The Roaming Minds

My membership card. I love the slogan! On November 2022, I joined the New York Road Runners (NYRR). This organization is the non-profit group that sponsors the world-famous and one of the largest marathons in the world - the TCS New York City Marathon. The marathon attracts runners from 130 countries and with around 50,000 finishers. I am not an athlete and have never run a race. However, I decided to run to achieve a more active and healthier lifestyle, especially after the pandemic. Moreover, I want to fulfill the dream of becoming a marathoner and simultaneously explore the five boroughs of New York City through running. At first, I thought I only needed to register to run the marathon. But, after exploring the NYRR website, I realized running in the marathon is a process. First, you become a member of the organization to gain a guaranteed spot in various races. Next, you train and maintain your fitness. Finally, keep racing. I joined NYRR. It is optional to become a member to run i...

  The Harvesters  (ca. 1565) by Pieter Bruegel | Oil on wood | 45 7/8 x 62 7/8 in. You can examine the artwork here .      Pieter Bruegel the Elder's (ca. 1525-1569) work above depicted one hot summer in a Dutch countryside. It was part of his original six paintings, but five survived, showing the different seasons of the year. The one above is currently displayed at the Met Museum in New York City, while the other four are exhibited in Vienna, Austria, and Prague, Czech Republic.      It is interesting that as I examined the details of this Dutch masterpiece, it brought memories of the  barrio  (village) where I grew up in the 1980s. It is fascinating despite significant differences between the year (the 1500s versus the 1980s) and place (the Netherlands versus the Philippines), the subjects in the painting and my experiences shared similarities. As a result, those similarities triggered the memories of the village I grew fond of....

A Medieval portal      The Middle Ages, or Medieval Period, was a European period in history that began from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the Rennaisance Period (13th-15th century). This period became known for its art and architecture, particularly ecclesiastical structures like grand cathedrals and monasteries.      The Met Cloisters has curated some of the grandest Medieval architecture, exquisite gardens, and original art forms. No other museum in the U.S. has combined these aspects of Medieval cultures. Here are our favorites. The cloisters and gardens      A cloister is a covered corridor with a wall on one side and an open quadrangle, garden, or courtyard on the other. This type of architecture was common in Medieval monasteries, convents, or cathedrals. There are four cloisters in the Met Cloisters, three with idyllic gardens in the middle. The Bonnefont Cloister   Behind us is the herb garden at the Bonnefo...

Night view of The Metropolitan Opera House      She's an exquisite princess, but at the same time, cold and ruthless. She hated men and promised to execute any suitor who could not answer her three riddles. She was vengeful and ferocious to men who tried to pursue her heart because her equally beautiful ancestor was kidnapped and killed by an invading prince. She was sure that she would never love a man.      On the night of the execution of her 12th suitor, a young man rang the gong to signify he wanted to challenge and pursue her heart. However, the princess, ministers of the kingdom, and the crowd were sure that he could not answer the three questions and would face the same fate as the previous suitors.      However, victoriously, the young suitor answered all three questions correctly. The crowd cried for joy, but the beautiful princess was furious and begged the emperor not to let him marry. The suitor offered the princess a challenge o...