General Cleaning of Unit

Yipee!  After a year of transferring from Tayuman to Binondo I had the chance to have our condo unit get cleaned up due to long vacation.  OMG, I was terrified to see legions of roaches all over the place.  The maternal cabinet had been the most heavily hit.  The foul smell was so alarming but I don't have a choice but to get rid of it.  Whew, it's good there were no rodents in attendance!

Worthwhile Experience at Quezon Province

Hospitality? It is one of the innate qualities of Filipinos,right? I experienced it at Quezon Province when I visited the place last week. My extreme gratitude goes to Sir George Aguila and Sir Virgilio Abrenica for the extraordinary support! Here are some of the pictures. I hope you'll like it.

We stayed at this place in Mulanay for one night. Thank you for the experience!

My First Time to Visit Quezon Province

Hello everyone! I had an scheduled trip to Quezon Province this week and yesterday my group (with Sir Tony our team leader and Sir Rey)went to Buendia JAM Terminal for our travel to Lucena. As if things would be going for the better - the moment we set our foot inside our bus it immediately left. The chauffer and the conductor assisted me in charging my cellular phone and camera batteries. At the Grand Central Terminal we were accompanied by Quezon Division Supply Officer George Aguila with Virgilio Abrenica whose demeanor have been outstanding. We had a long trip to District III Catanuan District wherein we passed by Pitogo and many more notable towns at Quezon. Our couterparts from the division introduced our group to the district supply officer Sir David who was not only very friendly but also very professional.

After setting our things, we were given a sumptuous dinner by the host district. Thereafter, I went to a nearby bar to sip my favorite SMB lights and listen to the band. I have been scouting for a massage parlor in the town but I did not find any at the time being. I headed to my station at about 10 p.m.

This morning, our group facilitated a brief orientation to very cooperative school heads of district three. I had a welcome remarks and I presented to our audience the importance of this activity: 1) to monitor the textbook situation on their district and to assess the 1:1 textbook to pupil ratio which was advocated by Secretary Luistro at the start of the school year.

To sum it up, the orientation had been well attended and very useful to everyone. I would like to thank the Division of Quezon Province for a very warm welcome and of course Sir George, Sir Vio, and Sir David for their support to our cause.

I just had a confession

I just had my confession at Quiapo Church and I shared everything I knew were my sins. At the end of my ordeal I was told to pray the rosary!

Bound to Tagaytay City

Again, for the nth time I will be going to Tagaytay City - now at Tagaytay International Convention Center (last week I was at Girl Scout of the Philippines Center). I will be staying for one week to assist on the institutionalization of learning materials nationwide. Hopefully, workshop sessions would be fruitful and beneficial to participants. Our speakers would employ series of LM innovations never been heard in public schools. About the project, for your initial information you can press this link.

BTW, Our participants will be ICT coordinators coming from Regions I, II, and III on the 17th to 18th ; and Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, and NCR on the 20th and 21st of September. Our major sponsors are SPHERE and AusAID.

About the Chess Olympiad: Happy for RP Chess Team

I have been diligently following the games of RP Chess Team over the internet and I am so impressed by the showing of our chessers. SGM Wesley So tremendously showcased his vast improvements of the game. Having drawn a match against Armenia's best SGM Levon Aronian proved to be a huge achievement. As usual, GMs Oliver Barbosa and Mark Paragua chess moves were a beauty to behold. Having participated in various tournaments, both local and foreign, they were very much cognoscente of the game. Not to be outdone was the performance of IM Oliver Dimakiling who proved he was a tough nut to crack. He demolished every opponent assigned to him except Armenia's experienced board 4 player. First Asia's GM Eugene Torre's antics to provide astonishing positional game was again evident in one of his games in the recent Olympiad.

There has been a post at philboxing.com site questioning why IM Dimakiling was fielded instead of GM Torre during RPs game vs. Armenia that caused RPs downfall. I believe that the comment against IM Dimakiling was not only made to denigrate him but the RP chess team as a whole. That poster, I believed, has became a maudlin due to Dimaks loss to a stronger and better player.

Let me share to you may 1 cent response: Firstly, during that time RP has had winning streaks and they have never been beaten by anyone in the Olympiad. Right? "Why would we fix it when it ain't broke." There was no need to change the horses at the middle of the battle. What if he won? Lastly, Torre was still mourning that time and I think (though he is ready) he is not yet emotionally prepared.

I am praying that the Philippines will demolish their opponents on their next games. Good luck!

The Country is Mourning

The country is mourning over the untimely death of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo. I do not have personal knowledge of this person but as I observed it - the whole weekend was truly dedicated to him. News reporters (both local and foreign) had been going gaga as to how and why such a wonderful person would experience an early demise. One of the most admirable traits of this man is his humility. Hail to you Sir Jesse.

NBA Dream Team Thoughts

'just when the NBA Dream Team 2 thought they were far better than the Dream Team 1, the former won the basketball Olympic gold by measly 7 points. They were almost beaten by Lithuania in the elimination round via a scary 99-94 game.

Losing a Mother

The Day the World Went Quiet

I just lost my mother.

There are griefs that whisper, and there are griefs that roar. This one is both. It is the quiet ache in the middle of the night, and it is the deafening silence when I realize she will never call my name again.

She wasn’t just my mother. When my father died in 1987, she became both my Dad and Mom—my shield and my anchor, my teacher and my fiercest protector. She carried the weight of two lives so I could carry mine.

Now, she is gone, and the world feels like it’s missing a piece it will never get back.

I miss her hugs—the kind that wrapped not just around my body, but around my entire being. I miss her endless stream of advice—sometimes tender, sometimes stubborn, always rooted in love. I even miss her gentle scoldings, because they meant she was still looking out for me.

Grief is a strange companion. It hides in the smell of her favorite cooking, in the old sweater I still can’t throw away, in the quiet spaces of the day when my mind wanders back to her without permission. I find myself wanting to tell her about my day, to hear her laugh, to ask her what she thinks—only to remember she’s not here to answer.

Mama, I miss you in ways I don’t have the words for. But I carry you with me—in my choices, in my dreams, in the person I am still trying to become. The love you gave me did not end when you left. It lingers, like sunlight in the evening sky—fading, but never truly gone.

They say time will heal. I think time will only teach me to live with the ache. But if loving you so deeply means hurting this much, then I will bear the hurt a hundred times over.

Thank you, Mama, for being my home when I had none, my courage when I had little, and my joy when the world felt heavy. The day you left, the world went quiet… but in my heart, your voice will never stop speaking.

Why o Why?

Deep thinking: I have been wondering why after cutting cost in my rental apartment (I now live in a condo unit for teachers (courtesy of my wife) for only P671.00 I still suffer monetary setbacks. The bills continue to float and debts soar so high. I am so upset!

Amazing Toastmaster Evaluators

'just attended this week's Manila Bay Toastmasters Club meeting at Casino Espanol de Manila and we were joined by the Bayanihan Club. It was awesome to hear guest evaluators who shared their wealth of experiences. Kudos to Jared our outgoing president and welcome Sir Meo. I had a terrific evening!

A Dismal Performance at the Manila Chessfest!

I joined the 441st Manila Open Chess Tournament yesterday at SM Manila Lower Basement and I scored 4.5 out of 8 games. I scored 4 wins, 3 losses, and a draw. I could have scored better had I not lost the last game and probably get the category award as the best unrated player of the event. However, I was not as lucky as the rest of the newbies since I was paired with the veteran NM Adrian Ros Pacis. After post-mortem analysis, NM Pacis suggested that I should have not taken his knight on g5 for it gave him the opportunity to push his pawns. My other disappointing game happened on the 5th round wherein after having a pawn and a spatial advantage the game ended in a truce. My lapses on judgment was very clearly evident as I gave away every advantage I had as I self-destruct.

Perhaps, I should join tournaments again in the future to further my experience.

Congratulations to the winners and to all the players as well. Special mention to GM Laylo, GM Antonio, and NM Andador for getting the major awards and to all the sponsors (i.e., Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, PAGCOR, Spartan Mining, and SM Prime Holdings of course for the venue! Below are the results of my games against various opponents:

Losing a Winning Game

Manny Pacquiao lost a seemingly winning game against Timothy Bradley last night that (at least) according to two idiot judges who favored Bradley - the new Wheelchair Weight Champion.

One of the judges declared, that Bradley out-punched and out-smarted Manny Pacquiao, however, the compubox stats says otherwise (see photo). So, I was wrong when I said that one of the judges was an idiot - for he was not only stupid but also a liar.

The words of former heavyweight champion Lenox Lewis has destructed the above-mentioned judges but also the sport he loved so dearly: “Pac won the fight. Bradley won the decision. (Arum) won another payday. Boxing lost its integrity and the fans lost confidence."

I am hoping that the decision made will be overturned in favor of the rightful winner. Hail to boxing!