tomdeocampooo

[tomdeocampooo]

Bacolod, Pontevedra, Don Salvador Benedicto

Throwback to one of my favorite trips outside Panay. It is now impossible to go on adventures like this because my other three friends from this college friend group are in med school.

We spend moments with friends enjoying each other's company, laughing to no end, and sharing stories that have already been told a hundred times not knowing that it might take years or decades before we see them again.

P. S. I should really get back to writing my thesis and stop being so sentimental.

#sentimental #nostalgic #friends

[tomdeocampooo]

Guimaras Loop

Day 3

We started the third and last day of our Guimaras trip with a tocilog breakfast and coffee. One of the highlights of that morning was my friend saying that he liked my pants and the shorts that I wore for Day 2. I proudly told him that I bought them from ukay. It was a simple comment yet enough to make me so happy because I rarely buy clothes. My sister and mother always say that I am too stingy, but I like to say I am living a frugal life. I never really cared about how I look because nobody notices it anyway when I try my hardest to dress nicely. So even it was just my pants and not my looks (hahaha!), I took and embraced the compliment.

Our first stop that day was the wind farm in the town of San Lorenzo.

I never imagined wind turbines to be so overwhelmingly huge! While I'm at it, I hope people (including myself sometimes, unintentionally) will stop misusing the term "megalophobia" to refer to humongous objects or any word with "-phobia" unless they are clinically diagnosed or their condition is consistent with an anxiety disorder.

Our next stop was the Fatima Farm. This is the one place that I would strongly recommend because of the relaxing views and affordable rates for accommodation and various activities. It's a shame that the only picture I took was of floral buds of this water lily. I was saving the battery power of my camera because I forgot to charge them before we left Punta Punting.

It was after our Fatima Farm stopover, while traversing Buenavista and then back to Jordan, when I felt a sharp pain in my left foot. I knew right away it was my sprained ankle. I couldn't enjoy the sinigang na pasayan and sisig during lunch at Toribia's Place in Jordan because of the pain. We had to stop at a nearby pharmacy to buy bandage and pain reliever. The video was taken by my friend when we went back to Trappist to buy coffee.

We wanted to go to Balaan Bukid as well but couldn't because of my condition. We decided that it was time to go home. It was the right decision to go home early because it took an hour before we could board the ship. Many people were traveling back to Iloilo City since it was a Sunday.

Back in Iloilo City, we stopped at a Jollibee drive thru before I was fetched to the bus terminal. When my friends left, they told me I forgot my Tanduay Ice in the car. But it was okay because I brought with me beautiful memories of being with dear friends before I go back to Laguna.

#guimaras #spontaneous #beach

[tomdeocampooo]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 50 likes!

I created my account last 2015/16. My first post was a poem about family that I wrote in a computer shop. If you want to read it, it is only a quick scroll from my latest post. My next posts were pictures of plants and animals that I posted here by linking my Tumblr to my Instagram. I already deleted most of them and archived a few on Instagram a long time ago, so seeing them again was nostalgic.

I didn't have connections or friends then who were interested in Tumblr, so I also didn't get to spend much time here. The first few times I got to revisit my account were in 2017 and 2019 when I posted classwork-related contents. The longest time I used Tumblr was in 2020 when I deactivated my other socmeds for three months during the COVID 19 lockdown. I also had a brief stay here in 2021 when my love for rotten self-deprecating humor peaked.

Never in these few times I attempted to follow many people because I was so shy and my blog didn't have much to offer. This year, I decided to deactivate my other socmeds again and document important events in my life on Tumblr instead. I am loving my stay here, and I hope it will stay the same for the rest of the year. Reaching 50 likes is already a huge Tumblr milestone for me as a "rediscoverer" in this platform. I am looking forward to interacting more with my new mutuals :)

[tomdeocampooo]

Guimaras Loop

Day 2

My friends woke up early the next day to catch the sunrise, while I woke up at 8 am. I wasted no time, put my rash guard on, and swam in the beach.

It was low tide. I could see the seagrasses clearly and one sea cucumber, which for sure was /Holothuria atra/. There was another sea cucumber that ejected very sticky white stuff called Cuvierian tubules that took me a long time to scrape off my toes. While wading through the seagrass bed, I remember my fond memories of conducting seagrass sampling with my college friends and marine plants classmates at Taklong Island National Marine Reserve also in Guimaras.

I told my friends that the evisceration of digestive organs and ejection of Cuvierian tubules are defense mechanisms of sea cucumbers. Another trivia I shared was that seagrasses are often called the dolphin of the plant kingdom because they are both descendants of their respective terrestrial ancestors. I also warned them not to take sea stars out of the water because they breathe through the oxygen in the water.

After an hour of swimming, we showered, packed our things, and took pictures before leaving. Pink suits me well :)

We shortly visited the manmade forest in the same municipality. I hope that I identified them correctly as the native /Acacia auriculiformis/ because I cannot forgive another afforestation/reforestation project that uses exotic invasive plants like mahogany.

We also stopped by the Trappist Monastery because my friends wanted to buy coffee. There my friends asked whether the trees with needle-like leaves were pine trees. They were referring to the agoho tree /Casuarina equisetifolia/. One major difference is that agoho produces flowers and fruits because it is an angiosperm (a flowering plant), while pine trees do not (only naked seeds) because they are a gymnosperm. If you look at the leaves, agoho has a single leaf arising directly from the stem, while pine trees in the Philippines have leaves grouped together in bundles called fascicles. Lastly, agoho is found in coastal and low-altitude areas, while pine trees grow in high elevations.

Another plant my friends interested in was the /Araucaria/ tree, another gymnosperm commonly used in landscaping. They were so interested in the two trees that they kept on repeating "Casuarina, Araucaria" until we went home the day after.

We then headed southward to Nueva Valencia to visit the ruins of the Guisi Lighthouse. It is a historical landmark known for being the second oldest lighthouse in the Philippines first lighted up in 1894. Its purpose then was to guide ships that pass through the Guimaras Strait.

It was my second time going to Guisi, the first time in 2019 when we went to the nearby Tahi Beach Resort (third picture). The only difference was I sprained my ankle this time while taking pictures. I thought it wasn't so bad because it didn't hurt until later.

After Guisi, we stopped by three resorts in Nueva Valencia hoping that they have affordable rooms for an overnight stay. The first one we went to was expensive, the second one didn't have white sand, and the third one was an inland resort. Instead of choosing the second resort, we took the risk and drove to the next municipality of Sibunag and arrived there at 6 pm. There we received the classic Filipino hospitality.

We initially only wanted to buy inasal na manok for dinner. But there was this woman named Mrs. Bass, a store-owner in an establishment complex near the inasalan, who warmly suggested that we eat our dinner by the inasalan. We just have to buy rice and she can have it cooked by the delightful couple who owns a nearby karinderya. It was a beautiful moment of meeting new people, which I had always considered draining.

We spent the night at Punta Punting. Only one of us three (can you guess who?) drank alcohol (finished a whole bottle of The Bar!), while the other weak two drank coffee and ate pancit canton.

The whole day was too tiring that we dozed off to sleep before midnight.

#guimaras #spontaneous #beach

[tomdeocampooo]

Guimaras Loop

Day 1, spontaneous, low-cost, tour around Guimaras

The first stop of our Guimaras loop was Charle's Floating Cottage in Jordan. We ate sinigang na hipon (pasayan in Hiligaynon) and beef teriyaki for lunch. It was only 12 noon, so of course, we also drank beer.

We mostly talked about the difference in the languages and dialects of Panay, and my friends were surprised to learn that Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a are languages contrary to what most people think. "Wala na akong pera para pumunta pa doon" translates to "Waay dun ko kwarta para maadto pa tuya" in Janiuay and "Wara run ko kwarta para maadto pa rigto" in Miagao -- both Kinaray-a speaking municipalities. Cool, right? :)

We didn't plan for our trip. We said if it ever came to a point where we couldn't find an affordable resort to spend the night at, we would just sleep in the car. We bought just enough food and drinks and drove northward to Brgy. Lawi in Jordan.

We discovered this gem of a resort at Sitio Lusay. It was like a paradise at the end of a bumpy trail because we had to leave the car and walk for 10 minutes through a steep and pebbly terrain while carrying all our things to get there.

My friend cooked inihaw na baboy, while my other friend and I were busy taking pictures. I then realized we forgot to buy rice probably because we were too busy buying alcoholic drinks. Luckily, the resort manager cooked for us.

After dinner, we swam in the beach and talked some more about our senior high school years. The night ended with empty bottles and discussions about Christianity, abortion, and how working out can give you a new direction in life ("oo na, ito na, magwo-work out na nga").

#guimaras #spontaneous #beach

[tomdeocampooo]

/Rafflesia lagascae/ or /Rafflesia panchoana/

I didn't want to take a systematics course last semester. My thesis is on the cold stress tolerance mechanisms in rice, so I wanted to take as many physiology courses as possible. However, it was a foundation course that I hadn't taken yet during my undergrad, so I had no choice.

Luckily for me, it turned out to be one of the best courses ever. I got to experience doing fieldwork in places where the almost sacred /Rafflesia/ and jade vine thrive. I also had the chance to digitize herbarium specimens and learn systematics concepts from some of the foremost taxonomists in the country.

The best species to highlight is /Rafflesia lagascae/ or /Rafflesia panchoana/. I included both names because the academic debate on which name to use is still ongoing, and I actually made a presentation about it!

I love it when taxonomists publish their scientific arguments in response to another academic paper because it is one of the few times in botany where you get to jokingly say "oooh the drama".

In the first picture, you can see a flower bud attached to a woody vine. It is /R. lagascae or panchoana/ parasitizing another species (/Tetrastigma loheri/). /Rafflesia/ doesn't have leaves, stems, and roots, so it depends on another plant (specific to the species of /Rafflesia/) to survive.

The second picture shows buds that are about to bloom! They look like rising bread.

#botany #rafflesia #fieldwork #master's

[tomdeocampooo]

[tomdeocampooo]

As someone from Miagao, Napulak's view has always seemed too imposing that I would get overwhelmed just by imagining how to reach the peak. It must be enchanted having such grandeur. One where diwatas would want to reside and care for the flora and fauna that no human has ever seen.

Just yesterday I got the chance to climb Napulak. It was a journey of physical and mental exhaustion and braving through an extremely cold night, which are still too low a price to witness how majestic Napulak is and the experience it offers.

Mt. Napulak

01/26-27/24

Igbaras, Iloilo

[tomdeocampooo]

Sometimes I forget how much I work hard for my studies that it still surprises me when I get high grades. I just completed my major botany courses all with a grade of 1.0. What makes me even prouder of this feat is that three of these courses were taught by my forever idol plant physiologist Dr. Sese and considered extremely difficult by those that had taken them before. Now I am 60% inclined towards choosing a photosynthesis- or stress-physiology- related doctorate degree in the future.

Three minor courses, seminar, thesis, and compre this 2025!

[tomdeocampooo]

2024 in Pictures

#2024

[tomdeocampooo]

Dreamt of becoming a journalist in junior high school. Took STEM in senior high school as a preparatory track for engineering. Chose BS in Biology at UP Visayas because I thought I also wanted to go to med school. Realized that my heart is for plant sciences so now pursuing MS Botany at UP Los Baños and doing rice research at IRRI. Thanks to my teachers who influenced these huge and crucial changes in my decisions in many stages of my academic life.

[tomdeocampooo]

Sinubukan ko nang sauluhin noong bata pa ako ang mga halamang panggamot sa aklat na Healing Wonders of Herbs ni Herminia de Guzman-Ladion. Pinakatumatak sa akin ang puno ng kanya pistula (Cassia fistula) dahil may iilan na tumutubo sa gubat malapit sa amin. Tuwing Flores de Mayo, inaakyat namin ito ng pinsan ko para kumuha ng mga mala-orkid na bulaklak at ialay kay Virgin Mary. Mas napalapit pa ako sa mga halaman gawa ng mga tradisyunal na gamot gaya ng sambong at oregano tuwing may sakit at mayana naman para sa mga sugat.

Manghang-mangha man ako sa ganda at iba’t-ibang pakinabang ng mga halaman, ni minsan hindi dumapo sa musmos kong isip na sa pagtapak ko ng kolehiyo ay papangarapin kong maging isang botanist.

Kaya pinapasalamatan ko ang tanim na mais at si Ma’am Reg.

Abril noong 2020, katatapos ko lang ng aking final paper sa Botany 111 na tungkol sa mga phytochemicals na makukuha sa mais at ang kanilang mga health benefits. Nakatanggap ako ng “very good” mula kay Ma’am Reg – isang malaking bagay para sa una kong nasulat na papel sa kolehiyo.

Isa ang mga feedback na iyon sa mga nag-engganyo sa akin na mag-post sa stories at timeline sa Facebook ng mga trivia tungkol sa mga halaman na nasundan ng mga opinyon sa mga napapanood kong mga video. Isa dito ay ibinahagi sa akin ni Ma’am Reg na tungkol sa magandang kwento ng evolution kung paano nagkaroon ng soft kernels ang mais. Lumago ang aking interes dahil namalas dito ang pagtatagpo ng iba pang mga field ng biology at maging archeology sa pag-aaral ng halaman.

Pero simple pa no’n ang pagkakaunawa ko ng botany. Maganda. Kalmado. Hindi ka mahahaggard!

Sa mga sumunod na taon, nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na kumuha ng mga electives na Economic Botany, Mangroves and Beach Forest Species, at Marine Plants. Dahil sa mga natutunan ko mula sa mga babasahin at sa mga ipinaglalaban at inaadbokasiya ng mga eksperto at ibang mga kakilala – mapa-lansangan man o social media – napagtanto ko na kulang na kulang pa pala ang aking nalalaman.

Hindi pala maamo ang botany. Ito rin pala ay kuwento ng karahasan, pang-aabuso, kahirapan, at pagtalikod sa agham. Ito ay kuwento ni Leonard Co at iba pang mga plant taxonomist katulad ni Gabriel Trujillo na namatay habang nasa field. Ito ay kuwento ng mga isyu na hinaharap ng mga magsasaka at ng sektor agrikultura. Ito ay kuwento ng nakakaalarma na patuloy na pagbaba ng dami ng mga plant biologists sa buong mundo. Ito ay kuwento ng lipunan na naghihirap at tinalikuran ng gobyerno – ng mga tao na unti-unting pinapatay ng bulok na sistema kasabay ng mga lauan, apitong, at bakawan na patuloy na pinuputol sa mga kagubatan.

Natutunan ko na kalakip ng pag-aaral ng mga kahalamanan ang pagkilala ng mga kuwento na ito na nangyayari araw-araw at pagtugon dito sa kahit anong paraan.

Malungkot pala ang botany. Hindi pala ito laging singganda ng kanya pistula na inaalay ko tuwing Flores de Mayo. Ito ay puno ng sakit at sugat na hindi nagagamot ng sambong o mayana. Gayunpaman, ito ay isang paglalakbay na ngayon ay gusto kong pagdaanan. Gusto ko pang payabungin ang aking natutunan. Gusto kong makapagturo. Gusto kong dumami pa ang mga botanist sa mundo. Mas lalong gusto kong dumating ang panahon na hindi na tinatalikuran ang sangkahalamanan.

Salamat kay de Guzman-Ladion, Leonard Co, at iba pang mga botanist at guro na inspirasyon sa henerasyon ng mga nangangarap pa lamang katulad ko.

Salamat kay Ma’am Reg na nagturo sa akin ng research, botany, at maraming aral na babaunin ko sa pag-abot ng aking pangarap.

Salamat kay Ma’am Ram, Ma’am Diana, Ma'am Machel, Sir Rex, Ma’am Frans, at Sir Eric sa tiwala at pagpaparamdam sa akin na magaling din pala ako, mapapersonal man, mensahe sa Messenger, o feedback sa mga output.

Salamat kay Ma’am Juarez na nagpabago ng isip ko sa kukunin na kurso, na dati ay Applied Mathematics, dahil sa kanyang mahusay na pagtuturo ng human anatomy.

Salamat kay Sir Homer na pinasali ako sa quiz bee ng UP Fisheries Guild noong 2017 na kahit swerte ko lang naipanalo ay naging dahilan ng pagpili ko ng STEM.

Sa ngayon, hindi ko pa alam kung magiging ganap nga na botanist ako sa hinaharap. Malay natin, babalikan ko pala ang dati ko ring pangarap na maging neurosurgeon o engineer. Baka rin bumida ako sa pelikula kasama si Meryl Streep o Dolly de Leon. Saan mang komportableng espasyo ng mundo ang kalalagyan ko sa mga taon na darating, palagi kong bibitbitin ang kagustuhang isulong ang isang larangang puno ng ganda, sakit, at pag-asa.

Tom Lin S. Deocampo Jr.

BS in Biology

University of the Philippines Visayas

Magna Cum Laude

Top 2, Class of 2023 - Biology

DOST-SEI Merit Scholar

President (2022-2023), UPV Biological Society

#graduation #botany #UP #sablay

Salamat sa magagandang litrato, Aivee :))

[tomdeocampooo]

through the lobed leaves of the tipolo tree

that with wind wave a gentle goodbye

or frail flowers of amaranthine amaranths

that symbolize something pure and perennial,

i say goodbye for now to these people with whom i have planted a beautiful and nurturing friendship! thank you times the florets of hagonoy.

thank you for these beautiful pictures, aivee!

[tomdeocampooo]

Pwede nang bawasan ang budget for shampoo and conditioner sa 2023.

[tomdeocampooo]

Arthropods such as freshwater crabs undergo ecdysis. During this process, they shed their outer covering (cuticle in the carapace and legs, which others call the crab's shell) to facilitate growth since the cuticle does not stretch.

We should also allow ourselves to shed anything that once protected us if it already restricts us from growing. Yes, we may be vulnerable when it happens. However, like the re-calcification (hardening) of the crab's new cuticle, we will also toughen up in time.

[tomdeocampooo]

I hope my friends know that I am proud of them. I just don't say it, but I am. I just get overwhelmed by too much interaction, even through social media. I also don't post my grades and certificates online because I don't feel it's well-deserved. I also don't want to be congratulated or praised, or hyped. I don't know why. Keep the "sana all" and "keep it up" coming though. Since nobody really pays attention to me here, I have been a university scholar for the past two semesters.

[tomdeocampooo]

LGBTQIA+ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!!!

I was, and still am, a very proud gay man.

Photo credits to Ms. Jiya Santillanosa.