My Ultimate Things

Now that the Heads Up Summer Clinic has ended, I have nothing to do tomorrow. I'm looking back at the past four Fridays when I was looking forward to the next day's Ultimate event. I miss packing my things the night before and thinking about how the drills were going to be the following day.

Heads Up made my summer a blast. I didn't go (or haven't gone) to the beach (But there's still a chance! There are still three weeks before summer ends. Hehe), but I had my own share of fun in the sun. And here are my fun-in-the-sun tools, my Ultimate paraphernalia:

[caption id="attachment_108" align="aligncenter" width="296" caption="The Heads Up disc, which was included in the player's kit. This is my very first disc, which I got in the very first non-Meralco field, Ultimate event I joined. Hence, this is a treasure. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_109" align="aligncenter" width="296" caption="My Heads Up jersey and my sporty shorts, which I use alternately with a pink one. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_111" align="aligncenter" width="296" caption="A pair of long sleeves, which protected my arms from the blazing sun. When I took it off... voila! My hands were darker than my arms. Hehe. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_112" align="aligncenter" width="296" caption="My running shoes. I'm looking for a pair of cleats. My friend, Micah, suggested that I buy one in Sports Warehouse. "][/caption]

And before I end this post, let me share with you another photo of my team:

[caption id="attachment_113" align="aligncenter" width="369" caption="Team Kinse Mil. From Isha's cam. Whoever shot this photo, again, thank you.  "][/caption]

Can't wait for May 17 - Beginners' Night at the Meralco Field. :)

This is it! Ultimate love!

So here I am again, blogging about Ultimate Disc (a.k.a Frisbee), the sport I love. And here I am, about to share some good news.

The Heads Up Summer Clinic concluded last weekend (May 1 and 2) with a tournament. I belonged to the beginners' division, with a lot of other beginners. And boy! I had so much fun! I loved the sport even more.

It's my first ever tournament, and yeah, our team won 3rd Place. There were eight teams for the beginners' division, and our Team Kinse Mil (our team) won 3rd Place. How's that for my first tournament? :) And yes, I love my teammates even if it was my first time to play with them. Our rapport was remarkable. And our coach.. he's just so great. Coach Mark Navarra was so encouraging and supportive of our team. He was like a kuya (older brother) to us. He was such a leader in assigning roles to each of us, in teaching us what to do, in coaching us while on the field.

I also got my very first Ultimate medal (each member of the winning teams got one, with the first placer receiving medals plus a trophy). And I'm also happy with how I've improved in the sport. I was able to catch the disc at the end zone, thus scoring a point for my team. There were times when I heard Coach Mark say, "Nice cut, Kat" (I hope he really said that and it wasn't just in my head! Hehe). There was an instance when I was able to defend and prevent the girl I was guarding from catching the disc (on which our team captain said, "Nice D"). I had a foul though. I didn't intend that. I didn't see that the girl I was guarding (this is a different instance from the one I mentioned earlier) already had the disc. The disc was high up. We both jumped - she to catch it and I to knock it down. I knocked it down, but apparently, she already touched it. Or did I touch her? Either way, it's a foul. But what's good in Ultimate is that disputes are easily settled. No more arguments. It's called the spirit of the game. The disc was given again to the thrower and we went on with the game.

Now, I'm looking forward to Beginners' Nights at Meralco Field even more. I hope I could also play in more tournaments which are suited for my skill level. But I need to practice more before I could do that. So off to Meralco field on Monday nights and do my best to learn from and enjoy the drills and practice games. If my friends could join me in this sport, that would be more fun. But if not, it's okay. I'm loving Ultimate, and I hope Ultimate and I wouldn't break up soon. :)

Here are photos from Heads Up:

[caption id="attachment_100" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="The Field. Ateneo De Manila University High School Field "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_91" align="aligncenter" width="369" caption="Team Kinse Mil during the awarding "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_93" align="aligncenter" width="369" caption="Team Kinse Mil after a game, wacky pose"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_92" align="aligncenter" width="369" caption="Team Kinse Mil after a game"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_95" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Yours truly with teammate, Isha"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_98" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="With teammates, Isha and Bryan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_99" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="With teammate Ina, who was awarded as one of the Mythical 7. I learned a lot from this girl. "][/caption]

Team photos taken by somebody from Heads Up. Whoever you are, thank you. :)

Even more frisbee love

Day 2 (April 17) of the Heads Up Ultimate Frisbee Summer Clinic was bad for me. I sucked big time. I had a messy performance during the drills and games. But the good thing about it was that the things I needed to work on were pointed out to me by fellow participants.

Day 3 (April 24) was better. I guess I performed well, judging not by my throws and catches (which were so-so, especially my forehand throw. I was like, "What's going on with my forehand throw?"), but by how my team performed. We had a smooth flow - the throwing of the discs, the stacking (or how the players position themselves in the field), defense, and cuts. At the end of the session, I realized that a participant's performance is not gauged on how well he/she throws and catches the disc alone, but if he/she is able to do something for his/her team to perform well.

I really love this sport. Since this is a self-officiating sport, everyone is honest. No hotheads on the field. And everyone is just so good-spirited before and after the game. No sore losers.

I hope my friends will also find joy in this sport. I hope we could simply gather, one afternoon, in an open space, and enjoy throwing and catching a disc. That would be really nice, right? :)

Frisbee love

This afternoon's Ultimate Disc Summer Clinic was SUPER fun. I'm happy that I mustered the courage to sign up for it and stop underestimating myself. And besides, the clinic is for beginners like me, for us to improve in that sport.

Even if I didn't have a friend with me, I still signed up and went to the clinic. My frisbee buddy, Micah, is already in Singapore. Had she been here, we would've gone to the clinic together. I'm really, really grateful because she introduced me to this fantastic sport. And what better way to show my gratitude than by keeping on playing.

And when we played the game after the drills, I realized that my playing wasn't so bad after all. I was able to guard properly, throw decently, and catch when the disc was thrown to me. There's just this one instance when my opponent, the person I was guarding, slipped out of my guard. She ran toward the disc, and I wasn't in front of her to block it. But the disc slipped out of her grasp, so it became our team's turn to be on the offense side. And since I was guarding her, I picked up the disc. And when I did, I heard our coach say "Go Kat". A teammate of mine ran toward the disc unguarded, and I was able to pass the disc to him using a forehand throw. A forehand throw! I was able to pass using a forehand throw! It's harder than the backhand throw, especially if you're a beginner. But at that moment, I saw myself make a nice forehand pass. Yes!

I can't wait for next Saturday's clinic. I just wish I have someone I can share my frisbee joys with, like my friend Micah. But I can share how happy I am with the sport through our online catching ups. And besides, she's going back to Manila next month. So there. For now, I'll keep on playing and enjoying the sport.

My Poems

So there, after a long while, I've posted poems again. I added the "Poems in Filipino" category because I am a Filipino, I'm proud to be one, and I also write poems in my own language. Sometimes, I get caught up with writing in English that I forget how beautiful my own language is.

I'm sorry I cannot translate to English my poems written in Filipino. I'm not a good translator, and there's a big chance that the meaning of the poem will be lost once I translate it to another language. Google Translate is useless in this case, too. I ended up laughing when I tried translating my poems using that tool.

So there. To my non-Filipino readers, I hope you continue to enjoy and appreciate my poems in English, no matter how irregular or infrequent my posts are. And to my readers, whether Filipino or not, thank you for reading and enjoying my works. Just keep coming back, okay? :)

The Mirror

It doesn't hide anything
A blemish, a pimple, a scar
It shows all marks
Beauty marks of being human.

It doesn't mask anything
A frown pretending to be a smile
A smile pretending to be sweet
No guessing games, no pretenses.

It shows everything
Revealing secrets long kept
Hidden pain, hidden suffering
Lingering sadness and lament.

So look at yourself in the mirror
There's a girl, boy, child, mother
Looking at you too.
Do you like what you see?

Or do you turn around
Wishing you could change it?
You can't, because it is you
And the mirror doesn't lie.

-Katherine Lopez
09 April 2010

Naghihintay

Makikita ba kita?
Sa dinami-dami
Ng mga mukha at ngiti
Sa buong unibersidad?

Makakasalubong ba kita?
Hindi ko alam ang iyong oras,
Kung ikaw ba’y dadaan
Sa pasilyong dadaanan ko rin?

Makakausap ba kita?
Maliban sa mga simpleng pagbating
Namumutawi sa ating mga labi
Kapag tayo’y nagkakatagpo?

Makikita mo ba ako?
Tititig sa aking mga matang
Tutok sa iyo, naghihintay,
Humihiling na ako’y makita mo?

Kayrami pang mga tanong
Na naghihintay ng mga sagot.
Ako ba’y mapagbibigyan,
O maghihintay na lamang?

-Katherine Lopez
04 Abril 2010