Thank you, Pres. Cory

Today Pres. Cory's remains will be laid to rest right beside the tomb of Ninoy Aquino. Never did I get the chance to see her personally even during the wake. But I saw the millions of people who mourn the loss of a "true icon of democracy" and I heard the countless testimonies about how they were touched by Cory's life in one way or another. She was the president during my young adult years. Me, I will always remember her courage, integrity, humility, dedication, and faith in God. Goodbye, Pres. Cory. Thank you so much. Your legacy lives on!

UPCAT Craze

Yesterday we left the house early morning to accompany my son to UP Diliman for the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT). Cyril saw to it that we're on the road by 2 a.m. to make allowance for possible delays along the way. He knocked at our door even before the alarm went off. He was worried about the traffic because of the experience of some of his classmates who were scheduled on Saturday morning. Good thing, that it was not raining and the ride was smooth except for an accident that happened in a lane next to us. 

The car was driving fast as if in a race with another car. Then all of a sudden, the driver lost control of his vehicle which spun around maybe after putting too much pressure on the brakes. The site is still vivid in our minds except for Amyel who was in deep sleep because she worked on her seminar report the whole night until we left. We arrived 15 min before 4 a.m. and parked near the School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR). Cyril's testing center is at the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG). By 6 a.m. the queues of examinees were already long, the roads got clogged due to heavy traffic, and parking areas were full of vehicles. Visitors were not allowed to enter the testing areas so we just stayed in the parking area and used the portalets in between. After sending Amyel to the bus terminal (she has her NSTP community outreach service every Sunday afternoon at UP Los Banos), we rushed back to the same parking lot and we were fortunate enough to find a space. In UP Diliman alone, 30,000 examinees were expected on the two-day schedule (August 1 and 2). There's more on the other campuses of the system. These are the graduating high school students who aspire to become "iskolar ng bayan" next year and avail of the best that UP can offer them.

Goodbye Bunso

Parting with Bunso is not easy. Bunso is our Toyota Corolla four-door sedan which has been with us for 12 years.

Bunso came a few months before I started my doctoral program at UPLB. She joined us when Bobby decided to pursue his doctorate in environmental science. This prompted us to enroll our growing kids at the Christian School International. Bunso accompanied us every week of our family's two-year stay at LB. We went home every Friday night and went back to LB every Saturday afternoon. Bunso joined me and Bobby for my weekly water quality monitoring at Angasin River located between Talisay and Tanauan, Batangas, and for Bobby's groundwater assessment in the coastal barangays of Tanza, Cavite.

For 12 years, Bunso never failed us. She did have some minor breakdowns but these took place in areas near our house or the auto shop or in a place where we could easily seek help.

Bunso, thank you very much. Job well done!

Life is a Journey

Two of my colleagues in one of my assignments lost their fathers just recently. This week an elder in our church passed on at the age of 81. Once again I was reminded that life is short and no one can tell when the borrowed time will end.

Life is a journey. We are all travelers in this temporary world. At the end of the day, what matters is how we lived our life. How's your journey?

"Even as the sun sets in the evening sky, so this world will come to an end. And there will be a day when the sun sets on our life for the last time. But we are subjects of a kingdom which is not of this world - one where the sun does not rise and set: and in this kingdom we shall live with our king forever, who has claimed us for His own." --- Anonymous

Welcome Isang

She's not exactly what we prayed for. Apparently, she's the answer... We were supposed to welcome her last night but it was raining hard. Today she came despite the heavy southwest monsoon rains enhanced by Tropical Storm Isang. Maybe we'll just call her Isang to remind us of this special day. Isang will be a blessing to us just like the showers of blessings.