A sailor I know

A few years ago, I met up with my friend Gary in his stomping ground that is Singapore. He used to be a sailor until he went to the UK to pursue a degree in Naval Engineering?  I'm not sure. After getting the degree, he became a ship inspector. Now he is his own boss.

He is the adventurous sort who always looked for the next thrill. He used to invite me along, "Come, let's go and backpack and sleep under the stars."  Once he went to Tibet and smuggled out a Tibetan religious artefact for a monk. Impressive, no? He loved to travel, and he is always full of stories.

But Gary couldn't cook to save his life.  He stayed with me for a week or so before he left the UK. To be nice to me, he cooked me a meal.  It was half way into the preparation for the meal that I realised that he had boiled a chunk of frozen meat straight from the freezer to make soup for me.  My reaction could have been better but I was livid at the time.  I lectured him up and down about food safety and thawing procedures. I was sure he was going to give me food poisoning.

So next try, in order to pay me back for letting him stay with me, he took me out to a nice restaurant. We ordered a bottle of Chablis, I remember. After finishing our meal, we walked along the river's edge and he put his arm around me. It was so unexpected that I immediately removed his arm and stepped away.  "What are you doing, man?"  I really liked him as a friend, but no more.  But being so open and honest about things, I guess he misconstrued.  I didn't handle things well then either. I could have been nicer, right?

Gary never did settle down and start his own family.  He takes care of his mother who he is ill.  He's a good son. When I saw him in Singapore, I knew he would never marry.  He was a sailor once, and still a sailor at heart. Maybe I knew that way back when we were still students in England.  

He took me to see a show with a local comedian named Kumar - a drag queen extraordinaire - whom I had told him I would like to go see if possible.  Kumar was really funny and we had lots to drink and we had a rocking time.  After the show was over, he said, "See ya" and let me walk back to my hotel by myself.  I was a little upset that even as a friend he didn't see to my safety. Granted the hotel was about 500m away, but still...I think any friend would have walked me back, don't you? 

There is no doubt that Gary is a funny character, and someone I still call a good friend.  He is truly unique. He still wants to relive the old days of drinking at pubs in the UK. He won't come and visit me in Kelantan because we are almost a dry state because we are run by a Muslim ruling party.  So our next meeting is in KL or Penang perhaps? Or possibly Singapore! Again. 

This time though, I will make him walk me back to wherever I am staying. 

Chess Talk

For years I had cast chess aside. I didn't play at all. It had been a passion of mine when I was growing up which was fuelled by a maniacal classmate who would take over the classroom when the teacher was late. He’d teach all of us the fundamentals of chess. My father was my first teacher but he was an a4, h4 player who did not know what castling was, much less en passant.  If you are into chess, you will know exactly what I mean. 

I represented my school at the state level and won some prizes. And later in college, I would represent our university chess club in the local leagues in the UK. It was in UK where I had the best time of my life bonding with friends who had the same interest and having fun with a bunch of “chess geeks”. We were not at all what you imagine chess people to be, but we definitely were a crazy and fun-loving group of misfits. There were very few girls and it made for interesting dynamics within our group.

I am lucky enough to live in St. Louis now, and it was recently named Chess Capital of USA.  It’s an honor that befits our city.  The St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center in our city is one of the best facilities for chess that I have ever seen. In the UK, I had been playing in the worst of places – smoke-filled pubs and basements, little rooms tucked away in Student Unions and make-shift tournament halls in schools.  The St. Louis facility is clean, bright, and well-staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgeable people. We have visiting grandmasters on staff at any given moment who give lectures and private lessons. Recently the club hosted the 2013 US Open Chess Championships.  Present were many Women Grandmasters as well as men Grandmasters.

GM Ben Finegold v GM Varuzhan Akobian 

at the 2013 US Open Chess Championships in St. Louis, MO, USA.

I first discovered this wonderful place when I volunteered at Zoe’s school as a chess mentor.  From there, it was a fast track to membership, attending lectures with GMs, and paying for private lessons for Zoe.  We also frequented the club, which was a long drive away, at least 3 times a week. Weekends were all spent at the club: playing, watching and mingling with like-minded folk.  Talk about commitment. This is it.

The club has reignited something in me that was long lost.  It’s given me new friends, new ideas, new beginnings. When I return to it in 3 months’ time after our summer vacation, I will also work for them part time.  What an exciting prospect!! But now I must shore up my chess knowledge.  Back to the grind.