Down the Rabbit Hole

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)'s  Loyalty Day  is a celebration of volunteerism, honour, and commitment to country. Every October 10th, UPLB commemorates the mobilisation of Filipinos for a war that they ultimately did not fight. On this date in 1918, staff and students of the UP College of Agriculture (now known as UPLB) enlisted in the Philippine National Guard to help fight in  World War I .  The Philippines was a U.S. territory  at the time, and the enlisted personnel were supposed to sail to Europe and be under the command of General John Pershing. However, on the day they were mustered into federal service, the fighting ended (Armistice Day). They never left the Philippines, but their action spoke of their willingness to serve, forever etched into UPLB history. Years after moving to California, I found my link to the UPLB community through the active alumni network  in  Davis, CA . I received an invitation to the Loyalty Day c...

"Grandparents can be very special resources. Just being close to them reassures a child, without words, about change and continuity, about what went before and what will come after."     –Fred Rogers I was not born early enough to have lots of memories with my grandfathers. However, I had the honour of spending time with my grandmothers. They did not give away cookies, mind you, but they loved to feed me, my siblings, and my cousins with chicken sandwiches, pupur, and bulanglang . Both of them enjoyed telling us what it was like for them back in the day (I compiled some on this blog). I particularly enjoyed going with them when they visited their friends. It's that sense of solid family roots that I wish to impart to my son. And that is why I am always happy to see him grow up with my parents constantly in his life. He may be a toddler, but my family's culture—thanks to how my parents parent my siblings and me—will hopefully be instilled in him and strongly influence ...

We opted to celebrate Val's birthday on a different day so that we could invite as many of the family as possible. This is in such a sharp contrast to last year's birthday celebration at home because we had to limit the number of guests to his party.  (Thank you, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and booster shots, California, and medical professionals for slowly bringing us to something near normal!) The Fuji Sushi Buffet in Concord was in its soft opening period when we celebrated Val's birthday.  When we arrived, we joined the queue by registering on the restaurant's waitlist. A few minutes later, we were ushered to our dining table and our drink orders were taken. The server also listed down our orders for appetisers, soups, and salads. However, the server did not hover too much since the stars of the show were the sushi... and we could get them on a centre island where chefs worked their magic. Thanks to my allergies, I could not explore all the options that the chefs ...

Celebrating one's birthday when an epidemic is preventing family and friends from gathering physically, is definitely a challenge. Tita Babie's birthday is a perfect example. We couldn't go to her house to celebrate because we are still ordered to stay home by the state. Naturally, she felt really sad. So her kids organised a video conference call so that at least we're gathered virtually. The wonders of technology are truly amazing. Tita Babie's birthday party on Zoom. I have forgotten who took this photo and shared it with the family. Val is also celebrating his birthday this month. He's working from home, where the Los Baños local government guidelines for the quarantine are even stricter than California's. He's alone on his birthday; the wee one and I can't fly over to be with him as he turns a year older. But the difference is that he's not as big on birthday parties as Tita Babie; and he's swamped with work... with several meetings goin...

The Golden Gate Bridge is typically on the top 10 list of places people want to see when they first visit San Francisco. As the pictures below show (2005, 2008, 2018, 2019), the bridge has such timeless beauty and is well-maintained that it's hard to believe that it turns 82 years old tomorrow! September 2005 October 2008 July 2018 April 2019 April 2019 April 2019 I can still remember my surprise when I saw a red bridge instead of a golden one! And I've seen it covered with fog only once in all the times I've been visiting the bridge. That's when Val and I went on a cruise that went around Alcatraz and sailed past the bridge. 

Lola Estay is my maternal grandmother. She died seven years ago on Feb 29th... the rarest day on Earth. We had a family dinner to celebrate and to remember Lola Estay. She is one of the strongest women I had the honour of knowing and she's a great role model for my mom, my aunts, and my uncle.  Seven years ago, a day before she passed, Lola Estay kept asking me who was the tall, dark guy I kept coming with (note that I entered her house alone). She scared my cousins away because they thought that she was seeing spirits already. I didn't take it seriously; I even humoured her because she might become worried that she's the only one seeing the invisible fellow.  Seven years later, she's proven right.

Biboy and Barbara brought me along with them to Berkeley, where the Brazilian community celebrated Brazil's Independence Day and Lavagem , a cleansing ceremony.  What they didn't tell me was that the organisers actually closed down part of Hearst Ave for the street party. I was absolutely not in any mood to be in a huge dancing crowd because I was exhausted and I am not comfortable being in the midst of a crowd dancing. But because I didn't want to ruin their fun, I hung back and explored the sights instead... and learned a thing or two about this Brazilian cultural event. The way I see it, Brazil was Portugal's version of Spain's Mexico. Brazil and Mexico grew in rank and power to the point that their local governments operated with (in my opinion) minimum supervision from the centre of the empires. Hence, both countries already had relatively mature governments when they sought for independence. Which made me think about the Philippine case... the...

Well, my birthday this year is extra special because this is the first time in 13 or so years when my family was complete. Last year , only Daddy and Anna were present (with the rest of our extended family, of course)... and it's the first time that we were able to do a joint celebration. Also, I was celebrating my birthday in California... another first.  Anyway, I wasn't planning on doing anything but to review for the driver's knowledge exam. But the siblings had other plans. Anna treated Mommy, Daddy, and me to merienda at  Chowking  ( Seafood City ) where we had  halo-halo and black gulaman.  Then at home, Biboy and Barbara brought cheesecake complete with birthday candles! Before my birthday, they already took Anna and me out to dinner at Sol Food, so this was actually part three of my birthday party. I guess my birthday will always be over-celebrated . But this time, my siblings took charge of my birthday celebration. I am very th...

Val always says that he doesn't celebrate birthdays. This year, we decided to change this... Actually, Nikos and I plotted to make sure that our weekly dinner was more special because Val's celebrating his birthday this week. Plus, he's been under a lot of pressure lately (with work requirements and with friends coming in from the US). We went to Italianni's in Sta Rosa . Before excusing himself, Val told us we could order whatever we wanted. So while he disappeared to the loo, Nikos and I talked with the waiter to prepare our surprise birthday party. Hence, as we finished our mains, we told Val that we ordered dessert... ... and then, out came his birthday ice cream and the boisterous singing that Italianni's is known for giving celebrants. It looks like we succeeded in surprising Val.  Happy birthday, Val!

My paternal grandma, Lola Bats, turns 102 today! Unbelievable because she's been touch and go on her approach to 100. Now, we are all looking forward to her reaching her 105th year. Daddy stayed a few more days to be with her on her special day before going back to the US. Thank you, Richelle and Mary Ann, for taking the lead for prepping the food during her party and to everyone who brought cake and pastries. We all made Lola very happy. This photo was taken a few days before Lola's big 102. :)

I have been at the Grain Quality Lab for 13 years (September 1, 2004–August 31, 2017) if my math serves me well.  This was the first group picture that the original team had. Vito and Melissa have gone back to Australia. Tina has returned to teaching at UPLB. Tita Dory and Tita Ruby have both retired. Kuya Johnny also isn't connected with IRRI anymore. Kuya Teody has been assigned to work in the Grain Quality and Nutrition Services Lab (GQNSL) in the third floor. Tita Leslie is in PhilRice, I think. Tita Puring passed away years ago. So the only people left in the Grain Quality Lab in Hemmi Building's first floor annex from that original group are me, Ana , and Kuya Jun . Of course, with the passing of time came the arrivals and the departures of staff and scholars, making the lab a dynamic place to be in. I was supposed to leave in May 2014  when my postdoctoral fellowship ended. However, I was able to somehow do two things at the same time:  teaching at...

Anna celebrated her nth birthday in Sta Cruz, Laguna with our family a few days before flying to the USA . We went to Pagsanjan for dinner but ate the cake in Tita Mely's house. Our nephews and nieces did a great job in designing the cake with Anna's Facebook photos. Ate Madie made a good call in choosing the restaurant. I forgot the name of the place but the food was reasonably priced and was delicious. Everyone was excited about her trip because it's her first time to travel to the USA and our relatives there lead good lives. They're all hopeful that she'll enjoy her stay there and that she'll get a good job... great wishes on a birthday that marks the end of one stage in her life and the beginning of the next.

I've seen Chef Robby Goco 's Instagram posts about his new Greek restaurant Souv! by Cyma. The food pics all looked yummy and I wanted to try them. So one evening, I was so happy that Nikos chose this restaurant as our next dinner destination. What made this dinner special was that we were celebrating his birthday (which is a few days?weeks? back... I don't know; I don't think Val knows either).  I'm not sure about the names of the food we ordered because they all sounded Greek to me. All of them were delicious! I remember that we've had lamb cooked in oil with orzo, a type of pasta that has been cut to resemble huge rice grains. Then there were kebabs and a stuffed bell pepper. And I just had to order my fave beverage at the moment, of course: sparkling water . It's a drink that I'll forever associate with Zürich because that's where I first had it.  A feast to celebrate a special day, definitely. Val and I just forgot a tiny detail: N...

Nope, there were no dinosaurs this year. There's no basketball neither. Instead, Daddy's here to celebrate my birthday with me! It's been 13 years since the last time we celebrated our birthday together. It's been too long since we did this together. On Sunday, we all trooped to Lola's house to have a joint celebration. There was so much food! Richelle, Mary Ann, Anna, and Riza did a superb job of preparing lunch for all the guests... and the menu included Daddy's fave, vegetable salad, and my fave, pork sinigang . I got two Japanese cheesecakes from Hiraya Bakery  while Tito Tony and Tita Ching, and Val and Zia brought Red Ribbon cakes; hence we had four cakes! Aside from the cakes, we also got sapin-sapin from Kuya Mitchie and Che, and pichi-pichi from Tito Boy Morelos. But that's before  my birthday. On my birthday itself, I spent the day in Manila with Anna and Daddy, eating McDonald's... it was almost a letdown. However, it couldn...

Time flies pretty fast. Before we realised it, Danielle, the son of a childhood friend of mine, has already turned seven! For some reason, Jollibee has remained very popular to kids and their parents. They are so fond of the character that celebrating a child's seventh birthday in this fast-food chain has become a typical event. This wasn't so during my time, however, because back then, Jollibee was seen as pretty expensive and was a place to go to only when we got high grades in school; we were much more inclined to eat and celebrate special occasions at home or in Chinese restaurants (birthdays have to have birthday noodles, for instance); and Jollibee wasn't accessible back in the day... we had to go to Binondo to see Jollibee (McDonald's was much closer, in Alabang Town Centre).   Jollibee's current birthday packages and locations make it more convenient for parents to set up a party there; they just practically have to make a reservation and Jollibee ...

So this is really why I was in Japan: I was invited to the 2016 Science Agora and the Japan Science and Technology Agency's (JST) 20th anniversary forum; in both programs, I was a member of panels composed of scientists who were tasked on discussing how science can be more relatable to society. My attendance to these two events were made possible by Dr Bruce Tolentino, IRRI's Deputy Director General for Communications and Partnerships. I am deeply grateful to him because he nominated me to attend when JST asked if IRRI could send a young female scientist who could communicate the relevance of her research to society. I am also very thankful to the JST for extending the invitation to me after Bruce's nomination... and to Ms Natsuko Kawazoe (JST's Centre for Science Communication) for all her efforts in making sure that all of us, invited panelists and speakers, were prepared for our topics. She also organised the logistics for us.  So, the previous posts were really...

... with no kid in tow. Dial's daughter, Marquie, celebrated her seventh birthday party at Anest Tower in Los Baños. It's a children's party so Dial invited us, her high school friends, and suggested that we could bring kids along. Jyas and Benjo have Sinag, their son; Jean brought along Joaquin, her nephew; Sandy and Dennis brought Yuan, Sandy's nephew. I came alone. No kid to bring, what could I do, right? I asked Dial what Marquie wishes for her birthday. She said that Marquie would like to have a tsum tsum toy. This made me feel like I'm so old. I have no clue what a tsum tsum toy was! Until I went to a toy store and was shown the new toys; from dancing Barbies to Shopkins. And somewhere deep in the girls' toy section, I was shown the tsum tsums. This is what kids want these days?!? As far as I understood the vendor's explanations, one can stack the tsum tsums on top of each other and "pop" them so that they get thrown off the ...

A photo posted by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) on May 6, 2016 at 6:10pm PDT Photo taken by Anna. This year, Mommy's birthday coincides with the canonisation of Mother Teresa, known for her works of charity for the poor and the suffering in Calcutta. My mom is not a saint, unlike Mother Teresa, and is not a miracle-worker either but she makes sure that we are all taken care of when we're sick. She has a lot of "lifehacks" for solving minor discomforts: use a ladle as a massager for indigestion or when the stomach feels too full; castor oil for various joint aches and pains; avocado leaf infusion for shortness of breath; sinuam for hyperacidity... and who can forget Katinko? I carry a small tub of it with me all the time! She taught me that it's helpful for a variety of painful situations; from headaches to insect bites to sprained ankles to fractured wrists (I am not kidding). To my family's source of uncanny solutions for minor ache...

Here's a life lesson: happiness is a choice. A few people have said that I am similar to Joy in Inside Out . I try, I really do. There are days that are good and easy but there are days when I fake it until I make it (through the day). When the going is rough, all I can do is look at life through  rose-coloured glasses . Unfortunately, some of those off-days came as June closed and July began.  The days leading up to my birthday weren't so good so I didn't feel like celebrating my birthday this year. But I did learn something on those days: steer clear from people who feel that they are in the centre of other people's universes. It is not often that I am made to feel that I am not supposed to be where I am or that I am smaller than I am because these people feel that they're VIPs; less so so close to my birthday.  While the start of the month wasn't so good, the rest of my birthday week was okay. I still bought my chocolate mousse cake and ate it. I wal...

This is one of my favourite photos with my parents... back during that brief period when I was an only child. Hehe. Happy birthday, Daddy!