The Comfort Rooms

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Out of all the tennis grand slams, it is the French Open that I absolutely love. While most people will say that it is the Wimbledon that is at the pinnacle of the sport, for me, it is the Parisian claycourt grand slam that reigns supreme.

Maybe blame it on the slow moving clay courts. Blame it on the beautiful city this event plays host to every year. Blame it on the countless number of upsets that it produces every year. Blame it on the unknown tennis players who suddenly rise to fame after scoring upsets over top-ranked opponents. Blame it on the culture and tradition that the Roland Garros tennis courts proudly hold.

At the Parisian clay, endurance is everything. Doesn't matter if you're the hardest hitting player, doesn't matter if you make the fastest serves, doesn't matter if you're the most aggressive player out there. What matters here is endurance. As long as you keep the ball in play, you're good.

It is almost too certain that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will face each other again in the men's singles final. I hope Roger gets to defend his title though. I hope men like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernandos Verdasco and Gonzalez will both enjoy deep runs to the championship. Maybe an American like Sam Querry or John Isner will make the second week,  at least American men will not get bombed out early again.

For the women's singles, I hope the winner will be either Justine Henin or Venus Williams. Venus is the most in-form female player now and is now the odds-on favorite to win it all. However, with Justine back, not a single tennis fan would want to discount her out. Other female players like Sam Stosur, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic and defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova should also be one of the top contenders. And oh, don't forget the top-ranked Serena Williams, she might win it all.

This will be an exciting 14 days. My predictions? Nadal to win a four-setter over Federer and Justine Henin in straight sets over Venus Williams.

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Life can sometimes set you up to something you thought would be all that great, but in the end, turned out to be crap.

For example, since I didn't like the pork asado my mom prepared for dinner (I just don't like pork and my family is used to me preparing a different dish for my eating), I ransacked the fridge to find a frozen beef patty, microwaved it, and put it on top of my bowl full of steaming rice.

I thought the singular now cooked beef patty wasn't enough, I took an egg, put some oil on my frying pan, turned on the stove, waited for the oil to heat up, cracked my egg on the flat and cold marble tabletop, and poured the contents of the egg on the now heated oiled up frying pan.

I thought it was one of your normal eggs but no, it was a double yolk! I eat eggs around 4 times a week. Four weeks constitute a month, which means I get to consume 16 eggs every month. If a double yolk comes after every 100 eggs, it means that in every 6 months and 2 weeks will I get the next chance to have another double yolk. And double yolks evoke a certain kind of excitement and feeling of luck to whoever person gets to crack one open. I thought I was in gustatory heaven!

However, as soon as the second yolk touched base with the frying oil in the teflon frying pan, it broke. Like a glass filled with water that fell onto the floor, my second yolk just spilled over the now white (courtesy of the cooking egg white) frying pan. Feeling dissapointed, I told my mom "Ma, I had a double yolk...only the second yolk broke loose and spilled over the egg white."

Life can sometimes be unfair with the predicaments it give you. You sometimes thought you stuck paydirt but no, it was actually a kick-in-the-butt waiting for you. What else should be done to compensate for it?

Crap happens, live with it. Besides, out of every 100 single yolks comes that one double yolk opportunity that would bring the lucj you have been waiting for in life.

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I felt violated for the TV actress after seeing this TV commercial...


You know why? Because I thought the tvc degraded Cristine as somebody who was only meant to satisfy men's (sexual) appetite and desires. Don't get me wrong but I find Cristine freakishly hot, I still think she's the hottest young actress in the Philippines today. But just thinking about the way how she was presented in this tvc made me sad for her, and for the rest of the people who feels sad that some women have been treated that way.

What if the guy who will win the weekend getaway happens to be a crazy fan that's got the tendency to sexually assault her? But either way, I thought the tvc was really disrespectful of women. Just how skimpily clad (though it was striking) Cristine was makes my heart break.

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I'm happy that I was able to vote. It was my first time to exercise my right as a Filipino citizen to choose who I think is the best leader for my country. Doesn't matter if the person I voted for would end up dead last in the polls, what's important is I was able to express my right to choose the best leader for my country. This is democracy at work and am thankful that the Philippines is a democratic country, no matter how immature our democracy is.

Though the poll precint was a pandemonium at best, it was the importance of the event that made things more comfortable for me. My black Giordano shirt was forming salt circles because of the heat. I felt almost like fainting at one time. I was uncomfortable, I was sweating like there ain't no sweating anymore for the rest of my life.

It was my right as a Filipino to elect my rightful leaders. For me, it was Gilbert Teodoro. Though the surveys have been largely against him, I'm still proud that a person like him chanced on becoming the country's president.

My indelible ink is cool. It is the coolest way to get inked!

Mabuhay tayong lahat!

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It won't be long enough before tennis would find its newest prince - in the form of Ernests Gulbis. This Marat Safin-like Latvian tennis player has got enough to talent to rule the world of tennis one day. You think Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are Rafael Nadal's rivals as Roger Federer's heir apparent? Think of adding Ernests Gulbis in the mix.

Ernests is a 21 year old tennis player from Lativa who comes from a very wealthy family. Word has it that while others board commercials flights to and from different cities, he boards his own private plane.

Aside from his well-moneyed background, it is his talent that players and sportswriters alike that has generated the most buzz. Here's what the top players had to say about him:

“I know that Gulbis is the player with the most potential right now,”said Federer after defeating him in Qatar quarterfinals earlier this year.

"He has immense power on both sides and one of the fastest serves in the game, I think he's got a great future." Roger Federer again after being defeated by him on the 2nd round of the Rome Masters a few days ago.

“It’s really difficult to play against Gulbis. His serve was really unbelievable.” Rafael Nadal, after defeating him on their grueling semifinal encounter in Rome yesterday.

Watch out for Ernests Gulbis. He will be somebody someday.

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It's another longgg weekend here in the Philippines, and we Filipinos couldn't really ask for anything more (except for a higher pay and a car). One of the perks of being a Filipino is that we got a TON of holidays. Almost every month, we got at least one long weekend. For the student, it would be another excuse to stay up late and catch up on their television viewing. For families, another time to bond, go swimming, watch movies, what-have-yous. For office guys like me, most of my contemporaries would readily think about heading to the beach for the weekend. However, those things can burn your potentially burn any person's pockets and as for me, an empty pocket is as cool as having your house burned down at stake. What's worse than having an empty pocket? A lifetime in prison?

Let me list down things that I've done and will be doing for the longggg weekend.

1. Write blog entries! It's been awhile since I've been pumped up to create blog posts. I got ideas in mind. Hopefully, I can create around 5 new blog posts before the long weekend would end.

2. Listen to a tonnnnnnnnn of music. So far, I've heard T-Pain, Billy Crawford, Robin Thicke, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, R Kelly, 311, Lauryn Hill and Li'l Wayne sing on iTunes. Music makes my relax time a million times better. By the way, I listen to a whole lot of music. From Hiphop, RnB, Country, Rock, Pop, Standards, ahh, the list would go on and on...

3. I just did some MAJOR grocery-ing for the home. It's kinda like my own little contribution for the family.

4. I'm invited to play basketball on Monday. Kinda wanting to do it but the place was rather far for me to tread.

5. Cook over the weekend!

6. Reconnect with souls I haven't reached out in months.

7. Watch a lottttttttt of NBA. Lakers won Game 6 a few hours ago and am still raving about it!