# 7 the color purple

an article by philippine star columnist and talk show host, jessica zafra (jessicarulestheuniverse.com), once made reference to giving names to objects, be it gadgets or toys or even cars, the latter being my add-on.  she had a name for her first Mac and when it died on her, she was quick to name the next one that came into her possession.  the main purpose of this name-giving is to invoke the object's (presumed) sense of loyalty and reliability, measured, hopefully, not only in months but in years.  if one is lucky,  it may even be stretched out beyond the short life of present day's dizzying upgrades and new releases. 

giving names to inanimate objects may be unusual to many but as the voss would say 'whatever floats your boat,' after all, cool and sleek eddie is her prized and pampered four-wheeled baby.  likewise, yangi, dudud and wawa have names for each one of their multiple-piece LPS collections. taking heed of ms. zafra's advice, my running shoes (saucony's all, thanks, voss! ) took on different personae, the better to huff and puff on many a race route. the first pair was nameless, the need to give a name lost in the excitement over the gift of a brand new footwear. iggy was second and after a few training runs, was decidedly the race-day shoes.  cony was designated as the training pair.

this new buddy's name is simply pol, taken from its color, purple. 

more finish lines to cross with pol !! isn't that awesome?

# 6 collect all 5 !!!

a double take....that's what happens when you see one of those eye-catchers on a grocery shelf -- a very cute basketball and and an equally cute soccer ball right beside it!  and wait, is that another ball behind it? you tell yourself you are not a sucker for those impractical and unusable marketing ploys and yet the balls endear themselves to you.  in a practically hypnotic spell, you reach out for one. just one, you tell yourself.

each ball comes with a one-kilo pack of MILO

in a heartbeat, five 1-kg packs are in your cart like a typhoon advisory has been issued and you are panic buying.  that's more than you would need for the next quarter of the year. for a split second, a guilt trip snakes its way into your consciousness but you shake it away. you tell yourself, it is not just any chocolate drink, it is THE chocolate drink of your childhood and yes, you know the lyrics of the jingle and aren't the balls so adorable?  if you buy one pack at a time, the balls might be all gone. without turning back, you go straight to the next aisle, all 5 packs securely piled up in your cart.

you can't resist the urge to collect all 5, impulse buying be damned !

a toast to marketing gurus and the suckers who keep them goin' !!!  isn't that awesome?

# 5 dog ears (not of the canine specie) !

what could push the REWIND button more than randomly finding something that reminds one of the good ole' high school days.  back then, the book report was a staple requirement of our english class.  a book was chosen on the merits of richness of theme and passion of author.  that one year, we were introduced to the genius of leon uris.

seeing this book among a collection of paperbacks built up in recent years, i can only shake my head, baffled and bewildered, as to how that book report was completed.  the introduction part was easy, i am sure but was i able to single out each character's distinct trait? did i have a firm grasp of the storyline enough to make my own interpretation and opinion of the main plot? 

who reads leon uris in high school nowadays?? 

thirty-four years after the deadline-beating submission of the compulsory book report , this uris masterpiece stands mighty and proud, albeit, hanging by its cover.

this oldie, pages turning golden yellow through the years and bearing that very distinct kept-in-the-closet-for-too-long old book scent, dog ears and all, is a gem of a possession. 

randomly pushing a high school REWIND button !! isn't that awesome??

# 4 there's a hero !!!

if you look inside your heart, so says mariah.

it doesn't take much to be a superhero. a chance to be one presents itself in many ways.  one can run for a cause and be a hero.  helping someone with cancer is a good cause. cancer is one enemy no superhero can stop but one can keep it at bay before it so heartlessly ravages the body. to see a loved one slowly fall apart and become a shadow of how she used to be can break one's heart. even more heartbreaking is when kids as young as 3 years old are stricken with cancer. we can only imagine how they face the pain, understanding and accepting it far beyond what their young minds can comprehend and what their young bodies can bear.  the situation takes a turn for the worse when these kids' families don't have the financial resources to provide medication or the numerous lab examinations that are urgently needed.  

the running club of chong hua hospital took it upon themselves to organize a running event to help raise funds for 3 kids suffering from leukemia and 1 kid with lymphoma.  These kids, ranging in age from 3 to 11, were chosen out of 23 applicants. 

may not have been my best 16k finish but a finish for a good cause is as good a record as any PR can be. tete conquered her first 16k and is mighty proud to be called a hero. yangi's 4k finish made her a superhero, too.  

yes, mariah, a hero lies in us.  isn't that awesome?

# 3 joy to the world !!

it isn't christmas but joy comes any day of the year.  joy comes from far or near and far can be 8195 miles (distance from topeka, KS to cebu city - thanks, voss!).  joy comes in many forms. joy can even come in pieces -- ALMOND JOY pieces, to be exact.  Milk chocolate, coconut and almonds in multi-colored (okay, just 3 colors) crunchy candy shells, never mind if eating 46 pieces of those teeny weenie AJ's accounts for 200 calories.  if one gets to eat them only once a year, who's counting?

barely a day after receiving this joyful caloric package, the last candy shell has been crunched. tete and yangi (who do not eat AJ bars at all) think that AJ pieces are way yummier.

an AJ surpise -- isn't that awesome??

# 2 rolls rule !!!

after a failed first attempt at baking cinnamon rolls (i'm a total failure!! - her words), tete makes another bold try. before entering the kitchen, she declares ' if i don't succeed today, i will never bake again.'   hooray for us, that is not going to happen as her rolls were baked to perfection !!!

lessons learned:

1.  if at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

2. read baking instructions carefully......wait, make that 'read ALL instructions carefully.'

looks absolutely mouth-watering, smells heavenly delicious and tastes incredibly  good !!  

tete's cinnamon rolls rule !!! - isn't that awesome?

# 1 back to back !

the running fever is one fever that refuses any meds !! it isn't showing any signs of waning as the month of august will see 2 big events following one after the other. both events are repeats, meaning they have been staged the previous year(s) and are organized by reputable groups so runners are assured of excellent preparation and execution.

first to fire off the starting gun is the aboitiz group with the staging of their 2nd 'race to reduce challenge' on august 14.  in response to the clamor of the city's running community who are fast-becoming hardcore pavement pounders and asphalt eaters, they added the full marathon distance.  isn't that awesome ?

the following week, CDU's 6th university run urges runners to take on the '2-bridge challenge.' this is distinct from previous university runs as this year's event features cebu's 2 major bridges playing hosts to thousands of running shoes, slippers, sandals and definitely, some bare feet, too.  conquering dual bridges with a medal to boot -- isn't that awesome? 

did i tell you that cebu is a running haven?