Back from life to reality Today was my first day at work after three wonderful weeks on Chios and Samos in the East Aegean. The bright light of the sun has been replaced by the glowing monitor. The clear blue sea by the pouring rain (at least on Saturday). The chaotic hooting traffic with zillions of motorbikes and mopeds coming from nowhere by a traffic like a silent movie with actors as disciplined as robots. I was in between Germans speaking my language again after having not met one single German on the whole trip. This has never happened to me before on a holiday. I was taken for a Norwegian by the Norwegians on Chios and the Dutch on Samos talked in Dutch to me which I don't understand. When I entered the gate of my employer with my huge (in comparison to the Suzukis and Daewoos I had driven in Greece) Passat station wagon for a moment I thought what would happen if they had sacked me. A very worrying and liberating thought at the same time. Like the last revolt before accepting the fact that the holidays were over. I am writing this sitting on my new orthopedic "Balance" swivel chair at home. Its seat topples sideways and back and forth which is supposed to be good for my bad back. A strange a little unstable feeling in the beginnng but I am getting used to it and I think the 500+ € were a good investment.

The origins of chess I read in Der Spiegel that Renate Syed, an indologist from Munich has found evidence for the theory that chess actually comes from India and originated as a war practice game called caturanga around 450 AD. The pawns were the infantry, the rooks were bronze chariots with archers, the bishops were war elephants, the knights were obviously horses and the queen used to be the minister who only moved one field diagonally like a handicapped king. The Indian king of Kanauj gave the game of chess without the rules as a present in the sixth century to the king of Persia to test his intelligence. The Arabs conquered Persia later on and spread the game of chess around the world. They gave the queen the long radius it has now as their armies were dominated by many fast moving horses and mounted camels.