UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH COACH NASH RACELA

Last Sunday, we hosted a mini-get together for the San Beda Red Lions to celebrate the birthday of two of our stay-in alagas, Jover and Du. Jover took care of the guestlist, and on top of his list, was their former coach, Nash Racela, now assistant coach to Chot Reyes of the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA. It all began when we bumped into Coach Nash and his family at Cafe Bola in Araneta Center. It was a reunion of sorts since we haven't seen Coach Nash since he left San Beda, after a melodramatic episode and sad goodbyes. Jover went on to invite Coach Nash to his birthday blowout but we were not pinning our hopes on it since Coach said that they had a lot of out of town games and the day might fall on a game day. But we still kept wishing.

When the day came, we were still unsure if he will show up. All the other members of the team did not know he was coming. We kept it as a surprise. So everyone's jaws dropped when Coach came with his whole family! We just texted him our address, he didn't even ask for directions. We just found them at our doorstep with a San Miguel t-shirt, signed by all members of his team, for the birthday celebrant! It surely made Jover's day, and his Christmas for that matter.

The players were pleasantly surprised to see their former coach. As a mere spectator, I marveled at how they maintained their rapport. Coach Nash was not only a coach on court but a guardian in life. He constantly reminded the players to give priority to their studies. He even joked that he still knew someone from the Registrar's Office so he could monitor all their grades. He taught them of social graces and respect for others. He remembered each of the players' girlfriends. There was a nostalgic air around, blending perfectly with the cool Christmas breeze. They laughed as they reminisced about old times. During those trying times of Season 81, the players realized the road to glory was much much longer than the 2006 campaign. They were reminded that a quiet tactician helped engineer the team that we now call champions of the NCAA, the San Beda Red Lions.

Excerpts of the movie, Coach Carter, ran through my mind. Nash was a guiding light to these players. So now I understand how painful it was for these players to lose such an influence in their lives. But now, it became clear to both the players and Coach Nash, their ties was never broken. The bond was always there. Before Nash was the shepherd and the players, his herd. Now, they are friends...

This wonderful encounter gave me a different sense of Christmas. It was about facing the painful past before you look ahead into the bright future. I felt so happy watching them together, like they were never apart. I might never be able to translate into words what experience I had. But I know it changed me, and all the others present there that night.

Thank you, Coach Nash. It's nice having you around, again.

GREAT CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FINDS

Guilty as charged... I am a last minute Christmas shopper. I spent my Saturday morning till early afternoon running around Shangri-la Mall, finding gifts for my dear friends and loved ones. I made my preliminary hunting last Friday in titanic Mall of Asia but it was in Shangri-la where I did the bulk of the buying part, as I did the year before. I love shopping here, they have free giftwrapping, relatively few people compared to other shopping mall. If you arrive early enough in time for the opening of the mall, there are ample parking spaces for your convenience. And another thing, they recently introduced their valet parking service for a flat rate of P90. Really hassle free!

To Be Shirts

So I went up and down Shang for gifts for my cousin who just gave birth to her first-born, my fashionista sister, my dearest papy, and baby brother friends. It was here that I found the cutest tshirts for your trendy college boys. The brand is called 2B, located at the U section, 3rd floor of Rustan's Department Store. They have a wide variety of designs and interesting colors to choose from, although they have limited pieces per design. The best part? They cost from P475-P525 each, which came as a surprise to me since it is very seldom you find quality items at this price range inside Rustan's.


Baby Couture Diaper Bags

Another fab find was Baby Couture Diaper Bags. I was trying to find the perfect gift for my new cousin-mom. And then I saw their stand. It was a space along the corridors of Shang, I think it is on the 4th floor, situated in front of Ariston and Kid's Station. My cousin wasn't really adventurous with bag colors. She usually carried either black or brown bags. So I came up with a wonderful idea when I saw this bag.



It was 2 bags in one. You could remove the compartment where you place the baby stuff, as well as the matching changing mat. The outer bag was made of leatherette material and the baby compartment was in stripes.
I thought it was a brilliant idea making trendy diaper bags for the moms of today! For the affordable price of P845, I thought it was the perfect gift for her. I chose the yellow one so it would be a refreshing break in the colors of her bag collection. Since it was a gift, I guess she has no other choice but to use it. What a bully! :)

Tyler

I also spent some time in Tyler, buying a gift for my sister. I encountered a bitch of a saleslady. Pardon my language, but that was the best way to describe her. She was accommodating and all, she would smile at you while answering your questions. But it was something about how she looked at her customers, maybe guessing if that customer will be able to afford the items on her store or if I was there just to try on the stuff and not buy anything. Well, everyone knows Tyler is a spiffy store. When you enter the store, trendily dressed and well-made up salesladies would greet you in straight English. I don't know if it was a strategy to dictate what kind of customers would dare enter the store and look around.

Okay, I was asking her questions about a knitted shirt, if it was still available in other colors. She retorted back at me with a sweet tone and smile but she was starting to reveal her bitchy self. It wasn't my fault it her brain responded slowly like a Pentium II desktop. She kept bringing me the wrong items. But I was patient with her coz she looked pregnant to me. I do hope she was, otherwise, she just had a really big tummy. So I ended up buying just one bag. So I paid for it and waited for it to be giftwrapped. After getting my money, she left me waiting for my purchase not even informing me how long I had to wait for it since Tyler had their own giftwrapping service apart from Rustan's so I expected them to be faster. Instead of doing this, she just ignored me and attended to her rich sosyalera Chinese customers. It was so evident that she would judge her customers on the basis of their attire. It was Saturday for crying out loud, I was wearing a sports shirt and shorts, and sneakers. Yup okay, I wasn't in the mood to dress up just to command respect from snotty salesladies like her. I hate it when these salesladies do that, when they size you up on how much they think you cost. I was keeping myself from buying several items so I could prove a point. But I will not leave without putting up a fight. To get back at her, I tried on one of the white knits on display, and smeared my makeup on it. It was her fault, she made me try it on, knowing all too well that a girl with makeup on would rub off some of her face powder on it. So maybe, spiffy stores like Tyler should provide their customers with face covers while trying on garments, especially white ones to protect their merchandise. So you see, I will not be the aggrieved party here hahaha...


Despite that episode at Tyler, I had a blast shopping last Saturday. Although I came home dead broke and my feet and arms grimacing in pain after shopping and running around, I was happy with my stash. The recipients will be happy too, I'm sure! As my reward, I brought home a Wham Burger with Cheese and Honeyed Onions, acclaimed by me as the greatest burger of the moment. Mission accomplished!