Really awesome that TrueHoop's Henry Abbott stood true to his bet and ate that dee-lish Filipino special. Welcome to my world, Henry. And I hope you eating balut will indeed lift the curse of the Blazers.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Injustice and Basketball
Yesterday's post was all kinds of vague, and I apologize for my zero readership out there if you were left wanting. I'm going to try to clarify stuff by integrating some basketball talk into it. Hopefully, it will make me feel better, too.
***
I should be working right now, but I'm not. I don't care if I get paid for doing nothing. I've done these several times, but there are worse people that would put my laziness to shame. I had a horrible morning last night. I wanted to cry and go home, sleep to get that day over with. It was partly my fault but I didn't regret doing it.
Since she was a close friend, I asked the HR employee handling payroll how my performance appraisal at work turned out. At this time, I was about 50-50 into believing that my promotion was going to push through. I was recommended last year, but it didn't happen because the big boss said it was the crisis and most of the promotions were deferred to save money, yada yada yada. Now, I'm a very patient and understanding guy and I didn't take this in too negatively. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely disappointed. But I knew some people had to make sacrifices, and I felt that the following year, I was getting that promotion for sure.
But then she told me, hey, you got an increase of __%. It was obviously lower than the increase I would get IF I had the promotion, and even though I thought I already set myself up for disappointment, it still jolted me.
I thought I'd give a little background. My ex-boss, who just recently left for another job a few months ago, did not even care to evaluate us before he left. He left it to the one next in line, someone who absolutely does not know the quality of my work and what I've done for this company. It's a freaking travesty.
So in the end, this is what happened. Another year of not getting a little appreciation. Another year of getting older and being left farther and farther behind by my peers. Another year of getting blindsided. Another year of not getting any respect. Another year of being led to believe that something good's going to happen and then getting smacked in the face with a subtle "eff you". There's no such thing as justice in this world. Yes, I said it. The world thrives on being unfair.
This morning, people from Pounding the Rock linked to an article by Dan Shaughnessy undermining the greatness of Tim Duncan. Kelly Dwyer and Joe Posnanski already showed masterfully how wrong that dude is, but still, I can't help but resonate to how some people treat my favorite basketball player ever (Yes, I went there... I dropped Michael Jordan like a hot potato).
Like every PtR'er, I worship Manu, too, but now that I think about it, I find more and more reasons why I love Tim Duncan the most. To make a long story short, I'm just a sucker for him being the epitome of a quiet superstar - he does everything on both ends on the floor, carries his team almost every night, wins, but doesn't celebrate in your face or disrespect the other team. Heck, Shaugnessy even calls Tim out on his extreme modesty as possibly one of the reasons why he's not a Top 10 player. Duncan is that humble. I can't help but applaud the man for that. And I can't help but almost cry for him, too, if people continuously use words like "boring" and "small-market player" to underrate where he ranks in the pantheon of not only the greatest NBA players, but athletes in general.
I, too, feel like a part of me is being disrespected whenever that happens. I may be exaggerating at this point, but I believe that Tim Duncan stands for a lot of what I want to be as a person. Sure, his max salary might say, hey, this guy's already being given what he's due. But it's not that simple. While I can go on and on and just repeat what the Duncan defenders are always saying, I won't. Because you know what? Tim Duncan doesn't give a shit at what you, me or other people say or think about him. Aside from basketball skills, I think that's Duncan's quality that I admire the most.
I work for the research arm of my company and we're probably the most unrecognized group in the building, despite doing a lot of things that help this institution make money or get the recognition it sorely lacks. Our room is even situated at the farthest end of the corridor, away from people's eyes and beside a prayer room that very few people go into. Not even a lot of people know the names or faces who work in this department. But if other employees don't know what to do with something, they dump it on research. Yeah, we'll handle that for you, even if you know you can handle it on your own but you're just too "busy" to do other more important things like having three-hour lunch breaks or complaining about the slow internet connection.
Come evaluation time, everyone's yapping about how they helped the company earn this much or that much or how their project was a success or how they had to deal with this or that problem. And here we are, in the sidelines, with still a lot of people not knowing what we actually do. It's a real shame. Like Tim Duncan, I know the feeling of being under-appreciated by the so-called experts. But unlike Tim Duncan, I deal with it rather poorly. Or at least I've reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore - I couldn't just sit here and allow myself to be slighted, disrespected, abused, used like a tool and treated like cheap labor.
I'm probably one of the most patient guys you'll ever meet but sadly, I'm still not at the level of Duncan's humility, steadfastness and indifference to those who choose to ignore what's really important. Yes, I will say that I'm freaking 5 or 10 times better than the people here who earn much more than I do. I knew these things for a few years and I chose to keep my Duncan face on, quietly going about my business, knowing my time will come. But really, do nice guys finish last? Or, as LatinD once commented on a post here, do nice guys finish... at all? I don't know.
I'm a person who believes and stands firm on the idea of values, so if the values I believe in are being compromised, I can't just let allow people to continuously step on them. Sure, I can forgive a few slights here and there. But now that they've shown how low they are willing to go to disrespect me, I think I've finally hit boiling point.
Despite sinking into new levels of sadness and disappointment, reading these recent stuff about Tim has somewhat given me hope to hold onto. Will the meek really inherit the earth? Again, do nice guys really finish, at all? Does social justice and life eventually balance out the world's imbalances? I'm not too sure, but looking at how Tim has lived his life, yeah... maybe they will happen at some point. I don't know exactly when, but like how The Big Fundamental lives, I will try to stop caring about how other people use me or think of me. I will start focusing on how to further improve myself, and it will probably begin with getting out of this damned company.
***
I should be working right now, but I'm not. I don't care if I get paid for doing nothing. I've done these several times, but there are worse people that would put my laziness to shame. I had a horrible morning last night. I wanted to cry and go home, sleep to get that day over with. It was partly my fault but I didn't regret doing it.
Since she was a close friend, I asked the HR employee handling payroll how my performance appraisal at work turned out. At this time, I was about 50-50 into believing that my promotion was going to push through. I was recommended last year, but it didn't happen because the big boss said it was the crisis and most of the promotions were deferred to save money, yada yada yada. Now, I'm a very patient and understanding guy and I didn't take this in too negatively. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely disappointed. But I knew some people had to make sacrifices, and I felt that the following year, I was getting that promotion for sure.
But then she told me, hey, you got an increase of __%. It was obviously lower than the increase I would get IF I had the promotion, and even though I thought I already set myself up for disappointment, it still jolted me.
I thought I'd give a little background. My ex-boss, who just recently left for another job a few months ago, did not even care to evaluate us before he left. He left it to the one next in line, someone who absolutely does not know the quality of my work and what I've done for this company. It's a freaking travesty.
So in the end, this is what happened. Another year of not getting a little appreciation. Another year of getting older and being left farther and farther behind by my peers. Another year of getting blindsided. Another year of not getting any respect. Another year of being led to believe that something good's going to happen and then getting smacked in the face with a subtle "eff you". There's no such thing as justice in this world. Yes, I said it. The world thrives on being unfair.
This morning, people from Pounding the Rock linked to an article by Dan Shaughnessy undermining the greatness of Tim Duncan. Kelly Dwyer and Joe Posnanski already showed masterfully how wrong that dude is, but still, I can't help but resonate to how some people treat my favorite basketball player ever (Yes, I went there... I dropped Michael Jordan like a hot potato).
Like every PtR'er, I worship Manu, too, but now that I think about it, I find more and more reasons why I love Tim Duncan the most. To make a long story short, I'm just a sucker for him being the epitome of a quiet superstar - he does everything on both ends on the floor, carries his team almost every night, wins, but doesn't celebrate in your face or disrespect the other team. Heck, Shaugnessy even calls Tim out on his extreme modesty as possibly one of the reasons why he's not a Top 10 player. Duncan is that humble. I can't help but applaud the man for that. And I can't help but almost cry for him, too, if people continuously use words like "boring" and "small-market player" to underrate where he ranks in the pantheon of not only the greatest NBA players, but athletes in general.
I, too, feel like a part of me is being disrespected whenever that happens. I may be exaggerating at this point, but I believe that Tim Duncan stands for a lot of what I want to be as a person. Sure, his max salary might say, hey, this guy's already being given what he's due. But it's not that simple. While I can go on and on and just repeat what the Duncan defenders are always saying, I won't. Because you know what? Tim Duncan doesn't give a shit at what you, me or other people say or think about him. Aside from basketball skills, I think that's Duncan's quality that I admire the most.
I work for the research arm of my company and we're probably the most unrecognized group in the building, despite doing a lot of things that help this institution make money or get the recognition it sorely lacks. Our room is even situated at the farthest end of the corridor, away from people's eyes and beside a prayer room that very few people go into. Not even a lot of people know the names or faces who work in this department. But if other employees don't know what to do with something, they dump it on research. Yeah, we'll handle that for you, even if you know you can handle it on your own but you're just too "busy" to do other more important things like having three-hour lunch breaks or complaining about the slow internet connection.
Come evaluation time, everyone's yapping about how they helped the company earn this much or that much or how their project was a success or how they had to deal with this or that problem. And here we are, in the sidelines, with still a lot of people not knowing what we actually do. It's a real shame. Like Tim Duncan, I know the feeling of being under-appreciated by the so-called experts. But unlike Tim Duncan, I deal with it rather poorly. Or at least I've reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore - I couldn't just sit here and allow myself to be slighted, disrespected, abused, used like a tool and treated like cheap labor.
I'm probably one of the most patient guys you'll ever meet but sadly, I'm still not at the level of Duncan's humility, steadfastness and indifference to those who choose to ignore what's really important. Yes, I will say that I'm freaking 5 or 10 times better than the people here who earn much more than I do. I knew these things for a few years and I chose to keep my Duncan face on, quietly going about my business, knowing my time will come. But really, do nice guys finish last? Or, as LatinD once commented on a post here, do nice guys finish... at all? I don't know.
I'm a person who believes and stands firm on the idea of values, so if the values I believe in are being compromised, I can't just let allow people to continuously step on them. Sure, I can forgive a few slights here and there. But now that they've shown how low they are willing to go to disrespect me, I think I've finally hit boiling point.
Despite sinking into new levels of sadness and disappointment, reading these recent stuff about Tim has somewhat given me hope to hold onto. Will the meek really inherit the earth? Again, do nice guys really finish, at all? Does social justice and life eventually balance out the world's imbalances? I'm not too sure, but looking at how Tim has lived his life, yeah... maybe they will happen at some point. I don't know exactly when, but like how The Big Fundamental lives, I will try to stop caring about how other people use me or think of me. I will start focusing on how to further improve myself, and it will probably begin with getting out of this damned company.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tiger Woods Can Suck It
This man should be talked about more. A once-in-a-lifetime athlete, if you will. And oh yeah, he's a really good guy, too. Also, I don't like Andy Murray but after last night's match, I genuinely felt sorry for the kid. Best of luck to him in ending that British drought.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Yet Another Tennis Post
And oh yeah, pure talent helps, too.So yeah, I haven't been posting much, and if I ever did, they're hardly about basketball. Maybe I'll get back to that when the playoffs roll around. But for now, since it's the Australian Open, here's your obligatory tennis entry.
I love reading about the things that make superstar athletes successful - from Michael Jordan's uber competitiveness to Manny Pacquiao's insane training regimen and ability to tune out distractions, I find myself trying to measure up to their exceptional qualities and examine if I can take something from them, apply them to my life and see if they make a difference. Unfortunately though, I usually stop at the "application" part. I guess that explains the harsh reality that a few people really have "it" while the others remain right around the average.
Reading some lines from a Roger Federer interview, you kind of get the message on why the mental part of his game is so good. Here are some choice quotes, see if you get the same idea I'm getting:
I never look at the stat sheet... You know, some people are fanatics about it. How many aces and double-faults did I hit? How many points won, or first serves? I couldn’t care less about all those stats... Same with winners and errors did you hit. I don’t care if I was in the positives or the negatives. What matters is how you play your opponent, and the wind and the tactics and everything. There are so many more important things, you know.
Here's another. This one's on Federer saying he reads newspapers to keep up with what was happening in tennis, but was also quick to say that he is by no means an analyst, and sometimes prefers listening to television commentary.
It’s not really to study opponents. I watch it more as a fan... I didn’t watch last night’s (Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal) match saying, ‘Hm, that’s interesting how they’re playing’. I couldn’t care less. I just like to see a good tennis match and see how they battle it out, and see the intensity of both players, and watching how important it is for both of them to come through.So I see it more that way than, ‘What’s he doing exactly when I play him next time?’ That would be way too stressful, watching every single tennis match just thinking of my own game, how it would match up.
A couple of things I can take away from trying to read between Roger's lines is first, he's supremely confident about his skills. He doesn't worry too much if this or that guy's going to beat him or how he can beat his opponent. He knows he has the tools and just has to execute the game plan.
Speaking of game plans, sure, he always has a plan coming into every match, but prefers to come up with it in the appropriate time. The admirable thing about Federer is that he's really good at knowing when to do things. Most of the time, regular people like you and me tend to worry about so many things at different points of the day, that in the end, we end up not knowing where to start or finish.
I really liked how Fed says that he watches "as a fan" and not some overly obsessed freak calculating and analyzing everything. That kind of relaxation helps his mental state a lot, especially during the big moments. It helps that you can tune out a previous error or mistake made and just move on and concentrate on the next point. That kind of ability to quickly shift mindsets is almost like a gift. And maybe that's why pundits really see him as some sort of tennis "genius."
So here's hoping for Number 16. Add to that the potentially absolute joy of seeing Andy Murray get his ass kicked yet again.
Awesomeness Going On At PtR
LatinD is in San Antonio and he's having a grand time. His posts over at Pounding the Rock are great reads (always puts a smile on my face and some giggles here and there), so even if you're not a Spurs fan, head on over there and check it out or miss out on discovering the true meaning of life.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Totally Unrelated to Basketball
No, please. You're too good for him.
Over at PtR, Hipuks' posts (inspired by /b/ at 4chan) made me stumble on the short cartoon strip above. It's almost a near-perfect description of the current state of my relationship with the girl of my dreams. Ahh, damn it all.
I also realize I haven't written anything for awhile. I will once I get my sentimental bearings together, but there's no timetable yet.
I also realize I haven't written anything for awhile. I will once I get my sentimental bearings together, but there's no timetable yet.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fight Night Looms Again
So it's all over the interwebs (especially on the local front) that Manny Pacquiao's fame has reached unimaginable heights by appearing on Time Magazine's cover (Asian edition). I mean, wow. Just wow. Manny's great, and after "doubting" him for two straight fights, I've learned my lesson and am confident about him emerging victorious after the Cotto fight. Still, that's why sports is sometimes so unpredictable -- any match/fight/game can go either way, especially in boxing, where one lucky punch can turn things around.
In the meantime, here's a New York Times article on the Pacman and his trainer Freddie Roach's relationship. A good read.
Now I'll just have to find a copy of that Time issue. Hopefully it isn't sold out yet.
In the meantime, here's a New York Times article on the Pacman and his trainer Freddie Roach's relationship. A good read.
Now I'll just have to find a copy of that Time issue. Hopefully it isn't sold out yet.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Get Pumped
The new NBA season kicks off tomorrow morning here in the Philippines and I am fucking pumped as hell. It's going to be one hell of a season, and you know where I'll be most of the time: at Pounding the Rock, cheering on the San Antonio Spurs with Spurs fans from different parts of the world.
For now, I hope you get excited, too, with these two photos of a passionate Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Go Spurs Go!
For now, I hope you get excited, too, with these two photos of a passionate Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Go Spurs Go!
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