My Wilson Sledge Hammer 2.8 tennis racket

I gave a preview of this racket in an earlier post. Here are more photos of my Wilson Sledge Hammer that I also used playing tennis on some weekends while I was a student in Yokohama in the late 1990s.

The racket case is still very much intact and in great condition for something that is more than 25 years old. 

Racket tech circa late 1990s

Recommended tension for the strings

The Sledge Hammer has a larger sweet spot for those who want to generate power with less effort. Hammers and Sledge Hammer models have been associated with senior citizen players as well as those who play weekends or occasionally only.

I keep both my Pro Staff and Sledge Hammer rackets at my other office where I keep my personal stuff including some collections on display on my shelves. I actually miss playing tennis. I know I can still hit the ball but not sure about chasing the ball across the court. I eventually shifted to badminton many years ago while also still playing pingpong/table tennis after office hours. My paddles are also in my office. I think I will feature my badminton and pingpong gear in future posts.

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Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate covered Honeycomb Candy

Another pasalubong from friends is this milk chocolate covered honeycomb candy from Trader Joe's. This was a from friends from the US who came to visit (balikbayan) earlier this year. 

The chocolate covered candies came in a resealable package.

Details at the back of the pack

Nutrition information

Ingredients and storage recommendations

A view of what's in the pack - individual chocolate covered candies as shown in the photo on the package.

Close up of the honeycomb candy that's covered by the chocolate. It has a certain crunch to it that is a delight to eat.

This is a bit on the sweet side of chocolates because it is milk chocolate and also because of the candy. But it is a delight to eat as I mentioned. I didn't check how much a pack costs but I assume its not too expensive but not cheap either. It's a nice treat if you can get it but its not really my type of dessert or snack.

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Floods again!

Yesterday's rains were catastrophic. Reports stated that a week's rains fell over a period of 2 to 5 hours, depending on where you were in the Mega Manila area. The resulting floods provided misery to people in flood-prone areas as well as those who had to go through the floods on their commutes to their homes.

Flooded street in Gruar Subdivision in Cainta, Rizal

Flooded A. Bonifacio Avenue in Cainta, Rizal. This is the main avenue through the heart of Cainta.

Flooded streets in the Hunters ROTC area. These residential areas are prone to flooding and children commonly play in the floodwaters - certainly at risk from getting sick from whatever it is in the waters.

This is Ortigas Avenue Extension and on the way up to Antipolo. This area wasn't flooded before and residents attribute the floods to the high-rise residential buildings and commercial development in the area. That's actually a lot of run-off not absorbed by a drainage system that's supposed to have been constructed with the developments.

Is there an end to this flood problem? Are the solutions really being implemented or, as we've learned the past so many months, are we being taken for a ride by our so-called leaders and agencies that are supposed to address these problems. People are supposed to be tired of the resilience story being peddled by politicians but the clamor seems to be in social media only and the real people who are lobbying for solutions have to contend with trolls who are also peddling their own narrative for their masters.

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Pasalubong from Iceland - Lakkris

We found this pack deep inside our refrigerator. Apparently, this was a pasalubong from a friend of the wife who traveled to Iceland last summer break. This turned out to be a rather pleasant treat in the form of candy-covered chocolates that were like M&M's or Nips but better.

The image at the front of the pack shows something that looks like green grapes (muscat variety).

Each one was the size of an M&M or Nips

Nutrition information

The candy was crunchy and the chocolate was smooth. I would get a couple of packs or more if I see this on a supermarket or grocery store shelf. 

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My Wilson Pro Staff 5.2 tennis racket

Here are some photos of my Pro Staff racket including the case. This was my first own racket that I bought at a shop I found in Yokohama. This was was at the Marui Building adjacent to the Yokohama Station where my Japanese labmates pointed me to when I asked where I could buy a nice racket. I also got other items from that sports shop including tennis shoes (my first Nike pair), balls, shirts and shorts.

The blue color of the case has faded after 29 years but is still very much intact. The zipper and straps are in great condition.

The racket is intact with no damage to the frame and, surprisingly, the strings. The vibration dampener is also in great condition. I was thinking the rubber would have deteriorated (i.e., crumbled) but its as if it was bought and installed recently.

Stretch means this is a longer racket than the usual.

The Pro Staff was headlight, meaning the user had more control but have to generate the power for each hit. This one featured a Perimeter Weighting System that helps the user with stability, power and control.

Close up of the side of the racket frame

 

I will also share photos of my Sledge Hammer in a future post.

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Autographs - Pugad Baboy with Pol Medina, Jr.

I am very happy today as I got an autograph from one of my favorites Pol Medina, Jr. or PM Jr. He is the man behind the popular Pugad Baboy comics. I have been enjoying his work since I can remember. I do have the compilations though I have not been updated recently. Some actually perished in floods in the 1990s and I had to find replacements. Fortunately, there have been several re-issues of the older compilations. I brought one, maybe my favorite Vol. 4 to the Komiket at Ayala 30th. 

Mr. Medina signing Vol. 34

Autograph on my old Pugad Baboy 4

I used to have other autographed items including a couple of caricatures from a Humanities II project when I was a sophomore at UP Diliman. Our project had us interview a couple of artists. My partner and I interviewed the famous cartoonist Larry Alcala and political cartoonist Norman Isaac (Bulletin Today/Manila Bulletin). We interviewed Mr. Alcala at his home in UP Village while we went to the Bulletin's office in Intramuros for Mr. Isaac's. We both got caricatures from them as souvenirs. Those perished with my autographed planner (Monica Seles and Mary Joe Fernandez from the Japan Open in 1999) in the floods of Ondoy (Ketsana).  I will take good care of these newly autographed items along with other souvenirs since then.

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Tennis anyone?

After Alex Eala's win at Washington, D.C., I suddenly had the urge to check out my old rackets. I had kept them at one of my offices at U.P. and had removed the grips, which have already started disintegrating. I have kept two of three rackets that I purchased while in Japan in the 1990s and early 2000s. I gave the newest one (at the time) to my father who also played tennis at our village every Sunday with his buddies.

One my rackets was a Sledge Hammer from Wilson. 

I like to joke that at one time, I wielded a hammer - a Sledge Hammer to be exact. This is somewhat a dad joke referring to Thor, of course, but with some truth to it. Will I go back to playing tennis again? I do have access to tennis courts at UP but there seems to be a scarcity near our home as a lot of people have taken to pickleball instead. We'll see how it goes but I am leaning more towards badminton or table tennis. Magku-kuwento na lang muna ako about tennis.

More about tennis in future posts. 

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Local delights for merienda

After lunch at the resort last weekend, I had the idea to go out and see if there were stores that sold food other than the usual junk food found at sari-sari stores. I also wanted to see if there was a 'tinapayan' or bakery to get some of my favorite breads. There were only the small sari-sari stores selling the usual stuff and no bakeries. Fortunately, there was a roadside store selling turon, kamote cue, biko and other local, more traditional snacks.

Turon or banana rolls (friend banana with the wrapper coated in brown sugar)

Kamote cue (fried sweet potato coated in sugar)

Their version of biko, which is sticky rice cooked with coconut milk and brown sugar.

We bought turon and biko from the store to take back to the resort for our merienda. They turned out really good and we got to enjoy these local delights as an alternative to the food at the resort. 

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Another Panglao sunset (during Habagat season)

We couldn't get a nice sunset photo last Friday because it was overcast. Yesterday somehow made up for Friday with a nice sunset over the sea.

Sunset over the Cebu Strait. One can see the cranes at the left. These are for a construction project in the Alona Beach area. There are many resort projects now in Panglao Island.

 

We walked to a floating platform across from the beach to get this photo. It turned out well-timed as the clouds covered the setting sun as soon as we walked back to the beach, obscuring the sun and depriving others of a nice sunset shot. 

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Back in Panglao for a quick recharge

We had an unplanned trip to Bohol to unwind before busier days. We just could not schedule a trip to re-energize (applying the term used by the university for admin officials to take some time off). We knew where we wanted to go but somehow couldn't agree on a schedule. It started not so promising given the rainy weather in Metro Manila that we thought would be similar in Bohol. It was rainy where we headed to but fortunately, the weather improved a lot while we were there.

Our first day back was not promising as rains greeted us as we approached Bohol and it was raining when we landed at Panglao.

This was the scene at the beach that greeted us when we arrived at the resort. This was taken around noontime and we just prayed that the weather would improve and allow us at least to walk on the beach if not to swim there. There was no thunderstorm so some people still swam and frolicked despite the gloomy conditions.

The following morning we were greeted by this splendid weather. I already saw the sun's rays through our room's windows when I woke up. And we had our sunny weather to enjoy over the weekend.

 More on this trip in the next posts!

 

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