Tawi Tawi Solar Eclipse Rewind

Tawi Tawi Solar Eclipse Rewind

Amidst the hectic preparation for the upcoming Shanghai Solar Eclipse expedition this July, I can’t help but recall the wondrous and bittersweet events that happened many many years back.

The year was 1995. We’ve set up an expedition team to the southernmost region of the Philippines to witness, a Total Solar Eclipse, a phenomenon, which it seems even now rare and to-die-for..

It had all the elements of a seemingly insurmountable task – a rare event that couldn’t be postponed, a remote location purported to be terrorist-infested, a four-year old organization with meager funds.

We had the guts to venture to a place where no other Phil. University-based astronomical organization ever set foot before.
We had the technical expertise of our founding members (Bamm, Winston, Denncapps and Monchie come to mind) to make the expedition laudable.
But the one thing that we lacked was funding.

As the head of the organization at that time, the greatest share of burden was with me.
We had to ensure that the team had a fighting chance of going to Tawi Tawi.
There was no room for delays.
There was no room for errors.

We might have been experts in identifying the heavenly bodies in the sky, but soliciting money from sponsors, we sucked. Big time.

I recall going from one company to another in my office attire to solicit for funds. At that time I would say I was looking my best. On hindsight though, I might have looked hideous in my oversized yellow polos, slovenly tucked on poorly pressed khakis, not to mention, an obtrusive umbrella and worn-out backpack in tow.

I braved the sweltering heat of the sun (MRT and FX were non-existent yet at that time, so imagine the perspiration I might be having) knocking on the doors of would-be sponsors. Botak, Aboitiz, and Fujifilm. (if we can’t solicit money maybe can save through tshirts, films and transportation)

Looking back I realize how naïve I was of the corporate world. I tried looking for their marketing directors without even setting up an appointment.

Fortunately their secretaries have been very much cordial, meeting me at the lobby informing me that their bosses are outside the office (a story they probably made up) and that they would call back. We never heard back from them.

I recall our team going to ABSCBN to audition for the game show “Ready Get Set Go”. (TV auditions were popular for orgs during those times- some could get a whopping 20,000 in one weekend). Of course we never made it, nor even had a crack at the initial selection process. I don’t blame the producers. Who would want to put a bunch of boring, bespectacled nerds on their TV show?

I even tried tapping our congressman in Batasan but failed to have a pinch of his pork barrel. (now I understand why I partly loathe the congressmen hehehe)

Fortunately some team members were resourceful enough to get us some slots in the military C130 flight to Zamboanga; a tedious process of constant calling which fortunately bore fruit. We were also fortunate to tie up with MSU-Tawi Tawi to give us accommodations.

Despite best efforts, I was only able to solicit PhP 2000, from Hans Arber, an amateur astronomer who incidentally documented the great 1955 Total Solar Eclipse in Manila. (Sir wherever you are, maraming salamat po!)

In the end, the 12 delegates who chose to go, had to raise the money for themselves Monch, Winston, Bamm, Denncapps, Sean, Aleah, Francis, Beng, Lisel,Camilo, and Joan were fortunate enough to get money from their personal circles.

As a DOST-scholar living only on stipends, the PhP 2000 I solicited was my passport to Tawi-Tawi…If not for the kind gesture of Hans I would have never made it.

Though I was immensely lucky to be part of the 12-man expedition I still somehow felt bad because there would have been other members who could have gone had we generated more funds.

I am so terrible with closures and I guess the Tawi-Tawi frustration was something I had with me all these years.

When I heard about the Shanghai Solar Eclipse, I just knew that life was giving me a second chance.

Many many years have passed since my college days. At my current status I could observe this rare event on my own and not sweat a thing.

But I wanted to extend that experience to one, two or three souls who might find the event life-changing. Souls who have the yearning to observe, but like us before, are limited by resources.

So we’re exhausting all means to help them in our own capacity by reaching out to other people in our network

I might have failed once in TawiTawi in 1995. I sure hope not to do so this time in 2009.

I guess despite all these years, there is still that clueless boy in me who once trudged on the desolate hill of Pag-asa.

I know he would be very happy.

Shanghai Solar Eclipse

In many ways, being an astronomer entails a lot of risks.
We risk the indifference of others when we marvel at ordinary celestial events
We suffer ridicule when we revel at a seemingly banal night sky
We endure mockery when we find magic in the most mundane of things - a clear moonless night, a setting sun perhaps, a shooting star so fleeting and feeble

Yet the common redemption that we amateurs share, is that in a world that has gone detached from life’s simple joys, those moments of basking at the unknown and unfathomable is an experience far more profound and enlightening.

And then there are times when an enthusiast truly risks everything in pursuit of the rare.
For while we delight in the ordinary, what wonders could be expected in the extraordinary?

To say that a total solar eclipse is a rarity…. is an utter understatement.
The upcoming eclipse in Shanghai will be the longest in our lifetime.
And the chance to observe a similar event (at least for those based in the Philippines) might never pass again.

In the past we have travelled to the southernmost part of the country to chase the elusive; the odds almost insurmountable; the results heart-breaking.

The overcast ruined what otherwise would have been a spectacular view

So here we are again 14 long years after, with Nature beckoning and giving us a second chance.

We might have been scarred before but our spirits are not dampened.

Yet the bitter truth that we amateurs must face- and this is where the greatest risk lies - is that despite all our efforts and preparation, we will still be at the mercy of the Supreme during that crucial moment.

In the past I took lightly the words of a colleague that “astronomy is a humbling experience”. But only now do I truly realize what it meant.

I will be in Shanghai soon for that second chance - longing and hopeful.

The Journey...part 1

Life is a journey. Indeed it has been. And it still is.

And it goes for everyone. For every human is a traveler, a nomad in search for his own answers.

And though I am no longer a big fan of life- for life has its own flaws and peculiarities- I embrace the journey that has been.

The years are slipping by. My memory starts to fade. I used to bask in the enormous power of youth, revel in its beauty. But now the inevitable has come.

And as I approach the twilight of my youth let me share my own piece, stake my own claim.

Of all the journeys I have traveled, one stood out among the rest.

One that struck a chord in my heart.

One that I chose to hold on, with such steadfastness as if my whole being resides on it.

Ten years ago, it all seemed like it was yesterday, I embraced the unknown and embarked on a journey hoping to find some answers on life’s elusive questions.

A movie once said that a woman’s heart is an ocean of secrets.

A man’s heart is no different.

Despite the calmness of its surface, the currents of emotions are raging, well hidden in the abyss.

To unearth the hidden, one must have the patience and the will to go down deep through the darkest cracks and crevices.

Beneath every smile is a story of pain. And behind every sorrow is a promise of redemption.

Writing this now, ten years after, is a journey on its own.

It a journey within.

And a journey back home.

The time has come…

I am not an Eheads fan... Really

Tonight as I write this, hordes of fans from the metropolis or probably all over the country, are heading to MOA to witness a closure of a much sought-after reunion. If you are one of the fans (which I suspect you are) I am sure you know what I’m talking about… the Eraserheads.

It had nearly been a decade that die hard folks have clamored for the reunion concert which became a reality sometime in August, albeit anticlimactic with the collapse of the lead vocalist.

But tonight, fate it seemed, conspired to finally give what many thought was impossible.

That I chose to stay at home to listen to their mp3’s in my laptop instead of chanting and head-banging with a delirious crowd under a moonlit sky would probably make my close friends wonder.

After all, I am a huge Eheads fan capable of reciting the lyrics of all their songs from their early albums : Ultracelectromagnetic pop to Sticker Happy.

I can still recall the time I passed by SC and saw the promotional poster for Circus. I even offered a silent prayer that they would make it. I recall the time I discussed with Aleah and Francis the songs in Cutterpillow album or the time Denise, Ting and I went to Anonas to watch the Eheads gig (and couldn’t believe my eyes that Ely was performing less than 3 meters away from us!). I recall how my Jeoppard barkada would play their sounds on our weather-beaten cassette atop our treehouse.

I know the concert would be a trip down memory lane but my enthusiasm is tempered by my fear that the crowd would be unmanageable and unruly, not to mention the inconvenience of the traffic and the long queues. I am hoping to live vicariously once the video is eventually uploaded on Youtube.

But maybe (and it’s still something I debate with myself) I have learned to embrace early on about their break up.

It was inevitable, admittedly disheartening that it was bitter, but let’s face it .. the tunes they were belting out after Sticker Happy were horrible.

I have learned that while Eheads played the music of my life, that they have articulated the angst of my generation…( Huwag mo nang Itanong: Field trip sa may pagawaan ng lapis ay katulad ng buhay natin……Spolarium : Pwede bang itigil muna ang pag-ikot ng mundo….Alapaap: Ang daming bawal sa mundo.. sinasakal nila tayo) , there comes a point where you just have to accept the inevitable and move on.. I guess it’s part of growing up.

Haven’t the Eheads captured that thought impeccably? Kalayaan: Tayo ay nilimot ng kahapon. Di na mapipilitang buhayin ang ating pinagsamahan…

But then again..

Ngunit kung sakaling mapadaan baka ikaw ay aking tawagan… dahil minsan tayo ay naging tunay na magkaibigan

Maybe that’s the reason why these clueless folks are converging if only to have a brief glimpse of the past.

And maybe that’s also the reason why though I have convinced myself that I have moved on, I will still play their music tonight on my laptop.

Past Forward

I have been swamped with a wave of nostalgia of late.

It started, I guess, when I went back to my hometown to attend the wedding of a childhood friend.

As his Best Man, I gave a speech during reception; on how our friendship went back a long way; on how things were when we were young.

I realized that what seemed like yesterday now reside in the distant and irretrievable past…

Those afternoon treks to the nearby hills, those evenings lazing in our tree house, those jamming sessions with the Eheads blaring on our weather-beaten cassette..

It was easy for me to recall those memories because they have such a huge impact on our barkada.

But browsing though my diaries last weekend, I realized there were so many stuff from the past that I have logged but could no longer recall.

Also during the Xmas break, there were 3 incidents from long time ago, that my friends have narrated that I could barely put a simulacrum that would give justice… The tutorial session in Visayas Ave. that Maritess was insisting; the drinking session in Night Brews where I got drunk and hyper as Jua and Noy were narrating; the horror room which we’ve put in the neighborhood as Jua was fondly reminiscing

It had been frustrating trying to squeeze my brain out for some memories, for some clues, for some remnant information that would validate my friends’ stories. But it had been a futile attempt. And it still is..

It was a bit unsettling because in my Pisay batch, I would be the one who would be able to recall the most significant bits ad pieces of our high school life.

I came to accept that maybe some events have been not that significant that my mind no longer holds it along with the emotions and feelings that went with it.

But then again maybe I have not worked hard enough to log the others that should have been significant.

For there are some memories that have long been kept in the deep recesses of the mind that spring back to life the moment an association is made…a haunting smell, a weird dream, a familiar face, a moving journal.

We are defined after all by the bits and pieces of the memories that we have.

Our significance, our identity, our existence rests in a way on those information. ( A Twilight Zone episode, The movies Total Recall and Dark City all come to mind)

And so I made a vow to write as much as I could of all the significant things of the past that I have not yet written.

Not for anyone else but for my older self who would someday be reading this to make a grasp of the past.