day 4 & 5 – 100 peso challenge

2 days of failure… had so much work I didn’t eat lunch with my regular noon buddies…

Thursday

• 130 pesos
• JavaMan
• pasta and panini combo
• over budget but yummy anyway

Friday

• 115 pesos
• Yoshinoya
• chickey rice topping with mixed fruit tea and coffee jelly
• very quick lunch

Buddhist Wisdom

Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.
—Sutta Nipata

day 3 – 100 peso challenge

dragged more people in to this challenge hehehe

• 100 pesos
• Mannang’s (yes, again)
• squid in vinegar ala adobo, squash with coconut milk, rellenong bangus, steamed rice, salabat (free)
• loved it except the squid, should have ordered the adobong pusit
• had left overs, food was a lot!

my lunchmates were so amused and amazed that they suggested we go to Mannang’s every week to try different food combinations while sticking to the 100 peso budget per person.

to start the day

Daily Buddhist Wisdom

Although you may understand the explanations, if you are still suffering because of problems, you clearly do not understand the true nature of your mind, your body, and your senses.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “Transforming Problems Into Happiness”

day 2 – 100 peso challenge

Second day of the quest… 5 hungry stomachs

• PhP 94.00
• Mannang’s
• fish fillet with coconut cream, tofu sisig, native vegetable salad and steamed rice
• what a feast!

one hundred peso challenge

Today, my officemates and I embarked on a new adventure… the quest for one hundred peso lunches. Yes, despite the fact that today is payday, there have been some extenuating circumstances that prompted us to go on this journey hehehe

We’ve agreed on a few simple rules:

1. Lunch spending should amount to a maximum of PhP 100.00 only including food taxes and service charges.
2. Savings from lunches amounting to less than PhP 100.00 will not be carried over to next day’s lunch.
3. We will not eat at the following chains of restaurants (fast food): Burger King, Chowking, Greenwich pizza, Jollibee, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Shakey’s and Wendy’s.
4. Sharing is allowed.
5. Cafeteria lunches, though not prohibited, are not encouraged.

We are still contemplating whether dessert will part of the 100 peso limit…

Here is the start of the quest:

15 May 2006

• PhP 99
• Maxim’s Tea House
• spinach with garlic, sweet and sour fish fillet, steamed rice
• filling and yummy
• looked pathetic at first when there was only the plate of spinach shared by the 5 of us

underwater hockey class 102

been quite busy but still have time for my underwater hockey…

It’s been a year since we first learned the rules, we’ve been craving to improve our game. Master Roland, a veteran, offered to teach/strengthen our skills for underwater hockey. The coaching started last March, held once a week and would wrap up with a tournament. I was on vacation last March but I was allowed to join the remaining lessons. Early on, the group was divided into 2 teams (Black and White), I was assigned to the white team to replace a member that had migrated to Australia.

After the lectures, we had 2 sessions of practice games plus a Saturday practice game where we had our team coach Perdong observe our play. May 9 was the much awaited tournament. My teammates and I felt we were the underdogs, most of our players were girls, we only had 4 guys and our fastest swimmer was playing back. We sorely needed someone to help push the puck forward. Our opponent had more solid players for both boys and girls and could set an all boys team against us. Although gender does not guarantee advantage, boys usually overpower girls. It’s difficult to be pitted against one who uses brute strength; it could get quite painful for ones wrists. We really needed to figure out how to maximize what we have.

As soon as our team coach arrived, we huddled together to discuss our play. Master Roland emphasized that while the team with the most goals wins, he wanted to see wall plays, swings, and proper positioning. Our play was 3-2-1 where the 2 mids would be doing most of the work, both stopping and pushing the puck forward. The 3 forwards should always be in position to receive passes from the mids, move it forward or maintain possession until the mids could go down again to bring the puck forward. The 1 is there to prevent the opponent from making a goal and to swing the game to the other side as far forward and as fast as possible. The 3 forwards should swim as fast to receive the 1’s pass.

The tournament was set at 2 games of 10-3-10 minutes and a 15-minute championship game. It was a tough game and teams had 1 win each. At the start of the championship game, teach coach Perdong drilled to us that we had to make the first goal, it would not only boost our morale but also dampen the other team’s spirit. Both teams were tired and we only had our morale and determination to fuel us for the last 15-minutes of the tournament. It was nerve wracking, with the puck going back and forth but our team did make the first goal.. and the second… third… and fourth… at 4 minutes left, our team coach said there was enough for 2 more goals. We tried but we failed.. although we did win the 102 championship with a score of 4-love. The underdogs won because of team play and sheer will. It was a great feeling and the best part, the losing team treated us to dinner that night =)