Messy dream

I dreamt of being chummy with Lionel Messi. What in the name of Barcelona is the world coming to? Pretty funny that the dream itself had an air of fantasy; I rubbed elbows with Messi when I passed by him and greeted him a happy birthday. Intriguingly, the idea of me as a Madridista never came up. Ah, it's probably because in my dream I kept thinking what his name was. I actually loaned a book from him, surprise, surprise. Is he actually smart in real life? And I was looking for my rapier. I never thought I would like fencing.

I watched the Real Madrid - Xerez match and it was a good thing that I got up an hour early to pick a good live stream although with gritty graphics. Cristiano Ronaldo's goal under one minute pretty much woke up Xerez. And woke up they did. Their defense is pretty tight for a recently promoted club. Half time passed by and the score was still 1-0. Gago was a starting line up and it made me a tad nervous. The team obviously missed Xabi Alonso's ability to handle the pace; I actually thought the match was going under Xerez's pacing.

Pellegrini doesn't look too happy with the results too; probably underestimating Xerez led to that. Sergio Ramos is back however the defense still has more to improve. Marcelo's play makes me cringe. He often loses the ball and can't even get a decent pass or cross. By Real Madrid's performance on the second half, on what I would have seen, is a proof of them being rattled by such a puny team. Cristiano Ronaldo scores (I wasn't able to see who made the pass). Guti scoring the third goal is the last thing I saw before our Internet connection died. Ruud Van Nistelrooy finally played! How unfortunate that I wasn't able to get a good glimpse of it because of my disconnected Internet; I'm already looking forward to Adam's podcast and review on the game.

A 3-0 (assuming this is the final score) is an appalling play, I have to say. It's not that I have to compare it if Barcelona took up Real Madrid's place and pounded Xerez to a 5-0 or more; it's more of the air of underestimating a promoted team that's faulty from the start. Pellegrini failed to give Xerez the respect they deserve by assigning Gago and Marcelo (did Garay play decently? Blame the gritty video quality) as part of the starting XI. I would've given the best line up I could If I were the coach to show that Real Madrid takes all competing teams seriously. Understandably however, there is Pellegrini's rotation on players and the compressed schedule of La Liga and Champions League matches in preparation for next year's World Cup. All players are under duress and it's not helping Real Madrid that they still have to improve their correspondence among players.

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I'll be off to my former employer at Makati tomorrow to get my backpay. I'm looking forward to seeing my former officemates not to mention the latest in the gossip mill. My former boss has finally resigned, albeit forcibly, because the new boss (my ex-department) is gay and will stand by what he wants and needs. The Root of All Evil Fruits might be next, according to intel. If that ever happens then the world is pretty much aligning with the stars and the planets already. It will be a good deal for the company although with the current knee deep in debt they are suffering from I doubt if they can surface from it. Even Beth partially agrees with me on that. The retrenchment is still running with a former colleague and one of the longest employees in the company immediately sacked. It's bad enough that he has recently suffered from a personal loss but he also recently turned down an offer from ADB. His partner, who is still in the company, is down to being a contractual employee. That's how the company treats their employees fair and square. No amount of justifications and alibis will suffice that kind of treatment. And that's one of the many reasons why I think the company will go down.

On another note, I'm getting addicted to BBC's special programmes. I've actually downloaded several torrents of BBC Horizon and I'll try to look for more of the sesquicentennial celebration specials on Charles Darwin. I might write reviews about it, god knows I need it for posterity's sake, although I'm sure it won't be halfway decent. I promised myself that before my pittance dissolves into thin air I will buy a book or two. I'm hoping for a treasure like The Origin of Species on Booksale; NBS is still on big books sale. right? It's a good thing I drop by Cubao everyday. There's two NBS branches and a Booksale to feast on.

ETA (22 Sept 2009, PM): Real Madrid ruled the match with a fantastic 5-0! I got my own predictions right! Benzema and van Nistelrooy scored! Fuck yeah! On the downside, RVN injures himself with his goal. C'est mal. I got my backpay (I told you, it's pure pittance all right) and my quest for a decent pair of shoes has failed. I've already scoured Naturalizer, Aerosoles, Easy Spirit, Bass, PabDer, Ecco (6 grand, wtf?) and Nine West without a good choice. Sacrificing aesthetics for comfort is a bit wrong. I actually saw a good pair of light pumps from Celine but I'm getting skeptical over it (aesthetics > quality?). Yvette, we should meet up this week already before my moolah flies off the window.