Arrival Survival for New Faculty
Here I am in my arrival to Pitt, this time as a new faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences. Arrival Survival was the theme this fall at the University of Pittsburgh for the new, incoming students.
I went to the bookstore to check out the books in my class and those in other departments, too. On my way in, I was stopped by a few members of the ever-efficient arrival survival team, who offered to take my photo by one of the Panthers (the Pitt mascot). Here I am posing as a new faculty member on campus next to the Pitt Panther.
A couple of weeks later, I had a photo by the Cathedral of Learning fountain at the west entrance of the building. I love the palm plants that they have at that entrance for the past few years now.
The Cathedral of Learning houses the Nationality Room Classrooms described in an earlier post. Finally, here is a photo I took of the Cathedral of Learning on a warm, bright day in early October.
Visiting and Bridge
This summer William's inlaws Les and Cherie also came to Pittsburgh for a bridge tournament. Since Pittsburgh is the city of bridges (we have more bridges of a certain span length than any other city in the world), it was a great place to have a bridge tournament. I visited the Phipps Conservatory (with its new entrance in the side of the hill across from Flagstaff Hill) with them. John and Mimi Geinzer held a BBQ party, and we all had a great time there. William and Marissa found out more about real estate from John. John maintains the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh's website. Cherie took the picture of me and Marissa hiding in the flowers at Phipps.
Visiting the New Office
I brought an office-warming gift for my brother in his new office at Carnegie Mellon University. It is a ceramic statue of two owls. He collects owl statues, and I can remember the first time I found that out.
We were in the Philippines visiting family and friends when we went to the palenke/tiang-gi/open-air market in Baguio, the summer capital. William had been haggling on the price of the carved wooden owl. I had encouraged him to haggle a little more. We left the seller's stall. The synapses were firing in his brain, and he had calculated exactly how much this owl would cost him in US Dollars---a minor amount of money. He told me how little the price of the owl was, then proceeded to purchase it.
So now Wawa has two owls in his office in Dougherty Hall. He started as the Director of the Science and Humanities Scholars Program at the beginning of August, 2005.
A week or so after I had visited his office, my parents and I stopped by. There are two photos of us visiting him.
"Hi Dr. Alba..."
We were fortunate enough to have Uncle Aling (Dad's kambal / kaluha/twin) come to visit us this summer. Mom and Dad and I took a trip in 2002 with Uncle Aling and his wife, Auntie Elsie, to the Southwest, Midwest, and Western states. We visited a lot of National Parks and generally enjoyed ourselves. Their son, Michael, and I went to college at the same time in the Boston area, and got to be cousin-friends then.
Growing up as the child of an identical twin was not easy when our families used to visit each other. Not only did my dad and Uncle Aling look a LOT alike, but they have the same mannerisms and speech patterns. Sometimes when one of them calls me on the phone, I have to think a moment or use contextual clues to see who it might be! When we were children, my dad and Uncle Aling used to trade clothes, and we children would be confused. My brother--- being the observant scientist, even at a young age---noticed which of the two was wearing "Daddy's watch." Dad and Uncle Aling then traded watches, confusing all of us children. "Daddy!" a child would exclaim.
"No, him," from that parent.
So the child would go to the other twin.."Daddy!!"
"No, him," from THAT twin parent.
At which point the teased child would say, "Daddy, Daddy, which one is my daddy?!!"
We weren't the only ones to be confused. When Uncle Aling visited Michael in Boston, I met up with them and we took the T Red line across the Charles River from Cambridge to Boston. One of my classmates from high school, who also went to school in the Boston Area, Ed Whang, saw me on the train with Uncle Aling. "Hi Doctor Alba," he said, greeting Uncle Aling as if he were my dad. When the explanations were through, I think Ed was less confused than we were as children.
The photo on this post is that of the twins playing chess, one of my dad's favorite leisure activities now that he has retired. Now that both my dad and uncle are older, I can tell the difference between the two, as my uncle is about 15 pounds heavier than my dad. If the weight differential between them lessens, there may be some problems again....
Cookout at the McShea's
At right (top to bottom) at the Alba-McShea cookout this summer are the McShea men with Dad (Lolo); Me, Dad, Benny, and Auntie King Kong on the swing; and a photo by Miranda of her parents.
At near right (clockwise) are a set of photos of our cookout at the McShea's. There's Miranda and Benny dancing in big people's shoes and hat, Benny taking a break while Miranda plays with another ball, Dad and Benny watering the plants, and Dad and I with iced tongues.
Here's Dad (Lolo) and Miranda and Benny "making themselves useful" (as Dad expressed it) before the cookout at Gene and Phyllis' (Grandpa and Grandma's). (above, right)
Benefit Concert for the Philippine Nationality Room at the University of Pittsburgh
Here I am on the right with Jonathan Badon and Lilly Abreu after a benefit concert for the Philippine Nationality Room (PNR) Classroom. Jonathan and Lilly sang a Summer Romance, with selections from Italian arias to Broadway. Jonathan, a tenor, is returning to Manila this month, and Lilly continues to perform and teach in the Pittsburgh area with Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Light Opera. She is a wonderfully talented soprano and coach.
The Nationality Room classrooms are in the second-tallest academic building in the world. They are designed and constructed by the various nationalities in the Pittsburgh area. My Dad and I are on the planning committee for the PNR, and the committee has sponsored various Pilipino cultural events to fundraise for the classroom. The University of Santo Tomas Singers, Ballet Manila, and Wings of Song have come to perform here in Pittsburgh to raise funds for the classroom, scheduled to be completed by 2007.
Visiting
This summer Mom, Dad, Kelly, and I took a daytrip to the town William, Joyce, Kelly, and I grew up in--Marietta, Ohio. We had a chance to have lunch with Terri, Mom's best friend from Parkersburg, West Virginia. We heard all about her sons and lots about the adventures of Chris, who is serving overseas with the Marine Corps. Our photo is above, on the left.
While Kelly went for her opthalmologic appointment with Dr. Brenda Jones, there was a chance for me to visit with Ginny Buzzard (Mrs. B) in Marietta. She is now regional coordinator for gifted programs in Southeastern Ohio. Here's a photo (right) of her with Mom, Dad, Kelly and I. My siblings and I had a chance to go through the Future Problem Solving program with her as our coach. William's team had gone to the International Bowl in Lincoln, Nebraska, and my team went to the International Bowl at Coe College, Iowa.
I was saddened to hear that Dawn Inabnet (my microbiology instructor) had passed away this May. She had a real impact on my life. She was a vibrant , thoughtful teacher who appreciated the arts, worked in copper, and loved to travel. She is greatly missed.
Pittsburgh Zoo
This June I visited the Pittsburgh Zoo with Annie and her mom, Fanny. Annie's seventh birthday party had just past, and this was a continuation of the celebration. Every year, it is a true fete. Other guests at the party commented that they aren't certain what will happen for her sixteeenth birthday.
Our first stop at the zoo was the flamingoes, and the last stop to get Icees. Each time I go to the Pittsburgh Zoo, there is a tradition that the Alba women follow: get an Icee, get your tongue really cold (and colorful), then take pictures. I have embraced this tradition for all my visits to the zoo. You can see the results below.
Summer Teaching
This summer, I was fortunate to teach at Shady Side Academy, one of the best private schools in the Pittsburgh area. Here are photos of my coworkers, a team of the administering staff. There is also a photo of my fellow teachers and I enjoying lunch, one of the perqs of working at Shady Side.
Berry Picking
This is from a berry-picking afternoon with Rajeesh, Amrita, and Ram this summer (2005). We've had a chance to go berry-picking twice this summer, and each time had a blast. We usually have to take Amrita away from the fields long before she is ready to go.
We played pin the tail on the Donkey.... 
Benny and Miranda marvel at the balloons (left). Miranda and Auntie/Ninang Mimi enjoy our eggless cupcakes in ice cream cones (above, right)
