Landas na tinatahak ay ‘di man malinaw,
At ang paroroonan ay ‘di ko matanaw,
Ngunit sigurado ako sa aking layunin,
Kaya’t patutunguha’y tiyak na mararating.
(*thoughts while running on this foggy morning; photo taken with an iPhone)
*******
For my non-Filipino readers, here’s a loose translation, though I think it lost some of its poetic edginess:
The path I tread may be dreary,
Where I would go I cannot see,
Yet I’m certain where I want to be,
And there for sure, I would be.
I took these photos few days ago. Can you tell me where am I?
Somewhere in the tropics?
Perhaps in Asia?
Maybe Hong Kong?
Nah! I am still in Iowa. All photos were taken in downtown Des Moines.
Though a travel back to Asia would be nice. Maybe someday. Soon.
(*photos taken with an iPhone)
Here’s what I did last weekend:
1. Helped my wife cooked tuyo (dried fish) in our outdoor grill.
2. Chased a deer during one of my morning runs.
3. Scavenged for bargain art item in the streets downtown (Des Moines Art Festival was this weekend).
4. Got lost among the corn (visited a friend’s farm).
5. And lastly, summoned my indigenous spirit or maybe my hidden pyromaniac nature and did a fire dance.
(*all photos were taken by me with an iPhone, except the last photo which was taken by our friend)
Last week, my partners and I went to a fancy restaurant in town. We have a candidate who is applying to join our practice that we interviewed so we took him to a place, a little pricey, but reputable, especially when it comes to steak and chops. We don’t want to have an applicant think that we are cheap.
I am not really in to steak and chops, but after tasting their food, I would say that this restaurant have a valid reason to claim that their steak is the best in town.
Besides the entrée, some other small things are remarkable. The fresh sea food platter appetizer was nicely presented and decorated in a bucket full of ice. The drinks were cold and chilled. Those were expected, I suppose.
However, when I excuse myself from the group and went to the restroom, I found something else that was “cool.” This one I was not expecting.
Do you see it? I know their urinals are not really swanky nor high-tech, yet it is classy. Though, I’m pertaining to something else.
Yes, you got it. Those are ice cubes in the urinals! Why they put ice in there, I have no clue.
I guess they chill the appetizers, the drinks, and yes, even the pee. Cool!
*******
Post Note:
After searching the web, I found out why restaurants and bars put ice on the urinals. No, it’s not to chill the pee. But ice is a cheaper alternative to the urinal cake. When the ice melts it flushes the urine, so no need of auto-flush. Plus, the restaurants have a lot of supply of ice anyway, and it is easier to toss the used ice, like those in their fresh sea food platter, in the urinal than tossing them outside. And lastly, it gives the men (sorry ladies, you may never understand this) something to aim for when they take a leak.
I really learned something from this post. I hope you did too.
My son cannot help the urge to climb when we pass this barren terrain on our way to Mount Rushmore recently. Can you spot him?
(*photo taken in Badlands National Park, South Dakota)
I know the month of May is on its way out, but I don’t think it’s too late to post photos of what this month is usually known for. Flowers.
Here are different variety of peonies in our yard. Peonies are perennials, that means they come back every year. But after their flowers bloom, which in our area is usually in May, then they go into hibernation.
I like peonies because their flowers are beautiful and large. They also produce a lot of blooms.
Some of the bushes are so burdened with their flowers that they bow so low with their flowers kissing the earth.
Sadly to say these flowers last only 7 -10 days. Like everything else in this life, they are temporary and fleeting.
We’ll just enjoy their beauty before the flowers eventually fall to the ground. Until they come back again next year.
(*photo credit: me; horticulturist: my wife)
That’s where I was last week.
We have been to the Blackhills, South Dakota twice before, but this was the first time we hiked the Presidential trail, and thus got a closer view of the Presidents’ faces. We were really right under their noses.
(*photos taken during our recent trip to Mount Rushmore with our visitors from the Philippines)
Just as I thought the long awaited spring is here to stay, and it’s time to fire up the grill and hang out on my deck, then this happened.
My expectation was buried, and it buried the sprouting bulb flowers too.
But no wintry storm can totally quash our spirits, for underneath that snow, I know, hope springs eternal.
(*photos taken this weekend)
(*photo credit: my wife; taken in Northern Iowa)
Last time I posted about sun dogs (see earlier post this month), I just borrowed a photo taken by a friend, for I did not witnessed it personally.
Sun dogs are atmospheric phenomenon that consists of a pair of bright spots on either horizontal side of the sun. Most of the time it is part of a luminous ring around the sun known as a 22° halo. These beautiful glowing spots are created by the sunlight refracting off the plate-like ice crystals in the cirrus clouds.
Since it needs ice crystals in the clouds, sun dogs occur when it is harshly cold. My take on this is, even in unpleasant situations, beauty can exist. We just have to open our eyes for it. As in most life’s circumstances.
We are experiencing nice weather in Iowa this weekend, but last week our temperature was below zero Fahrenheit. To make up for the extreme cold, we were delighted with the appearance of sun dogs during one particularly frigid day. That time, I saw them with my own eyes and even able to capture photos of them.
Below are photos of the sun dogs that my wife and I took.
(*my wife and I traveled on separate errands that day, me – an hour and a half drive south, she – two hours north, so we were able to capture sun dogs in different times and locations)
