Phenom Out

Alyssa Valdez

Every little thing she does is magical in the eyes of her many followers or even detractors.

Whenever she's on the service line, there's this unmistakable roar of the crowd reverberating in the confines of the playing venue.

Every time she would soar for a hit, the crowd goes wild in anticipation more so if it's a successful spike.

One time, she wiped her sweat off with her jersey accidentally revealing those abs and the crowd went nuts.

She's mobbed every time she's headed to the dugout, the team bus or her car.

That's how popular the young Batangueña wearing Ateneo De Manila University Lady Eagles' jersey number 2 is. She's undoubtedly the face of Philippine volleyball today.

Perhaps it's the demeanor inside and outside the court that has endeared her more to her countless fans.

Perhaps it's her quiet and unassuming ways.

Perhaps it's because of her being a clutch player. The type who won't shy away during crunch time. Like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Lebron James and Steph Curry in the NBA, she won't hesitate to take over during the crucial stages of a match.

Her attacking skills is unrivaled on Philippine shores. She has proven that time and again even in international competitions - the Asian Under 23 held here and the SEA Games in Singapore.

The last UAAP match she played however, was not the most fitting of finales after her school relinquished the crown to their bitter arch-rivals.

No three-peat. No championship send-off. No storybook ending.

Still, she went out swinging up to the last point like a true western gunslinger. She was in tears but didn't look defeated.

She held center court, made the rounds of the venue, did her own lap of champions, hugged the victors and waved to thousands of supporters amidst a deafening cheer.

She then gathered her teammates for what would be the last time, assured each and everyone there's nothing to be ashamed of as they gladly wore that hard-earned silver medal.

Five seasons, two championships, three runner-up finishes, three MVP plums and a host of other individual accolades later, her collegiate career is done.

Phenom out.

Take a bow Alyssa Valdez!

Reelin' in the Years

Donald Fagen

In the background, Donald Fagen asks:

Are you reelin' in the years? Stowin' away the time?

Then, I can't help but air guitar to Elliott Randall's famous solo.

As Steely Dan's debut album Can't Buy a Thrill progressed to track 7, "Fire in the Hole," I took a quick sip of coffee.

Caught a glimpse of my image in the mirror. I sighed and said: "Jeez..."

Hair and mustache now showing streaks of gray, face all wrinkled and a bulging midsection to boot. Worst of all, there's my failing health staring right at me i.e. impaired vision, hypertension, hemorrhoids, heartburn, back pains, spasms, etc.

Where have all the years gone?

Well, you better believe it old man, the 80's were long gone!

There was a time I detested being called "kid" by everyone. Thirty years later, everyone's calling me "sir." Good thing I haven't been offered a seat yet while standing inside a bus or a train. That'll be a hoot, oh yeah!

I'm definitely reelin' in the years but very thankful at the same time for all the blessings that have come along the way. The least I can do is say thanks and give praise to God.

Now, back to the chorus.

"Are you reelin' in the years?"

Well, Donald my man, you should know better!

Best of Friends

Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina

School year 1982-1983 was about to end.

My friends and I were on our senior year. All we had to do is pass the final exams and we're gonna be graduates.

Not so fast lads. There's another requirement to fulfill - a play for our Public Speaking class.

Instead of joining other groups, we reached a consensus to keep ours intact.

Just the six of us. Nobody else but us.

An all-male group?

Why not?

We'll base our play off a short novel from our Filipino class, translate the title and dialogues in English, task the biggest guy to play the father's role, the youngest as the black sheep and the rest as brothers.

Piece of cake. We got ourselves a play.

I came up with the initial scenes and then allowed the others to develop it further. We then retreated to a friend's house to finish and rehearse our pre Quentin Tarantino opus. For inspiration, we have Rainbow's "Temple of the King" blaring in the background.

As I was going through a stack of tapes, I noticed a few LPs on a shelf like Elton John's 17-11-70, The Jackson Browne led No Nukes and Loggins & Messina's Best of Friends.

I stopped playing the Slow Rock compilation tape and then cued up the Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina album on the turntable.

As soon as that all too familiar acoustic guitar intro of "Danny's Song" came to life, I was on cloud nine. Before the tune could fade out, I hurriedly lifted the tonearm and gently dropped the needle once more on that very same mark.

Then again, again and again.

Could've gone for hours replaying the same tune but my friends were already yelling in unison as I almost forgot about the damn play!