8 Lessons from Basketball

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1. For you to truly appreciate basketball you have to understand the basics, define terminologies, and know some about its history. Same in reality, you can't truly appreciate life if you know very little, or worse, nothing about it. You must learn to understand its complexities, you must define your goals and the things that matter to you, you must know what your purpose is.

2. Buzzer-beating shots, 24 second shot clock, tied scores - these are things in basketball that lets you see the value of time.  A few seconds can change a game instantly. In basketball, it's not over until it's over. When the clock is still ticking, no matter how short the remaining time is, it's not yet finished. Every second is important, make the most out of it. All these are life lessons. While there's life there's hope, they say. 

Dwyane Wade: (Game 6) We fight. To the last minute. To the last second. We fight.

3. Basketball reminds us that we cannot do everything alone. No matter how tall, big, athletic and talented a player is, he needs his team to win a game. That's why it's a team sport. Giving your best is not the same as doing it all. There might be so many things that you can do, but there will always be things that you can't. Accept help, cooperate and learn to trust.

Coach Spoelstra: (Game 6) Trust each other. Everybody is a playmaker. Everybody is.

4. Every player gives their best in every game. If we really want to succeed in life, we have to give everything, every time. We'll never know when will things be over. We'll never know what it is beyond every opportunity that is given to us. And we'll never know if we'll ever have that opportunity again.

[NV] Coach Popovich: (Game 7) Not too many people get this opportunity, not too many get an opportunity to play a game like this. Just be persistent, over and over and over again.

Lebron James: (Game 6) When you think you gave everything that you got, you got to give more.

5. If you're a true fan of a certain team, and not someone who cheers for different teams every year, then you must know how it feels to win and lose. You must know that the ball wouldn't always be on one side. That's basketball telling you that life isn't always about winning. You should know when to accept defeat. And no matter how upset you are for losing, respect and congratulate your opponent.

6. After defeat, a team looks back and think about why it happened. They take note of their mistakes and learn from it. Then they stand, gather themselves and prepare for the next game. That's how it should be done. Defeats should make you stronger.

7. Playing the game isn't always about the results. Every player is expected to play seriously toward an ultimate goal. But whether it's win or lose, they got to enjoy every moment. In life, we are studying hard, we are working hard but in between those, we have to enjoy life as it is. Sometimes, it is not the result that will matter, it's the people that you met; it's the moments that pushed you to your limits; it's the things that brought out the best in you. Sometimes, it's the journey that will matter in the end.

[NV] Coach Popovich: (Game 6) We can't take anything for granted. You go win or you lose, but you cherish every minute of it.

8. Critics are all over in basketball. Even you're one of the best players in your league, even you've already proven your worth for a thousand times, some will still find the loopholes in you. However it's not just in basketball but in real life as well. We might never understand why we are getting so much criticisms from others, but we can always ignore them. By focusing ourselves on things that really matter to us, by not getting distracted and by being stronger than ever, we get to enjoy life while our critics spend their lives hating us.

During Lebron James NBA Finals Press Conference:

[NV]

Question: Have you chosen to accept at this point that no matter if you win one title or a bunch more after, criticism is always gonna be there and is always gonna be really intense when it comes to you?

James: Yeah. It is where it is and that's okay. It won't stop me from loving the game. Playing it at a high level, doing it for my team mates. First of all, I'm blessed. I don't even know how I got here. I'm not supposed to be in NBA. And every time I go to my locker room and see "James" on the back on NBA jersey, I'm like, wow. 

           No criticism can deter me from playing this game because of that. The fact that I'm doing what I'm doing and I'm doing it for my team mates, it's all that matters. 

***

Commissioner David Stern: Thank you Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs, but there can only be one. One winner of tonight's game. One winner of NBA finals and one 2013 NBA Champion, the back-to-back Miami Heat Champions!

Congratulations again to Miami Heat!!!

And to the 2013 NBA Finals MVP, the one and only, King Lebron James, congratulations on your second ring!!! :)))
This one's for you. Hihihi :)))    

***
Previous posts about Lebron and NBA:

Letter to Lebron James   (2012)

Game 6 and Me (2013)             

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By the window

Green petals moving back and forth

Alternating along others of different sort

Some are swaying wide and fast

Few are bending low in contrast

They are dancing

With music of silence playing

A dance

Putting anyone in trance

Watch, observe and recognize

Appreciate the airflow then close your eyes

Hear the song of the birds and the bees

And for a minute stay in peace

Green petals moving back and forth

Forget the rush, don't cut it short

Some are swaying wide and fast

Breathe slowly and don't recall the past

 Feel your heart singing

With music of silence playing

 A song that of romance

Putting anyone in trance

Empty your mind

Put all your fears behind

Hear the song of the birds and the bees

And for a minute stay in peace

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Game 6 and me.

Hours before I went to sleep last night, I can't help but think about Game 6. A game that might hail San Antonio Spurs as Champion of this year's series and a do or die game for Miami Heat. I even let myself spent hours reading prediction articles. I'm really worried, it's as if I bet a big sum of money for Miami Heat. (But really I didn't. I never did.)

I am not a long time basketball fan, but I've been a Miami fan since the debut season of Lebron James with the team, way back 2010. Like what I've said on my first open letter to Lebron, I was never a fan of basketball, not until I was able to watch him play. And today, I am an all in Miami Heat fan.

I told myself last night, that if Miami Heat loses to Game 6, I'll definitely write a post for them, but if they win, then I'll have to wait for Game 7. However, obviously, I can't help it. Today's game was one of the best games I've ever watched.

Again, it's a do or die game for Miami Heat, and so on the fourth quarter, with Spurs on the lead of 10 points, I shut the world around me. It's only NBA and me, nothing more.

Ten minutes left comes Mike Miller's 3-pointer with one shoe. That was incredible.

 Then with around sixty seconds on the clock, Heat finally cut the lead to two and somehow my hopes were up again. On that moment, I can't afford to blink, and the butterflies in my stomach were rumbling.

Twenty seconds remaining, and I'm literally crying. This was the first time that I cried watching sports, something too far from a drama scene yet is very dramatic.

The Spurs is still on the lead with 95 to 92. Twelve seconds remaining and Lebron's three-point clutch shot failed. I'm still crying. I thought it was the end of it, but with six seconds remaining, Ray Allen, one of the most-accurate three point shooters in NBA history, made his three-pointer clutch shot.

From Tim Reynolds' twitter.

The game was tied.

That five minute over time was of course breathtaking. Heat lead with 103 to 100 and Spurs has 1.9 seconds to shoot, but Bosh ended the game blocking Danny Green's buzzer beating three-point attempt.

Miami heat won. We won. :)

Now, here's some post game tweets I'd like to share.

*PS. I know that Lebron has never able to read such one of a million post I wrote last year, but then they won the Eastern Conference finals just like how I begged for it. And regarding his second NBA ring? Let's all see on Game 7.

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Someone is still unemployed.

Seven weeks after graduation and I'm still unemployed. Sounds bad, right? But wait, that's not because no one wants to hire me or what. It's just that, the right job is still not within reach. Haha! (excuses, excuses)

Anyway, the purpose of this post is not to justify why I'm still unemployed. I just want to share recent conversations at home between me and my mom about me being jobless.

NV

#1

Me: Ma, tignan mo o (referring to my nails), ginaya ko yan sa youtube. Ganda no?
My mom: Mas maganda kung may trabaho ka na.
Me: -_-

***

#2

Me: Ma, tignan mo dinrawing ko si Lebron. Galing ko no?
My mom: Mas magaling ka kung may trabaho ka na.
Me: -_-

***

#3

Me: Ma, may video sa youtube, two seconds lang ng pagfold ng damit. Ganito o (and I showed her how).
My mom: Sana may trabahong ganyan.
Me: -_-

***

Pwede wait lang, Ma. Nineteen pa lang naman ako.

I find it funny, but really, I have to have a job before I turn 20. Hahaha!

PS. This post is also for (1) all my friends who thought I already have a job (2) those people spreading the news that I already have a job. How I wish you guys are right :)

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Traveling the world for free

Since I started blogging I already had this wish to blog about my stories of  traveling, of exploring the world, of flying from continent to continent. Well, I've already been to a lot of countries, from Asia, to the Middle East, to Europe and so on. That is, by reading books and studying history. Haha! Oh well, I've never really been out of the country, poor me. And as a jobless fresh graduate as of the moment, such wish remains as it is.

However, there's this one person who already started leaving footprints on different parts of the world. She's only twenty two, and yet she's been seeing Europe for fourteen months now.

She's my sister. She doesn't have a blog so I might as well just make use of her scenic pictures.

Athens, Greece

 

Mykosos Island, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Ephesus, Turkey

Portugal

Malta

Venice, Italy

Florence, Italy

Rome, Italy

Santorini, Greece

----

Again, my wish is still a wish, but I will definitely make it happen.

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Kevin & Annie

Dear Kevin,

You came into my life not in the most unexpected time, but then in the most unexpected ways, you were able to win my heart. You are my first boyfriend, and indeed, you're God's way of rewarding me because I didn't rush things over. You are God's way of telling me that I made the right decision of waiting for the right moment and trusting Him wholeheartedly. 

You've been an understanding friend, a loving boyfriend and a good man. That's why instantly, you became the seventh member of our family. You loved not just me, but also the ones I love. You shared with me not just your stories and funny jokes but as well as your perception of life, love and God.

We had small fights and petty arguments, but all those were resolved almost immediately because most of the times you're taking the blame, even if we both know that it's not your fault. You say sorry even you don't have to; you give me gifts for no reason at all; you send me long messages of love making me feel that I have the longest hair in the world.

Everyday, for eighteen long months you made me smile, laugh, and fall in love. And I sincerely hope I was able to do the same.

June, on our fifteenth month together, came a small misunderstanding but then had a big impact on our relationship. I cried, I was hurt but then again, we resolved it with open minds and accepting hearts and we were able to move on.

Second week of September,  exactly nine days before your birthday you've been invited to attend a yearly summit in London, something you've been wishing for. And right at that moment when you shared with me the news, I already have a plan in mind. That is, no matter how difficult it is because of the nature of my work, to fly secretly to London and surprise you. A surprise I wasn't able to push through three months ago.

However, for the same reason, with the same person and for the same set up it happened again, but this time, even more painful. You know how much I love making surprises but now, I don't know If I would ever make one again. 

I love you. I still do, but I had questions you can't directly answer. You made things you, yourself can't justify. My first boyfriend who I thought was also my last, just broke my heart.

You told me that you're willing to wait until we can finally start again, and believe me, that's what I want.
However, I don't want to hold you back. I don't know how long it will take, I don't know how much time I need, and again, I have to patiently wait for the right time. That's why, I am breaking up with you.

You've already apologized a hundred times, but more than that, time is what I really need.

Thank you, Kevin.


Love, Annie.

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