The Spy in the Sandwich

Tracking Sandwich Eaters

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

7:00 AM | Poetry Wednesday, No. 302.

Labels: poetry

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Friday, July 24, 2026

11:30 PM | Calm

I was feeling better at the end of the day after a week of battling the flu, so Renz and I finally got our much-needed and well-deserved body+foot massage combo. Later, going home in Renz’s car near midnight, I got this very unfamiliar feeling of utter calm.

And then I realized that it was so very nice not to feel the low hum of anxiety of having a big event looming in the horizon. It has been like that since the start of the year, and now I can finally just ... relax a little.

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

7:00 AM | Poetry Wednesday, No. 301.

Labels: poetry

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

7:00 AM | Poetry Wednesday, No. 300.

Labels: poetry

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Sunday, July 12, 2026

1:15 PM | My Mercury in Retrograde Story

What’s your current Mercury in retrograde story? My mental health spiraled at the beginning of July [essentially, a patch of burn out], and yesterday, my Mac Air kept restarting. Was awake most of the night to figure out what to do, then around 3 AM, found a solution by going on Safe Mode and reinstalling my old OS, which took two hours. And after doing that, immediately installed Tahoe. Problem solved, but what hassle that was.

Labels: burnout, computers, life, macbooks, psychology, retrograde

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Wednesday, July 08, 2026

7:00 AM | Poetry Wednesday, No. 299.

Labels: poetry

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Friday, July 03, 2026

10:18 PM | Pamati, Done!

We just had our closing ceremony for Pamati: Let the River Rest tonight, and tomorrow, the Puerto Princesa Underground River reopens and this will be my first time to experience this natural wonder. This has been a satisfying work trip for UNACOM. Every time I get asked to speak, my ADHD brain always wallows in some form of impostor’s syndrome. Will my talk make sense? Will I impart usable knowledge? Do I have the right to talk about the things I am asked to talk about? Tonight, a huge part of that doubting got erased by the responses some of the participants gave. [One even quoted me!] So, yes, I’m happy. And I’m glad I took part in this pursuit of using art and creativity to do environmental conservation. Would love to do something like this for Lake Balinsasayao. Padayon!

Labels: environment, life, teaching, UNACOM, UNESCO

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

6:19 PM | The Universe Has a Sense of Humor

The truth of the matter is, I was most curious to visit Puerto Princesa, because this is the hometown of my first boyfriend, my, ehem, college sweetheart. Thirty years have since passed those days, and sixteen since I last saw him. So I finally went to Puerto Princesa proper today, and when I got off the van, guess who the first person I saw was.

Him.

It was ... an awkward reunion. But I think this officially closes a chapter in my life, hehehe. The universe has a sense of humor.

Labels: life, love, travel

[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich

Wednesday, July 01, 2026

9:56 PM | In Puerto Princesa

Just hazily documenting my first day in Puerto Princesa today. I flew in very early, after spending a very short night in Manila in transit to Palawan. Did not get to see much of the city proper of Puerto Princesa because I was soon whisked away by the service van provided for by UNACOM, all the way to Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort in Sabang. I thought it would be a short ride, but to my groggy surprise, it took almost two hours to get to our destination — 75 kilometers away from the center of the city — and I thought we were in another town altogether. But nooo, I would later learn Sabang is still very much a part of the city.

I'm here for UNESCO duties, to be one of the resource speakers for Pamati: Let the River Rest, a cultural festival honoring the closure of the Puerto Princesa Underground River for three days, with film director Dante Nico Garcia as lead coordinator. [The Underground River is one of the UNESCO-designated natural heritage sites in the Philippines.]

When I arrived this morning, however, I was practically a zombie from lack of sleep and the general tiredness of travel, that I purposely missed the morning session, and staggered to my assigned room, where I immediately took to bed and knocked out for five hours. Later in the day, I attended parts of the afternoon session, and tried my best to finish my presentation due tomorrow morning, but residual sleep also took over. I finally joined the screening of a documentary titled Fragile Frontier while having dinner with the rest of the participants. The film is about the impact of Typhoon Odette on Palawan, directed by Jessie Cereno and produced by the UNESCO National Commission for the Philippines [UNACOM]. [It is narrated by Silliman author and cultural worker Jane Timbancaya-Urbanek.]

I will always find travel to be essential in my work in culture. When you are surrounded by like-minded people of other places who share your passion, and finding them doing their thing in surprising ways you never thought possible, it’s a charge that rejuvenates the often flagging spirit. I’m privileged to be able to do this, and now I’m here in Puerto Princesa. I needed this injection of inspiration after the relentless barrage of June.