Hooked on Chess Opening Preparation!

November 4-8, 2011 is the schedule of the 2011 Intercities Tournament at Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines and at this time I am so excited to learn that I have in my team superb players in the Philippines. Again, for the nth time, I will represent the Department of Education. Only this time the cast will be star-studded. Manning board 1 will be FM Jony Habla, board 2 will be handled by CM Jose Aquino, Jr., and board 3 will be guarded by CM Rainier Labay. At board 4, the man to watch is Ramil Acosta, the usual point-picker of the team, and at board 5 will be me (an unknown chess player from the University of the East).

The timing seems to favor me due to my 4-day vacation at the office. So, like what I said on my title, I am really hooked up on my opening preparation. I digged on my arsenal the almost rotten book "Kasparov's Opening Repertoire" by Shamkovich and Schiller and reconfigure my totally unused chess database Fritz 11.

Since my task will not be as big as those of my team mates (boards 1, 2, & 3), I will just have to draw my games and let them handle the rest.

Ok. Back to work...err games. I will immediately inform you guys of my struggle at Batangas. Cheers!

Brand New Eye Glass

It seems that I am not getting any younger. Even my eye vision is deteriorating.

Last week, I had my eyes checked by an expert and he recommended me an eye glass that was progressive in nature. I obliged.

I am now wearing it.

BTW, I was told to wear it every now and then. Urgh...

Applied for the Renewal of My Passport

I am so happy that the transaction for the renewal of my passport at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Manila, Philippines was so fast. As a government employee, I have a privilege to go to government lane (fast lane), however, yesterday was a different story. I just stand in line on a short queue of regular applicants and finished my dealings within 1 1/2 hours. Great!

The things needed were, just get an appointment through online application, prepare all the photocopied pages (1st, 2nd, and the last 2 pages of the passport), you have to decide if your passport is to be prepared express (P1200) or regular (P950),and should you want your passport to be delivered to your house just prepare additional P130 for your choice of courier.

My next visit would be the U.S. Embassy!

The ABC's of Creating Life of Your Dreams

Guys! Allow me to share with you this worth-reading material. Enjoy.
-------------------------------------

The ABC's Of Creating the Life Of Your Dreams
By Jim Donovan

You deserve to live the kind of life you've always dreamed
about. You can have everything you want in life, if, you are
willing to do what it takes.

I have broken the process into three simple steps I call the
ABC's of creating the life of your dreams.

Yes, having the life of your dreams can be as simple as
A,B,C, if you follow the steps.

Accept...

Accept the fact that your thoughts and actions have
contributed to the circumstances in your life. If you are 25
pounds overweight, you did it by choice. Nobody forced the
food into you, did they? If you are in a job you do not
love, you're the one who stays in it.

Take responsibility for your life.

This will empower you to make changes. A good exercise to
get you started is to take a personal inventory. This
exercise is similar to grocers taking an inventory of their
stock.

Take a sheet of paper and list all of the things you like
about yourself along with those areas you want to change. It
is important you list the good along with the "not so good."
When you have finished, you will have a clearer picture of
what you want to change in your life.

Believe...

Believe in yourself. Dare to dream!

And when you dream, dream big!

The late, Norman Vincent Peale said, "If you want a big
life, you have to have big dreams."

However, before you can have what you want, you must know
what that is. You need clearly defined, written goals.

Start with a clean sheet of paper. Across the top write
"Dream Sheet." Now list all of the things you want to have,
do be, and share.

Don't worry right now, how you will accomplish this. Simply
write. Do this for at least a half an hour. You will be
amazed how easy it will be for about 10 minutes, then you
will have to really think about what you want.

Now that you have clearly defined goals, you are ready for
the next, and most important, step.

Commit to your success...

Commit to your goals, right now.

On another sheet of paper, write each goal. Next to it,
write a short sentence or two about why you will accomplish
this. It has been said many times that you can reach any
goal if you have a big enough why.

You are now ready to develop an action plan. Write each goal
on a separate sheet of paper. Next to each one, list one or
two immediate steps you can take to move toward this goal.

Don't worry about knowing everything you'll need to know. As
you start moving, the path will reveal itself. It's much
like the headlights on your car. They only light a certain
distance in front of you but, as you progress, the road
ahead is lighted for you.

What will you need to learn? Whose help will you need?

For example, if you goal is to shed 25 pounds, you may want
to consult a health professional. Perhaps you want to join a
health club, buy a book on exercise, take a class, etc.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are always people,
probably right around you, who already know what you need to
know or do and would be happy to help, if only they were
asked.

You deserve to live a full, healthy, happy, prosperous life.
It is up to you.

Am So Happy to Receive an Invitation

I am so glad to receive an invitation from my cousin to visit US in July 2012. Actually, this is the 2nd time I got this offer from her (free round trip ticket to the US - yeheey!). This time I won't let this opportunity to let go. I am claiming this offer! To God be the glory!

World Teachers' Day!

I wish to extend my warmest greetings to all my teachers during my elementary, secondary, tertiary, graduate school, and my senseis in Okinawa, Japan. You gave me so much inspiration and, like you, I became just like you - a teacher myself. Special greetings to my mom, my parents-in-law, and my wife who happens to be mentors as well. Greetings!

Unforgettable Experience at the Planetarium - SM Mall of Asia

I was so lucky to be given complimentary tickets to visit the Planetarium at the SM Mall of Asia which is sponsored by the NIDO Fortified. My kids were so happy and have been kissing me every now and then as if to give thanks for a wonderful experience the've got. The interactive games at the 2nd Floor of the Science Discovery Center started it all. Betty and Joaquine were so amazed to play with Multimedia sets by Vibal Publishing House, Inc. especially the games using detector. Wow! I had my fair share of fun too as I joined them by playing table tennis and soccer.

As we were playing, we heard an announcement that the show "One World, One Sky" a planetarium show of a brilliant spectacle of light and color as the furry friends watch the stars twinkle all over Sesame Street. Amazing. The child in me suddenly reappeared and this special feeling of joy, finally, can be seen through the eyes of everyone's watching, moreso, with the kids in attendance.

After the show ended, my wife and the kids tried answering the "Grossology Quiz" located at the same floor. At first, I was not able to answer the questions correctly but as soon as I got my momentum I became very competitive.

Had not for the time which was 9:00 p.m. we won't leave the place. Anyway, I would like to share these photos, enjoy!

What Am I Eating?

You must be wondering what am I eating here at the Cordillera Administrative Region? Well, I just had this wonderful food. I wish you'll like it.

I love it!

Amazing Karl Jonathan Aguilar!

I have been watching "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" for two successive Saturdays now and I am very fortunate to witness Karl Jonathan Aguilar in his winning moment and, thanks God, he finally won the P2M jackpot. This guy is tough! As I read the last question, "books prohibited by Roman Catholic" on my TV monitor, I googled it right away and voila! I got the answer, Index Librorum Prohibitorum which is in letter "D". I knew immediately that the answer of his friend (through a telephone) was wrong. I listen with enthusiasm as Karl Jonathan laid his cards, he stated that "A" was definitely incorrect, blah.blah.blah.

Upon careful evaluation, he stated that "D" is the answer. He asked forgiveness to her mother (who is dreaming to have their own house) but he will make an answer.

"He's not a risk-taker." according to him, but he'll be one this time!

Risk worth-taking! He just won a whooping P2M. Congratulations Karl Jonathan!

Controversial Issues on Language

I have been following the controversial article made by Mr. James Soriano about the Filipino Language which has been discussed fully all over the net. I was able to find copies of Mr. Soriano's write-up and an interesting comment. If you have comments feel free to do so. I hope you'll enjoy reading...

Language, learning, identity, privilege
Ithink
By JAMES SORIANO
August 24, 2011, 4:06am

MANILA, Philippines — English is the language of learning. I’ve known this since before I could go to school. As a toddler, my first study materials were a set of flash cards that my mother used to teach me the English alphabet.

My mother made home conducive to learning English: all my storybooks and coloring books were in English, and so were the cartoons I watched and the music I listened to. She required me to speak English at home. She even hired tutors to help me learn to read and write in English.

In school I learned to think in English. We used English to learn about numbers, equations and variables. With it we learned about observation and inference, the moon and the stars, monsoons and photosynthesis. With it we learned about shapes and colors, about meter and rhythm. I learned about God in English, and I prayed to Him in English.

Filipino, on the other hand, was always the ‘other’ subject — almost a special subject like PE or Home Economics, except that it was graded the same way as Science, Math, Religion, and English. My classmates and I used to complain about Filipino all the time. Filipino was a chore, like washing the dishes; it was not the language of learning. It was the language we used to speak to the people who washed our dishes.

We used to think learning Filipino was important because it was practical: Filipino was the language of the world outside the classroom. It was the language of the streets: it was how you spoke to the tindera when you went to the tindahan, what you used to tell your katulong that you had an utos, and how you texted manong when you needed “sundo na.”

These skills were required to survive in the outside world, because we are forced to relate with the tinderas and the manongs and the katulongs of this world. If we wanted to communicate to these people — or otherwise avoid being mugged on the jeepney — we needed to learn Filipino.

That being said though, I was proud of my proficiency with the language. Filipino was the language I used to speak with my cousins and uncles and grandparents in the province, so I never had much trouble reciting.

It was the reading and writing that was tedious and difficult. I spoke Filipino, but only when I was in a different world like the streets or the province; it did not come naturally to me. English was more natural; I read, wrote and thought in English. And so, in much of the same way that I learned German later on, I learned Filipino in terms of English. In this way I survived Filipino in high school, albeit with too many sentences that had the preposition ‘ay.’

It was really only in university that I began to grasp Filipino in terms of language and not just dialect. Filipino was not merely a peculiar variety of language, derived and continuously borrowing from the English and Spanish alphabets; it was its own system, with its own grammar, semantics, sounds, even symbols.

But more significantly, it was its own way of reading, writing, and thinking. There are ideas and concepts unique to Filipino that can never be translated into another. Try translating bayanihan, tagay, kilig or diskarte.

Only recently have I begun to grasp Filipino as the language of identity: the language of emotion, experience, and even of learning. And with this comes the realization that I do, in fact, smell worse than a malansang isda. My own language is foreign to me: I speak, think, read and write primarily in English. To borrow the terminology of Fr. Bulatao, I am a split-level Filipino.

But perhaps this is not so bad in a society of rotten beef and stinking fish. For while Filipino may be the language of identity, it is the language of the streets. It might have the capacity to be the language of learning, but it is not the language of the learned.

It is neither the language of the classroom and the laboratory, nor the language of the boardroom, the court room, or the operating room. It is not the language of privilege. I may be disconnected from my being Filipino, but with a tongue of privilege I will always have my connections.

So I have my education to thank for making English my mother language.
Read more: http://www.ofwkuwait.net/james-soriano/#ixzz1XnmCm9sf
Filipino in Kuwait | OFW Kuwait network
---------------------xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx---------------------------

“It is not the language of the learned”
by AVD on Fri, 09/02/2011 - 13:49

Ipagpaumanhin mo James Soriano kung hindi ako sang-ayon sa iyong sinabi sa wikang Filipino at sa mga gumagamit nito.
Anu po ba ang ibig mong ipagkahulugan ng “LEARNED”? Sa pagkakaalam ko ay LEARNED din ako.
Sa pagbasa ko sa iyong isinulat, isa lamang ang pumasok sa aking isipan – mali ang perspektibo mo sa “WIKA” at “KAALAMAN”.
Ako ay 28 taong gulang na ngayon. Di naman sa pagmamayabang pero sa edad ko na ito ay nabigyan ako ng responsibilidad at posisyon na kadalasan ay naibibigay sa mga taong higit na matanda sa akin ng 15 taon. At, sa aking pagkakatanda ay sa lahat ng nasalihan ko na mga paligsahan mula haiskul ay nagkakamit ako ng mataas na parangal. Magugulat ka at baka mapuno ang kwarto mo sa mga patunay ng pagkilala na naigawad sa akin. At para malaman mo rin ay di man lang ako nakakuha ng marka o grado na bababa sa 90. Kaya siguro pwede natin sabihin LEARNED ako.
At, di ko naman masabi na wala akong kaya kasi lumaki ako na may mga kasambahay na lagi nakaalalay sa lahat ng aking pangangailangan. Natuto nga lamang ako mag-asikaso ng sarili ko ng ako ay tumapak sa kolehiyo dahil sabi ng aking ama ay wala ng susunod-sunod sa akin na dadampot pag may naitapon ako.
Pasensyahan mo ang pagyayabang ko ng kunti para maibahagi ko sa iyo ang aking perspektibo.
Sa aking tingin ay di ka pa “LEARNED”. At, dapat ka pang matuto.
Ito turuan kita…
Ang wika ay tagapagtaguyod (facilitator) ng kaalaman. Walang kinalaman ang wika sa pagkilala kung ang tao ay ang tinatawag mo na “LEARNED” o hindi. Sa edad ko na ito, na halos napuntahan ko na iba’t ibang kontinente, at nakipagsalamuha sa mga tao na Pranses, Espanyol, Ingles, Aprikano, Tsino, Europeo, atbp., di ko makita ang sinasabi mo na may diretsong kaugnayan ang WIKA at ang KAALAMAN kaya ang wikang ginagamit ay may kaugnayan sa kategorya mo ng mga tao. Diba ang sustansya ng salita ay di nakikita sa kung paano sinabi at kung anung wika ginamit?
Ako ay matatas sa wikang Ingles at Filipino, at nagpupumilit matuto na rin ng ibang wika dahil naiintidihan ko na sa isang wikang di ko nalalaman, posibleng may nakatagong karunungan na pwedeng dumagdag sa aking nalalaman. Sa aking pagkakaintindi ay kulang ang iyong nalalaman dahil di mo pala naiintindihan ang Filipino. Nalilimitahan ng kakulangan mo sa wika ang iyong alam. At ito ay halata masyado dahil sa iyong pananaw.
Sabi nila di ka napalaki ng tama ng iyong magulang. Ako nama’y di naniniwala dun at wala sila karapatang pagdudadhan ang pagpapalaki sa iyo. Ang aking punto ay wag na wag ka sanang manghuhusga sa ibang tao lalo na sa tingin mo ay mas aba sa iyo, di mo pwede itangi ito dahil halata na maliit tingin mo sa mga kasambahay mo. Basahin mo kaya ng sampung beses sinulat mo.
Sila ang nagpapatakbo ng ekonomiya. Kung wala driver mo e san ka pupunta? Kung wala labandera mo e sino mglalaba ng nangingitim mo na salawal ? Kung wala katulong mo e sino magwawalis sa nanlalagkit mong kwarto?
At isa pa.. subukan mo kaya humingi ng puna at suhestyon sa kanila.. Di kaya masaktan ka lang pag nalaman mo na ang mga minamaliit mo ay mas matalino pala… Akala natin kasi minsan dahil tango sila ng tango ay wala sila alam.. Subukan mo kaya making sa kanila..
Makinig ka Bro… (Use Google Translate…)

My Wife is Not Feeling Well this Morning

My wife is not feeling well this morning. Hopefully, she will be ok.

Needed, More to Improve

Point out the need for:

More to improve, fewer merely to disapprove.

More doers, fewer talkers.

More to say "It can be done," fewer to explain why "It can't be done."

More to inspire others with confidence, fewer to throw cold water on anyone taking even one step in the right direction.

More to get into the thick of things and do something, fewer to sit, on the sidelines merely finding fault.

More to point out what's right with the world, fewer to keep harping on what's wrong with the world.

More to be interested in "lighting candles," fewer in blowing the out.

-Anonymous

All Time Low!

I can't believe it. Despite being promoted and having an increment on my salary I experienced all time low on my finances. Bills kept on coming and my salary deductions have been increasing.

I'm hoping that these challenges will be over.