Best and Worst of 2012

Looking Back on 2012

As the year comes to a close and newspapers, music charts and movie reviewers, to name a few, start putting up their lists of bests and worsts of the past twelve months and honouring their industries chart-toppers, I've decided to take a look at my own best and worst of the year moments. I don't know if I'll manage ten (or twelve, one for each month) but there are some moments that do stand out. And, in many ways, as I'm writing this post, I'm thinking off the top of my head so the list I come with here might change if I made a new list next week, a month from now, or even tomorrow.

Oh, by the way, the items in each list are not written in any particular order. They also might not have been things I did or experienced firsthand but things that made me feel strongly about something or someone or some place in a significant way. Lastly, those items that appear in both lists...well, I'm probably happy for them that they happened but their impact or how they made me feel might not have been exactly what I would have hoped for.

So here goes - my best and worst of 2012.

The Best of 2012:

1. Publishing my debut novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises.
2. Repeating as New Jersey State Poomsae (Forms) Champion in the 1st Masters Black Belt Division.
3. My Manila Bulletin newspaper interview about my book and my life as a writer.
4. The feature about me and my book in The Filipino Reporter.
5. Hyphen Magazine - the review of Back Kicks And Broken Promises and being interviewed for a feature on self-published Asian-American authors.
6. Meeting Marie Lu, the author of Legend.
7. The removal of my father-in-law's cancerous kidney and his subsequent recovery.
8. President Obama's re-election as president of the United States.
9. Completing the first draft of my second novel, Sage of Heaven: Lineage.
10. Having the best season (final record of 12-10, second round of the country tournament, qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2003) my high school volleyball team since I joined the coaching staff in 2003.

The Worst of 2012:

1. The Hyphen Magazine review of my book.
2. Hurricane Sandy.
3. The end of classes at my martial arts club, Bamboo Martial Arts.
4. The scare that it was my father-in-law's time to go.
5. My son's first stitches, on his forehead, just above his eye.
6. Not being able to attend the US National Championships after qualifying to compete.
7. Injuries to my back, hips and left calf and hamstring, brought on from training for the NY City Marathon, that sidelined me.
8. Robin Van Persie's betrayal and subsequent departure from Arsenal Football Club to join rivals Manchester United.
9. The rising cost of things.
10. Decreased fitness and weight gain due to number 7 and number 5, above, of the weight I'd lost in 2011, while training for Nationals.

So, there they are. Like I said, tomorrow, next week, next month, I might have entirely different items on those lists. And, some of them may seem trivial, at best. But, like I also said, they're what I came up with on the spot. Either way, I'm glad for the things on the best list and less than so of the things on the worst list.

What's on your lists?

Top Ten Favourite Days of the Year

Last week was the start of Daylight Savings Time (DST) and, as the day wound down and it was still light outside at dusk, it got me to thinking that DST – not just the idea behind it but the first day of it – is one of my favourite days of the year. It could very well be my number one favourite day of the year. Well, maybe. Suffice it to say, I love when it rolls around.

As I enjoyed the longer daylight, I started to think about my favourite days of the year - what are they and why they are my favourite days? As a result, I’ve come up with my Top Ten Days of the Year. Naturally, you might think that my anniversary or my birthday would be on the list but they’re not. That isn’t to say that those days aren’t important and that I’m not glad for those events. I am – especially when I think of how I was dying when I was born - but I think days like those go into their own special category as special case, natural favourite things (although, if I do my Top Ten Least Favourite Days, my birthday could appear in that list). The Top Ten List I’ve come up with doesn’t have any of those ‘gimme’ or ‘duh’ days and the days aren’t listed in any particular order. So, without further ado, here they are:

1.        Daylight Savings Time. Like most people, when there’s less light I can get irritable and sometimes I can even feel a little depressed but that’s not why I like DST. I like it because, even though, I am somewhat of a professed homebody, I do like it when it’s light outside. It just, literally and metaphorically, make the day longer. As a busy human being, when it gets dark, I tend to shut down and view the day as over. When there’s more light, whether it’s real or not, there just seems to be more time. It also just, simply, feels good. Some people I know complain that it means they lose an hour and they’re tired but the effects of an hour’s less sleep diminish. The longer daylight hours, at least, last a few months longer.

2.       The winter’s first snowfall. Anyone who knows me might find this surprising because those people know I have a love/hate relationship with snow. It’s pretty to look at but it’s also dangerous, causes major inconveniences, and takes time away from my already busy life. My wife, family and friends will attest that I’ve referred to it as “white shit.” So, why is it on my list? Well, because it is pretty to look at and it does offer some – this is going to sound corny – warm, fuzzy feelings and thoughts of coziness, younger days, the holidays and new and exciting things. You might say the hate part of my relationship with snow is because I didn’t grow up with it; my first encounter with snow wasn’t until I was sixteen. Not growing up with snow is also why I have the love part.

3.       The first cool day in October. Autumn begins sometime in late September but it’s the first cool day in October that has a special feeling for me. The early Fall is one of my favourite times of the year but it’s that first day when you have to wear a sweater or sweatshirt to work, put the flannel PJs on that gets me. There’s a certain crispness and something clean in the air. It also makes me start to think of the holiday season that include into Thanksgiving and Christmas.

4.       The opening day of the English football season. I’ve been a football (soccer) fan for 32 years and an Arsenal fan for as long as I’ve been a football fan. So, in the same way a Yankees supporter look forward to spring training and the opening day of the baseball season, I look forward to the opening day of the English Premier League. I love football, especially English football, I love Arsenal and I love that cable television and the internet allows me to watch and/or listen to just about every Arsenal match of the season. Even though I’m not there in London, or wherever my team is playing, I can smell that distinct aroma of fresh grass and fresh grass in cool autumn air.

5.       January 1^st. No, this isn’t because it’s the start of a new year and all that is supposed to bestow upon us. Really, it’s because it’s the start of the midseason transfer window for European football and it’s an exciting time of anticipation and disappointment to see who’s leaving this time and who’s going to that time and what trades and deals Arsenal are or are not making.

6.       The first day after the last day of school. I’m a school teacher – when I’m not writing and not being a Taekwondo instructor – so the last day of school is always exciting. Listen folks, it’s as exciting for teachers as it is for students. Let’s not be coy about it. We all look forward to it. Other than my first three years out of college, when I had a job that ran for twelve months and not just ten, I’ve been in and around schools all my life. The first day after the last day of the school year is like a breath of fresh air.

7.       My son’s birthday. This, you might be thinking, should fall in that special case, ‘gimme’ and ‘duh’ category. Perhaps it should. For me, though, it really slapped me in the face but not because I’m a father and we’re talking about my son’s birthday. That’s just a ‘duh.’ My son’s birthday has added significance to me because we’re best friends and because, while I am still very much a flawed man, I’m a better man every day because of him. Additionally, I see him on his birthday and he’s aware that it’s a special day for him. He knows there’s going to be cake and presents but without any kind of selfishness or self-centredness. His demeanour is full of innocence; an innocence I know will one day disappear but one that I can witness and appreciate, unlike the innocence I possessed at that age. It makes me think of what Jesus said needing to be childlike - not childish – to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Children are Heaven on Earth.

8.       Thanksgiving Day. I love the holiday season and Thanksgiving starts it all. (Yes, some of you start it with Halloween but Halloween falls in my list of least favourite days; although, with my son’s enjoyment of it, I’m starting to warm up to it.) I love Thanksgiving, too, for the Macy’s Parade. I love watching it, seeing the Broadway performances, seeing everyone dressed up in New York City, the balloons and floats and, of course, Santa at the end. Like I said, it excites me for the upcoming holidays but it also brings me to a childlike state and lets me be free, albeit just for one day, of any and all adult pressures and worries.

9.       The day after Thanksgiving. No, this has nothing to do with Black Friday. I have gone to the stores and there is a lot of excitement and the crowds and such are all part of the season. The day after Thanksgiving, though, is the start of the secular Christmas season and, while I believe Christ MUST be kept in Christmas, I also like the red and green, the bells, carols and decorations that stay with us for a couple of months.

10.   Marathon Sunday. Many marathons are run on Sundays but if you’re from the New York area this can only refer to first Sunday of November. That’s when 40,000 plus people run the New York City Marathon. I love this day. There’s so much anticipation leading up to it, so much celebration. Also, I’ve run it twice and I want to do it again. I first ran it in 1995; twelve years after I watched a delay of it on TV in Hong Kong and vowed I would one day run it. Maybe it’s because I’ve run this race or that I’m in the New York area, living next door in New Jersey, and that, if I were in Boston, I’d feel this way about the Boston Marathon but there’s something truly special and powerful about 40,000 runners and tens of thousands of assistants, organisers and volunteers coming together to make the even work and for everyone to have his or her own unique experience. Each runner’s reasons for entering are different but they’re all coming together with one thing one their minds – finish the race, cover 26 miles and 385 yards and conquerthe monster that is a marathon and the need that made them have to run it.

So, that’s my Top Ten Favourite Days of the Year. What are yours? Do we share any? Think about what yours are and do share. Thanks for reliving my year.

Familiarity

I'm a fan of Arsenal Football Club. If you've read my blogs you'll know that. This season, we, Arsenal (like every true sports fan I've become one with my team), got off to a horrible start. Now, comfortably in fifth place in the English Premier League, and on a very good run of form since late September/early October we seem to be headed in the right direction as the season enters its second half.

In world football, January is the in-season transfer window. Players come and go and sometimes there are big signings and sometimes younger players go out on loan to other teams to gain valuable playing experience. So far, Arsenal has made just one signing. It's a two-month loan deal with Thierry Henry, arguably one of the best players ever to don a pair of studs and one of the best - if not THE best - player to have worn Arsenal kit. (He's definitley one of my favourites but I do have to admit that Denis Bergkamp and Pat Jennings rank higher than him in that regard. Sorry Thierry. I still love you. Haha.) This, you see, is Henry's second stint with Arsenal. He's the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored 226 goals, before his loan move.

Even though we're doing  relatively well, we need to do better. Last Monday, we had an FA Cup match against Leeds United, a lower division team, and while we were dominating we could not break through and score. That is, until Henry came on as a substitute, received a sublime pass from Alex Song and, just like he'd down countless times before, trapped the ball and curled it deftly into the far corner of the goal. Final score: Arsenal 1 Leeds 0. I had a moment of hysterical celebration, falling off my sofa and pushing the coffee table forward to find myself sitting on the floor with my arms raised and screaming like I'd scored the goal. There was even a moment when I felt I might start bawling my eyes out. By the way, that goal takes Henry's Arsenal scoring tally to 227 and counting.

Henry's only going to be playing with Arsenal until around March or late February when he returns to the NY Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, America's professional football league, where he will likely finish his playing career. However, when Henry scored, there was an immediate feeling of hope that we will go on to win trophies this season the way we had when Henry was in his prime. It's, perhaps, a far reach and an unrealsitic one but watching him play again in Arsenal's red and white and scoring gave me that feeling. Feeling that we will go on to win everything - or even anything - may be just plain silly but I think Henry's experience and skill, which is still there, can lift his teammates' in addition to getting us some positive results on the pitch.

I've enjoyed this season so far, especially when we've played well and won. The next two months, though, I'll enjoy it for different reasons. With Henry back on the team, it's almost like running into an old friend. You reminisce about the old times and, as you're doing that, you create new times; things you'll reminisce about when you see each other after another long separation.

Our next match is on Sunday, away at Swansea. It's at 11am New York time and I'll be sitting on my sofa, probably wearing my Arsenal jersey, cheering my team and my old 'friend.'

Fathers and Sons and Football

I posted a blog last March called "Father and Sons and Martial Arts" that talked about how my son, Jude, was (and he still does) coming home from day care and getting into martial arts stances and throwing kicks and punches in the air. I talked about how proud I was because, as a longtime martial artist myself, I'd love it if Jude followed in my footsteps and studied Taekwondo or Karate or Escrima or whatever martial art he gets into.

This blog - perhaps a Fathers and Sons post will become an annual thing - is about my (our?) love affair with Arsenal Football Club, undoubtedly the best football team in London and in Europe. Yes, that is my biased assessment but what self-respecting football fan wouldn't stand by his team? Haha.

Ever since Jude was a baby, he'd watch football on TV with me. When he was newly born, he might be asleep or awake but we'd sit on the sofa and watch AFC take on whatever club it was scheduled to play that week. Whether it was a weekend Premier League match or a midway Champions League or Carling Cup fixture, we'd be on the sofa watching the match. Eventually, I'd buy him infant PJs and play wear from Arsenal. Yes, I'd order the clothes from England and not from a US retailer. As Jude got older, I bought him some replica jerseys for toddlers. His last jersey, from the 2009-2010, is getting smaller and he's due for new kit. (He's also been to Red Bulls Arena and watched the NY Red Bulls take on Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur play against Sporting Lisbon and he has a Thierry Henry NY Red Bulls replica jersey.)

In 2009, my wife gave me a Wii for Christmas. Naturally, I bought the current FIFA game. Recently, she bought me the 2012 edition. Watching me play, Jude cheers when I (as Arsenal, of course) score a goal, responding the way I would watching an actual live match. As his football education continues, he's gotten familiar with our team's jersey and he recognizes it whenever he sees it. If he's not wearing his and there's an Arsenal match on TV, he'll point at the players and say, "I have that shirt." He's also taken to calling Arsenal the "red team." Recently, he's learnt to say the team's name and when a replay of last month's Wolves-Arsenal match was on TV I asked him who was playing. Jude looked at the screen then to me and, with a huge smile, "Arsenal." You can imagine my joy and pride.

This week, it was Jude's turn for Show-And-Tell at day care. For that, he brought his Arsenal shirt and talked about it. He told the class that it was his favourite shirt, that it's the red soccer team and that he loves it. That was yesterday. On the way home, I asked him about what he said and after he recounted it he added, "And the team shirt is getting smaller. Can I buy a new one?"

You can imagine how I felt. This season Arsenal has its usual red home jersey but a two-tone blue away one. I asked Jude which one he wanted and he said the blue. Honestly, I don't think he's aware of what the blue one looks like but he likes the colour blue and looks great in it so, yes, he can have one. The best part, though, was that he asked for it. As the saying goes, "My work is done."

Before getting home, we stopped at the local Chinese takeout spot, ordered some food, hit the local drug store for a couple of things then proceeded to the soccer and lacrosse shop to see if they had an Arsenal jersey Jude's size. I'm glad they didn't because, as my wife pointed out, for his Arsenal stuff we have to order it from Arsenal so we can get BAS put on the back like we did with his two previous shirts. I guess with my wife and her football indoctrination, my work could also be done.

Another smile was put on my face when we walked into the shop. Seeing all the kits and soccer stuff, Jude said, "Oh...my...God" and when he saw a size five ball in the middle of the room he added, "Daddy, look at that soccer." That's what he calls the ball - soccer. He'd love to have kicked it around but there were other customers there and I didn't want him to disrupt them and I didn't want him to chance breaking something.

Well, just like with the martial arts, I'd love it if Jude really gets into football and plays, like I did but takes it further than I did, and if he really becomes a fan, especially of Arsenal. If he does neither of these things, I'll be okay with that too. As long as he finds his 'thing' and lives a happy, content and fulfilling life I'll be cool with that. But, if he were to become a Gooner like his dad that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Or, better still, play for Arsenal and, maybe even score....Hmm.

ARSENAL! ARSENAL! ARSENAL! GOAL! BAS! AND THERE'S THE FINAL WHISTLE. ARSENAL HAVE WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!

Hmm.