The Way We Were in Basketball

Looking at an update from NBA about the coming World Basketball Championships in Saitama, Japan next year, I am proud that my country is out there at the bottom - in an elite cast of 10 countries who whon podium honors since World Basketball Championships was instituted in 1950. Played once every four years, this is the ultimate of basketball championships, if players consider playing for country more important than playing for a rich ball club.

On the list, the Philippines is the only Asian country to win the top three honors along with United States, Soviet Union, Brazil, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Germany, Russia, Argentina and Chile. The fame we got took place half a century ago in 1954 (I don't remember any basketball official organize a fifty year anniversary for a feat unlikely to be matched in the near future). Francisco Rabat of Davao Oriental, Mariano Tolentino, Benjamin Francisco, Carlos Loyzaga and Lauro Mumar were among the members of the Philippine Team which played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and took the third place after making a scare against the United States before eventually bowing out. USA led 25-22 during halftime when the Philippines made a comeback to take the driver's seat at 31-26. USA won the game 56-43 but the Philippines felt more than just a champion with the bronze medal in an achievement that would probably never be repeated. Loyzaga was chosen as one of the Mythical Five in that tournament and undoubtedly the greatest basketball player the Philippines has ever produced.

It's just a pity that the Philippines is suspended by the basketball authority, FIBA, due to pride and greed by the officials. I was just frustrated when I said Graham Lim is stupid even if I tagged the title as a question. You name them, they are probably the same trying to vindicate themselves at the expense of the sport. Joey Lina, Jose Cojuangco, Tiny Literal, Christian Tan, Bonifacio Alentajan, Mauricio Martelino: useless, inutile, mo yong, walang silbe.

Why do a couple of them go to Switzerland and insist that Philippine Basketball Federation be recognized when its chances is nil? And why does the other camp insist on having a subpar team "chosen from the grassroots level" and a fan of Ricky Calimag, who is a veteran of several embarrassing stints abroad.

I say to you people, give up basketball and support Philippine football.

My Thoughts On Electronic Mail

I have fifteen e-mail accounts with two-thirds of that number I am actively using, checking at least once a day. Since the days of rocketmail and extremely long Hotmail accounts ("Sorry, that name is already taken. Please try another one.") I have fancied collecting accounts more than a change in look and feel than convenience. MailCity, Eudoramail, Budweiser, Yahoo!, Philwebinc, Gmail, Hotmail and a host of other corporate accounts reserved for me when I was employed by such companies.

Then I was so excited to send and receive e-mails that I always leave my e-mail address on public bulletin boards, chatrooms and willingly send a three sentence e-mail to someone in California or Boston, and expect a reply overnight. Oh, what a fantastic experience to communicate on the other half of the world as I speak. It was so personal that I had to give up my snail mail habit in favor of this time-saving effort.

I gathered friends, met some of them in person and broadened my social network. But in its bad side, it made me more reliable to it that personal touch seemed to be missing. When I communicated with colleagues, I used e-mail instead of phone call or be more verbose about it. In retrospect, it made it easier for me to communicate. I used to imagine that with the advent of e-mail, post offices will only be handling more on bulk carriages and postcard makers will venture online with their softcopy virtual greeting cards.

With the emergence of spam, e-mail brought havoc to my inbox. I no longer have the excitement when I receieve a message from a virtual stranger when I read that the subject is about a drug I did not request nor about a low interest mortgage plan that's not even available in my locality. I have to pay extra money when I maintain my Outlook Express account just to ensure that e-mails that reach me do not contain viruses, worms or Trojan horses.

On the human side of it I still do use e-mail extensively to keep in touch with everyone: friends in Hong Kong, technical support, high school and college friends, relatives.

I send about twenty e-mails a day. In my rough stats I get a reply from six out of twenty within forty eight hours. Some of them are very active responders (I identified two of them, Ruel, an SFC brother in Shenzhen China who seems to be online all the time; and Wirnani, a pretty acquaintance in Davao circa '99) and some of them issue replies within a week or two, depending on heavy loads.

Exceptional cases are when I am having e-mail chats with friends planning for a weekend activity where a thread can easily span hundreds of messages.

Still, there are those who reply very late that I forgot already that I sent them e-mail ages ago. It often renders my purpose useless. And of course, there are those who simply refuse to reply, and prefer to talk about it or simply ignore me.

That is why it is not so difficult to gauge one's personality if the basis of it is on the composition of e-mail, grammar and spelling, the choice of words and the respect the person conveys to you. My former boss, Colin is an example of someone who composes and replies my e-mails with carefulness. He often used to ask me for spellings and internationalization when he does his e-mails and ends up confused and he is totally honest about it.

I have been used to writing a lot of letters to penpals from everywhere and my complimentary close has always been "Sincerely". But in e-mail, often driven by casualness that term is not appropriate anymore no matter how respected person a recipient is. I decided to use "Regards" most of the time. Otherwise I would just be using my name to end the message. "Cheers" is cool. "Ciao" is also well used. "Best" is an abbreviated term for "All the Best" but sounds authoritative to me.

Indeed, e-mail has revolutionized communication. E-mail marketing has emerged as a means to earn and profit online. Newsletters were created to cater to the needs of a practicing individual with certain interests and hobbies. Mobile phones and PDAs now have the capability of composing e-mails. What an exciting age.

But let's not be driven too much about the fuss technology has created. E-mail must be used to enhance communication and not replace the traditional means such as personal conversation, letter writing and telephone talks.

How Does It Feel To Be Ignored?

Excerpt from "Hidden Messages in Water":

Three separate bins of rice are kept. Each day in the house, the entire family including the kids on the way in and out the door to school participate in this "experiment." To the first bin, loving words are recited such as "I love you." To the second, nothing is said. And to the third, mean words are said, such as "You ugly fool" or any of their own favorite insults. Over time, the three bins showed markedly different stages of decay.

Which do rice bin do you think rotted right away?

The totally ignored bin suffered much worse than the one that was hurled insults. Whether you believe this experiment or not doesn't matter. What resonated with me was that this rung true.

It can come from somebody you cared for. It can be a rejection of a job application. Or by someone who wants revenge or seeking vindication. I surely have done this to someone and now I am reaping the painful fruit in return.

As time passes, this after-effect of indifference remains the sting of being left out, uncared for or even uncriticized. It hurts me more to be ignored than be shouted at.

Elie Wiesel says,
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.

And George Bernard Shaw:
Indifference is the essence of inhumanity.

I have been indifferent on others, more than just being insensitive but appearing as if I am overjoyed seeing someone plead for my attention and choosing to turn a blind eye on him or her.

Forgive me if I was indifferent, as I wish not to receive such unearthly human attribute.    

I'm only pretty sure that I can't take anymore Before you take a swing I wonder
What are we fighting for When I say out loud I want to get out of this I wonder Is there anything I'm going to miss I wonder How it's going to be When you don't know me How's it going to be When you're sure I'm not there How's it going to be When there is no one to talk to, between you and me 'Cause I don't care How's it going to be Where we used to laugh There's a shouting match Sharp as a thumbnail scratch A silence I can't ignore Like...The hammocks by the doorway we spent time in Swings empty, don't see lightning like last fall when it was always about to hit me I wonder how's it going to be when it goes down Hows it going to be When your not around How’s it going to be When you found out there was nothing Between you and me 'Cause I don't care How's it going to be. How’s it going to be When you don't know me any more And how's it going to be Want to get myself back in again The soft dive of oblivion I wanna taste the soul of your skin The soft dive of oblivion Oblivion How's it going to be When you don't know me any more How's it going to be How's it going to be