Same Old, Same Old (Almost)

Last week's trip #1 took me back to the isla for Boracay Open 2011. Right after my fun run and all my interviews, I did a quick change and boarded a plane! I had no intention of going, since I was missing the Saturday games and Saturday night party (usually the most fun). But two words: Seat sale! So about a week before the trip, I booked me a flight.

It was a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am trip: I flew in Sunday around noon, and flew out first thing Tuesday morning. As in previous years, this trip featured a finals match which included the Boracay Dragons (nine-time champions, if I'm not mistaken)...

Photo from Ian

...a team photo...

...clowning around with my teammates...

Superstar X left his precious jersey to dry near my team. Naturally, we had to take turns wearing it and taking pictures of ourselves in it while he remained completely oblivious.

...my obligatory jumping pic...

This one inspired by Step Up 3

...Sunday-night partying (although, for the first time, I didn't stay out til sunrise!)...

...breakfast at one of my absolute favorite spots, Real Coffee...

Yummy three-egg Jack's Omelette

Yup, pretty much the same stuff as in previous years. The only difference? I didn't have to spend a couple of nights away from this guy...

For the first time, my husband came along! Yay! Thank you, seat sale!

Recipe: Poseur Jack-a-Lean Omelette

One of my favorite places to eat in Boracay is Real Coffee. Love their cookies, calamansi cupcakes, French toast, iced choco, and their Jack-a-Lean Omelette! The last, I've tried to replicate at home, although I realize now that I haven't been using onions. Hey, it still works!

Poseur Jack-a-Lean Omelette

Ingredients
3 large eggs
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can tuna flakes in olive oil (the calamansi version gives it a bit of a kick)
2 heaping tsps pesto
Quick-melt cheese, grated

1. Saute the tomatoes over low heat.
2. Add tuna and pesto. Mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a bowl, beat the eggs, adding a bit of salt.
4. Pour eggs into a non-stick skillet. (A poseur non-stick skillet goes with our poseur omelette though, so I normally have to use a bit of vegetable oil.)
   
5. Cook over low to medium heat until nearly done (mostly solid).
6. Spoon tuna mixture over half of the eggs.
7. Sprinkle cheese over tuna.
8. Fold other half of the eggs over to form a half moon. Remove from heat.

Serve with toast. Good enough for two! Hamil and I normally share this for breakfast. An easy, yummy way to start the day!

Boracay Open 2010 Top 10

No Jonah's or Real Coffee this year, no Sarah and Dondi and Gladys and Gregory and Jomen. But Boracay Open 2010 was still pretty kick-ass...

1. Because of awesome photos like these, taken by Fel:

(Top) Flying Czar, (above), my jumping pic v. 2010

2. Because I got to play for Dragon Katol.

My adoptive team

I really didn't intend to play (heck, I really didn't intend to go to Boracay Open this year at all!), but when PUA president Onyok and First Lady Gisela asked me if I wanted to play for Roaches, (which volted in with Cebu team D12 to form Katol) I jumped at the chance. This is one of the teams I look up to because they are somehow able to balance being competitive and having fun. Playing for them taught me a few things, and the movement of the disc and the players kind of amazed me. And it felt pretty nice that I was kind of able to contribute!

3. Because I felt the Ultimate Warriors' support even though I didn't play for them.

My Manila team with a Mindanao team

They watched our games and would erupt in chants of "Angluben! Angluben!" whenever I would score!

4. Because I got to see Himmy again!

With fellow "dwarf" Mappy and giant Himmy. Nice one, Doc!

5. Because throughout the course of my three-day stay, I enjoyed great conversations with some awesome people.

With gorgeous Ritz

Case in point, Ritaritz and I were about to go to bed Saturday night (er, Sunday morning) but ended up staying up an extra hour just talking. I am going to miss this girl, aka Boracay Open 2010 Off-the-Field Scoring Machine. (Sorry, Jomen, you've been dethroned as Aklan Regional Champ!)

6. Because we got to play around with a fire dancer!

I gotta say, the Waryoritas are hot!

7. Because a photo of Czar's toenails made me laugh so hard I cried.

8. Because I got a brand new battle scar. OK, so maybe that wasn't a big highlight. But it sure was memorable. During one game, I was running towards the endzone when a guy from the other team rammed into me. He was running at full speed too, so we both fell and skidded across the sand, with his full weight on me. I don't know if there was a rock there or something. I had the wind knocked out of me but played on, only to find a mixture of sand and blood on my arm after I was subbed. After brushing all the sand away, I found that a patch of skin was gone! Like, eyew. Map and I joked that, had I not been wearing a shirt, I would've tweeted "Lost my nip in Bora." Double eyew.

I would've posted a pic without the gauze, but it's not for the fainthearted.

Manila (the player, not the city) was "nice" enough to give me some nail polish-like substance that turns into some sort of protective plastic, so I was able to play on. Hurt like hell though. And it hurt even more when I dipped my tocino in saltwater to dry it out!

9. Because my team played the funnest game of the tourney versus... my other team! With an everyone-on-your-knees point, an all-girl point, a ninja point, a piggyback point, and Mike and Doc's winner faux two-point bomb, how could it not be fun? (Not so much for our marshal though. Haha.)

Piggyback point

On a related note: I was part of the winning team of beach patintero (Dumaguete redux), which entitled me to free Zagu. Even though I contributed absolutely nothing to the team. Haha.

10. Because I saw a few things that maybe I shouldn't have seen...

Don't ask!

But which nonetheless made the trip one for the books!