Interviews

I had quite a busy week last week with several meetings for a couple of projects I am doing. It became a hectic week after a major media company featured a paper I wrote last year on its 9PM new program anchored by an award-winning, popular media personality. I was quite surprised as the reporter went over key points of my paper but I am glad that he seemed to have read the paper and understood the main points. The following day, our office fielded a few calls from a major daily and two other major TV stations.

The paper was one I wrote after delivering my Professorial Chair Lecture in last year's colloquium at our college at UP Diliman. It is something I regard as a tool to initiate discussions about the state of our transportation system. And so requests for a copy of the paper were entertained by our librarians/information managers whom I provided a digital copy of the paper that they could give to those asking for a copy of the material. Meanwhile, there were also requests for interviews including one interview for TV the day following the news report on the news channel. I am no stranger to such interviews and rather than have the reporter insistently follow-up on when he can interview me, I agreed to give the interview the same day. To be fair, I granted 2 more radio interviews yesterday (Friday) morning and another this (Saturday) morning. 

Yesterday's interview was quite special as it was on prime time AM radio with the former Vice President of the Philippines who is among the top media personalities in the country. I learned the previous day that the person mentioned my paper on his program and so was making a follow-up feature of the topic on his Friday program. That went very well as the right questions were asked and I was able to explain clearly about the loss of productivity we are experiencing in Metro Manila that colleagues first estimated in 2000. I was quite happy to say something about sustainable transport and the promote walking and cycling. More importantly, I knew that the interview would be heard by a lot of people including government officials and decision-makers, and somehow be able to send the message about sustainable transport and the need for transport infrastructure in metropolitan areas.

This morning's gig was quite different as I was a "guest" in a radio program co-hosted by a newly re-elected Senator. I guess it was something that one could consider a virtual guesting since I was on the phone while they were in the studio of a major AM radio station. It was also a long discussion that I engaged in as I was on air for about 40 minutes and was part of a nice exchange with the hosts. It was also another productive interview as again good questions were also asked about transport problems and what was required to address them. I must admit though that I was caught a bit off-guard when they asked about "grading" the 17 cities of Metro Manila and I had to draw on some stock knowledge and experience about the cities. It was a difficult question and an awkward one given that I would always like to think that all these cities probably are giving it their best with the resources that they have in solving their problems. This last interview left me hopeful as I thought the Senator was honestly concerned about the state of traffic and transport in our cities (not just Metro Manila) and would likely include something on transport and traffic on his legislative agenda once the 16th Congress opens in July.

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Rest in Peace, Mr. Mamorno

I learned a couple of weeks ago that my third year adviser in high school passed away. He succumbed to cardiac arrest apparently after giving a talk at school. Larry Mamorno was a very memorable figure during my teen age years. I remember him as the "Lito Lapid" look-alike teacher in high school who could get along well with most of us including some of whom I though were the more "difficult" students in our school. We learned later that he was a brother with the Order Friars Minor, Capuchins, later deciding that priesthood was not his calling. Instead, he entered another vocation - teaching. His first stint was at Lourdes School of Mandaluyong where he also stayed and served as a brother with the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi. 

I will always remember him for our "talk" one time my grades dipped and he told me he was concerned about the reasons for the dip. I don't remember exactly what I told him my reasons were. It's something about being lazy or uninspired at the time. I think I was experiencing a rut and there were no incentives for me to perform well in my classes, content with just getting by with my quizzes and other school work. I didn't have any family problems so it's not a problem at home but just a lack of motivation for myself. I don't really remember him suggesting anything except offering to talk it over whenever I felt like it. He probably told me to read more and find it in myself to convince myself to do better in class. This was likely his way of encouraging me as there seemed to be no plausible reason at all why I wasn't doing well in class. 

I do remember that during the end of our third year class recollection, he spoke to my father about my performance in class. Tatay talked to me afterwards to ask me if anything was bothering me and we had a good talk about my "lethargic" school work. I don't know how I did it but I managed to get through that "difficult" moment and I ended up with good grades for the rest of my third year. The momentum was carried into my graduating year in high school where I think I surprised a lot of people by doing quite well in my science and math subjects. During the concluding part of our class retreat, Mr. Mamorno, who was adviser of another 4th year class, approached my father again and they had what I thought was a nice chat (both of them smiling as they apparently were talking about me and other students). Frankly, I believe that Mr. Mamorno has influenced my life through that on-on-one talk and I am thankful to him just for being there during that moment.

Rest in peace Mr. Mamorno. You have done great in this life and will be remembered by people whose lives you've touched as their teacher/adviser.

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DIY cold soba

I saw a friend's posts on FaceBook about eating healthy and one post was about zaru soba. Cold buckwheat noodles are popular fare in Japan during the summer as it is both healthy and refreshing. It is among my favorites and I usually bought a set for lunches at the lab or dinner at home from the Family Mart or Yamazaki convenience stores near the university and my home. Until only recently, we only ate zaru soba at Japanese restaurants here and usually as a set with tempura (ten zaru soba). And so I decided to prepare zaru soba myself and bought the ingredients during one trip at the supermarket near our home. It's really quite easy...just follow the steps below:

Buckwheat noodles and individually packed dried seaweed from the supermarket.

Descriptions and some instructions at the back have been translated and appears on a sticker posted on the packaging.

Cook the buckwheat noodles (about 6 minutes).

Place the soba on a strainer.

Wash the soba with running water.

Gently wash it with your hands [Make sure hands are clean before you do this. ] to make sure excess starch is washed from the noodles. This is a process that's also recommended for your typical instant noodles.

Transfer to a plate or bowl (if you don't have zaru or the small bamboo mat over a shallow bowl). You have a choice to place the soba on top of ice cubes if you use zaru. Otherwise, you'll end up with soupy soba. If you really want to have cold soba just wash it with cold water.

Add seaweed and other toppings (Bonito flakes are highly recommended for the authentic Japanese taste.).

Zaru soba dashi (dipping sauce) from the supermarket.

An English translation is also found on a sticker at the back of the bottle.

Pour yourself ready made dashi (dipping sauce) in a bowl. You can also mix in some wasabi for that extra kick in the dip.

Voila! Cold soba for lunch or dinner!

Japanese restaurants in the Philippines usually serve zaru soba with quail's egg. I find this quite unusual as the egg is not usually part of the meals I've eaten in restaurants while in Japan (Of course, there are no eggs with the set you can buy at convenience stores there.). Perhaps this is just a variation of the dish so I don't really question its authenticity. Nevertheless, I prefer mine without th quail's egg and so my zaru soba is practically vegetarian fare. Itadakimasu!

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