Although I am sure this post will not be read by Matthew himself, I still want to congratulate him for winning the gold. He is an inspiration to all, gay or straight. I, for one, am inspired. No doubt his story will serve as inspiration to athletes and even those who are aspiring to be one.

But of course, his victory is more significant for us. Since he is the only out gay male Olympic athlete, he is certainly special. In some ways, it is a statement to the sporting world that athletic success is sexual orientation-neutral. Hopefully, it can spark changes in sport culture.

I only knew about Matthew Mitcham when I read an article about him and his coming out. I even blogged about it here. Since then, I have been looking forward to the Olympics and see him perform.

It was unfortunate he failed to medal at the 3m springboard. But it was awesome to see him win gold at the 10m platform. Besting the Chinese divers expected to win.

I am happy for him. When I was watching him crying while being congratulated by the athletes and coaches (I even saw Alexandre Despatie come up to him and gave him a hug.), I kept saying, "Good for you!"

He deserves this win. He earned it.

Although I didn't get to experience the Beijing Olympics in person, it has been very memorable. It has been very therapeutic as well.

It helped me get my mind off things while I was depressed. (Read previous posts regarding this.)

Compared to the last two Olympics (Sydney and Athens), this Summer games was the best I have watched. It was bigger and better. I have greater understanding and appreciation for the different sports especially the three events I follow, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Diving.

I watched my favorite athletes win in their respective sport. In gymnastics, although Alexei Nemov already retired, I still watched and enjoyed it. In swimming, I witnessed Michael Phelps win his eight golds. In diving, I cheered for Alexandre Despatie (pictured above left) and Matthew Mitcham win silver and gold, respectively.

What makes this Olympics even more memorable is the sight of my niece imitating the gymnasts as we watched the events. Not successfully, of course. But it was priceless.

Also, I didn't expect me and brother bond over the Olympics. We watched and shared our opinions about the sports event we were watching. We haven't done anything like that before. It was the first time we bonded like that. It's refreshing.

Now that the Beijing Olympics has officially ended. I will have to wait another 4 years for the next one in London. I wish I'll get the chance to experience it in person.

At last, I am back. I have overcome the slump I was in for the past 10 days.

Ever since receiving the bad news more than a week ago, I have been depressed. (Read my previous posts to know the reason.)

I thank my mom for the encouraging words to help me bounce back and move on.

Watching the Olympics also helped keeping me occupied. (I'll post something about it.)

If you read my previous post, you will know that I have recently received bad news. I underestimated its impact on me. Just a couple of days after learning the news, it still hurts. I'm still a little depressed.

It has thrown me for a loop. I am in a dark place again. I'm trying my darndest to move on as fast as possible.

My mind was taken off of it for maybe a couple hours when I watched my favorite niece (she's more like a daughter to me) perform at her school's foundation day yesterday. But as I am writing this post, the bitter taste of rejection still lingers.

It has caused me to evaluate my life yet again.The feelings of getting nowhere and of second-guessing the decisions I have made in my life are thrusted forward.

Now, I am wishing for a sign that will tell me what I should do with my life and what direction I should take to the correct path.

When I am old, I don't want to look back and realize that I have made nothing of my life. I conclude now that that is my worst fear. I regret realizing that only now.

I received bad news today. No, no one died.

I was waiting for the result of something I had in the works this past month. I have learned this afternoon that the result was not in my favor. Sorry, I don't want to disclose the details.

I am using this blog as a sounding board and somehow ease the hurt a little bit.

At first, my heart was not really set on it. But when opportunity knocks, you answer. I didn't have anything to lose. I believed it was a long shot anyway. I thought, if it fell through, it will be okay and I can move on immediately.

As the weeks went by, I began to want it. There was a hint of hope. I underestimated its impact on me. Now that it has fallen through, I was really, really hurt. It kind of hurts the psyche.

I learned about the result while I was at work. People at the office don't know anything about it. I have never disclosed it to anyone and it's going to stay that way. But I felt the hurt, I still feel it actually. It was overwhelming that I couldn't hold back my tears. I went straight to the bathroom and let it out there. Better to let it out than to hold it in. I went out a few minutes afterwards. No one knew I cried.

I will bounce back from this. But I'm sure that I will feel the hurt for at least a few more days.

F**k, I got a traffic ticket this afternoon.

I didn't do anything wrong. I know, a lot of people say that when they get pulled over. But really, I didn't do anything wrong.

This is what happened. If your from the Philippines, do you know the Hermosa area in Manila? The intersection of Rizal Ave and Abad Santos, right below the LRT. So anyway, the traffic light was still green so I continued through the intersection. But there was some kind of traffic congestion so I have to stop in the middle of the intersection. Take note, the traffic light was still green when I was in the middle of the intersection and there were other cars behind me too. Everything started moving again as the traffic light turned yellow. I was then asked to pull over.

I was puzzled. I don't know what I did for me to get pulled over. So like a good citizen, I stopped and gave the enforcer my license. The officer told me that I still continued while the light was red. I thought to myself, what the f**k? What was he talking about? I proceeded through the interesection because the light was still green. Not even yellow. And why was I the only one pulled over when there were other cars behind me? It's a f**king witch hunt.

So I let him write the ticket. He went to the rear of the vehicle and started getting my vehicle information. He took quite some time writing it down. I then realized, I know what he's waiting for. Unfortunately, he's not going to get it.

You see, in the Philippines, some traffic enforcers accept bribes. In fact, some even expect it. If they deny this, then that's bulls**t. You can even ask motorists all over the metro. I'm sure everyone will confirm it.

But he picked the wrong guy. I would rather pay for the ticket than to give him something. It was about noon. He just have to get his lunch money from somebody else. Not from me.

When I got the ticket, it was stated in the violation that I was reckless driving. How was I reckless driving when all I did was stop in the middle of the intersection because of some car congestion while the traffic light was still green? The enforcer has some imagination on him.

He didn't even ask me to sign the ticket. The traffic ticket must have my signature to be valid, right?

I plan to contest this. I don't know how. The ticket only says that it can be contested. No instructions on how to contest.

Yesterday, the Beijing Olympics has officially begun. I am struggling to find local channels that cover it.

We recently got our cable disconnected because of our cable provider's poor service. Almost all the channels were snowy and/or shaky. It was unwatchable.

I only caught the torch lighting on TV. I missed the opening (I heard it was spectacular, a feast for the eyes) and the parade of countries. At least now there is YouTube. I'll just watch it there.

I have been watching Olympics coverage since 2000. I only follow three sports. Diving, Swimming and Gymnastics. For obvious reasons, of course. But aside from watching the eye candy, I have begun to understand the sports and have been very interested.

I have my favorites. In gymnastics, I look forward to Alexei Nemov (although, I think he retired already.) In swimming, I follow Michael Phelps of the USA and Ian Thorpe of Australia. In diving, I am looking forward to two athletes new to me. Alexandre Despatie and Matthew Mitcham (he came out last May.)

For the next couple of weeks I'll be glued to the TV. Watching the three sports I like. I will share my thoughts about it on this blog.

Hey there guys!

It has been almost a month since I last updated the site. To be honest, I haven't been in the mood to post lately. In fact, I haven't been in the mood in almost all the things I do. I haven't worked out for almost a month. I haven't been my 100% in my work either.

Also, I had a sore eye this week. Bad timing. I had a very important meeting last tuesday and my sore eye started the day before. It's a good thing it was only on my right eye. I don't know how and where I got it. I have to wear shades whenever I go out.

I just hope I am over the slump I was in and get back to my normal activities.