Art and Earth Science by Grass
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist I've always had a soft spot for plants. There's just something comforting about having a little bit of greenery around, especially when most of your day is spent indoors, staring at a computer screen. A couple of weeks ago, I bought three little plants from MUJI and brought them… Continue reading My Little Green Work Buddies: How Three MUJI Plants Make My Workdays Happier
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist Some conferences remind us why we chose our profession. NIGSCON 2026 was one of those for me. Held on October 28–30, 2026, at the AVR, National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS), UP Diliman, Quezon City, the annual student research symposium carried the theme, “Powering the Future: The Role of… Continue reading NIGSCON 2026 Reflections: Philippine Energy Security and Careers in Geology
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist If you’re stunned by the title, you’ll know why in a bit as you read through this blog post. Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin but let’s start with Friday last week. I was attending a working lunch with my colleagues. It was an interactive session where… Continue reading Of Family Loss and Data Science
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist I work with data. I work with machine learning. I play around with AI and large language models. I spend a good portion of my working life staring at databases, spreadsheets, digital maps, subsurface data, and whatever other collection of zeros and ones has decided to make my day… Continue reading Why Fountain Pens Matter in a Digital World
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist For the past three years, I've had the privilege of helping fresh geology graduates prepare for their licensure examinations. It's an invitation I never take lightly. It's an honor, yes—but it's also one born from a bittersweet reason. Four years ago, I lost my very first mentor in mineralogy,… Continue reading Passing the Microscope Forward
A few months ago, I reached out to one of our company's Community Relations officer with a simple idea: would it be possible to donate oil and rock samples to my former institute at the University of the Philippines Diliman? The National Institute of Geological Sciences houses a humble but fascinating geology museum filled with… Continue reading Energy Museum at the Department of Energy – Something to Look Forward to in BGC, Philippines
Pip: The Fabulous Scientist is where geology and fountain pens share a field notebook, and somehow that makes complete sense.Mara: Today we're covering a piece from fabulousgrass that sits right at the intersection of scientific practice and craft — how geologists have always written, sketched, and mapped by hand, and why that tradition still matters.Pip:… Continue reading Podcast Episode: Writing Like a Geologist: Field Notes, Maps, and the Fountain Pen Tradition
I've wanted Jacques Herbin's Emerald of Chivor ever since I fell down the fountain pen rabbit hole. You know how it goes. One minute you're buying a perfectly sensible fountain pen for note-taking. The next minute you're staring at ink swatches online at 2:00 in the morning, convincing yourself that your life would be significantly… Continue reading Jacques Herbin Emerald of Chivor: The Ink That Got Away (Until It Didn’t)
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist In the lab, we obsess over our equipment. We calibrate our equipments, we make sure the connection between computer and equipment is uninterrupted, and we panic if one part acts up. Yet, when it comes to the tool we use to actually process the information inside our heads, most… Continue reading Why I Stopped Typing My Notes
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist As 2025 comes to a close, I find myself looking back not only at the big milestones, but at the small, intentional choices that quietly shaped the year. In many ways, this was a transformational season for me—the year I earned my Master’s degree, stepped into a new job… Continue reading 2025: The Year of Beginnings, Professional Growth, and Financial and Physical Wellness
