Birthday Greetings from the Azkals lads

Thanks to my college cheatmate, Peter, for this wonderful surprise.

Daddy Rob, my CB crush. :D

Thanks fellow Gooner, OJ Porteria!

Ayee! The YH brothers!

One of my favorites, Manong Chieffy!

Hey Patrick! Thanks! Make us Bisdaks proud!

It's not everyday (or in my case birthday) that members of your national football team greet you. :D

HIBAG: How I Became a Gooner

I am celebrating my 9th year as Arsenal FC fan today. So in honor of such milestone, I am writing this blog for the curious.

THE BEGINNING
Way back in high school, I already exhibited signs of my fangirlism. Most of my high school friends often associated me with basketball, that they even predicted that I'll be the first female coach of the Cebu Gems of the now defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association. But unknown to them, I was secretly rooting for the likes of Barcelona (because of the original Ronaldo) and Liverpool (because of Michael Owen), during the time where David Beckham was the crush of football. 

Back when David Beckham was the girls' word of mouth when it came to football, I find this baby-faced Scouser cute.

The things was I did not watch most football matches then. I only relied on the results being broadcasted via Sportscenter, Sport Today and World Sport. I did tried to watch an Italian Serie A (which was shown on cable back then), but I fell asleep in the half-hour mark. The first (not-so full) match that I saw was the 1999 UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United, in which Teddy Sherringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored at Fergie time to win the club's second CL crown.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stunned Oliver Kahn and Bayern Munich  enroute to the Red Devils' treble that year.

When I moved on to the much provincial setting for my college degree, I was kind at lost of my basketball and football (news) fixation. Back then only the affluent families had access to cable television with huge satellite dish. I became accustomed to Filipino soap operas and such...

PRELUDE TO GOONERDOM
Before I graduated on my first course (My state run school had a ladderized system for the DVM degree.), cable TV in the province is readily available in the masses and even in some dormitories. Every June, upper class men (and women) of the DVM degree would flocked into Banahaw Dorm (aka the Vet Dorm) to watch the NBA playoffs and finals. This was in 2003. The San Antonio Spurs where the NBA champs and my apple of the eye was Tony Parker.

REMOVAL EXAMINATIONS, LUNCH, FARM REPORTS, SEMESTRAL BREAKSWhile waiting for my housemates to finish their removal examinations, I was eating lunch alone in our hangout, The Honeycomb. One of my housemates boyfriend, Justin, joined me for lunch. We initially talked about basketball, then we started talking about football. He was merely raving about Barcelona's (I being a Barcelona admirer back then.) latest acquisition, the great Ronaldinho ( Ronaldinho was a revelation during the World Cup 2002. That was what I've read.), and at the same time he was talking about Tony Parker's BFF, a guy named Thierry Henry who plays for Arsenal. Justin encouraged me to watch any Arsenal match during the semestral break. I agreed.

When I got home, Justin texted me that Arsenal had a match on the weekend I arrived home for my semestral break. But the kick-off was late night. That was Oct. 18, 2003 at around 10 in the evening or so.

I did not paid much attention to the match back then. All I wanna watch was that guy named Henry and check if how good he was since Justin was comparing him with Ronaldinho. The only thing I could remember during that match was the date, the venue, Highbury, and Thierry Henry scoring. By 12 midnight, I was convince that I'll follow the progress of this club in the Premiership. By May 15, 2003, Thierry Henry and his teammates (by now I already knew all their names), were crowned the Premier League Champions without conceding a loss.
 

The Invincibles. Played 38. Won 26. Drawn 12. Lost 0.

It was just recently that that Oct.18-19, 2003 match was against Chelsea, their runners-up for that season. But who cares. On that night, I fell in love with the brand of football Arsenal played. It was an attacking style of football, and I swear I never fell asleep on an Arsenal match, EVER!

I will forever be grateful to Justin for introducing me to Arsenal! Take a bow, Jus!

HBD Bimby

You're ain't a puppy anymore!
Happy birthday Bimby, este, Bambino!

Red Marked Dates for Red October

I have been red marking these two dates on my planner since these are my-must attend dates for the month of October. And I guess you should too if you're a fan of Samurai X and an animal lover.

Our teaser poster.

 Oct. 7 (Sunday) is the day for pets and pet lovers alike. The Cebu Companion Animal Practitioners Association (CCAPA) and Parkmall bring you Octoberpets 2012! This is the event's 7th year and for the first time it will be held in a mall (A pet-friendly mall at that).

And after weeks of speculations and signing petitions for this to be shown in Philippine cinemas, our prayers have finally been answered! Rurouni Kenshin (or Samurai X) the movie based on a manga and anime series of the life of Battousai, Himura Kenshin, will be shown here in my home country! It will premier on Oct. 17!

My First 5K Run

As I was browsing some of my Multiply entries, I came across to this one. The result of my first 5K run. This happened about 3 years ago, June 28, 2009 to be exact.

I was ranked 171 among male and female runners. I was runner # 571 and my registered name was Leslie, instead of Nes-Li. I finished at an impressive 26 minutes! Even until now this still my personal record for 5K.

Me towards the finish line. You can see that I was so desperate to finish this one.

*I will be publishing more of my posts from Multiply since it will end it's social networking and sharing features by December of this year.

The Veterinarian Meme

Hong Kong in Lomo

  I happened to sneak a little r&r in Hong Kong last July 28-30, 2012. The reason? Arsenal FC were in town for their Asia Tour of 2012.

I took a lot of photos during my trip in HK both on my mobile phone and camera. I used an app (or application) Man with A Camera that gives a lomo (lomography) effect on the photos I took.

Arrived 30 minutes past 12 in the morning on the 28th.

Rode this double decker to TST.Bus A21.It's got wifi! Wee!

I spent 2 hours or so wondering in the promenade! It was a surreal feeling that I was actually in HK!

The famous Hong Kong Skyline

After months of reminding me to redeem my tickets via my e-mail (They even gave a call before I left.), I was able to get my match tickets from the ticketing machine by swiping the credit card that I used for the transaction.

Oh look! Freebies! Arsenal is spoiling us to rot! Thank you!

Four hundred Arsenal fans were invited exclusively by the club itself.

At the Fans Party. We were able to meet Kyle Bartley (now with Swansea), Carl Jenkinson, Johan Djourou and Vito Mannone. Filipino Arsenal fans were positioned up front!

HK's elderly residents perform group exercises in parks. They repeatedly tap certain parts of the body accompanied by music.

Cheap thrill: Ferry ride to HK island

I was addicted to the McCafe hazelnut latte

Wasabi flavored dip? You bet! I got hooked on it. I don't mind if I have to pay HK$1 for me to dip my fries!

Finally, I was able to watch Arsenal at play LIVE and in the FLESH!

We petted this fat kitty. She lives near Chow Yun Fat's neighborhood.

I survived my HK lamierda. Thanks to this octopus card! ^_^

Olivier was my companion while waiting for my flight home.