I <3 Xabi Alonso

Because he’s a midfielder, the love of my life scores like… once in a blue moon. So forgive me if I’m getting all fangirl-y about him lately. First was the penalty kick for La Roja against Italy and now the equalizer for the Super Copa match between Los Blancos and FCB. The guy’s on a roll!

Why so flawless, Xabier? <3

One Day + La Roja

Forgive the week-long absence. Things at the office got pretty hectic at one point and by the time I arrived home all I want to do is sleep. Naturally, a lot has happened in my fandoms. Let’s see if I can remember them all in a quick rundown:

The trailer for One Day. I love romantic flicks, much more if the main OTP has off-the-charts chemistry. While I’m on the fence regarding Anne Hathaway (don’t like her, don’t hate her either)... Jim Sturgess is reason enough for me to be on-board this flick. Not really sure if I’d rather read the book first while waiting for the movie to be released here.

Speaking of romantic flicks, I should really find a copy of Something Borrowed (the movie, not the book). Saw some being sold in Colon DVD stalls last Saturday but I think it’s better if I borrow instead from an officemate who already has one.

Oh, and La Roja had a friendly last August 10 against Forza Azzurri (Team Italy). They lost. Nothing surprising about that considering their track record in friendlies. The only good thing was that my bebe Xabi scored the lone goal for Spain in that game! Yayyy! The man is perfection personified as always.

Crossing my fingers that they do better once they play another Euro qualifying game in September.

Why hello there, Mr. Alonso!

This, my dear readers, is the reason why I will never fawn over any Azkals no matter how much I adore football. He has set the standards quite high. Hehe!

Isn't the accent quite charming?:) No wonder he is a favorite when it comes to interviews among players. The man has a good head above his shoulders, not to mention he's quite the eye-candy as well. If only you can be cloned, Xabier!

Thankful…

How can you not love an account who celebrates Thanksgiving? Yayyy, no work for me tonight! It’s the first time I actually get to enjoy the perks of the celebration ever since I started working for a BPO company. I was always the loser who had to work on holidays.

But there’s still a lot to be thankful for this 2010. I’ve had my own share of hits and misses but I choose to remember the blessings I’ve been given.

CAREER

My promotion came just when I needed it the most. It was not about the money; I was thisclose to giving up because of the working environment (incompetent boss, anyone?). Today I am in the company of the best in our field. My current boss is such an excellent mentor and I am learning a lot from her.

WORLD CUP 2010

Yes, I will never get tired of blabbing about it. It was one of those events that made this year so memorable for me. I’ll probably even include this in my “the year that was” post by December 31st. My love for La Furia Roja has grown since I first saw them play against Switzerland. Oh, and while we’re at it… happy 29th birthday to my boyfriend husband love of my life, Xabi Alonso!

HEALTH

Not a great year for me, health-wise. But I’m surviving. Maybe it’s the stress of the new workload, or I’m just getting older and my immune system is failing me. Haha! Here’s to a sick-free 2011!

And lastly, I’m thankful for my friends and family. We’ve been through a lot through thick and thin. Thank you for keeping me grounded. Your company keeps me sane and things are brought into the right perspective whenever I seek your advice. 

So what are you most thankful about?

4–0, seriously?!?

I am starting to sense a pattern here. Qualifiers, they win. Friendlies, they lose. It almost seems like they’re trying to lose on purpose just so they can save their strength for qualifying games. Still, it hurts that they lost to two countries who have huge egos concerning association football. Wake up, La Roja! I know you can do better.

It comes from within

The new Spanish NT jersey makes its debut…

How hot are my La Roja boys in this commercial? I can let the skin peeling pass. It's Xabi Alonso, people! Whether he is shirtless or in a suit, the man can do no wrong in my eyes.

The new jersey they're modelling debuts on November 17 when La Furia Roja reunites for a friendly against Portugal. Pretty exciting, eh? I hope they win. The match should generate enough interest in their bid to co-host Euro 2016 with the same country.

My Grown-Up Christmas Wishlist

I'd be a hypocrite to say I don't crave for material things. I do. In fact, every December we've made it as a project to save up for a certain gadget or appliance that we fancy. Everything is paid in cash. The credit card is considered an evil entity in this household as long as spending patterns aren't normalized. And because I have bills to worry about, wishlists are the only way I'm motivated to work even harder for the things I really want. Allow me to share to you ten things I really want to receive (or buy) this holiday season, or hopefully by 2011.

A Canon 1000D camera - Not for me, per se, but rather for my sister. She has an eye for taking great pictures and I want to encourage that talent. Besides, we need a new camera if we are to push through with that summer trip to Tandag next year. Who knows, this might translate to better profile photos on Facebook right?

A Xabi Alonso soccer jersey - An imitation would be fine, but an original (branded) one would be even better. Those who know me are aware of how much I adore this guy. Who wouldn't love the name Xabi, eh? My World Cup 2010 memories bring me nothing but pure joy because of him and the rest of La Roja. If only the guy can be cloned.

An all-expenses paid trip (one week) to any provincial destination of my choice - I say this time and time again... I am in need of a long-overdue one week vacation. Working in a BPO environment can be very toxic. Once in a while, you need to de-stress yourself to relieve the pressures of the job. If someone offers me a (free) tour of Vigan or Iloilo for that matter, I'd haggle for leave credits from my boss and gladly go on that trip without batting an eyelash.

A domain of my own (http://iamnofangirl.com) - Pretty far-fetched for now since I have no credit card. But who knows? Right now I'm enjoying my renewed interest in blogging. It's always nice to read through your past entries and realize how much you've grown emotionally (and physically!) since you wrote it.

DVDs (original ones) of my favorite TV series – Ugly Betty, Modern Family, Criminal Minds. Any of those three would be fine. Ugly Betty keeps me grounded and focused with my attitude at work. Modern Family provides me the necessary humor I need in my stress-filled life. Criminal Minds is my form of escapism on what it would be like if profiling was my current job.

I might add more but these are the immediate answers that came to my mind when coming up with this year’s wishlist. I never did one for my birthday so I think this should be aptly called, “my birthday-slash-christmas wishlist for 2010”.

To hell with friendlies…

La Furia Roja is back with a vengeance! Their 3-1 win against Lithuania last October 8 in Salamanca kept them right on the road towards Euro 2012. It was a shaky start for the team as most of their veterans had been sidelined due to injuries. Heck, I never even knew my dear Xabi was down with the flu! But they recovered. VDB re-grouped the guys and came back with a vengeance in the second half of the game. Kudos to Fernando Llorente and David Silva. These fellows have definitely stepped up their game since their World Cup victory. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them gets retained in the starting line-up for future NT games.

Next game is on October 12 against Scotland. Like many supporters out there, I wish that Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos will be 100% OK to join the team.

La Roja Forever!

I thought my heart would break upon reading the news that you guys lost the friendly to Argentina. But hey, as my sister said… it doesn’t make you any less of the champions you already are right now. In a game, someone always has to lose. But I am proud that VDB takes the extra effort to field all players who weren’t able to play during the WC in their friendly matches. He believes in the capability of each person he has called up for the national team and he wants them to tap into their hidden potential.

Do I sound like a fangirl already? Good. Because I am proud to be one when it comes to this team. The bright side from the game? Xabi got to be captain again!

Fangirl updates!

Xabi Alonso’s twitter account is now verified. Yayyy! Take that, doubters! ;) I sure hope he tweets more. And maybe just for once reply to my tweets as well? Haha! Yeah, we can dream.

News about La Furia Roja or Real Madrid allows me to unwind after a busy day at work. Right now I am starting to feel the demands of the job, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle so far. I love being busy. It makes me feel that I am doing something productive at work.

Oh, and here’s another reason for me to smile these days. Modern Family! :D Kudos to the show for winning Outstanding Comedy Series in the recently concluded Primetime Emmy awards. It was the most deserving of the bunch and I am happy it’s turning out to be a favorite of both critics and fans alike. It has gained the success that Arrested Development failed to sustain.

Look who’s now on Twitter…

It’s the classy one himself, Xabi Alonso. :) The account’s pretty legit since both Alvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos are following him. The guy needs to tweet more though. A twitpic perhaps? I’m sure his followers (me included) would love that.

Because I miss Xabier…

I have to thank the 2010 World Cup for introducing me to the “classy” one that is Xabi Alonso. Before it, the only person that kept me interested in association football was Kaka which meant that by default I had to support team Brazil. Here lies the problem. I barely knew half of the team.

Things started to change when I watched La Furia Roja play their first game against Switzerland. I loved the way the commentator said Xabi Alonso’s name and I decided to google the guy afterwards. Who cares if he’s married? ;) I had found the team to root for in this tournament. The good thing was, I fell in love not just with the guy but with the whole team. Within days I familiarized myself with the other Spain NT players. I rooted for all of their WC games. (I still maintain they were underdogs against Germany) To top it off, I even screamed and jumped like a freakin’ lunatic at the office pantry after they were crowned World Cup champions.

Kung-Fu (Oranje style)

No one kicks my beloved Xabi in the chest and gets away with it. Bad move, Nigel de Jong! If karma didn’t bite the Oranje’s ass mid-way into the actual game… it painfully caught up with them in extra time. They were a huge disappointment. To say they played dirty would have been an understatement given the flurry of yellow cards handed throughout the duration of the game. But the long wait was worth it. La Furia Roja is one proof that prayers indeed work miracles. I have never prayed this hard for a favorite team of mine (OA, but true) and they pulled through convincingly. Surprisingly, the haters who strongly criticized Spain prior to finals were now squabbling amongst themselves what went wrong with the Netherlands.

Te quiero, Xabi!

I'm catching up on Xabi Alonso's clips on YouTube. Man, I love guys with accents! He's just so cute when conversing in English that it reminds me of Puss-in-Boots. Haha! But yeah, finally got to see that infamous long-range goal he had back when he was still with Liverpool. Whether it was pure luck or a strategized game plan I can only imagine the excitement of the viewers who were watching the game at that moment. Oh Xabi, is it too much to ask for a repeat performance in this year's World Cup? ^_^ 

Write-ups always say he looks like Jason Bateman but I think he's more of a cross between him and Eric Mabius. And yes, he's married. Good thing I'm no longer a teenager who can be very territorial over guys they fangirl at.

Blame it on the vuvuzelas?

My favorite World Cup teams are losing their steam! With Germany's loss last night to Serbia, this ballgame has become totally unpredictable. The underdogs have managed to outwit the favorites while my favorite players haven't really stepped up. If Brazil and Spain don't get their act together in their remaining matches, Argentina is getting an easy ticket into the finals. I wouldn't want Diego Maradona to have that satisfaction though. :)

My new World Cup crushie, Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso