Home for the Holidays

So I have been in the US since Dec 17. I am officially enjoying an off season with no stress of training or touching a volleyball. But it is a short off season. After the new year, things will be back to normal. For Christmas, my entire family was in San Diego. My parents stayed at my sister's house, my brother, sister in law and nephews stayed in a beach house in Mission Beach. Drew and I stayed in our homes; however, we frequently congregated at the beach house. Over the course of the Christmas week, I rode the bumper cars at Belmont Park, played some catch with Ryan and Bil, opened a teddy bears belly to find a BEAUTIFUL sapphire and diamond necklace inside, played with Jensen and Jayden, got a game of Catchphrase in there, and spent some great time with my family. At the tail end of the week, my Hawaii grandmother surprised us all and came for a visit....on Friday, December 28 I decided I was going to drive to Colorado with my bro to help with Jayden........but it turned into a HUGE adventure...TBC

Home via Bangkok

Since the last match in Korat vs. Indonesia, I have obviously not kept up with the blogging. To be brief about it, we headed straight to Bangkok on a bus the morning after we lost. We stayed at the Alexander hotel for 3 nights and had a blast. Bankgok is certainly a busy, fast paced city. We shopped, ate tons, saw the Grand palace, and went to the floating Market..........We really experienced some things that no other place in the world could match. Then we headed back to Los Angeles. And, we were very ready to be home.

Heidi is 30!

We celebrated Heidi's 30th birthday in Nakhon Ratchasima...yes, that is where we are in the world. Last year we were in Doha, Qatar and the year before...Philippines. We went to a friend of Tony's, who has a beautiful home and played games, sang songs, ate a lot of Thai food, and cake.....it was fun!

Beat Vietnam

So...update on the games.....we lost to Thai 2 21-19 and 29-27.....big bummer. It was only preliminary so we can still win the gold, we just have to beat Indonesia 1,Thai 1 and Thai 2 to win the gold. The road is long, but we are ready.

Thailand Match today

Today is our toughest match. We played Laos yesterday. Yes, Laos has a beach volleyball team. We play Thai 2 which is really Thai 1. It is their country and their heat, but we have the ability to take em down. We are chillin in our AC dorm room until we go. We will have a huge cheering section since all the other sports know this is our biggest match. Not nervous, but excited. It should be a good game no matter what. Yesterday after Laos match we went to the mall and ate Sizzler for the second time, then we go the THE WORLD's BEST FOOT MASSAGE. It was an hour and 20 min, and we got tea afterward. I love this country for one reason....Thai Massage. Will let you know how we do.

Thailand Pics

Tourist Day!

Khao Yai National Park.......we saw a waterfall, a monkey, lots of elephant poop, and supposedly the grounds where Tiger roam. We strolled in the van for 1.5 hours to this national park. On the way out of the park we stopped for food and elephant rides....greatest thing I have done so far. After the elephants, we headed to Saveone market...basically a big swap meet with tons of junk and a few unique items.......lots of stinky food. I experienced using the squatter for second time....

SEAGAmes 2007

So it has been sometime since I have updated. But, I promise to be better. Heidi and I are in Korat (short for Nakhon Ratchasima). We have been here since December 5....arrival time 4:30am from the Bangkok airport. But every minute since the arrival has been exciting, fun-filled, adventurous, and entertaining. The crew we brought along includes The Ilustre family-Hedder, Erlinda, Herme, Steve, Wayne, Ryan, Drew, Lynn and Rod Pascua. Yes, we brought our own cheering section. On Dec 6, we checked out the Athlete's Village-where we sleep, got Thai massage, and shopped. On Dec 7, we played our first match vs. Malaysia 2. Won! Dec 8-Day off...so we rented a driver and van and headed to Khao Yai National Park......TBC

Won our first match, now Malaysia!!

So we began the Hong Kong Beach Volleyball Festival and won our first match vs. Kazakhstan. They were good, and made us play lower than our game. It forced us to dig deep and take care of the little things to beat them. We were hot, tired, and out of gas. Now we have Malaysia at 420pm.

Hong Kong Challenger

So we made it to Hong Kong. We already took some sight seeing photos.

A day in Manila

So we have spent the last 2 days running all around this big city of Manila. Boy, has it been an experience. Manila is big, tons of traffic, mass amounts of people, and jeepneys everywhere. But, Tony Boy was a great chauffeur....going from Rizal stadium, to the PNB Bank, to the NBN television station for interviews.
However, we ended the day at one of America's finest fast food joints....Taco Bell.

Thailand to Manila

Well, Thailand was quite the adventure for us. Very hot and tough to play in, but beautiful island. Heidi and I did not get to see much of the place cuz we stayed in our AC room and/or got Thai massages. Which are cheaper than water. We tried to shop a bit, but got too hot and tired.

Woraburi hotel in Phuket

Here are a few shots from the hotel we are staying in.

Before Phuket

So, just before we left for Phuket, So Cal was hit with massive fires. It was pretty devastating...and still is. The aftermath is very awful. And, many homes were lost and even a few lives. We were forced to evacuate on Monday, so Sharee and I stayed in LA area for 3 days before we were allowed to head home. Here are some pics I shot on the drive through Camp Pendleton. It was pretty eerie and very depressing.

In Phuket.......

So, we landed in Phuket about 3 hours ago. It was a long day on planes and in taxis. Lots of sleeping...which was necessary since i am fighting a cold......well, Phuket is humid and there is lots going on. Lights everywhere and people strolling. We are staying at the Woraburi hotel overlooking the playing site. will post picture tomorrow.

Beaches of Brazil

so, today we visited Croco Beach. Best beach yet, I think. There was tons of beach and lots of swimming areas. Scott and I practiced our flip and dives, belly flops, and cart wheel entrances to the water. We had to return the buggy by noon, so after rolling over, opening the curtain and watching a few matches, we loaded up the buggy and headed out to use the last 2 hours of transportation we had......lots of fun...lots of sun! WE also had our authentic Acai smoothies!

FORTALEZA, BRAZIL

We are in Brazil. It is beautiful, sort of! And very hot and windy. But, it is a great place to be right now. We lost in the qualifier to Brazil (Agatha Shalyn). Tough draw for us. So we have been tourists for now 36 hours. We started off today watching game out our window. We are facing the courts on the 10th floor of the Flat Classics. Then, we started walking to find a taxi and go to the mercado. But, were stalled by the buggy we saw parked! We decided to walk inside the car rental store and ask how much to rent........So, YES, we rented a buggy! It is yellow and green, no top cover, and very loud. But, awesome! We drove to the indoor mall, then drove to the Mercado centraal. Lots of shopping once again. Tomorrow we look for a beach up the coast and get some tan. Ciao!

Fundable

For those that donated to fundable.com, the final day to raise funds was Saturday. And, unfortunately we did not hit our mark. We aimed pretty high. But, who shouldn't right? So, you will not be charged. If you are still interested in donating to the Philippine Volleyball team of Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua, please leave me a comment and I will let you know where to send the funds. At this point we have no support from the Philippine Volleyball Association, so we must raise money on our own. This is not easy task while also competing.

You can comment on this blog or email me at pascua77@gmail.com.
Thank you for your support.

Heading to BRAZIL

Long time since my last blog. That is because I have been at home recovering from the last 2 months of travel. It has been wonderful. I have also been preparing for the next event in Fortaleza, Brazil. I leave in 3 days. CAnnot wait. I am excited to play, but also to check out the Brazilian coastline. So, I will keep this updated while I am away.

Tourist in Russia

So I was told this place is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I would mostly agree. We walked around St. Petersburg for 2 days now and have seen some amazing architecture and OLD buildings. It seems that all the buildings are sooooo big. We walked through the Hermitage, saw Old Savior cathedral???, some other churches, some palaces, bought some Matryoshka dolls, bought some jewelery.........and took tons of pics. This is our last event until Brazil and will be home for 3 weeks.

FUNDABLE

Heidi's fiance, Steve, has set up a donation account for Heidi and I. It has been a tremendous season so far. We have had many "once in a lifetime experiences." However, we have had to plan all of our own travel and budget off the personal sponsorships we have received up to now. We have definitely maxed out our budget and our into our own pockets now. We will continue this because we are determined to play every event until the Olympics. However, it is an added stress. So, if you feel in any way that you are capable of donating, please check out the site. The link is on the right side of the page "our funds". Love you all.

St. Petersburg, Russia

We are in Russia. It is about 14 deg outside and we play at 2pm. Long story short, we won our first game and lost our second yesterday in the qualifier. We did, however, get lucky and manage to find a spot in the Main Draw because of the lucky losers process. So we play Turner and Wacholder at 2pm. It has been an interesting trip to say the least. First, it took a good long flight and train to get here. Then, we had no hotel to stay in, and our luggage was lost for 2 days.......yes, we had to borrow suits from another team and buy cold weather gear. And, we slept in the same thing for 2 nights. Kinda gross.
Well, another thing to mention is that Steve, Heidi's fiance, posted a fundable. com link for us. Please feel no obligation to donate, but we have been traveling most of this season with a very small budget(from some generous friends). Our Philippines volleyball federation has helped in no way monetarily. We have 2 more events this season and about 8 more next season before Beijing. So, if you feel that you can help, wonderful. Otherwise your prayers would be more than sufficient:)

Thank to all of you that support our dream.

Leaving Again!

So...as you can tell, I have been home a week and have not updated this once while home.....because I have pretty much been lazy, yet content. We are leaving this evening for Russia and will return on September 2. Only a week. We will be in St. Petersburg. I am pretty excited for this trip (not the 12 hr flights). You can follow how Heidi and I are doing on FIVB, beach volleyball, then look for St. Petersburg on the right side of the page....go to results once you have opened the page. It was a great week home.....Ciao!

What a Day!!!!!!

It was sooooo great to see all the girls at camp last night. I truly tried to make it back in time to pop my head in and see hard girls at work. And, coaches hard at work. What a long day of travel, but a very happy ending. Station Sushi is a great way to end the day!!!!!

London to LAX

After messaging Guy, we hopped on the tube (London underground) and went straight to South Kensington. Guy met us there and took us straight to our hotel. Heidi and I tidied up and then we all went a walking in London. Never been there. It was spectacular. We saw some museums (dont remember the names), strolled by Harrod's and then stopped for a nibble at Harvey Nichols. Learned what snogging is. After a lite snack, Guy took us to the chicken place. What a delight. One of the greatest meals in a long time. After eats, straight to the hotel and asleep we went. We woke to one of the GREATEST breakfast buffets ever. Then walked to the tube, and "tubed" it to Heathrow only to be stopped in our tracks.
As we proceeded to check in, the ticket lady told us our tickets were exchanged, but not confirmed. WHAT??????did that mean. Well, we see you have a ticket change, but no confirmation on the changes.....WHAT??????So, what we thought was a few hours wait for a flight tunred into an eternity of waiting to find out if we were going to get on the London-LAX direct flight in AA 137. We waited and waited, peeps boarded the plane, others were making seat changes......then," ms. pascua, ms. Iustre, please proceed to the ticket counter...you got on, enjoy your flight" We were enroute to LAX!!!!!!!! GUY-You Rock. We are home safe. Thanks for everything!

Out of Aland

After a devastating loss to the Spaniards:( we decided it was time to start the journey home....(we actually has been planning this trip home for some time, but I never blogged it cuz i was trying to surprise a friend) so, we hopped on the 11:45pm ferry from Aland to Helsinki, getting us to Helsinki at 10 am the next day. Helsinki is the capitol city of Finland. We trammed, then bussed to the airport and proceeded immediately to the Finnair ticket counter. With puppy dog eyes, we asked "can we get on the next flight out of here?" With much finnagling, we were able to hop on the 2:05 pm flight to London, Heathrow...arrived at 3:10pm. Now what? Our connecting flight to LAX....yes, LAX....was 11:25 am the following day. So, we did what anyone would do, phoned the only person we knew in London, Guy Perry.

Poop

We lost our second match today against Spain. It was not pretty. We did not play terrible, but not well enough to beat them. They are a consistent team and served us tough. Now, we take a breather and come back tough in Russia...........Who knows...we may get lucky tonight in the Lucky Losers draw.

Solana Beach Campers

Hello to everyone checking this out. I am so sad I am missing camp right now, but I know you are having fun. Keep working hard and feel free to drop me an email at pascua77@gmail.com. Would be great to hear from you. Miss San Diego tremendously and cannot wait to get back there.

Aland, Finland

So, it is 11:30 am here, we just won our first qualification match (vs. Finlad) and have one more against Spain at 3pm. If we win that, we are in the Main Draw. We are the 9th seed and they are the 8seed, so it should be a battle. Love those. Let you know how we do.

Turku-Day 2

Played 4 matches now. It is 2pm on Saturday. We are 2-2. Don't ask who we lost 2. so we have 1 more and then maybe we are in the finals. To give you an idea of the situation, there is no prize money. We played 2 matches yesterday after a 620 am flight and may have 4 today. Tomorrow, exhibition match....just for fun. so, we pretty much are not too into this, just good exercise, touching the ball and soaking up the sun. Here are a few pics of the situation. Later.........

Turku, Finland

We are in Turku, Finland right now playing in an exhibition event. It was a very last minute decision. However an easy one when they told us they would pay airfare, food, hotel and transportation to and from the airport. We are on a countdown now.......
We just finished our first match and lost to Georgia 21-16, 21-19. Don't forget we woke this am at 4:30, hopped on a 6:20 am flight and arrived in Turku at 12:30pm. First match was at 4pm and we play again at 6 pm.....tomorrow we have 3 matches and then the finals...woohoo....lots of volleyball!

Just another Day

So, we woke early today, checked out of Hotel Norge cuz they are overbooked. Watched a few matches and walked around looking for a hotel for tonight. Luckily, Chad and Kimo are here to split room costs and hang with. But, there is no fun in walking around a town you don't know (and very expensive) looking for a bed to sleep in. Though, we found something. We are off to Finland manana, probably through Stockholm, then take a ferry to Aland Islands. I bet no one has been there before. Will take lots of pics.

Norway-Main Draw

1-2 BBQ...that's all I got to say. We actually had a decent draw and we matched up well, but when some things are not flowing it is tough to beat these top teams. We played Adriana/Shelda first, then Schwaiger/Schwaiger. Lost both matches in 2 games. So, we are trying to figure out how to get to Aland, Finland......Here are some pics from the day. Oh...yeah, the men's Filipino team played today and almost beat France.....

Qualified

We played at 6pm tonight against Asao/Take a Japan team. won in 2 sets.....tomorrow we have the number 7 seed, Adriana Shelda and Behar (Brazil) at 2pm......Would be great to go ahead and win both matches tomorrow.

Kristiansand, Norway

So, we had dinner last night.......500 NOK. That comes out to be $80 USD..For 2 dinner plates and chips and salsa......and, my coke was $5.50. Pretty expensive...so we hope to get out of town as soon as possible, after we qualify! Let you know how we do today.

Klagenfurt, Austria-On the Train

Supposedly this is the BEST FIVB event……Well, it was a pretty good set-up, but our results were not. We beat the Czech’s, but lost to Kuhn/Schwer, the Swiss team. So, we spent the next few days being tourists, practicing a bit, and enjoying the lake. Lake Woethersee was quite the source of entertainment…waterslide, diving boards, floating dock, Red Bull boat (which happened to take 16 of us out to the middle of the lake and do a few 360’s-then we got a ticket)……but, all in all the day was a much needed break from volleyball. We sat on the floating dock ALL day, then proceeded to the side event at Fabrik, in the evening…..Heidi and I held our own dance party-also, much needed!

Klagenfurt is a great little town, weather was great, and the side events were great. The last night there, we went on the Swatch Boat cruise. There were many players on board and we had a blast, free food, free Swatch squirt guns, and lots of dancing……..now to Norway and Finland………then, well…………