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.

El Romperedes

It was 85 years ago today, in a football game between Spain and France, that Paulino "El Romperedes" Alcantara kicked the ball into the goal so hard, it ripped through the net.

Alcantara was born in Iloilo, Philippines to a Spanish soldier and an Ilongga. He played for Catalonia, Spain and the Philippines and holds the highest goal-scoring record for FC Barcelona. After retiring as a player, he became a doctor and club director.

Sources:
http://www.philfootball.info/romperedes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulino_Alcantara
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/historia/jugadors_de_llegenda/alcantara.html

April 15

April 15 this year is the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's Major League Baseball debut. Upon Ken Griffey Jr.'s suggestion, players of various MLB teams wore Robinson's retired number, 42. Robinson is, of course, the first to break the color barrier of the MLB. He was the first African-American Major League player of the modern era. Apparently, according to Encarta, there wasn't any baseball segregation yet in the 19th century It's nice to see that HBO seems to be joining in the celebrations. It's airing Soul of the Game right now, which, according to synopses, is about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson aiming to be the first modern-era African-American Major League player.

The First Post of Summer

Today, I cleaned out my study table and threw away a couple of years of memories. You see, up until this afternoon, I had not really thrown away my third year and fourth year high school and freshman university stuff. I had around four bulging envelopes under my desk containing notes, quizzes and projects from 2003 to 2006. I'm sure most of you have thrown out your stuff years ago, but I somehow didn't have the heart to do so until today. It was a very poignant experience. Before letting go of them, I looked through some. I made sure not to browse through them too much lest I end up keeping all of them again. I managed to salvage a couple of projects and decided to randomly pick out a page for posterity. I picked out a page from my Physics notes. It had something to do with circuit diagrams and voltages.

I actually started this blog in the summer of '04. That was the summer of entrance exam review classes, SCB-A and short, hair gelled hair. That was also the summer when I was so into American Idol, when I became a huge Camile Velasco fan. I have not really been able to follow the show with the same enthusiasm that I had in 2004. I still watch it, but not as much as before. I used to tape episodes back then and make daily visits to American Idol message boards. I was really a big fan, and I blogged about it a lot.

My take on this season? As with the Oscar Predicter Contest, there is a difference between who you like, who you want to win and who will win. This season, I think that vocally and talent-wise, Melinda should win. I like Jordin Sparks. She reminds of America Ferrera, who I also like. Blake, however, seems to create the most noise every time his name is uttered on the show. I don't know if that should be taken as a indication of victory, but he definitely is a contender. It doesn't hurt that he's a good singer too. As for Sanjaya--well, he's not as bad as people say he is. He can sing. It's just that he's not as competent as a singer as the other contestants are.

But for really in-depth and regular Idol coverage, I recommend Patty Lazatin's blog...I mean LiveJournal.

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Welcome 2007!

Happy New Year! :)