Lines In My Head

Welcome to another edition of The Homegrown Squad . The defending champions San Antonio Spurs are notoriously known for being a well-run organization and for being adept at scouting, assessing, drafting, and developing their players. That is the image that they have been conjuring for the last couple of years. Does this perception match the actual product on the court though? Let's see! Same rules as before apply. The top twelve active players originally drafted by the team are selected to form a competitive roster. On to the Spurs' list! Note: Career per game averages are in this order (Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks)

Inspired by a recent web article, I've decided to make my own list of albums that stuck with me throughout the past year. While I honestly thought this would be an easy exercise given my propensity for discovering new bands and music, it's strange that I've been having a hard time compiling such a short list. Either there was a drought of quality records or I haven't been paying much attention to the scene lately. More of the latter, I guess. I managed to come up with ten albums though and knowing my affinity for emo-pop-punk jams, you won't be seeing any Ed Sheerans, Ariana Grandes or Iggy Azaleas here. Instead, you'll get... HONORABLE MENTION(S): Lift A Sail - Yellowcard (Released: October 7, 2014) Key Tracks: One Bedroom, The Deepest Well 1989  - Taylor Swift (Released: October 27, 2014) Key Tracks: Blank Space, Clean, Out Of The Woods We Don't Have Each Other  - Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties (Released: July 8, 2014) Key Track...

It’s really hard to describe how good or bad a year has been given that there is so much variability that happens within 365 days. It’s like a collection of positives and negatives wherein if you get a net positive value in the end, then you say you’ve had a damn good year. Otherwise, meh.  In any case (and most especially for an optimist like me), I find it better to reminisce about the feel-good stories rather than sulk at the mishaps and misses. Welcome to my rainbow-colored view of 2014. A relatively quiet family life. No health, financial, emotional problems. That is why I find it always a pleasure to make that 3 hour bus trip to Bataan. Nothing beats the comfort of home. A promotion in my professional career. Something I didn’t really wish or ask for but thankful nevertheless for the opportunity, challenge and additional benefits (!) bestowed upon me. A successful first year in my MBA program. Passed all my pre-MBA courses and honestly appreciated my Leadership class e...

Being alone in one little quiet hole certainly induces episodes of reflection. The same thought process happens when I'm standing under a constant stream of cold water or looking at the hypnotic waves of the sea. I guess one of the reasons I write is to put all these random ideas into a giant imaginary ball then throw it away using one meaningless, harmless post. This is one of those posts.

* This is the third part of the Overdue series and focuses on the World Cup and unplanned visit to Manila. All events happened last July 2014* I'd say we are casual football fans. I've been following Real Madrid F.C. since their Galactico days (Zidane, Beckham, Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raul, the true Ronaldo) while she has been avidly cheering for her goalie boyfriends (San Iker, Courtois, Lloris). It wasn't a big surprise then that when the World Cup rolled around last July, midnight viewing and group standings updates were the common theme on our Twitter and Viber conversations. And we certainly had a healthy supply of topics: the one-man Cristiano Ronaldo show, Suarez's degustation expedition, the James Rodriguez revelation, La Furia Roja's epic collapse, the devastating Neymar injury, Messi, the show pony, falling short (no pun intended), and the Germans hoisting the World Cup trophy. Since I'm more familiar with La Liga, I was inclined to root for th...

Spent last Sunday just rolling around in our unit, munching leftover stuff, catching up on some anime series, occasionally defending our ancient, and draining a bunch of three-pointers. Typical boring weekend for me but that got me thinking about random stuff happening lately. So while I try my best to induce some much-needed sleep, here are some recent ruminations. * * * * * We spend most of our time at work. In my case, it amounts to approximately 50 hours per week. That's why I think it's critical to have a pleasant atmosphere in the workplace as it has a direct effect on your mood,  on your day, and eventually on your life. Sadly, that hasn't been the case for me. You see, for the past few months, the previously warm air circulating around our office corridors has seemingly degraded into a dark hanging cloud of misery. It's not just me though. I think almost the entire workforce acknowledges that fact. I have no idea if it'll change but as of this writing...

Let me start by stating that I am not a big Taylor Swift fan. In fact, I didn't really listen that much to her material until her phenomenal album  Red,   and even after spinning that album a good amount, there were only a few cuts that I really got into. Aside from its two well-known singles, I can honestly say that tracks such as  All Too Well, I Almost Do  (this one I discovered from a random tweet), The Last Time,  and Everything Has Changed (Ed Sheeran FTW) got stuck in my head for quite some time. While I wouldn't consider Red  as an "it-blew-me-away" kind of record, I found it enjoyable enough to put Swift's future albums on my watchlist. That is why when I heard that her fifth studio album  1989 (an obvious reference to her year of birth) was already out, I knew right away I had to "procure" a copy from my reliable sources and start digging into her new tunes. I am only three years older than T.S. Thought it'd be higher. Whil...