Name That Tree!

No Swim
Am feeling a little better now - thanx to water therapy which I've been doing for the last 2 days.

Since I've no swim update, I might as well post a couple of pics from my exercise last weekend. I started bucking a portion of the big bundle of branches we got from clearing the front and back yard. We cleared the front due to the unwieldy branches touching some wire cables. The branches felled are mixed. There's SANTOL, LAGUNDI, MANGO and ATIS. Now here's a short quiz. Can you identify the 3 cut branches below from the 4 mentioned names?


I learned that santol is really native to Cambodia and Laos. It is known as satawn in Thailand; tong in Laos; sau chua in North Vietnam; sentool in Indonesia and klampu in Brunei. In Guam, it is santor or wild mangosteen. Split open, the smell of the inside of the santol branch is quite nice. Atis is also called sweetsop or custard or sugar apple. Were it not for the seeds, I really like this fruit.

Here's a pic of the new pile of bucked and split wood for drying.

9th Toastmasters Speech

No Swim since yesterday.
Typhoon "Domeng" made its landfall yesterday morning and it's been soggy. My colds (which I got from Renz, I suppose) didn't help either.

The brief respite allowed me though to write and finish up my 9th Toastmasters Speech (Persuade with Power) entitled "Jewels at the Podium". The speech is about managing nervousness/ stagefright. The meeting where I was invited over was not a pure toastmasters session although there were toastmasters there. It was a toastmaster mentoring session for engineers. I was surprised when I got in coz Orly was giving a technical presentation complete with the slides. Apparently he was preparing for the ASEMEP symposium. The session was meant to coach him and help him with the slides.

My speech today at that session turned out great! Although I had some lengthy pauses for me to recall the next points, I don't think I missed or skiped an idea. Yup, I delivered it in full and I'm happy. The engineers and section managers (not toastmasters) who were there seemed dumbfounded and astounded with what they saw. I mean these are folks who I see around everyday at the office. They were surprised that the mild-mannered IT guy they see could deliver a speech that way. They liked it a lot - and they kept giving their own (good) feedback uncontrollably although it's really just my speech evaluator who's supposed to do that. Apparently, they found it not only persuasive but inspiring as well.

I finished writing the speech at 9pm last night. Rehearsed it until 11pm and then woke up at 4am this morning to rehearse again. I delivered it at 7:30 am today. Whew! It was well, well worth it. I am so elated! One final speech and I'll be a certified CTM - Competent Toastmaster (now called CC - Competent Communicator)

See all my Toastmasters Speeches online here!

Hook to Boomerang

50 x 5 free

I didn't really plan on swimming today. I chased Sandra to school but she got there ahead of me. Luckily I got there before flag ceremony so I got to warn her about the hotdog sandwich that didn't 'taste right'. We just agreed that she'll take some from her lunch for the morning break. Anyway, since I was already there I just proceeded to the pool since traffic going the other way (to the office) was getting heavy.

There was a small family 2 adults and 3 kids that went to the pool just as I got out. When they found out that the kiddie pool had no water (used only during summer vacation), the dad changed his mind and called the kids to back out.?? I guess NOBODY knew how to swim. Too bad for them, coz they were carrying lots of foodstuffs and drinks. I don't quite get it. The shallowest part of my pool is only 4 feet high.

It's the second time now that I notice that consciously hooking my forearm into a boomerang (to keep the elbows high) seem to make me faster. This, as compared to just the normal stroke where I just assume I do a high elbow every time. Hmmm, that's another cue right there. Another cue to remember is to finish the freestyle stroke all the way to the hips.

"Jewels at the Podium"

50 x 5 free, 25 x 3 back

I had a good workout today in spite of the heavy chlorine smell today at the pool. The moment I jumped in, the smell of chlorine was in the air. These days I'm getting to the pool earlier than usual. "Usual" was 7:20am. Now it is 7am. Ever since DH was assigned at P3 (Sta.Rosa), almost a month ago, I'm now leaving the house at 6:30am with Che and Karen riding with me. Because I'm at the pool early, I get to do more and actually finish before 8am. Today, my arms, legs and neck feel "wasted" or fatigued. I guess it's a sign of a good workout or maybe, old age.

Yesterday at the Cost and Quality training, Doc Noy asked me about my plans for my final 2 speeches prior CTM certification. He asked about speech 10 and I said it was about education for the youth. Corz, I've been planning to deliver that speech regarding Worldvision for quite some time now. And then, for speech 9 he suggested that I deliver it next week early Tuesday at 7:30am before an audience of engineers who are being mentored by our club's CTM's. He even suggested a generic topic - the benefits or importance of good communication skills. Ok, I thought that would be a convenient venue for me. Although an initial title I was thinking for a swimming-related speech was entitled "Jewels at the Pool", now I could actually rehash the title with the new suggested topic. And the title will be "Jewels at the Podium". Yeah, these titles are in vague reference to a recent Koreanovela entitled "Jewel at the Palace". This telenovela was a very big hit just recently. And no, I never watched it.

See all my Toastmasters Speeches online here!

Karen's Pa-Birthday

No Swim - I gotta catch up on my reading.

Karen's "handa" last night was sumptuous! DH bought a cake at Red Ribbon Munti and then went to Ho Chai Lai for the Chinese takeout. I parked the car at Shell's to wait for her. We were so full and there's even leftover for their baon the next day!


There's Tita Gay, Che, Renz, Birthday Girl Karen, Sandra and DH. Renz was into his usual antics of fidgeting around and intentionally posing bad that it was difficult to get a good shot.

Lots of sauces, dumplings, noodles, chicken, cold cuts! The cake was yummy Rocky Road! (burp!)

Happy 12th Birthday Karen !

No swim - arms are still sore from Sunday's bucking and chopping.

It's Karen's 12th Birthday Today

Hey Karen, your mama and I are so proud to have a fine daughter like you. You've shown that your focus and determination were key to your passing the MunSci exams. Study well and you'll conquer life's challenges head on !

More Wood to Chop & Happy Fathers Day

50 x 5 free
It's Monday and as expected, I was able to fish out a coin - a peso coin. Maybe I should have a running total up there on my banner of just how much the Blackdove's Treasure Chest is now worth. Today's a holiday for Laguna coz of Rizal's birthday hence Sandra has no classes.

A couple of weeks ago, we cut some of the big branches of the mango tree coz some were dangling by the electric and cable wires. Some other branches just had grown too high. I spent some time yesterday bucking and splitting the logs. "Bucking" is the term used for cutting of branches not longitudinally (with grain), but across grain. I read it in stoves book by Sunset. I learned so much in just that one short chapter in the book. I learned that small logs are easier to split when they are still fresh. Small logs are easy to saw too. They're soft and since the diameter is small, they don't 'catch' and 'stick' the blade too much. Big logs are easier to saw when dried - and have become wood.

No the pic isn't a wannabe WWF wrestler with a goofy, crazy mask. It's Road Runner Renzo with an uninflated mask. He was just doing this silly jumping and dancing on the bed.

Here's Renz taunting ate Dada to finish her vegetables. Sandra's getting notorious for not wanting to eat vegetables AT ALL. All of them, including Renz are fond of veggies. Since I kidded that she may not grow as big as her sisters, Renz may outgrow her too and that Renz's head is bigger than Sandra. Renz proceeds to compare their heads "side-by-side".

Renz proceeds to wrestle with Sandra in this action shot. Yesterday was Father's day and I got a nice little present from my kids. Their names and ages were written on the sides. Thanx Che, Karen, Sandra and Renz !

A Dog Crawl Variation

25 x 2 back
After I jumped in today, the smell of chlorine was overwhelming. I know the weekend's coming up so they probly put more chlorine. Don't know if it's psychological though coz I was gasping and breathing heavily at the end of 2 laps.

Anyway I tried a variation of the dog crawl. Click on the video below to play. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right though coz I had some side-to-side motion which may be due to the wide sculling. Notice that the palms of the swimmer on the video turn face up on the recovery (after the scull). Somehow, I like my old 'traditional' dog paddle better.

Back to Backstroke

25 x 6 backRestarted studying backstroke. Although I float better, I can only manage 3/4 of the 25 meter pool. That's just a little better than before coz I could only half of it in the past - either I sink or wash too much water over my face. I also managed to swim back without the goggles on. It feels so much better to see everything in the peripheral vision unlike with goggles where you see mostly what's infront. The trick for me to prevent water washing over the face is not to shoot the recovering straight up, but rather in a 11 o'clock (for left arm) and 1 o'clock (for right arm) for a narrow Y-position.

I should also learn to focus kicking from the hips. The right knee started acting up again when the knee bend was wider and the knee joint was exerting more effort. But overall it was good though. Going back to backstroke called on a different set of muscles as against freestyle. I feel a little soreness on the delts and upper traps for the arm stroke; and on the lower back for the kick.

Renz's First Day at IJMC

5 x 50 free

After a week's hiatus I'm back in the pool. Since it was a holiday yesterday, the crowd was there again as evidenced by the 5 peso coin and 25 cent coin I recovered from the bottom to add to the Blackdove's Treasure Trove. I also recovered a funny locking pendant. The wounds near my right elbow are healing up quite nicely. I'm presently using Sebo de Macho - a whitish cream that supposedly helps in the healing of broken skin to prevent scars. Growing up, I've never used this. But with a bad scar on my left elbow which I got from a huge boil that got out of hand, I don't want that kind of scarring again. Well, so far so good.

Today was Sandra and Renz's first day of school. Since Karen is now at MunSci, Sandra's going solo at LaCo. She also has a new school service. She was picked up early today at 5:30am I actually went to LaCo to see her settle down but the traffic going to school was heavier than usual and I got there at 7am already. And the parking lot was full. So I just went ahead to swim.


Almost midafternoon I drove over to Renz's new school IJMC as a Kinder-1 student. His sked is 8am to 11am. He seems to be coping up pretty well for his first day of school. The pic on the left shows Renz coming out of the classroom at dismissal. Parents and guardians were there to fetch kids too. Pic on the right shows Renz seemingly stunned, speechless and stupefied that fun's over at school and we have to go home. Talaga, ha?

First Day of School at MunSci

Last Monday was first day of school for Che and Karen. Karen's wearing her new uniform for her new school for high school. Looks good! Ate Che is at II-Evans while Karen is at I-Avogadro.

Since Munsci is just nearer than Laco, Karen, like ate won't need to wake up as early as before. Now, Tita Gay no longer needs to fetch since Karen and Che will be together coming home. It's really great that Karen managed the entrance exams. On the first day, both DH and I were there. There was quite a lengthy orientation at the quadrangle at around 8am, we decided to leave. I drove DH to her new office at P3 Sta. Rosa using the Timbao route. Over at P3, I met Mon Rico on the way out. Gosh, he's been there for 5 years now.

I'll most probly be taking them to school this entire week or at least until I can go swimming again. This wound on my elbow is taking too long to heal.

Open Wounds

There may not be any swim sessions for me anytime soon. My wounds are still fresh and may take a while to totally heal. I'd rather that they be healed completely first. I don't see that happening if they get soaking wet for extended periods.

Toastmasters Speech #8

Wednesday: No Swim
I came to the office early today to prepare the visuals for my upcoming Toastmasters Speech #8 entitled "The Devil's Gardens".

Thursday: 50 x 5 with 3T
Tried a pool dive today. I hit the water flat and felt a little soreness on my back.

Today: 50 x 2
I had to leave the pool early coz I scraped a few skin patches on my right elbow when I attempted a better dive. I thought it was a clean dive though coz I went up and straight down (to the bottom). Good thing it was my elbow and not my face.

Toastmasters Update:
Completed my 8th Toastmasters Speech last night! 2 to go to be a CTM! First off, I was a little disappointed with the way things turned out.

• First, I went to the wrong office! Fortunately the guard at the HSBC Branch office was so helpful and I got to the the right venue (HSBC Call Center) 15 minutes ahead of sked. From Bridegway avenue, I didn't know the access to the office's parking so I just parked by the roadside.
  
  
• Second, the audience didn't seem to be as excited as in other TMC I've been to before. I don't know, maybe I was just expecting a bit more fanfare since it was their very first meeting ever and that made the progamme a bit special. Doc Noy texted that they were planning something "big" and I kinda understood coz they've got some big names there for their first meeting! They had Gina Mapua, the 3rd ranking TM officer in the country; Doc Noy, Division H governor; Olive R., Area Governor and Larry B., Club President. Whatever "big" it was that Doc Noy referred to, I didn't see it at the TM session. Except for the few people I met, everybody seemed "cold" and there was not a whole lot of excitement and enthusiasm. Seemed like they were just pulled out from their jobs to attend another boring meeting.
  
  
• Third, the TM session was really late for my taste. We started past 8pm and after some lengthy introductions and orientation from officers, I finally gave my speech at 9pm. I guess I was tired and a bit hungry. The fact that I had to follow a speech delivered by Gina was another! She gave a nice speech and the audience loved her. So, I felt the pressure on me when it was my turn. But what the heck, I gave it my best and although I was disappointed, it wasn't so bad.

The delivery of my speech could've been better. I faltered when I missed some transition points and Gina the evaluator was really sharp and quick to have noticed them. Later on, Perps, who I recognized to be an impromptu contestant at BOC and has heard the previous version of the speech, commented that this version was better. I promptly left at 10pm, tired and hungry, right after Gina left. And the session wasn't even over yet coz they were electing their officers.

Anyways, I think I've had it with this speech topic (not that it's the only one I've used so far). But it certainly has lost it's novelty with me. The only reason I chose it again was the thought that simply adding visuals to an old speech will be easy. In a way it was because of familiarity. In a way it wasn't because of too much familiarity. I'm used to gesturing it but not looking and pointing to the new visual aids. For now, I need a break.

See all my Toastmasters Speeches online here!