FIFA Fever

FIFA 2006, Argentina vs. Ivory Coast. I took this shot while watching the match on TV. Argentina won, 2:1.




Before any screaming, kicking and feverish temperatures of football fans are written here, let me travel back down memory lane first. The point of destination is when I was in college, particularly those times I had to go to San Jose’s Basak campus to take my PE (Physical Education) classes. We had the class inside the coliseum but before you could get there from the gate, you had to walk past the campus‘ enormous soccer field. I remember seeing one of my buddies, who was a member of the soccer varsity team, practicing there all the time. And everytime I saw them I kept on wondering to myself why this sport? Why play soccer?

Fast forward to A.B. (After Beckham) in the Philippines. Sure everybody knows David Beckham there. People buy everything he endorses, but still we couldn’t bring ourselves to get interested in soccer. Soccer, football, whatever you call it, still doesn’t make sense to the majority of Filipinos except, for men, it means sporting Beck’s ever changing hairstyle. The whole nation, to the exception of myself, my family and friends, are all agog about basketball. No sport other than basketball can rock the entire nation. The Philippines‘ obssession with this sport and its indifference to football is beyond my comprehension.

Or maybe I understand its indifference to football. Maybe it can't provide the quick gratification thru a goal the way a shot does. Sometimes the whole match is over without a goal. In short, maybe it's boring for most Filipinos. Oh well, I understand it, alright, but I can’t really explain it. I can understand it because up until Ricky Martin gyrated his hips to the tune of “The Cup of Life,“ I, myself, never knew anything about FIFA or its existence. I thought the Olympics was the big thing. Now that I live in Central Europe I realized FIFA is the big thing. Everything else pales in comparison.

Europeans consider football as a way of life. To some if not most of them, football is the life. The Filipinos‘ obssession with baskeball cannot even equal to their fanaticism in football. I guess you can say the same for Latin America and most African nations. The TV cameras can’t lie when they pan to show the fire in every fan’s eyes as they cheer for their teams. This funny line proves how crazy this part of the world is about this sport. I read it on Yahoo the other day. Ukraine’s PM said something like this: “On June 14, all unexplained illnesses are expected to hit most people in Ukraine.“ It will be Ukraine’s first match after qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. They will play against Spain.

And later today in Germany, Czech Republic will play against the USA. You can bet that at 6pm in Prague, all other things will be in slow motion against the pounding noise of the live TV coverage of the match. I will watch it,too, and cheer for the Czechs. Yes, I am quite afflicted with the football fever here. It’s so contagious, it's quite difficult to avoid.

Later I will join millions of Czechs cheering for their team in Germany, in the pubs, at home, everywhere around the world, as they shout “Češi, do toho!“

Nothing much

As the title says, I have nothing much to do these days. I guess this also means I have nothing much to write about. The doctor said to stay home for another week. I hope he wouldn't give me the same line when I see him again this Friday otherwise that would be the end of my sanity. The good news is the chicken pox left me relatively spotless. The bad news is I have difficulty breathing as my nose is possessed by a nasty spirit called the common cold. But I don't wanna rant now. Boredom is exhausting and so I'm exhausted even just with the thought of ranting. Was it Jessica Zafra who said "this is not boredom, this is catatonia. (?)"

Anyway, maybe I should break (again) the doctor's rules by going for a short walk later this afternoon. There's a mall very near our flat which I haven't been to yet. Maybe a breath of fresh air will do me good. Yesterday I had to return a book due at the city library. It was strange being in the center again after two weeks of just staying at home. There were thousands of tourists milling around Old Town Square and Vaclavske Namesti. I almost felt agoraphobic.

This will be one of my shortest posts. I'll leave my blog in peace now with three pictures taken last April in Kutna Hora. I didn't know how to post more pictures then thus my Kutna Hora post ended up with only one. Here's more:

First picture (from the left): the Stone House is one of the most valuable preserved houses of/in the town. Second picture: the Santa Barbara Cathedral, built at the end of the 14th century. Last picture: me sitting with my shoes off at Palackeho Namesti. I'm not so much into posting my pictures here but maybe just this once for you to see I look normal. Well, quite. :)


By the way, Madonna will be in Prague this September for her Confessions European tour. The cheapest ticket is around 3,500kc. Super expensive. I'm not sure about going as of this moment. I feel like if A and I would watch, we'd be one of those helping her become richer and richer. And Pearl Jam will be here a week after Madonna, too! Madonna or Pearl Jam? It's so confusing......

Oh whatever. This is just the nasty cold talking.

Ramblings of a sick Czeched

The darn chicken pox left me no choice but to stay at home for a week now. I've never been forced to be confined at home this long before so now I’m like an animal at the zoo prancing and growling in his cage. In my case, I’m not just prancing or growling at the ceiling or the walls of our flat, but I’m also cursing, not just the virus for grounding me, but also for this sloppy Czech weather for putting two more illnesses on my list--- cough and cold.

I mean, c’mon it’s already June 1st, almost summertime, and it’s still just 9-13 degrees outside? Why oh why I’m in this side of the globe right now? I can’t believe I even had to turn the heater on this morning because it was freezing when I woke up. It was this cold on my last day in Sumava last week. Silly me, I only packed a light jacket so I was probably exposed to all the viruses you could ever name when I was there. So now here I am looking like a cheetah courtesy of chicken pox, and at the same time having a kind of resemblance to Rudolph for the nose that’s starting to feel raw from too much blowing. Ah, life is grand...

Okay, okay, I can’t just sit or lie down in bed to rave at my misfortunes, right? That’s kinda redundant and therefore, boring. I must occupy myself with something worth the time while I’m stuck at home. Right! *sunny side of life activation on* I could use this time doing the things I have to do but didn’t have much time doing before. Such as:

Update my blog. Or upgrade it. I’m new at this so I need patience from my millions of readers ha-ha, and patience for myself to make my page worth the visit. The internet to me was just for emailing and chatting with my friends before blogging. I didn’t even know what a tag means. I spent hours yesterday trying to figure out how to add a tagboard. Now the ultimate question is how to put interesting add-ons. I have the idea what to put on the sidebar but how to put it is really the ultimate question. Can somebody help me, please? I’ve already read the Help section of blogger.com but I need more help apparently.

Our source of knowing what's out there in the world. I can't imagine how it would have been for me, especially during my first few months in Prague, without the internet connection. I was listening to Y101 everyday like a sick lover. It somehow helped relieve the homesickness.

Browse the net and read the real estate magazines for the perfect flat. This is our project this year—to buy a flat in Prague but we haven’t really gone scouring the city yet. That’s because we still don’t know where to go or what agency to visit. I must, and I say I must, solve this problem very soon. Yeah, right after I update my blog. :-)

Choose a summer holiday destination. We were supposed to go to Tunisia in North Africa next week for a holiday. As in I already informed the school about me spending several days under the Afican sunshine. Problem was, I needed to have a visa. As if this fact wasn’t a headache enough, the Tunisian Embassy told A they didn’t know how long it will take them to process it because the processing will actually have to take place in Tunisia. So the country got scrapped from our list. We were thinking of Bulgaria. This time the news was almost the same except that it will only take them two weeks to process the visa. But we don’t know now. We’ll see. If not, then it will just be Austria for us because it’s about time I visit my cousins there. Maybe we can also go trekking in Slovakia. I heard nature is beautiful there. After all we can always postpone the sun and fun under the sun next year when we go to the Philippines for a holiday. I. Can’t. Wait. For it to happen.

The magazines which I have to read to find the best (which also means very affordable) holiday package for me and A. Tunisko means Tunisia, Turecko for Turkey, Bulharsko is Bulgaria, Spanělsko for Spain, and of course, Egypt is Egypt. :-) I get a headache just looking at all these mags.

Finish reading “Bono on Bono.“ Ah, saving the best for last. A bought me this book last Monday to un-bore (if there’s such a word) me from my present condition. I have to say my husband has a great choice. :-) I’m a big fan of Bono not just for U2’s music but also for all the things he did and is still doing for Africa. How many rockstars or celebrities you know who are going out of the red carpet to help fight or eradicate poverty in Africa? You switch the TV on and you find most of them featured on VH1’s Fabulous Life of..... Sure it’s their prerogative to wear fur coats, or to party all the time, or buy a 5 million dollar diamond ring on a whim as a gift to themselves. But really, is this all they can offer to the world, a glimpse of their so called fab life? Why not make a difference? Take Oprah for example. Fine, she purchased a total of 200 eyelashes from Shu Uemura to the tune of 200 000 dollars last year. No big deal because she also gives millions to the charities to help the under, under privileged. My point is, there should be a balance of taking and giving. In Bono’s case, he has championed himself in this. Hats off for him and U2. Michka Assayas, too, for making it possible to read Bono’s thoughts.

Bono, looking so comfortable with our other books on the shelf. It's a good read. I recommend buying and reading it.

There. Enough preaching here.

By the way, I’ll see my doctor tomorrow. I have no idea if he’ll tell me to go back to work next week or sentence me for another week at home. Not much of a choice there for me anyway. Oh well, maybe it will be sunny next week again. That will make a big difference, really....

Enough said. I’m such a hopeless writer.... :-)