In Focus: Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez of The Amazing Race Asia 2

In the team's profile, Rovilson was quoted as saying this: "We promise you the most animated, exciting, lovable, huggable and most fun team on The Amazing Race Asia." Now that the race is officially over, it is good to note that these two delivered on their promise. Not only were they the most animated, exciting, lovable, huggable and most fun. They were also, in my opinion at least, the most consistent and most sportsmanlike. They never bickered with each other and were out to really have a great time (how about dancing on a pole to earn some extra cash?). They treated each task as an opportunity to test their character rather than see it as another chore. I even have the feeling that they had the most fun in the race. No wonder a lot of people were rooting for this dynamic duo!!!

Watching the finale last Thursday was a harrowing experience for me. Rushing from work and being the first to arrive home, I immediately turned on the TV. I was just in time for the show, yey! For the next hour, I watched, mesmerized and forgetting to eat dinner. I was glad that they were leading for most of the race. Maybe, just maybe, they really have a good shot at winning the prize. I remained hopeful despite the gnawing feeling that the Singapore team would win (I knew it the minute I saw their Sony commercial). Then the Roadblock came. I was screaming at the top of my lungs out of frustration as Rovilson struggled to match the flags. I was putting myself in the shoes of these two and wondered how excruciating this must be for them. My heart literally ached as I saw the gym buddies and the sisters finish the task and hurriedly scrambled to the final pitstop.

However, in a rare display of magnanimity despite the inevitable loss, Marc and Rovilson ran with the Philippine flag in tow. When they reached the pitstop, the two gleefully jumped and shouted the usual, "Base!!!". After Allan Wu announced that they finished third place, the two humbly said, "We'll take it!", hugged and congratulated each other for a job well done. Allan even praised the two by saying, "No team was even near the caliber of you two."

This was the scene that will really stick in my memory. Despite being heartbroken with the sudden turn of events, I felt proud with how Marc and Rovilson finished the race. They were proud to represent the Philippines. They even sported the flag on their bags. It could not get more nationalistic than that. They wanted everybody to know that Team Philippines was a force to reckon with, and I think everybody acknowledged that. It is ironic how these two can represent this country so well, even better than the full-blooded Pinoy. Marc is an Aussie with no trace of Filipino blood and Rovilson is I think a Filipino-American. To a certain extent, they are giving something back to the country that has been so good to them. Perhaps Filipinos can learn a thing or two from these buddies.

They may not have ended up as the grand prize winners of the race, but what matters more is how they were able to, and I shall quote Marc this time, "play the game the way our parents raised us to play the game of life." In a country whose citizens are pining for new heroes, these two inspire us to not only give but also be the best that we can ever be. At a time when it seems that there is nothing that the Filipino can be proud of, their victory can be considered a remarkable milestone. To Marc and Rovilson, thank you for making the Filipinos proud once again.

Quotable Valentine Quotes

Valentine's Day morning. My boss said that he will kill whoever it was who invented this day. This he muttered while fixing the bouquet of flowers he asked someone else to buy. Heck, he could not even identify the flowers that he was giving away!!! It was fun watching him do all of this. By the way, he didn't even give them personally to his wife who worked just two floors above us. He says it's corny.

When work was over, another one of my boss's colleagues came over. My boss was browsing a book to pick a restaurant for Valentine's dinner. His colleague sympathized with him, "Pare, ewan ko ba, hindi ko talaga maintindihan ang mga babae! Pag binigyan mo ng bulaklak, sasabihin sayang ang pera. Pag di mo naman binigyan, magagalit at sasabihing hindi mo na sya mahal!" (I really don't understand women! If you give them flowers, they will say that it's a waste of money. When you don't give them flowers, they get mad and complain that you don't love them!). I smile wickedly.

Then they launched into another series of rants. That they were only doing these for their wives. That this was too much of a hassle. That Valentine's Day is too commercialized. That this is the only day that the business of selling flowers hits the jackpot. And then these two quotes:

"Getting married will always be a blunder."

"Marriage will never be a right decision."

I look at them, smile and shake my head in amazement. They both smile at me.

And you thought girls were the only ones who bitched about things.

Manyak Monday

11 February 2008. I was never prepared to witness something like this on a Monday morning.

The guy sitting across me had fine features: aquiline nose, nice eyes, muscular built. In one of the jeepney's stops, two women got inside the jeep and sat beside the good-looking guy. The girl sitting beside the guy wore an off-shoulder blouse. I happen to notice that the guy kept looking on the girl's shoulder. I even checked if he was checking out the girl's boobs. It didn't seem that way though. Still, the guy kept looking at the girl's shoulder, so I thought this was weird. As the jeep continued to lurch, the guy started elbowing the girl and she in turn, elbowed back. The girl was obviously annoyed. My mom and I both raised our eyebrows. Mama couldn't contain her disgust and blurted, "Simpleng manyak!". I wanted to throw my heavy bag at him

Finally, the girl got off in Muñoz. The guy kept looking way after she got off. Eewwww. I cannot believe that guys could easily get turned on by just a small piece of flesh. I would understand boobs or legs, but the shoulder?!?! C'mon!!! Ewwww.

18 February 2008. Evening. On the north-bound MRT, I saw a big girl in full tennis gear: white jacket over a purple shirt, white mini skirt, trainers, a tennis racket and a bag. Nothing wrong, except that the girl was not sitting properly!!! Instead of feet flat on the floor, she was on tiptoes!!! From the coach's big glass window right across her, i could see her panty!!! Eeewwww. It did not help that there were two men standing across her obviously enjoying the view. Double eeewwww.

I started my day with a nangmamanyak and ended it with a namamanyak. Eewwww.