About Comebacks

Michael Jordan couldn't stay retired - it didn't matter if he would be able to win championships again prior to his last (and hopefully final) retirement - he just wanted to play.

Lance Armstrong thought his seventh Tour de France title would be his last competitive ride - but he rides again this year to silence that voice in his mind egging him to do it one more time - against younger legs, strict rules against the evil of doping, but most of all, to challenge his already incredible legacy.

The Dawn has split up many times, only to come back again - it doesn't matter if they sound way different from before - or if the critics are panning them for their latest efforts - they just wanted to play and make music.

Hulk Hogan still wrestles from time to time. I once heard, in Wrestle Mania 3, that the announcers would love to see him win a wrestling title coming out of retirement.

We've seen boxers give up their careers after a devastating loss, only to bounce back to the ring, their desire to test themselves against the best or the best of who's available and willing.

It is in our nature to post comebacks. Deep inside everyone of us is that irresistable urge to fight adversity, to prove to ourselves that we are given the tools to come back even from the most lopsided odds, that winning small victories can deliver that ultimate goal.

That's the reason behind this blogging comeback - I've always wanted to keep writing. The fire was never lost. Things of greater consequence came but now that they've settled down into the background, it opens the door for this return.

And while this comeback may not be great or worth anyone's attention, I find comfort in the similarity of my story with others.

For me, that is enough.

Once You Go Mac...

They say you won't go back.


Given this beautiful aluminum-shod beast to work with, I just might not. Not with VMWare Fusion around :)

***

Where do you find the best cheesesteak sandwich in town?


Not Charlie's. Not Elbert's. Tried them both and to me, they're overly hyped in blogs and reviews.

The best and consistent cheesesteak sandwich overall can be found in Gram's Diner in Rockwell. The bread won't hurt your palate and uses cheese you can actually taste. Taste buds don't lie and mine told me that Gram's easily knocks out these other two sandwiches out in the taste category. That's my verdict.

My friends and I used to frequent Gram's diner and I don't know why I missed this sandwich on their menu.

The beautiful one agrees, and with that, it's game over.

***

I can't help but notice that we're the same about things that we like individually. We don't get tired of them at the peak of our liking of those aforementioned things, and we don't care what other people say about what we like.

I know you won't have a problem with that because I don't. And please don't hesitate plugging in your iPod and play your music while we're on the road. With all the talk on the radio these days, I'm more than happy to listen to your playlist over and over.

THOUGHTS

When we were younger, my kuya Glenn and I always played with toy cars. My mom and dad had spoiled me rotten with Matchbox toy cars, because way back then, they were dirt cheap. Dad then got us pedal-powered carts, which he'd stow on his 79' Corolla, drive all the way from Makati to CCP early in the morning so we kids could get a breath of fresh air from Manila Bay (it was really fresher back then), which was good for me because of my intense ashtma attacks.

As we grew up, the family fortunes changed somewhat and my older cousin got to pursue his love of automobiles. He inherited my uncle's 89' Corolla XE and saved up for his modifications to his car. He'd always show me what to pick out if I was going to have my own someday and he'd teach me a lot of things about cars that most guys have to know.

A few weeks shy of my 30th birthday, I decided to give myself something that I knew that I wanted to have, and at the same time I knew would be a great convenience for me and my beautiful one. With her helping me pick out the color and a lot of other things, such as constantly reminding me to check my budget and really assess that we were ready for this, we were together when we finally rolled Cameron out of the dealership on January 31.


We got the 2009 Hyundai AT GLS i10, our first car. It was available on a special promo price, and pretty much souped up with lots of extras at a price we just couldn't say no to. I was really eyeing the MT model which brought the price down by just a little bit, but my beautiful one convinced me to take the AT model so that we both can be less worried driving it around the city traffic jams.


These photos were taken just right after her first 1000km check up. I wanted to drive to a more photo-friendly location to shoot photos but since we were due to leave for my uncle's birthday party, I decided to take photos in our neighborhood's common parking area.


A big part of my decision to get this car for me and my beautiful one was that I wanted to give her the convenience of no longer worrying how to get home or keeping her mind off the thought of how to get a ride when she works late. It also freed me from the worry of thinking how she gets home and her safety in doing so. I treat it as something ours more than mine, because our joint efforts and the graces from our Maker helped this to become a reality through His providing of opportunities and means. To me, it was the biggest birthday gift I've ever received, but still only second best compared to the happy relationship I'm enjoying with my beautiful one.

A few days after we got the car, I visited kuya Glenn in his QC office to show him the latest addition to our automobile family. We spent a good hour or so checking the car, driving it around and talking about how it feels and rides. At the end of that good hour, we both reminded ourselves of those days when we just played and drove our toy cars by the bay, on a cool Sunday morning, with the breeze blowing slightly and of the days we played with our Matchbox cars in the sand.

Arrivederci, 2008

It was a good year.

It had its highs and lows.

It had its trials and its woes.

A year to live, a year to die.

A year to make mistakes and sigh.

Memories made and enjoyed.

If there's any moment in the year,

That made you smile or shed a tear,

Give thanks and face the new day without fear.

Say farewell to 2008,

2009 is here for us to make!

MUSIC

Rediscovered this song from Ria's onsite wedding video. I've always been a believer and a fan of musicians who speak of truths through their music. This is one of the few songs where it's not hard to see the truth in its words.

I really believe that our relationship is truly built to last.



Built to Last
Melee

I've looked for love in stranger places,
but never found someone like you.
Someone whose smile makes me feel I've been holding back,
and now there's nothing I can't do.

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.

All of our friends saw from the start.
So why didn't we believe it too?
Whoa yeah, now look where we are.
You're in my heart now.
And there's no escaping it for you.

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.

Walking on the hills that night with those fireworks and candlelight
You and I were made to get love right

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.

'Cause you are the sun in my universe,
considered the best when we've felt the worst
and most of all it's built to last.