Graduation 2007, new puppy and Roger Federer

Just a quick recap of things that have been going on.

Last Friday, I finally received a diploma for my four-year (plus one summer) stay at UP Baguio. After a year of being in a vacuum, I feel like the graduation was my final nudge into seriously pursuing my career in marine biology. For the past year, I have been (no other word for it) dawdling. I have taken a job teaching English to Korean children and while there is no lack for kids' winning precociousness, I find that it is a career that will not sustain me. I plan to finish out my contract and then it's the highway for me - the Northern Luzon Expressway, that is. I intend to send in my application to the Marine Science Institute this week. Wish me luck.

The major reason I have not been writing is because of the newest addition to our family, a black labrador mix named Rako. It took a while for us to name him. On the days when we were still waiting for him, my mother took to calling him Blabri (as in black labr(i)ador). I suggested Leonidas, since 300 was still fresh on my mind. My dad didn't like the idea of naming our dog after a warrior king. He said labradors had pleasant dispositions, not at all like the ruthless Spartan leader. Then we thought Shadow, pronounced "Shedow." To make it funnier, we added the tag the aso prounounced "the esow." Shadow the Aso. Shedow the Esow. It didn't stick. Then after a long day of plucking names out of thin air, my father suggested Barako. My mom loves strong coffee. She brews it, and drinks it as it is. No fussiness with how much sugar or cream she wants in her drink. We shortened the name, ending up with Rako. There have been contentions as to how we are to spell the name: Rako or Racco? Apart from being named after a steaming cup of Benguet coffee, he also bears the name of an Italian chef my mother watches on BBC Food.

The other night, while watching a match between Richard Gasquet and Ivan Ljubicic (Gasquet won, yey!), I decided to christen our puppy with a second name: Rako Federer. I told Lem that I was trying to get my dog to like tennis, and he promptly reminded me that I was trying to get a dog to like tennis. I'm not sure what his point was.

Say hello to Rako Federer Follosco.

And speaking of Federer, there was an article on the ATP website about the Swiss being on the cover of Men's Vogue (ohmigod!). There was the unexpected surprise of a link to the online version of the magazine. Wonder of wonders, the full article is open to the public. No membership hoopla, which I vastly appreciated. You can read it here. The icing on the cake is Annie Leibovitz's glamorous photos of Roger and his girlfriend Mirka. In the article, Roger describes how crazy in love he is with Mirka and I felt slightly disappointed. Apart from that, you can also read about how he looks forward to matches with Rafael Nadal, his friendship with Tiger Woods and his home in Dubai. This evening he faces Rafael Nadal for the Monte Carlo Masters crown. (8:00pm, Philippine time, Star Sports)

(Jessica Zafra mentions Roger Federer being in the December 2006 issue of Vogue. I'm still hunting for that one.)

More later.