Posts filed under 'Health & Fitness'
I was refraining from writing an entry on Michael Phelps, but I’m out of ideas. For a whole week, I’ve followed every race that Phelps swam, except for the 400IM that I missed. Bob Costas was right when he said that Michael Phelps as the greatest athlete is subjective. I’ll try to be objective.
Firstly, let’s concentrate within the sport of swimming. Compared to 36 years ago when Mark Spitz recorded 7 gold medals all in world record time, the swimmers were using regular swimming trunks and did not have modern training facility. Thirty-six years later, Michael Phelps broke Spitz record by winning 8 golds and 7 of which in world record time. Phelps was sporting high tech suits and trained in a modern training facility. So does that give Spitz the handicap? I don’t think so. Every competitors that Phelps faced were wearing the same suits and were trained in the same modern training facility. The competitiveness is not lost, as a matter of fact, it’s intact and more competitive. Again, there’s an issue with enhancement drugs (not illegal, yet). Hypothetically speaking, if Phelps is taking enhancement drugs that are not yet considered illegal, Spitz may also have been using an enhancement drug that wasn’t tested back then and testing wasn’t predominant in the 60s. I still agree with Spitz, that you can’t compare the two feats one-on-one, but Phelps has the upper hand and is to be considered the greatest swimmer.
Another issue is that back then, there weren’t that many events that Spitz could have joined. That’s beside the point. If Spitz joined 10 events, if Phelps really has put into mind breaking that record, he would have joined 11 events. Also, Spitz didn’t swim all four strokes; Phelps does.
Now comes the all sport comparison. It really is incomparable because swimming is an individual sport and sports like basketball is a team sport. However, I’m not far from the truth when I say that swimming takes a lot more effort than dribbling and shooting a basketball. There is the element of water which is a variable. You have little to no control over what water can do. Other sports does not have that variable to consider.
In conclusion, I know Phelps won’t be having the same program next Olympics, but I hope he joins the 1500m Freestyle race. If he gets a gold there, that’ll put a period in everything. Also, it’ll take a few Olympic meet before someone actually breaks his record. Maybe the 14 golds is easy to break, but the 8 gold in a single Olympic is a hard feat. The Phelpsian feat according to Aaron Peirsol.
August 18th, 2008
Readiness and Disaster Management are the recent issues in the Philippines. PAGASA claims that there was a breakdown in the structural aspect of their readiness program during typhoon Frank. There is no such thing as readiness. Nature is uncontrolled that’s why most of us thrive to be unnatural. The only thing a forecast can do is minimize casualties; it’s not a prevention. I guess it’s a readiness to be killed for the dead. I’m a huge fan of the natural and I missed one good nature loving during the typhoon. I miss the days back home when we encounter annual typhoon visits. It’s exhilarating. Now most of you will definitely say that it’s insensitive of me to be thinking that way after many people lost their lives. Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s what we call “natural death”. Sooner or later you’ll die, so why not give your life to something that gave and is giving you life and not to some illness caused by the artificial or ambitions. I want to die with nature’s help or during my sleep. That way there’s nobody to blame for my death.
Disaster Management — I’ve nothing on this one. I don’t have the luxury to think about helping the victims. If it was me, I’d look at this as a rebirth and reset my life. I would disappear and live life anew. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen to me; especially when I’m traveling by plane. I always wish my plane crashes in an inhabited island so that if I survived, I’d live in solitude. Did I just digress?
June 30th, 2008
Before leaving for work, I saw on 24 Oras a report about the couple physicians from Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. Dr. Pearle Tecson Pagunsan and wife Dr. Hazel Chua Pagunsan are serving their community instead of going abroad for better wages. The Pagunsans said that there are opportunities of going abroad promising better life that’s been coming their way, but they chose to stay in Binalbagan and serve their countrymen. These are the models every Filipino should look up to and follow.
Dr. Hazel Pagunsan said that weighing the needs and and love for the work, they both chose the joy in working to help the townspeople of Binalbagan over enslaving themselves overseas for better wages. If every Filipino professional has this mindset, then the Philippines would be one step towards the betterment of the country.
I sound hypocritical given I’m overseas, don’t I? I was fourteen when I migrated to the US. A step that I’ve protested from the beginning. I never wanted to come here, but I had no choice. It was a family choice. Then what am I still doing here now that I’ve grown to have my own decision? I plan to return to the Philippines in the near future. I’m just saving for a fresh start. I don’t exactly have anything if I came back, do I? I’m being patient and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I may not be bright enough to offer something for the nation, but I would be one man back.
The Pagunsans are selfless, why would someone like me who is selfish appreciate the act. To me though selfishness boils down to oneself, it does have a layer. Here, I am speaking of national selfishness where the layer is the choice of group. I’m being selfish for the group I belong to. I’m inherently contained in the group and I’m being selfish to achieve my own goals by making sure the group is successful.
What troubles me, though, is that the Pagunsans are also nurses. They took and finished nursing recently. That means they thought or still have thoughts of living the country and nursing foreigners abroad. We’ll see.
June 6th, 2008
Sunday. Boredom struck me. I was in the verge of depression - I may as well have been. I tried to sleep it off, but I can’t. My eyes are being pulled inside, yet I can’t keep them closed. Thoughts are empty, yet I feel tireless. I wanted to get out and watch a movie, but nothing is worth watching these past few weeks. Rented movies are too depressing and mind boggling. My mind’s not in the mood to think. Nothing on TV worth watching. Nobody worth talking to. I can’t write. Paranoid. I felt like ending.
My day didn’t start that way. When I woke up, I watched “Shoot ‘Em Up” on DVD which is action-packed. Then I had a light lunch and went to a car dealer with my father. The car was there, but nobody was available to appraise the van for trade-in. I’ll be back Wednesday morning and hopefully get it done quick. When we got back, I went grocery shopping because supply was low. Only it was after I got back from grocery shopping that time went so very slow I was actually wishing it was Monday the next hour. If everyone doesn’t want a Monday morning to arrive, I wished for it. What caused this? I very much know the cause. For anyone out there, if you can, avoid long distance relationship. It’s not healthy for you. I can fully control my emotions that’s why I’m still alive and breathing. If I was weak and have no self control, I would be messier now.
April 14th, 2008
Someone told me that thinking too much and most especially deep thoughts causes my inability to gain weight. The person didn’t even know that it is my hobby to think deeply about things around us. Now, in an attempt to gain a few pounds and flesh, I’m trying not to think deeply besides from eating proper food regularly and having regular sleeping hours. It may be a yearlong struggle, but I will do my best.
In addition, few changes personally will be undertaken in the upcoming year. Though not strictly, a more discipline me will arise. I’ll try to learn more things and not slack on projects I’m assigning myself. I will try to save for a major project that I’m planning and will also document here once the plan is finalized. More importantly I guess than saving is to fid a way to earn which in itself is a huge udertaking I will have to face. I hope to geet a second paying job even though it’s only part-time.
Could this qualify as a New Year’s Resolution? I tend to not fulfill NYRs, so I’ll admit this isn’t it. This is more of a personal challenge more than anything else. I’ve already fufilled the first step which is to personally detach myself to anyone. By detaching myself, I can have no excuses and be more concentrated on the task at hand.
December 21st, 2007
