the best things in life are free!

see the drama behind the lives of researchers and extensionists...


we are exposed to a lot of dangers while out on the field. thank god for bodyguards.




we do not go to work riding the mrt, taxi or on our own car. we go by foot.





extension work is not an 8-5 job. the schedule is not based on company rules, but rather at the availability of farmers. this interview was conducted at around 12 midnight.








calling home.

we may be always out on the field helping farmers, but there is no greater joy than to come home to our families. a hot, home-cooked meal, a hug and the bright smile of family members sure take away the loneliness of being away for too long.





we make new friendships. they are our foster families when the biological ones are miles away.




we are constantly reminded that hey, rural life is fun too:)




... and that nature has its own healing effect to a tired soul..





hey, its fun!

they're bombing midsayap!

this war is getting too personal for me. i have friends, officemates who still continue to go to work despite the ongoing war in the area. just now im talking to one of my closest friends there, and she's telling me the ground is shaking whenever a bomb is dropped. one time they got stranded on the way home because there's an ongoing encounter in pikit. she says that rocket propelled grenades pass through the main highway. sori ka na lang kung matyempuhan na dumadaan sinasakyan niyo habang may padaan din na rpg.

i am also leading a study on bangsamoro women farmers and we are supposed to interview these women all over armm but cant do so because of the situation in the area.

i just hope this would soon come to a peaceful end.

settling in

Love is truly tested when it goes past the so-called honeymoon stage. Now that all that excitement from friends has died down, and the starfish finally arriving from freight service, Ian and I have settled comfortably burning the phone lines.

It’s supposed to be hard. But having Ian makes all things seem light.

He has this endearing personality that never ceases to amuse me even in difficult situations. Yes, we already have our share of tampuhans but it always gets resolved after no more than five sentences.

It’s like settling comfortably in your couch and having that sweet realization that hey, I gotta love this couch despite some of its accumulated dust and coffee stains.