Stan is the Man!

I had a semi full schedule last Sunday, or as full as it could be for Sunday afternoon to night time. I was going to go do yoga, hit the shops with a friend (she needs a dress for an event), and have dinner somewhere new. I begged my friend to adjust our schedule so that I could potentially rush home to watch the Australian Open Men’s finals (This was post Stan’s win over Djokovic and Pre Nadal’s win over Roger).

I had been hoping for an all Swiss final (what a treat that would have been – and if that did happened, I won’t even be upset if Stan wins over Roger) but hey, Nadal played so much better against Roger (semis) vs his level of play against Nishikori and Dimitrov (4th round & quarters). So, no all swiss final.

Stan, Federer’s buddy, was in the finals and since Federer had believed in his friend's chances, I decided to be supportive and watch the game as well. (It should be noted though that of all the predictions, analysis, and articles that I read before the finals, only 1 person said Wawkrinka had a chance against Nadal and that person was Roger Federer).

To be honest, I had perhaps believed Stan’s chances of winning were at about the 25%. That is, I thought: If Stan played as good as he did against Djokovic and if Nadal played at a lower level than he did against Roger, then Stan will have a chance.

And this is what actually happened for the first set and a half of the match. That part was what I had deemed the only legitimate part of the finals and the rest of it, I don’t know, I will just call it a freak occurrence. It was so bizarre that for a while there I think Wawrinka got confused and suddenly wasn’t sure if his initial game plan against a fierce Nadal should be tempered so as not to look too brutal against an injured Nadal. (I suppose he was thinking that at first he was the underdog then suddenly he was not?)

That was the sad part, the “injured” Nadal. I wanted Stan to win convincingly and given his performance during the first set, I believe that he really deserved a better victory. I wanted him to win but not like that.

I respect Nadal’s talent and his impressive come back from a major injury and from months of being out of the tour. What had always bothered me about him (and not just against Federer but against everyone) was his consistent grey-area on court behavior: time delays tactics / violations, (suspect) timeouts, coaching violations and everything else that he does (such as touching himself in all places before he finally serves).

What happened last Sunday wasn’t pretty. Yes, Nadal might have really been injured (was this just a sudden cramp thing or did he just break something there or was this an old problem, who knows?) but the way it all panned out, it just felt iffy.

Headlines then read that Wawrinka won over an “injured” Nadal, which just takes so much out of Wawrinka’s well deserved win, which is just unfortunate because I believed that even if Nadal hadn’t been injured Stan could have won anyway the way he was playing.  Stan had really really really been that good in that first set. If things progressed the same way, then Nadal would have lost justly, sans all this injury drama.

It should be noted though that instead of retiring, Nadal stayed in there to let Stan finish the match, which is a nice gesture and which is also what I would have expected him to do.

photo from the ausopen.com

BUT no matter, a win is a win. Again, we must remember that this is Stan’s moment.  At the end of the day, you’ve won a Grand Slam #Stanimal! Congratulations, you deserve it! I am happy for you!

Notes on Roger (even if this is Stan’s moment):   

Roger played unbelievably well this whole Australian Open vs. his not so great performance of last year (or the last few years). This fact alone gives me enough satisfaction. This gives me some hope. This makes me happy. (I am a fan of his so why wouldn’t I be?)

He is a 32 year old guy who still plays this good, who can still beat top ranked guys, and who still brings so much to the tennis world. He has worked for it too. How can he not, when all these odds against him now? He may not be #1 but he is still this good. It is what it is. (Haters, stop raining on this parade please.)

Also, forgot to comment about this: VERY VERY VERY Happy for Li Na! 

photo from the ausopen.com

I like her. I still remember her as being this semi good, semi consistent, Chinese player who played at the time of Kim Clijster and Justine Henin.  Well, she’s still here and she’s come a long way. She’s so funny and so real. She’s a good representative of the Asia Pacific (as the Aussie Open is the Grand Slam of the Asia Pacific, is it not?). She is Chinese, 31 and still competitive on tour, her story is definitely one of the good ones!

This is one of those tournaments wherein I’m happy about both the men’s and women’s champion.

The Pork Files Continues

Just an understatedly brief recap, sometime last year this happened: 

Yes, that was Miriam playing at being Katniss Everdeen. It's gimmicky but, I suppose, it served its purpose. Nice touch (?) that Miriam went young, trendy and (I don't know) revolutionary with this one.

Meanwhile, Enrile was playing Bejeweled. Enough said.

Yesterday, this happened: 

Is this an unfunny standup comedy show? Oh, no, it's not.

If I needed further confirmation (which I really don't) of my assessment of his character and intelligence, this is it.

My 2 major memories of Bong Revilla Jr. now are: 1 - His equally ridiculous anti-Hayden speech and 2 - this delusional (unbelievable / bizarre / cheap / desperate / insulting / embarrassing  - insert preferred adjective)  scene.

Old trapo style politicians may have been comforted by the idea that even if they can't fool the literate part of society, they could always fool the masses with showbiz tactics. Well, I just overheard our household staff discussing the issue a while ago and they were also in complete disbelief with Revilla’s statements. That's a slice of the people's mind right there for you, senators.

I suppose, as can be deduced, their camp's game plan goes like this: 1 - Muddle the main issue with so many other random issues (to hopefully confuse/distract everyone), 2 - Immediately counter-accuse your accuser (hindi ako, ikaw noh, hindi ako, ikaw din noh!), and 3 - Pull all the cheesy shenanigans you can think of (and hope for the very best).

ALSO, I would like to repeat this: If you keep on saying that you were bribed to vote against Corona and you subsequently did vote against him then this would also mean that you are ADMITTING TO A CRIME and are, in fact, INCRIMINATING yourself. (facepalm)

2014, this blog is waking up (for a while at least)

Ok, things have come and gone without (my) comment…

I have also caught up with a whole lot of TV last December. You’d think that would have been depressing but it actually wasn’t that bad. You’d think I’d hate that the Game of Thrones strayed too much from the books but I actually have forgotten enough of the books to not be a nitpicker about it. 

And, who would have thought that The Mindy Project is a very good companion for the holidays. It cheered me up so very much! (What does this say about me?!)

So, moving on…

Last week the Golden Globes just happened (it's award season time!) and the Australian open just started.  

I should have been happier about all this though. I don't know, it's not doing it too much for me this time. Maybe my mind is telling me that I no longer like being a couch potato (yeah, right).

So, yes, I did watch a ton of tennis last week. Basically, the TV was on while I did a bunch of random things like updated websites, typed documents and experimented on products (yes, I’m a multi task-er that way). 

The Aussie Open

So far though, things are moving along at the Aussie open. Serena Williams is out. (Yey! Because while I acknowledge her talent and everything, I don’t really like her.) Del Potro is out (No reaction. Though partially glad because the bottom half of the men’s draw is really really crowded). Bryan brothers are out (sad). Maria Sharapova is out (sad). Ana Ivanovic is just out (sad but happy as well because at least there is some semblance of hope that she will be moving up).  I am happy as well for the 19 year old Canadian who beat Ivanovic. She seemed nice. (Even if she said she wanted to date Justin Bieber - what is up with that?) 

Djokovic is out. Gasp! (I don't particularly dislike him but I just prefer to cheer for Roger’s friend Wawrinka so the result makes me happy. Amazing game. Well-deserved win.) 

Happy For Stan! (pic from the official website)

And, what else? Roger is still in. (Yes! Just crossing my fingers for now though. Well, what else am I going to do otherwise?)

The Golden Globes / Oscars

I have watched The Wolf of Wall street. Wasn't really impressed but I already expected this based on the reviews I’ve read. I have also watched American Hustle. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed partly because I had super high expectations of the film. I still like Jennifer Lawrence even if her role as a semi narcissist crazy woman touched too close to home, which scared me a bit. I also got some copies of other Oscar movies (12 years a slave, Blue Jasmine and the Dallas Buyers Club). I am looking forward to watching these soon.

Still reserving my judgement on the other movies until after the Oscars and one of them wins something. I mean, I know, a lot of people have raved about Gravity but I'm still turned off by the whole space thing.  

It should also be noted that the Wolf of Wallstreet is the only Oscar nominated film that’s not rated 90+% on rottentomatoes.com. It’s just at 70%, I think. In fact, after watching the movie with my dad, he said this: the movie with the freezing we watched the other week was better than this. That is, that movie was the animated film Frozen. (Actually, Frozen, if I'm not mistaken, got 89% on Rotten Tomatoes so he’s not wrong there.)

I don't have particularly have much to say about the TV section of the Golden Globes. I don't know, do I not watch award winning TV anymore? I am happy for Amy Poehler though. I love Parks and Recreation. 

LOVE them! (pic from TV.com)

Also, I truly truly love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the Golden Globes. Just had to say it.  

- 

So my January has been somewhat eventful and yet it feels like nothing had actually happened. The new beginning that I had hoped to be taking place is not yet happening…

Oh well.

New Year’s Resolutions      

1. Exercise More / Eat Healthier ( = look better)

2. Earn More…

3. To be able to Live Life

Seriously, for the past few years or so… this has been more or less my list. What does this say? (Ok, I don’t want to think about that). 

Moving on…  I will try to do them this year...

It's still pretty early. I still have 11 1/2 months to go you know.