214: random bits

214 days till the big 3-0. I’m finally back on the countdown.  I spent a few seconds before writing this up to figure out where I am exactly on the countdown… it’s been a while.

214 is also a title of a Rivermaya song.  I love this song. I was more of a Rivermaya fan than an Eraserheads fan.  Enough said.

2-14 is my Dad’s birthday.

Yeah, it’s definitely random bits I am writing down here.

What’s not random is the thought pool that is currently swimming in my brain.

Thoughts of research, scientific writing, love, relationships, career, future, family, dance, music, books, food cravings.  An unknown force has led one thought to the next, interconnecting them with one another, making them relevant and in the moment, and they swirl and swim and fill my mind.  I can hardly concentrate in the lab the past couple of days and it’s all because of these thoughts in my head.  I need a thought dumpster.  So, here I am running back to this blog to start emptying my mind of these thoughts.  I just need a good day where I can really focus and finish this task that should have been done last week.  Let it be tomorrow.  Or maybe Friday.

 

Brunch on the branch

 

 

Backyard bird in Worcester, MA

 

I live close to a bird sanctuary.  Every morning, especially during spring time, I have a great view through the kitchen window of a variety of birds feeding on bird seeds that our landlady has strategically placed all over her backyard.  It’s always a sight to behold, especially when the red and blue birds come.  (I should look up what these birds are…).  I always thought of bringing out the camera and taking photos of them, but on weekday mornings, I’m always on a rush and keep forgetting about it.  This morning, while having a mid-day snack and looking out the kitchen window,  I saw the gang again and remembered to take out the camera!  It was a challenge shooting them because they were always moving around.  I had to keep still, be quiet and wait patiently so that they won’t fly away.  This was hard to do – it was quite chilly, and because I was too excited to take photos, I went out without a jacket and did not bother to put on my shoes.  My zoom lens wasn’t long enough to photograph them in great detail, but when I zoomed in on the images in the computer, they weren’t bad at all!  Here’s my favorite photo of the bunch I took today.

Edited to add:  The “blue” birds are blue jays and the red one is a male cardinal.

A book from my childhood

If there is one book about Philippine history that has changed my life, it is this book – The History of the Burgis.  I have read it several times when I was only 8 years old, thus nurturing a natural curiosity and fondness that I have for history and politics.  It is filled with vivid illustrations, catchy and witty essays, and an easy-to-follow narration of important events in Philippine history.  One of the illustrations that is imprinted in my head is of Juan Tamad resting under a guava tree, waiting for a fruit to fall.  It was accompanied by a funny, but insightful commentary about certain tendencies of  Filipinos and how these came to be. The History of the Burgis prompted me to read biographies of Filipino heroes and villains.  I guess the fascination for history that the Burgis book ignited in me helped me ace my history classes, from fourth grade to fourth year college.  I remember vaguely that it was destroyed by Typhoon Ruping in November of 1990.  Our house was submerged in flood waters for three days, and I was not able to save it.

For a while, I have been trying to recall the title of the book, for I only have a clear image of the cover page, but not the letters of the title. I only remembered the word “Burgis”.  I have googled the word burgis every now and then, but to no avail, until today!  Thank you Google  Image Search Engine!  I found it through a website called stumbleupon.com.  Now I can get it from Amazon!!!  Yipee!  I am excited to revisit this book again and relive my childhood fascination.

The undecided foreign student

Cartoon courtesy of Alex Dent: http://dentcartoons.blogspot.com/