Unsatisfied with Coke in PET Bottles!

On February 10, 2013, Barangay Iponan in Cagayan de Oro celebrated the feast of San Guillermo (St. William the Hermit). It was also the birthday of Ethan, our eldest son. As our tradition, we celebrated it with a dinner with family and relatives.

A day before that, I bought 3 - 1.5 liters Coke (in PET bottles) in one of their mobile stall (plastic table with a big red umbrella) beside Westfield Subdivision at 3 for 130 pesos with a free coke glass. I thought Coke people were selling it at a discounted price as part of their promotional activities considering it was “fiesta” here. Regular price at stores near our place sells it at 45 pesos.

Happy with the bargain, I was ecstatic to tell to my wife with what I had bought. To my dismay, when I opened it to serve it to my guests, ONLY ONE was GOOD with enough carbonation and the rest had stale taste.

I felt being robbed by coke. If I had bought it in a regular store, I could have returned it and perhaps asked for a replacement but since I got it in their promo stall, they were already gone the next day.

So what did I learn from this experience?

I could have squeezed the bottle first. If it is too springy,  carbon dioxide must have already escaped from the PET bottle making it stale. I should have looked at the expiry date first because the two that got wasted were due to expire on February 26, 2013. They must have bargained it because it was nearing its best before date. And lastly, I should have stocked to the usual coke in glass bottles. It tasted better than in their PET counterpart, plus, I am helping save the environment by reducing plastic wastes.

Donaire vs Arce

www.hboboxinglive.us

Ring is set for another battle of Filipino and Mexican boxers as Nonito “The Flash” Donaire defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior featherweight title and the WBC diamond belt to Jorge “Travieso” Arce on December 15, 2012 at the Toyota Center, the Home of the Houston Rockets , in Houston, Texas.

Donaire (29), a 4-division world champion with a record of 30-1, 19 by KOs, is one of the busiest boxer as this fight will be his fourth this year and winning all of his previous 3 fights. Meanwhile, the challenger, Arce (32) is a veteran fighter with 61-6-2, 46 by KOs.

At weigh-in, Donaire weighed 121 ½ pounds while Arce hit the limit of 122 pounds. At a press conference, both fighters extended their respect for each other and promised a great fight as both of them trained well in their respective camps.

Many boxing fans dubbed the Donaire – Arce fight as another battle and rivalry of Filipino and Mexican boxers as the Pacquaio – Marquez 4 was still fresh from their minds where Filipino champion Manny Pacquaio was knocked out in the 6^th rounds by his fierce rival Juan Manuel Marquez. In one of the interviews with Donaire, he mentioned that he is not fighting for revenge on the loss of Pacquaio. Revenge will cloud his focus on the fight. He will be on the ring to defend his title and pour his attention in his strategies and deliver a good fight.

The fight will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, starting at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT(December 16, 11:30 AM, Philippine Time). The telecast will also include the exclusive replay of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 4, the fourth chapter of their epic rivalry and a favorite to win Fight of the Year. 

Packing Calories

With Christmas just around the corner, people are now planning for their Christmas party and Noche Buena. We usually prepare for a sumptuous dinner to be shared with the family at exactly 12 midnight or after the midnight mass. It is in these times that we always neglect our diet and gobble foods high in cholesterol, salt and sugar. It is during this holiday season that we let our bodies pack some more fats and add more weight.

But before picking up our spoon and fork and drool on those crispy lechon (roasted pig), succulent ham, soft and flavorful humba (braised pork belly), hot and oily bulalo (beef marrow stew),  creamy mango float and other noche buena regulars, let us be aware that:

1.   Every bit of those food that you put in your mouth will be absorbed by your body and every gram of it has its equivalent (1 gram of fat = 9 calories; 1 gram of protein = 4 calories; 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories; 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories).

2.   On a daily 2,000-calorie balanced diet, you need to consume 50 g of protein, 300 g of carbohydrates, 65 g of fat (20 g of saturated fat, 300 mg of cholesterol) and 25 g of fiber.

3.   Therefore, eating a plate full of slices of lechon and ham, humba, pasta, desserts in one meal can be packed with fattening calories, harmful cholesterol, and deadly salt and sugars.

To give you an idea what I am talking about, here is an example of a typical Christmas or Noche Buena plate with computed calorie and cholesterol count.

1.    1 – serving Rice (1 cup) = 242 cal; 0 mg cholesterol

2.    2 – serving Lechon (200 g) = 484 cal; 190 mg cholesterol

3.    1 – serving Smoked Ham (100 g) = 122 cal; 22 mg cholesterol

4.    ½ – serving Humba (50 g) = 86 cal; 14 mg cholesterol

5.    ½ - serving Chopsuey (1/2 cup) = 50 cal; 0 cholesterol

6.    1 – slice Mango Float = 280 cal; 12 mg cholesterol

7.    1 – bottle Beer (330 mL) = 139 cal; 0 cholesterol

To sum up, you had 1,043 calories and 238 mg cholesterol in one EXTRA midnight meal! This is half of your daily calorie requirements and 80% of your cholesterol intake. No wonder it is in this holiday season that a lot of people gained weight and got heart problems.

With the extra calories you had, you need 2 hours of high impact aerobics or 2 hours of non-stop jogging or 5 hours of walking to burn out the excess calories.

It is important that we should watch out our food intake by choosing the right food and eating in moderation those that are high in fat and cholesterol and be prepared to go to the gym to sweat out and burn out those calories.

The shocking loss of PACMAN

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez  rivalry ended with a big bang. With Pacquaio falling flatly on the canvass in the final seconds of the 6^th round, Filipinos were shocked to see that their boxing hero succumbed to the right hook of Marquez. The hysteria of Jinky Pacquiao at the ringside as her husband planked for a few seconds added more drama to the action-packed fight.

We somehow anticipated that not all the time our hero will win his fights, but should not end this way! This horrible loss will taint Pacquiao’s great record as an 8-division world champion. It only showed that heydays had an end and not all endings are pleasant.

Looking at the fight, both fighters showed their greatest performance ever in their respective careers. Rounds 1 and 2 exchanges were equal as they tried to measure one’s strength and tactics. When Pacquiao was downed in the third round, he obviously got more aggressive that he had also floored Marquez in the fifth round and battered Marquez that his face was badly swollen with blood dripping to the canvass. In the middle of the sixth round, Pacquiao was clearly on the advantage and even pushed to finish it but the right hook of Marquez stunned him as he fell to the canvass face first and never recovered.

Many observations and blaming had come out after the fight. Many said that Pacquiao’s conversion in his religion contributed to his loss. In all of his previous fights, his rosary was always visible and he only took it off just before the bell rings at the fight. His being a politician was also blamed as it misplaced his attention and focus on his boxing career. Others said he did not train well  because he had other commitments to attend to.

Dwelling to those tirades is an insult to Marquez capability as a fighter, boxing tactician and counter-puncher. Marquez is not a lowly boxer that defeated our champion. Remember, he is also a world champion that was beaten and won by a hair by Pacquiao in judge’s decision. Marquez had also trained hard for this fight and this win is his redemption.

As I see it, both fighters were great, prepared to fight and determined to win and it was just a matter of who will hit the devastating blow first. And this time, it was Juan Manuel Marquez  who  got the right side of the coin and the nod from Lady Luck.

Watch Paquiao vs Marquez here!

This is it! How will this end?

We Watched the Pacquiao vs Marquez Fight for the fourth time!

Pacquiao got knocked out in the 6th rounds.

We enjoyed it. I hope this will be Manny's last fight. Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez showed to the world that he is WBO greatest fighter of the decade!