Let’s play chess

The recent Baku Chess Olympiad inspired me to play chess again. Last night, I played on chess.com blitz games until I drop (with dinner and community prayer in between). It’s also my preparation for the upcoming Notre Dame Educational Association Sportsfest this coming September 23 where I’ll play in the evening after having coming from proctoring in the morning for the examination and a long travel to Tacurong. Maybe that’s the reason why my mind is so alert to notice dreams and my body restless waking up in between my sleeping. It seems that I can practice now everyday with the help of my new laptop, a humble Asus X4538 with basic specifications. So with Rico Blanco’s Chess playing in the background, let’s play.

Now time for the community morning prayer.

School updates, teaching duties, Basketball, NBA Conference Finals, and waking up early

It’s almost Friday and I can’t wait for weekend. I started work here in Notre Dame of Cotabato since Wednesday last week and it’s a series of workshops, seminars, meetings, and lots of lesson planning for the next school year. Classes will be starting at June 13 along with the public schools nationwide.

Anyway, going back to my anticipation of the weekend, I am looking forward to the sports event of all the Notre Dame schools here in Cotabato City this coming Saturday. I am to choose whether to play basketball or chess. I don’t know which one to choose. If I’m going to choose chess, it’s because I’m good at it. If basketball, it’s because I enjoy playing and not because I am good at it. In fact, I suck at playing hoops. I am taller than the average Filipino so it’s normal for me to be assigned inside the paint. As much as I love putbacks, I still do find pleasure in shooting threes. I just love the swish and the sound of the net when I shoot from the perimeter (except when it’s airball). Maybe it’s because of the NBA Conference Finals that’s happening. I am rooting for Cleveland Cavaliers!

I’m still adjusting to the school and so far, I am still learning about the bankruptcy by listening to small bits of info about what happened to the decisions made in the previous (mis)administration. I am still finding it hard to adjust to waking up early. And that means the alarm sounds at 5am! That’s all for the meantime and please catch up with me in my Twitter account. Might be offline depending on the schedule I might have since everything’s tentative so far.

Losing a Found Treasure (Final Part)

I thought losing a found treasure is hard. But for me, I lost it effortlessly.

I retired playing competitive chess when I graduated in high school. In truth, it was not a conscious decision. Funny things happened when I was a freshman in college. Before I entered college, I was trying out in different chess varsity teams. My coach offered me a not really known college telling me that I’m guaranteed to receive full scholarship there. I turned it down because I don’t like the school. I heard they specialize in nursing but I am never interested in that field. So that’s why I was the one looking for a school to give me an athletic scholarship. Colleges also accommodate mental athletes like me, right? Continue reading →