Ramblings Intérieurs

Philippine Daily Inquirer

100. Philippine Daily Inquirer

Finally, I reached the 100th mark for my list of reasons to be happy and thankful that I am living in this lifetime. Since this is a record, it is only appropriate that the 100th reason would cross all boundaries. And what more could this be but our newspaper for more than 15 years (if I'm not mistaken).

This broadsheet has been a very big help not only to me but to my family as well. The information that this newspaper has giving us for the last 15 years or so has been very, very useful to us. It does not only give us the latest news (very, very credible I must say) but tips on practically every aspect of life - personal, financial, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. It's an all-in-one paper.

I can give short examples about those as I grew along with PDI.

Personal: I grew up reading the advices of Robbie, Rissa, and Raya Mananquil (now all models and professionals) when they were still teens in the 2BU! section of Inquirer. The advices of Tita Dulce also made perfect sense as I heed her advices and gave her advices to my friends who turn to me for advices (shhh...that's a secret).

Financial: The Business Section of PDI has more that just business news. It has featured and is still writing stories about the inspiring and success stories of the best entrepreneur the country has produced. Of course, on those stories it is clear that the success stories of these CEO's, COO's and taipans were not walk in the park. They encountered a lot of challenges, difficulties, and pains but they continue and succeeded. How? Read the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Mental: The Opinion Section of the Inquirer is another gem. This is where I read the best writers that the country has produced. Conrado de Quiros, Michael Tan, the late Adrian Cristobal are just one of the few many writers that I read in PDI that got me hooked on reading the most widely-read broadsheet in the country.

Emotional: A lot of stories in PDI had made me emotional. The stories of the youth in "Young Blood" and their counterpart, the uhmmm, sixty-something in "High Blood." Not to mention the real stories that appears in it's front page. The not so-good-things about our country and how we and I are not able to do something about it. But what makes this truly special is that because the stories always end up with hope. Hope that we should not abandon despite everything.

Physical:
Of course the Sports Section of the Inquirer is a class of it's own. Almost always on time (sometimes PBA results yesterday would not be included in the next day's issue). But in general, I could rely on PDI regrading results of sports tournament I watch. NBA, US Open, Super Bowl, you name it they got it. They also have the best sportswriter in town, Al S. Mendoza and Recah Trinidad (who came back after a fling with retirement). The Tuesday Section of PDI about Lifestyle and Leisure also gave me tips on how to live a healthy and happy life with articles about the latest exercises and how to have a happy disposition in life through the articles of Cory Quririno.

Spiritual: This is the best part.

PDI has Fr. Jerry Orbos in it's Opinion Section every Sunday. Fr. Orbos column is my must-read column of Inquirer every Sunday with his jokes and anecdotes about life and his practical tips in life on how to live life as a Christian.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer also has what it calls "radical optimism" every Sunday. This means that every Sunday, it's front page only features good news. Yes, only good news. If you read a bad news or headline, you will see the good news inside it. I have another good news. It's not limited to Sundays anymore, as you can see in my previous blog entries.

Now, how's that for news?

Two Fearless Forecasts

No, this is not about who will win as the first Philippine Idol. I already did that if you have been reading my blogs. This is about the two most popular B's of sports in the Philippines - basketball and boxing. This might elicit violent reactions but I'm ready for them. Keep them coming!

First, Ginebra will not win the PBA championship. Sure, they have the most fearsome line-up today. Eric Menk, Rudy Hatfield, Mark Caguioa, Jay2 Helterbrand, and throw in Andy Seigle, Johnny A., and the others on the bench that can deliver anytime. They also manhandled the first two teams that they collided with.

The problem with Ginebra is that - they have too many stars. You've seen it all not just in basketball but in soccer and other team game. Los Angeles Lakers, Brazil, Real Madrid, etc. They had the most fearsome line-up but did they win the championship - no. I don't know why. Maybe God has a way of saying “so you think you’re invincible, you’re not!”

The second forecast is, hold your breath, Manny Pacquiao will not win against Erik Morales.

I already made this forecast with their first two encounters but I can’t remember if it’s the first or the second fight between the two warriors. But I remember how my friend, Fatima, reacted to it. When I said Morales will win against Pacquiao, I had a verbal beating from her saying “Why are you like that?”, “Are you a Filipino?”, etc. I was verbally beaten to the hilt.

I would like to assure everyone, however, that I would like Manny Pacquiao to win against Morales but with the way things are going, I am expecting Morales to win. Why? Because Morales is again practicing and training his heart out. Sure, Manny is also training but with some commercial shooting, ribbon cutting, and other social gathering stuffs on the side. Eric Morales also cannot afford to lose. It will be the end of his career if he loses. Although I can say the same thing for Pacquiao but he has a lot of business to get busy with.

If I would make a forecast, Las Vegas style, I expect Morales to win against Pacquiao, 11 to 10.