Gives You Wings

The 2009 Formula One season is unofficially over after the Brazilian Grand Prix. Button got the driver's champhionship while his team Brawn GP bagged the constructor's championship. Oh well, I can only sigh in disappointment. But needless to say, Vettel didn't go down without a fight. Although after the first round of qualifying it seemed that it was really hopeless. Vettel wasn't even able to go through Q2, he was 16th! Which I wasn't able to watch because it was shown really early in the morning (this was around 2am I think). And at the start of Q2, the qualifying was halted due to an accident of Liuzzi and heavy rains. We just read from a news report the next day that the round was suspended for more than an hour before it resumed. And then from the same report, we learned that Button will start 14th on the grid while Barrichello is first. Whoopee! That sort of gave me hope. If Button and Vettel won't score and Barrichello finishes on top, then we still have hope! During race day, Vettel actually started 15th because of Liuzzi's penalty (he started 20th). And really, Brazil is really something else. It was the most exciting leg of the season. Here are some of the highlights:

- Safety Car on the first few lapses of the race due to accident of Trulli, Sutil and Alonso
- Kimi's car on fire while on the pits because of Heiki fuel hose
- Button overtaking Grosjean, Nakajima and Kobayashi
- Rookie Kobayashi proving his worth as an F1 driver, good thing he tried holding his place while Button tried overtaking him
- Only 14 cars finished
- Rubens' really really bad luck in his home race. He was supposed to finish atleast 3rd but because of some engine (or wheel?) trouble he finished 8th giving Button 5th place which gives him enough points to win the championship
- Massa waving the chequered flag
- Weber's win overshadowed by Button's rejoicing hehehehe

This photo breaks my heart (this is Vettel after qualifying)

But let me quote Michael Schumacher's message to Vettel:

"What a pity obviously for Sebastian, but he still has a lot of time. He had a fantastic season and showed that he has everything to become world champion. He must not forget that with all the disappointment now. Of course he will see that differently at the moment and will need some days to digest this weekend. But I am sure we will see and hear a lot of good stuff from him in the future."

Photos source

Suki Club

Got this from my inbox this morning.

Yey! I get to have 10% discount for every purchase from Ukay Manila! Know more about this from Ukay Manila.

Work Desk

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging that much. I realized I haven't blogged as often this October. Been busy with work and not so much happening in my personal life either. A friend mentioned that PGMA has declared another series of holidays by the end of November and as always we don't benefit from that. Sigh! I wish there's a holiday every month. Or wouldn't it be nice if we only go to work four times a week? Yeah, yeah I'm one of those people who don't really love their work but they stick to it because that's the best thing they can do. I'm kind of like Chandler in Friends. Remember that episode when he quit his job as statistical analysis and data reconfiguration and then he found out after consulting with a career expert that's that what he does best? Although of course later on he was finally able to get a job he really loves – advertising. So anyway, what was I blabbing about… yeah my work! Well, what can you do if something isn't really something? You try to make the most out of it. And here at work like most office people, I spend 95% of my time here at my desk. I try to make it as personal as possible but still with a level of professionalism in case the boss decides to visit my cube. Here it is.

I actually took this photos for Riz's giveaway thingy but wasn't able to blog about it soon. And sorry for the rant accompanying this photo…I just really really need a break. Really.

Weekend Whatever

We felt we accomplished so much over the weekend. SM Megamall had its three-day sale and we were there for three days. No we weren't there shopping for Christmas gifts although we did buy some home essentials. There were just too many people that it turned us off to look for gifts.

Friday

After work I met up with the hubby at the 5th Floor. We went to Megaclinic but there were no cardiologist at the time so we ended up going to the department store instead. Bought new shoes for him since we've been planning to do this since we went to Korea. We're supposed to buy his shoes there but he didn't like anything. I was egging him to buy the Puma red shoes the limited editions one for Ferrari when we were in Seoul but he said it was too loud for him. Hindi daw nya carry ahahaha. But guess what we ended up buying instead…another red sneakers although it's really red and grey. But still the dominant color is still red. Anyways, after that we went at the basement to see the sale items for at the home section. What is it with getting married and getting so into buying things for the home? When I was single you wouldn't even see me going to that floor of SM but now it's like Disneyland for me ahahaha Okay I guess that's a bit of an exaggeration but really I see so many things to buy for the kitchen, for the toilet, for the bedroom, for the living room…aaaah! But we only bought a wok hehehe. We then played poker at a friends house which ended at 2am.

Saturday

Was back at Megaclinic by 11am but we had to wait for more than an hour for Joema's consultation. The doctor gave him some meds but ordered additional tests like blood workup, ECG and 2D Echo. After buying his meds, we had a late lunch at Brothers Burger. I know we're supposed to eat healthy because of the hubby's hypertension but call it as his "last supper" if you will ahahaha. And then he wanted to watch Red Cliff, so we did. For me, it was boring ahahaha! He so wanted to watch it because he read the book and he said that the story from the movie is a lot different from the book. That's Hollywood for ya! Had to sit for more than two hours watching the movie…I was almost fell asleep, my eyes were so heavy. I kept on turning in my seat. I don't know if it's just because I was too sleepy to appreciate the movie or if it was just really boring. Went to ACE Hardware to buy some home essentials again before finally heading home. And I was finally able to get some shuteye before waking up again to watch the F1 qualifying in Brazil. That will have to be another post.

Sunday

Back at Megaclinic for Joema's ECG and blood extraction. We're praying for negative results. We then met up with my family for lunch and were back at home for siesta. But we had to go back to the clinic for Joema's 2D Echo by 5pm. What a day right! Going back and forth to the mall and there was even a sale so there were really a lot of people. We were able to buy some Christmas gifts for the kids and a tennis outfit for me ahahaha. Joema's been bugging me to try playing tennis – no, he doesn’t play either. There's a nearby tennis court in our place so we vowed to inquire next weekend and really start playing. It will be good exercise for him, and he really needs it for health reasons. So to interest me in playing he said we should buy an outfit for me. But we agreed I shouldn't wear it the first time we go to the court because people might say na puro porma lang kami pero bano maglaro ahahaha. After dinner at home, we're back in front of the TV to watch Formula One.

So that's our weekend, how about you? Sorry if this post bored you to death (like Red Cliff) but this is the most exciting part of my week so there ahahaha!

A Whole New World

Caught Aladdin last night on the Disney Channel. I wasn't able to watch the start but the scene I caught was after Aladdin and Jasmine met at the marketplace and Aladdin was put into jail. I remember being so amazed at the scene when Genie sang and danced to Aladdin when he was telling him about his three wishes. Aladdin is one of my most favorite Disney cartoons! While watching it last night, I still remember some of the lines from all the songs. I don't remember having the soundtrack but I think I did because I really remember the lines. "Prince Ali, fabulously he, Ali Ababua. Genuflect show some respect, down on one knee" – Genie sang while Aladdin was entering Jasmine's kingdom. And who can forget that the Philippines' very own Lea Salonga sang "A Whole New World". I even remember watching Lea at the Oscars performing for the Hollywood actors and actresses. Haaay.. it would have been nice to be a kid again…nothing much to worry about. Growing up is a whole new world, isn't it?

My First F1 Season Coming to An End

I wasn't able to watch the Japanese Grand Prix over the weekend. My family came over and we had lunch at our place then headed over to the mall to buy some things for them. They are now doing fine and can laugh about the funny things that happened during the flood. My brother's playing jolly Christmas songs in the car when we went with them. But before we left, we were able to catch the start of the race. So I knew Vettel was able to hold his lead (he won P1 during qualifying) and I'm pretty much confident he can do it until the end of 53 laps. The question was, what will Button's place be? He started 10th on the grid so he had a slim chance of getting some points. When we got back to the house, the race was over. Good thing Chequered Flag was still on so we caught the press conference, race analysis and highlights and a summary of the driver's points. Vettel is only 16 points away from Jenson. Woohoo! It's all still possible after a dismal 4th finish during the Singapore Grand Prix, where he had a chance to get the 2nd place but was penalized with a drive through because he was going too fast inside the pit lanes. It's all good, it's all good. Hoping that Jenson will continue to get minimal points for the next two races. Oh, while watching Chequered Flag, they showed highlights of last years Brazil Grand Prix, Massa's win was heartbreaking. It was supposed to be a win for that race but wasn't enough to get the driver's championship. And all because Hamilton got enough points to win the championship. I was telling the husband, who's a Massa fan, that I can now understand why he really wants Massa to win the championship and I'm fine if he does win next year (yeah as if I have a hold on things like this) BUT only if Vettel wins this season ahahaha!

It still amazes me how scientific this sport is. I guess that's one of the things that keeps me interested in watching – aside from the cute drivers – everything's so technical. And the drivers aren't only good looking, I believe they're also very smart because they can understand the technicality of it all – the downforce on the car, the aerodynamics, G-force. There's this TV ad about F1 where it shows you how much G-force is used and the driver's body are strained with this G-force. I used to laugh about it because F1 drivers are compared to firefighters. I'm like how can you compare such a noble profession to something like that. But I guess I didn't know anything back then. F1 drivers are like other athletes in that they also take care of themselves for the sport to keep them healthy – no cigarettes (not even electronic cigarette with electronic cigarette e liquid) and no drinking (well, maybe just GH Mumm which is their sponsor ahahaha) for them. I will surely miss watching the races after this season. Only two more races before the season ends.

PS Apparently Hamilton and Nicole are still very much together. Sorry about that on my last post on F1. I only heard about that from Steve Slater.

Coping

While almost everyone has gotten back to their feet, my family is now slowly rebuilding our home. I've told myself and my mom how fortunate we were to have them all safe during the floods. But I think we were all unprepared for the aftermath. I am feeling helpless as I'm not physically there to help my family clean the house, wash the soiled clothes, buy groceries and whatever other things they had or have been doing to cope. Last night my mother called me up crying. She said our neighbor was asking about me if we were okay and she told her that I don't live there anymore. Our neighbor hugged her and then she cried. You know those times when you're just putting up a front for everyone to see that you're okay, but when someone touches you or gives you a hug to comfort you, you suddenly break down? I think that's what happened to her. She suddenly felt how kawawa they were. Naawa sya sa kapatid ko who was dead-tired from washing their clothes driving back and forth to our tita to use their dryer afterwards. Naawa sya sa Papa ko who had to use wet shoes to go to the office. She told me they can't eat anymore because wala silang gana. Nagpabili sya ng Coke sa tindahan para lang ganahan sila kumain pero wala naman daw malamig. I told her we'll buy more things when we see each other this weekend. And they should come over to us for them to relax. I was holding back tears when I was talking to her but I broke down immediately after we ended the call. I couldn't do anything. I can only pray for my family's broken spirits. I pray that the Lord embrace them and feel the warmth of His Love. I pray that all families stricken with this tragedy will find a glimmer of hope that all of us will be able to move past this. True, material things are easy to replace but it's hard to mend broken hearts and spirits. Let's continue praying for one another.