Cutless

Everybody is invited to watch and be part of the UPLB Lisieux Music Ministry Alay Musika XXI entitled "Cutless" tonight, 7:00 pm at the D.L. Umali Hall.

We hope to see all there! :)

Me, super over mega excited (and nervous)

;)

Our new baby

:) sobrang cutie!!!

Presenting... Baby Carlo!

From the movie "Someone Like You"

Eddie Alden: Why are you doing this to yourself?

Jane Goodale: Because if I’m wrong, men don’t leave all women, they leave me.

Eddie Alden: I know what it does to you, I know. Maybe that's why we hold on as hard as we do. We just can't believe that such a miracle can happen to us twice. But it can, someday you'll find it again.

Para sa paborito kong inaanak

Today is the 7th birthday of my "PINAKApaborito at PINAKAmabait" na inaanak. For those who do not know yet, he is the naughtiest of all my inaanaks and/but also the sweetest. :)

Happy birthday my dear Raphael Troy! :)

I hope to find Peter Pan and his Lost Boys for you… :)

~~~

When Big Brother asked Rico about his plans after the “conflict” with Roxy.

He said:
Fix it by not fixing it. Parang sugat. Linisin, huwag “kalikutin ng kalikutin”, pabayaan hanggang maghilom at pag naghilom na, pag-usapan.

A much deeper sigh

This broke my heart…

Mud buries Leyte town
Hundreds feared dead, thousands left homeless
By Jeannette I. Andrade, February 18, 2006
Hundreds of people were feared dead after earth, loosened by days of continuous rain, slid down a mountain and engulfed a town in Southern Leyte on Friday.

On December 23, 2003, people of Dipolog City and Zamboanga del Norte province gave this statement: "We do not want the Leyte tragedy to happen in Zamboanga del Norte."
Leyte tragedy wakes Zambo folk to dangers of logging By Edwin Fernandez

Then this happened:

Slide hits Zambo town
By Al Jacinto, February 20, 2006
Zamboanga City: At least 10 people were missing after torrential rains loosened mud and boulders that buried a row of thatched houses in Zamboanga del Sur on Saturday, officials said Sunday.

~~~

It bothers me to see…

this:

Surprise: Reyes goes to DENR
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. (Inq7.net)
Malacañang pulled a major surprise in its latest batch of Cabinet appointees, transferring Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes, a longtime ally of President Macapagal-Arroyo, to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

and this:

Massive oil spill threatens white Boracay beaches
By Philip C. Tubeza (Inq7.net)
A massive oil spill caused by a National Power Corp. (Napocor) barge last December is threatening the world-famous Boracay island resort, senators said yesterday.

~~~

Ang sa akin lang anong gagawin ng isang heneral sa isang kagawaran na humahawak sa mga isyung pang kalikasan ng Bansa? Halos lahat ng trahedyang nangyayari ngayon ay may kaugnayan sa kapinsalaang ginawa ng tao sa kanyang kapaligiran.

I hate preaching and I do not want to judge pero sa kalagayan ng Pilipinas ngayon, siguro ay mas mabuting isang experto sa pangangalaga ng kalikasan ang inilagay ng ating mahal na pangulo sa nasabing pwesto.

Alam kong kailangan ng kamay na bakal sa pagpapatupad ng mga batas na magproprotekta sa ating kalikasan, ngunit hanggang hindi tumatanim sa puso at isip ng mga tao ang relasyon nila sa kanilang kapaligiran patuloy na magkakaroon ng landslide sa Leyte, baha sa Quezon at pagkamatay ng mga isda at bakawan sa Boracay.

Katulad nga ng sinasabi sa amin ng aming mga propesor sa aming nga subjects sa ENRM, being an environmentalist doesn't only mean planting trees and throwing garbage in the trash can, it is a way of life... it must be a way of life.

For the victims of the Leyte and Zamboanga tragedy, let us offer a minute of silence for the eternal repose of the soul of the departed and grace for those who survived.

~~~

Ang sakit sakit sa dibdib.
Hihimatayin yata ako sa sama ng loob.
I’ve been trying to hold my temper since the first week of February.
I do not want to talk back.
Pero grabe na talaga.
Ang sakit sa dibdib.
I don’t even want to see him sa sobrang sama ng loob ko.
I cannot look at him.
I just can’t.
Oh God, please help me.
Next week, I’ll start looking for another job.
In as much as I don’t want to leave my dream job,
I think it’s time.

Sabi ko kay Arlene nung minsan, I am the kind of person na kailangan munang may drastic na mangyari before I let go of something. And true enough…
This is the third time.
Sayang I’ll be celebrating my two years pa naman sana here on March 16.
Tatagal pa kaya ako…

Outstanding children’s books

I am currently reading The Blue Sword (one of the winners of the 1983 Newberry Honor):



Hay… Super ganda! :)

I wish I could find the prequel book entitled: The Hero and the Crown (winner of the 1985 Newberry Medal)

~~~

Lately I'm more inclined to read (and collect) books that were awarded by the American Library Association (ALA) with the NEWBERRY MEDAL AND HONOR BOOK AWARD. I already have the following added to my small library:

1998 Honor Books: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (HarperCollins)
1997 Honor Books: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow/Morrow)
1995 Honor Books: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman (Clarion)
1990 Honor Books: The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen (Jackson/Orchard)
1988 Honor Books: After The Rain by Norma Fox Mazer (Morrow)
1987 Medal Winner: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow)
1983 Honor Books: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Greenwillow)
1978 Medal Winner: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)
1963 Medal Winner: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Farrar)

~~~

For 2006 here are the winners of the said Award:

2006 Medal Winner: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
Honor Books:
· Whittington by Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S.D. Schindler (Random House)
· Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Scholastic)
· Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
· Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott (G.P. Putnam's Sons)

~~~

hehe ;)

Excited!

I'm very much looking forward to being with all of you again. :)

Happy birthday Arlene!

I do not have any forecast for you since I now realize that I am not a witch in my very recent past life (siguro I was one during my first past life), BUT I have birthday wishes…

Game? Oki!

I pray that the good Lord would continue to shower His wonderful blessings upon you. You have sooooo much and still the pouring continue.

I also pray that you may have peace in your life and in your heart.

I pray that you would be free enough to rest but not that much that you would be bored with life.

Most especially, since I am a member of your search committee, I pray that you may find that very special man who would love you and whom you would love for the rest of your life (or better yet may he find you – para masmasaya!).

Happy 26th Birthday! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

A deeper sigh

Hay… didn’t know I’d be this depress. Didn’t know it would hurt this much – again. I’ve been brushing the issue since last week pa. Baka kasi kaya ko.

The delay didn’t help at all; in fact it is worst than ever.

Sabi ni Kuya Henry (brod in lisyu) last Saturday, “Ok lang yan. Hindi mo pa lang naiisip ngayon, pero dadating ang time that everything would be all right. You’ll see.” He seemed so sure. Siguro nga… Sana nga po.

I just asked Him and all His beloved Angels to hug me… one long, tight and sweet hug would do. :,(

~~~

One of my officemates gave birth last January and I was tasked to take some of her load kaya mejo praning ang lola niyo lately. I have to finish the following:

Two annual reports – 2004 and 2005 due on February 23 and May 25 respectively
2004 Transactions – due on February 23
Awardees Directory – End of March
2006 Abstract of Papers Presented during the ASM – July 12

Have to organize and act as secretariat to the following:
July 11 – OYSI National Convention
July 12 and 13 – Annual Scientific Meeting (Publicity and Socials Committee)

Waaaaahhhh, sana lang buhay pa ako pag dating ng July at hindi pa nag-hahara kiri sa dami ng trabaho! I’d be very busy until August. So help me God.

Lantican – The National Scientist

Plant breeding is the genetic adjustment of plants to the service of man (Frankel, O.H.). One needs patience, hard work, and dedication for it takes years before one gets what one needs. Such is the case of Dr. Ricardo M. Lantican – plant breeder par excellence.

The making of a scientist

Ricardo or “Ric” as fondly called by his family and colleagues was born on January 8, 1933 in Los Banos, Laguna to Lorenzo, a Disbursing Officer at the UPLB College of Forestry, and Feliza, an elementary teacher at the Los Banos public school. Being pre-war elementary teachers themselves, his parents worked very hard to send him and his nine siblings to school. They instilled in him the importance of education.

At an early age, he displayed a great deal of enthusiasm, diligence and hard work. He graduated from Los Banos Elementary School in 1946 with honors and went to the UP Rural High School where he graduated with honors in 1950. He earned his undergraduate degree in Agriculture majoring in Agronomy from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB). He then pursued his master’s degree in crop science from North Carolina State College and his doctorate degree from the Iowa State University.

His efforts and outstanding performance in college was noticed by no other than National Scientist Discoro L. Umali himself, the father of plant breeding.

Dr. Umali during that time was in the process of transforming the UP College of Agriculture into a university. One of his projects was strengthening the manpower of the UPCA through staff development. He recruited brilliant students to be part of this program and Ric Lantican was one of those chosen few. With the encouragement from the expert himself, Ric Lantican viewed Dr. Umali as his inspiration to further pursue a career in plant breeding.

Contribution to the Kingdom Plantae

Lantican’s lifework was focused on field legumes that are important to the Filipino diet as a source of protein. His works that started in the early 60s resulted in the development and release of more than 20 improved varieties of mungbean (CES and Pag-asa series), soybean, and peanut. These outstanding varieties have become the choice varieties of farmers not only in the Philippines but also in Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, South Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and China.

One of his most significant works, which was done in collaboration with a colleague and a graduate student, showed the world the relationship between cytoplasmic male sterility in maize and crop’s hypersensitivity to the Southern leaf blight disease. The Southern leaf blight disease in the 70s costs U.S. multibillion dollar losses to the corn industry. The world recognized the importance of this discovery when the US found out that almost all of the corn hybrids grown in the US were susceptible to such disease. This also caught the world’s attention on the vulnerability of genetically uniform crops to pests and diseases, thus raising interest in conserving genetic diversity.

The Scientist Administrator

An effective administrator has an extensive knowledge about his area.

Dr. Lantican rose from the ranks at the UPLB-CA as Junior Research Fellow (1954-1955) to Professor Emeritus (1998 to date). He became the Head of the Division of Plant Breeding (1963-1974); Chairman of the Department of Agronomy (1974-1980); Director of the Institute of Plant Breeding (1979-1984); and Director of Research of the UPLB (1984-1987, 1970-1973).

In 1967-1968, he was a Visiting Professor at the Cornell University, New York. After a decade, he worked as a Research Associate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. This was in relation to a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) projects in Sulawesi, Indonesia (1978-1979).

From 1988 to 1992, he worked as an Undersecretary for Research and Development at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Aside from his academic positions at the UPLB and administrative posts in the national government, he also served as consultant in different national and international agencies. He also had brief consultancies with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

The Family Man

“Harmonizing the heart and brain through love is what can establish a complete intelligence, a complete self…”

Through a colleague, Dr. Lantican met the woman who made his life complete. In 1964, he married the former Editha Santos, a Chemist/Analyst of the Philippine Sugar Institute, located just at the back of the Chemistry Building at UPLB where he worked. Their union produced two accomplished offspring. Their eldest, Emmanuel is a cardiologist while Carmella, their youngest, is a food technologist with an MBA degree.

A Rightful Recognition

After almost three quarter of a century, Dr. Lantican’s contributions to the amazing and yet complex field of plant breeding were finally recognized. On 5 December 2005, in one of the grand ballrooms of Malacanan Palace, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, bestowed upon him the rank and title of National Scientist - the highest honor that could be given to a man or woman of science for exemplary and significant achievements and contributions to science and technology. Since 1978, the Academy has been able to produce 30 National Scientists. Of this number, only 11 are living including him.

Part of his award includes a Presidential Medallion – Order of National Scientist from the Office of the President of the Philippines and a cash prize from the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). Other benefits and privileges include a monthly life pension, medical hospitalization and a state funeral for a deceased National Scientists.

In all his accomplishments one cannot help but remember the famous line that says, a journey of a thousand mile begins with a single step. Dr. Lantican, now 73, has taken more than a million steps in order to reach his dream – to help Filipino farmers uplift their lives through plant breeding.

When asked what principle guided him by, with no qualms he said, “While you are at work in any field, do your best. Do not shift interest too often and be consistent with your goal. See to it that time is properly utilized. Be focused. Define your goal clearly to be able to see how you can attain it.”

Galit ako!

galit! grrr!
can't breath sa sobrang inis!
i am so angry!
naku! if i could only twist his neck...