ASKED what I wanted as a birthday present when I turn 60, I said “The Perfect Day.”

6 am — Alarm rings.

6:01 a.m. — Throws a basketball into the alarm and go back to sleep.

7 a.m. — Wake up on my own.

7:05 a.m. — Take a loving look at our Blessed Mother, St. Jude and Padre Pio at the altar and say a little thanksgiving prayer.

7:10 a.m. — Check for messages on my Samsung Galaxy.

7:20 a.m.– Get up from bed for a quick visit to the bathroom.

7:30 a.m. — Give my loving, three-year- old apo, Apollo Nathaniel, a big hug before taking him to our regular morning walk in the park at North Olympus.

8:30 a.m. — Return home and take my favorite spot in the living room while taking a sip of a hot and perfectly-brewed coffee.

8:35 a.m.– Reach out for a copy of my favorite newspaper — People’s Tonight (of course) — and turn to the sports pages to read the latest achievements of the Filipino athletes in both local and international stage.

9 a.m. — Turn on the television set to check on the latest news on our beloved Philippines.

9:15 am — Enjoy a big serving of my favorite Filipino breakfast of tapa, sinangag and scrambled eggs plus slices of mango, papaya and watermelon.

9:25 a.m.– Take a second cup of brewed coffee.

9:30 p.m. — Get a long and nice

hot shower while singing my favorite Barry Manilow songs.

10 a.m. — Open a closet-full of purple and gold Lakers polo shirts and put on my priceless Kobe Bryant’s t-shirt personally sent from LA with love by my self- confessed LeBron James fan-brother Sephus and his wife Annie.

10:15 a.m.– Switch the television channel to NBA TV and watch my favorite team, Los Angeles Lakers, get another feel-good win.

10:30 a.m. — Continue watching the game while checking for e-mails on my Yahoo inbox.

12 noon — Take a sumptuous lunch of pork adobo and lumpiang shanghai especially prepared by my lovely wife Liza and served hot on the dining table.

1:30 p.m. — Take an early afternoon nap with my apo.

3 p.m. — Wake up and begin work from home on my latest personal computer.

5 p.m. — Get a few more small talk with my wife Liza and apo Apollo while taking another cup of freshly-brewed coffee.

5:30 — Back to work and check on the latest happenings in sports.

6 p.m. — Take my sweet time to edit the masterpieces of People’s Tonight’s irreplaceable UAAP/NCAA/V League writer, Theodore Jurado, and my sportswriter-son Robert.

6:30 p.m — Get another long and hard look on my sports stories for tomorrow’s papers.

7 p.m. — Dinner with the family.

7:30 p.m. — Turn on the TV again and switch channels to catch up on live action of the PBA games.

8 p.m. — Short phone conversation with my Mom Virgie, who lives in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

8:15 p.m.– More play time with my apo Apollo.

9 p.m. — Movie time — either on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Go– while having a few bottles of San Mig Light or Hennessy or Johnnie Walker Black.

11 p.m. — Join wife Liza in bed and get some much-needed sleep, finally.

12 a.m. — Sleep soundly.

6 a.m. — Alarm rings again. And again.

Well, it’s a sportswriter’s perfect day. Some of them do come true, some don’t. But we can dream, can’t we?

Sportswriting legend Rick Reilly wrote about his own perfect day when he turned 40 years old many, many summers ago.

I’m sure he wouldn’t mind I did mine for my 60th birthday.

Thank you.

* * *

Congratulations to Manzour Robas and Mary Jane Notario, who took their wedding vows at the Casa Gilmore Event’s Place at Mt. Apo Drive, Novahills Subdivision in Caloocan City last Saturday, July 6.

Among the wedding sponsors are Ramon and Mary Grace Ypil, Elmer and Marilou Bautista, Domingo and Raquel Notario, Eugenio and Dulce Notario and Ed Andaya and Melanie Mercado.

Husband and wife will soon fly to Canada to start a new life together.

NOTES — Happy birthday in heaven to my Lola Carmen Susano, who would have been 100 years old on July 7. She passed away last November 2013 in Calgary, Canada, but we still remembers her fondly to this day…

Happy birthday, too, to Alice Siojo (July 5), Dave Corros (July 12), Melody del Rosario (July 13), Dana May Nell (July 13) and Clyde Mariano (July 14)…

Advance Happy anniversary to Rolly and Herminia Dieron of Orange County, CA. and Sta. Rosa City, Laguna on July 16.

For comments and suggestions, email to [email protected]