Fitness, Ferrari and speed stacking

The string of natural disasters affecting several Pacific countries including our beloved Philippines has many people becoming concerned about their safety.

I believe that the strong and healthy will have a better chance of surviving any disaster. More than being more conscious about our environment and the safety of our homes, let us also use the calamities as a good reason to try to stay healthy.

Staying in shape brings us a lot more good not just having a better chance of survival.

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The transfer of Fernando Alonso to Ferrari doesn’t sound much of a piece of good news to some fans of the team.

Alonso, who races for Renault and moved to McLaren for a season then went back to Renault, is no doubt a world championship caliber driver. The question of some fans is, “will he be good for Ferrari?”

The team is struggling this season and with Kimi Raikkonen out in 2010 and Felipe Massa back in harness for the Prancing Horse next year, I still feel that the future still doesn’t look too bright.

Giancarlo Fisichella, who is now driving the second car of the team after Massa figured in an accident, is going to be the test driver in 2010, which he said is a position that he would be happy to take for undoubtedly the world’s most popular Formula-1 racing team.

The changes in the drivers may affect some fans, but one thing is definite, you will still see red as the most dominant color in most races of the F-1 circuit.

It is also the most dominant color in my small space in the closet for things related to the sport. 

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There will be a sports stacking competition next weekend at the Banilad Town Centre (BTC).

If you don’t have an idea what sports stacking is, you either have no small child or probably lived in a cave the past three years or so.

If you want to know more about it, there will be a demonstration to be conducted this 2 pm at BTC right in front of Toys @ Work, which has moved to the ground floor.

The demonstration will be conducted by the World Sports Stacking Association (WSSA), which has also sanctioned the competition set next week.

Expected to grace the demo will be PE teachers, school representatives, parents, and some members of the media.

After so much prodding, I bought my seven-year-old daughter her first set of speed stacks a few months ago. At first she looked so clumsy stacking those plastic cups, but then just recently she seems to move so much smoother.

It turned out that the kids enjoy speed stacking so much that they do it in school while waiting for their parents or the carpool to pick them up.

Try doing it, it’s actually fun even if you are not a child anymore. Well, the label says it is “for ages 4 to 104.”

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to my fellow Sambisig Dennis Pacis, who turns a year older today. The same goes to Emmet Penson, Jiji Balista-Ramos and to Prets Lim.

Tomorrow’s greetings go to Sheelah Marie Malicse and my cousin Emily Iway-de la Vega.

More power to all of you!   (FREEMAN NEWS)