The Rape of Europa

http://www.rapeofeuropa.com/theTrailer.aspx
We presented today our research papers for our Museum Registration Methods class. Mine was about Caring for Contemporary Art Collections - nuff said... One of my classmates had a very interesting topic.

Her research focused on the Nazi Looting of Western Art during WWII. To introduce her topic, she showed us an excerpt from the documentary "The Rape of Europa", a very fascinating film! It talks about how systematic the Nazis were in collection art works in Europe during WWII.

Hitler got a group of art historians to draw up a list of exemplary works of art, both from private and public collections. Then the list were divided so that troops would have certain regions to cover. By 1945, they have already successfully collected 1/5 of the world's western art and had them stored in secret caches. Some of these caches would even have an office and a conservator! Works that were considered "degenerate" were either sold at super cheap prices or destroyed.

A less known fact about Hitler is that at age 17, he applied to an art school and was rejected. I suppose being once an aspiring artist, he understood the value of art. He planned to build a museum in his hometown, i think, to house these works of art that they had looted.

holiday recipe for grad school torture...

1 research paper on caring for contemporary art collections - due for submission and presentation on 08 Dec 

1 curriculum with three learning units for art education - due for submission and presentation on 10 Dec

8 reaction papers for intro to museology seminar - due on 15 December

1 shadowing exercise report also for intro to museology seminar - due on 15 December

1 written take home final exam still for intro to museology seminar - due on 15 December

1 final exam for museum registration  class on 17 December

Oh if I survive this, my holiday will be much much sweeter!!!

cute little french girl telling a fantastic tale!

http://www.vimeo.com/2113477
oh you have got to watch this! She is adorable!!!

Watching an art conservator in action

One of the perks of being a Museum Studies student at UF is that we get to do cool stuff- like watch an art conservator in action and be allowed to examine up close an artwork for repair!

Our Museum Registration Methods class had a unique opportunity to observe Rustin Levenson, Director of Florida Conservation Society, conduct an initial evaluation of an Ethiopian textile from the Harn Museum. During the examination Rustin pointed out problem areas in the textile, explained possible causes for the damages and enumerated course of action she might use for its repair. Harn Director, Rebecca Nagy, also joined the discussion and provided historical background of the textile and a short explanation about this particular art form from Ethiopia.

Thanks to Dixie, our Professor, for sharing this picture and allowing me to post on my blog :)

Your favorite music = happy heart

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iFu94MkrpdyaC47DybrzoZ6tEgsw
Another reason why we should keep listening to music...

Dali Museum

St. Petersburg, Florida
October 26, 2008

Road Trip to Tampa

We drove to Tampa for Moe's baby shower. After dinner, she took us around the University of South Florida campus then we went to Tampa's historic district, Ybor City. Before driving home, we first visited Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. But of course we wouldn't go home without going for some outlet shopping, so we drove to Ellerton to do just that!

Birthday Dinner

October 22, 2008
The Swamp Restaurant
Gainesville, Florida

October

October is so far the busiest month I've had, academically or otherwise, since I moved to the US. Although submitting a paper or two on a weekly basis is quite the norm, last week, I had to turn in four papers! Doesn't sound too daunting a task but of course, we are required to read tons of articles before writing the papers, so there's a whole lot of reading right there! But most of the articles are quite interesting, thought provoking or emotionally stirring ( like the essay on the Philippine Exhibition during the 1904 Louisiana Exposition) and they always offer something valuable to learn or validate what I already know. So that's done, on to the next two dozen other requirements!

We were encouraged to apply for a MetLife Fellowship to attend American Association of Museum's Excellence and Equity–Then, Now, Next: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums web conference for our Introduction to Museology class. I was advised by our Professor (who is also my adviser and GAship boss) to play the "Fulbright card" in my application essay. I was hesitant in mentioning it because I thought that having an existing scholarship while applying for another will work against me. But my Prof. said that having one is like a seal of approval of some sort. I guess he's right since I got the accepted! 

In the spirit of keeping a good school-life balance (borrowing the term work-life balance advocated by HR people), I also kept myself busy with other extra curricular activities. Much to my sister's disbelief, I have been watching ( and loving it too!) sports events such as the UF vs Kentucky volleyball match. I only remember watching lame volleyball intersection games from my HS days so the first time I watched a competitive volleyball game, I was amazed at how exciting it was! With my heart-pounding at almost every dive, block and kill, I cheered as loudly as the rest of the Gators. And yes, we won the game!

Then of course there's football. Before I left for the US, I knew nothing about footbal nor was I interested in watching games, except when Keanu Revees was the quarterback hahaha. But football is such a big deal here in UF that you cannot help but be drawn to it. I've seen two games so far and in both games the Gators beat two strong rivals - LSU and Georgia. Go Gators!

I also went on two trips outside of Gainesville last month. First was the Mid-Florida Fulbright field trip to the Homossasa Springs, where we saw the manatees, then to the Crystal River Archaeological State Park. You can browse the pictures on my photos page or click here to go directly there.

Two weeks ago, we drove to Tampa for Moe's baby shower. Moe is the wife of a fellow Pinoy UF, Ian, and they are both PhD candidates in Physics, although Moe is finishing hers at the University of South Florida - ergo the road trip to Tampa. We had loads of fun and yummy food, including leche flan!!! 

After the shower, Moe took us around USF and showed us a liquid magnet or ferrofluids. Amazing huh? One of the perks of being around science peeps is learning cool stuff over casual conversations. Liquid magnet, I never knew such a thing even existed!

                                                                                                             

                                                          Wow look, tall buildings! Many tall buildings! We don't get to see a lot of those in Gainesville

Moe's mini-show and tell

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The following day, before driving back to Gainesville (and reality), we went to see the Dali Museum first. I must admit that I was not very interested in his works before since I found them too bizarre- he is a surrealist after all. But I gained a new respect and appreciation for him and his works after visiting the museum and listening to the guided tour. See, that's why it is important to take a guided tour if you have the chance because the information they give you during the tour will add another dimension to your museum visit. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      This month also marks my 31st birthday. Lindsay, my classmate from my Curriculum in Teaching Art course, made birthday cupcakes for me, while my professor started the class with a hat making-demo - it was also a practice for the upcoming Imagination Station we're supposed to help out with. After class, I went to dinner with a couple of friends (Pinoy UF, Fulbright and Museum Studies) at the Swamp. 

I ended the month by going to the Friday Gator Night and went to one of the evening's booth where you can dress up and have your photo taken. Of course since it was Halloween,I got to pick the witch costume :) 

Seven more weeks and the semester will be over then I'm off to California!

Trick or treat!

Halloween 2008

Mid-Florida Fulbright Field Trip

October 18, 2008
Homosassa Springs and Crystal River Archaeological State Park

UF vs Kentucky - Volleyball

UF beats Kentucky in an awesome game held on October 10, 2008 at the O'Connell Center in UF.

Go Gators!

Museum Night October 2008

We went to the Museum Night of the Florida Museum of Natural History and Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art yesterday.

FLMNH's theme was Latin America so they had Cuban and Latino food, capoeira, samba and maculele performances from the Brazilian Cultural Art Exchange group, plus other games and trivia. They also had free admission to their latest exhibit "Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body.

Harn chose a 60's theme and had tie-dyed shirt-making and printing activities, a lecture, games and even a live band!

It was so much fun!!!

Cross-post: Robinsons Children's Library Looking for an Accountant

Link

My attempt at graphic design

My boss (the Museum Studies program Director who I report to for my Graduate Assistanship) asked me to put together a newsletter for Museum Studies alumni. He gave me the freedom to conceptualize the format, contents, layout etc.

Here are the sort-of hilarious results of my attempt at artistry.

1) The wedding invitation look: 

2) The kinda somber look:

3) The Spring look (Hmmm maybe i should reserve this for next year):

4) And finally, the really somber look ( the one without the leaves- I wanted to use other images but being mindful of copyright issues, I could only use images I have taken myself):

So, what do you think - should I already waive the white flag and get a pro to do this?

Fulbright UF gatherings

The 1st Fulbright UF welcome dinner was held at Debra's place. She is the Head of UF's International Office and she takes very good care of us Fulbrighters here in UF.

The 2nd Fulbright gathering was organized by Fulbright Alumni (Jean and Carlos) from UF and was held at the University Commons. They also organize trips outside of Gainesville every semester. On October 18, we, along with other Fulbrighters in Mid-Florida, are going to the Homosassa Springs State Park and Crystal River Archaeological State Park - yipeeee!

Help! DepEd National Standard for Public Elementary Students

As you know, I'm currently in the US pursuing my Masters in Museum Studies with a disciplinary concentration in Museum Education at the University of Florida. One of my current courses is Curriculum for Teaching Art and for our final project, we are required to design a curriculum for art educ.

So I would like to link my design to the Philippine National Standards rather than that of the US para baka eventually may makinabang - also because my thesis is to develop an online curriculum for grade 4 students based on collections of three museums in the Phils, and syempre tied to the national standards rin.

I have searched through the DepEd site for the National Standards (in all subjects) for elementary students but it's not posted there. I even wrote them a message 2 weeks ago but I have yet to receive a response from them.

Can someone please advise where I can get a copy soon? The project is due by 1st week of december so I will really need to get started working on the project now. Kahit grade 4 lang for the time being- saka na yung para sa thesis.  

Or if you know someone from DepEd I can directly contact via e-mail all the better. I would like to get started communicating with DepEd as early as now for my thesis because I would really like to get them on board for the project as I intend to implement this upon my return to the country after my masters.

I would be very grateful for any help!

Thanks!!!

Writing Great Resumes

A couple of years back, my Kuya (who is a voracious reader!) sent me an ebook entitled "Job Interviews That Get You Hired".The book was a good read, easy on the eyes and came with a lot of useful suggestions.

But what made me a fan of this book was its chapter on writing great resumes. According to the book, "The biggest mistake most people make in writing resumes is focusing on job responsibilities, instead of emphasizing accomplishments on the job." After reading the book, I gave my CV a complete make over!

I realized that when applying for a job or even a scholarship (yes I used some techniques from this book on my Fulbright application!), it makes a difference when we package or position ourselves in a certain way so our application stands out from the rest of the crowd. As the old adage says "always put your best foot forward" and this holds true even for your CV. 

Click here to download a copy of the book. But if you prefer reading a hard copy, you can order one from Amazon for about 12$.

Below is the link to Learning Express, which offers hundreds of other ebooks on a wide range of topics:

http://www.learnatest.com/LearningExpressEBooks/

I promise to write about my Fulbright, ACC and other scholarship application experience soon. For the meantime, enjoy exploring the site and what it has to offer!

St. Augustine Trip

Fellow Pinoy UF students

At about half past one in the afternoon yesterday, I got a call from one of my friends and the first thing he said was, "get dressed, we'll pick you up shortly and we'll drive to St. Augustine". I first thought he was kidding as we just lightly talked about it over dinner the previous evening and since not everyone was available, we did not set a definite schedule. So I jumped off my bed took a quick shower and grabbed my camera.

St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US and it's about an hour and a half drive from Gainesville. Sort of reminded me of Intramuros- but on a much smaller scale.

Click on this link to read the wikipedia entry on St. Augustine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine,_Florida

baked italian chicken

I use to cook this dish for my sister a couple of years back. Last week, during lunch, I was discussing my meal plans for the week and my friend suggested I bake the Italian Chicken. And so I did. Turns out that it tastes better and was a big hit among my friends when I had them try it at last night's dinner.

Here's how to make it: 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb Chicken Fillet 

2 cans crushed tomato (or Ragu spaghetti sauce)

1/4 cup minced onions

2 table spoons of vegetable oil

1 cup grated four cheese mix (Kraft has 5 cheese mix, I got mine from Publix)

salt, ground black pepper, sugar, italian herbs and chili pepper flakes

Procedures:

1. Fry chicken strips in a skillet until meat turns white. Before meat is cooked, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Do this on both sides

2. Set aside and place on a paper towel to drain oil

3. Saute onion in a sauce pan then add tomatoes

4. Stir occasionally then season with salt, pepper, sugar, and chili pepper flakes

5. Simmer until sauce thickens. Sprinkle Italian herbs a few minutes before turning off the heat

6. While waiting for sauce to be done, start lining the baking pan with the chicken strips. I usually do one layer of meat for easy serving

7. Once sauce is cooked, pour over chicken. Make sure you cover all the meat. It would be nice if you have more sauce because this will dry up a bit once you pop it in the oven

8. Sprinkle cheese on top making but leave half of the cheese for later

9. Bake for 15-20 minutes

10. Add remaining cheese 5 minutes before serving

I use to eat this with rice, but having bread or pasta, also sound delicious!

Enjoy and let me know how it turns out once you have tried it!

Dushanti's Birthday

To celebrate Dushanti's birthday, we went clubbing. This was my first clubbing night :) and we actually went to 2 clubs that night and went home after 2 am - clubs here in Gainesville have to close at 2 am. We went to Durty Nelly's, which is an Irish pub that sometimes have live bands. It was interesting to hear pop american music played with an Irish flavor!

YouTube - Charice with Celine Dion (good quality video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUeiLji_bSo
This is absolutely amazing! watch the other related videos including the seven-minute intro Celine did for her. Go Charise - you make Pinoys very proud!

Relationships

I was just exchanging messages via Facebook with a friend of mine based in Germany. I never met him since he has already moved to the DHL Global Office when I arrived at the DHL Asia PAcific Regional Office in Singapore. But nevertheless, we have kept in touch even now that I have moved on from the big red and yellow company.

He just commented on how amazing the power of Facebook is because he found a classmate from college probably from my friends list . And I agree, I think the internet, networking sites and chat programs have revolutionized how we create and cultivate relationships with other people now. 

When I woke up this morning, I suddenly thought of these Dutch (twins) friends of mine who have been my online buddies since 1999. In the nine years that we've been "friends", we've exchanged e-mails, letters, cards, spoken online and kept very well updated on what's happening with each of our lives (well, they live together  so that's easy for them). But we have never ever had the chance to meet in person... not yet at least. 

They are planning to visit Manila this December to meet up with their other Filipino friends. Sadly, I won't be there to see them. If I continue with my plan to go to Europe (keeping my fingers crossed) next summer, they won't be there either because they plan to spend a year traveling in Asia. But no worries, I'm sure we'll still be in touch, that's what the internet is for right? And eventually we will get to see each other and fulfill my dream of running across fields of tulips in the Netherlands hahaha - they will serve as my look-outs for angry farmers with pitchforks!

YouTube - 2008 UAAP Cheerdance Competition - UP Pep Squad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z48HgtqNgX4
2008 UAAP Cheerdance Competition - UP Pep Squad. GO UP!!!

Five Tips on How to get a Fulbright Scholarship

http://josephlaban.multiply.com/journal/item/5/Five_Tips_on_How_to_get_a_Fulbright_Scholarship
Here's a blog from my fellow fulbrighter on how to get a Fulbright Scholarship.

California for Christmas

It's final - I'm going to California for Christmas!!!

After hours of hunting for the best price online (and with lots of help from Keso and Mynen), I finally purchased my ticket this morning.Since I cannot fly to Manila this Christmas, this is the closest to "home for Christmas" I could get - spending it with very dear friends.

Bed Scene

I finally found the bed sheet set I wanted and I was sooo proud of myself too- I got it at almost just 30% its original price!!!

After being scolded for buying expensive sheets and comforter by my friends (who for, anonymity, we'll just call H and Mynen hihihi), I returned the sheets but kept the comforter -I felt that I am entitled to least one thing nice in my bedroom.

After spending a week hunting at different stores waiting for them to re-stock their merchandise as stores here were almost empty after students started arriving for the fall term, I finally found what I was looking for. And with 450 thread count, this is way better than the freakingly expensive one (and even the second one- yes, the USA is a haven for impulse buyers!) I returned to the store.

How did I get it so cheap? Well, it was on sale already to start with, then I found online a 25% discount coupon for the store. That brought down my purchase to just over $19.00. Yep, coupons are great - thanks Mynen!

Malaysia truly Asia - December 2007

I think this is the last set of pictures of my Southeast Asian travels that I neglected to upload.

When DHL sent me to to Cyberjaya, Malaysia to conduct a Corporate Intranet Editors training, I extended my trip for another day so I can explore Kuala Lumpur.

Before I flew back to Singapore I went to The National Museum of Malaysia and the Science Center. They charge only 2RM for admission at the National Museum and the lobby was almost bare and unremarkable. So what I saw inside was truly unexpected but really impressive!!! This is a must-see!

Vietnam with HS friends

Non-working holiday equals lakwatsa!

We took advantage of the May 1 Labor Day holiday and had an AOM "mini-reunion" in Hanoi. We flew in from different countries- Haesel from the US, Melrose from Hong Kong, Joanne (with her whole clan) from the Philippines and I from Singapore, and met in Hanoi. What followed during the next 3.5 days are extremely long walks, lengthy bargaining for cheap stuff (mura na nga tinatawaran pa!), millions of picture takings and of course, laugh-till-you-drop discussions and moments! Priceless fun!

Exploring Indonesia- Jakarta and Yogyakarta 2008

Most people think I'm crazy for travelling on my own, I'd rather call myself adventurous.

I went to Indonesia during Chinese New Year (never go to to a country that's big on Chinese New Year celebration during this time!). I went to the Johore Bahru airport (it's cheaper to fly from JB) with a fellow @er and when we landed in Jakarta, we went our separate ways. My friend, from way back my Ayala Museum days, picked me up at the airport.

The following day, I took an overnight train, alone, to Yogyakarta and arrived at 4am. Then I rented a car to take me around from temple to temple then back to the city. I boarded the train back to Jakarta the following evening and just spent a couple of hours there before flying back to Malaysia and arriving in Singapore shortly after midnight.

Bangkok 2007

Every year, during or shortly before my birthday, I make it a point to travel to a new country and explore thier culture.

Last year, I went to Bangkok for a couple of days. Must see: Bangkok Children's Museum. Must try: Phad Thai. Must do: temple tour. Must go: Chatuchak Weekend Market. And of course, you don't leave Bangkok without trying the traditional Thai Massage

Copy paper

Last night I was talking to Carmel and we were discussing some words we use in the Philippines and their counterparts here in the American English language. You see, it's quite common for Filipinos to use the most popular brands of products as names of the items. For example, "cutex" for nail polish, "frigidaire" for refrigerator, "mighty bond" for super/ instant glue, or "xerox" for photocopy, just to name a few.

Add in the fact that I have to unlearn the British English terms (i.e. lift- elevator, rubbish- trash, serviette- table napkin, queue- line-up, torch- flashlight) I picked-up while I was living in Singapore for almost a year, Carmel predicted that I would eventually get blank stares when I look for some items here. Good friend that she is *sarcasm*, we went through (with her laughing throughout the whole conversation) a list of common items that are called differently in the US. 

Bond paper - Copy paper

Ballpen - pen

Pentel pen - marker

Stabilo - highlighter

Liquid paper - wipe out

Feminine napkin - sanitary pad

Oslo paper - card stock (although this probably not accurate)

Mighty Bond - crazy glue

Long bond paper - legal copy paper

Short bond paper - letter copy paper

Folder - manila folder

post it - sticky notes

Back to school...

I attended my first class as a graduate student today.

So how did it go? I suppose it went pretty well. I did not feel "lost" as I feared I would considering that the last class I attended was over a decade ago. It seems that working for the past 10 years, six years at the Ayala Museum, three years at the Robinsons Children's Library and then an 11-month internship at DHL as a Regional Internal Communications Coordinator, are of tremendous benefit. Due to my work experience at the museum, plus my Fellowship from ACC, the topics in my classes no longer feel "alien" to me. And I tell you, it feels good to be able to relate in class.

Furthermore, taking my time to figure out what I really want to specialize in has made it so much easier to identify courses I would like to take to complete my program- much to my adviser's delight. And because of Fulbright, I even have a thesis topic already ( a research proposal is one of the many requirements for application). Not that the topic is set in stone as it may evolve as I progress thought my degree, but it gives me a head start in exploring possibilities and opportunities.

I have classes all day Monday and Wednesday evening. This will allow me to explore volunteer opportunities at museums here in Gainesville, which will add further dimension to the overall learning I am going to get during my graduate degree.

I am so excited about my classes. All three of them are equally interesting. During my Museum Registration Methods class today, I had to literally tell myself to limit my comments to a minimum lest I give the wrong impression to my classmates or Professor of monopolizing the discussion! 

Looks like I'm off to a good start! 

University of Florida Campus

I have taken a couple of pictures for those who are curious about how my new school looks like. Its a bit cloudy today (perhaps due to tropical storm Fay) so they don't look that brilliant.

Dinner with TCL staff

thanks to Jemma for the pix :)

Flashback: Amazing Race Macau and Hong Kong 2008

Well, its not really that we joined amazing race, but that was how we felt during this trip in March 2008. From Singapore we went to Malaysia to catch a budget airline. We left at around 4 am because we were worried about getting stuck at the border due to heavy traffic (long weekend and tightened security checks). When we got to the airport in Johore Bahru, we slept because everything was still closed (it was 5am!). Woke up and took our time eating breakfast around 7am when the plane was in fact departing at 730am. Talk about crazy. I suppose we got carried away talking about various ways to survive a plane crash. Someone suggested using guns to shoot the water to lessen impact when you hit the water. Great idea! Except, they don't really allow big guns on planes these days.

So as we took our time checking in, we realized that the immigration counter has already closed. What?!? They took us to another office where our passport are to be processed. While the rest were waiting for the passport stamps, i went ahead to the gate to sort off hold off the plane. No, I didn't have to lie on the runway in front of the plane. Nothing dramatic.

After arriving in Macau, we walked from the tip of the island to the bottom, where the port to HK is located. My friends love to walk! But it wasn't so bad as Macau is not that big. We had lunch at the nearest restaurant we could find when we got hungry. I had baked pork chop, which was, I was told, a traditional macau favorite.

Of course when you're in Macau what else do you do aside from the usual sight-seeing? We went to the Macau Tower so my friends can try the tallest sky jump in the world. Not me of course, no thanks. But we didn't make it there in time so they had to skip that. I think it was because we stayed a bit more than we planned at the Lisboa Casino. Hey, they had dancers! You know the typical vegas-thong-wearing-leg-raising dancers! There were three guys (Emil, Brian and Koen) and just me and Ozana, we weren't strong enough to drag them out hahaha. Oh and I won 70HK$ in the slot machine. Purely beginner's luck as I didn't even understand how the thing worked!

We bought our tickets to HK island with but a small window of time before the ship was to depart (don't ask me why). So we had to run to immigration then run faster after the immigration to catch the ship. We like lots of excitement!

For dinner, in HK, we went to a noodle house that gives you spicy choices such as hot, very hot, super hot and no hot. So you basically you can order cold noodles served hot but no hot :)

Bedtime. We could not stop laughing when we got to our hostel. It was a dorm-type hostel and our room had four double deck beds and two bathrooms/toilets that are way too small you almost have to stand on the toilet to shower! A few of the things one has to deal with when one travels on a budget ;)

The good thing about staying at a hostel though is that you meet new friends. When we left to watch the symphony of lights the following night and then go clubbing, we already had two recruits with us: one from Australia and another from USA.

Then it was time to go home after only two days of walking our feet off. We woke up early because our flight leaves Macau in like three hours?!? and we were still in HK. This meant that we have to take a cab from the hostel to the port, cross immigrations to exit HK, cross yet another immigration to enter Macau, take another cab from macau the airport and then again cross immigration to exit Macau. Crazy huh? 

But as crazy and stressful as all these may sound, I really had great time during the trip :)

** View more pix at http://ethelee.multiply.com/photos/album/13/Amazing_Race_HK_and_Macau.

Amazing Race HK and Macau

backpackers :)

more pix from the trip...

Malacca, Malaysia

Last trip in SEA before departing for Manila then the US :)

Malacca is about 5 hours from Singapore and daily buses depart from SG. Portugese and Dutch influences in its architecture are still very evident. This is great for a weekend trip :)

My big three-oh

pinadala pa yan si ehn mula sa pinas :)

celebrated my 39th in Singapore. AIESEC friends from different counties attended and I made them try chicken adobo :)

In and around Singapore

Pinoy UF welcome lunch

The Pinoys at the University of Florida organized a lunch for us at the China Super Buffet. Wow! So much food! I was only expecting Chinese food but they also had Japanese and some others I did not even try coz I was too full. Oh but they had the sweet and sour pork I sooo loved when I was still in SG.

By the way, the pictures are courtesy of Mike :)

Mum and dad in Singapore

Last year my parents visited me while I was still living in Singapore.

Screensavers

random pictures i've taken through the years...

Greetings from Gainesville

I have safely arrived in Gainesville, Florida after almost 48 hours of travel! 

I left Manila on Monday, August 11 at 9am and flew to Tokyo. However, my flight from Tokyo to Chicago was delayed for over two hours due to a volcanic eruption somewhere and the plane had to divert its direction to avoid the volcanic ashes. Because of that, I missed my two connecting flights to Charlotte NC and then to Gainesville FL. So I ended up spending the night in a hotel (and a fancy one at that!) in Chicago that the airline provided and continued my journey the following day. It was actually a blessing in disguise because otherwise I would have been travelling continuously for almost 30 hours! Since I could hardly sleep on the plane, I was afraid my eyebags would have to undergo checks at the airport too! At least on Monday night I was able to get a decent sleep, take a hot bath and have a real breakfast!

I am temporarily staying at the apartment of a fellow museum studies grad student who was kind enough to accommodate me since I cannot move into my permanent apartment until the 23rd.

It's been very rainy and very windy these past few days but sometimes it gets sunny and hot too. Although it’s not too hot either- it’s just like how it is in the Phils or in SG. 

My 1st three days were very productive. I was able to open my bank account and get my univ ID already. They have instant ID processing (when I say instant I mean like 5 minutes or less), so cool! The University of Florida is just like the UP Diliman campus although with bigger ang buildings and roads. They even have a bus which operates like the UP IKOT, it only goes around the campus on a one-way route. They don't have TOKI that travels the other way around. But it's very lovely, lots of trees and brick buildings. Actually, my first impression of Gainesville as my plane was descending towards its airport is that it sooo green! 

Technically, the school is still on summer break so I haven't really seen a lot of people yet- or overwhelmed by how big they are compared to my tiny Asian size hahaha. Gainesville is a university town mostly populated by students from the University of Florida. UF alone has a population of 50,000!!! In fact we students get free bus rides in school and in town, we just have to flash our school ID :) 

I only have nine units per semester (which means i only have three three-hour classes per week) but since I have a graduate assistantship, I might still go to school almost daily. Plus according to my 2nd year museum studies grad student roomie, with tons of paperwork and reading assignments, I will have my hands full studying. So now i'm enjoying the lull before the storm- so to speak :)

back to blogging

After going in hiatus for almost a year, i'm back to blogging again.

I stopped blogging after I started reviewing for my GRE and TOEFL exams in November. However, after that, I got pre-occupied with so many other things including numerous trips in southeast Asia and exploring almost every corner of Singapore. 

Since my last blog, I have added immigration stamps on my passports from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Macau, Hongkong and India. I should post some pictures of those trips online one of these days, except for India as I did not see any part of Mumbai aside from their airport, my hotel room and the DHL office!

Also, I've gone home to Manila four times already- one of the many perks of living in SG, so close to home. Once was on a first class flight on Singapore Airlines when my stupidity got the better of me and I was left behind by my original Jetstar flight. Lesson learned: never assume that you know your flight schedule unless you've physically checked your ticket a week before your date of flight. You could be wrong and one week is enough time to rectify the situation. Then again, two days before your flight, check it again because if you're anything like me, you might forget your time of departure! Blown my savings the past couple of month for the airfare ticket- 1700SGD!!! A very expensive lesson indeed but at least I can tick off 'fly 1st class' from my 'to do before i turn 50' list :) Plus it was next to impossible to get a flight to Manila during the Christmas rush. So rather than be depressed until March (i know i will!) because I didn't spend Christmas at home, I just decided to go home in style ;) There's nothing like Christmas in the Philippines I tell you!

Let's see, what else is new with me? Oh yeah, I'm already in Florida. Finally confirmed my Fulbright Scholarship to pursue my 2.5 year graduate degree in Museum Studies at the University of Florida! Thanks to all those who helped me move my mountains through prayers!!!