Meeting my students, weekend dive
My favorite photo I took this week: SC 105 - Marine Research Room, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan. Taken right before my first meeting with my Physical Oceanography (Lab) class.
Stories
I met my students for the first time!
My MB106L Coral Reefs (Lab) students viewing the Coral Museum
Experience unlocked: teaching.
I joined the faculty roster at my alma mater, Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan. I teach the lab courses of Physical Oceanography, Coral Reefs, and Ichthyology. I have always considered teaching as something I would do full-time for a long time, primarily because of its appeal of "stability" (emphasis on the quotation marks; I can share my thoughts on academia in the Philippines, but that's for another entry, I guess). I have some experience giving lectures, but for me, teaching is a whole other thing. I noticed from the teachers that I admire that they really are invested in the growth of the students. They want to see them succeed; it's like their students' success is their success. I am fortunate to have experienced this type of mentorship not only in my undergraduate years but also after graduating. I want to give back and be that teacher to the younger marines (=marine biology students). I want them to have the same experience but even better, something that I too would have wanted for myself back then. Lol, I am getting way too deep here, but I guess what I am trying to say is that I am glad I took the opportunity to teach because it has inspired me so much to do what I do. It has also made me realize that maybe my creativity, interests, and skill sets are appropriate for this line of work, and maybe this is the reason why I always feel excited to be working on creating lab exercises and presentations for my students.
I assisted Chev in his fieldwork for his Master's research project
We hired Manong Omi's jeepney for the transport of the tanks and diving gear and equipment from CDO to Balingasag. We could've opted for an airconditioned van since we're just 2 and there are only 4 tanks, but we prefer Manong Omi's jeepney because he's always been the go-to ride since we were undergrads. Also, he knows almost every marine that does fieldwork so we get updates from everyone through him hahaha.
Chev doing fish visual census, while my part is basically a fun dive -- just lay the transect, take photos, and just wait for him at the end so I can reel.
Our dive site was in the marine protected area (MPA) of barangay Hermano, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental. This was our second time here, the first one was in 2016 when we were undergrads. This, along with two other coral reef areas nearby, were our study sites for our thesis. Chev selected the same sites for this research project.
Like our experience in 2016, the viz (visibility) was really poor. The entire time I could only see clearly about 2-4 meters away. However, there were a lot of fish! We also saw probably the same group of mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) we've identified before.
I finished all 15 seasons of Supernatural
Surprise, surprise. I bawled my eyes out during the last two episodes.
[SPOILER WARNING!]
Honestly, I agree with most of the fans's opinions that the ending should've been Episode 19 -- Dean and Sam's sunset drive.. It was really the perfect ending for me. But then again, we can't always get what we want.
But still, I accepted the finale that we were given. I honestly cried so damn hard during the bridge scene. And now as I'm typing this there are tears rolling down my face, I watch the clip I just linked. Gosh, I take it back. I like this ending better.
I love this show with all my heart. I am so glad Chev forced me to watch the Dog Dean Afternoon. It seemed a lot of fun so I decided to start from the first episode. Little did I know I was up for an emotional rollercoaster.
Favorites
- Nicole - sophomore album by NIKI
- Cheddar, Captain Holt's fluffy boy.
- This tweet by Misha Collins that was actually in the show - Season 6 Episode 15 'The French Mistake' to be exact
- Shaving People Punting Things YouTube Channel
From the archives
Haji Lane, December 2018