There's a certain violent excess imposed by living in Metro Manila. Maybe that's why I still feel uneasy residing on a quiet island like Oahu. I cannot pinpoint if its the street lamps lacking in Hawaii, or I'm just used to bustling city lights. Maybe I'm still not used to hearing birds in the morning. … Continue reading Urban excess
Author: Andrian
I cried this morning after sleeping with a heavy heart. The realization that this will be a long haul precisely because Duterte, as evil as he is, is just a manifestation of deep structural problems in Philippine society. Not to mention, there will always be foreign imperial powers like the US and China who will … Continue reading The taste of saltwater never leaves you
Age 28. You’ve been here several times, in transit between what you consider homes—ever-present in its beauty, peculiarities, its calmness but lacking understanding of its history and folklore. So you hold a book in your hand, you’ve learned about the creature, sigbin, vanquished by Santa Catalina, perhaps jumped and hidden in the mountains of Cebu. … Continue reading An ode to the southern coast of Negros
For this year's grad student presentation, I tried something different. This is my attempt to weave, or at least use Philippine myth and folklore as a framework to explain our study on the plankton-virus infection. The inspiration comes from a lot of sources. Much of my thinking is currently influenced by listening to Ocean Vuong … Continue reading Weaving of myth and science: virus as aswang
1. More room for allowing. Not to stress in grad school. Most of the time, you are doing your best and you will know if you are being sloppy or lazy. When your hard work does not pay off, it doesn't reflect your self-worth. Let it be. Just do honest work. 2. More time to … Continue reading Reorientation 2020
you stan a person because of his/her/their work, then you realize they come from a privileged background, you pause, and think hard about luck, social capital, unburden spaces and safety nets afforded to them. you can’t reconcile what you feel and what the world is ought to be. you see, even you are afforded some … Continue reading // you read a poem
*Started drafting this during the most exhausting stage of my PhD. Two months later, I am well rested so I have the clarity to edit and eventually publish this reflection. If someone would ask me what the pros and cons of a scientific career are, these would be my answers: Advantages Flexible and you own … Continue reading On science as a career
In these spaces, he is happy In this arc, I am waiting. Close the door, traitor. I am looking for a map, or maybe a pastime I remember your shoulders. Your navel speaks to me, impossibly curved, beautifully written Look, the weight of this water What’s wrong with them? Maybe it will ignite, maybe it … Continue reading Honest mornings
I wrote you in the back pagesArt. I made you dance.For a while it made sense.But I must stay on the first pages I raise my hand.Mixed the acids with the bases.Measured the squares that turned into networks.I wish it explodes.Structures. I wish it disintegrates. Some days, I feel infinite.Some days, I feel bounded by … Continue reading Two planes of disarray
I presented my dissertation proposal (aka 3-year plan, more or less, *fingers crossed*) several days ago as a preparation for my comprehensive examination in November. The 'right of passage' from a Ph.D. student to becoming a Ph.D. candidate. The general commentary is that it's good, though very ambitious in scope. It worries my committee. Remarks … Continue reading I will gladly, cautiously take ambitious
Andrian P. Gajigan 