UPDATE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF UPDATING
I must've done something good to humanity during the past few days because Someone Up There miraculously freed me from any workload today. That automatically means a not-much-awaited blog update since it feels like I haven’t written anything (plug scripts don’t count) since World War I. If you’re looking for a socially responsible, extremely informative, and incredibly entertaining post, then you’ve come to the right place for everything that don’t fit those descriptions.
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Work has slowly eaten me alive. It just hasn’t digested me well enough. The loads of free time I had when I was still with the sports department have found their resting place. Although my new stint gets cruelly exhausting at times, it’s really not much of a bad deal since I’m learning a lot in producing and editing videos. There are also delightful instances when I get all revved up to make a plug just because I have a sudden surge of idea, which occurs as often as the Parting of the Red Sea, or just because I think of a highly appropriate song that can be used for the plug score. I know I’m nowhere near the talent of some of the producers here, but I try to improve everyday and consume everything I learn when I observe their work.
I can’t say that I’m completely enjoying my job though. I would still return to the sports group without batting an eyelash if given the chance. Aside from the incomparable rush of covering sports competitions, I also miss the traveling opportunities. Going out of town beats a monotonous day in the office anytime. My former group mates have all went to an out-of-town assignment already (they have more lined-up in the weeks to come), while I’m still trapped here in my worn-out desk. But again, I’m trying my best to be stoic about everything that has happened. Just be thankful and make do with what I have.
Another little problem I have with my new work is my already limited vocabulary mileage. When I was with Solar Sports and BTV, all I could think about were sports jargons, and now that I’m with C/S Origin, all I could think about (not that I think a lot) are law, crime, and forensic terminologies. I have this tendency to get stuck with words or phrases I use in my daily writing even when it comes to writing about a totally different topic. I get so used to the tried-and-tested formulas that I tend to unconsciously turn a deaf ear to other methods that could also work.
So in an attempt to address this, I’ve reunited with my bookshelf and started to read books once again. I got so used to reading articles and reviews on the Internet that I forgot that I have put several novels I bought on the backburner. While online write-ups are clearly more practical and equally entertaining, they don’t usually provide the imagination and imagery like short stories and novels do. Most movie and music reviews also use technical terms and follow a specific blueprint (gist-positives-negatives-conclusion), which somehow defeats the purpose of me not being confined to a specific subculture of words and phrases.
I’m almost done with Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters and Audrey Niffenegger's A Time Traveler’s Wife. I believe I’m not the only one who has the habit of reading different books in the same period of time. It has become an unhealthy habit since I usually mix up the characters. My friends and officemates have already recommended books so I would appreciate it very much if you do the same (although I don’t expect much from all of the three readers of this blog). Business World super reporter Don recommended David Halberstam’s sports novel The Breaks of the Game, Severo super vocalist Enzo suggested Chuck Klosterman’s fictional novel Downtown Owl, and television superstar Lia Cruz raved about Haruki Murakami’s memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. You can’t go wrong with those three authors (and those three recommenders as well). Send me those titles!
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The NBA Playoffs has been everything as expected. The Cavaliers made little birds out of the Hawks, Orlando booted out the defending champs, the Nuggets trampled the skeletal Mavericks line-up, and the Lakers squeezed past a relentless Rockets squad.
Of all the quarterfinal match-ups, it was the Lakers-Rockets tiff that interested me the most because of the word I just used in the previous sentence: relentless. When the Rockets lost Yao Ming to a season-ending foot injury, they were expected to just roll over and get punched by the insanely hackneyed “Houston, We Have a Problem” headline yet again. It looked like a fair initial observation since they were facing a loaded and experienced Lakers squad. But instead of allowing themselves to be buried alive, the Rockets pushed the Purple and Gold to seven games with their resiliency and we’re-not-intimidated visage. Although the deciding game turned out to be a rout for the Lakers, the Rockets proved that hard work can sometimes trump talent.
On a more personal note, I would like to commend one of the players I look up to the most, Shane Battier, for another masterful job against Kobe Bryant. Of all the statistics, it was Kobe’s field goal percentage that I closely followed during the entire series. It was the first thing I looked at every time I checked the boxscore to gauge how well Battier defended Mr. 81. Although Kobe shot a respectable 45.3% in the seven-game stretch, it doesn’t reflect how hard he had to work for his points versus Battier. The Duke alumnus stayed with Kobe all series long. He challenged every shot, sacrificed his body, and even modestly endured a “You Can’t Guard Me!” denigration from the Lakers superstar. In addition, he did not foul out in each of the games which just further solidifies how well he played defense against the most complete offensive player in the NBA today. No one can stop Kobe. You can only contain him. And that’s what Battier has done every time the Rockets faced the Lakers for the past few seasons.
If you’ll notice, Battier doesn’t score or even attempt shots that much. He only averaged 6.7 shot attempts and 7.7 points in the series yet he played an average of 37.0 minutes per game (second to Ron Artest’s team-high 38.2). Despite not contributing much on the offensive end, Battier stayed on the floor because of his tough-as-nails defense and intangibles. It’s almost impossible not to admire a player who does all the things Battier does. Unless you’re the one he’s guarding, of course.
Read this epic New York Times feature on Battier to have a deeper understanding of what I truly mean. It’s everything I have observed since Battier was drafted in the NBA. Only he wrote it way ahead of me and waaaaaaaaaaaay better than what I could have done.