Down the Rabbit Hole

To celebrate Ate Grace's and Kuya Nat's good news (they're going to have a baby!), Tita Ising brought Anna and me out to dinner at the Royal View Seafood Restaurant at the Mall of Asia. The restaurant reminded me of the restaurant where Ate Tin hosted my graduation party in Brisbane three years ago. There were live seafood swimming in tanks, yellow lights glowing overhead, mirrors reflecting the yummy food... Royal View Seafood Restaurant is one swanky eating place! Tita Ising bought so much food, all of them delicious, that I had a difficult time walking and breathing after dinner. What an opportunity to watch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" , right? I burped my way through the first half of the movie. By the time the movie had ended, I still did not have room for dessert. The following day, my stomach still felt full!! Thank you, Tita Ising, for the delicious dinner!

I write this as I watch The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on HBO... A few years back, I was taking a series of seminars on the Purpose-Driven Life. The lecturer, Uncle Sam, was talking about paradigm shifts . These, according to Uncle Sam, are changes in the way people think. As an example, Uncle Sam made the class watch a snippet of " The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers" (and this was when I wasn't an avid fan of the book or the novels yet):  Frodo and Sam had employed Gollum and he was leading them to the Black Gate of Mordor.  While they were resting, Gollum was debating with his alter-ego, Smeagol, about whether "Master" Frodo should be killed to get the Ring or not.   At the beginning of the trio's journey, Sam and Frodo saw Gollum as nothing more than a creature who they couldn't trust; but as the time went by, Frodo began to trust Gollum more and more. Frodo's turning point (his paradigm shift , as Uncle Sam pointed out) wa...

Before "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" began, trailers for entries of the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) were shown. I noted three films that I want to see during the MMFF season. However, the first one I watched wasn't one of them. This film, which I caught in SM Sta Rosa the other day, is "Sisterakas". "Sisterakas" is top-billed by Ai-Ai delas Alas, Vice Ganda, and Kris Aquino. It's about half-siblings who had a falling out and how they redeemed their relationship. As if the drama of sibling revenge wasn't enough, the people who worked on the story inserted subplots about competing players in the fashion industry (taking inspiration from the reputation of an infamous fashion magazine editor) and a half-baked courtship story between a younger pair of actors. Vice's cross-dressing character moved the story forward, relegating his co-actors to supporting roles. Even the Tirso Cruz III was pushed to a very minor role (and he i...

I'm not yet allowed to play. But that doesn't mean I couldn't watch and take photos. :) IRRI held its bowling tournament last November 10 (finally!). There was some drama at the beginning of the games; however, the games began in earnest as people settled down to strike as many pins as possible. I wasn't taking a lot of photos due to bad lighting in the SU bowling lanes, so I just ended up with these...

On the night I couldn't breathe properly because I ate too much , Anna, Tita Ising, and I went to the SM Digital Theater at the Mall of Asia to watch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". I made that suggestion because (1) I am an avid fan of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings , (2) I loved Peter Jackson's take on the trilogy and wanted to see his interpretation of The Hobbit, and (3) I couldn't walk because I was too full! I needed to sit down and let my stomach settle first before moving any further. As soon as the movie began, I felt like I was back in Middle Earth. But instead of going back to the land of Mordor or to Fangorn Forest or to Rohan, I was introduced to Legolas' and Gimli's homelands: Mirkwood and Erebor... and to their kin as well. Throughout the movie, I felt at a loss because I didn't see the Nine Travelers being led by Aragorn (but mostly because I didn't see the future king of the Reunited Kingdom). I guess it will take s...

On Christmas day, I was asked twice about my experience on December 21 , the last day of the world as we know it -- supposedly -- except that the world continued to move on. :) And one of the things that happened struck me as having impeccable timing... December 21, 2012 3:00 pm (or thereabouts) It's the last day before the Christmas vacation. With people in markedly more relaxed moods, someone started singing along to Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (I'm not sure if it's playing over the radio or was an mp3 file). Coincidentally, I had watched Armageddon earlier that week on cable and so I blurted out that the song was well-timed for the end of the world later that day. For me, the song was perfect as it was the last day before the vacation and it was supposedly the end of the world too. Unfortunately, my statement fell flat because nobody in the group I was talking with had seen Armageddon recently and so they didn't know (or...

Since the world did not end last Friday , Christmas celebration is on! The lyrics of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has struck a chord in me, particularly the lines  "Through the years we all will be together, if the Fates allow..." Perhaps because it has been my Christmas wish for several years now. Maybe it's because my family has been spending Christmas Eve in opposite sides of the globe for eight years already. Or it must be because this will be the first Christmas that the paternal side of the family will not be having a potluck at Lola's house on Christmas Eve. In any case, Christmas Eve this year will just be Anna and me. No Christmas tree (I didn't have time to put it up, sadly) BUT I did make my first pot roast... on the slow cooker... perfectly timed for Noche Buena at 10pm. :)

While I may have outgrown the excitement that gift-wrapped presents used to bring, I am always thankful for blessings that come my way, no matter how small, coincidental, or unwrapped they are. My dad calls these "simple life, simple joy". And so I list them down, my version of "simple life, simple joys" this Christmas; akin to Sister Maria singing about her favorite things so she won't feel so bad . Here's my current*  Top Ten Simple Joys this Christmas: bumping into classmates fr high school at a local coffee shop & seeing that they're happy. catching up with friends who make it their business to make the world a better place to live in. driving on the road less traveled and seeing that the new route is scenic. drinking hot chocolate (soy) milkshake with peppermint syrup on a cold, windy evening. crossing yet another item off my to-do list as the holiday fast approaches. What a sense of accomplishment! after a tough day, I sit back, r...

December 21, 2012 .  The last day on Earth... supposedly (again!). Will the interpreters of the Mayan calendar be wrong? So far, the events in 2012 (a 2009 movie, if I'm not mistaken) have not yet come to pass.  But if the Mayan interpreters were right, what will the world look like tomorrow? And will anyone live to tell the tale? We've got 24 hours (Philippine time) to find out. See you on the other side.

The Grain Quality and Nutrition Center (GQNC) at IRRI is now eight years old!  A lot has changed since the GQNC began. The name of this organizational unit has changed several times over the years and people have come and gone. But the biggest change of all, so far, is the departure of its first head, Melissa Fitzgerald .  New things are definitely in store for the GQNC as a new leader goes on board next year. In the meantime,  here's a link to GQNC's "family" photos of anniversaries or Christmases past. http://rochiecuevas.blogspot.com/2011/01/grain-quality-lab-anniversary.html

A bit over four years ago, I came across a mysterious animal -- a squirrel- or raccoon-like animal -- along Pili Drive in UP Los Banos. At that time, I had thought it to be an oddity because as far as I knew, there are no squirrels, skunks, or raccoons in the Los Banos area... but browsing the Internet proved me wrong. Fast forward to a few days ago. I wish I had a camera to take a photo of the animal that crossed the road! Once again, I was driving late at night along Pili Drive. Once again, a furry, bushy tailed, dark-colored four-legged creature darted across the road and hesitated right in the middle of Pili Drive. If I were driving too fast, it would've been roadkill. The animal looked confused; it couldn't decide whether to cross the road or not. Its hesitation allowed me a closer look at the mysterious creature as I slowed to a complete stop. The animal had a grey body with slick fur (like a beaver's) while its tail was a thick furry black stretch (like...