Down the Rabbit Hole

On my way to Sta Cruz, I saw the beginnings of the annual Good Friday processions in Laguna towns of Los Banos and Bay. With the road blocks and relatively slower drive (thanks to vehicles en route to the resorts of Calamba) I caught up with the Sta Cruz procession after sunset. By the time I came across it, the procession had already gone past the town plaza and was about to make a turn towards the Our Lady of Maulawin Parish of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (my aunts and cousins are active members of the church). I was a spectator this year, not photographer... definitely not a participant in the procession. But I still wanted to take souvenir shots. The lighting conditions didn't lend well to picture-taking of moving and brightly lit objects at night, so I proceeded to the church before the rest of the procession arrived. That proved to be a good idea because I was able to get close to the statues while they weren't being pulled and I was able to photograph people g...

Last year , I visited several churches near my house. That was a solo adventure. This year, I thought it a good idea to visit churches with one of my father's sisters, Tita Ising. It's been several years since I went with her and Tito Sibing around the city to visit churches. For this round, I thought that we'd mainly do a repeat of the churches we visited in 2006 ; I was wrong. Apparently, there are many more churches dotting Metro Manila than I'm aware of. Four of the churches we visited this year are in Pasay City and three are in Manila. I didn't bring a bulky camera with me on this trip in anticipation of jostling with lots of people. So the photos here were all taken using my mobile phone's camera. San Isidro Labrador Church Pasay City   This church is important to my family, it appears, because this was where many marriages were celebrated. The first one that I've attended here (my sister and I were flower girls) was my paternal grand...

That was what one farmer's message to scientists and to his fellow farmers when I joined Dr. Jauhar Ali 's field activity in Victoria, Laguna on Thursday, March 21. Against the brilliant blue sky and the lush green fields, my father's lesson about the importance of food was echoed by this farmer. My dad would tell us that farmers invest blood, sweat, and tears to get as many rice grains as possible from their plants. To show respect to these farmers, we shouldn't be negligent: we were not allowed to burn the rice when we cooked it, we were not allowed to leave the cooked rice to spoil, we were only to put the amount of rice that we could eat on our plate (and so to minimize waste). --- Farmers, during the field activity, did the threshing and the winnowing manually. I wonder how they would do it during a real harvest.      

Our teachers, Andy and Dan, are interviewing Grace.  Mount Makiling is clearly seen in the background. Andy and Dan, the BMS Media Training team, walked me and my classmates through the technicalities and the theatricality of media interviews last week. They also kept us thinking on our toes during the two-day course. After experiencing three types of on-camera appearances, I realized that media interviews are not just question-and-answer portions. These interviews are great ways of bringing our messages across. Maximize it every time! The two-day training also made me look more closely at the broadcasts of international and of local news agencies (mostly CNN, BBC, and ANC). I've been timing news clips, observing that a 40-second period of talking is long, way too long. I'm now watching how people being interviewed answer questions (and not just what the news stories are about). I promise I will try not to babble on and on even if I'm scared of the big blac...

The San Pablo City Science High School held its recognition day for students last March 18. Mrs Ruby Mendoza (who teaches science courses to these high school students), invited me to give an inspirational talk to the students. These students were batches lower than the graduating class. This was a time of several firsts for me: this was my first time to give an inspirational talk ( what was I supposed to say?!? ), it was my first time to be a guest speaker ( what should I wear? ), and it was the first time I spoke during a recognition day ( why me?!? ).  Thanks to directions from a classmate of mine in high school, Rene June Hernandez, I didn't get lost on my way to the venue, the San Pablo City Central Elementary School. Right after student awardees and their parents had entered the Rizal Hall, San Pablo Central Elementary School. One thing that I noticed when I got there was that the teachers (except Mrs Mendoza) were all expecting someone older to arri...

Tita Mely's birthday fell on a Sunday this year. This was a great opportunity to gather her siblings and their kids (and grandchildren) over for dinner. Last year , we celebrated her birthday in Lam Hung, a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Sta Cruz, Laguna. This year, we agreed to all go out and eat at the relatively new Max's Fried Chicken branch at the SunStar Mall outside the town proper. Tita Mely's house was decked with decorations when Anna and I arrived. Apparently, Tita Mely is a big fan of an actor in a weekday soap so my cousins got a tarp with her photo and the actor's on it... The cake was similarly decked as well. My nephew, Totoy, has a knack for doodling so his gift was taped on the wall right under the tarp.  ---