Tuesday, December 02, 2003
Heeding another invitation to finally watch him play, I went to my friend's office after finishing all my obligations in the office. When I got there in their office late in the afternoon it was merienda time with a really big biko spread out on the table (I just realized that "biko" may be a shortened version of "bibingkang kakanin." But then wouldn't that spell out "bika"?). Joel was having his own meal in a bowl while surfing the net. Jorge urged me to get a plate and eat plus have coffee too, then he asked me to call the shirt supplier and ask if we could have ten more additional shirts printed. While calling the supplier, Joseph's girlfriend Dana came out of the other room and asked me if I was going with them later to watch the tournament. Since Jorge had some evening classes later in he told me to just hang out in the office and go with Joel later when he leaves for his class in the same school. Then he went ahead while we watched The Simpsons on TV. Joseph and Dana also went ahead to Villamor Airbase Gym to prep for their tourney. I got the opportunity to talk more with Joel this time and the way I figure it the three brothers have very distinct characteristics: Joel is the playful and jolly one, Joseph is the mature authority figure, and Jorge is the people person type. One thing I also learned from Joel is that back in high school both he and Jorge had the reputation of defending those who were being wronged and this is inspite of the fact that they still epitomized the word bully in every sense of the word.
After parking in the basement we proceeded to the upper floors. The farthest place I ever got inside Ateneo in Rockwell was the lobby when I was sent to bring a book to a brother's friend who was studying there some years before. This time it was different, I got to observe and "hobnob" with the MBAers there. Hmmm... not much different from what I've expected. Joel introduced me to a couple of his classmates. We saw Jorge on his break on our way to the vendo machine to get some sodas. He was on the veranda having a smoke and he briefed me on the subject of his current class which is business ethics. I never thought even the world of business could be an interesting subject for me. I used to close my ears to business talks not getting anything that pertains to the subject, but now lookit me. I'm discussing the problems that Enron had and its resulting scandals. The bell rang signalling that break was over so I walked over to the sofas in front of the registrar's office and waited for the end of their classes. The only reading material on hand was a free copy of the Asian Wall Street Journal. I also played around with my phone taking different portrait pictures to help while away the time and apparently it worked because before I even realized it an hour had already passed. We continued our discussion on our way to Villamor, ranging from his report on small businesses to the problems of the Philippine government with globalization.
We saw Carlo when we got there (he's a high ranking officer in the military, a Captain I think, and a batch lower than us) informing Jorge that they were playing their tournament later that night. I don't know how good of a player Carlo is but from what I'm hearing around the game promises to be a really tight one. Sheila came just in time when Jorge was just starting his first game. Coming in from her night classes I signalled to her to join me in my seat. She was quiet most of the time tonight, maybe brought on by her school load or something. All the praises and stories they told me about his l33t sk33lz in badminton were justified, despite his bulk Jorge was in tip-top shape as he dove and returned his opponents' service with professional ease (even some of the spectators were awed, I kid you not). His team won the game and since the second game wasn't supposed to start till around 10:30 or maybe a little before 11:00 pm so we went outside to the canteen to grab a bite to eat. Joel arrived in time too before the game started.
WAAAAH-PAK! Jorge defies gravity to smash the shuttle back to the other side.
Dana and Joel watch the closely matched game with bated breath.
Joseph and Sheila watching from the sidelines.
The second game was almost as exciting as the live basketball games I used to watch. Carlo rivaled Jorge's swings and almost impossible dives with matching ferocity. It was a close fight alright, finishing with 19-21 in favor of Carlo's team. It also turns out that Carlo's mom is Jorge's ninang and they joked about how she couldn't resist not rooting for her son even though he was a close favorite among the players. We went home close to midnight talking about the game. * More pictures here.
After parking in the basement we proceeded to the upper floors. The farthest place I ever got inside Ateneo in Rockwell was the lobby when I was sent to bring a book to a brother's friend who was studying there some years before. This time it was different, I got to observe and "hobnob" with the MBAers there. Hmmm... not much different from what I've expected. Joel introduced me to a couple of his classmates. We saw Jorge on his break on our way to the vendo machine to get some sodas. He was on the veranda having a smoke and he briefed me on the subject of his current class which is business ethics. I never thought even the world of business could be an interesting subject for me. I used to close my ears to business talks not getting anything that pertains to the subject, but now lookit me. I'm discussing the problems that Enron had and its resulting scandals. The bell rang signalling that break was over so I walked over to the sofas in front of the registrar's office and waited for the end of their classes. The only reading material on hand was a free copy of the Asian Wall Street Journal. I also played around with my phone taking different portrait pictures to help while away the time and apparently it worked because before I even realized it an hour had already passed. We continued our discussion on our way to Villamor, ranging from his report on small businesses to the problems of the Philippine government with globalization.
We saw Carlo when we got there (he's a high ranking officer in the military, a Captain I think, and a batch lower than us) informing Jorge that they were playing their tournament later that night. I don't know how good of a player Carlo is but from what I'm hearing around the game promises to be a really tight one. Sheila came just in time when Jorge was just starting his first game. Coming in from her night classes I signalled to her to join me in my seat. She was quiet most of the time tonight, maybe brought on by her school load or something. All the praises and stories they told me about his l33t sk33lz in badminton were justified, despite his bulk Jorge was in tip-top shape as he dove and returned his opponents' service with professional ease (even some of the spectators were awed, I kid you not). His team won the game and since the second game wasn't supposed to start till around 10:30 or maybe a little before 11:00 pm so we went outside to the canteen to grab a bite to eat. Joel arrived in time too before the game started.
WAAAAH-PAK! Jorge defies gravity to smash the shuttle back to the other side.
Dana and Joel watch the closely matched game with bated breath.
Joseph and Sheila watching from the sidelines.
The second game was almost as exciting as the live basketball games I used to watch. Carlo rivaled Jorge's swings and almost impossible dives with matching ferocity. It was a close fight alright, finishing with 19-21 in favor of Carlo's team. It also turns out that Carlo's mom is Jorge's ninang and they joked about how she couldn't resist not rooting for her son even though he was a close favorite among the players. We went home close to midnight talking about the game. * More pictures here.
@ 12:02 AM ---> 
