Keona, (he)art in progress

In 2024, my niece Keona took the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts Talent Determination Test (TDT) for admission into the Associate in Arts Visual Communication program. The AA is a two-year certificate program that can be bridged to a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree.

Keona hadn't passed the UPCAT, but she had already fallen in love with UP. The College of Fine Arts, specifically. 

Below is a picture of her on her way to take her "last" shot to enter UP CFA via the TDT.

I remember feeling sad for her when she shared with us the UPCAT news. I also felt a bit guilty, because as soon as she was born, we'd been telling her to go to UP--part joke, part dream, largely an assumption that of course she would go to her parents' and uncles' and aunties' alma mater.

Having entered UP as a transferee, however, I also knew that the UPCAT isn't the only way to get in.

I remember telling her to take the TDT because even if she did pass the UPCAT, she would need to take it anyway, stressing, perhaps a little too much, hoping it offered some consolation, that passing the UPCAT doesn't determine your acceptance into CFA.

I remember remembering a UP Quill orgmate who once shared his AA to BFA journey in the 1990s and telling Keona his story.

I also remember telling her that UP was also my dream school, but I was forced to go to DLSU (and not UP Baguio, where I had secured a slot) and that I transferred to Diliman in my second year.

My sister Kai and I looked up the AA programs, took note of the deadlines, and considered what the possibilities were. 

Then Kai handed the reins over to her daughter to pursue her dream school--after paying UST a not-so-small amount as a reservation fee.

And take the reins, Keona did. She did everything. She made Plans B and C (taking the TDT for Fine Arts in UP Baguio, which was still an option then, because it was scheduled on a later date) and D (transferring from another school). She curated her projects in senior high school, ensuring that her works showed diversity in technique. She also painted a self-portrait with a ton of cats to beef up her portfolio. 

She tracked deadlines and requirements and showed up for all that was required of her to enter the college of her dreams.

I was in complete awe, thinking that, if I had been her, I would have most likely gone to the school that wanted me.

But Keona focused on what she wanted. And she did the work to get it. And she got accepted into the AA VisComm program with no difficulty at all.

Some time last year, the family was out for dinner somewhere in Molito, Alabang. Keona followed from Diliman. She was still wearing her UP ID with a UP lanyard. Someone teased her about it, and she replied, beaming, "I will wear this everywhere because I worked so hard for this!" 

Yes, she did!

Keona got accepted into the BFA degree program today. 

"I see it, I do it, it's done."

So I stumbled upon this productivity mantra online, and, so far, it has been helping me build momentum towards getting things done at home. 

It's kind of funny that I still think about things like productivity and getting things done, but the world doesn't stop spinning even when you're going through life's biggest upheaval thus far.

Besides, if I can hop back on the Wordle bandwagon, I can get back to GTD. Or some fitting form of it.

For now, I'm using the mantra to complete my chores. Hopefully, soon it will lead to completing creative work.

Lucky day

I lost one of the screws of my reading glasses at the clinic where I had my CT scan today. Since I needed my glasses to function, I reattached the temple with a Band-Aid I had in my bag. 

When I got home a few hours later, my eyes were drawn to something metallic in a little pile of dust I had gathered beneath a broom. It was A SCREW! 

Not the one I lost today, but presumably one I lost some time ago. How long ago, I don't know; I've had so many cheap reading glasses and, interestingly, none of those had lost a screw. They had all met their demise by way of my glasses-chomping dog, Tala! 

The only pair of eyeglasses that had lost a screw is the same one that lost a screw today. And that happened last month while I was outside, too. I'm not sure where this particular screw came from. From the fae? From my imaginary crow friend? From God? But my glasses are fixed again! 

Thank you. More, please!

Also, this afternoon's InDrive fare was P143. As I finished fixing my glasses, grateful at the quick fix to this minor inconvenience, my eyes again landed on a tiny white paper heart on the floor. 

I'm claiming it's the universe sending me some love.

Auntie Anna

Like many Filipinos, we have family who have immigrated to the States. By the late 1980s, my mother and her three siblings were split between the East Coast (the eldest boy Justino and the eldest girl Constita) and Southern Manila (second eldest Jesus and youngest Ramonesa).

Justino, whom we knew as Uncle Boy, was a doctor who specialized in internal medicine. He moved to New York for his residency at a teaching hospital in 1969. He lived in Queens and eventually married a nurse of German-Irish descent named Anna Brennan, and they made a home in New Jersey.

The story I was told is that Uncle Boy was smart but shy, and Auntie Anna had to make the first move. I can't know this for sure because I was a toddler when I met Uncle Boy for the first and last time, but I can imagine it, because it was Auntie Anna who kept in touch with us for the both of them throughout the years.

She sent us pictures of their children almost every year, so I felt like I saw Justin, Jonathan, Steven, and Jessica growing up. She wrote us Christmas cards and letters in that distinctive handwriting I've come to associate with American mail.

One year, Auntie Anna gifted us melamine plates with our names on them. This was before Kai was born, so we had three that spelled out "Hilary Ivan," "Nolan Myles," and "Althea Lauren."

We used those plates for all our meals, three times a day, over so many years. As I finished eating, the rice and viand cleared off my plate would reveal my printed name, and I would invariably think of the state-side Riveras.

Uncle Boy passed away before I could visit them in America. He never came home again after 1978, which was also the last time my mother saw him. When she flew over for his funeral in 2013, Auntie Anna embraced her like a sister.

In 2015, we were invited to my cousin Jessica's wedding. I did my best to go, because I wanted to finally meet this side of my family. I had a memorable visit, and I was able to hang out with most of the New Jersey Riveras, including Justin and his wife Michelle.

Auntie Anna was as chatty as I imagined her to be. She recalled Uncle Boy taking her to Baguio. She mentioned the Filipino food she liked, such as the staple pansit and lumpia, even before they were popular.

She told me how much she loved our grilled pork. I assumed she was talking about lechon or liempo, but then she said the meat was threaded in bamboo skewers. She didn't know what was in the marinade, she said, that made it so good, so sweet and tangy.

I realized it was Filipino-style barbecue she was talking about, and I made a mental note to give her a recipe or even Mama Sita's Barbecue Marinade Mix and bottled calamansi seasoning one day.

Unfortunately, while we kept in touch on Facebook, I haven't been able to go back to visit.

Auntie Anna passed away peacefully yesterday, July 2. I am hopeful she was met by Uncle Boy and their first-born Justin. I imagine them having a beautiful feast together, with as much Pinoy BBQ as they can eat and the best of everything else they would ever want and need.

One of my new favorite things: a ring

I received an adjustable cocktail ring as a freebie with a purchase I made from Carousell. I didn't like the color at first, so I immediately tossed it into my To Donate pile, which soon got lost among my clutter. 

I found it again recently, years later, and this time around, the light hit it differently, and I found myself enamored by the vibrant cyan color. I looked closer and noticed that the center stone was framed by tiny crystals instead of what I mistakenly thought were metal engravings. There's also a marking on the band that may be "925," which indicates that the ring is made of sterling silver, a precious metal.

So I did some quick research. While the ring is not that valuable, it's also not as cheap as I originally thought! I really thought it was glass or, worse, plastic!

My quick research told me that, for costume jewelry, sterling silver is typically partnered with cubic zirconia and, at a minimum, lab-grown gemstones. In the case of my ring, it could be a lab-grown spinel made to mimic the incredibly rare Paraiba tourmaline.

Paraiba tourmaline is more expensive than a diamond. One Paraiba tourmaline is unearthed for every 10,000 diamonds mined!

Tourmaline, in general, also shares with opal the designation as the October birthstone.

Paraiba tourmaline is highly favored by artists, writers, and entrepreneurs because it is believed to trigger intense creative inspiration, helping a person take an abstract, brilliant concept out of their imagination and successfully manifest it into the physical world.

I also read that Paraiba tourmaline is considered one of the ultimate stones for self-expression, helping one align their thoughts with their voice.

Let me channel those energies with my synthetic gemstone!

Another plus point is that both cubic zirconia and spinel have a Mohs hardness of 8, making them durable for everyday wear.

Personally, I have come to love this ring because it reminds me of our country's turquoise waters and my deep but forgotten connection with the ocean, being an island girl.