February Already!!??

Geez...didn't we just have New Years yesterday? Oh well...time is goin faster than I thought!

As for my 'resolutions'...well I managed to catch up with more people than I have in the last 6 months!! That's quite a feat if you ask me!!. It also helps to actually turn up to things where I'm invited to... :-P

Last few things I've done (in no particular order):

1. Had a 'try-out' for wedding clothes for my friend Alex's wedding. Its gonna be an Indian wedding so we get to dress up in traditional clothing...I look like a monk in mine! (no pics as of yet...maybe after the wedding...if you're lucky)
2. Went on a day cruise on the Hawkesbury river with staff at Neutral Bay (my old branch). It was a nice and relaxing day out. Note: Boats aren't cars..they don't turn straight away when u turn the wheel..remember that! :)
3. Went and saw Richard's (our Area Manager) band 'Peachy' play at the Crows Nest Hotel. Awesome show!! They played my kind of stuff...funk, R&B and everything in between...went home deaf...(ended up near the speakers for some reason...)

As for the rest of the resolutions...lets just say they're 'works in progress' :-)

b.t.w. For anybody that didn't know, I ended up being the perfect match for my brother (for the kidney transplant). So now we are in the process of making sure that my kidneys are in good shape and that I've got no 'diseases' to pass on...The doc has a checklist this long to follow!!

2005..Ready or Not...

Well, here we are...2005...time has a habit of creeping up on you when you least expect it :)
Its been good, so far. Spent New Years with family as usual, but had friends over as well...the Avila New Years Party is in full effect after a dismal one last year!! :D

New Years Resolutions:

1. Catch up on as many people as possible :)
2. Getting fit. Either by playing sports or (shudder) going back to the gym. If I can get a gym pal, it'd be better.
3. Do something creative. Go back to learning Salsa, or even start learning to play the piano or guitar.
4. Save up to go back to Cebu!!!

Already started No2 on New Years Day! Didn't go to sleep till 4am but got woken up at 9am by my family to play tennis!!

Happy Holidays!!

Hope everyone had a good time with family and friends this holiday season. I know I did!! Can't believe its New Years Eve tomorrow...My how time flies...
Got a few DVD's for Christmas:

1. Shaolin Soccer - Highly recommended!! Very funny sports based comedy done in that wacky Hong Kong kung-fu action way!!
2. Storm Riders - Finally got this one after many years!! SFX is just way over the top!
3. Seven Samurai - actually my bro bought this one. An Akira Kurosawa classic!! Bloody long but well worth it!!
4. A Chinese Ghost Story I and II - A Hong Kong cinema classic. Outdated by today's standards but fun nonetheless. Its got everything! Kung-fu, magic, comedy and cute and sexy ghosts!!
5. Naruto - Cool Japanese anime!! Its got ninjas, throwing stars and swords..oh my!!

RDO report....

It's nice to have a day off. I get to sleep in and basically just bum around...normally...but today is actually quite important as I'm actually getting a blood test done for my brother (he's got renal failure and needs a kidney transplant).

I need to get tested to find out whether I'm compatible or not. They had to take 3 tubes of blood from me for the test!! I'm not ashamed to say this but I HATE needles and the sight of blood!! But it's all for a good cause so I had to get over it.

I must admit, it wasn't that bad at all but not once did I look while the nurse was doing it. I get to find out the results in a couple of days or so. I can't wait...sarcastically speaking :-)...I know I'm doing it for my brother, but the test will also reveal my general state of health...which, at the moment I'd hate to find out!! You know what they say..."Ignorance is bliss..." hehehe :-P

Also today, I got a few more DVD to watch...courtesy of a couple of friends:

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 movie box set
2. Cowboy Bebop box set
3. Infernal Affairs parts II & III (from the collectors edition)

Home in the middle of the ocean....

I nearly forgot!! (blame my forgetful mind, not my heart) Besides Cebu and Sydney, there's also another place I called home, having spent a whole year there working for the BANK. Norfolk Island is probably one of the most beautiful places on earth (after Mactan of course :-P). If you look in the Phone Book link and do a search for Avila, it'll show my old number and address!! So in a way, I'm still there, although I feel sorry for whoever has my number now when they get weird phonecalls!!

I may be biased but I wouldn't trade my time there with anything in the world. I might post a few pics and tell you about my experiences there some other time....

Homesick while being at home...

Having my cousin here at the moment just brings back a lot of nostalgic feelings that is getting really hard to resist. And also reminded me that I haven't been back to Cebu since 2000!!

To anyone that cares about where I come from, you can check it out HERE.

Luckily enough for me, through the wonders of technology, I can still keep in touch with most of my cousins and friends though either texting on our mobiles or chatting on-line. I can even listen to the same thing they're listening to on the radio thru Y101, who do live broadcasts on the web!!

Everytime I listen to it I always feel like I'm back 'home' (funny that...I've been here in Sydney longer than I've lived in Cebu and I still consider Cebu home..). Having friendly DJs that play your requests and call out your shout-outs also help :-) Thanks Crystal, June, Carlow and the rest of the crew!!!

Hopefully I get to go back next year.....

Life is a sport...drink it up!!

Woke up at an uncommon time (for me at least...) of 7am today. Too early for a Saturday morning but it was all for a good cause, for you see my family have a weekly tennis match going on at the moment. The current teams are Dad and my bro KC in one team & Mum and myself in the other. We hire out a court for one hour (enough for a rally and a match) and whichever team loses in the end (after three weekends) will buy lunch!!

This is the second weekend we've done this and after a disappointing loss last week (3-6), we came back strong and won the game (6-4) which ties the series at one a piece.

Next week is the decider, but unfortuately may have to be postponed as Friday night is the work Christmas Party and I don't think I'll be in any shape to play (ie. I'm more likely to be hungover somewhere else..) I'll break the bad news later on...when I feel like it :-)

A few things I realised while playing though. The main thing is that it's definitely been a long time since I've played and that I'm not as young as I used to be.

Nevertheless I've decided the 5 top things I need to work on are:

1. Service game - I gotta be more consistent and not rush when I serve
2. My stamina - didn't realised how unfit I am until today!
3. My temper - need to relax..it's only a game and I'm not getting paid for it
4. Focus and Concentration - even though its only for fun I still need to keep my head in the game
5. Backhand - gotta decide whether I should keep trying to do one-handed or just go back to using double-handed.

Which Street Fighter are you?...

Came across this tonight...

Gotta love Street Fighter!! been playing it since back in the day...name any Street Fighter game and I problably have it or at least played it...only problem is, I still suck at it!!...

Which Street Fighter are you?
Test by Nathan