Down the Rabbit Hole

One reason why Anna and I were keen on trying the flying trapeze that night was because it's her birthday weekend. After two hours of adrenaline-pumping flight, we decided to wind down at the International House of Pancakes. That's IHOP for you and me. Yes, there's IHOP already in Manila. This was my first time to try it here... almost ten years after I had my first IHOP pancake almost ten years ago in Florida . But a birthday celebrated by just us isn't so fun so we continued the party the next day with our family in Sta Cruz. Ate Madie made a great suggestion: Calda's Pizza, which is basically a walk from our ancestral home... And boy, the food was DELICIOUS!!! If I had some influence to this birthday celebration, it is with the cake. I convinced Anna to get the chocolate mousse from Red Ribbon... my all-time favorite.  Happy birthday, Anna!!!

Grace, a friend of mine since high school (thank goodness she hasn't forgotten me!), is getting married in October! This is why we celebrated her departure from singlehood last September 12. No, it wasn't hyped bachelorette party that people see on the telly... We had dinner and then we went to a videoke bar. Funny thing is, there wasn't enough singing. Instead, we were all just catching up with stories from when we last saw each other. And we talked with two friends, who didn't attend the party, over FaceTime and and Skype. One even remarked that if she just knew that that's what we'd end up doing, we should have gone to a coffee shop instead. Haha!

Heirloom rice varieties  There are times when the very thin line between my professional life and my personal life disappears. And most of the time, this line vanishes because of the rice I have to eat. If it's not obvious yet, I am a big rice eater! I have this habit of going to the supermarket to buy rice grains of different colours and I go to great lengths to try out rice varieties whose trade names I haven't heard of before (just like when I ended up with five kg of rice from remote parts of the Philippines after intending only to check out IFEX 2013 ) and buying two kg of rice (again!) at the World Food Expo 2014 .  And then there are days when rice varieties just get handed to me... for cooking and tasting, mind you, just like what happened today. I didn't receive just any regular white rice. I was given grains of three heirloom rice varieties grown in the Cordillera region. These are Ingudpul, Chorchor-os, and Ominio. Ominio, in particular, is not a r...

I've taken up a teaching assignment at the Ateneo de Manila University. This semester, I teach Biotechnology for Everyone, a course designed for non-biology majors. I'll write about my experiences from time to time. C-5 Road is the route I take to go to the Ateneo because it's the fastest route to school. For years, the road has U-turn slots that a lot of people are not big fans of because these are associated with bottlenecks caused by vehicles occupying at least two lanes when making U-turns. The Metro Manila Development Authority, in response to the complaints of many commuters plying the C-5, decided to install traffic lights at intersections and to remove a number of U-turn slots. On the first day of installing the road signs showing lane assignments, I couldn't help but scratch my head: Trucks were supposed to use the innermost lane. Vehicles that were supposed to take a left turn at the intersection were supposed to stay on the lane adjacent to the truck...

I felt like I traveled back in time.  Stepping out of Grandpa's Inn after the rain subsided, Ate Bing and I explored Vigan 's famous street, Calle Crisologo. This was where the rich and the famous used to live back in the day when the Philippines was still under colonial rule and a flourishing trading system with Acapulco. While walking on the cobblestone road, I was imagining what it was like when horse-drawn calesas  were the major means of transportation and not just a tourist attraction; what it was like when the street lamps were fuelled by gas and not by electricity; what it was like when the music being played behind every window were live piano or string performances rather than radio broadcasts or recorded music.... Toog... toogs... toogs... toogs... toogs...  ... Hang on, were those deep bass beats I heard?!? Please don't tell me that there's a dance club in the middle of a street that time has seemingly forgotten. Were they serious?!?  ...

I've taken up a teaching assignment at the Ateneo de Manila University. This semester, I teach Biotechnology for Everyone, a course designed for non-biology majors. I'll write about my experiences from time to time. As with any speaking engagement, my last concern is always, ALWAYS, what I should wear. Honestly, for my teaching semester at the Ateneo, I had thought that I had enough business-y clothes for the whole semester so I didn't think this through well enough. After all, my mom and I went on a shopping spree at Old Navy last Christmas and I got a lot of office-attire-worthy clothes at seriously huge discounts. ... I realised soon early in the semester that I was dead wrong.  Good thing is I have a sister and a bunch of friends who are willing to help me with boosting my office/teaching/conference wardrobe. Anna gifted me with a skirt; however, she bought a size too small... I have to get thinner to fit in it. She's also with me when I saw a pair of n...

Ate Bing and I arrived in Vigan, Ilocos Sur some 300 km from Tarlac City via TPLEX. If we arrived in the afternoon and if the weather were perfect, we would have been able to walk around the city to see the dancing water fountains, eat al fresco near the church, and gone around Calle Crisologo as dusk settled. However, we arrived late on a stormy night, famished, and exhausted. But did the rain stop us from venturing out to see the city? No! As soon as the rain stopped, we walked around the late night version of Calle Crisologo and then went to Cafe Leona, a famous Vigan restaurant near the town plaza. The restaurant is supposedly known for its Ilocano fare but since we already had dinner, we opted to have dessert instead. As usual, I just had to have the coldest option of them all despite the evening's drop in temperature: Nestle's Dutch Speculoos ice cream. I felt this cookie flavour's been chasing me since my birthday week! And yes, I just had to order the ice cre...

For some reason, this year (so far) has been about me (and my museum-hopping friends) unintentionally going to locations connected with the famed Filipino painter, Juan Luna. For the past few years, it's always been about Jose Rizal... but things are different this year. It's quite curious really. I just noticed it while going through the pictures I've taken during my historical/cultural adventures. During the epic Ilocos road trip , Ate Bing and I visited Juan Luna's birthplace in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. Unfortunately, the house was being repaired (not surprising after the recent typhoons) and so we could only look at the façade under the protective shade of a mango tree across the street.  While looking on at the house, Ate Bing and I were able to talk with a tricycle driver who was also watching the goings-on with the construction of the house while seeking shelter under the mango tree. According to him, the house wasn't there when he was a child; it wa...

I've taken up a teaching assignment at the Ateneo de Manila University. This semester, I teach Biotechnology for Everyone, a course designed for non-biology majors. I'll write about my experiences from time to time. How could I not touch upon mutations in a course called Biotechnology, right? But how do I discuss this topic with students who aren't biology majors and get their attention?  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie billboard along the southbound direction of C-5 road gave me an idea. When the day came to discuss mutations, I gave these pizza-loving characters as examples, albeit fictional, of mutants. I couldn't remember who the mutant rat sensei was in the cartoon series.  One student blurted out, "Master Shifu!" That ground my science lecture thoughts to a halt. I totally didn't expect that answer.  I responded, "Wrong cartoon! This isn't Kung-Fu Panda." Another student addressed the first student, "Du...

Anyone remember Fievel Mousekewitz and his sister, Tanya, singing under the same moonlight in An American Tail ? Well, as I was looking at this beautiful sunset in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, very close to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse , I wondered if other people were also staring in awe at the same sunset elsewhere in the country. I mean, I pulled over the side of the highway by a cliff just to take this photo.  In the words of the rodent siblings in the cartoon: Somewhere out there, Beneath the pale moonlight, Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight. Somewhere out there, Someone's saying a prayer, That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there. And even though I know how very far apart we are, It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star. And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky. It was, somehow, heartwarming to learn tha...

  I may have a knack for exploring the edges of a country I'm visiting. When I was studying in graduate school, I ended up reaching the easternmost part of mainland Australia (Cape Byron) while on a drive with friends and acquaintances from the medical profession. Then I've been to Calatagan , a beach town right in between the West Philippine Sea and the Balayan Bay . During the Ilocos adventure , Ate Bing and I made a pitstop at the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. This is one of the oldest structures I've ever seen before that is still functional (others have been converted into other uses). And this is the  first  lighthouse I've visited, as far as I can remember.  By the way, this is also the northwesternmost part of Luzon island. Located on top of a hill, this lighthouse is not an easy walk in the park to reach, nor was it an easy drive up with its narrow hairpin turns. Moreover, the long and winding stairs, sans handlebars, prove that a strong sense of bala...

It was an easy enough drive up north from Tarlac to Pangasinan via TPLEX. The journey to La Union was likewise uneventful. It was, in fact, sunny! However, once we've set foot onto Ilocos Sur (specifically in Santa Maria), I started noticing that the rainclouds were following us wherever we were going. As if the clouds were not ominous enough, the rain had to fall as I was driving alongside the West Philippine Sea! I am afraid of floods and I am even more afraid of storm surges. So great timing to be on this side of the country, right? Thankfully, the rain let up for a few moments to allow us to have a view of the sunset, still somewhere in Ilocos Sur, a few hours south of Vigan. If the sunset is stunning at the Manila Bay, it's also a sight to see on this northern part of the country. I relaxed a bit because the rain had stopped; no more storm surges, no more lightning, no more reduced visibility. I didn't think, however, that night was coming in fast... ...

My sister, Anna, tagged me on Facebook for this. List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard—they don't have to be "great" works just ones that have touched you. Tag 10 friends, including me so I can see your list, too. 1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling) 2. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien) 3. Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger) 4. Marley and Me (John Grogan) 5. An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore) 6. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs (Carmine Gallo) 7. Everyone Worth Knowing (Laura Weisberger) 8. Outbreak (Robin Cook) 9. Stardust (Neil Gaiman) 10. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck) Since there are more than 10 books that have stayed with me, I shall add a few more. Forgive the all-out nerd mode (and for not following instructions)... 11. Rizal Without the Overcoat (Ambeth Ocampo) 12. Principles of Microbiology (Ronald...

Ambeth Ocampo, one of my favorite Philippine history authors, held a lecture on the Luna brothers one Saturday afternoon and I attended it. ( Yes, I'm on a Philippine history streak these past few weeks, including the Ilocos adventure that Ate Bing and I took on. )  I like Ocampo's style of talking about history because it's not about the dates or the labels attached to people. He has a knack of making (super)heroes human again to the audiences' eyes. For instance, I can never remember the stats about Jose Rizal's life abroad but I do recall that he used to pretend that had already eaten just to not lose face in front of his landlords.  In the case of the Luna brothers, I only recall that both had fiery tempers and that Juan, in particular, became famous due to his paintings. Ocampo's journey to learn more about the artist let us peek into the lifestyle of a clique of rich Filipino students abroad. The historian showed the audience where Juan used to li...

I've taken up a teaching assignment at the Ateneo de Manila University. This semester, I teach Biotechnology for Everyone, a course designed for non-biology majors. I'll write about my experiences from time to time. That second long exam was tough to prepare. Since the students mostly got high grades in the first exam, I thought it's a good idea to crank up the difficulty level to see how much they've actually understood about the topics covered and not just what they've memorized. And because I know this was to be a difficult exam, I peppered it with a lot of bonus questions, with the hope that the kids would all pass. What I didn't realize immediately was that a tough exam was also difficult to grade. Two weeks after the exam and I still hadn't finish scoring! I was feeling a bit down already because (1) it was taking too long to check and (2) I could see that the students at least tried to solve the problems but they just didn't arrive at the...

Yes, it's been 13 years since the terrorist attacks in the USA that fateful September day. No, I was not in the USA at that time. I was, in fact, a fourth-year university student in the Philippines then.  I remember that night... I was driving from Mayondon, Los Banos, on my way home after feeding my chickens (the site and the subjects of my undergraduate research project). The FM station I was listening to interrupted regular programming for a special news report about planes flying so close to the New York twin towers. At first, I thought someone was having a good laugh and that it was just a joke... a bad one, in fact. I was fuming when I arrived home because I thought that the radio jocks were just evil that evening.  When I got home, I found my dad in his rare do-not-disturb, open-the-garage-gate-yourself moods. My mom was equally quiet. Only the sound of the telly from the living room could be heard in the garage. I was about to greet my folks and rant about...

After that epic 15-hour drive over the weekend from the Ilocos region (and at least five more major road trips that I did earlier this year), I list down my top 10 road trip essentials.   1. A great music playlist Imagine driving on the beautiful winding roads of Ilocos and the expressways without music. Absolute torture! On the Ilocos trip, I had about 280 songs, enough for a very long trip. There were songs that were Buddha Bar-esque, funky, hotel lobby-esque, and ballroom-y. But what I kept playing on repeat were the songs with strong bass and fast beats to keep me awake; not necessarily rock songs though. I even had quite a few instrumentals; Vitamin String Quartet, 2 Cellos, and The Piano Guys were staples.  2. Lots and lots of munchies A few friends have learned to fear my wrath when there's no food in the car; more specifically, when there are no potato chips or chocolates. I tend to binge on chocolate when stressed out on the road. I'd be very ...

They say that time flies fast. Indeed it does. I cannot believe that it has been a year, seven hours, and 57 minutes since I passed on the keys of the Jazz to its next owner .  September 4, 2013. The day the Jazz and I parted ways was, sort of, a day I dreaded because the day Biboy and I traded the SiR in January 2006, I was traumatised (I was in mourning: could not eat, was catatonic the rest of the day). Yes, cars are inanimate objects but they've become reliable companions when on the road... the Jazz particularly because it's my car all throughout my grad school days and it's been used so much (186,000++ km in seven years plus a few bruises here and there). It had never been to Ilocos or Bicol while it was with me, take note! Anyway, I just remembered it this rainy evening; earlier today, the Civic reached another milestone: 24,000 km.

If Daddy and I were born on the same month , September is the month shared by Anna and Mommy. I have been tagging old digital photos and I bumped into this one of me still adjusting to the cold temperatures of Nevada and of Arizona while my folks were just in normal attire (in late summer 2012, I think). I couldn't take my bonnet off because it was just too cold! I even had gloves with me in my pack during the trip in case the temperatures took a sudden deep dive. A year later, I realized that it wasn't that cold when I visited them over my Christmas break. We're in one of Vegas' famous lobbies in this picture, right after the family's biggest adventure to date (sans Anna): a road trip to the Grand Canyon West . My mom had no choice but to conquer her fear of heights as Biboy and I enjoyed strolling on the glass floor overlooking the Colorado River.   Happy birthday, Mommy!! I won't be with you on your summer getaway but I am looking forward...