticket or not.

I stared at them as I waited for the verdict. The older of the two decided to return my driver’s license to me with a reminder to never commit the same offense in the future. As I reached for my license, I had to tell him that his proposition is quite dangerous. And to think that the two rightmost lanes on this part of EDSA are occupied mostly by buses. He waved his hand somewhat dismissively as if to tell me, “Go now before I change my mind.”

I drove away disgruntled. No,  I didn’t get a ticket today. But I was reminded how nonsensical some of our rules are.

Good thing I didn’t miss my appointment at 2 pm.

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Conventionalism and predictability are encouraged in the desire to create harmony and productivity in society.

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That’s why my nephew did not want us to watch their match. He said they didn’t stand a chance against this school.

We were just so itching to watch him after being disappointed about two Saturdays ago when we all trooped to Claret School (yes, the small ones included)  for the match against De La Salle Canlubang, only to find out that La Salle defaulted. (That sucked! Good thing I didn’t bring my fan horn…:-)

My nephew told me he would rather that we watch a match where they have the upperhand. But then I said. You never know, your team might pull off a surprise.

And they nearly did.

They made 3 goals in the early part of the first half, 2 of them from my nephew, the other was made possible by his assist.

The HEDCen coach quickly adjusted and substituted nearly the whole lineup, and fielded in his national team player too.

They quickly chased Claret’s 3-goal advantage and added one more goal to take the lead.

The bigger players were too much for the Claretians to handle who all played a full 90 minutes.

I kept hoping that they could squeeze in one more goal especially since the HEDCen keeper was obviously injured.

They compensated for this through their tight defense.

At match end, it was HEDCen 4-3 against Claret School.

I told my nephew, don’t feel bad. It’s only as if they made just one goal against your team.

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Photo: FIBA Asia

Philippine team coach Toroman remarked that Haddadi had improved immensely, making it hard for the Philippines to contain him when the two teams met yesterday in the semifinal round. Toroman was formerly Iran’s national team coach.

In spite of its reputation as the most offensive team in the league, Korea were outgunned by the Iranians when it mattered most. The Koreans held the lead for most of the first half but lost control of the game in the second half. Several times, they came close to tying the match or taking the lead, but did not succeed.

Moon, a naturalized Korean and the team’s versatile scorer, had to be taken out in the first half due to foul trouble. When he was fielded back in during the second half, he could could not find his mark and did not deliver the points for his team. Adding to Korea’s woes is the fouling out of center Ha who was the closest Korea ever got to containing Haddadi.

It was not apparent that Korea were the league’s most offensive team. They struggled with their offense especially in the second half. In the fourth quarter, I expected them to put their offensive guns to good use by outscoring the Iranians who were unstoppable in the paint.

Instead, Korea decided to go inside the paint, instead of shooting from beyond the arch, hoping perhaps to draw the fouls and get Iran into early penalty situation.

However, this didn’t work.

In the end, the better team won, assisted to some measure by poor officiating, which, anyhow, persisted during the entire league.

But ultimately, it was a well-deserved victory for Iran.   

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He’s vacating the senate seat four years after he won by way of fraud. Let’s not be too naïve to believe that he was only a beneficiary of the 2007 electoral fraud and that he had no knowledge that it was taking place.

Now that Koko Pimentel has come out winner in the recount, Unsenator Zubiri has resigned from the Senate. Very smooth move indeed, as it will qualify him for a fresh two terms when he runs as senator in the next elections, and the next (assuming he wins the first attempt through honest means).

It’s like he never assumed office in 2007.

Good that you did not pursue a counterprotest. Remember, Filipinos hate kontrabidas. We love underdogs. That is why Marimar soaps are eternal winners here. And as they say that the lines separating politics and showbiz often become blurred, with Mr. Zubiri’s movie star looks, it is not unthinkable for show business circles to start talking about him. Since he now has more time in his hands, Mother Lily might invite him to star in a movie or two, either to capitalize on his newfound disrepute or to help him recover his cute and charming pretty boy image harking back to his days as congressman.

Before I get carried away sir, uhhm, how much pork barrel funds did you leave for the rest of Senator Pimentel’s term? Let me guess. Not a lot…?

He is hurt by all the accusations of election fraud and how this casts him in a bad light. But imagine how painful this must be for the true winner that is Senator Koko Pimentel to have his first senatorial win snatched away from him by the connivance of a president of insatiable greed and equally voracious and conscienceless election officers.

We acknowledge that Mr. Zubiri may have been a hardworking senator, championing environmental causes. Perhaps he knew he needed to work extra hard in order to redeem himself for the unusual manner by which he came to the senate halls.

Mr. Zubiri said on TV that people should look at his performance before anything else.

The fact that we voted for Koko Pimentel means that we wanted to see how he would perform and not you, Mr. Zubiri! Please don’t insinuate that you can do as well as (or better than) Koko Pimentel.

Darn the change in administration, otherwise Mr. Zubiri would have been an Honorable Senator all the way til 2012.

The more than four years that were taken away from Koko Pimentel would never be brought back. The remainder of the term that he serves out will be counted as one full term, regardless of what has transpired.

Congratulations to Senator Koko for fighting this battle even if it meant banging your head against a brick wall.

I wish Senator Koko Pimentel a truly honorable, fruitful and productive career as a legislator.

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In fairness to the Azkals, we nearly did score in the first half, thanks to Phil Younghusband and Angel Guirado, who played a highly physical game and spent a good deal of time rolling over on the pitch. Don’t worry Angel, I’m pretty sure the powers that be on this part of the globe have noticed your skill and hard work. Though what impresses me most about you, apart from your football skills, is the fact that you know Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem, by heart! Hope the other foreign-based Azkals take your lead…

Thursday will be a big day. With tattooed Stefan Schrock and Aly Borromeo back, we will be expecting a better showing from the Azkals. Let’s hope the defense will be much tighter and the ball possessions better managed.

I have been trying to scour the web for insights on why Coach Weiss did not make substitutions in the 2^nd half like he did in previous matches. It was close to match end when he took out Angel G. and Chieffy C.

Ian Araneta never saw action.

I do not understand much of technical football but I would have thought too (as Bob Guerrero mentioned in the television coverage) that some fresh legs would have revitalized the tiring Azkals. Most of our players do not play full-time football and are likely not as fit as their Kuwaiti opponents. But even then, Kuwaiti coach shuffled his players inspite of positive results.

At 102, Kuwait is ranked 57 places above the Philippines in FIFA rankings. It is a 10-time Gulf of Nations Champion and qualified for the World Cup in 1982. In 1998, it enjoyed a FIFA ranking of 24.

When you think about it though, Coach Weiss is here for long-term football development in the country. His main task is to help the national team mature by exposing it to the level and quality of international football. If we play with more experienced and skilled opponents of varying styles, win or lose, we stand to learn a lot as a young football nation.

If in the process, we are kept screaming and jumping up and down in the stands, well and good.

Let’s cheer our team on this Thursday!

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Image from Photobucket

That was one of the first questions I asked about homeschooling as well. I guess it is a valid point and the lack of familiarity with homeschooling often drives people to ask this question. To the uninitiated, the term homeschooling could trigger images of a child studying alone and playing by himself. No classmates to chat or interact with and no one to share a snack with at break time…

I’m sure these were the images in this person’s head when she told me recently that I should not have pursued homeschooling.

I’m sure she meant well but…

She also told my child that he should tell his mother (that would be me) that he doesn’t want to be homeschooled because he wants to have playmates.

Arrgghhh!

I started feeling rage brewing inside of me but since my child was there, I kept my composure. I thought, this is precisely why I want to homeschool – to keep my children away from such utterly repulsive creatures before I could prepare them for such encounters.

I therefore began to educate this creature before me about homeschooling and encouraged her to google homeschooling and socialization. Reading even just just one decent article might allay your fear about my child being raised in isolation from the rest of humanity, I told her. If you are wondering who this person might be, let me just say that she is not family but is someone my child sees often enough, unfortunately.

I said to her that I happen to believe that I am doing the best for my child and that I was a grade school teacher before and therefore, therefore, I know what goes on in school.

I no longer bothered telling her the following but these were the things I witnessed while still a grade school teacher:

• Some grade schoolers fall asleep in class midmorning because a lot of them start preparing for school at dawn.

• Tests, a learning assessment tool, become the source of fear and stress for schoolers. Those who do poorly feel ashamed, are sometimes ridiculed by classmates and/or scolded by parents. Some kids resort to manipulating their test scores to please grade-conscious parents.

• The pace of learning is suited to the average learner. This isn’t good for the fast or slow learner, though. I had a classmate in elementary school who was so good in Math, he would always be the first one to figure out the answer. Of course, teacher had to give the “others” a chance to talk. Teacher did not like the fact that he knew so much Math that she once said in an irritated tone, “You think you’re so good. But you don’t know everything. 

• Let’s not forget the bullying. My son was in a preschool before where a girl classmate taunted him everyday, shouting “You’re a monster!” to be merrily echoed by her comrades. (How could they be this mean at 4 years old?) You ask, where were the teachers? Too busy resolving other chaotic classroom events.

These things and others more lead me to conclude that if I want a healthy learning environment for my child, then school is not where I want him to be at this early stage in his life. I do not think that this sort of anti-socializaition which others mistake for socialization is what will inspire a positive self-image and a lifelong love for learning in my child.

Socialization is defined as learning one’s culture and how to live within it. It is the process by which the individual acquires skills and habits necessary for participating within their society (Clausen). When one homeschools, there are endless possibilities for interacting and socializing. At home, children interact with different household members. One may also take trips to the park, the playground, the grocery store, bookstores, museums, take a walk around the neighborhood, or even visit a parent’s workplace.

I often make my child wait in line at the supermarket cashier. When in public places, I remind him not to make loud noises that might disturb others.

When eating at home, I ask him to offer some of his food to whomever is with him at the table, especially if it’s his grandmother or grandfather.

I constantly remind my son to say “Please”, “Thank you” and never to hurt his sister, playmates or cousins.

Whenever my 3-year old throws a tantrum and screams at the top of her voice, you instantly hear my 6-year-old say “Please be quiet. Our neighbors are sleeping.”

So, do you think my son is in danger of becoming socially inept or maladjusted?

When a child mingles with peers day in and day out in a controlled environment such as a classroom where the student-teacher ratio of 40:1 barely allows the teacher to address each student’s individual needs, are our children receiving the socialization that we desire for them?

Is this sort of classroom experience the best kind of preparation for these school-age children? Does the classroom experience mirror what goes on in the real world?

On the issue of learning, does this system optimize learning by recognizing their distinct learning styles, learning pace, varied interests, strengths and weaknesses?

Image from Photobucket

Next time I bump into someone with a similar question, I know I will be better prepared. I will no longer go into a long, impassioned speech about our decision to homeschool. I will simply encourage them to read up on the subject. Or maybe point them to this blogpost.

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Image from Wikipedia

Ten years ago, I would have stayed up to watch the Wimbledon’s men’s semi-final till match end. But being no longer as young as I used to be, and with two little ones to preserve my energy for, the tennis fan in me had to be content with just the first two sets of the match. I tried to keep my eyes open to catch the first few games of the third but it was close to 2 a.m. and sleep was just too hard to parry. I finally dozed off…

Even at that early stage in the match, husband and I could already predict the outcome. Hubby wanted Murray to win for the sake of making history and, perhaps, satisfying the yearning for a British finalist at Wimbledon. According to my research, the last time this happened was in 1938 when, in all likelihood, Andy Murray’s parents weren’t even born yet. And yet, just like Tim Henman who came before him, a lot sits on the shoulders of this bloke. He is a talented, promising young player who carries the tennis hopes of Great Britain.

The crowd roared when Murray took the first set 7-5 and expectations ran high. Could Murray be the one? But as he slowly lost control of the match, giving the second set to Rafa Nadal, the mood in the stands started to change. Murray began netting balls, missing forehands and committing double-faults. Running down each ball was impossible. He did not have Rafa’s athleticism nor his backhand. The matador-like determination painted on Rafa’s face was another cause for worry.

Image from Photobucket

The excitement and anticipation soon waned.

Attempts to get back into the game were not productive and self-destruct is too harsh a word to describe Andy Murray’s fate. In the end, Nadal prevailed over the Briton in four sets (5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4).

The frustration and disappointment of the past year in Wimbledon 2010 will have to be relived yet again.

Fans of Andy Murray should not fret, though.

The good signs are that Andy stretched Rafa to four sets this year compared to last year’s three. Andy will only be 25 by 2012. If things go well and he can bring his game up to the next level, meaning, improved athleticism, a better mental game, more flexibility with the backhand, and consistency, he might be able to end the British dry spell at Wimbledon.

His best bet is if Rafa is injured when Wimbledon happens next year.  But can he really count on that one happening?

There may still be some tweaking to be done on his game. But many feel that he has got what it takes to become not only Wimbledon champ but also World No. 1.

With a little hard work, we can hope that next year brings better results…

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