Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I apologize for not having posted since July.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

God bless!

Wimbledon 2007

And that was Ana Ivanovic's journey through Wimbledon 2007. Because Destiny cable doesn't have Star Sports, I haven't been able to watch any of Ana's Wimbledon games. Tonight's game, however, was crucial for many reasons, so I had to watch it somehow. I settled for Radio Wimbledon and Wimbledon.org's live score updates and PointTracker system. The latter one is, I think, a new technological innovation. You can view computer animated paths of each ball hit in a particular match in real time, if I'm not mistaken. That worked for a while, but then it wasn't available all the time (maybe it's my internet connection or something), so Radio Wimbledon sufficed. I felt like I was in the 1930's. It was fun actually. The commentators were funny, and I could hear audience members screaming support for Ana.

I was hoping this match would turn out like her match against Nicole Vaidisova yesterday wherein she lost the first set but won the last two. It was thrilling for me because I haven't really followed a tennis player like this before. It was funny because after Ana won an exciting but nerve-racking (for her fans in particular) set when Venus was on the verge of winning, I had to put the headphones down and drink water.

So it's Venus Williams versus either Justine Henin or Marion Bartoli. The Henin-Bartoli game is on right now, and Justine won the first set, although it's 2-1 in favor of Bartoli in the second. Now, I shall start reading again because it's not like I don't have chapters waiting to be read. :)

photo courtesy of Quack from the anaivanovic.com forum

Shot

I was just talking about SingShot and kSolo with Patty and Anna this morning and realized that I haven't blogged about it yet. You see, one day, I wanted to sing some karaoke. Not in public of course. Just me and my imaginary audience. I have bouts of that, you know. I start singing and wish I knew the lyrics to the song. Of course, there are song lyrics online, but sometimes I need some sort of musical accompaniment, even if only for the sake of not looking weird. I figured that maybe somebody out there had already invented a kind of online karaoke system. I then proceeded to search for online karaoke sites, and lo and behold! There are actually several of them in existence.

The most professional looking ones that offer services for free are SingShot and kSolo. SingShot seems to have a wider song selection, and it is home to Geoff52. He's a 53 yr.-old Briton whose rather popular takes on such a varied list of songs, from "Funkytown" to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," have gained him quite a following. He's recorded over 400 songs in SingShot. You see, with these online karaoke sites, you can record yourself (audio-visually or audio only) and upload your recording for other members to critique. And you have nothing to worry about because I haven't uploaded and don't intend to upload in the near future a recording of mine.

Anyway, I hear that kSolo has just been bought by Fox Interactive, which makes a kSolo-American Idol tie-in less improbable. In the words of Fred Perry, that's "very clevah."

Speaking of tennis, I am now officially an Ana Ivanovic fan! I first heard about her last year in Roland Garros...live via satellite, of course. (We weren't actually there.) My sister and mother "discovered" her, and we all thought she was very pretty. Then, Roland Garros ended, and I didn't get to watch any other tennis tournament after that. A year went by quite quickly, and the French Open season started again. My father was watching a women's singles match and commented that this girl who was reminding him of Jordin Sparks was leading Maria Sharapova, 6-2, 4-0! Of course, I looked and realized it was Ana. I've been a fan ever since. And it's not because my father thought she looked like Jordin. She actually reminds me, when she smiles, of my other favorite tennis player, Martina Hingis, whom Ana incidentally beat last year in the Canada Masters final. Of course, Ana won that match against Sharapova 6-2, 6-1, paving the way for her first ever appearance in a Grand Slam final. She eventually lost to the Queen of Clay Justine Henin, but no matter! Ana is now no. 6 in the world! And losing to Justine on clay is like losing to a snake in a staring contest.

Snakes don't blink.

It was forty years ago today...

...that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released.

Actually, that would be forty years and five days ago for the UK and forty years and three days ago in the US. I only discovered it today. This is probably why the American Idol finale Beatles tribute was drawn primarily from Sgt. Pepper's. Or maybe not.

And it was my best friend Patty Rodriguez's birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday, Patty!

Atticus

I would like to introduce you all to my new pet finch, Atticus. He's a zebra finch of, most likely, the fawn variety. I made him a little seed pot with my toy pottery wheel, and I intend to use up the rest of my air-dry clay a little bird bath dish. I got him a water tube and a little cuttlefish bone (which he poked viciously this morning), some seeds and a perch. My sister and I also a made him a nest box out of cardboard box card and have tried feeding him tomatoes as diet supplements. At around 6pm everyday, he gets into that nest box and gets ready for bed, at which point he becomes absolutely adorable as he snuggles up into the corner of the box and squishes all his fats and feathers together. He becomes a cute ball of feather with a beak and two tiny black, beady eyes.




There are probably a gazillion finches in the world named Jem and Scout or even Atticus. If I get a mate for Atticus, I might name her Frances after Harper Lee's mother. Then, I can hope for little chicks and name two Jeremy Atticus or "Jem" and Jean Louise or "Scout." Then Jem and Scout can befriend a maya bird named Charles Baker "Dill" Harris...

...and it could go on and on.

Of course there is also the temptation of naming them Blake and Jordin. Heehee.

Atticus, as pinpointed by someone in the FinchWorld forum, has poor feather condition. I hope its just poor diet and not lice or mites.

_________

In other news, MME was finally canonized yesterday! Hooray!

_________

Enrollment starts tomorrow, and I have yet to figure out how realtime enlistment works.

Final Thoughts Before the Finale

The next American Idol will be declared in a few hours, and although Patty Lazatin may not speak to me again after she reads this, Jordin was always my bet. Now, this is particularly important for me because this is the first time since I started watching Idol that my bet has actually reached the finals! Of course, it would have been entirely different if it were three years ago when I was a nearly rabid fan of Camile, but I am nevertheless excited. It's strange though because I'm a Jordin fan, but I really wanted Melinda to win, if only out of respect to her immense talent. Melinda's skill--what I feel is a combination of the right genetic makeup and formal education (She had voice lessons and majored in music from Belmont University, which I think is known for its music program.)--placed her in a league of her own, and I kind of felt that it was an insult to her that she did not even get into the finale.

Anyway, what's done is done, and what I'm writing about isn't quite relevant at the moment. Jordin did really well tonight, though Blake charmed the audience enough, so while Jordin seems to have the edge...

...you never know.

Licensed to Wheel

I would like to take this opportunity to announce to you all that I, Ana Alcala of Quezon City, am now a licensed non-professional driver.

I must admit that I barely passed the exam, but I made it and even have one of those little green plastic thingies where one inserts his/her license and receipt to protect them from the elements. The practical exam was not smooth at all. The engine died twice, and the person conducting the exam jokingly warned me that I might end up having to take a retest if I don't redeem myself. To compound the situation, after successfully getting off the vehicle without injuring anyone, I had to take this "walk of shame" from the driving area to the waiting area where onlookers who have been observing me fumble with the clutch and shifting were free to watch me salvage whatever was left of my dignity. Of course, that could all have been part of my imagination.

One of the reasons why I find it important to have a license at my age (I'm turning twenty) is because I often imagine myself in Bruce Willis' situation in The Kid. I can now tell my 8 yr.-old self that I already have a license as planned. Of course, she would be disappointed to know that I am not yet a registered voter and nor have I grown any inch above 5 feet, but I can at least brandish my driver's license to her.

My father accompanied me to the LTO office and proudly told me that now that I have my driver's license, all I need is this tax number thing. I am of legal age, but I hardly qualify as such in my 7 yr.-old sister's eyes, so this license may serve as some proof to her that I really am 19 and not kidding about it. Oh, and there is also this head ache that I've been having for the past few days. Maybe that's a grown-up thing, too.