Down the Rabbit Hole

When I first visited Orlando, FL (in 2005), Kuya Rendo  and Ate Lori drove me around the tourist spots in their home city. I noticed an upside-down building; it was as if a tornado pulled it out and then dropped it with the roof on the ground where it now stands. It has intrigued me since then; when we had some free time between the airboat ride and the dinner at Kaya , I checked in with my parents, my sister, and my aunt to see if they wanted to see it. They all said yes, and so we drove to WonderWorks. (Façade of WonderWorks. The rest of the family was not in the photo because I was taking the picture while Daddy was making sure Donan wasn't too close to the road.) WonderWorks is where we can let our imaginations run wild (the company's motto). It is divided into zones crammed with hands-on exhibits. It was sensory overload. Extreme Weather Zone Anna and I were blown away by the 74-mph wind in the hurricane simulator.  As if that wasn't chilly enough, we dunked our hand...

I was with Kuya Rendo and Ate Lorie during my first visit to the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Twenty-four years later, I was excited to see how Donan would react when he saw the life-size versions of the rockets and spaceships that brought men to the Moon and back. Mommy, Daddy, Ninang Trining, and Anna were with us, too; this made this visit even more fun. During this adventure, I drove our rental minivan, so I didn't take as many pictures as I would've loved. It was a 61-mi trip from Orlando. The day was sunny, allowing us to enjoy the view on the way. We went through wetlands before reaching Merritt Island. It felt like the road was going on forever until we saw the welcome signage of the KSC Visitor Centre. Donan was so excited! The bus tour brought us close to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). When I was there in 2005, this building housed the space shuttle. 2005's STS-114 was dubbed the "return to flight" mission after the Colum...

(screenshot from  https://www.restaurantmaligne.com/ ) Anna and I have always looked for opportunities to eat delicious food. During our most recent trip to Monterey , our research led us to Maligne, a restaurant in Seaside, CA. The restaurant is located at the corner of Broadway Ave and Hillsdale St. We were expecting Danville or Walnut Creek vibes (e.g., brightly lit streets with a bustling restaurant scene). Instead, we drove into a quiet city where the shops were closed when we arrived. The corner street lamp highlighted Maligne's minimalist (or brutalist) concrete façade (it was hard to tell; I'm not an architecture expert).  Maligne is small, with about 10 to 12 tables (if I remember correctly). The distance from the door to the open kitchen and the dining area was so short that I felt awkward standing there, not wanting to seem like I was ogling at people eating their dinner while waiting an hour for my family's table to get ready. To me, the wait meant that this res...

I have not walked outside in ages! It shows that because I gained weight, my complexion is pasty, and my most recent physical exam and lab test results indicate that I need Vitamin D. My medical provider prescribed walking outdoors to exercise and get some sunshine.  Back in the Philippines, I used to walk or jog around the farms at IRRI in the afternoon. These days, however, I can't do afternoon jogs around my work's campus because I have to pick up my son from daycare. I walk outdoors early in my lunch period.  In this photo, the winter cold hadn't set in yet so I just had thermals under my scrubs. To keep me entertained, I listened to Dolly Parton talking about her childhood and her parent (thanks to the Apple Fitness+ Artist Spotlight). The Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones were comfortable to use during my walk: it didn't pinch my ears despite my eyeglasses; the memory foam ear pads were so soft; the ambient pass-thru technology allowed me to hear Dolly's n...