The Bad side of Badminton

Nowadays, badminton would probably be the most popular sport in the country. This can be evidenced by the numerous badminton courts popping out of nowhere almost everyday. When you check out sports shops in any mall, there are more badminton stuff being sold than any other sports accessories and equipment. Pinoys love basketball traditionally, but badminton is now a close second when it comes to popularity and practice.

Badminton is also the reason why Adidas is outselling Nike presently. Adidas edged Nike in Badminton technology and design, and is more reasonably priced. I used to love Nike and has a passion to wearing Air Jordan shoes...until Kobe 2 came out and the new models of the Wirano became available on the shelves...bye bye, Jordan...

This Saturday, April 16, there will be a tournament in the badminton court where we always play and me and my siblings and friends have joined. Being decent people, we went through the levelling stage of the tournament playing our best. We were levelled on the higher number of the scale. I told myself we have improved a lot...and felt great.

Unfortunately, I was not to feel great a week after we were levelled. Some people personally known to me, and who have been playing badminton for the longest time also joined the tournament and were levelled similarly as me and my partner. How the hell did that happen???

People playing in badminton tournaments are grouped according to their levels of play. When you are a Level A player, you cannot be grouped with level C or D players as, obviously, you pack more skills and experience with the game than them. Those who want a sure win don't play their normal game during levelling, to get levelled lower and have a stronger chance of winning. That is what you call SANDBAGGING... to me, that's cheating!

Badminton should be enjoyed as a recreation sports. While it is true that most who play this sport only want to get a good sweat, some make a career out of it. I know of one person who has the skill of a national player but has also mastered the art of sandbagging and have been levelled a lot lower than his skills in tournaments, and always ended up winning. He may be the champion...but he will always be a liar to me.

Its funny how such a good sport can be tarnished with such a bad impression...

The sea, the sand and the one you love...

Driving to North Luzon on a lazy morning was not as enjoyable as it has been for me last Monday. An SUV, several thousand pesos in your wallet, and the hands of the person you want to be with carressing your arms made the trip romantic scene-perfect, and the green trees lining up both sides of the road made it all alive...

The beach, the sand and the sound of the waves splashing through the shore was reminiscent of a scene from the movie "Summer of 42"...the kisses, the embraces and the mountains on the horizon reminded me of Phoebe Cates' starrer "Paradise"... It was perfect.

The wind was amazingly cool on a hot summer day and getting out of the water was as chilling as it was getting in...whew! I was thankful that I could feel the ocean simultaneously with the body of the one I was with... this is the LIFE!

The day was capped with a sumptuous dinner in a cozy grillery and a round of drinks in a bar, with the music coming from a live band who played a mix of 70's, 80's, 90's and black music. An after dinner coffee in a not so known but really classy cafe was a prelude to the intimate moment we both wanted back in the hotel room.

Admiring the beauty of her skin...her body...and and her eyes signalled the start of a wonderful exploration of each other's bodies...the moans, the sighs and the deep breathes perfectly described the ecstasy both of us were in at the change of day...it was the tone that would set the night...and the break of dawn... with her eyes closed and myself half conscious, the words " i love you" floated with the cool air... it was a great day...

The sun never shone so bright as we took a dip in the pool the following morning... her whole body was touched by sunlight and produced a glare that lit the whole place more...As I spread the sun tan lotion on her, she looked at me smilingly. I felt a tinge and gave her a kiss on the cheek...she touched my face and pulled my lips to hers...

As we drove back to the city, an eerie silence fell inside the car... I saw her eyes sparkling, not with joy but with a tear about to drop...I held her hand and never let it go until I said goodbye...

As I stepped out of the car she looked at me blankly...

I hopped into my car and started to drive... I kept thinking about her... God, I love her so much...

The sound of my cellphone broke my uncalled silence... and let off tears gushing down my cheek as I read her message:

" Thank you for being you... thank you for loving me... thank you for letting me know that I am capable of loving someone more than myself... Thank you for giving me life..."

To which I replied:

" Loving you is the least I can do... You are worth more than my life...I always thank God that He let our paths cross....and blame Him for letting it cross at a wrong time..."

I never thought two days of my whole life can be as beautiful as it can be painful...

We meet people almost everyday, but not everyday do we meet people who will change us, or our lives. To those who will be able to read this...Please don't let your heart be numb, enjoy what the heart feels and let everyone whom your heart beats for know what you feel... Love is what we make it...it can be painful at times but you should not dwell on this, dwell on the joy you feel more... Sadness are joys that we were not able to explore, not able cherish, not able to express...We shed tears of love, tears of joy and tears of sadness...let it fall...as letting it fall makes us capable of feeling it more...feeling it more makes us understand what it is for...

Believe me... I know...

Friday!

People say that Fridays are for those who've worked hard the whole week...a bottle of beer during Friday nights washes away all the stresses that maybe deeply seated in our inner physiology, causing blockages in the artery that let the streams of the red liquid of life flow to and through the heart and eventually to and through the human CPU..... I agree...

Tonight, I'm gonna be getting myself a bottle or two, to wash away all that has happened this week...all the frustrations... disappointments... heartaches...the betrayal... the loyalties ... but not the good memories...

Everyone gets their share of woes and sorrows...and everyone gets to deal with these their own ways. Some would never want to deal with these, and would prefer the cord, the bullet or the freefall...some just fades away with these...

Some drinks the contents of the dark brown bottle, and forgets temporarily...some drinks the contents of the dark brown bottle..., and laughs their way to a new day...

There are some who drinks the contents of the brown bottle and talk these things through with the person on his left, on his right and across him..., and sleeps on it towards a new day....I belong to this group of homo sapiens....luckily...

Fridays are about beers and forgetting, about self-preservation and relaxation, about renewed bonds, about struggles and successes... about yourself...

Fridays are for the responsible person inside of us...who deserves a toast and a good laugh!

Have a great Friday everyone!