Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Then worked half an hour on twenty-second layer.

John delivered two orders of deep-fried pork chunks to the house. He used to call them lechon kawali, I used to call them chicharon, and now he calls them fried pork.

Worked half an hour on twenty-first layer.

Worked an hour on twentieth layer.

Tony Perez's Art of War: If your student's work is mediocre, it is your duty to raise his abilities up many notches higher.

If he is not your student, let him be.

When someone passes away, don't say "Wala na si _________" or "Wala na siya", because, when we die, we do not leave and are very much still with everyone we love most.

Tony Perez's Art of War: There will always be someone who envies you and tries to put you down. But, while he is doing that, develop your talents some more and then show the world your products. They are the diamonds your enemy can never buy for himself.

All governments have one, lethal weapon that they frequently use against their enemies, which is the generation of mass paranoia. They sow it first among the intellectuals, and then watch it flow rapidly downward to others.

Sometimes they sow it with an apparently inane, idiotic, hilarious, incredible thing, and then relish with great amusement how everyone takes it very seriously.

The July leaf falls off my planner.

Our August Gnomes, in the month of peridot

August 1, 2019. Hungry Ghost Month begins.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a freeway for messenger spirits on astral motorbikes.

Took an early dinner.

Worked half an hour on nineteenth layer while Angelique, Aubrey, and J. had dinner in the dining room.

Calling it a day for painting. Will commence twentieth layer tomorrow.

This is the eve of the first day of Hungry Ghost Month.

Lit the lanterns at the studio entrance.

Your surly, ornery, offensive co-passengers in public vehicles? Be patient with them.They are a total wreck inside because they have no money, they lost their job, someone abandoned them, and/or someone they loved just died.

Whereas you--all you want and need for now is to get home safely to dinner with your family, take an evening shower, and go to bed.

Worked an hour on eighteenth layer.

Still reading An Overdose of Death. One-hour, early evening nap.

Forty winks, then waited for my younger son Chito to arrive from work. Now back from jalan-jalan at the center. A very strong gale wind.

Then brought Aubrey to the neighborhood grocery to buy bags of chips and candy.

Lost painting hours, but the diptych is enchanted anyway.

Lunch at home with Aubrey; Angelique in college.

A delivery arrived.

Worked half an hour on seventeenth layer.

Worked half an hour on sixteenth layer.

Tony Perez's Art of War: For a peaceful and serene hermit's life, make things exceedingly difficult for others to reach you after you retire.

Worked an hour on fifteenth layer.

The death penalty is a form of ancient, human sacrifice. It should have been phased out along with all primitive cultures after everyone else decided to sacrifice animals instead of humans.

And to think that there will come a time when animals won't be sacrificed at all.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are white parakeets that turn gold in the sunshine.

Visited M.'s cafe.

Seems like a dry night for a change.

Every time I look at the diptych I am working on with the lights out, I see strange patterns on both canvases. I still have to figure this out.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Angelique had dinner out after their last class was suspended due to her college's tribute to a deceased law professor.

Worked half an hour on fourteenth layer.

Angelique arrived from college.

Calling it a day for painting. Will commence fifteenth layer tomorrow.

Forty winks.

Then worked an hour on thirteenth layer.

Worked an hour on twelfth layer.

Angelique's delivery arrived.

Worked an hour on eleventh layer.

Stopped painting to wait for a delivery for Angelique, who is in college.

Worked an hour on tenth layer.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Seek popularity only if you have a very high tolerance for atchays. Keep reminding yourself, though, that in that kind of game, only the mediocre win.

Now resting while Aubrey's taking a late lunch in  the dining room.

Two cups very black coffee.

Sitting in the foyer and hoping that the flower man doesn't buzz by and foist his white flowers on me again.

Took an early lunch.

Then worked half a hour on ninth layer while Angelique took her lunch in the dining room.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Withhold your trust from everyone who remains Friends with former Friends you've unFriended or Blocked. They are essentially two-faced.

Worked an hour on eighth layer.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a fairies' water park.

Worked half an hour on seventh layer.

Calling it a day for painting. Will commence eighth layer tomorrow.

Worked half an hour on sixth layer.

Aubrey and R. arrived from their day out but are leaving again later to have dinner out.

Worked half an hour on fifth layer.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Worked half an hour on fourth layer.

Lunch at home with Angelique. She's leaving for college in a while and I'll be home alone again.

Taking a break from painting. In the meantime will go to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Worked half an hour on third layer.

Worked an hour on second layer.

Aubrey and R. are off to a day at a mall.

Happy 20th Birthday to my third granddaughter Aubrey Rose!

My baby! Grandpa loves you!

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are stainless steel kitchen racks hung with white mugs.

Angelique home with a take-out dinner. Granddaughters upstairs in their rooms and I in my ground-floor bedroom.

We are all set for the night.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Angelique at a study session in her favorite coffee shop.

It's Aubrey's 20th birthday tomorrow. I recall that, when I turned 20, I felt so important. Perhaps I was only too glad to not be a teenager anymore and finally be an adult.

Calling it a day for painting. Will commence second layer tomorrow.

Reading Agatha Christie's An Overdose of Death a.k.a. The Patriotic Murders. Looking forward to a cozy night with Hercule Poirot.

Worked half an hour on construction lines. Construction lines finished--after four days!

Worked another half hour on first layer.

Your compassion for and kindness to the Hungry Ghosts keep you from illness and extend your healthy life. We are all interconnected.

Hungry Ghost Month begins August 1.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center.

It was a drizzly afternoon.

Worked an hour on construction lines while Aubrey, and then Angelique and J., had lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

An early lunch alone. Grandchildren still resting upstairs.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a crossroads to invisible planets.

One of the atchays at the hawkers' centers slipped me a 20-cent Singapore coin to pass for a one-peso coin, not knowing that it actually costs PHP 7.452.

Worked half an hour on construction lines. Finished a section on left panel.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Angelique and J. at a debut party.

Brought a plate of food to the compound security guard.

Washed two brushes.

A wet night in Cubao.

Coffee, tea, and confections from Christine, who bought them for me at Hanoi and Ho Chih Minh. It was her Vietnam honeymoon, and I'm quite touched that she thought of me while she was there.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Angelique arrived from college.

Lunch at home with Aubrey. Angelique in college.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

A very special friend dropped by.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Woke up to a wet morning with distant thunder in Cubao.

Do you remember this:

After the healing session we walked through Cubao together, and I told you that City Hall is planning clean-environment and sidewalk rehabilitation projects. Seven of us then took a bus toward the north, where, in another city, we saw that the local government is infested with (metaphorical) zombies, and that it is fast becoming the most corrupt city in Luzon.

We stopped at a cemetery. A guide showed us how he channeled the spirits that resided there.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are hung with chandelier prisms.

Night classes

4:30 AM

Join me to perform group healing on someone.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Angelique, J., and Cath off to dinner out and a concert.

Worked another half hour on construction lines. Finished a second section on left panel.

Calling it a day for painting. Otherwise I'll sleep through the morning again.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Worked an hour on construction lines on both panels.

Worked an hour on construction lines on both panels.

A late lunch at home alone.

Worked an hour on construction lines. The section on the left panel is finished.

Aubrey and R. arrived from university.

Your dream journal should contain not only a record of your nocturnal dreams but also your wishes, plans, and fantasy projections. That is the only way it can truly be your dream diary.

Woke up 11:00 AM to discover that I am home alone. Angelique in college and Aubrey at university.

My elder sister Remi brought me a box of fresh cherries.

It is the person who does tedious chores obediently, regularly, humbly, and cheerfully whom the gods and the goddesses spare from illness and death, because, without him, the life of others cannot go on.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun hangs yellow paper cut-outs on garden walls.

Forty winks.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery.

Dinner at home with Aubrey.

Then worked an hour on construction lines. Finished half of a section on left panel and an entire section on right panel. Not bad for Day 1.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

My younger son Chito arrived and had lunch at John's. We finally covered his motorbike because it's been rainy.

Took an early lunch, then worked half an hour on construction lines while Angelique and Aubrey took their lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Worked an hour on construction lines. This diptych begins today, Thursday, July 25, 2019.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun brushes the sky a new layer of blue paint. 

Dinner alone in the dining room, then took the bubble wrap off two cradled canvases. Everyone thinks that bubble wrap is reusable for art, but it is not. It sucks in surface dust like a magnet. Even if you wipe it with a wet rag it will never be as clean as it was. The only reuse I can think for it is to wrap round furniture for transport.

Angelique, Aubrey, and R. are taking their dinner upstairs.

I spoke too soon. The framers delivered three cradled canvases despite the hour, the dark skies, and the drizzle.

Two 6.5' x 4' cradled canvases are now side by side, and a 5' x 5' cradled canvas is on the studio floor.

One-hour, late afternoon nap.

Hired M.'s crew to wrap Saint Joseph the Worker and stow it in the studio foyer. They know how to handle paintings and slither through the narrow spaces in the studio area without touching anything. Precious.

Prepped the easel to accommodate two new canvases side by side, but they have not been delivered yet.

Lunch at home with Angelique, Aubrey, and R.

Go to them whom the Orishas did not abandon. Only they can heal you.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a white, patchwork quilt.

The Orishas abandoned them because of their infidelity.

If you have to do it, don't forget to enjoy it.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

It is the idea of relinquishing total freedom and having to compromise that prevents a happy retiree from taking on a new relationship with anyone.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey out with former high school classmates.

Finished rereading The Chinese Nail Murders yesterday. Loved it, but was reminded, sadly, that Sergeant Hoong dies in this, one of the last Judge Dee novels.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Never accept someone who consults you and is consulting two or three other mages at the same time. He is just having fun at your expense.

Give him a very hard time.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is completely covered with blue topazes and white sapphires.

Studying C.'s odu tonight. Will scour it thoroughly.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Vernissage: Saint Joseph the Worker

Aubrey taking a late lunch in the dining room.

Angelique off to a study session at her favorite coffee shop.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey still resting upstairs.

When we say that the arrogance and pride of man destroyed Atlantis, what we mean is that man eventually turned against fellow man because of religious, political, and personal beliefs, and so they all preempted one another to death.

No matter how wayward your child is, you will always love him and take him with you to heaven, despite the protests of the angels and the saints.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Always remember life's favorite irony, that the person you demean today will be richer, more beautiful, more powerful, and more successful than you are very soon. As a matter of fact, sooner than you think.

The sun is out in Cubao.

Preparing to varnish _Saint Joseph the Worker_, hoping to commence after lunch.

Tony Perez's Art of War: The truth is, once you are made, no one and nothing can unmake you.

He will surpass and transcend all of his critics, who forget that Bruce Lee himself was motivated only by personal fame and stardom, not in the name of China, not in the name of Hong Kong, and not in the name of the U.S.A.--yet, after he died, all three nations adulated him.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Everything you think, say, and do against someone has an immediate consequence on you, but you are too blind to accept and believe it.

Motive and objective are always directly correlated, but the former is within and the latter is without.

Good morning, Cubao!

Salamanders ascend to the sun on golden escalators.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Cozy Sunday night.

Spending the night in bed, once again, with Judge Dee.

Never blame the misfortune that befalls you on other people or their spirit guides. Blame yourself, rather, for what you did long before it.

Tony Perez's Art of War: A mage always goes for the kill, but unseen by anyone.

He is Cain not because God and his kin discriminate against him, but because he chooses to give inferior offerings. Only when he gives the best of what he has can he empower himself, and no one else can do that for him.

Two-hour, early evening nap.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Paid our water bill.

Now that I am home, it is raining.

Wicked hearts are bleached in the brightness of the sun. They fester in rainy weather.

 A person who haggles too much never gets offered the best products.

Converse with forces of Nature. They readily respond.

If you are constantly in fear, at least learn how it can motivate you to be more creative and more productive.

Bless others, in order to be blessed.

Prolonged sadness will always constrict your throat.

Whenever you travel, always know and envision the end of the road. Otherwise you will continue traveling while hoping to find it.

It is the laid-back and serene relationship that always lasts.

During last night's class, a lot of people came for healing rather than learn about distance healing.

I thank the Spirit Questors for being there to assist.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are bowls of spicy vermicelli.

Night classes

4:30 AM

On distance healing

Quiet Saturday night in Cubao. Going to bed again later with Judge Dee.

Ambeth picked me up 2:00 PM and brought me to his condo unit in Makati, where I took photos of him for the third portrait in my series of portraits of writer-friends. I then chose and measured a wall that the painting would hang on, and we went to the framers' to order the cradled canvas.

Now back home.

J. arrived.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun strips naked and bathes in golden flames.

Feeling restless and antsy, like I always do on New Year's Eve.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

In bed with Judge Dee and The Chinese Nail Murders, and hoping to take another daytime nap.

We live in houses and in buildings that are not designed to merge with Nature, that is why we constantly have to repair them.

Took a late, heavy breakfast at M.'s cafe.

Saw Angelique off to college.

A one-hour, morning nap.

Now done having an early lunch.

A cup of very black coffee.

Scheduled to be picked up by a writer friend tomorrow, to check out the wall in his house where his portrait will eventually hang. I've been interspersing paintings for Maryhill School of Theology with portraits of writer friends. Will paint two, huge paintings next, after which my balance for MST will be 28.

Until I finish this project I will continue feeling like Elise, the protagonist in Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans". In that story, Elise's 12 brothers fall under a witch's curse and are transformed into wild swans. They return to their normal, human form only at night. The witch tells Elise that the only way to save her brothers is by weaving 12 jackets out of sea reeds and not speaking a word to anyone until the 12 jackets are done. In the end, Elise manages to weave the jackets except for the twelfth, which has one sleeve missing, so that her youngest brother's left arm remains the wing of a swan.

Maybe I'll do only 12 portraits of writer friends.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a gray, waterproof blanket.

I cannot save or heal someone who wished me ill in the past, and I believe that neither can other healers whom people wished ill of. Maybe that is why there are so many sick people in this world.

This is the season of nightmares and night terrors, as though the rain were driving them out of the darkest corners and out into the light, so keep a picture of Baku on your bedroom wall.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Our incandescent lamps are lit on this wet night in Cubao, and now I feel like curling up in a chair and taking yet another nap.

One-hour, early evening nap.

My body is making up for all those hours of painting.

A bag of chips and a can of unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. Such bliss to be doing nothing but hanging loose for a change. At least, for now.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique off to college.

The sun's been peeking through clouds once in a while. Even in the daytime the cicadas are singing at their loudest in the dragon tree.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Wet Thursday morning in Cubao. Watching lances of rain fall from the leaves of the trees onto the concrete driveway and wondering whether, by some astral phenomenon, they shoot up in the opposite side of the globe, which is Brazil.

Good morning, Cubao!

The rain comes and goes like women in bridal gowns with long trains sweeping the rooftops.

It's Wednesday night and the mid-week carousers are at M.'s cafe.

The neighborhood elfin mound is alive on this wet night in Cubao.

Dinner at home with Angelique and J. Aubrey and R. took their dinner upstairs.

Washed 21 brushes.

No more painting until I order two more canvases.

Nothing to do tonight but knock myself out with sangria.

Ten paintings for Maryhill School of Theology done!

Thirty more to go!

Saint Joseph the Worker

Oil on cradled canvas

4.5’ x 6’

July 6 – 17, 2019

Joseph and the boy Jesus are working through high noon. Joseph attempts to lift the plank of wood from Jesus’ shoulder, but Jesus embraces it. This painting was designed to hang inside the Dean’s office: Joseph is symbolic of the Dean who guides his students. Theological meaning may also be perceived in the banana trees, the banana tree being one of the Philippine trees of life, alongside the bamboo and the coconut.

The composition in this work was derived from ancient Egyptian wall paintings. As such, the figures of Joseph and Jesus may be considered allusions to Pharaoh and the boy Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, and to Pharaoh and the boy Moses.

This painting was executed in earth and flesh tones, and used six kinds of yellow: ochre, raw sienna, chrome, cadmium, jaune, and Naples.

The following was the auditory stimulus I used while working on this painting. The auditory stimuli I use for my paintings, however, have nothing to do with the paintings' subject matter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKe3fmUA67w

Worked half an hour on fifty-first glaze.

This painting is done.

Swung by John's townhouse and the neighborhood grocery store.

Worked half an hour on fiftieth glaze.

Worked an hour on forty-ninth glaze.

Two cups very black coffee while Aubrey and R. took a late lunch in the dining room.

Worked an hour on forty-eighth glaze.

Angelique off to the center.

Worked an hour on forty-seventh glaze.

Took an early lunch.

R. arrived.

Worked an hour on forty-sixth glaze while Angelique was having lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on forty-fifth glaze.

Worked an hour on forty-fourth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is hung with glass demijohns.

Aubrey back from the family dentist's.

Calling it a day for painting. Must wait for the last three glazes to dry. Will resume work tomorrow.

Lit one of Mike's incense cones on my writing desk on this drizzly Tuesday evening.

I searched high and low for a cone incense burner that would burn the entire cone, i.e. would not leave any unburnt residue at the bottom of the cone, only to learn that the best burners are the embossed, disc-shaped, tin plates that come with each pack.

Now the entire cone burns to ashes.

Worked half an hour on forty-third glaze.

Worked half an hour on forty-second glaze.

Worked an hour on forty-first glaze.

Aubrey taking a late lunch in the dining room.

Angelique off to college.

Aubrey off to the family dentist's in a while.

All of your loved ones are in your fantasy of heaven, where there is no restricted time, no death, no illness, no misfortune, and no ill will.

Worked an hour on fortieth glaze.

Spent the morning with my younger son Chito at the center.

Now back home.

Drizzly day in Cubao.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun hangs yellow banners round its mansions.

Thirty-nine glazes and counting on Saint Joseph the Worker--but I am FAR from done.

A power outage is scheduled in our neighborhood tonight, and I hope the power goes back on before sunrise, so that I can resume work on the painting again.

Saint Joseph the Worker
Oil on cradled canvas
4.5' x 6'
July 6 - , 2019

Took an early dinner.

Worked an hour on thirty-ninth glaze while Angelique and Aubrey had dinner in the dining roomomorrow.

Worked an hour on thirty-eighth glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-seventh glaze.

Home alone. Angelique off to buy an expensive textbook and have a study session at her favorite coffee shop and Aubrey at the family dentist's.

Worked an hour on thirty-sixth glaze.

Your Messenger message:

"Good afternoon, Sir Tony. I know that this year is dedicated to your writing and painting. But, I do not know who to ask for help other than you. Please know that I fully respect your painting year, and that if you happen to not respond to this message is totally understandable. Please excuse me for this unlikely behavior, sir. I really just want to ask for an advice.
"My father is currently performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia. I love my father so much that is why I am writing you this. What happened was, he had a co-participant who suffered diarrhea during this occasion. He did not know what to do since he didn't know what medicine he should buy in the pharmacy so he asked my mom (who is in the Philippines) what to get for him. So since my mom did not want to prescribe any medicine, she instead reached out to the organizer to look out for the said patient. They took this the wrong way and started harrassing my father for the reason that why he should be telling this to my mom when it is all part of the pilgrimage. "After that incident, he isn't treated right anymore. I have been sending a lot of prayers and positive thoughts since yesterday but I feel that I still need to do more to protect him from the bad energy that is surrounding him there. I hope you can read this message. "The first picture would be my father. The second one is the organizer. "Thank you very much, sir."

My reply:

Hello _________!

Very clearly a case of misunderstanding. Let it go, and let it pass. Time heals all between Muslim brothers. Females also tend to perceive rifts between men as worse than what they actually are. Your father will be fine and everything will turn out well.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Then worked an hour on thirty-fifth glaze.

Aubrey took a late lunch in the dining room while I was painting.

Worked half an hour on thirty-fourth glaze.

If a nation does not progress, it is because there are too many diverse leaders and commentators, each one of whom firmly believes that he is right and that everyone else is wrong.

Every population with a mindset of envy will always try to tear down others' good deeds.

I paint because my paintings heal others, though unbeknownst to themselves.

Whether they are your relatives or your friends, know which ones love you and which ones do not, and go only with the former.

Multitasking prevents you from enjoying life and relishing being alive. Don't take a snack and surf online and read and calculate your finances all at the same time, for example.

When you're taking a snack, take a snack ONLY, focus on how it looks like, how it tastes like, and how it feels.

Do the same for everything. Be a wondrous child all over again.

It is unhappiness that causes cancer.

Be happy against all odds. Take things in stride. Seek the joy in each moment.

Relax, for you are always loved.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is an upright Battleship game board.

From this afternoon's jalan-jalan:

Some of the many hand-painted flowers jutting out from the bases of lamp posts at Farmers Garden in Araneta Center.

Cubao is Quezon City's Greenwich Village.

Retirement is the time to stay home and make up for your absence from home over the past years, and one can only hope that one lives long enough to be able to make up for it.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked an hour on thirty-third glaze.

Washed nine brushes.

Calling it a day for painting. Will resume tomorrow.

Angelique back from her study session.

We are home on a cozy Sunday evening.

Worked an hour on thirty-second glaze.

Went jalan-jalan to do minor groceries. Briefly visited my Muslim friends, since I was in that part of the neighborhood anyway.

Worked half an hour on thirty-first glaze.

Wet afternoon in Cubao.

Worked two hours on thirtieth glaze while Aubrey took a late lunch in the dining room.

Now Angelique is off to a study session at her favorite coffee shop.

Never accept students who do not listen to you and instead listen only to themselves.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey still resting upstairs.

The sun incinerates people's wildest fears.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night.

Very tired, very sleepy, and ready to drop on my bed.

Back from a Spirit Quest in Mexico, Pampanga.

And of course I lost a painting day.

Worked an hour on twenty-ninth glaze.

Must stop painting for now and prepare for the arrival of two Spirit Questors.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a bright porch light left overnight through noon.

There is only one secret to writing and to painting, which is to keep on writing and to keep on painting whether others like your works or not.

Everyone has dreams. The only ones you are obliged to support are your family members'.

A bag of chips, a can of unsweetened pineapple juice, and an egg mayo sandwich at M.'s cafe.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Angelique and J. took an early dinner upstairs.

Washed eleven brushes.

Calling it a day for painting.

Worked half an hour on twenty-eighth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-seventh glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-sixth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-fifth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-fourth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-third glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked half an hour on twenty-second glaze.

Bought these medallions--Christian talismans?--not for myself but for my granddaughters.

Set aside our paraffin oil altar lamps and switched to electrified altar lamps. Hardly quasi-Renaissance, but these will do for now.

Love the pallor created by the fluorescent bulbs; the lighting reminds me of carrozas in procession. Apt for summer, and should switch to incandescent bulbs for the rainy season.

Worked an hour on twenty-first glaze.

Worked an hour on twentieth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun's rays are embroidered with gold thread on the blue damask of sky.

A BLTC submarine sandwich, a bag of chips, and a canned Pepsi at M.'s cafe.

Worked half an hour on nineteenth glaze.

Aubrey arrived from a day out with friends at university.

Washed six brushes.

Calling it a day for painting. Will resume tomorrow.

Worked an hour on eighteenth glaze.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Sent some food to the compound security guard.

M.'s cafe is bustling with customers again. A lot of singing on the videoke.

Worked half an hour on seventeenth glaze.

Worked an hour on sixteenth glaze.

Worked an hour on fifteenth glaze.

A delivery arrived today.

I foiled another atchay delivery system. Before agreeing to deliver anything, both the vendor and the delivery system INSISTED that they be given my cell phone number, despite the fact that I haven't been using a cell phone in about four years. What do they mean, that persons who don't use cell phones are not entitled to deliveries?

I gave a fictional cell phone number.

They delivered anyway--which proves that they ARE going to deliver, cell phone or no cell phone. For atchays, it's all about making money while putting up their pretentious rules, you see.

Alas, atchays will never be annihilated in this lifetime. You just have to learn how to turn the tables on them.

Worked an hour on fourteenth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey still resting upstairs.

It is the false illusion of stardom that makes people fear aging, changing, and living in poverty.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun wears necklaces of white lightning.

Ordered a BLTC submarine sandwich from M.'s cafe but had it in the kitchen. The cafe is full of neighbors from Theresa Towers. Eating, drinking, singing on the videoke.

The elfin mound is always bustling on Wednesday nights. People seem to like carousing in mid-week.

Worked an hour on thirteenth glaze.

Washed eight brushes.

Calling it a day for painting. Will resume tomorrow.

Worked an hour on twelfth glaze.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Worked half an hour on eleventh glaze.

The human brain is still way advanced of computers. While the brain is capable of conceiving ideas in twos or more such as "candy bar given by a friendly neighbor" and "crystal ball, mined in  Brazil, now my paperweight", when you enter the former in your search window all you will get are entries for "candy bar", and when you enter the latter in your search window all you will get are entries for "crystal ball".

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey having lunch out with friends.

Worked an hour on tenth glaze.

Worked an hour on ninth glaze.

Worked an hour on eighth glaze.

I write in silence, but I paint to music.

The real blessings come when you step away from the center and focus only on your family.

A cup of very black coffee.

Extremely enjoying my first cigarette of the day. All other cigarettes that follow are never as enjoyable.

Good morning, Cubao!

Sunbeams ride slides in their cosmic playground.

Writing gives me contentment, painting gives me joy, but only my family can give me happiness.

Calling it a day for painting.

Will resume tomorrow.

My younger son Chito dropped by before going to work.

An early dinner alone.

Then worked half an hour on seventh glaze while Angelique and Aubrey took their dinner in the dining room.

Aubrey going jalan-jalan at the center.

Worked half an hour on sixth glaze.

Worked an hour on fifth glaze.

Must stop and rest now. This glaze must dry completely.

Aubrey took a late lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on fourth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Worked an hour on third glaze.

Worked half an hour on second glaze.

Worked half an hour on first glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun plays a golden saxophone.

Why worry about the Mercury retrograde? All you have to do is wear silver jewelry.

I stroke my beard three times whenever I'm performing a magical spell.

Worked half an hour on tenth layer.

Dinner at home alone. Angelique and J. are having dinner out and watching a movie, and Aubrey is still resting upstairs.

Calling it a day for painting. Glazing will commence tomorrow.

Worked an hour on ninth layer.

Not every man has the quiet strength that makes a man a man.

Had a bag of chips, a shredded beef submarine sandwich, and a canned Pepsi at M.'s cafe.

Worked half an hour on eighth layer.