Random photo of yours truly at the Vatican..( one of my most favorite pics ) and this is a pic where I ‘m almost all alone, surrounded by culture. ( rare event in Italy pre -Corona virus ) …….. I’m also happy I have some genetic affinity with Italy. ( check out my post on Ancestry .com )
Speaking of which….
I got an email from a ” stranger ” , informing me that Ancestry.com has found that her DNA matches mine, and that we’re probably 3rd cousins. She’s given me some info about herself, where her parents came from, their surnames, etc. My mother is sure she’s a relative. The person says her grandfather was a Figueroa-David…… Whoa ! Mom says that was her uncle’s name ! ! ! I haven’t responded to her email… maybe this week ? Also, in my Ancestry . com info, I have at least 6 other people with DNAs that match mine. One has a Japanese last name, the rest have English names, ( like Smith ) . They are probably from the Philippines who are married to non-Filipinos. Who knows ? I still can’t believe 25 % of my genes come from Italy.
My sister and I…….getting ready for hang- gliding. ( Philippine vacation Feb. 2020)
We also learned that my little cousin ( 10 years old ) from the Philippines was tested positive for Corona-virus on March 23. We were all shocked at the news. We had dinner at my cousins’ house the night before our departure for the US. ( We left on Feb. 29 ) We weren’t surprised though. Both his parents are doctors…. my cousin is an OBGYN, so the hospital does not allow her to handle Covid patients, but her husband, though a thoracic surgeon, has to treat Covid patients at the hospital. . They have all been tested , all negative , except the little boy. Last week, they all got tested again… all negative as of Sept. 20 , including my 10 year old nephew. (Thank you, Lord ! ) They are still in isolation, just in case. Another thing… a cousin and her family ( her 6 year old son is my baptismal godchild ) were also at that dinner, and we heard they are also self-isolating now. My cousin is also a doctor treating Covid patients at another hospital. They freaked out and got themselves tested…. negative…. but self-isolating , just in case. Oh, my word ! ! I think my cousin doctors had brought the virus home. No wonder our doctors. nurses and first responders do not go home to their families anymore !!!
While thousands of people were dying all over the world, we were having fun hang gliding. I was supposed to post pictures of our Philippine vacation on a separate post , but I think it’s inappropriate to do that now…. I hope it’s not being tone deaf to randomly insert a few here and there for a little bit of happy memories ?
Be safe. Take care of your immune system.
And thank you for reading. Bye !!!!!!
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by Eduardo Maresca on April 26, 2020 at 6:01 pm
Well, Italy and the Philippines have a lot in common: much of Southern Italy was under Spanish domination, we’ve got nice beaches, active volcanoes, kaskasero drivers. I call Italy (at least the Southern part) the Philippines of Europe. So your partly Italian ancestry is probably normal
Posted by renxkyoko on April 26, 2020 at 8:02 pm
I wonder if my ancestors came from Italy then to Spain, or it was the other way around ? Sardinia…… Ancestry.com is so specific on Sardinia. Ha ha ha. * whisper” and I’m kind of obsessing on Sardinia, I don’t now why. lol
Posted by Jim on April 26, 2020 at 6:15 pm
it’s amazing what DNA is doing to connect us to people we never knew before
Posted by renxkyoko on April 26, 2020 at 7:49 pm
Not only that, do you know how the Golden State serial killer (who killed at least 47 people ) was found after almost 30 years ? Thru Ancestry.com. His DNA profile was in police file, but there was no match , until one cop thought of using Ancestry.com , and although the company is not allowed to do any search for any matches from ‘ government authorities ” , they finally did, just this one time. They found a match from one of their clients. From their investigations, the killer was a former cop who lived in our city ! before moving to Florida.
Posted by conradseitz on April 26, 2020 at 8:23 pm
That’s a grisly way of “connecting us to people”… har har… but I like it.
Posted by renxkyoko on April 27, 2020 at 3:24 am
You can Google it, Golden State Killer. It’s a fascinating crime investigation. FYI, I ‘m also a Forensics graduate ( I have 2 majors , walked up on the stage to receive a diploma 2x. ) So yeah, crime investigation is right up my alley, he he he. I’m so weird. lol
Posted by conradseitz on April 26, 2020 at 6:42 pm
No it’s not inappropriate.
Posted by renxkyoko on April 26, 2020 at 7:55 pm
Thank you ! !
For a while there, I felt like Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned. ~_~ “
Posted by gardeninacity on April 26, 2020 at 10:06 pm
Best wishes to your cousin and all the health care workers. So many of them are being denied family leave rights even though they are the ones who need it the most.
Posted by Dracul Van Helsing on April 26, 2020 at 11:05 pm
Love that photo of one of the halls at the Vatican.
Looks like it’s filled with the statues and busts of Roman generals, emperors and empresses.
Glad to hear your 10-year-old cousin has recovered.
Posted by renxkyoko on April 27, 2020 at 2:44 am
I know, right ? That was taken by my mother , ( who is the worst photographer in the world, ha ha ).
It’s such a relief . That boy is so adorable. The family was here in the US on vacation .. he was just 4…… but could already tell the make of cars, and what year they came out…. he could read at 4… and his Dad bought him car magazines.
Posted by Peter Wells aka Countingducks on April 27, 2020 at 7:46 am
You are always one of my favourite bloggers and reading your post makes me realise that bloggers who connect over time through the internet are another kind of family faced by the current challenged threatening our world and all I wish is that you stay safe 🙂
Posted by Mishra ji on April 28, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Happy that your family is safe. It is just that with the world exploding, there is hardly any good news these days. a week back- in the middle of this all, my father had a major heart attack. He is fine now, but I guess there is a lot that happens even in the darkest of times to keep us occupied.
Didn’t know about ancestory thing. I should check mine 🙂 there was this add-on on Instagram which said I am 19% Indian and Swiss+ Kenyan or something of the sort. But of course, it just analysed my facial features 🙂
Posted by imagesbytdashfield on April 28, 2020 at 12:47 pm
It’s kinda fun when the site pings you about a DNA match. Sometimes they are sooooooo distant or you can’t figure out the link while others are quite an AH HAH! moment. Yes, transmission of covid can be and is scary.
Posted by renxkyoko on April 30, 2020 at 4:35 pm
I’ve already emailed the person . She hasn’t responded yet. Mom is so eager to hear from her.
Posted by imagesbytdashfield on April 30, 2020 at 9:29 pm
Good luck with it. I tried emailing someone who was supposed to be a close cousin and they never responded.
Posted by America On Coffee on May 4, 2020 at 10:01 pm
High up in the air may be more safe the ground level. Enjoy!❤️
Posted by vinneve on May 5, 2020 at 4:25 am
Hi how are you in this tough times? we are fine here in NZ it’s now on level 3 and maybe going to level 2 if everyone behaves and no more cases. I have some backlog vacay stories as well but I incorporate it to a “word challenges” or virtual traveling so it’s not being too insensitive… besides too many bad things happening so best to give some positivity and past travel is one. Take care!
Posted by usfman on May 14, 2020 at 1:47 am
I think many People would rather here of your excitement with hang gliders than the depressing news of the Corona Virus. Sorry to hear about your family’s exposure to the virus. Stay well. USFMAN
Posted by barkinginthedark on May 24, 2020 at 10:18 pm
hang gliding? ur more energetic than me girrrl. continue…
Posted by renxkyoko on May 26, 2020 at 5:35 pm
Exhilirating ( Spelling? lol ) feeling !
Posted by soullfire on July 4, 2020 at 5:03 pm
If someone in the family had to catch it, the good news is at least it’s one at an age where they have the least complications. Hope he fully recovered with no issues.