It’s alive. It’s kicking. It’s harvesting gold medals. Taekwondo had long been a popular sport in Cebu. But today, Taekwondo is gaining even more popularity. Just the other weekend, the Taekwondo Team Cebu won second overall in the Visayas Taekwondo Championships in the City of Smiles… Bacolod City. Of the 40 jins who represented Cebu, 33 went home as medal-winners. In all, Team
The Amazing Story of Jack Mendez
I can write a 365-page biography of him. His life story, if grabbed by the producers of Viva Films, will turn into a movie blockbuster. Listen to him speak for 45 minutes and you’d wish you had 25 hours to listen. Thousands of people I’ve met in life, but few will compare to this story…
Jacinto Villarosa Mendez is the third of seven children of Victorino and Anita Mendez. In elementary and high school, he studied in Ubay, Bohol and in college, took up law at the University of San Carlos. To support his studies, he mopped floors in the homes of relatives in exchange for free board and lodging. He lifted wood at the pier as kargador to earn a peso. On his final year in law school, his father, a firewood dealer, decided that his brothers and sisters would stop school to allow him to graduate. Jack did not allow that to happen. He stowed away on a boat and worked as a security guard in Manila. “I was assigned at a furniture company,” he told me, “and had to squat on top of tables each night as there were snakes everywhere.”
“DADDY!” … I Love to Hear that Word!
“Any man can be a father. But it takes a special person to be a dad.” – Proverb
I love being a dad. Nothing makes me smile more and want to thank God for all His blessings—than when I stare at my daughter when she’s just fallen asleep and I marvel at how beautiful and amazing a creation she’s been to my life.
I love being with Jana. We sit on the floor and play Korean jackstones. She tells jokes while I laugh. I make funny faces while she falls off the sofa. I spend as much time as I can with her. Because here’s my belief: every minute spent with your child is never a wasted minute.
Airsoft: “Getting Hit Is Not An Option”
It’s popular. It’s played at D’ Family Park in Talamban. In the hills of Consolacion. At the back of Tisoy’s Restaurant along A.S. Fortuna. Hundreds polish their rifles and pistols. Hearts pump fast. Bullets riddle the air. Men paint their faces. Women camouflage their bodies.
Airsoft is one very popular sport in Cebu. Yesterday, while working out in the gym, I watched the 6 p.m. news on TV and caught a glimpse of Cebu City Councilor Jack Jakosalem. He was talking about airsoft and an upcoming event at the Gaisano Bowlinplex Parking Lot.
Dr. Vic Verallo Speaks: Why I Run
“I always loved running,” said Jesse Owens, the four-time Olympic gold medalist. “It was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.”
I know one man who’ll nod his head in agreement, make the thumbs-up sign, smile and say, “Yes! That’s why I run!” Dr. Vicente Verallo. One of Cebu’s top dermatologists, he’s a busy man. Visit his Chong Hua clinic and you’ll notice the long hours he works. At home, he is happily married to top Cebu cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Susan Verallo. They have eight children. At work, at home—life is hectic. Still, the one thing Dr. Vic never fails to schedule?
Lance Armstrong in ‘Magnet’
Here’s one of my all-time favorite TV commercials, starring one of my all-time favorite athletes…
Only 21, this Spanish bull is King of France
Their white socks turned brown. Hair, disheveled. Frowns covered their faces. They sprinted. Scrambled left, front, right. They banged 22 shots. Then 19. Then 24. Dirt stuck glued underneath the soles of their blue Nikes. Their legs, spring chickens at the first point, wobbled. It was tiresome, grueling and, after over 185 minutes, they still had not finished.
On their fingers, they gripped swords. Rafael Nadal chopped his through the Paris wind while Roger Federer swung and sliced. The red surface they stepped on? The French call it “le terre battue” or red clay. But no, it wasn’t. It was red blood. From the wounds they inflicted upon each other, the rectangle turned into a pool of red blood.
The “Other Girl” in my life named Jana
IN life, we wear many hats: Husband. Neighbor. Employee. Best Friend. But of all the many roles we play in life, the one I consider most important is this: Being a father.I have one child. Her name is Jana Marie Mendez Pages. Oh, the stories I can tell you about Jana!
Rafael Nadal wins the French Open
Last night, I watched the French Open men’s finals at the Cebu Country Club with my best friend in tennis… Macky Michael. He rooted for Roger; I wished Rafa would win his third.Macky brought along an unexpected gift: the Swiss flag. He waved it as he entered the room and declared that tonight is the night for the Federer Express.
My name is Ana! Ana Ivanovic… not Kournikova
Don’t you find her pretty? She is. I hope you watched her semi-final match against Maria Sharapova. If you had to choose one to date on a romantic, candlelit dinner, who’d it be? The blonde or the dark-haired beauty? I know my favorite dentist, Dr. Nonito Narvasa, will choose Maria (he’s professed obsession over her), but I’ll go for Ana—not Anna Kournikova—but Ana Ivanovic.