ROAD TO BEIJING

ham bone

2010-12-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

End of the Road

2008-07-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Well folks.... we are officially home. From Marseille, France to Dublin, Ireland to New York, then to LA. Came home to a nice home cooked meal from my mom, and now sitting on this bed ready to write my last blog on this " Road to Beijing".
It's been an unbelievable two years and I'm so glad that we took this journey. Made many new friends, made fabulous memories, went through good times and bad, went through excitements and disappointments, learned about many different cultures and people, saw many things that I thought I would never see, grew as a person, and learned a lot about myself.
Playing for the Philippines and wearing that flag on my uniform was such an honor for me.....just knowing what I am representing, not only a country, but my family, my blood, my heritage, my culture. I am and will always be proud to be a filipino, and knowing that I represented my heritage in doing something I love, I've never been any more proud!
Mabuhay and maraming salamat ulit sa inyong lahat!!!!!!!!!!

Pau Hanas

2008-07-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it into the main draw for this tourney. And then lost our 2 matches, the next day. Better way to end the FIVB career in the main draw. We have 2 more days here in Marseille, France, and then HOME!!!!! haven't been home for about 3 months now........can't wait! Enjoying France, and spending all the time we can with all the fabulous people we have met throughout thus journey.

last tourney

2008-07-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

Well, last tourney of my FIVB career, and we made the main draw! Not a pretty game, but in the end it was enough to win. So today we play an Italy team, the same Itay team we lost to in Russia......what do you think?...revenge?.....i think.

Marseille

2008-07-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

So from Munich...we decided to drive to Lyon to split up the drive to Marseille.....and then on our way to Lyon, we decided to meet some of our friends in Montpelier, and stay the night there, and then drive to Marseille....then decided to just drop the smarty car in Montpelier and drive with our friends to Marseille. So yeah, we dropped the car off in Montpelier, hung out with our friends and their family, and neighbors, which was so fantastic!...included lots of food, lots of French and, lots of music and dancing :) Next day, our friends end up having to do some volleyball media stuff so we take a train to Marseille...got here at about 5 ish, practiced, went to the meeting...we are seeded #1 this tourney, we have a bye the first round, and our match is at 2 pm. Last FIVB event ever!...........i think we need to go out with a bang!

by the way.......really, really, really, really windy!

Another stop

2008-07-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

So we are in Hamburg again, for the second time this week. We are here to watch the European Championships for Beach volleyball and cheer on our Dutchie friends, and also to get our luggage from them. Hee hee......Smartcar is VERY full with our luggage in it, not quite sure how fast we are going to go now on the highway, but it'll work. I think we will stay here for a day or 2, and maybe make our way to Munich, to meet some friends, and then make our way to Marseille. 11 hour drive baby!! whew!

Adventure continues

2008-07-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, let me tell you about our experience in getting out of Russia....so our traveling day started at 12 pm on Saturday. We check out of our hotel and we decide to take the metro to the airport, because it costs way less than to take a taxi or shuttle. So we took 2 trains, and 2 buses...about 2 hours later we arrive at the airport, still too early to check in. So we kill about an hour by eating and chilling at a cafe. We finally check in, and we board and we are waiting to take off for about 45 minutes, there is lots of traffic on the runway and we are 6th to take off....so about 45 minutes later we take off....mind you, we have a connecting flight from Rome to Amsterdam, and our connection time is only an hour. When we land it is about 8:45 pm and our plane is suppose to leave at 9pm. We are booking it to the gate, and see a security gate that we still need to pass, of course line takes forever, and fianlly we are out, again, booking it to our gate and we come acroos the passport control, and only 2 windows are open, and of course, there are about 4-5 people in front of us in both lines, and in one of the lines, they take forever because they won't let the girl through...in the meantime, people are trying to cut in front of us trying to get in our line! So we finally we make it through, running to our gate, by this time it is already about 9:15-9-20. We get to the gate and there is nobody there, and I ask the lady at the desk, "has the flight to amsterdam already left?" and she says........"no it has been delayed" YES! we get a free meal coupon from her to eat at the restaurant, and we wait to board. We get on our flight, and when we land, there is nobody there to connect the gate from the plane to let us out. So we wait another 20 minutes to get out. By the time we get out of the plane it is 1 am! what a long travel day!!!
So to continue this adventure, the next morning we decided to rent a car, but not just any car....a smartcar....and drive to Hamburg to visit a friend who was playing there...drive is about a 4 hour drive. Got there yesterday, spent the night there, and then in the morning we drove here to where we are now, to a place called Wolfenbruttel, near Braunschweig Germany. That was just another hour and a half
drive. So now we are here getting pampered and spoiled by Diane's lovely friends!

On another note, I just want to say thank you to all who commented on my last post, it means a lot to know that we still made you all proud! Mabuhay!

Results

2008-07-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

So, because of the results of this tournament, unfortunately we are not in the top 24 to qualify for Beijing. We are about 31-30 right now. We have one more tourney, but even if we were to win this tourney, we still would not be in the 24. So it looks like our chances are gone.....it's been quite the journey and experience.
Just want to say "maraming salamat" to everyone who was behind us from the beginning to the end, without your support and faith, this journey might not even have started. Thank you again for all your support!

Pics

2008-07-04T00:29:00.001-07:00

Qualy Day

2008-06-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

Okay..so we are back from the meeting, and we have a Spain team first.....then WHEN we win that game we play an Italy team. This is for all the Kababayans!!!!
" Filipino! Filipino! "

Moscow, Russia

2008-06-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

Made it here late last night at about 11 pm. Finally got to our hotel, because it seems pretty hard to find a legit taxi around here. So we got to our hotel at about midnight-ish, and get to the reception desk and ask about our room, and the lady just kinda looks at me at points to a sign and then the clock. So i look at the sign at it says that the reception desk is closed from 11:30pm till 1:30am. But I just wanted to make sure that we were in the right hotel and we have confirmation on the room, but she just kept pointing at the sign and then to the clock......awesome. So we wait....have a little late night snack, and finally check in. Get to bed, really late and have an 11 am practice scheduled. So we finally get up, eat breakfast, and go out to the front to where the taxi's are. There are about 3 taxis and they all say no to us.....awesome. So we go to the reception desk, and ask them if they can call us a taxi, and the lady says that they only work with the taxis outside. So we tell them, that they all said no, and ask again if they can call us a taxi and they say no.......awesome. So they tell us to go out to the street and look for one...so we do. And some random car pulls up- apparently a taxi- and we get a ride from him. Practice was good, weather is a little cold and rainy. Back in our hotel, going to take a nap.

Pics

2008-06-27T04:55:00.001-07:00

Bummin

2008-06-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

So we played today at noon, and the sun was actually shining! Still cold, but at least no rain. Our first match was against Czech and we won in two. Our match to get in was against Georgia, and we lost in two. They played a well match and we just didn't. You can never get used to this feeling......it sucks. I hate feeling like this.
So now we are back in out house that we rented out, which is a pretty sweet pad. We are here till Saturday, then we are off to Moscow in Saturday. So plans for the week you ask?..........not quite sure, maybe go on a boat tour/cruise, explore Norway a little, and of course...practice, practice, practice.

Stavenger, Norway

2008-06-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

So we finally left Paris today, and now we are in Norway and it is freezing! The weather is suppose to be like this the entire time. Right now it is about 40 degrees, with rain earlier. This is going to be a fun tournament!

HAPPY 30th!

2008-06-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

So today is my fiance's birthday. I know, i know, i'm here in Paris and not with him, it's terrible and it sucks. So if anyone who reads this today, and sees him, give him a big fat kiss and hug for me, and say it's from me :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUB!!!!!

Still in Paris

2008-06-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

So since Tuesday, we've been running around trying to get our Russian visas, because in 2 weeks we will be in Russia. Been practicing alot, watching a lot of volleyball, eating lots of pasta, pizza, crepes, baguettes, and more baguettes. We leave on Monday for Norway.

Tomorrow

2008-06-16T13:23:00.001-07:00

So we just got back from the meeting, and our first round is Ukraine. If we win that, we play the winner of South Africa and Austria. Another grand slam.....another important tourney. Mojo please :)

HAPPY FATHER"S DAY!!

2008-06-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!! and to all the other fathers out there. Hope you have a great day!

Paris

2008-06-15T01:58:00.000-07:00

The other day we went sightseeing in Berlin. Took a double decker bus and saw many historical sights, including the old wall, which was pretty crazy to see. The next day, took a train into another city and visited some of Diane's friends. Had an awesome dinner! and the best part was that we were able to DO LAUNDRY! yay! smelly good clothes! That night we took an over night train to Paris, and got here at about 9:15am. Now in our hotels, chillin, watching an episode of 24, and then head to practice. Meeting is Monday night, play on Tuesday.

recovery

2008-06-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we lost our last match and didn't advance. Iced and drank liquids all day in our hotel room, a couple of episodes of 24. Getting ready for the grand slam in Paris next week.

New Day tomorrow

2008-06-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a rough day today. Lost both of our matches today. We have one more game tomorrow against Austria, if we win that game, then we make it out of our pool. Cross your fingers!

In!!!

2008-06-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

We are in! Looking at my swatch watch right now :)

Tough pool we are in though. Tomorrow we play Renata/ Talita ( Brazil ) and then we play Barnett/ Cook ( Aussies ) and then the next day we play Schwaiger Sister ( Austria ). A lot of work cut out for us.

Berlin qualification

2008-06-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the meeting, and our first round is against a Japan team, not the same Japan team that we lost to in Poland ( thank god! ). Then WHEN we win that one, we play the winner of Georgia and Germany. This is the big tourney...Grand Slam tourney, if we get into the main draw it is double the points ( oh!! and we get a Swatch watch! ), it will be HUGE for us to qualify. Time to rest, focus, visualize, and get ready for tomorrow.....Good night.

Berlin, Germany

2008-06-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

We are now here in Berlin. Got here this morning, left Warsaw at 6:45 am and got here at about 8:30 am. Checked in our hotel, ate some Subway, practiced, grabbed some dinner and now we are back in our great ( not really ) hotel. Both on the internet, our only connection to our lives back home. I don't know what we would do without internet, or better yet, our laptops.

On another note, check this site out. This is the flight magazine for Cebu Pacific, a Philippines airlines. Diane and I did this interview while we were in Hong Kong in November 2007.
SITE

Still here

2008-06-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Since qualifier day, which was Tuesday, we haven't done a whole lot. On Wednesday, we took the day, and pretty much stayed in our hotel room ALL day....we went down for breakfast, came back up, watched a couple of episodes of 24, fell back asleep, at lunch ( in our rooms ), more episodes of 24, dinner, and then it was time to go to bed. Thursday, we lifted, and did some swimming, and sauna room, and watched a bunch of volleyball games. For dinner, the promoter of this event organized a dinner for the players at a traditional looking Polish restaurant, that serves traditional like food- which was very delicious- and also entertained us with traditional Polish dancing! Pretty fun night.....Today we trained in the afternoon, and watched more volleyball, and the promoter had a bbq like dinner for the players with a concert and fireworks, down by the lake. Tomorrow we are headed for Warsaw, stay in Warsaw for one night and depart early in the morning ( 6:45 am ) on Sunday to Berlin.

Pics

2008-06-04T02:35:00.001-07:00

S$%*@

2008-06-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks for fingers being crossed but i think that we were half a finger short to get in......:) Lost to Japan in three....damn Japanese! Now we are contemplating whether to stay in Poland till Sunday or get an early flight out to somewhere, and clear our minds.

Qualifier

2008-06-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Okay so we just got back from the meeting....and our first draw is the winner of Australia vs. Poland....then WHEN we win that game, we have the winner of Japan vs, South Africa. Cross your finger guys!!!

Stare Jablonki, Poland

2008-05-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4 am, for a 6:45 am flight, 2 hour plane ride to Zurich, then another 2 hour plane ride to Warsaw, then a 4 hour shuttle bus ride to Stare Jablonki, and here we are! Made it safe!....and we are in the middle of nowhere! Lots of pastures and fields...peaceful.....but you would never think to hold an FIVB event here.
...............can't believe I'm in Poland

Sagrada Familia

2008-05-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today we went to go check out The Sagrada Familia.. This is a BIG MASSIVE church that has been in construction for the past 80 years, and it's the work of the artist Antoni Gaudi. This cathedral is spectacular! It's so huge that you really could not fit it in one picture, I tried to take some shots, but i just couldn't take any good ones. It was too huge! with lots of detail. Apparently, this is one of the biggest tourist attractions here, and i can see why. But this artist Antoni Gaudi has many famous structures here in Barcelona, and they are all wierd, goddy, yet gothic looking...if you can imagine that.
Anyway, that was the highlight of our day, by the time we got done with that we were tired, and just headed back to the room.....where I am right now.
Headed to Stare Joblonki, Poland tomorrow morning for the next tourney........yes, I am going to Poland.

Second Day

2008-05-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well........tough match today....tough draw. Lost in two, can't say that it was pretty. Bodies need to do some recovering, and minds need some clearing. We both got massages....did a little site seeing, and now we are pretty much spent. I guess 12 games in 3 days will do that to ya'.

Main Draw day

2008-05-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well we won our first match against a German team, they were #5 seed, and we won in three....HUGE win for us! Then we played a Brazilian team, and lost in two....we got a new day tomorrow!

Barcelona

2008-05-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

We made it in the main draw!! Our first round we played an Australian team, won in three. Second round we played a Canadian team and won in two. We play tomorrow at 11:00am against a German team. Keep your fingers crossed!
On another note, the venue and Barcelona is a pretty beautiful city. The venue is front of a humongous museum that looks like a big Cathedral. Couldn't take enough pictures!

Barcelona, Spain

2008-05-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Made it to Barcelona! Don't exactly know what time zone we are in right now, but it definitely feels good to be lying in a bed! Our original flight from LA was suppose to leave at 4:15pm on Saturday, we get to the airport and it says that we are delayed till 8 pm.....waiting in line to check in and then on the screen it says that the flight has been canceled...About 2 hours of waiting in line to check in, we finally get to the counter and they book us on a different airline going through London, and then to Barcelona. Which was fine because it got us into Barcelona a little earlier. But 10 hour flight to London, and 2 hour flight here to Barcelona, not much sleep on the first leg of the flight, and feeling pretty funny right now. Hopefully I will be able to get to sleep and start a day tomorrow, cuz we got some business to take care of!

Osaka airport

2008-05-23T04:50:00.001-07:00

Took a 13th! We won our first match today against Austria and lost our second match against Germany. Good tourney for us though. Thanks for bringing in all the good luck. You guys rock!.....So right now, we are in the Osaka airport, waiting to get on a flight to Honolulu, then to LA!!! We get into LA at about 9:30pm and leave the next day at 4:15pm. Hey, I will take that! Won't be till about 2 months till we get to come back home, so that little bit definitely helps. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed and cuddle, even if it is for just one night:)

keep bringing it

2008-05-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

Alright guys...mojo, taylorsville air, whatever it is, it's working. We won our second match and we continue to play tomorrow! Keep it comin'.

good job guys

2008-05-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the good mojo guys! We are in, got China first round.....so feel free to bring in more :)

qualifier

2008-05-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

okay so just got back from our meeting, and we play a Japan team the first round. WHEN we win that game we play a Spain team. We've played this Spain team before in Finland, and lost to them to get in the main draw. Bring in the good mojo people......

Osaka

2008-05-18T04:27:00.001-07:00

Made it safely here to Osaka. Got here yesterday afternoon. Today we we practiced, and then attempted to watch a professional baseball game- The Hanshin Tigers. Got to the stadium and the tickets were all sold out! Big Bummer! It would have been so awesome to see one of those. We even tried to finagle our way in by talking to a PR, saying that we are here for the FIVB Beach Tournament, and if maybe we could watch the game- denied. eh, it was fun to try and walk around. Now back in our hotel, watching "the office", getting ready to go to sleep.

To Japan

2008-05-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our last night in Korea, we ventured off in the subway, and found the Hard Rock Cafe. Ate some good burgers and fries, lots of military around.....almost felt like I was back in Waikiki :) We are headed off to Osaka, Japan tomorrow...last Asian stop of the tour.

results

2008-05-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

well what can i say, we lost our two matches. First match went two games, and our second game was against Germany, went 3 and lost. We definitely know that we can beat these teams, and know that we can compete in the main draw. Learning from every experience and game and making ourselves better!

main draw

2008-05-14T05:23:00.001-07:00

Finally got in! Our first match was a forfeit, ( hey we'll take it ), then we played Japan the next round. Just to let you know, this was our third time playing them, and the last two we lost. So "third times a charm" right? we play tomorrow at noon here, against Ana Paula/Shelda, who are a brazilian team, which means, yeah, they are pretty good. BRING IT!!!!

Today

2008-05-13T17:40:00.001-07:00

We play Norway first round, and WHEN we win that game we play Japan. Our game starts at 1pm which is 9pm for all you Californians.
On another note almost lost my passport yesterday. Left it in the taxi on our way to the hotel. Taxi driver took off and realized i was missing a bag. About 2 hours later, he came back and returned it. Somebody up there is really looking out for me :)

Korea

2008-05-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Meeting tonight on who we play tomorrow.

Seoul, Korea

2008-05-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

Made it into Korea yesterday morning at 6am, couldn't check into the till 2pm. Found a Mcdonald's to eat a little breaky, and went back to the hotel and found a nice little lounge area to sleep and watch 2 episodes of 24. Finally checked in the room, and got a good nap in. Ate some good Korean food for dinner, and watched two more episodes of 24, and crashed till about 10:30am this morning! Crazy!!!
On another note, it is Mother's Day in the states, so HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mom's i know!!!

Mi Familia

2008-05-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

Day 4

2008-05-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

So since we've been here, we've gone to Green hills everyday, for either shopping or simply to eat. We've had practice Monday morning, Tuesday and today, taking tomorrow off and going Friday and Saturday, leave 1 am on Saturday....so technically EARLY Sunday morning. We are practicing at La Salle University in Green Hills, great facility, and nice a nice looking school. Staying with Tony's family, and they have been absolutely wonderful! Great to stay in a house than a hotel. We've started 24, watched about 4 episodes last night, and continuing today. 3 more days here, and off to Korea.

Manila

2008-05-03T17:58:00.001-07:00

We are in Manila now....got here yesterday morning and we are here till the 11th. Last night, we went to Greenhills Mall, walked around and checked out all the cheap shopping.....fake bags, watches, clothes, SO CHEAP! Then we went to eat at CPK. Yummy........ Bought a bunch of cheap DVD's back in Shanghai, and watched about 4 movies yesterday. 27 Dresses, Year of the Dog, Rendition, and Step Up 2! We got about 20 more DVD's to go. ( Hee hee) oh by the way.....Step Up 2 is AWESOME!!!!........"apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur....."

taxi ride to Macdonna

2008-05-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

Spirits are still up

2008-04-30T03:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we lost a tough match against the Netherlands. Three games and third game lost 13-15. I know... frustrating, but our faith and hopes are still there. Our shot to the Olympics are not lost and we just have to keep our confidence high and keep drilling at it.

Today

2008-04-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Play Netherlands first round and if we win it could be Canada. Bring all the good mojo..........Full Eyes, Clear Hearts,....Can't Lose!

grocery experience

2008-04-29T00:31:00.001-07:00

pics

2008-04-27T05:32:00.001-07:00

Shanghai

2008-04-26T05:18:00.001-07:00

Got here yesterday in the morning, didn't actually get to our hotel till the afternoon, about an hour or so drive from the airport to the hotel and the venue. We go and check into our hotel, and they say that we have to get two rooms because they don't allow males ( our coach- Chad ) to stay with women. And we argued with them for good half an hour and finally they let us, got to our room, and basically a dump. No internet too! We stayed there last night, and today, we checked into another hotel, SO MUCH BETTER. The workers speak English, there's internet in our room, and no hassle about Chad staying with us.
Practiced today, and shook off the jet lag....oh did i mention that we past out at 5 pm yesterday and woke up at about 5 am today, starving! so yeah, it's about 8 pm right now, and i'm passing out as i'm writing this.....so i think that i'm going to end this and get my rest, and i'll post pics tomorrow. good night

3 month road trip

2008-04-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Leave early Thursday morning- 1:40am...............counting down the hours

Chico/Redbluff/Taylorsville/Genesee valley

2008-04-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

Went for a nice little road trip in our new Prius! All i have to say is that we stopped to get gas once on our drive up to Chico. We drove up to Chico for my future mother in laws 60th birthday, and Steve's sister's family came flew from Virginia to surprise her, some cousins drove from Reno, and all together we had a great time. From a chili cook off, to country dancing, to river swimming, to guitar playing, I think that she had a great birthday :)
After Chico, we drove to a little town called Taylorsville, where we met with my future father in law, and if i thought that Chico and Redbluff was a small town......boy was i wrong! Taylorsville- population 154. So awesome! Stayed way out in the sticks, where all you can hear is the sound of the wind through the trees and birds chirping. Loved it! Thanks for clearing my head :)...............................back to business.

George Strait

2008-03-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

In the spur of the moment, went to his concert last night. Steve and I decided 2 hours before the concert started to just drive over to see if we could get tickets. I'd say our tickets were not too bad :)

back in time

2008-03-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

Surprised Steve Wednesday afternoon- he pulled up in the driveway and i opened the house door. We were suppose to come home Saturday morning, but we changed our flight, left Wednesday morning in Australia and got in LA Wednesday morning.
Did some recovery from the flight- slept, ate, and worked out a bit. Practicing today at 10:30 am.
CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS.........

ugly

2008-03-25T00:59:00.001-07:00

Because this tournament is the first double gender tourney, there were way too many teams, and not enough courts. FIVB decided to play the qualifier in a two day-er, so instead of it starting on Wednesday, we started today. Meeting was at 12 noon and play started at 2. We played Mexico, and lost in 2. Conditions were pretty bad, REALLY windy, and cold. Not fun volleyball at all. Maybe when we get back to Cali we can practice in a big wind tunnel:)

Walkabout

2008-03-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Chad and I took walk during my favorite time of day- sunset time! Here are some pics of the town.

Today is Saturday

2008-03-21T20:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Diane and I hung out with her friend Axel and his wife (Catherine), and baby(Xavier). They took us to a little town called Hondhorff. It was a cute little German town, with little shops and restaurants. We had our early dinner there, Diane and Catherine shared a schnitzel plate, and being that it was Good Friday yesterday, I had a tomato pesto foccacia sandwich. Before we headed over to the town we had practice in the morning with the Marloes and Marleen, watched a little bit of volleyball and then made our way to the town. So far the weather has been nice. Maybe in the high 70's.
We have about 4 more days till we play....in the meantime, train, eat, sleep. OH! HAPPY EASTER!!!

Adelaide

2008-03-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well we made it to Australia! About 16 hours later, we are here. Landed yesterday afternoon, checked in to our apartment, said hello to our roomies, the Dutch girls-Marleen and Marloes, had a short fun practice, made dinner and crashed.......hard. Got up at about 6 am, wide awake, had breaky, made our way to practice, had lunch and now we are here at the cafe.
Adelaide is a very cute little town. Very nice people, with great accents, and the weather is perfect! Made some spaghetti last night, and tonight I think we are going for a BBQ at Diane's friends house from college. good ol BBQ fun!
I'll post pics when i actually do take some pics :)

Australia

2008-03-15T23:24:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow night we are headed to Australia for our first FIVB event. Pretty exciting! we get there on the 18th, and the tourney starts on the 26th. Plenty of time to get acclimated to the time change.
Tonight we celebrated my little sisters birthday...well, not so little, she turns 27 on St. Patty's Day. Good ol Mom cooked some Filipino food, had some cake, watched the Manny Pacquiao fight, which he WON!, played a little pool, and just caught up with some friends. Good times! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEDDER!

SALAMAT!

2008-03-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who donated to Fundable! We hit our $5000 goal, and it's still going. The fund ends on the 14th.
You guys rock!
We are leaving to Australia this Sunday for the first FIVB event. The event begins on the 26th, and will be there till the 29th. GO TEAM PHILIPPINES!

fundable

2008-02-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

Alright guys. We are giving this another try. The last time we tried this, we didn't reach our goal. We set a smaller goal this time, so hopefully we can reach it. We are setting off to Australia in March to continue our "road to Beijing". We have about 10 spots to move up to get to the top 24, and about 13 events to try to do that....a very do-able goal.
So, we need all the help we can get and every little bit helps. Thank you again for all the faith and support and we hope to make you proud!
http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-01-17.2314789913/view?searchterm=Team%20Philippines

Back in the game

2008-02-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

Our next disc came in the mail yesterday for Friday Night Lights. Already watched 2 episodes, can't wait for tonight and the weekend! Back into Texas world.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

2008-02-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

Friday Night Lights.........what an addiction. Steve and I are going through Season 1, and are on episode 13. On Valentine's Day we went through 4 episodes, Friday night we watched 2 more episodes. And now we are waiting impatiently for the next discs to come in the mail from our Blockbuster cue. Great show.....good story lines, humorous, and Kyle Chandler is awesome.
Can't wait to get back into little town, Texas, football, world!

Steal!

2008-02-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Steve and I went to go help a friend move. And on our way to the new home, we saw a sign that said "Yardzilla". So of course, we had to go stop and take a look. And low and behold, what does my fiance find and want for keeps?.......yes, the unicycle. $5 dollar unicyle! I'd say that's a steal!

Clippers vs. Bobcats

2008-01-28T22:59:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately, they lost. But it was still fun!

Diane's Birthday and Nuvasive weekend

2008-01-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

On January 24th Diane added another year to her age! Thursday evening I commuted down south to join the celebration. The evening started with a limo picking us ( Me, Diane, Sharee, Scott) up at her house. We then headed over to pick up her sister and her friend near her house. Then headed over to a place called " Sushi Station". Her two friends were already there with a table waiting for us, then her brother Drew and 3 other friends joined us. Good times, GREAT food, and great Happy Hour :) So after dinner we all hopped into the limo, met up with Diane's boyfriend, and headed over to a place in Pacific Beach called Typhoon Lagoon. They had a fun 80's cover band playing that night and we all rocked out doing the "Molly Ringwald". Overall, it was a fun night, being with friends, and having a good time.
So the next 2 days, Friday and Saturday, we attended our sponsor Nuvasive's national sales meeting. In the meetings, we learned more on what the company is about, the culture of the company, and me so many great people. Those of you who are not familiar with the company Nuvasive-they are an innovative spinal technology company. They basically design the products and instruments that are used for a spinal surgery that gives the surgeons faster surgery time and faster recovery for the patients. It's a pretty amazing company, not just what they are doing to help people and to help surgeons, but the company itself is pretty unique. Unique where you can tell just being at the meetings that people really do love what they do, are passionate about it, believe in it, have faith in it, and have great energy doing it. It's hard to describe the atmosphere of it, being in it feels pretty cool. And being a part of their team, by representing them, having their name on our suits and gear feels good!
Just to give you a little taste on how effective their products are, there is this UFC fighter, his name is Nate Quarry. He messed up his back pretty bad fighting, and doctors were telling him that once he gets surgery, he's not going to be able to fight anymore, recovery's gonna take forever...etc. His doctor had heard of Nuvasive, did the surgery, and was walking the next day. The next week he went on a 3 mile hike. 6 months later, he's training already. He gets lined up for a fight, and what does he do......wins it, by knock out. Pretty unbelievable.
If you can't tell, i'm pretty excited standing next to him :)

New Website

2008-01-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

Here is our new website!!!!!

Heartbreak Kid

2008-01-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

So last night we watched "Heartbreak Kid" on DVD.......DUMB! DUMB! DUMB! movie. Don't waste your time and money.

That's all I have to say about that.

Downtime

2008-01-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well, since we've been back from Thailand, haven't done much volleyball, taking a break from it. Right now it's a lot of lifting, swimming and yoga. I like it though, especially the swimming. But i know, i must start the volleyball soon!

2008-01-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

2008

2008-01-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Disneyland

2007-12-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

As a present to my brother and his wife, they wanted all of us to go to Disneyland with them, and spend some good family fun together. It was a blast.......cold, lots of people.....but still lots of fun! How could you not have fun at Disneyland, especially during Christmas!.............Thanks Kuya and Ate for the great time.

Exciting!

2007-12-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

My soon to be husbands DVD movie got re-released. Check it out!......
http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=111628249

Swimming

2007-12-26T16:09:00.001-08:00

So today, I went to the gym with Steve and we swam for our workout. I swam about 500 meters, which equals to about 20 laps in the pool. What a great workout, need to work on my breathing patterns. Steve was very patient and encouraging. Can't wait for our next session :)

Christmas and Christmas Dinner

2007-12-25T22:28:00.001-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-25T18:30:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone got what they wanted!
Maligayang Pasko!

Domesticated

2007-12-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

Tried to make chocolate chip cookies today from scratch, first time. Steve and my sis says they are good, they kinda fall apart when you pick them up :). Well, i guess i'll have to keep practicing.

Dec. 22

2007-12-22T13:16:00.000-08:00

Can't believe that we just got back on Thursday, and it's just a couple of days till Christmas! I love all the Christmas music, Christmas smell, decorations, etc. Too bad it's not snowing.

Back Home

2007-12-21T02:35:00.000-08:00

Just got back home from Hawaii........really miss living there, I thought about missing our flight. But we got on, and we are back in the cold California. We accomplished all that we wanted to on this trip though, so that's a good thing. Lots of wedding planning, appointments, and decision making. It's a lot of fun though ( okay the financial part of it isn't). While doing the wedding stuff we were also able to see our friends, and hang out at old spots and reminisce. Had a blast!......now it's back to reality......and oh yeah.....Christmas is in a couple of days!

Bangkok/Hawaii

2007-12-16T19:19:00.001-08:00

After losing in the quarterfinals, we decided that we didn't want to stay in Korat anymore, and have a day or two in Bangkok, and do some sightseeing. After our match, the next morning, we all took a 3 hour bus to Bangkok, checked into our hotel, slept, and the next day started our excursion day.
Our day started at our 6 am wake up call, breakfast, left the hotel by 7:15, and went into our hired van with a driver and drove out to the floating markets......Unbelievable experience! If you can see in the pics, we rode on boats, and went shopping on actual floating markets. Pretty unreal experience! After the floating markets we headed out to the Kings Palace, where if you were wearing a tank top or shorts, you had to rent out long skirts for the girls and pants for the boys. Palace was filled with lots of gold!......we also saw the emerald buddha. After the palace, we headed out to a market that was only open on the weekends, and did the rest of our shopping there. The day did not end there though, after the markets, went back to the hotel, had dinner, and tried to go out, but because it was election weekend, not a lot of "bar" type places were open. But we eventually found one, had a couple of drinks, talked, hung out, went back to the hotel at about 1:30pm, took a shower, packed, and headed straight to the airport. Our flight was at 6 am, with a 6 hour layover in Tokyo airport, and about a 6 and a half hour plane ride to Hawaii.
Yes.....we made it to Hawaii, we got in at about 8 am, had a cake tasting appointment at 12, and another one at 4 ( who never showed up), and now we are all in the hotel, and the gang is knocked out! I myself, am getting there. After this blog, gonna take a nap. Enjoy the pics!

NOT GOOD

2007-12-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

Well, what can i say....We lost in three today against Indonesia. Not a good feeling at all. Indonesia played well though, and obviously we didn't play well enough. We lost in the quarterfinals which put us at 7th place.....Not exactly what we wanted to happen. I guess life goes on. What can i say, things happen for a reason i guess.
Thank you to everybody, for all the cheering and support you have given us this year!
It has definitely been a long season for us.....not exactly how we wanted to end the season, but regardless, it's time to take some time off, clear our minds, and get ready for the next year! Again.....Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat!

Vietnam

2007-12-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Played Vietnam today and won in two. Our Philippines 2 team had a great match against Malaysia, went three games and the final score was 13-15. They lost unfortunately but played really well!
After our matches we went to a friend of a friends house who lives here in Thailand, and she all has us over and had dinner there. Their house was pretty big and nice! Had some great food, and fun times on the piano with lots of singing.
We are now back in the Athletes Village.......tomorrow we play Indonesia 1 to get into the semi-finals.

Thailand 2

2007-12-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

Played Thailand 2 today, and unfortunately we lost. A great match though, long rallies, but in the end a few more errors than them.
We play Vietnam tomorrow, then we go into playoffs. Thanks for all the cheering!

4th day of competition

2007-12-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

Played Laos today.....won in two. We play Thailand 2 tomorrow, one of our toughest competitions.
Unfortunately, both of our mens team lost their games today. It's still pool play for them, so they are continuing on tomorrow. And our 2nd womens team were off today, and play tomorrow as well.
Tomorrow is a bog match for us, so i must get some rest now.......Good Night.

3rd day of competition

2007-12-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Our day started out with breaky at the hotel where our families are staying (Diane and I stayed there last night), then we headed out to the beach courts for practice at about 9am. We then ate lunch at the Athletes Village cafeteria, then headed out to the beach courts again to try and catch the match the our 2nd Womens Philippine team, who were playing against the Thailand 1. Unfortunately they lost....but they did win their last 2 games prior to that game. Then it was our turn to play, and we played Indonesia 2, and won in 2. After our match we headed to the mall and had dinner with our families. Now.......back in the Athletes Village in our room, hoping that no frogs, or lizards will end up in our room.....:)

Excursion day!

2007-12-08T05:26:00.000-08:00

So today we didn't have a game.....so we decided to have an excursion day. It started with us renting a van with a driver and a guide for the whole day, for about $6 per person. We drove out for about an hour and went to Khao Yai National Park, where we saw monkeys, one in particular just walked up to us while walking back to our car from taking pictures from a view point. Pretty cool! Then we went hiking down to a waterfall....not a very big hike, but definitely a cool site. After the waterfall, the guide took us to eat lunch a cute little restaurant, off the side of the rode, where we ate great food! After lunch, the best part of the day happened...we all went on an elephant ride!!! They are pretty humangous animals, and riding on top of one is such a spectacular experience. It was great, we went through water, through the jungle...it was awesome! To end the day we went to a big outside market, where we were all pretty pooped from the day, and just wandered for about an hour.
Tomorrow we play against Indonesia.....back to business.

My Father eating a worm

2007-12-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

Other bugs that were there to buy and eat were cockraoches, caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers and other types of worms. My father bought another type of worm and grasshopper to eat. Believe it or not, we did have some troopers in our group who participated in the feast.
On another note....we won our game against Malaysia in two. Our next match is on Sundy against Indonesia.

OPENING CEREMONIES

2007-12-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

Korat, Thailand

2007-12-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

After an 8 hour flight to Tokyo aiprort, and about a hour layover, and a 6 and a half plane ride to Bangkok, and a 3 hour shuttle ride to Korat, we made it safely.
We are on our second day here, we start playing tomorrow.
Korat so far is pretty interesting, it's not a very touristy area, so there are not a lot of English speaking people, and communication is very difficult. The facilities for the athletes are very similar to the Doha Asian Games, meaning that there is an Athletes Village, shuttles to take you everywhere, and the Beach volleyball courts are in the big stadium area a lot of the other events are being held.
Tomorrow we start pool play. We have Thailand 2, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in our pool. We are ranked 2nd in the pool and we play Malaysia tomorrow.
Diane and I both have our families here with us. I have my parents, my sister, Steve and our friend Wayne. Diane has her parents, her brother Drew, and her boyfriend Ryan. It's been great having them here, and kinda weird also. Diane and I are used to traveling and doing these tournaments alone, so it's nice to have them here.
Tonight are the opening ceremonies......post pictures later.

Hawaii, Thailand, Hawaii

2007-12-01T10:08:00.000-08:00

We leave tomorrow for Hawaii, one day. Then we leave to Thailand on Monday. Stay there till the 15th, then leave the 16th, to Hawaii, and stay there till the 20th. Lots of traveling! Going to be fun though!!!

SEA Games!

2007-11-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

One week till we leave for Thailand for the SEA (Southeast Asian Games). Thailand is out to get us....we need to kick some boot- ehy!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

2007-11-22T21:38:00.001-08:00

Good food, good company, good times!

Entourage

2007-11-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

So when this whole SEA games came about, my parents, and Steve were just coming. At the end of tonight, my sister and Steve's friend Wayne is also coming to Thailand! And we are all on the same flight! CRAZY! Diane's parents are going and her brother is going also. MAN! We are gonna have a whole entourage with us! I can't wait......this is going to be fun. AND....to top it off, on our way back from Thailand we(Steve and I, mom, dad, and sister) are stopping in Hawaii for a couple of days for a little R&R and wedding plans! December is gonna be a busy month.
BTW.....bought my WEDDING DRESS today!!!!!

Home

2007-11-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

Back Home!! Got home Sunday night. Monday was Steve and I's 2 year anniversary. Went to Medieval Times and had a blast! Ate like barbarians and cheered for our knight. Good times! Next week, Steve's mom comes in town, we celebrate Thanksgiving, then a week later, we are off to Thailand for the SEA (southeast asian) Games.

Boo

2007-11-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

Alright guys, thanks for all the mojo and the hexing, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. We lost both of our matches today, and took a 5th.........okay, time to go home.

results

2007-11-09T04:34:00.000-08:00

Today we played Kazakhstan and won in 2 games. We then played a Malaysia team and also won in 2 games. Tomorrow we play the number one China team, who are ranked #3 in the world. Should be a fun match :)