moo's blog

October

2007-10-30T17:04:00.000Z

where to begin??

i guess the best news first! i got my indefinite leave to remain. thank god. i don't think it was really a problem, they cleared me within days. but it was just such a hassle and the timing of it was horrible. especially when i was trying to plan trips, etc. to your side of the world. oh well. i have it now. final step next year, then that'll be the end of it!

went on a short break to snowdonia. rented a cottage like in the highlands, which was the sweetest cottage you'd ever seen. set in it's own private land, with a river running at the bottom of the garden. saw a lot, but the best (hardest!) bit was that we climbed the mount snowdon on my 29th. lots of people do it every year, but not a lot of them come up the pyg track!! i'm always going to remember what i did because of it! it was worth every hard step and scramble.
it was beautiful up there, definitely worth another trip just to see all the castles and stunning views!

oh. cooper now has a criminal record! (haha!) we have someone who comes to walk him every thursday (or when i can't make it home for lunch). well, on this particular walk, he decides to fly around a hedge and basically got himself lost from the pack. pj had to go home to help walk around the fields looking for him! where was cooper? he followed his nose into someone else's backyard and was raiding their rubbish bins!!! they brought him to the police station, where the police put him in a cell while waiting for us to collect him! he's a nightmare! i swear. did i tell you that he also chewed on some dishwasher tablets? we had to call the emergency poison control centre just to find out if he was in any danger. so he's a statistic there too.. dalmatian eating dishwasher tablets. sus.

it's dark outside now, and november is a couple of days away. i've got lots of travel coming up for work for the next couple of weeks, to be capped off by a meeting in paris for the new study i'm on! it's not as glam as it sounds, we've been booked into the hyatt next to Charles De Gaulle! ; )

will post again soon, but in the meantime, i'll put up some pics.

moo.

Catching up…

2007-09-06T16:13:00.000+01:00

Have been really bad and not updating my blog in a really long time. Sorry about that moo. It was great chatting again with you after so long. Glad to see you’re doing well, especially given all the things that have been happening around you. I’ve always said that you’re the strongest person I am friends with, and that remains as true now as it was when we were both back in MSI-land.

What have I been up to…

My last entry was in April, and it was semi-about one of the studies that I’m on which is finally (after a very painful termination period!!) ending. I’m now just throwing stuff away that isn’t needed anymore.. It’s very cathartic! Just to be able to finally chuck out all these things I’ve been keeping in the off chance that someone might look for it.

Apart from that, you know that I’ve been promoted yes? Woohoo! And have finally been able to order my Prius. I remember way back saying that I would love to get an electric car as soon as I could, and there we have it! I don’t have it quite yet. It takes 10 weeks to order it through my company, but I can’t wait! I think, more than the fact that it’s eco-friendly or whatever, the thing that appeals to me the most is that I think it’s the ultimate gadget! I don’t think it is really me being eco-friendly because our other car is a Petrol V6 4x4! But maybe it evens it out just a bit. : )

Another work-related thing is PJ has been promoted as well, he’s doing super well in International SOS. And enjoying the work, which is even better. The group he works with are great, and we’ve become quite good friends with his work mates.

I’ve finally passed my driver’s test, and have had the amazing result of no errors! Shocking I know, given the way I drive back in Manila! ; )

Experiences/Adventures since April: Went to see my first live cricket match in Lord’s Cricket ground. First day of the test series between England and West Indies. I loved it!! It was like a big long drawn out party/picnic. People would bring out picnic hampers filled with yummy stuff, or you could buy from the really quality food stalls they had. Beer, champagne, Pimms!! They even had a steel band! We were just chatting away, and every now and then watching the cricket! I am definitely going again.

We had lots of BBQs and dinner parties with friends, building ties… which is always good. End of July we were in Devon for our usual Totnes show and party weekend. It was also PJ's birthday and the whole family and most of the people who were at the wedding came down as well. It was a great long weekend, walking on the beach in the day and eating great food and drinking til 3am at night! We do it every year now... it's practically tradition ; )

We’ve had a bit more of the house redecorated, so the dining room, family bathroom and back bedroom are all now looking a lot better. Ready for guests! (hint hint).

We went to see Avenue Q, Boeing Boeing, and Midsummer Nights Dream. Which is now my favorite theatre experience after Wicked. It was such a great night out. It’s in the open air theatre in Regent’s Park, and the acting was absolutely amazing! I’ve never enjoyed Shakespeare so much! We had a picnic dinner in the park beforehand, then went in to see the show. It was absolute magic.

Went to my first rugby match in Twickenham. Which I was a bit apprehensive about, mainly because it was practically a full stadium, and I didn’t know how I would cope in such a massive crowd. But I really got into it, and had a really good time! We didn’t win, which is a shame… but it was an exciting one to watch!

Cooper is doing well. Naughty as ever, as you know.. but we love him anyway! ; )

Things to coming up: We’ve got two festivals that I’m super keen to go to this September… First one is this weekend, which is an Oyster and Seafood Fest!!! And the next one in late September is the Great British Cheese Festival. I’ve just died and gone to heaven. haha!

Also, l’ve got to pass my Life in the UK test next week… and apply for my ILR week after that. Fingers crossed it will all work out!!! We’re going to explore Wales in October, which is meant to be horribly wet and windy, but we don’t care! Wellies and waterproofs and we’ll be fine diba?

Phew. I guess that’s us all caught up now. I’m sure there’s tons more I could talk about, but this is far far too long now… and I won’t bore you any more!! ; )

Take care moo. Speak soon.

how to make someone’s day

2007-04-26T11:24:00.000+01:00

by sending them a pack of yummy biscuits along with boxful of files.

for meow, who loves detail:

one of my co-workers in the czech republic had mistakenly forgotten to send me some binders. she was so apologetic. completely unnecessary, but she sent them to me straight away. i got them today, and in them, was a pack of cookies taped to the inside of the binder along with a note:

ay. : )

Remembering food from UP

2007-04-25T15:58:00.001+01:00

Not really a definitive list of the best food from UP, but just my personal list, of what I used to eat and remember.

1) in the shopping center, they had the most addictively yummy eggplant dish... what was it called??? i remember you were able to work out how to cook it moo... do you remember the recipe?
2) carioca after mass – sarap!
3) that summer drink that i can’t remember the name of... summer splash? summer cool? ugh. why can’t i remember the name?
4) tapsilog from rodics – firm molgen favourite!!
5) tom yum soup from that thai place near balara – another molgen favourite!
6) boxes of strawberry nerds from the coop
7) fish balls from the vendor on road near MSI
8) drive through Jolibee to get chicken joy
9) turon
10) ice cream from that place where you can go on the computer... what was that called.. hmm.

No, i’m not hungry at all ;-)

another brilliant piece from ee cummings

2007-04-23T17:44:00.001+01:00

pity this busy monster, manunkind,

not. Progress is a comfortable disease:
your victim (death and life safely beyond)

plays with the bigness of his littleness
--- electrons deify one razorblade
into a mountainrange; lenses extend
unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish
returns on its unself.
A world of made
is not a world of born --- pity poor flesh

and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this
fine specimen of hypermagical

ultraomnipotence. We doctors know

a hopeless case if --- listen: there's a hell
of a good universe next door; let's go

another thing that makes me smile while driving around

2007-04-22T12:36:00.000+01:00

sunny fields as you drive past

how cool is this?

2007-04-18T11:52:00.001+01:00

http://www.myearthdream.com/#root

rolling eggs down a hill at bantham

2007-04-16T15:35:00.001+01:00

what a way to spend an easter sunday!

musical of the month...

2007-04-11T15:19:00.000+01:00

Just got the tickets today at work... PJ is really excited to see this one! He's a big fan of the musical score, and I must admit, so am I.

And feeding my Wicked addiction, we snapped up the last two tickets being offered at work. We'll be watching Wicked again on 23rd May!!! It'll be interesting to see how the new Elpheba is doing. She's gotten good reviews, but with such a high standard set by Idina Menzel, I hope she can deliver. Poor PJ is so Wicked-ed that he catches himself using catchphrases from the musical in daily life. That's why we have a Wizard...

anniversary pressies.

2007-04-05T14:16:00.000+01:00

you know how much of a fiasco the buying of the watch was. the company (http://www.blitzwatches.co.uk/default.asp) that i ordered the watch from was amazing. they said it couldn’t be done, but they’d try. and they did it! the watch was with us before 9am! how’s that for s speedy service? bought it online at almost 5pm, it was delivered to the house by 9am the next day.

with present in hand, i demanded that pj come into the kitchen to see it. i wanted him to wear it to devon. plus didn’t want to have to open anniv presents in front of all the family. kakahiya no! so he did. kunyari pa siya na ayaw. sus. he absolutely loved it. he’s mr. “i am always on time”. time is so important to him. you have no idea. time, and time management obsess him. and i said that it would always remind him of how completely not on-time i was on our first date. (i was 2 hours late).

then he came downstairs with mine. and i love it. i’ve been bugging him for one since last year. and he finally conceded. a playstation in the jenkins house! unthinkable! sacrilege! anti-social and rots your brain! which makes his gift even more special... he’s so against computer gaming and to actually buy one for me? love niya ako no?

have a good easter moo. chat you next week.

meebo and me. (should be i, but it wouldn’t sound the same)

2007-04-05T11:10:00.001+01:00

my wunderwhiz of a brother clued me into meebo. and it’s fantastic. i can log in, and every single messenger service i ever use is on the thing. if i could remember my ICQ password, i’d get on that as well! cleverly getting round all sorts of firewalls, it doesn't need you to download a thing onto your pc. all of it is online! cool cool.

best bit? i can now get meows at work.

thoughts on the city versus country debate in the jenkins household

2007-04-04T10:25:00.000+01:00

i’ve always considered myself a city girl... growing up in metro manila, am not used to a quiet and peaceful pace. i’m so used to being surrounded by people and bombarded by all the sights, sounds and smells associated with living in the crazy city. i have come to re-evaluate this since i came to live here.

in the philippines, the cities are THE place to be. in fact, i would consider metro manila really as the only big city. cebu, i like, but it doesn’t have the scale. and i think growing up in the philippines where everything centres on cities (e.g. businesses and job opportunities, good schools, good hospitals, variety of food and entertainment available) just drills it into you. i have to admit, i had come to dislike the idea of ever living in the provinces. i used to live 5 days of each week for 2 years in bolinao, a tiny town on the northwestern tip of luzon. i really could not see myself settled anywhere like that permanently. bolinao had its charms (see my blog entry on it) but i just felt that growing up with the city, i missed having it when i was away. the best mix for me was work week in the city, weekends away. i suppose it’s all a matter of the manner you grew up.

here, it is completely different. they place a higher value country properties more than most city properties. i have no sound evidence to back this up, but it’s just a feeling i get when i watch their property shows or hear people talking about homes... fair enough, flats in south ken will always be more expensive than a similar property outside london. my theory is that culturally, or historically, the wealthy (going back to victorian days) lived outside the cities. their stately homes were in the countryside. cities developed around industries. all these rows of cottages and terraced homes were homes for the workers. so maybe there’s something in their psyche that longs for a country estate, because that is what was prized generation after generation. maybe it’s in their blood?

here’s the thing. it all boils down to quality of life. in the philippines, the quality of life in the provinces is poor compared to that in cities. in the uk, for the most part, the quality of life in the “provinces” seems to be better than in the cities! schools are better, healthcare is better (they actually know your name and have time to see to you) and because their transport and roads are so good, a big city is never far away.

so i’ve slowly been tempted to live outside “london”. shocking i know. but the more time i spend thinking about it. it just makes more sense. i think in the next 3-5 years it’s definitely a move we’ll make. we’ll still have to be within easy reach of london though. as pj works in central london. which is fantastic because that means i can still go into london easily for the shops, theatre, etc. but i am definitely more open t o living outside this massive city i find myself in, and not dreading that move at all. it’ll be quite an expensive move... but, in fact, i’m quite looking forward to it. someday.

Happy Mum's Day!!!

2007-03-18T15:59:00.000Z

It's mother's (mum's) day in this country I live in today. The first time round, it took me by surprise. I didn't know when Mother's day was exactly, but I had a general idea, and it was definitely not in the month of March. Now I had two mother's day dates to remember. I could barely remember it when there was just the one!

This year we sent flowers to both mum and mama. My mom was so surprised, she wasn't expecting it! Why would she afterall?! I'm happy it got there on time. I'm happy both the flowers got there in time... in time for both moms (in Devon and Las Pinas) to be speaking to PJ and I on the phone (and online), simultaneously thanking us for the flowers. It was a good moment.

Happy mother's day! :)

currently obsessed with...

2007-03-14T19:41:00.000Z

all things on, around and about howl's moving castle.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/howls_moving_castle/trailer/

i saw it with honor and reuben 2 saturdays ago. they really really liked it. liked it enough to ask to watch it again sunday morning! such a beautifully made little film. just drops you into the story as it unfolds. i'm not a massive anime fan. i hold a healthy respect for the artform, but this movie has made me want to watch more anime. and that can only be a good thing.

some photos...

2007-03-14T19:33:00.000Z

jasmine flower tea (taken in http://www.pingpongdimsum.com/ where pj and i had a quick bite to eat before the sound of music)

old one... but these are some of the girls at work... taken during our company christmas do... (before we had a massive amount of alcohol)

4:10 pm

2007-03-06T16:09:00.000Z

every now and again, something comes by that really speaks to me. it can be a scene in a movie, and phrase in a song... it could even be an advert on the side of a bus. today it was this poem by ee cummings.

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there's never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

i think i get too caught up in the little fiddle-y details of now... that i forget about this side of life.

dinner for 8.

2007-03-02T10:28:00.000Z

apparently i don’t do things by halves. it’ll be fine bug!!!

i invited the girls from work to dinner at the house tonight, and extended the invite to partners as well.. didn’t stop to think about whether or not we had enough chairs or plates or glasses. good thing we do! : )

well, the wine is stocked, there’s food ready to be cooked, i’m sure it will all be fine.

have a good weekend moo.

Things that make me smile about this new country I live in… (a continuing series)

2007-02-26T12:12:00.001Z

That they have a speaking clock… basically dial 123 and you will hear the time spoken to you. A few other countries have it as well… I think it’s for people who need to sync with an accurate timepiece if they are in the field or something… I must admit, I find it utterly endearing. It appeals to my inner geek.

hydrotherapy for cooper

2007-02-25T16:35:00.000Z

cooper has been diagnosed with early onset osteoarthritis.

low point: finding out we couldn't go rambling for days with him, or go on bike rides with him trotting alongside like we had hoped. we basically have to decrease the activity we do with him, to save his joints/"wrists" from degenerating faster. : (

poor thing. he doesn't understand why we don't go to the beach anymore... or go walking everyday. but he's on chontrotin therapy... and is taking supplements, which he loves because he thinks the capsules are treats. and is taking cod liver oil. ugh. that smell brings back horrible memories...

but on a small upside, we have found a hydrotherapy place close to us that's specifically for dogs. it basically works on the idea that he's still getting exercised (a short swim is equivalent to miles of walking daw) while having no impact on his joints. bonus: we can swim with him in a heated pool as well! another bonus: he gets shampoo-ed and dried so we come home with a v clean dog.

introducing cooper

2007-02-22T18:42:00.000Z

we got cooper from dalmatian rescue. you know i've always loved dalmatians, and was heartbroken when pepper died. cooper is 2 years old, he came to us overweight and it was our job to get his weight down and get him fit and active. photo above is cooper in the woods. he loves autumn puddles!

he is also the soppiest spotty thing i've known. they do think they're big lapdogs don't they?

he loves the sea, will chase after his frisbee into the waves. but is very scared when it gets out of his depth!

he also loves the beach. especially when he's got his best mate baxter to play with!

: )

Things that make you happy when you’re far from home: # 456 and 457.

2007-02-22T15:21:00.000Z

# 456 - Discovering that Philippine Carabao Dried Mangos are being sold not just at your local Pinoy store, but at Waitrose. Yes, Waitrose. Well done Waitrose!!

# 457 - Hoarding dozens of cans of Gina mango juice that you found in a Chinese Supermarket.

This field that I am in.

2007-02-22T13:59:00.000Z

My work can be mind numbing. Not that any other work doesn’t have this potential. I remember sitting for days in front of a microscope counting unicellular marine algae. An experience that was so dull, I could literally hear my brain dropping down several gears.

Yesterday, I was filing. Yes, filing. Welcome to my world. Photocopy, update on tracker, put tiny sticker label on the back, paper-clip together (AstraZeneca doesn’t like staples), file. I did this for 5 hours solid.

I try to put it off as long as possible, of all the tasks I do for my work, this is the one I dislike the most.

Time to raid the stationary cupboard for post-its. : )

Winter wonderland, jasmine flower tea, whiskers on kittens and brown-paper packages in the post

2007-02-09T14:34:00.000Z

Yesterday was snow-y day in London. I woke up early with PJ to check it out. It was beautiful. The palest blue light reflected off the snow gave everything such an ethereal glow. There was silence and stillness while the snow kept falling in gentle swirls…

Which we ruined seconds later by madly running into the garden with Cooper and starting a game of catch-the-snowball. : )

Driving to work was a nightmare. It was my first experience driving in those conditions. The phrase my dive instructor uses to describe how the rate you should ascend from a deep dive came to mind… as slow as you can slow.

Snow covered sidewalks do not mix with heels. That’s for sure! I walked back home for lunch, thinking, I’d better walk, save myself the stress of trying to parallel park on icy streets. Big mistake. What normally takes me 5 minutes, took me 15. Couldn’t even look up to admire all the scenery because had my eyes solidly focused on the ground.

Fortunately, streets were clear on the way into Hammersmith. Picked PJ up in record time. Got a parking ticket for not having enough change. Note to self: always bring change. Walked around Carnaby street/Soho looking for somewhere to eat before the show. PJ kept mumbling something about going to McDo. I ignored him. Which I’m glad I did, because we ended up eating at PingPong and having some dimsum. Was nothing spectacular, but it was hot food, fast service and we had plenty of yummy dipping sauces. The best bit? Jasmine flower tea, which unfolded as it steeped.

Initial disappointment at not seeing Connie Fisher (plus a few others), but this was soon forgotten when she started singing the opening scene. She looked a bit too young, but performed fantastically well. The show was a bit long in the first part, I started feeling woozy through the second act, the theatre was very warm! Some new songs, didn’t work for me. But the final scene was very very clever. I’m no expert, but overall, I thought it was beautifully sung and well acted by all. Especially loved the kids, who could steal the show! Looking forward to Evita in April!

Got home earlier than expected, and we were met at the door by some brown-paper packages (not tied up in string though a la “Favourite Things”) and Cooper. Life is good. I am very thankful.

back to blogging

2007-02-02T09:27:00.000Z

i set up a pre-wedding blog. www.bugandtitch.blogspot.com

that's where i was for a while. then went silent for too long...

it's 2007. and the last post i had here was pre-wedding. a LOT has happened. i'm sure you can relate moo. so plenty of changes and i'm living a completely different lifestyle now. so much so that the old me would find it hard not to be shocked!!

i can cook now. (shock of all shocks) well, when i say cooking, i mean i've moved up to the next level from re-heating and using mixes. i'm now at the point where i can put everything together and follow a recipe... to the letter. if it says boil for 13.52 minutes, that's how long it'll stay boiling &%Mn it! ;)

i clean the house. meaning i use our trusty dyson and vacuum all of downstairs and upstairs. mop floors to remove grubby paw prints. sheesh. i still don't clean bathrooms though. i refuse.

i stick to a budget. me??!? yes. there's a budget, and we stick to that level of spending. (well, most of the time anyway)

will write more soon. i just wanted to get things started again. it found it strange reading through posts i had blogged before. to read where i was, and see where i am now. and that's one reason why i'm back to blogging again. so i have something to look back on later...

long overdue update and thank you. moo.

2005-09-27T07:56:00.000+01:00

i am meeting michelle later (michelle from edg's lab) and it feels really good to be able to talk to her again. she's been working with wwf these past few months and is still very involved in her fencing.

will be going to DISH (abs-cbn) later with lex to listen to Bloomfields. i want to check them out kasi. kung ok sila, will be getting them for the wedding.

last, but never the least, you. thank you. for everything. most recently, for your efforts with the lace. love mo ako no? mas love kita moo. thank God for you.

i might as well...

2005-07-19T04:27:00.000+01:00

pj and i taking a break (photo op) on the way to kayangan lake, coron.

palette

2005-07-19T04:21:00.000+01:00

one of the first questions people asked me when i announced our engagement was, "what's your theme?"

never even thought of that. but now i have an answer. no theme. just a coloUr (U for PJ) palette. thanks mr. lex for making that possible. until you came along, all i had were a couple of photos of pillows and walls!

by the way, he's given up on photoshop. he even got sick. seriously got a fever and achey from working on the cards. haha!

moo. hope you like it!

surfing from the lab

2005-06-17T11:20:00.000+01:00

i just found out that somehow i am able to connect wirelessly to the wifi hotspot in the library from the molgen lab. talk about amazing. now i really never have to leave this lab!

examples of how "tunnel vision"-ed i'd become. first, i had no idea the library had become a wifi hotspot. it had happened months ago. second, there are so many big projects in my field coming into the institute. i mean, seriously big important projects. wow. i've become too much of a labrat i guess. have failed to see what's going on around me. time to get myself back into the thick of things i suppose.

twenty million years later...

2005-06-15T13:34:00.000+01:00

20 million is my favorite number. (lara quirk # 852)

we just set up a wireless network at home, so my old (but trusty) laptop is on it. my laptop which wasn't made for broadband connecting! it's a silly thing. am sure lots of people take it for granted that they can connect wirelessly to the net. am sure i'll be one of them in a few month. but while the novelty of it all hasn't worn off..sobrang COOL!! :) (now to figure out how to make this thing secure!)

mainit, mainit na mainit, napakainit and pinakamainit

2005-04-18T02:39:00.000+01:00

dives and tagalog lessons. what more do you want in a weekend? mainit was spectacular as usual. it's great seeing it with another guide. never saw those barracuda before. slightly scared me! and there were supposed to be sharks in the area! will go find them next time.

tagalog lessons on the other hand, not going as well! mr. "actually, i'm an adventurer" will need a real tagalog tutor.

best find of the dive: Neopetrolisthes ohshimai

2005-04-13T13:34:00.000+01:00

a sure pc killer. have mercy. i am DONE! (takes a bow)
i have NEVER in my life had a program take more than 18 hours to finishing running.

blogging from an IBM

2005-04-12T10:50:00.000+01:00

my first IBM was the pc we bought for work. i was amazed at how we could run virtually anything on it. multiple programs open (adobe photoshop!) and it would not crash! the most solid system i've ever seen. coupled with a win2000 os. i loved it.
like this one too. knong's laptop. not that i don't like mine. my old faithful trusty uncrashable laptop of 5 years. it does help that this laptop has all it's keys functioning, unlike mine! (should get that looked at soon.
slow day. will watch a movie later.

FOURnineFORTYNINE

2005-04-11T02:05:00.000+01:00

was the trick my mom used to help me remember her birthday. anyone who knows me well, knows that i absolutely cannot remember birthdays. and hopefully, they forgive me.

it was my mom's birthday weekend. was a great time. she seemed really happy, and that's the most important thing.

also, my whole entire family met pj. it went surprisingly well. and am thankful for that.

great stay-at-home-with-the-family weekend. next weekend, diving? :)

the ties that bind

2005-04-03T16:10:00.000+01:00

we are one less great man today. and all of humanity mourns this loss. reminding me of other things bound to me that i have lost. with hope, i believe in my heart that i haven't lost them yet. but it appears that way at the moment. i've lost my ties to moo. and to bbb. email apparently, does not work both ways. who ever thought it did is a fool. all things have their season, maybe theirs have passed. when people say "this too shall pass" referring to the horrible, sad, grief-ridden moments in our lives, what we don't realize is this also applies to all the joyous, blissful, sheer 20 moments. i suppose they do. and so it goes. on to the next.

blogging and gmail

2005-02-08T15:33:00.000Z

because of gmail, i don't really see the point of blogging as much as i did before. maybe it was just a i want to blog phase? who knows. maybe. have yet to get back into it after the long "pause".

oh! i wasn't able to tell you about this moo. but i had quite a dive weekend this past weekend. was assisting dick with a group of his checkout divers. and it what happened really shook me. my job was to flank the group while keeping an eye on certain divers who i knew were slightly nervous. there were 7 divers on their checkout, and a couple others who were on their first fun dives after their checkout. aside from dick, there were 2 divemasters along with the group too. (just cause you love detail)

anyway, happened on the second dive. this one guy (ed). he went into a panic involving his regulator and some water. but even before this, i already saw him sort of struggling, and beginning to hyperventilate. so i swam closer to him. i watched him try repeatedly to purge his reg, but that didn't seem to help him. so i gave him my spare. which he took. seemed fine. then he started pointing up like he wanted to swim up. well, in the end, despite my best attempts to calm him and slow him down, we ended up shooting up from 60ft! lord.

at the surface i was just waiting for some sort of popping or bloody taste OR the bends. call me paranoid! but in the end, as you can see, i'm fine. we both were. just scared the hell out of me. all weekend long, i was completely OA about any little ache i had!

in the end, he finished the course and was completely thankful to me. so was his wife (was with us, but not diving). weekend ended well. thank God!! :)

am thankful for...

2005-01-20T13:29:00.000Z

the man who is the reason why this (and 70 other duck shots) were taken.

am thankful for...

2005-01-20T13:18:00.000Z

snow. i had no idea.
(i look like a kid, because i AM one!)

am thankful for...

2005-01-20T13:14:00.000Z

my cousin who loves me... ignoring me, but loves me.

am thankful for...

2005-01-14T00:58:00.000Z

moo and meow

tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka

2005-01-06T07:47:00.000Z

heard this off the mp3 player of one of the students in the lab. powerful pinoy music. galing. remade by the eraserheads, so it's got that rock twist. grabe. i'm sure this has been out a long time, but i don't care.
mapapakanta ka kasabay niya. lahat kami sa lab kumakanta kanina :) aliw.

Pagmasdan ang ulan,
Unti-unting pumapatak sa mga halama't mga bulaklak
Pagmasdan ang dilim,
Unti-unting bumabalot sa buong paligid t'wing umuulan

Kasabay ng ulan bumubuhos ang 'yong ganda,
Kasabay rin ng hanging kumakanta

Maari bang huwag ka na
Sa piling ko'y lumisan pa hanggang ang hangi't ula'y tumila na

Buhos na ulan, aking mundo'y lunuring tuluyan
Tulad ng pag-agos mo,
'Di mapipigil ang puso kong nagliliyab
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw,
Damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
Tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka

Pagmasdan ang ulan,
Unti-unting tumitila
Ikaw ri'y magpapaalam na
Maari bang minsan pa, mahagkan ka't maiduyan pa
Sakbibi ka't ulan lamang ang saksi

Minsan pa ulan bumuhos ka't h'wag nang tumigil pa
Hatid mo ma'y bagyo, dalangin ito ng puso kong sumasamo
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw,
Damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
Tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka

Maari bang minsan pa, mahagkan ka't maiduyan pa
Sakbibi ka't ulan lamang ang saksi

Buhos na ulan, aking mundo'y lunuring tuluyan
Tulad ng pag-agos mo,
'Di mapipigil ang puso kong nagliliyab
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw,
Damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
Tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka

Minsan pa ulan bumuhos ka't h'wag nang tumigil pa
Hatid mo ma'y bagyo, dalangin ito ng puso kong sumasamo
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw,
Damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
Tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka

first post of the new year about everything i should (and am) thankful for

2005-01-05T10:13:00.000Z

am back. (back to the reality of waiting for PCR runs to finish)
there is so much to to be thankful for, that i don't know where to begin. maybe when i have a bit more time.
just wanted to say hey. will blog more later.

green dress, pasalubong and happy thoughts

2004-11-16T02:33:00.000Z

so much to look forward to this coming holiday season. wedding, birthdays (actual BIRTH days... of my new pamangkin!!), reunions of every type of friend group, misa de gallo in ateneo, bazaars with mom (3 bazaars in one weekend... whoa.), TRAFFIC (loving it... am weird), decorating the houses (color scheme all picked out), buying new twinkle lights for 10 pesos (kidding!!), walking around the village looking at houses all lit up with cousins after dinner (tradition), puppies!!!! (praying), watching christmas concerts, hearing carolers in the street and a whole more.

but most of all, i'll be seeing people i've missed for so long. family AND "only friend" (hi to v). spending the most happy season with them. and POTENTIALLY (insert prayer) seeing snow. let's look for snow moo? let's make pathetic looking snowmen (because i don't know how... hands will freeze before we get the body done) and laugh like insane people thinking about how silly it all is.

so, am armed with my green dress, your pasalubong and twenty million happy thoughts, and i'll be seeing you in a couple of weeks. moo.

2004-11-10T13:45:00.000Z

hmm.

2004-11-10T13:43:00.001Z

are YOU looking at me??

2004-11-10T13:43:00.000Z

the last reef on earth.

it's a personal record

2004-11-10T13:37:00.000Z

four PCRs today. got home at past seven in a daze of microliters and agarose gels. and i get to do it all again tomorrow!

images of christmas in boracay from ariel

2004-11-04T17:19:00.000Z

iba.

2004-11-04T16:17:00.000Z

powder anyone?

it's boracay! not bora!!

2004-11-04T15:48:00.000Z

it's a new phenomenon. but lately, i've heard people refer to boracay as "bora". BORA?!? are they kidding me? why? why?! more importantly... WHY?! (takes a deep breath and counts to 10).

sidetracked: plus there's a bar in the fort named "bora" that lex and i will never EVER go to because we criticize it every time we pass by the place. ay sus.

back to main topic: i suppose it's to sound more cool or in or whatever it is. are we going for an association with bora bora now? help me, but the word boracay itself is such beauty. i must be too old school or something. boracay will always be "boracay". i fell in love with boracay way back when there were just small resorts, no concrete hotels on long beach. no reliable electricity :)

interestingly, i've noticed that people who say "bora" instead of "boracay" are a certain type of person. it's a type. not an age/sex/class/rank thing. anyway, it's become a very useful indicator for me as to what type of person you are just by how you refer to boracay. (we shall not go into the characteristics because we have already calmed down and counted to ten).

so moo. if you want to stay my friend. please. please. it's boracay, not bora!!

ally mcbeal songs

2004-11-01T13:04:00.000Z

i was watching this show while waiting for my folks to finish getting ready to go out. it was a good episode. the one where ally and larry (played by robert downey jr.) go on their first official date. i like him in general. the character for her, and him as an actor... (gonna get sidetracked, stopping myself).

anyway, i remember the first season this tv show came out, you could NOT interrupt anyone watching it when it was on. no phone calls made or taken. and everyone understood this unwritten law. at least everyone i knew. and everyone my cousins and aunt knew. that's a pretty big group of people who would put everything on hold for ally, then after the show started up again. good times with the cousins at my ninangs house. :)

in almost every episode, vonda sings a song in the final minutes. this one, i particularly like. the rhythm and the way it is sung, with soul. galing. and OF COURSE, me being myself, one of the lines struck me. it goes...

ain't it funny how you're walking through life and it turns on a dime?

hey. hey. hey.

updates

2004-10-28T01:34:00.000+01:00

i know i haven't posted in a long time. and that partly explains why i uploaded a whole bunch of photos!! my birthday went really really well. you know how i like to celebrate it.

started out saturday before my birthday. with my girls, ate at gaudi (GB3 next to that veggie popcorn/movie snack place), redbox (my god. ang saya.) then oktoberfest at my cousins. ended up being the boring "sober" ones there. it was easy, some of the other guests were practically licking the floor.

my brother learned how to dive. i assisted in those classes. do you remember when you learned with homer? and i retrained? now i know what that looked like!!! horrible ;)

but am proud of him. he did really well. only shot up about twice! making me v nervous. but it was fine. after that, he kept pretty good bouyancy. i'll tell you more about it later. needless to say, this 3-star course is giving me a whole new perspective into diving. i love it. ;)

finished celebrating at this big clan party reunion at my house just this sunday.
happy.

lab work has been going well. hope to defend by this coming sem!! yay! so i can FINALLY go back to work with Dr. Gomez.

seagrass lab hasn't been going well. i'll tell you more about it sometime too. remind me!

yesterday, my labmates and i were talking about october. and how it passes very very quickly. november is knocking, and december is circling the block looking for parking!! and the radio was on. and seasons of love played. for me, that's the ultimate christmas/year end song. maybe because i saw it christmas time here? anyway, i'll end with this. since i haven't posted a song in a loooong time.

something we have ALWAYS shared. we both measure in love.

Seasons of Love (RENT)

five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you measure? measure a year

in daylights,
in sunsets,
in midnights,
in cups of coffee,

in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
in five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you measure a year in a life?
how about love?
how about love?
how about love?
measure in love...

seasons of love...

seasons of love...

five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you measure a life of a woman or a man

in truths that she learned
or in times that he cried
in bridges he burned
or the way that she died

its time now to sing out though
the story never ends
let's celebrate remember a year in a life
of friends

remember the love...
(oh you gotta remember the love)
remember the love...
(oh yeah, its a gift from up above)
remember the love...
(sing out, give out, measure your life in love...)
measure in love.

seasons of love...

seasons of love...

2004-10-27T16:46:00.000+01:00

my official birthday "cake" and second favorite thing to eat for desert... sugar high second to none.

2004-10-27T16:44:00.000+01:00

unbeatable combination: minggoys dinner with family. will always ALWAYS be an amazing time.

2004-10-27T16:43:00.000+01:00

my girls. minus one. we missed you gayle!!!

2004-10-27T16:42:00.000+01:00

redboxhappy : )

2004-10-27T16:40:00.000+01:00

my dive buddies. keeping them safe was my job. keeping me bouncing up and down all over the reef was theirs! ; )

2004-10-27T16:32:00.000+01:00

my first time to assist an OW checkout. 8 students, all trying their best to dive happy and well. succeeded!

2004-10-27T16:30:00.000+01:00

my brother and i (i got him to dive!!!)

2004-10-27T16:29:00.000+01:00

traffic!!!

what a day! (in detail)

2004-10-14T15:37:00.000+01:00

this day reinforces another "lesson" i've learned, that you just never know what the day might bring. no matter how bad you think it is, it always has the potential to turn around. especially when you have good friends about who love you. :)

i mean really. after a very sleepless tense night, waiting for the sun to come up then wishing it hadn't, i would hardly expect that to be the makings of a beautiful day. but life always surprises doesn't it?

talks with BOTH advisers went well, she actually smiled at me. PROGRESS. and after an email to her, she concedes that things are cleared up a bit. and can see things moving forward. setting a meeting for all three of us to come together. whoa.

lunch was with the whole lab and our student. complete with gonuts. (sugar high)

afternoon meeting with someone i later find out is also atenean went really well also. interesting challenge for the future.

and then i rush over to makati to hear a spanish guitar concert by an absolute God of spanish guitar. just to hear such quality music like that must do your soul a world of good. lex and i were in awe. everyone left smiling. they were forced to do 2 "encores". was it even right to keep clapping and ask? i guess it was. we left there saying "john mayer WHO???!"

during the concert lex kept turning to me and saying the guitar player reminded him so much of d. he did. similar intense expression, the half frown squinty eyes look. same accent (catalan too). even made the same grammatical errors. maybe d was telling the truth, there are a lot of people like him out there? i shall take it as a challenge to find out for myself... :)

genius

2004-10-12T10:06:00.000+01:00

yugo nakamura designed this 2004 cannes cyber lion award winning website that i find really brilliant. it's also environmental minded without being preachy.

another one.

genius.

high low weekend

2004-10-12T09:40:00.000+01:00

ok, well it wasn't an entirely bad weekend. i just had painful splitting headaches everytime i moved and stayed put. solution? move extreeemely slowly. :) fevers at night did not help either. but hey, why not throw the fever in there? just to make it all a bit more fun.

positives: pepper slept with me in the room that weekend. she's hilarious. i knew she was gonna be unhappy sleeping alone without ate susan around, so when it came time for me to go to bed (extremely early on account of the headache) i walked up to her and tried to get her to follow me into my room. pero no. eh di wag. sus. rejected by my dog. haha! i was in bed a few minutes later, the whole house was sleeping na, and i hear this scratching sound outside my door. pepper. sus. drama. alam ko! mana sa may-ari ;)

movie marathon with cousins while eating lansones and paella. good mix no? wait til you hear what we saw. resident evil and... (drumroll)... ella enchanted. WHAT!!? yea. we're weird.

hope you enjoy eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!! watch house of flying daggers when it comes out ok? :)

sixteen minutes to seven ramblings

2004-10-08T11:43:00.000+01:00

head's a bit woozy, waiting for seven so i can go home. great. 1.5 hours of traffic. last blog before this weekend. was supposed to have a check out dive, but have to stay home for pepper. do you notice there's not much point to this blog? as if the others did. maybe some did? hmm. oh, i cooked today. ok, i know you cook everyday. and you know i don't, so for me, that was slightly new. i surprised my brother! have a great weekend ok? moo.

2004-10-07T12:44:00.000+01:00

helping teach a group from SIKAT (NGO). happy. i led them through exercises. they did it naman. don't know if that was just because dick was behind me though... (hehe)

happy skipping

2004-10-07T11:34:00.000+01:00

remember how deej always teased me about this? how i'm always happy skipping either that or i am the holiday cheermeister. he's in quezon with mark (remember him? clam lab?) for work, learning how to surf at the same time, inviting me up there to learn too. NO. no no no.
my point, here it is, i came across this poem by ee cummings, and i think you'll like it as much as i do. i think it's beyond happy skipping. very close to one of your favorite words.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything
which is natural which is infinite
which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;
this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:
and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

i will read it again on the 18th. it just seems appropriate no?

keeping updated

2004-10-06T03:21:00.000+01:00

since pinagalitan mo ako moo, i will make a special effort to always write in my blog. AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. just for you. ganyan ka kalakas sa akin. daya. dapat ikaw din. may blog. di na ako updated sa iyo. ;)

ANYWAY, saw p last night. was really nice seeing him again. and reaffirming that people can and are able to stay connected despite distance and lack of constant communication. he was telling me about a new aspect of his work, and how he decided to remain in cebu and make it his home base. which came as a mild shock to me. mainly because i had never considered that people would rather live in cebu than in manila. i mean, given a choice. you see so much migration into metromanila, hear about it on the news. and people think decentralization should happen soon. encourage growth in other parts... am getting off track...

maybe i'd had understood it more if he were cebuano or something? it made me really think about the prejudices i have about living in the provinces. (ok, cebu isn't exactly provincial, but you know what i mean). it also made me really think about what i like about living in this huge concrete madhouse of metro manila. even bbb couldn't stand it, and he's city-bred. but then again, he also cannot stand malls... hmm. bit of a weirdo that one.

ANYWAY (again), and i really can't say i can defend it very well. i think i mumbled something about the schools being better here. (hehe) and even now, i can't say i could really sell metromanila life. i love it obviously. i love that you have the whole range of options, and i mean THE WHOLE RANGE. culture, art, film, music, food, poverty (gotta do something about that one). and that things are always in motion. and that things always involve a slight struggle. i like that it's a bit frenetic. but these things, i realize are true of any big 3rd world city no? not exactly specific to metromanila. so i'm back to square one. maybe i'll sleep on it some more.

how's las vegas treating you? can you FEDEX me some krispy kremes? :))

2004-10-05T02:58:00.000+01:00

molgen lab. PRE-exorcist.

exorcism

2004-10-05T02:47:00.000+01:00

saw it last night. was pretty good fun. mainly because i was with my coworkers. not because the film was any good. the CGI was really bad. i mean, you can tell straight away, just by the first opening shots of "cairo" in 1949. i guess we've been so used to brilliant CGI, that we ignore the fact that they are CGI as long as they're believable? the hyenas. pangit. i remembered how much you hated the last matrix!! so i guess i know what that feels like na. napikon ako sa CGI ;)

since i'm already talking about movies and films, let's try and exorcise the memory of a really icky film with talk about the other ones showing or "coming soon". next movie i want to see, "The House of Flying Daggers" another Zhang ZiYi. from the people who made Hero and Crouching... has it been shown there?

ALSO, Spanish film fest starting in Greenhills! the Cineuropa is also in UP. muito legal!! :)

oh. saw Feng Shui with my mom. pretty good. you almost forgive Kris Aquino's acting.

science and religion

2004-10-04T16:13:00.000+01:00

reconcile science and religion in thirty seconds. was he insane?? IMPOSSIBLE! 6 years ago, my philo teacher asked me something along these lines. and it's always been an ongoing debate in my mind between the scientist and the believer in me. so how does one reconcile the two? answer: i, personally have NO CLUE. but i must have mumbled something particularly brilliant during those final thirty seconds, because a walked out of that philo oral exam room with an A!

((moo, i know you're sniffly. get better soon! you don't need to read the link. it's a long thing))

2004-09-30T02:49:00.000+01:00

i realized i hadn't posted a photo in a long time. here's one taken from a moving bus, in the rain, as we cross a bridge. it was cold and wet and absolutely beautiful. looks like a scene from the last samurai no?

limbo

2004-09-28T16:19:00.001+01:00

maybe i should go back through my blog and plot (hala, the scientist again) my ups and downs. see how long it takes for an upswing? i'm bound to have one soon. can't wait.

monday blues

2004-09-27T10:38:00.000+01:00

today, i made someone cry. can you imagine!?? i had been away from the lab for a while, and i was chatting with one of my coworkers. i told her a story i had heard on oprah from gwenyth paltrow. my coworker started crying right then and there. middle of the lab, start of the work day, not even 10am yet, and i had made someone cry! that can't bode well for the rest of the week can it?

here's the story: i have to admit, it made me teary as well.

(background - for meow. cause she loves hearing about everything in FULL detail...
gwenyth paltrow's dad had just died recently, and she had a really really hard time dealing with it. they had a special father-daughter bond, and she was devastated that he was gone.)

when she was around 10 years old, her dad decided to surprise her for the weekend. he told her that they were going on a weekend trip to Paris. just the two of them. so off they went, they stayed at the Ritz, she ordered French fries because she had to have FRENCH french fries, went to museums and all the tourist stuff.

on the plane on the way back, he turned to her and asked, "do you know why we went, just the two of us? and mommy and your brother had their own time?"

she had no idea.

so her dad continued, "i wanted you to experience Paris for the first time with a man who will always love you no matter what."

oh.

2004-09-21T08:41:00.000+01:00

from your side of the world. well maybe a bit further away. pat and i are chat buddies again. you're wondering, how in God's name did that happen? my AOL logged in by mistake, first time i had done that this year i think! and he messaged me. took a while to register that i was actually online on AOL. then i was staring at his message, thinking, wha???
he hasn't changed. still gets philippines withdrawal syndrome. still loves the same music. same sense of humor. same "i don't know what i want to do with my life but i have to figure it out soon" thing.
news to me: he remembers stuff for AGES ago. and when i say ages, i mean college times. he also remembers you. SHOCK.
remember THAT whole sage? grabe. in the grad room? i don't think he connected that though. (phew)

a whole lot of nothing

2004-09-21T08:17:00.000+01:00

everyday i have lots of conversations, everybody does i suppose. but why do i get the feeling there's a whole lot of nothing happening? despite there being so much on the surface stuff around to do, i find a lot of people just passing the time to get to the next hour.
the other day, L calls me. he calls to tell me about how he's eating fishballs along pasong tamo. duh. we have a laugh. like we always do. i just have to laugh at this guy. he'd make an interesting case study: people who are emotionally disengaged from their lives.
i guess that conversation exemplifies the whole mood of today. we talked i think for over an hour. arguing and bantering about every single thing that we don't agree on. and in the end, it was a whole lot of talk about nothing. i know it. he knows it. i don't know why he insists on communicating. we're not even friends in the true sense of the word. you know how demanding i am of my friends. i don't know why i take his calls. maybe just to pass the time? i agreed to go out with him friday night. man, am bored. in the words of kaye: "eh parang if you don't go out naman, parang boring."
i have TOO MUCH TIME on my hands. hay naku. did i get so used to the rush of dealing with twenty million issues all at once that now i don't know what to do with down time???

songs that move your soul

2004-09-15T08:20:00.000+01:00

currently listening to bach's air (it's looping). calms me down and centers me like no other can. it speaks to my soul i guess. no words to attach any meaning. no interpretation needed. just music washing over me. it must be beautiful in palau.

i'm a masochist sports fan

2004-09-14T12:21:00.000+01:00

another championship i'm keeping an eye on. somehow, i have a feeling this isn't gonna turn out the way i'd like it either...

oh by the way.

2004-09-14T11:49:00.000+01:00

am not over it.

the pain!!!!!!!

2004-09-14T11:42:00.000+01:00

we $&(%#ing lost to la salle. AGAIN!!! ano ba???? the very next time ateneo wins over la salle, i will be very olympic-american-sprinter-dude and gloat about it to someone from that side of the world. ayoko na. no more miss-modest. tawagan ba naman ako ng luigi just to gloat? gross. eh hindi ako nang-ganoon when we won. o sige. next time. revenge ;)

residuals

2004-09-13T09:06:00.000+01:00

whenpeopletakestepstomoveorchangesome
thingsofundamentaltowhotheyare,dothey
wakeuponedayanditbecomesok?dotheyever
havemomentsofjustsuchsheericannotbreathe
painwhentheyfeelthelastfewoldrootsdying?
thatyoudidnnotknowyoustillhadrootsthere?
butonlyrealizeditintheprocessoftheirremoval?
likeabruisethatyouneverknewwasthere,untilyou
getbumpedthereagain.iamnotmakingsense.because
nothingis.dreamsannoyme.notellingwhatwillbeinthem.fudge.

shopping

2004-09-11T03:25:00.000+01:00

because you can never have too many shoes (or in some cases t-shirts...), i went out shopping the entire day with a girl friend. ok, maybe not the entire day. i did work a bit. she happened to be in the area, on leave, when i was there. so we met up at around 3. had lunch first (yes first meal of the day for me). then went around every single shoe shop in glorietta looking for good deals on very specific types shoes we wanted. (focused kami). for example, cardams had a sale: 2 pairs for P299!
long happy shoe shopping filled day. exactly the kind of therapy the girl-y girl side of me needed! since i don't really need those shoes... hello, MSI and stilletos do NOT go together no?... i've never bought them. but it was so much fun! feels good to dress to kill once in a while! sabi nga ng kamiseta: it's fun being a girl! :)

Another language I want to master someday:

2004-09-09T02:53:00.000+01:00

My japanese name is 清水 Shimizu (clear water) 三千代 Michiyo (three thousand generations).

christmas

2004-09-05T13:02:00.000+01:00

heard my first christmas carol a few days ago. sept. 2, 830 to be exact. when i told people, i found out a lot of them had ALREADY heard christmas music before i even did. wow. talk about christmas spirit. someone had even seen a countdown to christmas already.
i love it. people might think it's strange. roll their eyes. become cynical. but, the way i figure it... if you get people thinking christmas-y, then maybe a million of them would start thinking "oh i have to start the shopping early" or "how do i get people to buy in my store this season". but maybe, there will be a few who will actually think of the christmas spirit. and decide to start early this year too. and the longer time we have exposed to it, the chances go up even more??
so i'm all for this starting-the-season-early. of the twenty million things people have to occupy their minds, christmas thoughts are hardly the worst. and maybe, for a few, it might even be inspirational. and that, is something to be happy about.
merry christmas moo. i know i'm not the first to greet you. i remember gene. : )
i'll see you soon!

adventure in detail

2004-09-03T02:53:00.000+01:00

was in Sablayan for a meeting/presentation for about two and a half hours. took us a day a night and several river crossings to get there.

van to Batangas port (batangas port is so developed now! i had no idea). RORO to Abra, Occidental Mindoro. van gets off, and away we go on a bumpy it's-barely-morning ride. plan was, drive all the way down to Sablayan. problem, people at the meeting forgot to tell us that a bridge (one of the twenty million bridges we had to cross) is broken. can you believe it? we were like, hindi nga?!? it's been down for three weeks and it'll take quite some time to fix it. only thing to do is to leave the van there, cross the bridge, and take one of the buses on the otherside! one long bus ride (potholes along the road were almost as big as the bus itself!) and a trike later, we were finally at the meeting. about 3 hours late!! and when we get there, everyone is saying you didn't know the bridge was out? sus. how? how would we have known?

meeting went well. i'll tell you about THAT some other time.

ended up sleeping in one of the towns there. in general, the way back was less eventful. took a supercat to make up for lost time. fast things. love them. get to the port. take one of those illegal colorum vans to manila. a kilometer away from where we're supposed to get off, it promptly breaks down. NOTHING surprises me about that. after a bridge collapse? that's nothing!

through all of this adventure, i have formed an admiration for our driver. who is the most patient, resourceful person i know. bilib. he was still smiling and helpful despite driving up and down luzon and mindoro non-stop for the greater part of 3 days. we said, we have to leave you here at the bridge. (imagine, middle of nowhere, no signal, nothing). he was like, ok, hintay lang ako dito. simple. he didn't know when we'd be back! and we had no way of telling him. he still offered us ice cream during dinner! we had to leave him (again) at abra port when we had to take the supercat ahead of him. he was still, ok! smiling. iba yung bait nito. kung ako yan, galit na ako. you're leaving me behind AGAIN???

pero saludo ako sa taong yun. amazing. and i consider myself more patient than most. but nowhere in the vicinity of his level of patience. he made the experience an adventure instead of a nightmare. he's the type of person you want around in a crisis. mang quintin, salamat po.

2004-09-03T02:50:00.000+01:00

makeshift people bridge we had to cross. it was actually fun!!!

conversations

2004-08-30T15:32:00.000+01:00

the director asked about you at his birthday today. we were standing over blueberry ice cream and he comes over and asks me how you are. i tell him you're ok. adjusting. but happy. he asks if you have work or anything like that. i promise to tell you that he says hi. he says hi.

my favorite boss (ok, only boss) jokes around with me and asks me if i had read the paper. obviously we lost. to them! horribly. it's ok though, we're still on top. so the next day, i see him in the lab, and he's wearing all blue. seriously. even his little plastic lunchbox is blue. i couldn't let that pass now could i? i smilingly tell him (while going out of the room) that i love the colors he's wearing. he looks at himself laughs cause he doesn't realize that he was wearing all blue. (hehe). then, (here's the killer part)... he says, you don't have to leave when i walk in the room. we like you being here. (aay. balik na ako doon. soon. i will be his RA again.)

kaye. strangely enough. even if we don't really see each other, it's like we connect. we talk for hours. began when she talked about some sad news. which strangely enough (even more strange) brings me to the next person i've been having conversations with... (speaking of kaye... she's online!)

dustin. still the same guy. apparently taking up tennis. driving like a madman. am avoiding using EDSA at all costs because he uses that daily.

jethro. believe it or not. paki-baba ang kilay! am glad i'm talking with him again. another very strange connection no? i think that's the most unique relationship i have with anyone. honestly. just happy that despite EVERYTHING. i mean, everything. (ikaw lang ang nakakaalam) we still haven't lost each other.

ariel. called me at 2am, to tell me about his lovely lovely new family. nicole is beautiful isn't she? he's harassed, but extremely happy. i could feel his happiness from the other side of the world!

my cousins. we had a cousin gimmick the other night. and we were insane. loud. laughing. crammed into this one small table for 4 when there were 8 of us. we didn't care. it was great. i think it's the sort of ease that comes only when you've known people all their lives, and they've known you for all of yours.

which brings me to you. miss our conversations. let me know when you're back moo. catch you soon ok? mahal kita.

i can listen to this lovely song for hours...

2004-08-30T15:19:00.000+01:00

Who looks at her life in the palm of her hand
Rain's on the roof, there's tears in the land of heartbreak
She has made up her mind, she won't turn back again
She writes a note, but words just won't say
Turns off the TV, pulls down the shade
She's leaving… no she won't change her mind
To leave it all behind

Just one more story from a lonely road
A twist of fate and then a spot of gold
Out on the rainbow's end
Just one more chapter in a sad hotel
Another penny to the wishing well
Out on the rainbow's end
Don't you turn back again

Who's playin' cards from midnight 'til dawn
Lives in a waste and yesterday's gone forever
He's made up his mind to leave it all behind
So he says to himself as he folds up his hand
Ooh, will all my friends will understand where I'm goin'
To find my own way, I won't turn back again.

Just one more story from a lonely road
A twist of fate and then a start of gold
Out on the rainbow's end
Just one more chapter in a set of ten
Another penny to the wishing well
Out on the rainbow's end
Don't you turn back again.

I have a dream that I hold in my heart
And I won't let go
Welcome tomorrow - I'm on my way
So goodbye yesterday…
Goodbye yesterday

Just one more story from a lonely road
A twist of fate and then a spot of gold
Found on a rainbow's end
Just one more chapter in a set of ten
Another penny to the wishing well
Out on the rainbow's end
Don't you turn back again

Rainbow's End - Sergio Mendes

2004-08-29T15:04:00.000+01:00

moo.

2004-08-16T12:21:00.000+01:00

you can practically FEEL the energy of the place. brasil.

2004-08-15T11:57:00.000+01:00

sablay/reef "awash" team

what to do when it's your first consultative job and you haven't got a clue? bring along 3 great marine biologists. worked together like a dream. (now if only we can write up that report on time...)

spanish orals

2004-08-13T16:29:00.000+01:00

in a few hours i will be expected to be coherent and semi-fluent in spanish. sheep.

S H E E P!

wish me luck moo.

speaking of spanish. he emailed me. this time from costa rica. talaga naman. busy barcelona boy takes on the world. he saw baby turtles being born. aaaaaaay. am so jealous.

random thoughts lang.

feel free to comment anytime : )

bolinao

2004-08-13T09:38:00.000+01:00

i was in bolinao overnight to sample the mantles of some giant clams. i had no idea how much that place can grow on you. i can honestly say i missed being there. the simplicity of everything. how everything smells like ocean spray. how the ocean is only a few steps away. how you can look out your lab window from counting a million and one zoox and have such beauty to rest your eyes on.

i was walking to the dorm after the days work. all the gumamela were in bloom. the creek was running quietly along next to me while the bamboo was rustling in the breeze. everything calmly doing it's own thing.

and all the places had something associated with them. the gate where d would hit his head. the deck where roms and i finally figured out the pH meter. the computer room where we'd spend hours chatting. the kitchen window curtains where we'd hang our cellphones to get signal. the tv room where we'd watch MG, obsessed like madwomen.

in fact, out of habit, i walked straight into my old room before realizing that i was staying in the other room next to it. kareen and i had a laugh about it. and realized we'd missed being roommates.

the very first time i stayed at bolinao, i couldn't wait to go home. now, years after, i felt sad leaving. so. this post is for bolinao. it's charms. it's memories. the lessons it's taught me. stay simple. do honest work. calm down. quiet. inner peace. it's become part of me. and it will always be one of the most special places on earth.

Test

2004-08-03T04:40:00.000+01:00

Just discovered they have color on this thing. Wonder if it actually shows on the blog.

i remembered!!!

2004-08-02T12:25:00.000+01:00

hey! guess what? apparently, i had the password right. but the username wrong. sus.
ANYWAY. drank my anti-vertigo medicine. so feeling much better. shaky going up stairs though.

talking with a friend (Liza) right now. listening to the New Radicals sing "You Only Get What You Give" on itunes. we should do that sometime, listen to the same station at the same time. good song.

she showed me her own blog. so i'm following her lead and do a high-low blog. mala Story of Us. good movie.

Low: getting to Manila really late, instead of 7am. we got back to MSI at 1pm! sus. plus my body still feels like it's moving. mind over matter. am NOT moving anymore. (ooohm). not working.

High: talking to moo. having DSL and listening to Virgin Radio! eating really good food for dinner. anticipating the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Episode tonight. woohoo!

- still swimming -

cinemanila and seeing every possible movie

2004-07-05T09:15:00.000+01:00

moo.

cinemanila is back! woohoo! i've become so oversaturated with the hollywood "blockbuster" type movies that i don't really care if the movies are less than brilliant. i just crave another perspective!

case in point: saw spiderman twice. it was fine the first time. but on the second viewing, i had seen all the special effects and heard all the good lines, so i could really see the flaws. then it began to look like every other comic based movie i'd seen.

oh well. i'm gonna have to adopt your never-watching-a-movie-more-than-once strategy. at least not watch it on the big screen more than once. EXCEPT if it's really really good. mala-LOTR type.

my TGGE is coming back! maybe this week, maybe next, but definitely coming back soon. happy.

not much to do today. except wait. ariel got me into gmail (sus). can't believe i'm seeing HIM AGAIN TONIGHT. after unsuccessfully convincing him not to come over late last night. what do you think? think he maybe likes me? parang may slight chance that he does... hehe ;)

7 shirts later...

2004-07-02T05:56:00.000+01:00

the past two days have been great, really wonderful days. despite the fact that my TGGE machine still doesn't feel like reporting back to work. but company of good friends and close family never fails to tip the scales to the positive side.

4 tequila shots, 27 boxes of strawberry nerds, 7 very non-updated shirts, 1 semi-spectacular "summer" blockbuster, 1 crispy tuna buntot AND several great good morning texts/calls later... and viola! am a happy bunny! (to use p's term, i think you have to be brit to use it no? di bagay sakin).

non-essential detail: wearing the pink one today! very bunny-ish. i especially liked the blue and pink one you got moo.

i'm storing it all away for a rainy day. this 2 day long moment :)

2am

2004-06-23T05:22:00.000+01:00

blog about it daw. o sige. :)
in full detail ba? no. aftermath na lang.
home at 2am, with half a loaf of bread in me, a few strawberry nerds, a frozen margarita (decent one this time!) and FOUR shots of cuervo gold. lord. ako lang ba o tuesday? it's not right! moo. you can't condemn me. not after your own stint with pizza and beer.
funnily enough, i didn't wake up with the "measels", PLUS i woke up hungry. v weird.
even more weird, he can't wait to see me again. cool. in the words of liza, "ang haba ng buhok ko". no more drinking though. have enough to last me for a real long time!
points for him: did not flinch when i asked to order JUST bread and asked for tape to tape up my box of strawberry nerds. kaya ako nito. hehe :)
am just not gonna overthink it. one thought lang, that at 25, i've JUST started dating!? ;)

the earth is MOVING!

2004-06-21T06:51:00.000+01:00

just got back late last night from a great liveaboard adventure. amazing dives! there was this one dive at san agapito, verde island, where we were fighting the current sometimes, drifting with it during other times, huge pelagics around us, v good coral cover too. plenty of great memories.

friend of mine was saying, diving was 1/2 diving, and 1/2 the company. it's entirely true. and it was great being among old and new friends. good food too! what more does one need on a dive trip?? :)

downside: i feel like i'm still ON the boat. did not get seasick on the boat, but once i got back on solid ground, i felt like i was still swaying. still feel slightly like that now! it goes away when i walk around though. so i'll be doing a lot of that today ;)

changE

2004-06-15T16:27:00.000+01:00

funny thing about life hit me today. this has obviously come to mind before, but anyway: in the back of your mind, you know things change, and yet when it happens, you end up (most of the time) resenting it.
how do you reconcile your need for stability and "something you can rely on" with the ever present "threat" of change?
how do you build when you know FOR SURE it'll change?
maybe the better word is growth? it has a more positive ring to it huh?
fine. growth then. and i'm nowhere near all grown up.

TGGE woes

2004-06-15T06:09:00.000+01:00

it broke down. can you believe it? ugh. so we're going to do a test run today. but yesterday it kept on turning off by itself. telling us that there was no current or that there were cables wrongly attached. weird. i hope it can be fixed.

hello?? parang diyan lang naman umaasa yung thesis ko diba? :(

and i'm gonna file for graduation this october. so. ugh. not a good day at all.

making up your mind

2004-06-08T05:26:00.000+01:00

weather today is v weird. it's being very sunny and bright right now. but a while ago it was raining cats, dogs, saw some chickens in there... bigla lang. wala lang. feel lang niya! co-worker of mine was walking along outside. and she got caught in the sudden pour. she had an umbrella so it was fine, but then when she got to the next block, (as in next building) there was no rain!
MAKE UP YOUR MIND! :)

my gel is still thinking about whether or not it wants to polymerize. i should know in an hour or so. pleeeease let it polymerize.

yesterday was apparently a great day for a lot of people in the lab. not just me. was having great cool weather yesterday. and my PCR worked extremely well. and we all ate Chow-King take out. mami, lomi and stuff. bagay sa panahon diba? anyway, v good day.
but this morning we were all talking and just realized that all of the stuff we were working on yesterday went really well. products, gels, assays... all successful. and they all tell me it's my double distilled water. may basbas kasi yan sa simbahan ;P great start of a day.

i'm glad to have made up my mind. and looks like the weather has too! sunshine!! we'll see how the gel goes... but i have a feeling, it will ALL be ok :)