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Podcast Episode: Baston, Pamaypay at Punda

8 Aug
Colorful painted wooden cane, floral hand fan, and striped woven pillow on wooden table

Colorful Filipino souvenirs including a painted cane, floral fan, and woven pillow displayed on a wooden table

Pip: Sleep deprivation and a restless Sunday night — masmeron’s account of what happened next is the kind of story that makes you reconsider going to bed at all.

Mara: The episode today is about a dream — vivid, specific, and quietly weighted with grief. Let’s start with the dream itself and what it left behind.

Baston, Pamaypay at Punda

Pip: The post opens with a simple setup: exhausted from schoolwork, unable to sleep, and then — once sleep finally comes — a dream so detailed it reads more like a memory than a vision.

Mara: The context is a family gathering back in the province, and the dream begins with a surprise at the door. The post describes it this way: “Nagulat ako nang buksan ko ang pinto ng bahay namin ay bumungad sa aking harapan si Nanay. Parang pagod siya na dumating galing sa paglalakad sa gitna sikat ng araw.”

Pip: So the mother arrives alone, tired, in a purple duster, white hair cut short — and then quietly steps outside to sit on a concrete roadside ledge, no bench, no companion. That image carries weight before the dream even explains why.

Mara: What follows is a walk home. The mother is thin-armed but quick, and she refuses help. Then she spots a metal cane tangled in a water hose, wet from running water, and insists on retrieving it. The post quotes her: “Kailangan ko ito” — I need this — as she pulls the cane free.

Pip: A stranger then hands them colorful fans — green, yellow, red, still wrapped in plastic — out of what seems like simple kindness toward two people walking in the midday heat. The cane’s owner turns out to be the same neighbor, who waves it off: they already bought a new one.

Mara: And then a third figure appears: Indo Pancing, the mother’s sibling, trailing behind them unnoticed, dragging an armful of pillowcases found near the same spot — thin fabric, light colors, so many they drag along the ground.

Pip: Three objects picked up from the same stretch of road. That detail feels almost too tidy for a dream, which is maybe why it lodges.

Mara: The dreamer wakes just after one in the morning and makes the connection: the mother and Indo Pancing share the same death anniversary — January 28. The mother died at 1:03 in the afternoon. Her birthday falls in December.

Pip: A dream about two people who are gone, carrying things they found on the road home. That’s the whole post, and it doesn’t need to be anything more than that.

Mara: It’s a quiet piece — no interpretation offered, just the sequence of images and the date that surfaces after waking. The grief is in the arithmetic, not the analysis.


Pip: Dreams about the dead tend to arrive with objects — something carried, something retrieved, something that didn’t quite fit but mattered anyway.

Mara: That’s the territory here. We’ll be back when there’s more to sit with.

Are you ready for the school opening?

17 Jul
A group of seven diverse adults sitting around a table engaged in discussion with architectural plans, a laptop, and a map

A diverse group of adults collaborating on a project with design plans and maps spread out

School opening is one of the special events in the yearly calendar. People are getting busy as the first of day of school approaching. Indeed, school heads, teachers, non-teaching personnel, learners, parents and guardians have so much preparations ahead of time.

School districts are busy in preparing essential things for the school facilities, operation, curriculum, supervisors, administrators, non-teaching staff, utility, maintenance, security, educators, parents, and learners. 

School administrators are busy in planning, implementing, and assessing school policies, programs, projects, and events. 

School educators are busy in attending, participating, and collaborating with other colleagues in various in-person and virtual training for ease teaching and learning. 

School learners are busy preparing their basic school needs such as school uniform, shoes, bag, digital device, reading, writing and art materials.

Parents and guardians are busy helping their kids in providing those school basic needs mentioned. 

Whether you are a superintendent, supervisor, administrator, coordinator, educator, paraprofessional, front desk staff, payroll staff, counselor, nurse, utility, maintenance, security, bus driver, police, parent or learner, are you ready for the school opening this year? 

Podcast Episode: The End of Human Life

16 Jul
Silhouette of a person standing on rocky cliffs overlooking ocean waves and a colorful sunset

A person stands on rocky cliffs watching a vibrant sunset over the ocean

Pip: Life ends. That much is settled. What’s less settled is what we’re supposed to do with the time between now and then — which is, inconveniently, the part that matters most.

Mara: That’s exactly the territory masmeron maps out in this episode’s central post. We’re looking at how to live well given that the clock is running — health, planning, goals, and faith as practical orientations, not abstractions.

Pip: Let’s start with what it means to take the end of human life seriously, right now.

The End of Human Life

Mara: The post opens with a useful comparison: an inspiring speech ends, a great movie ends, and human life ends too. The question it presses on is what that fact should change about how we live today.

Pip: And the post doesn’t treat that as a reason to panic — it treats it as a reason to organize. Four areas, four orientations.

Mara: The first is health, and the framing there is direct: “Neither a selfish act nor lack of empathy instead a must if you will take good care of yourself first.”

Pip: So self-care isn’t indulgence — it’s the precondition for everything else. You can’t sustain care for others if you’ve neglected the infrastructure.

Mara: The second orientation is planning, and the post is pointed about why plans fail. People skip the step of weighing pros and cons before acting. The post calls anticipating consequences “not merely a scientific prediction but a gift of attitude to ponder.”

Pip: That’s a reframe worth sitting with — foresight as character, not just technique.

Mara: Goals come third, and the diagnosis is sharp: most people carry goals in their heads without the focused action to move them forward. The post asks directly whether you’re living by others’ expectations rather than your own benefit.

Pip: There’s a pointed rhetorical question in there — “Are you sure they always think about you?” — which is a quiet way of saying the audience you’re performing for probably isn’t watching.

Mara: The fourth area is faith, and here the post widens the frame. It argues that success is not constant — life moves up and down — and the only stable thing across a whole human life is faith: in something larger, yes, but also in yourself.

Pip: Faith in yourself that “everything in this world is not a permanent condition even your own life.” That’s the anchor the other three orientations hang from.

Mara: Health, planning, goals, faith — not as a checklist, but as a way of taking seriously that time is finite.


Pip: Finite time, four orientations. The uncomfortable part is that none of them are complicated — they’re just easy to defer.

Mara: Which might be the point. Next time, we’ll see what else is on the horizon.

Podcast Episode: Writing Science Reports

15 Jul
Scientists analyzing environmental trends, neural networks, and biomedical data on a high-tech transparent screen

Scientists discuss global environmental and biomedical data on a transparent digital display.

Pip: If you have ever stared at a blank document wondering whether your introduction goes before or after your theoretical framework, masmeron has some thoughts.

Mara: Today we are covering the architecture of academic writing — how research papers are structured, from the thesis chapter format all the way to the science investigatory project report. Let’s start with how those chapter structures actually work.

Research Paper Structure: Thesis and Scientific Formats

Pip: Two formats, one underlying question: what does a research paper actually need to contain, and in what order does it need to contain it?

Mara: The thesis format post lays out the architecture chapter by chapter. Here is how it defines one of the most foundational pieces: “Statement of the Problem serves as heart of the research paper. It has a main problem or purpose and some specific problems or purposes. The specific problems should be anchored from the main problem or purpose.”

Pip: So the whole paper radiates outward from that central problem — the hypothesis, the literature review, the methodology, all of it is downstream of getting that statement right.

Mara: Exactly, and the thesis format spells out what surrounds it. Chapter One alone contains the introduction, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, the statement of the problem, hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and delimitation, and definition of terms. Each has a defined role.

Pip: That is a lot of scaffolding before you have written a single finding — which is either reassuring or a little alarming depending on how close your deadline is.

Mara: The hypotheses section is worth pausing on. The post distinguishes alternative, null, and conditional forms, noting that “researchers prefer to use null hypothesis in their research paper” — the negative framing that statistical tests can then accept or reject.

Mara: Chapters Two through Five then carry the paper from literature review through method, data presentation, and finally summary, conclusions, and recommendations.

Pip: The scientific format post covers the same territory but compresses it differently — no chapter divisions, just Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Method, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations.

Mara: The scientific format folds what the thesis format treats as separate chapters into a single Introduction section. Theoretical framework, specific problems, hypotheses, significance, scope — all absorbed there. The trade-off is density for brevity.

Pip: One architecture for depth, one for publication efficiency. Same destination, different road.

Mara: Both formats converge on the same endpoint: findings that answer the stated problems, supported by the literature, and followed by conclusions written in paragraph form with no numerical data — then suggestions for further work.

Pip: Which brings us to a related but distinct document type — the investigatory project report.

The Science Investigatory Project Report

Pip: The investigatory project report is the research paper’s more hands-on sibling — built around an experiment rather than a literature-heavy argument.

Mara: The post titled Parts of the Science Investigatory Project Report maps out the sections that give a student-led experiment its formal shape, providing the structural skeleton that holds observations, methods, and findings together in a coherent document.

Pip: Structure as the thing that turns a science fair table into a replicable record.

Mara: That is exactly the function — without the report format, the experiment stays local. The structure is what makes it communicable.


Pip: Format is not bureaucracy — it is the agreement that lets one researcher’s work build on another’s.

Mara: Whether it is a thesis chapter or an investigatory project report, the structure is doing real work. More from Hands-on next time.

Baston, Pamaypay at Punda

14 Jan
Wooden walking cane, black decorative folding fan, and folded embroidered cloth on wooden table

An antique wooden cane rests on a rustic table alongside a decorative hand fan and embroidered cloth.

Dahil napagod ang aking isipan sa maghapong paggawa ng mga gawain pampaaralan ay hirap ako makatulog ng Linggo ng gabi nang ika-10 ng Enero, 2026. Mga pasado alas 10 ng gabi na seguro ako nakatulog kalaunan. Habang mahimbing akong nakatulog sa kalamigan ng kuarto ko ay nanaginip ako at ganito ang mga pangyayari na isasalaysay ko sa inyo.

Ang Pagdating ni Nanay sa Bahay

Sa probinsiya namin ay may okasyon na nagaganap sa bahay. Pagtitipon ng buong pamilya at mga kamag-anak. Nagulat ako nang buksan ko ang pinto ng bahay namin ay bumungad sa aking harapan si Nanay. Parang pagod siya na dumating galing sa paglalakad sa gitna sikat ng araw. Naka kulay lila siyang duster na suot. Puti at maiksi ang buhok niya. Ang sabi ko, “Sino kasama ninyo dumating?” “Mag-isa lamang ba kayo?” Hindi siya nakasagot. Mag-isa nga dahil wala akong nakitang kasama niya. Pumasok siya sa bahay pero kalaunan ay lumabas siya ng bahay at umupo siya sa kabilang gilid ng daan na yari sa semento. Walang bangko o upuan doon pero umupo pa rin na para bang namamahinga o may hinihintay. Wala siyang katabi o kausap sa may daanan.

Ang Pag-uwi ni Nanay at Indo Pancing

Nang kalaunan ay nagpasyang umuwi si Nanay. Mabilis ang kanyang paglalakad. Sinusundan ko daw siya para alalayan. Hinawakan ko ang braso niya na payat, malambot, kulubot na parang naglalaylayan na ang mga balat. Pero maliksi at malakas pa rin ang pangangatawan niya kahit na siya ay payat. Ayaw niyang pahawak sa braso kaya binitiwan ko na lang ang braso niya. Nang paliko kami ng daan ay napansin si Nanay na itinapon na baston na yarin sa bakal, itim ang hawakan at itim din ang paanan ng baston. Hindi niya basta makuha dahil nakapulupot ito sa water hose at basa ito dahil sa tumutulong tubig. Ang sabi ni Nanay, “Kailangan ko ito.” habang pilit niyang hinihila yung baston na napupuluputan ng water hose. Mukhang ayos at buo pa ang baston. Nahugot niya rin at nag-umpisa ng maglakad gamit ang bastong nakuha sa harapan ng bahay. Nang akma na kaming papaalis ay may lumabas na babae na may hawak na tatlong pamaypay na may ibat ibang kulay, may kulay berde, dilawan at pula na nakabalot pa ng plastic. Iniaabot ng babae sa amin. Seguro naawa dahil naglalakad kami sa gitna ng araw. Sabi ko kay Nanay, “Baka may may-ari ng baston na yan na napulot natin.” Sumagot yung lalaki na nakasalamin na asawa ng babae na lumabas rin bahay nila. Ang sabi ng lalaki, “Sa inyo na yan dahil may nabili na kaming bago.” Nagpasalamat kami sa lalaki. Habang naglalakad kami ni Nanay, hindi namin namamalayan na nakasunod pala sa amin si Indo Pancing, kapatid ni Nanay na pauwi rin. Si Indo Pancing ay nakasuot ng duster na dirty white ang kulay ng damit. May napulot din siya na mga punda ng unan sa daan sa tapat rin ng bahay na kung saan namin napulot ang baston ni Nanay. Ang mga punda ng unan ay marami kaya nakasayad pa ang mga ito sa lupa habang si Indo Pancing ay naglalakad. Ang punda ng unan ay yari sa manipis na tela na parang tela ng kulambo ang ginamit. Ang mga punda ay parisukat Ang hugis na parang pang throw pillow ito at may ibat ibang kulay rin na light mga kulay nila, may berde, pula, asul, at iba pa.

Nauna nang nauna si Nanay sa paglalakad at hindi ko na natanaw. Nakasunod sa kanya si Indo Pancing na may hila-hilang mga punda ng unan. Ang sabi ko, “Nasaan na si Nanay?” Nakita ko sa malayo na nakarating na si Nanay sa tirahan niya. Nakikita ko sa malayo ang bubungan ng bahay na parang bungalow style nito na isang palapag lamang. Nakita ko si Nanay na nasa harapan ng bahay niya at hindi makapasok dahil nakapadlock pala yung gate nito. Isang lalaki na lumabas sa Isang malapit sa bahay ni Nanay sa gawing gilid sila ng bahay parang si Ca Raul at may dala-dalang baril. Tumayo Yung lalaki na naka puting T-shirt sa kabilang gilid ng kalsada at nakaharap sa harapan ng bahay ni Nanay. Para mabuksan ang gate ay itinutok niya yung baril na dala sa kandado para mabuksan lamang ito.

Nagising ako ng pasado ala una ng madaling araw ng Lunes, ika-12 ng Enero, 2026. Pumasok sa isip ko na parehas pala ang araw ng kamatayan nila Nanay at Indo Pancing, magkapatid sila, na natapat sa hindi inaasahang pagkakataon ay sa tuwing Enero 28 ang death anniversary nilang dalawa. Tapos si Nanay ay namatay ng 1:03 ng hapon at ang kaarawan niya ay sa buwan ng Disyembre.

 

Tatlong-Palapag na Gusali

11 Jan
Stone building with tree sculpture, people walking around, mountain valley at sunset

People gather around a detailed stone building set in a lush mountain valley at sunset.

Gabi ng Sabado petsa Enero 10, 2026 nataon sa kapistahan ng Santo Nino ay nanaginip ako ng isang gusali na may tatlong palapag. Nagsimula ang panaginip ko na umakyat ako sa isang gusali na may tatlong palapag. May hagdanan ito pataas at umabot ako sa ikatlong palapag ng gusali. Mukhang bahay yung gusali na inakyat ko. Nang nasa ikatlong palapag na ako ay nakita ko na ang mga dingding at kisame nito ay yari sa semento na pininturahan ng light color na parang pinaghalo ng puting pintura at konting asul kaya medyo bluish ang puting pintura nito. Nakita ko sa pag-akyat ko na may malaking tubo yari sa bakal sa loob ng bahay na malapit sa hagdanan. Nakapintura din ito katulad ng kulay ng nasa dingding at kisame ng bahay. Hindi ako nagtagal sa ikatlong palapag at bumaba na ako. Paglabas ko ng bahay ay napalingon ako sa gawing kaliwa at natanaw ko ang isang gusali rin na may tatlong palapag. Sa pakiwari ko ay isang paaralan ito ng sekondarya na may light color din pero yung paaralan ay medyo matingkad ang pagkaasul niya kaysa sa bahay na kung saan ako bumaba. May isang lalaki na nakaputing kamiseta na may kwelyo na nasa edad 30 hanggang 40 siya at may dalang flashlight dahil parang magdapit hapon na noon. Nakita ko tatlong palapag na gusali ay madilim at walang mga ilaw. Yung lalaki na mukhang bantay ng paaralan at ako ay naglakad patungo sa paaralan. Yung lalaki na nakaputing kamiseta na may kwelyo ay pumasok sa gawing kaliwa ng gusali. Hindi ako sumunod dahil madilim ang gusali at nagkaroon ako ng takot na pumasok sa gusali. Habang nasa baba at harapan ako ng gusali ay maya-maya ay nakita ko na maraming mga bata na bumababa sa gusali na nagdudulot ng ingay ang kanilang pag-uusap habang bumababa sa mga hagdan ng paaralan. Hindi sila naka-uniporme na parang nagpraktis sila. May mga lalaki at babae na pawang mga estudyante sa sekondarya. May mga lalaki na nakashort at nakasapatos. Yung isang mataas at kayumangging lalaki ay nakasuot ng gray na kamiseta. Ang mga babae ay nakashort din. Ang isang maputi at magandang babae ay naka-kamiseta na satin na may stripe na kulay na pababa ang disenyo ng stripes nito. Ang kulay ng stripes ay dark blue o navy blue sa magkabilang gilid at ang stripe sa gitna ay kulay puti. Ang babae ay nakapony tail ang kanyang buhok. Marami ang bumababa at nagstand by pa sa harap ng paaralan dahil may silongan ito at may mga upuan pa at doon nila inilatag ang kanilang mga bags habang patuloy silang nakikipagkwentuhan sa isa’t isa.

Nagising ako at alas singko y media (5:30) na pala ng umaga ng Linggo, Enero 11, 2026.

 

Hapunan sa Isang Kainan

3 Jan
Rustic wooden dining table with candles, fruit, open book, model boats, and telescope

An inviting rustic dining table set with candles, fresh fruit, and nautical-themed decorations

Ika-03 ng Enero, 2026 nang madaling araw ay nanaginip ako na nasa isang kainan kaming mga magkakapatid sampu ng kanilang mga pamilya. Dumating daw kami sa kainan na gabi na at doon maghahapunan. Nasa bukana lang kami ng kainan at naghanap ng mauupuan dahil maraming kumakain sa loob na pawang mga banyaga ito at may mga mapuputing mga tao na nakaupo sa loob ng kainan na nagkukwentuhan. Nababanaag ko sa panaginip ko ang isang maputing babae na malapit sa aming kinatatayuan na nakaupo at nakikipag-usap sa kanyang kaharap. Blonde ang buhok nito at naka-pony tail ito at nakasuot ng sleeveless na itim na damit. Nakatagilid siya sa amin na nakikipag-usap kaya yung gilid ng mukha lamang niya ang nakikita ko. Ang ilaw sa kainan ay medyo dilawan ang kulay at hindi gaanong maliwanag. Nakita ko na punong-puno ng tao ang kainan. Wala kaming maupuan kaya tumawag kami ng isang waiter para bigyan kami ng upuan. Nag-abot ang waiter ng dalawang bangko na natitiklop. Ang bangko na unang inilatag ay isang mahaba at sinundan ito ng isang maiksi. Inilatag muna yung mahabang bangko na natitiklop na parisukat ang bawat sukat nito nang makita ko ito sa top view na magkakabit kabit ang bawat sukat na kulay brown ang kulay at walang sandalan ito. Mukhang nakadesenyo ang bawat sukat nito sa bawat tao na uupo. Sa mahabang bangko na nasa gilid inilatag ay doon naupo halos ang mga babae na kapamilya ko. Tapos may lamesa na natitiklop din sa gawing harapan ng mahabang bangko. Pagkatapos nailatag yung mahabang bangko ay inilatag din ang maiksing bangko sa kabila nito. Sabi ko raw sa sarili ko na “Bakit maiksi yung isa eh marami kami”. Tapos sa likod namin pag uupo na kami ay daanan ito ng mga tao na magiging sagabal kami sa pagpasok ng mga tao sa kainan dahil malapit kami sa pintuan ng kainan o baga nasa bukana kami ng kainan.

Umorder na ang mga kapatid ko ng mga pagkaing Filipino. Habang kami ay naghihintay ng inorder na pagkain ay may dumating na isang maputing babae na mukhang Hispanic ang itsura nito. Marami itong bitbit na mukhang mga pinamili niya dahil pawang nasa loob ng paper bag ay yung mga pinamili niya. Tumayo yung babae sa tapat ng aming lamesa. Iniisip niya kung uupo ba siya sa lamesa namin dahil wala ng maupuan sa loob ng kainan. Maya-maya na nga ay umupo na rin siya sa aming maiksing bangko para kumain sa lamesa namin. Sabi ko raw sa isang kapatid ko na babae habang naghuhugas ako ng kamay bago kumain na “Pwede ba siya makikain sa atin?” “Magugustuhan kaya niya yung pagkaing Pinoy”. Sumagot ang kapatid kong babae at sinabi niya na “Pwede naman siya makisabay at makikain sa atin. Kaya lang baka mag-aagawan sila sa pagkain at mahihiya siya makiagaw. Hindi rin siya makakain ng husto.”

Nang malapit na ako matapos maghugas ng mga kamay ko ay may pumila na babae na naka bistida na sleeveless at kulay itim ang bistida niya. Parang siya yung babae na Hispanic na maghuhugas ng kamay rin ng mga kamay bago siya makisalo sa hapag kainan namin.

Nagising na ako at 7:30 ng umaga na pala ng Sabado. Nagreflect ito sa kisame ng kuarto ko nang oras na yun.

 

Lucky 7

7 Dec
Colorful infographic explaining different meanings of the number seven in mythology, days of the week, wonders, rainbow colors, harmony, and spirituality

Exploring the mystical and cultural importance of the number seven across various contexts

On the 7th day of December, 2024, my loving mother was born and named her Teofila Montehermoso Mas. Being the youngest among her siblings, my mother was the lucky one for us. She was the blessing to her own family as well as to her parents and siblings. Today is her 101st birthday in heaven. We also lucky enough and fortunate to have a loving Nanay, our mother. Nanay was a loving and caring mother. Also, she was an empathetic woman who is resilient, tough, hardworking, patient, responsible, determined, hopeful, faithful, understanding, courageous, helpful, kind, and can forgive persons.

Nanay together with her family surpassed many challenges in life but they never quit or surrendered. My mother tried her best to help and support her family at all times. Her death at the age of 94 was so painful and very sorrowful to us but her legacy as a loving mother remains with us. Her mother’s advice was our prime treasure more than anything else. Her greatest life served as our inspiration. Her personal and family values were very remarkable to us.

 

THANKS

20 Aug
Central brain graphic labeled gratitude surrounded by sections on well-being, social connections, professional life, physical health, mental resilience, and cultural expressions

Illustration showing how gratitude positively impacts well-being, social connections, and health

Thanks is a single word but it implies multi-cultural and contextual meanings significantly regardless of age, sex, and socioeconomic status of a person. Allow me to spell it out to understand its deeper meanings.

T – T stands for Trust – Every person should develop trust even if no one sees him or nobody forces him.

H – H stands for Harmony – Every person should establish harmonious relationship with others.

A – A stands for Attitude – Every person should always maintain a positive outlook in life.

N – N stands for Nurturing – Every person should learn how to nurture others.

K – K stands for Kindness – Every person should say kind words and do kind actions.

S – S stands for Sustainability – Every person should always sustain his faith, love, and empathy.

Always bear in mind that giving “thanks” to God, parents, siblings, relatives, friends, colleagues, teachers, professionals across all areas, classmates, students, farmers, fishermen, vendors, utilility men, rescuers, firemen, drivers, policement, media men, public employees, businessmen, military men, leaders, clergymen, and others is the simplest and convenient way to recognize their value, respect their integrity, and honor their existence.

 

Dancing and Singing with my Father

27 May
Father and daughter holding hands and singing with a microphone in decorated living room

A father and daughter enjoy singing and dancing together in a cozy living room decorated for Christmas.

Today, May 27, is the death anniversary of my loving father, Guillermo Menes Meron. I know that my father was a great folk singer and dancer in our hometown, Santa Cruz, Zambales, during his younger years. He was usually invited by single men for Harana or locally known as “Tapat” at night time to accompany them while singing in front of the house of the ladies whom they like. Most of the time, there were three of them such as a guitarist, single man and a singer. These men including my father went home late but with smiles on their faces.

My father was also invited in wedding parties, fiestas and political campaigns with folk singing and folk dancing. He entertained the people around with his songs. He sang Zambal songs as well as Tagalog songs whoever his audience is.

If given the opportunity to bring back the past, I wish to dance and sing with my father while my mother is sitting in front and happily watching us.