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Ms. Elisa Cruz, my English and Filipino teacher in my junior and senior years, respectively, at San Sebastian College's high school department, introduced me to the Japanese poetry called haiku. A haiku is characterized by three lines in a 5-7-5 syllabic structure. Now, I decided to review my past tweets and posted them on my own blog. I'm used to writing news and sports stories, but a friend of mine told me to sometimes get out of my comfort zone. I'm not much of a literature or poetry kind of guy, so bear with me in my attempt to write haiku. Daybreak Gentle morning breeze. Waking me up at this hour. I went back to sleep. Horizon A bird takes its flight. Free to widely spread its wings. Soaring with the wind. Meditation Deafening silence. Teach me to see the real things. The world's true colors. Night Neighbor's dog howling. Other dogs are joining in. Disturbing my peace. Setback Humbled in defeat. Choosing to do what is right. Re

I am not a guru nor a philosopher but most of the time, especially when my mind is wandering to another place, I think of words, those words become phrases, and those phrases become quotes or sayings. Here are some that I came up with and posted on Twitter. Some are self-explanatory, while others are quirky or out of this world. Enjoy reading... Why let anger and hate consume or control your life? Detach yourself from the chains that hold you down. Good and evil are always at war within ourselves. Climb a mountain to see blue skies. Every journey begins with one small step. The adventure continues... Get out of your comfort zone. When we're angry, our judgment gets clouded. The choices we make shape our future. Give me courage and strength. In humble silence, I submit! We are but a tiny blip on the radar. Let God be our judge. Football players are goal-oriented. Sprinters are always in a hurry. We are constantly searching for

So sorry for this Halloween-related story. October 31, Saipan time, was my second straight Friday of walking from my friend's place on Quartermaster Road to the Saipan Tribune office at JP Center in Garapan. The distance is around three kilometers more or less and some 20 minutes of brisk walking.  It was a cloudy afternoon, and except for a handful of  tourists wandering and taking pictures of the lagoon, the Beach  Road pathway had less foot traffic that day. As I get near Triple J Motors, and the  building where Mega Byte and Hardt Eye Clinic was located, I saw an old Asian-looking man slowly walking beside his bicycle, which has a basket in front of the handlebars. He was wearing an orange-hued undershirt and an unbuttoned checkered polo, and black pants. I knew that in a few minutes I would come across the man since we were on the pathway. But in just one snap, as he passed by some trees, he vanished.  I was amazed, stunned, and surprised by what had just happened. So I

Sorry for this promotion but this one is for a good cause. A friend, colleague, and talented lens person, Jacq Hernandez (http://jacqhernandez.blogspot.com/), was recently diagnosed with Stage II HER2-positive breast cancer. Jacq used to work as a photographer for the Marianas Variety and Saipan Tribune in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Pacific Daily News in Guam. She is now connected with the Manila Bulletin in the Philippines but some of her photos were also used by the Associated Press and Agence France Press. It is a treatable form of cancer but medication, chemotherapy, and radiation are too costly. That's why a group of her friends decided to have this fundraiser to help with her mounting medical bills. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support and understanding. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jacq-s-get-well-fund/x/8931368

Rain or Shine. Sun and (then) Rain. I'm not promoting a particular brand of house paint in the Philippines. It was actually raining when I was writing this. Instead, I just wanted to describe and share the weather conditions/situation on Saipan. One minute, the sun's shining. Spreading her warmth and cheer. And just before you say: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?" Dark clouds assemble and, just at the same time when I'm waiting for my clothes to dry under the sun after doing my laundry, the rain slowly falls down. I have to run outside the house and get my newly-washed clothes but in less than five minutes, the sun is out again. Mother Nature has a sense of humor.

Saipan, CNMI—UAAP basketball games were never aired live here in the Western Pacific. Not even the best-of-three finals. Though, TFC put out an advisory that the FEU-NU title showdown will be simultaneously aired to all of its subscribers. It turns out the CNMI was not part of the area where the games will be shown live. So I have to use my imagination following the do-or-die match on Twitter. Thank you internet and social media. It was one helluva season for NU. Looking back, the odds were stacked against the Bulldogs. They were always fighting for survival: * Playoff for the No. 4 spot with UE where they defeated the Red Warriors, 51-49. * Faced top seed Ateneo in the semifinals and overhauled the Blue Eagles' twice-to-beat advantage, 78-74 and 65-63. * Forced a winner-take-all match  after scoring a 62-47 win over FEU in Game 2. The Tamaraws took the opener, 75-70. * Ended six decades of futility, frustration, and anguish following a 75-59 victory in the dec

We’re like air. Soothing as the summer breeze or a deadly swipe of a charging storm. We’re like water. Calm, similar to a gentle flow of a stream or the wild rush of a raging wave. We’re like earth. Like a patch of barren land or a speck of dust carried by the wind. We’re like fire. Giver of life and warmth or a destroyer of things. We need balance in the universe. One can’t live without the other.

Alone in a two-bedroom house, behind a thick row of assorted trees, I collected my thoughts and decided to access my blog. It's a little bit cloudy outside, nature's sign of impending rain. Maybe. They're not vultures. It has been more than four months since I posted something on my blog. Either I'm too tired after work or I have no inspiration to write. In other words, I'm just too lazy. Hahaha. All know the Way, but few actually walk it. --  Bodhidharma I'm currently in "exile" in the US island territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. Hahaha! Chose to come back and work here again after leaving the island paradise of Saipan six years ago. We're all travelers. I will try to be active again and post updates of my misadventures here on Saipan. JAI HO! Bollywood, here I come! (Photos were taken using my old and yet still functioning BlackBerry Curve 9320.)

Ageless Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez is thinking of challenging one of the other welterweight champions for his next fight later this year instead of facing Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao for the fifth time. According to trainer Nacho Beristain Marquez (56-7-1, with 40 knockouts) is looking for a rematch against World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. or International Boxing Federation titlist Shawn Porter (24-0-1, with 15 KOs) as his next opponent when he makes his ring return. "We are looking at the possibility of a fight for the welterweight title, but with another fighter,” the 74-year-old Beristain in an interview with Mexican newspaper El Universal. This could be bad news for Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who is trying to lure Marquez into agreeing to face Pacquiao (56-5-2, with 38 KOs) a fifth time in what could have been one of boxing’s most storied rivalries. A second fight between Marquez and Mayweather (

Three lady legislators filed a senate bill in the hopes of abolishing the residency requirement for all graduating high school seniors in all collegiate leagues. The bill is seen as a move to pressure the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) to remove the two-year residency requirement they imposed on all high school student-athletes who want to transfer to other colleges or universities before the start of the 76th season. Sens. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Cynthia Villar, and Pia Cayetano filed SB No. 2226 or an act protecting the amateur nature of Filipino student-athletes where it aims to regulate the residency requirement of all student-athletes to further prevent the commercialization of the collegiate league. "No residency requirement shall be imposed on a high school student-athlete transferring to another high school or to a college or university,” stated in Section VI of the bill, which wants to require school athletic associations to impos

Aleona Denise Santiago showed why she’s the top rookie draft pick as  she almost single-handedly carried Petron to a rousing 25-27, 25-23, 1 9-25, 24-26, 15-10 win over PLDT Home TVolution in the 2014  Philippine Super Liga All-Filipino Conference on Wednesday at the  Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. The 20-year-old center attacker toyed with the PLDT defense to finish  with 37 points, 36 of which are kills that the Power Attackers failed  to stop at the net. "My teammates have all long faces so I reminded them to just enjoy  the game and relax. We need to work as a team for us to win,”  said Santiago in Filipino, who also had one block. “Coach [George  Pascua] told me to just remain focused and think nothing else but this  game." "Dindin [Santiago] showed why she’s the first-round draft pick. All  our offensive plays were designed for her because of her height  advantage and skills,” said Pascua after the match. The Power Attackers and Blaze Spikers, both making

Philippine Super Liga (PSL) organizers are planning to create a players database to give the league a bigger pool of talents thus making it easier for team owners to stock up on their respective rosters. PSL chairman Philip Ella Juico said the database will benefit both the team owners where they can tap the hidden talent in the provinces while at the same time giving the players the chance to show their talents at a higher level. Players that already graduated from member universities of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI), the Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports, Cultural, and Educational Association, and the Davao Private Schools Athletic Association are some of the collegiate leagues the PSL is planning to include on its database. University of the Visayas, Southwestern University, University of San Jose-Recoletos, University of San Carlos, and the University of Cebu are some of the CESAFI member squads that have volleyball programs. Sports Core

Three past winners and the current Asian Tour Order of Merit (OOM) leader are tipped to contend for the 2014 International Container Terminal Services Inc. Philippine Open, which tees off on Thursday at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City. Singapore’s Mardan Mamat, the reigning titlist who ruled the 2012 edition after no tournament was held last year; 2011 titlist American Berry Henson and 2008 winner Angelo Que of the Philippines head the list along with the hot-putting Anirban Lahiri of India. Mamat, during Wednesday’s press conference of the 96th Philippine Open, said he is strolling down memory lane as he returns to Wack Wack, which will host the $300,000 Philippine Open for the 29th time, the site of his third Asian Tour victory. “I remember some [winning] putts and shots that I made back in 2012 and playing on this golf course brings back all those happy memories. You got to be patient and respect some holes here, especially the popular par-three

Filipino Olympic hero Anthony Villanueva died on Tuesday after a long bout with a heart ailment. He was 69. Villanueva, who was already bedridden after suffering a third stroke in 2012, died in his sleep in their home in Cabuyao town in Laguna. He became a national hero after settling for the silver medal in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games where he lost to Stanislav Stepashkin of the then Soviet Union in the finals of the featherweight division finals. Villanueva is the son of former amateur boxer Jose, who won the Philippines a bronze medal in the bantamweight division of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. He experienced rough times and was even forced to put his Olympic silver medal for sale just to help augment the rising cost of his medical bills. Villanueva, who also had a brief stint as a professional boxer and even tried acting in the late 1960s, has also been receiving a monthly pension of P7,000 from the Philippine Sports Commission. No one dared to bu

If plans push through, Manila will be the first stop for Rafael Nadal and a number of the world's top tennis players. The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) is working against the clock to come up with $8 million to finance the Philippine leg of the International Premier Tennis League (ITPL), which will bring the world’s former and current stars to Manila from November 28 to 30. Former tennis pro and ITPL organizer Mahesh Bhupathi of India said they were forced to find an alternative venue for the indoor tennis tournament due to the ongoing political tension in Thailand after their Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Yinluck Shinawatra from her office. "We had to divert from the original franchise owner in Bangkok as the political unrest forced us to look for an alternative city to ensure the safety of all stakeholders," Bhupathi said in an interview with the International Business Times. Philta vice president Randy Villanueva said that they a