...And finally -
http://www.london2012.com/spectators/ceremonies/closing-ceremony/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB02bvRFWGc
Showing posts with label places. Show all posts
Showing posts with label places. Show all posts
Monday, August 13, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Michael Phelps
"He's the most successful but not the greatest," a british newscaster said.
"Is Michael Phelps comparable to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods?" another question from the Olympic news.
Jordan and Woods are two of the world's Sports GREATS! If Phelps had stopped in Beijing, or if he had set his same old fire, passion, determination, discipline - his whole attitude, his whole being - in London from day 1 like he did in Beijing, I think he would have been one of them, win or lose. He's the most decorated, most successful, according to news. But is he the Olympic's GREAT?
There's a difference between being great and being successful -
Greatness is a state of being, above and beyond anything else. Success is a status, a position relative to others. Greatness stands by itself. Success moves. Being successful means you achieve your goal, you win it all! Being great means, win or lose, you give it all you've got!
I've just heard on Access Hollywood featuring Access London 2012 someone announced, "Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympian of all!"
Is Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian of all?
Tell me what you think. Feel free.
Why All About Olympics??
It's the sports fanatic in me, you know! I'm in the OLYMPICS' mode right now. From the time I wake up in the morning to the wee hours of the next day's morning, my TV is on unless I'm out. I've eventually stopped looking at the clock after midnight. I must concede, though, that I usually watch and listen to the results on the news prior to watching the NBC Primetime Coverage at night, (Great job, NBC!) especially for some sports like swimming, gymnastics, 'cause they're a little bit too exciting for me to watch live or even pre-recorded! You think I would be able to watch the Women's Gymnastics without knowing they had won the GOLD? Hell, no! And the Women's Swimming, as well as Men's, although I wasn't happy with Michael Phelps earlier in his events! He just didn't have the fire he had in Beijing! He had his whole being - body, mind, soul and spirit - set for 8 golds in Beijing! His goal was clear-cut. In London, his goal seems to have been just to win the most medals in OLYMPIC history. That's much less than Beijing's, clearly, a huge difference right there! Had he set his goal for GOLD for every game here in London, not just for most medals, meaning, any medal, (There you go, so far, he got a gold, a silver, and in one qualifying round, he was 4th! Damn!) perhaps, he would have had the same fire, same passion, same intensity as in Beijing! He could have set his standard as high as in Beijing. That's tough, of course, but he could have done it. That said, he seems to have his old passion and fire back in his remaining games. He said that this is "absolutely, positively," his last Olympics! Let's hope this will be a grand finish for Michael. He can do it. Good luck, Michael!... I already know who won!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
USA's "Fabulous Five" OLYMPIC GOLD!
What determination, persistence, and teamwork these girls had! Role models, indeed! What inspiration! Special mention to Jordyn Weiber who bounced back like a true fighter! What a success story! Proud of you! Proud of you all! CONGRATULATIONS!!
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/2012/top-nbc-moment-team-usa-sees-their-score.html?chrcontext=top-nbc-moments
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Olympics' Top Stories
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/swimming/highlights-lochte-wins-gold-in-400-im-phelps-4th.html?chrcontext=golden-moments
Is Michael Phelps human after all?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/michael-phelps-proves-human-after-all/article4447123/
What made the difference between these 2 athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London OLYMPICS?
I heard that Phelps didn't even really start to prepare until about 9 months ago, is that true?? It's not all talent, man. It's attitude! Attitude gives you the fire, determination, the discipline to work hard and prepare. Winning starts with the preparation. There's no end without a beginning. It starts with you... inside you! Attitude, Man, Attitude!
See the math. It's all mathematics. Read my post down below. What a timely post, I should say!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
2012 LONDON OLYMPICS
The SUMMER OLYMPICS is back and you won't hear from me for a while. Watching the OLYMPICS on tv is like watching the NFL SUPER BOWL for Americans - you can't miss them! Neither can you miss the commercials. More so with the Olympic Games, that goes without saying! Yes, there are games that are long so you can take a break here and there, but the commercials are great. You don't want to miss them. True, they run repeatedly during these 2-week event, so you see them again and again, unlike the Super Bowl, which is a one-game event, football, that's it, and the commercials are a one-time, one-day event. But, the big difference is, the Super Bowl ads are mainly about the products, whereas the Olympics' go beyond their products. They tell stories of people, the athletes - their determination, desire, their dreams!
And, without comparison, no comparison at all, simply, the OLYMPICS is larger than life! It is electrifying, thunderous, ever so exciting, so inspiring, so motivating, it's glorious - everything I need these days!
Have to go!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Happy 75th!
HAPPY 75, GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!!!
http://goldengatebridge75.org/celebrate/golden-gate-festival.html
We were there!!!
http://goldengatebridge75.org/celebrate/golden-gate-festival.html
We were there!!!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Lazy Day
Today couldn't be a lazier day for Norman and me. We watched 5 hours of the hit tv series, SMASH, On Demand. Literally, a pair of couch potatoes - WHOA!
We started the day with a walk to the Marina. We haven't been there for awhile as our days off don't always match. Today it did, that's why the lazy day! Actually, it was a day to chill out. We went downtown and we just felt like tourists. It was really fun! We went to WESTFIELD SF CENTER. We had dinner at the Cupola - best pizza in town! We walked down Market Street and simply enjoyed ourselves! A number of shops have come and gone - Surprised? Surprised!On our way home, we stopped by our favorite STARBUCKS for 1 tall, non-fat, decaf mocha and a tall, non-fat hot chocolate, no whipped cream, then we were ready to spend the rest of the night in front of the TV to enjoy SMASH!
... And were we "Smashed" after that!!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
A Short Respite
I went to my favorite hideaway, Carmel, again for a well-deserved rest after an exhausting 3-and-a -half-month work! Driving down, Norman and I first made a little detour to Santa Cruz to have lunch at Hoffman's Bistro which we saw accidentally on TV's Reality Show, Restaurant: Impossible, a few months back, and I was determined to see the place next time I went down Monterey Peninsula, I thought. I couldn't believe when I actually got there. Food was delicious and service was great! Later, we had a nice walk downtown while enjoying our chocolate chip cookies we bought from Pacific Cookie Company and on to the Boardwalk which was close for winter but it was just relaxing walking.
Then we moved on to our hotel of choice, TRADEWINDS CARMEL - a must-see and must- stay luxury hotel! After an afternoon nap, we drove to Cafe Fina at Monterey Fisherman's Wharf for one of the best dining experiences we've ever had. Roxanne, our waitress, was simply incredible! She knows her product and loves her work. She impressed us so much we gave her a tip that was simply incredible, too! She deserved it.
We headed back to Tradewinds. This place really soothes the soul. It's a Zen experience being here. And I totally forgot it was there where I first saw on a small piece of art paper those words, Sleep peacefully, which has become a gentle reminder for me every now and then.
And in the morning, breakfast in bed - can't get any better than that! Norman wrote a little wish or prayer on a bamboo papyrus to offer at Buddha's Fountain. It was his turn to write this time.
We did our usual relaxing walk on the beach - we can't miss that! And, of course, our cruising downtown and the scenic Ocean View Road of the beautiful homes in this quaint little town of Carmel before heading back home...
A short respite, indeed! And with lunch at the GIANT ARTICHOKE RESTAURANT which has also become one of our regular stops to or from Monterey, and another shopping galore at Gilroy, it was well worth it!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
MILESTONE
It's my brother, Tony's, "Big _OH" birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROTHER! HAVE FUN, BIG TIME!!
(Family has a big surprise for him! Shh... He thinks they're going to Fort Bonifacio for dinner with just family, but the big bash is at Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club with about 100 guests waiting for him. I'm excited! Wish Mike and I and our families were there!)
Dimsum Lunch
It was another girl-bonding with high school classmates, some since grade school, today! Two classmates, Jeanette and Mel, from Manila are in town so we treated them to a great view of the city from BofA Building, from Craig's office. Thanks, Craig! Then lunch at City View Dimsum. Viveca joined us, too. So good to see her 'cause she can't always join us for gatherings. We weren't able to join the rest for the walk through Chinatown, cable car ride, Fisherman Wharf, and the Crown and Crumpets Tea Salon, due to work. Darn! But it was just great to spend time with everybody. Getting together with childhood friends is a gift that "... never ever gets old... just like us!" as Mila says.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Excerpt from 9/11
Here's an excerpt from my post, 9/11, I wrote in 2009 -
I've just called up my cousin, Zenaida, in NY. Every year, I call her on this day. She's one of the survivors of the WTC attack along with another cousin, Joe, from the 81st floor of both towers -
When we finally connected on the phone, the day after the attack, I learned from her that the elevator she took coming down was the very last elevator that made it to the ground floor. All the rest had stopped!! She said when the announcement to evacuate the building was made, she rushed to the elevator.
In 1993, when the WTC was bombed, she was there, too. She and thousand others were stranded inside the building for about 5 hours before they were allowed to leave using only the stairways. It took her and others from the 88th floor about 2 1/2 hours to reach the ground.
This is why on 9/11, without hesitation, she took the elevator. That's how she got out. When she saw the 2nd plane hit the South Tower from the street where she was standing, she knew... she knew, at that very instant, that the plane went through her office right through her corner desk on the 81st floor!! I asked her how she knew from the ground what floor was struck, she said, "I've worked there for 15 years, I would look thru my window everyday and know exactly the angle at which the sun hits which building, the heights of the surrounding buildings on my floor, standing at my corner, sitting at my desk, looking up at my office from the streets from all sides..."
Sure enough, when the news came out later, "... the 2nd plane went right between the 79th and 83rd floors of the South Tower."
One day, months later, my cousin told me, "In any disaster where you're trapped in a building, DON'T EVER TAKE THE ELEVATOR!!"
"But it saved your LIFE!!" I literally yelled at her.
"DON'T EVER TAKE THE ELEVATOR."
I kept telling her it saved her life!
Looking back, her voice cracking on the other end of the line, she softly said, "what if...".
My other cousin, Joe, to this day, will not talk about 9/11... I respect his silence.
I wrote a music composition entitled, DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, in memory of 9/11/2001. It's in my debut album, Socorro. You can download it on iTunes.
Remembering... 9/11
I can't take it... I can't take it anymore! Watching the news, documentaries, surfing channels on TV in between commercials so not to miss anything on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 are way too much. It's utterly unbearable! Unimaginable! Unthinkable! You'd think even the worst of all evils couldn't do this!... They thought it and did it!
To all the victims and heroes of 9/11, here's remembering and honoring you... To my cousins who survived, I love you.
(I wrote a music composition entitled, DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, in memory of 9/11/2001. It's in my debut album, Socorro, on iTunes.)
To all the victims and heroes of 9/11, here's remembering and honoring you... To my cousins who survived, I love you.
(I wrote a music composition entitled, DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, in memory of 9/11/2001. It's in my debut album, Socorro, on iTunes.)
Friday, September 9, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Mother Nature's Doing a Number
... And now one of the most powerful hurricanes, Irene, in the East Coast reaching up to far north from the south, devastating lives and properties, causing power outages, a ripple effect on the air system delaying flights up to West Coast, Europe, everywhere, affecting thousands of travelers, etc., etc.!
Is Mother Nature gone mad with planet earth?? With all the global warming, pollutions, karmas, the bad, of course, the "sins of the world" as our religions tell us, is God, Our Father, punishing us? Or is it just one of Mother Earth's natural wonders? I remember a friend who "loves earthquakes!" And she means it! She says it is earth's way of cleansing itself. I believe it. It is the buildings and infrastructures, and so on, which scare us all, naturally, but otherwise, the sound of earthquakes is magnificent - GRANDIOSO!!
For Mother Nature, earthquakes, hurricanes are just some of her song and dance numbers. Beautiful or not depends on the kind of audience She has!
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