To Be Calimquim

This picture was taken from our 39th floor, high-rise apartment in downtown Chicago, in February 2007.  It got very cold during this period – on this day, it was -20 °F.  Did you read that correctly?  That’s MINUS TWENTY DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.  It was quite a climate shocker for a home-grown, Southern California boy like me, who is used to 72 °F and sunny weather.  I’ll take the Santa Ana winds over this Chicago weather insanity, anytime.

What you are seeing is Lake Michican, which is basically covered in about a foot of snow.  I was told The Lake won’t completely freeze through, just at the edges.

The street below is Lakeshore Drive.  The building on the left is another high-rise apartment building under construction.  Just a few months ago, we had an unobstructed view of the Navy Pier, but now it’s gone forever.

I’ve been golfing in USA since I started way back in 1998. As far as China is concerned, I’ve golfed there since 2004. My main place to play is USA, and golfing in China only occurs when I travel there on business. Also, when I golf in USA, I have my own club set that I’ve grown accustomed to. In China, I have to borrow a club set, and the quality of the clubs doesn’t compare to my USA club set.

So here goes the comparison…

In the USA…

• The cost of a round at a California public course is about US$ 50.
• You have the option to either walk or ride. This is great because you can walk to get some much needed excerise, although you’ll most likely be sore.
• BYOB. For those of you who have lived on Mars all your life, this means Bring Your Own Beer 🙂 . Why would you pay USD$ 4 for one beer from the snack shop or cart girl, when you can get a six-pack for only USD$ 7 at the nearby 7-Eleven? Doh!
• A hot-dog and a bag of chips at the turn. Yummy! Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know that this is not the ideal food to maintain your peak performance during a golf round, but I’ll leave the granola and squirrel food for the old-timers.
• Since you have no caddy and you’re basically on your own, most carts are equipped with GPS.
• At the end of the round, there is no way to clean your shoes, except for those stationary foot brushes that they have placed in areas where you can’t find them.

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This is me about to tee off.  I don’t remember which hole it was, but this is the Sun Island Golf Course in Suzhou, China.  I played in April 2007.

My setup seems okay – wide stance, ball placed just ahead of the center, shoulders tilting away from target.  My head should be more behind the ball.  Also, if you had seen the rear-view of my setup, most likely, my back will be curved.  I know it should be angled and straight.  I think this drive turned out okay – about 250 yards.  Did you know your drives in China travel 50 yards farther than they would in the USA? 😉

What does it mean To Be Calimquim? Are you a city? Are you a country? Are you a fruit? It is none of the above. It is actually a Filipino family name.

How do you pronounce Calimquim? My preference is to say it as Ka-LIM-kim. Although, the American-ized way of saying it is KA-lim-kwim.