5 AM. Along the road towards the highway. We are heading home, back to Manila after a week of vacation.

The farmers are already up and about. A few jeepneys and trucks have begun their route. The day has begun, we have a long trip ahead of us.

Five hundred meters from the railroad crossing is a stretch of several fields. On ther right, a majestic sight greeted us.

What a beautiful going away gift God gave.

A new dawn. I feel it empowering me with renewed energy and vigor. It was as if my whole being basks in the glory of a new day.

Life is awesome.

I just found that aside from Chess, there are three other variations I can play on my iBook.

From the Chess Help File:

Crazyhouse follows the same rules of movement as chess, with the winner being the first player to checkmate his or her opponent. However, when players capture their opponent’s pieces, they receive the same piece of their color to drop into the game at any time. For example, if a player captures a knight, he or she can later drop a knight anywhere on the board, even if it brings about check or checkmate.
In crazyhouse, a player cannot drop a pawn into the 1st or 8th rank. Also, you can promote a pawn to any piece, but if that piece is captured, it reverts back to a pawn for the capturer’s use.

Suicide follows the same rules of movement as chess, but there is no castling. The winner is the first player to lose all of his or her pieces or to have no legal move left. The king doesn’t hold a special significance, and it can be sacrificed like any other piece. Also, players can promote pawns to a king.

Losers follows the same rules as Suicide. However, the king holds the same significance as in chess, and players must reply to checking moves first. But if a player mates, he or she loses.

Is this part of Wesley So’s discipline? I don’t think so (pun unintended), but it might just help him grow his repertoire of moves. Funny thing though is I’ve lost as much as I did with regularl chess yet it felt fun losing. Maybe because it continues to teach me how to think differently from the way I used to.
In life, maybe you can ask yourself: “What will I do if I can do anything I want, regardless of time, money, ability, training, location or physical condition?” You might just have a Eureka moment.

Extra: For book lovers:

There is a great adventure book that used chess and a certain Chess set as its topic. This I think is way much better than a recent around-the-world-mystery-adventure in all aspects. Persons are considered in their equivalent chess piece. Pawns, Black  knight, bishop, qhite queen… and a play on the number eight, the chessboard (8×8)… fibonacci sequence… the puzzle of using the knight to cover all squares of the board in exactly 64 moves… music (octave), etc… I wonder if the sequel has been finished or will be out soon.. The tile of the book is The Eight by Katherine Neville.

I would like to thank Melo of melovillareal.com for this book. I fancy myself to be a productivity advocate and student. The book The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris is coming to my hands via this contest.  By the way, another contest is on-going for another book: Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day. This is something I need. Maybe I can join and win again =). Go here for details of the new contest. It’s also where he announced my win.
Imagine working only for four hours a week.

That’s just 240 minutes or 14400 seconds.

And having the rest of the time for any pursuit you wish. If a typical person works for five days at 8 hours a week, that totals 40 hours of labor.

So spending a measly four hours toiling leaves one with 36 more hours of play, recreation, contribution and other productive pursuits (including those which are seemingly trivial.)

I like the sound of that. This also answers my dilemma which book to bring to Bicol. This should be finished before the New year.

Thanks again Melo!

Liza, our cousin was in town from the US for some vacation. Last Sunday, she took us out for lunch at Edsa Shangrila’s posh restaurant: H.E.A.T. which stands for healthy eating, amazing taste.

There were five of us: Liza, Mei, Hiyas, Gina and me.

We started past 12 NN after doing some shopping from SM Megamall where Liza bought a trendy Swatch wristwatch which changes its face every hour. There were round thingies rotating slowly in sync. She got the ones with the crop circles, designs which were like the ones in Mel Gibson’s movie - Signs. (Biz idea: an armband that changes every time you move. Crop circles and other patterns would be a great starting point.)
With tummies raring to be filled, we charged the lines armed with plates and bowls. I started with Singaporean style sotanghon soup laced with beef, bacon, shrimp, squid balls and fish balls. It was hot, curryish and on the left side of the spicy spectrum. It warmed my belly just right.

My companions got some greens, a little rice and beef I think. Me, I went for the lengua, the beef spare ribs, lechon, Peking duck and a slice of roast beef. I like meat. Suffice it to say that each dish had a life of its own. While others would like to savor the pure taste of each preparation, I’d like to mix and match. Lechon and roast beef can go quite well together. Lengua should just be eaten by itself or with rice.

It was Japanese that I devoured next. Salmon sashimi and California maki - a plate full. My Filipino taste mixes soy sauce, wasabi and calamansi for the dip. Come to think of it, I think ANY dish will taste food with this concoction. But that’s another story altogether.

While I was busy in my own world, the ladies had grilled crab, grilled shrimp which my wife says are the best. Mei, a vegetarian went for the cheeses and some salad. Hiyas had her usual quiet demeanor, eating a little of this and a little of that. I think she would be full with half of my plate.
In between bites and gulps, we talked about the past present and future: Gina teaching Liza how to sing Mamang Sorbetero and Saranggola ni Pepe when they were still kids - to Liza’s routine in the States and then forward to what itinerary we would have if we were to spend two to three weeks with the kids in the US.

With my carnivorous and oriental cravings satisfied, it was time to bring in the sweet life: CHOCOLATES - of all sorts and coffee to boot! Just picture me doing the kuyakoy (one leg over the other, kicking in rhythm with a contented smile. Just heavenly.

The balikbayan and the two young ladies got taho with sago. Gina got some fruits - she does not fancy sweet things - ako lang daw hehehe.
Oh I almost forgot: I helped my self with three fruit sticks (green apple, red apple and cantaloupe) on the chocolate fondue (did i get it right?). And used the stick to wipe the chocolate off the plate and cleaned it myself.

With great company and great food, we forgot about dinner and went straight to bed.

I think we might go back there again.

When you mention Kalibo, Aklan, Boracay always comes to mind.

But I didn’t go there, though I would have loved to. Circumstances didn’t permit me to go to Caticlan and head out for the beach. I was in Kalibo for work.

To make matters worse, I broke the first rule for travelers and photo enthusiasts. Do you know what that is? Read more