Down the Rabbit Hole

A parent's worst nightmare became true today. Usiseros and usiseras were watching by the sidewalks. Police officers were directing traffic and were running low on temper. The queues on both sides of the road were growing longer as motorists slowed down to give way to emergency vehicles.  A really bad accident happened on the road this morning... Further along, a truck on the opposite side of the road was not moving; directly in front it was a motorbike lying on the road. Anguished cries grew louder near the accident site. A traffic enforcer kept motorists from stopping and ogling at the scene, but even he could not distract them from all the blood glistening on the road.  Somebody died on this road this morning... The last I saw before I drove past the scene was a man on his knees right by the motorbike, his face masked with grief, his sinewy arms pulling at something, or someone. I don't know who this man is but I know that he has just lost someone dear to him. --- At ...

Heard over the radio while driving this evening: "Beauty and Madness" by Fra Lippo Lippi.  I was in a reflective mood as I drove because of what happened this morning (I'm still working out how to write about it; that's the next post). However, I snapped at attention when I heard the lyrics...                                    Who will see the beauty in your life                                     And who will be there to hear you when you call                                   Who will see the madness in your life                                    And who will be there to catch you if you fall Hmm, I thought. Those a...

Since March is about to close and graduation season is here again, I recall the phone conversation between me and my dad (circa early 2005, if I remember the year correctly) about Biboy's college graduation at the DLSU-College of St Benilde. Once again, English translations in parentheses and in blue font.  Daddy: Kamusta si Biboy, mamartsa ba? (How is Biboy doing? Will he march?) Rochie: Hindi e. (No.) Daddy: Bakit? May binagsak ba? May naiwan pa bang subject? (Why? Did he fail anything? Did he forget to take a subject?) Rochie: Daddy, ganito kasi yun. Ang graduation ni Biboy ay sa March. Pero ang byahe niya papunta sa US ay sa February. Edi hindi siya makakapunta sa graduation niya. Hindi siya mamartsa. (Daddy, this is how it stands. Biboy's graduation is in March. However, his trip to the US is in February. He won't be able to attend his graduation; therefore, he won't march.) It wasn't surprising that my dad was quite irked with me t...

During a family reunion, an uncle noticed that my sister, Anna (the nurse), wasn't with us. So he approached me and asked about her. The conversation was in Filipino, so I've included the English translation (in blue) . Uncle: Rochie, nasaan si Anna?             (Rochie, where is Anna?) Rochie: Ay, nasa ospital po si Anna ngayon.               (Oh, she is in the hospital today.) Uncle (concerned): Bakit?   Anong nangyari sa kanya? May sakit ba?                                (Why? What happened to her? Is she sick?) Rochie: Hindi po! May duty po siya sa ospital ngayon kaya hindi nakasama.               (No! She's an on-duty nurse at the hospital today, that's why she couldn't come with us.) I guess our uncle was still not used to my sister being a nurse. She's been attend...

Kinect for Xbox 360. That's the name of the new family toy. On its first few days, I wasn't really impressed as it sat idle, waiting for a cousin to drop by and figure out its correct voltage. My dad even emptied his schedule the whole day, excited to start playing. When I got home, my sister was playing. That's when I understood what the hype was all about. The Kinect is an amazing toy! It has this sensor that detects players' movements; a game console is no longer needed to fully enjoy playing. Good bye twiddly thumbs; hello, whole body ache! The Kinect experience is like a gym workout session, only longer and within the privacy of one's home.  Another nice thing about the Kinect is that there's no age limit for players. My teenage nephews and my elderly cousins enjoyed playing the different sports. My 95-year old grandma played a bit of bowling, and my uncle (who suffers from chronic knee pain) and my aunt (who previously suffered from a stroke) danced to ...

Roughly a year after they got married in California , my cousin, Ate Grace, and her husband, Kuya Nat, flew to Manila to hold their wedding reception with family and friends. The reception was at the Diana Garden of Patio Victoria in Intramuros ( http://www.patiovictoria.com/venues.html ).  I didn't take a whole lot of photos then because I was one of the three hosts. However, my dad took over the picture-taking duties, and I had photos for a change! I don't have copies of those photos, though, so I couldn't upload them here. Our side of the family had impromptu roles during the reception, since we were the rowdier bunch. The nephews and the nieces were assigned to usher the guests to their seats and to help the elders to the buffet table or to the toilets. They also distributed the souvenirs and they passed a photo of the couple for the guests to write their greetings on. Meanwhile, the cousins who didn't have hosting duties manned the welcome desk and took ca...

Ash Wednesday 2011. The IRRI Mud Springs Quintet performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor. The orchestral parts were played on the piano by Shinobu Kobayashi; the choral parts were played by Melissa Fitzgerald (soprano, clarinet), Luz Humphreys (alto, violin), Sarah Beebout (tenor, violin), and Andy Cal (bass, bass clarinet). Terry Jacobsen conducted. This performance was a fund-raising activity of SINoP, a workers' group in IRRI. The proceeds went to the group's Voluntary Assistance Program. The performance was great! The quintet received a standing ovation!! Attendance to the concert, despite being Ash Wednesday (and many people in church), was high... they almost filled the auditorium! Having the Requiem performed on Ash Wednesday was timely because it is a good start for Lent and because it's the swan song of two of the members: Shinobu is flying home in two weeks while Terry had left for Australia today. I'm happy I got involved with the ...

Upon insistent Mommy demand, I was convinced to drive up to 168 Mall in Binondo District, Manila. One of my major concerns with going there is where to park. That problem became more apparent when the road leading to mall was a dead end! What I thought was a dead end was actually the way towards the 500-car parking lot. There must be a lot of space behind the building, I thought, except I could only see a construction site. A guard instructed me to let the passengers get down of the car before I park. That instruction was weird... until I saw the parking lot.  Better yet, a car lift. Yes, a lift! I was instructed to park the car backwards into the slot. Once the car was set, I disembarked and then the car was lifted off the ground! Wow! I've never seen one of those multi-level parking spots before! It felt like being in a container yard!

Nominations for this year's "Natatanging Kabataang Lagunense" (Outstanding Youth of the Province of Laguna) is now being accepted! The deadline for entries is March 15 .  Here are the qualifications: Bonafide resident of Laguna province for the past five years Age: 15-30 years old Single In- or out-of-school youth Exemplary character (certification from a faith leader or teacher) Nominees should show evidence of: Community involvement or service Leadership accomplishments Awards, honours, commendations, citations received Scholastic achievements Last year, we, the nominees, submitted copies of our certificates in scrapbooks; a shortlist of five nominees were interviewed by a panel of judges. The winner was announced during the Anilag 2010 festival. This year, nine nominees will be selected and the winner will be named during the La Laguna 2011 festival spearheaded by Gov. ER Ejercito. This year, nine nominees will receive P2,000 each while th...

I wasn't able to watch the live telecast because I had to rush off to the hospital (which is another story). Thank goodness there's YouTube and someone uploaded the clip into the site! Here's the segment featuring coloured rices in the February 27, 2011 episode of Mel & Joey. Dr. Dory Resurreccion and Mr. Ato Reano (both from IRRI) were interviewed.