Mama's Day

I grew up with Mama. Papa is working in the middle-east for almost 10 years and she’s all we got in the house. I’m the fourth child of 5 and the youngest of three boys that’s why I consider myself as a mama’s boy in so many ways. I suffered two 50/50 medical conditions because I’m a hyper kid, perhaps I have ADHD and I also have a weak heart so I’m always in her radar no matter how busy she was.

I remember when I was in grade 5, I took a periodical exam and I got a perfect score in one the tests so my teacher could not believe it and start speculating that I could have cheated, so I went home with a disdain mood and told her the story and she got so mad and confronted my teacher the following day and said to him, “Don’t ever call my son a cheater, give him another set of exam to prove you wrong!” and so he did and I still got 100 and Mama was so proud of me…

She is my inspiration; the five of us look up to her as our guide.Happy birthday, Ma! All our love is yours forever…

Wayne Gretzky - The Great One

In 2004, my wife and I went to Toronto from Ottawa for a 2-day trip to visit her mom's childhood bestfriends before heading to LA. Kuya Abel drove us after dinner for a City tour and asked me if I know Wayne Gretzky or any NHL player. I told him that I'm not familiar with the name and only knew about the Disney's Mighty Ducks movies.

So he told us about him and that Gretzky's Restaurant is on our way but its already closed so I hurriedly took a shot. It's blurry but it's the closest thing that I can be with the greatest hockey player. He said if we've stayed longer, he'll take us there and the food are great also.

In 2005, I bought a 12' McFarlane figure of Gretzky in Kings uniform from Amazon. This year, he bought two more figures, one in his Oilers team and second in Rangers' uniform.

In 2007, I bought the ESPN's DVD of Gretzky in LA but our friends Jack and Niel insisted that they'll pay for it as a Christmas gift for me. So the following morning before my flight to DC at 9PM while waiting for the FedEx delivery of my NBA ticket at the Verizon for the Wizards-Phoenix game, I watched the DVD and was mesmerized by his story as a hockey legend.

Great Experience. Great Figure. Great Gift. Great One!

The Madrids of NY - A Family 8,506 Miles Away

After TRU, I took the F metro at 42nd & 6 Ave. and get off from Bergen station, walked a little to Bond St. and stopped at 210 Wyckoff, and I'm at the door of Atty. Andy & Marivic Madrid, my cousins in Brooklyn with their handsome boxer named Jesse who’s already waiting for me at the stairs and all exited for me to come up...

The last time I saw them was in 2004 when my wife and I visited them for a couple of days. Chuck the youngest of the Madrid siblings toured us together with Tito and Tita Tina throughout New York and even to New Jersey to watch the NBA. We had a great time that year and I’m lucky enough to see them again after three years.

This time it’s the couple only. Chuck’s family is on vacation but I was able to say hi to Tito. We went to Pink Tea Cup for lunch and rested for few hours before going out again.

That night, we attended their Dojo class Christmas party. That same night I heard the phrase “Osu!” quite often. And so I ask Kuya the meaning, I remember him saying it’s a way greeting to a fellow Dojo practitioner and as of showing respect or something like that.

I had a great day during this weekend visit and head back to DC the following morning. It was so cold but Kuya Andy gave me a leather jacket before I left which helps me a lot with the winter breeze...