Making it Big: Pinoys in Sports and Entertainment

I was born and raised in the Philippines, and even though I live in the US now, I still get a little thrill of excitement each time I see a Pinoy making it "big" (even a B-lister!) in sports and entertainment. Heck, I even liked Camille Velasco (and, okay, I was rooting for Jasmine just a teeny bit).

Imagine my surprise when I saw that Tedy Bruschi of the New England Patriots was half Filipino. I mean, wow! Gave me some newfound respect for the Pats, and almost made me start liking them (okay, so I won several bets with the Pats, but I just got tired of them winning all the time, you know?). Curious, I've decided to look for more Pinoys who've made it big.

Right now I know Tedy Bruschi. Roman Gabriel (my namesake!), who was a QB (with the Rams? have to confirm) was also a Pinoy. The aforementioned Camille and Jasmine. Lea Salonga (of course). Stay tuned...

flu season: or, daddychoy is out o' commission

I have the flu. Sucks. Seems like I get sick at least once every year. I blame it all on my weak respiratory system (I had asthma when I was a kid). I'm still able to get on the computer and blog away, though; yesterday was the lowest point--I think I must've slept 18 hours (then Amelie kept me awake by kicking me--sheesh).

Hope things get better for me tomorrow. Lots of errands to do *groan*

The Gates of Choy

Still shopping for gates to block off the top and bottom of our stairs. The choy-choys are very active right now, crawling up a storm. And man, they just move fast. I'm considering the KidCo Safety Gates (G20), because they come in black, and our stair railings are black wrought-iron (and of course, mommy choy hath decreed that everything has to match).

Unfortunately, the BM stores of Babies R Us and RightStart only carry white. So I have to order on-line. I'm dreading the day they actually arrive and I have to install 'em, since I'm basically all thumbs when it comes to handyman stuff. Gimme anything related to computers and I'll fix it for ya. Gimme a hammer and I'm liable to nail my hand to the wall.

*sigh* Oh well.

bookoftheweek: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

When I was a 'tweener, I got a copy of The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant for Christmas at a Booksale store (remember those? Not really used books, but cheap publisher overruns. I got the complete set of Dragonriders of Pern from there as well). My first thought was: boy, is this depressing or what?

Three days later, I had finished the entire series. A bit disappointed with the ending (hey, seeing as I was a comics geek as well I wanted action! with Covenant wielding his ring like Green Lantern), but wow--the trilogy rivalled Tolkien in scope (unlike the Shannara series, which started with a complete rip-off of LOTR--but I digress), and had memorable characters (you're so Vain....). I then started reading everything by Stephen Donaldson, including the Daughter of Regals and The Mirror of Her Dreams. Then my interest in him waned. I didn't even get into The Gap Cycle.

Then I saw Runes of The Earth.

The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Wha-?

So I borrowed it from the library and began reading it. Normally I would've plowed through it in a day, but the choy-choy twins demanded a lot of attention, so it took me a week to finish.

Not bad--the first part was a bit slow (get to the Land already!) but then things started picking up. Linden's back--but the title doesn't say The Chronicles of Linden Avery, does it now? So you figure Tommy's gonna show up at some point.

I won't spoil whether he does or not (duh), but when Linden gets to the Land, everything's changed (of course). Seems like they've lost the Staff of Law. Oh, and Lord Foul's back, baby!
No nasty Sunbane to mutate things (that was so cool), but something called Kevin's Dirt.

The rest of the book then details Linden's quest to find the Staff of Law and figure out just what the heck's going on. She meets familiar races, but not familiar faces. She also finds out the fate of one of her companions from the previous series. This leads to one of the coolest fight scenes I've ever read. Of course, it ends in a semi-cliffhanger.

So, did I like the first book in this series? Yes and no. Yes, because I'm a Covenant fan. Unfortunately, it's doesn't quite measure up to either of the previous series. It just didn't feel as...well, creative to me. Some parts felt like he was pulling old themes from the previous books and then rehashing them. And the Land just doesn't grab you the way the previous books did. For example, the Sunbane felt real to me; I used to pretend that I had to step on rocks to avoid its debilitating effects. Kevin's Dirt? meh. At least the Haruchai are still kickass.

The story still draws you in, though--I wouldn't have finished the book that quickly if it didn't--but it pales in comparison to the previous two series. I'm giving it a chance, though. Despite all the small complaints, you still want to find out what happens.

Formication. Heh, heh. Yup. Donaldson still likes 'em thesauruses...

Just Another Blog

...short for daddy bachoy, a term coined by my sister-in-law. Proud father of twins, who are as cute and as round and as chubby as can be. We call Amelie choy-choy, an affectionate term meaning chubby; Camille, who used to be "slim", has caught up. Now they're both baby choys.

Seeing as I'm no Slim Shady myself, I am now daddy choy, while wife-unit is mommy choy.

*sigh* I live up to my nickname, unfortunately.

On to bloggerhood, I suppose.