JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

On Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 1500 hrs the national men’s rugby 15’s team the Philippine Volcanoes face the toughest challenge in their playing career. They will meet the top-seed and host nation Korea in the semifinal of the Division 1 Tournament at Ansan Wa~ Stadium in Ansan, Korea. At stake is a place in the Division 1 final, promotion to the Premier Division in Asian Rugby, and then a shot at the World Cup. We will get there, but first we need to win this.

It won’t be easy. The Volcanoes battle not just a powerful opponent eager to climb back into the Asian Top 5, they face an entire nation cheering their rugby team on to victory. Don’t let them do this alone.

We need you to come to Ansan Wa~ Stadium in Ansan, Korea on Wednesday to support your national rugby team. Your mere presence would mean so much to the Volcanoes, who have fought so hard and given up so much for a country that barely knows they exist. They don’t play for money or fame; they play for something that can’t be touched but is so powerful that it pulls them here from all over the world. They do it for Filipino pride.

Help them do this. Your presence will make the difference. See you on Wednesday; look for the flag.

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Please repost, tweet, post on your Facebook pages, just get the word out. Thank you! I emailed the embassy in Seoul, hope they answer, and the Buhay sa Korea website has been kind enough to post the announcement.

On Friday we attended the launch of My City, My SM at the SM mall in Masinag, Antipolo.

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Our regular contestants are exhausted and we need to find a new schtick (as do you).

While the Weekly LitWit Challenge goes on hiatus, we’re doing book reviews and author interviews and bringing back our hysterically popular Jock With A Book feature.

AP photo from tennis.com.

At Roland Garros the third-round match between Novak Djokovic (2) and Juan Martin del Potro (25) has been suspended on account of darkness.

Djoker who is gunning for his 40th consecutive win in 2011 (he has not dropped a match since December) won the first set, 6-3.

Delpo, whose rise to the top following his 2009 US Open final victory over Roger Federer was halted by a wrist injury, took the second set, 6-3.

Djoker has been unbeatable this year, but Delpo has the power to blow anyone off the court. I think we’re in for a thrill ride.

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Oy, that was quick. It’s Djoker in four: 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

by Phil Abraham of the Philippine Volcanoes national men’s rugby team

I learned about rugby ten years ago from my pastor who grew up in Kenya. When I attended the University of Illinois in Champaign I started playing rugby, and I continued to play for my pastor’s old team, the Chicago Lions, when I moved back home.

A couple of years ago a friend emailed me about the Philippine national rugby team. I was hesitant to join right away because I still was trying to find my balance as a newlywed starting a family and a career in education, and dealing with rugby opportunities in the US. I was also intimidated by the idea of flying all the way to Manila for try-outs. The following year my wife Averi and I decided to live in Australia before we pursued graduate degrees. In Sydney I met Coach Expo Mejia and the Philippine Volcanoes.

As the team celebrates its victory at A5N last year, Phil Abraham (left) points to his wife’s name tattooed on his arm.

Last year’s training camp in Manila marked the first time I was in the Philippines since I was nine years old. It was an amazing experience reconnecting with family, learning about my culture, and representing my heritage on the pitch with a victory at the A5N championships in India. Even my wife was able to connect with family that she had never met before.
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Kiwi orchard, Mount Manganui, New Zealand. Photo by JZ.

You want to be a vegan? Fine. You want to follow a macrobiotic diet? Fine. You choose to subsist on nuts and berries or air and mesclun, good for you. Bravo, you are a stronger person than I. But never attempt to lecture me about my choices. Do not try to convert me to your dietary regimen. Such a move would be more dangerous to your health than eating a whole cow at each meal. You know how werewolf hunters pack a silver bullet? I carry a special bullet made of lard and gristle, and I won’t hesitate to use it on you.

At one time or another many of us have sworn to abide by some health regimen that will allow us to live forever. Apart from the over-promise, these regimens fail because they are too difficult to stick to. A radical overhaul of your lifestyle and habits is not easy to do, no matter what talk show hosts and motivational speakers say. (I suspect that many of them remain in business because no one has stuck with their programs long enough to debunk their premises.) So the wonderful health regimen remains a statement of intentions.
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