Birthday surprise

I accompanied one of the senior faculty members, Dr. L, sharing the cottage here--no, she isn't one of those who were so picky about room assignments yesterday--with me to early morning Mass today. We were joined by two other younger faculty members who had gotten to know Dr. L when they did their graduate studies in Japan. It was a brisk but refreshing 15-minute walk along a relatively deserted road to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. Just before we entered the church, Dr. L turned around to address the three of us saying that she was attending Mass particularly because it was her birthday today! This unexpected announcement was naturally followed by exclamations of surprise, greetings and hugs all around.

Where's the hot water?

The conference center's website says that all accommodations here have hot and cold running water. But I couldn't get any hot water out of the shower--or any of the taps for that matter--here in our cottage. As a consequence, I had to endure a cold bath tonight--not exactly a pleasant experience given the cooler climate here.

Spiked

While everybody else was enjoying dancing to videoke music, I decided to drink a glass of two of the orange juice being served at the venue of tonight's fellowship among the conference participants. Puzzled by the beverage's strange aftertaste, I suddenly realized that the "juice" was actually punch!

Getting well fed

We're certainly getting our money's worth here at the conference (even if it's the university that's paying for everything). We had fried rice, bangus, salted egg with tomatoes and garlic for breakfast today. Then we were served a hamburger sandwich(!) as a late morning snack followed by lunch within an hour. Seeing that we're to be served huge ensaymadas for this afternoon's merienda, I believe I'm going to be gaining weight during these three days!

Much ado about nothing

I have been assigned to share a two-bedroom cottage with five other conference participants. I must say I am completely miffed with two senior faculty members who made such a big fuss about who should sleep where just because they didn't want to sleep on the queen-sized bed in the larger of the two bedrooms.

Away at a conference

I have been sent by our institute director to attend a faculty conference as one of the representatives of our unit. The conference which starts today and ends on Thursday, 30 April, and is being held at a government-run conference center situated at a mountaintop some 50 kilometers away from campus. While this is still essentially work, the change in environment is certainly refreshing.

A very hectic Holy Week

I practically spent most of this year's Holy Week playing during Masses. I'm totally exhausted by now but as I enjoy playing piano, I didn't mind at all all the hours of choir practice I had to put in. Plus I received a a most gracious thank you note by email today from our music ministry coordinator (also the cantor of my church choral group which is why I got "recruited" to play during the Holy Week Masses in the first place) for sharing my talent with the music ministry.