News Flash: New Flash

This past week, I ordered an external flash for my camera because Canon was holding special rebates on many of their products. I've wanted an external flash for several months now, and patience has paid off. Many photography books I have read have mentioned the need for a good flash to get quality shots in low light situations. On Thursday, my Canon Speedlite 580EX II arrived from Amazon. Of course Sundae was my test subject as always.

The only downside to this external flash is the size. It looks gigantic on top of the camera and the stupid thing won't fit in my current camera bag with my Canon 40D SLR in it. Now I am in the market for a new camera bag. This is the price I have to pay for my latest hobby.

Going Rave Green

Susan and I both watched our first live Major League Soccer game. The Seattle Sounders FC were making their debut appearance in Texas versus FC Dallas. I was so stoked up for this game that I bought a jersey two weeks prior to the game so I could represent my hometown team colors.

It had been raining all morning. Not until an hour before game time had the rain stopped and skies became clear. Even though it was chilly out, I didn't want to put on a jacket as I wanted my rave green to show.

It was Drew Carey promotional night and the stadium was giving away free gag glasses. The irony in that is Drew Carey is a minority owner in the Seattle Sounders FC. At half time, the FC Dallas promotional staff ended up giving away 2 trips to Seattle for a future match by having two contestants play a custom made Plinko game. The first contestant won on his very first chance.

Pizza Hut Park is very intimate as it is not a large stadium so you feel really close to the action. The downfall to the park is that it is actually located in Frisco, TX, a city far north of downtown Dallas. Location, poor weather during the day and the fact that FC Dallas is the last place team in the league all contributed to a lack of attendance. The stadium seemed barely half full and we moved up a few row because people occupied our seats. The only thing that would have made the night perfect is if the Sounders won. The Sounders had an amazing first half and didn't convert good chances, but played awful in the second half. Missing some key players due to injury and prior red cards truly hurt our chemistry. Luckily (but unfortunately) the Sounders ended up with a 1-1 draw versus the worst team in the league.

My next Sounders game will be in Seattle come June and I'll be ready with my rave green jersey. It will we an entirely different atmosphere as I'll probably lose my voice that night. And hopefully the result will be a win.

More Than Just a Loss

I've just started my third season playing co-ed indoor soccer as goalie. I love playing goalie because I don't have the ball skills to play anywhere else on the field. We have a solid team, but there are a few teams in the league that are better than us. In my first game of the new season last night, we were playing one of them.

The game started off pretty even and then midway through the first half the flood gates opened up. We were already down 3-0, where girl goals count as two. Our entire team was pushed way too far up trying to get us back in the game. Their defense was able to clear a ball to midfield over our defense. I got too ambitious and though I could beat one of their girls to the ball even though I had a long way to go. When I realized I could not make it, I started to backpedal so I could try to block it with my hands. I barely got back into the box, but by then it was too late. She kicked it low right between my legs. Backpedaling and crossing my legs led to a disastrous combination. I tripped and fell straight onto my behind. And she scored. I had to laugh off my clumsiness, but my tail bone sure didn't think it was funny for the rest of the game. We went on to lose the game 8-3.

It was a tough night in goal. With a little ice and rest, I'll be ready to go for our next game. Soccer is great, there are no ifs ands or butts about that.

Pound for Pound Champion

What an amazing day for Filipinos worldwide! Going into the fight between Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao and Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, I was more nervous than I was for the Oscar De La Hoya fight. Hatton has been the linear champion in the light welterweight division, and has dominated that weight class. But tonight Manny proved why he is dubbed the Pound for Pound Champion in boxing and now the light weight champion.

Scoring a devastating knockout with his patented left hook at 2:59 in the second round. The first round was just as brilliant as Manny knocked Ricky down twice. In the end, the final blow may have been Manny's best single punch of his career. Ricky can attest to that.

I love you Manny. You were worthy every Pay Per View penny I spent on the fight.

Raise the Roof

The old roof was replaced on Thursday of this past week. It's hard to tell from this picture, but it wasn't in great shape. The roofing company was supposed to come last Saturday, but I told them to hold off when I was going to be out of town. My friend, Chris, warned me that the DirecTV satellite might get knocked out of alignment as high definition programming is sensitive. The roofers woke me up unexpectedly early in the morning as the forecast for that day was questionable due to rain. With 8 or so of them working on the roof, it was done before I got home from work.

The new roof looks great. They added ridge venting at the peaks to help with the air circulation of the home. And I got them to upgrade the roof to a 30 year grade versus the 25 year roof I had before. I'll admit the multi-layer roof looks way better than the flat shingles. The only downfall is that the satellite is out of alignment. But luckily I have a service plan on DirecTV where they will fix my satellite at no cost. Thank goodness because I am most likely going to order the Pacquiao vs. Hatton boxing match on Pay-Per-View later.