A normal day in everyone's life is usually a series of disappointments: bad news abound, you don't get what you want, things go wrong, something breaks, you lose something, you have a long wait for nothing, you need to make up for lost sleep, you go hungry or your food didn't taste good, someone criticizes or disagrees with you, your work remains unappreciated, you must contend with pain or discomfort, and people don't speak and behave as you wish they would. Negativity is normal, yet, you are called upon to transcend all of it and strive to make the world a happy one not only for yourself but for others as well.

Saw Aubrey off to university.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

The September leaf falls off  my planner.

Your Messenger message:

"Dear sir Tony, Good morning I hope this is not a bother to you... I often have dreams at night but there was one dream some nights ago that I feel means something. My father died many years ago. In my dream we were together at home, it was a happy moment and there were other people. He handed me a small present. I remember I was surprised, then I opened it with anticipation. Inside was a wristwatch, a gray one. I felt very happy, I thanked him. He was smiling...

"Thank you for reading, thank you in advance for your reply. I am always sending you good thoughts, sir Salamat po"


My reply:

Hello ________!

I also have dreams in which specific objects are shown or given me. They actually do come my way in real life--they are either presented to me by other persons or I come upon them when I am window-shopping.

The gift of a watch usually conveys a reward for work well done over many years, and your father is pleased with your being a good mother to your son. If your father passed away before your son was born, then he probably reincarnated as your son and is thanking you now for opening up a whole world of possibilities for him that he never had in his previous lifetime.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is an army bearing lances of fire.

Your Messenger message:

"Sir. May I ask kung ano ang ibig sabihin kapag nakakita ako ng patay na pusa for two times. Happens at the same place. 1st, inside the floor of my boarding house and 2nd outside the borading house. nasagasaan ata.

"*boarding

"what does it mean?"


My reply:


Hello _____________!

Do not try to attach meaning in everything you see; there is always such a thing as coincidence.

Usually, when an astral cloud charged with negative energy passes through space, it affects the minds of the people who frequent that place for some time. Note that when such clouds pass by, there will be multiple incidents of rape, theft, murder, immorality, or the like, and news headlines will be dominated by those specific incidents.

It has nothing to do with you but everything to do with the people who are influenced by the cloud.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Asked Michael to send over some food to M.'s cafe staff.

One-hour, early evening nap.

Angelique and J. arrived while I was out.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center with Chito. We sent some money to Chevy and Vinci, had an Italian snack, then went to the neighborhood grocery.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Give your enemy lots of rope. He will need all of it to hang himself.

_Five Physical Senses (Septuple Portrait of Ambeth Ocampo)_

Five Physical Senses (Septuple Portrait of Ambeth Ocampo)
Oil on cradled canvas
5' x 5'
September 11 - 30, 2019

Lunch at home with Aubrey.

Worked an hour on forty-fifth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a glass cloche over continents of blue cheese.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. The place was full, mostly with compound tenants, but I managed to squeeze in. Ronel arrived from Zambales to pitch in as a waiter.

A finger measure of sangria.

I feel cozy and safe when the cafe is bustling with patrons at the south end of our house and the compound security guard is stationed for the night at our east end.

Dinner at home with Aubrey.

Asked Michael to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Look, Dick, look.

Taking a break from Agatha Christie and retrieved Volume 1 of The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm to start rereading in bed tonight.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Had money changed. Bought that extension cord, two chandelier bulbs, and two detail brushes for oil painting. Saw three things I want to come back for and buy. A banana split before walking home.

It was a windy afternoon in Cubao. The wind was strong enough to blow my cap off. Some other thing was strange, though. People, complete strangers, were oversolicitous toward me today. On my way out a mall, a young woman exited, saw me about to exit, and ran back to hold the glass door open for me. After serving me my banana split at the window, the DQ sales person ran out and escorted me to find an outdoor table and seat. The place was full, and I chose a table and seat out in the mellow sunshine. Then two women at the table beside me insisted that I sit with them at their table and eat my banana split in the shade. What was it about me today? The Tomas Nazaire medallion? The AGLA medallion? The stainless steel facsimile of Ferdinand Marcos's talisman? Elizabeth Taylor's Passion? The bright aura I exude whenever I am about to finish a painting?

Work in progress:

Five Physical Senses (Septuple Portrait of Ambeth Ocampo)
Oil on cradled canvas
5' x 5'
September 11, 2019 -

Worked half an hour on forty-fourth glaze.

Aubrey taking a late lunch in the dining room.

Must go jalan-jalan in a few to buy a new extension cord and chandelier bulbs.

Chito dropped by from work to have lunch, then proceeded home to Mandaluyong.

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

An early lunch alone. Now waiting for Chito to come and have lunch here.

Posted this September 29, 2018: It is difficult and very complicated to pay back a debt to someone who has died, but YOU HAVE TO DO IT.

Adding this today: Because dead persons who've left their lifetime with debts to you WILL CERTAINLY PAY THEIR DEBTS TO YOU.

Worked half an hour on forty-second glaze.

It is the mediocre artist who struggles to keep his head above the water all his life.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun makes his bed in preparation for the season of long nights.

Finished rereading Death In The Air, which might as well not have been a reread because I'd forgotten who the murderer was.

Back to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Worked half an hour on forty-first glaze.

One-hour, early evening nap.

When you give others advice that will heal them and extend their life expectancy but they defy that advice, you have no choice but to perceive them as suicidal.

Worked an hour on fortieth glaze while Aubrey took a late lunch in the dining room.

Worked an hour on thirty-ninth glaze.

Computers will always remain as narrow-minded as fundamentalists because, no matter how frequently you've been using proper nouns and coined words they will still come up as misspelled.

Lunch at home alone; Aubrey doing her school work upstairs.

Then Chito dropped by from work and had lunch before going home to Mandaluyong.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sunbeams descend to earth in golden hammocks.

Night classes

4:30 AM

Visiting the Pillars of Creation

I love living a wild and dangerous life, but I would never recommend it to conservative people.

Cubao Cockail: a finger measure of brandy mixed with soda. Feeling woozy.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Retire and rest while everyone gets stressed and falls ill.

Worked half an hour on thirty-eighth glaze.

And now to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Dinner at home with Aubrey.

Worked half an hour on thirty-seventh glaze.

Angelique and J. now taking a late dinner. They are leaving for the airport in a while for a brief vacation in Taiwan.

Worked half an hour on thirty-sixth glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-fifth glaze.

Worked half an hour on thirty-fourth glaze.

Jalan-jalan to the Sitio Catacutan hardware store. Briefly stranded in a rainfall--I had no choice but to go shopping nearby while waiting for the rain to stop.

Angelique off to college.

Worked half an hour on thirty-third glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-second glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey at university.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds lower a thousand earphones for us to hear the music of the rain.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

And now back to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Angelique arrived from university.

Worked an hour on thirty-second glaze while Angelique had dinner in the dining room.

Dinner at home alone.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Waiting for Angelique to arrive from college.

Tomorrow is Friday again and will be Day 16 of work on the portrait I am currently painting.

Worked half an hour on thirty-first glaze.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Allow your enemies to believe that you have nothing else to do with your time but be on social media. Simultaneously, keep working on your next masterpiece--then Post it everywhere as soon as you are done.

What you take from others, the gods and goddesses will take from you in other ways.

Afternoon snack with Angelique.

Worked half an hour on thirtieth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-ninth glaze.

Tony Perez's  Art of War: Make a list of everyone who deserts you. The next time they need something from you, shut the door hard on them.

Worked an hour on twenty-eighth glaze.

Chito visited from work on his way home to Mandaluyong.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey at university.

Good  morning, Cubao!

The sun wears three strands of white pearls.

The night sings. The night is a song. Listen to it with the choruses of cicadas in the background.

The night paints with lights and shadows. The sky is a palette of purple clouds and silver stars and the zinc white of the moon. Below, the darkness is washed by neons and halogens and mercury bulbs in the streets. The warmest colors are from bedroom windows and the pastel curtains they shine through.

And I--I am a shadow in a window, watching men and women trudging home from work to be with their loved ones, to call it a day, to snuggle in bed oblivious to the music and to the visual art of the night.

Remembering Edgar S.

One of the things I appreciated most before I retired was meeting American officers who, like me, used fountain pens and loved doing so. There was, of course, Diana Negroponte, who favored black ink, and there was Ron Post, a former PAO, who owned a fabulous Montblanc set. And then there was Edgar S., whom I often saw and conversed with in the old smoking gazebo. Edgar was the only person I knew who owned an expensive, portable ink carrier. He was into Noodler's Ink, specifically Legal Lapis.

One day Edgar hobbled into the smoking gazebo with a bandaged foot. I asked him what'd happened, and he said that his toe had to be surgically removed. He woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain and had to be brought to hospital. He was diabetic.

That was the last time I saw Edgar. The American Services Branch later informed me that he'd passed away, which, I felt, was too sudden, but they refused to give me details despite my insistence that he was my friend. They notified his family, and his teenage son arrived from the U.S. to pick up his belongings and accompany his cadaver home.

I actually suspected that Edgar took his own life because of the grim prospect of losing his limbs a little at a time. I know many Americans who are like that; they would rather give up the ghost than live a life of debilitation and be a potential burden to themselves and to their loved ones.

I hope I was wrong, but now I shall never know.

Neil's birthday party is ongoing at M.'s cafe. He was 17 when he first worked at the cafe. He is now  21, is renting a room on the compound, and has a gainful job elsewhere.

All of M.'s cousins and nephews celebrate their birthdays at the cafe. They are quite clannish, everyone is always in attendance.

I sent some fried chicken over for the staff.

They are now all singing and carousing.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Dinner at home alone.

Waiting for Angelique to arrive from college.

Worked an hour on twenty-seventh glaze.

My sister Remi sent us snacks this afternoon.

Worked an hour on twenty-sixth glaze.

The goddess of the storm is my mother.

She lives in marketplaces and in cemeteries.

Angelique off to college.

Worked an hour on twenty-fifth glaze.

You may or may not believe in Nature's seasons but, whether you do or not, they will come and go anyway.

I advised you not to celebrate Christmas before All Souls Day, otherwise birth will be followed by death.

Worked an hour on twenty-fourth glaze.

Wrong: Sorry, I just saw this.

Right: Sorry, I've just seen this.

Right: Sorry, I saw this only now.

Worked an hour on twenty-third glaze while Angelique took a late lunch in the dining room.

Lunch at home alone.

Chito visited.

Be wary that what you believe is "love" may merely be:

--lust
--a passionate fling
--a flirtatious game
--a consequence of boredom
--a social trophy
--a dramatization of your fantasy
--an act of revenge on a particular gender

A person who loves you will care only for your happiness, even if that happiness is a state of existence without him.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky fairies hang blue and white banners above the clouds.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

Now back to bed with Hercule Poirot.

We step out of this lifetime so that others may step in.

Worked an hour on twenty-second glaze.

Worked an hour on twenty-first glaze.

Angelique off to college for her last midterm exam this semester.

Worked an hour on twentieth glaze.

Rain.

You know you are truly in love someone if you believe that no one else in this world, dead or alive, can ever match up to him.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

In magic, never settle for anything halfway. Always go for the best.

Two cups very black coffee.

Worked an hour on nineteenth glaze.

Good morning,Cubao!

The sky fairies turn on the cove lights in the clouds.

Dinner at home with Angelique, Aubrey, and J.

Sent some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Worked an hour on eighteenth glaze.

Read more pages from Death In The Air in bed.

Two-hour, afternoon nap.

J. arrived.

Aubrey arrived from university.

A brief cloudburst.

Wondering whether the water tank overflowed and the house elves woke me up or whether the rainfall woke me up.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Worked an hour and a half on seventeenth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is azure in the north, cobalt in the south, turquoise in the east, and cerulean in the west.

There is only one thing you need to know, which is that, in order to successfully benefit from whatever help I extend to you, you must first and foremost allow me to love you in whichever way I see fit.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

And so to bed.

Worked half an hour on sixteenth glaze.

Calling it a day for painting. Must wait for this glaze to dry.

Retrieved Death in the Air to reread in bed later.

Angelique and Aubrey arrived from their study session.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked half an hour on fifteenth glaze.

Worked an hour on fourteenth glaze.

Home alone.

Worked an hour on thirteenth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey still resting upstairs.

The granddaughters are having a study session at one of their favorite coffee shops later.

The sun shines through a thousand frosted gels.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

A long time ago I used to collect all sorts of grimoires and books on magic. Among them was a complete collection of Anton LaVey (Church of Satan) books, including a CD of a so-called Black Mass. I thought of donating this particular collection to the library of Maryhill School of Theology for a reference shelf but am afraid they won't accept it--not to mention that I don't wish to be remembered for it. (Can you imagine a Tony Perez shelf containing such volumes?)

Does anyone want this collection to keep and not to burn?

Finished reading Sad Cypress. A good read with a clever plot, but, again, a melodramatic ending.

Angelique and J. arrived from college. They bought a take-home pizza dinner and decided not to go to the party after all.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

Sangria night.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. My sister Remi sent some food over from the send-off party for my nephew's son, who is flying to Oregon for his college years. Aubrey and I stayed home; I was painting and didn't feel like getting dressed. Angelique and J. are going to the party from Angelique's fourth midterm exam.

There was a sound check for live music this afternoon. Between the party music on the north end of the compound and M.'s cafe music on the south end, the place is hopping like a merry Christmas Eve on a September Saturday night.

Worked an hour on twelfth glaze.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Bought a big tube of oil paint, paid our water bill, changed dollars to pesos for my granddaughters' weekly allowance, and had lunch with a facebook Friend who requested me to work on a private case for him.

He who works quietly and behind closed doors will always emerge the victor, and even the party-goers and the carnival revelers will fall silent and look on with awe.

Always greet the morning sun.

I stopped buying books at the age of 50, consequently became richer, and became no less wiser than I would have been had I continued buying books. I realized that being a slave to books was like being a slave to credit cards.

At the same age of 50 I also started giving away cartons of books that I read only once in my life and never felt like reading again.

I now prefer diamonds to books.

Be very skeptical about everything that "scientists" warn you about online. They are either experiments in controlling what people do or black propaganda generated by the makers of rival products.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a white, porcelain tea service.

Bedtime snack in the kitchen.

Wondering if I can paint tomorrow. Must go jalan-jalan at 11:30 AM.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Rainy night. Turned on the incandescent lamps.

Dinner at home alone. Brought some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Waiting for my granddaughters to arrive. Angelique is going to a study session and dinner out, and a classmate is sleeping over tonight.

One-hour, early evening nap.

Angelique off to her fourth day of midterms.

Worked half an hour on eleventh glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Worked an hour on tenth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are shores of fine, white sand.

Angelique arrived home from her third day of midterms and a study session and dinner out. Keiko Kashigawa waits patiently and quietly for her the whole day, and then starts barking happily when she arrives.

Didn't snack at M.'s cafe tonight. Too many customers near my favorite seat. Snacked, instead, in the kitchen, then had a Cubao cocktail--a finger measure of brandy mixed with sangria. It not only makes me sleep well, it cleanses me the following morning.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Worked half an hour on ninth glaze.

Dinner at home alone.

Brought some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Waiting for the granddaughters to come home.

Sunny days and rainy nights in Cubao.

Worked an hour on eighth glaze.

Worked an hour on seventh glaze.

Worked half an hour on sixth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey at university.

The sun is an orange sea of fire.

Good noon, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night.

Birthday party ongoing at M.'s cafe. I'm sure it will go on through 2:00 AM. Ordered tapsilog and unsweetened pineapple juice and had it brought into the dining room.

A finger measure of brandy. Feeling woozy now.

Started rereading Sad Cypress earlier this evening. I recall that my younger sister Sylvia sent us the DVD and that I watched it a year or two ago. As for the reread, the first few pages are devoted to stilted exposition--a young woman and her boyfriend are reviewing information pertinent to their current situation in a conversation that shouldn't really happen because they already know everything they are revealing to each other. Written simply for apprising the readers of relationships.

Angelique came home from dinner out and a study session. Now I can feel even woozier and drop on my bed.

It's midnight.

Dinner at home alone. Angelique having dinner out and studying in a coffee shop after her midterm exam. Aubrey passed on dinner after the heavy snack we had this afternoon.

Chito attended Toto's birthday celebration in the neighborhood and is now on his way home.

Brought some food to M.'s cafe staff.

Rainy evening in Cubao.

Worked half an hour on fifth glaze.

Bought snacks at the Sitio Catacutan hawkers' stands. Aubrey and I had them in the dining room.

Waiting for my fourth glaze to dry, and so it's back in bed with Hercule Poirot.

If a fly--or more than one fly--pesters you, someone is livid with envy over you.

If you break something--such as a glass, a vase, or a bowl--someone wishes you ill and the broken item saved you.

If you have a day of harmless little accidents--such as being absent-minded, almost tripping, bumping into furniture, dropping keys or coins--someone you are not aware of is madly in love with you.

Worked an hour on fourth glaze.

Angelique off to her second day of midterms.

Aubrey arrived from her sleepover.

A brief cloudburst over Cubao.

Retrieved Sad Cypress to reread in bed later.

Do not take risks between now and through the rest of the last quarter of the year. It will be a long season of karma and recompense, and you will be only too glad when 2019 is finally over.

Stay safe. Do not launch new business enterprises. Do not sign binding contracts. Do not have flings. Do not flirt. Do not plunge into relationships. Do not go over the edge or even near it. Hold on to your money. Avoid public appearances. Everything will be the opposite of what it seems.

Worked half an hour on third glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Worked an hour on second glaze.

In magic there are only two genders, because all magic follows Natural Law.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a golden ferris wheel.

Finished reading Towards Zero. I remember that boat scene toward the end. A good read, but the last two pages were mawkish melodrama.

Must retrieve another book to read in bed tomorrow.

A spicy beef vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

Now to bed with Inspector Battle. 

As a writer and a painter I am neither a group joiner nor a social animal. I like working alone and just Posting my works in cyberspace. I also like it when other writers and other painters don't know me and never met me--strangely, it somehow makes me feel very important that way.

"To bedtime-snack, or not to bedtime-snack, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the belly to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous hunger,

Or to take cutlery against a table of snacks

And by opposing consume them."

I know of five kinds of indie movie makers:

--Those who have production and post-production money and have talent

--Those who have production and post-production money but have no talent

--Those who don't have production and post-production money but have talent

--Those who don't have production and post-production money and also have no talent

--Those who keep discussing their indie movie concepts and as-yet-unwritten scripts with their friends but never get going on anything, money or no money.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Evening drizzle in  Cubao.

Read more pages from _Towards Zero_ in bed. It's getting harder to put down.

Aubrey going to a sleepover at a classmate's to work on term papers.

Worked half an hour on first glaze.

Michael and Jerome rotated the canvas on the easel again.

Worked a quarter of an hour on fourteenth layer, then asked Michael to help me rotate the canvas on the easel.

Went with Angelique and Aubrey to the neighborhood grocery.

Washed 13 brushes and one palette knife preparatory to glazing.

The spirit guides will give you only what is enough and what is sufficient for your needs, NEVER MORE.

I am not distressed whenever young people--and adults as well--are glued to their gadgets in my presence. Others perceive this obsession with gadgets as rude, as an act of isolation, as a breach in communication, and as moral deterioration.

I wish that everyone else could correctly discern changes in social behavior over time.

When people are glued to their gadgets, it is because they have developed DOUBLE PRESENCE, a phenomenon of the 21st century. They may seem engrossed in their electronics BUT THEY ARE EQUALLY PRESENT AND AVAILABLE TO YOU AT THE SAME TIME. It is the same double presence that psychics have always been employing.

Yes, our powers of observation are evolving and improving, and you should recognize and accept it.

Two cups very black coffee.

Classes in Manila suspended today.

Alkaline water delivery.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

The sun is The Emperor's golden palace in the sky.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night and could have gone on sleeping. It was as though the dawn air contained a powerful soporific.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

At my writing desk, a finger measure of sangria on the rocks. Feeling woozy.

Ready to hit the sack.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Brought some food to M.'s cafe staff.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Worked an hour on thirteenth layer.

Still reading Towards Zero, and am halfway through. When I came to the elevator scene I suddenly remembered that my younger sister Sylvia sent me a DVD of the novel and that I watched it--but I can't remember anything else except for that elevator scene.

Two-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique off to her midterm exams.

One-hour, morning nap.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Bruce Lee: "Be water, my friend."

Flood victim: "Be my friend, water."

Worked half an hour on twelfth layer.

Breakfast.

Saw Aubrey off to university. I hope there are no floodwaters where she's going.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds set off a hundred water sprinklers on their white ceilings.

Happy 41st birthday to my younger son, Chito!

Still reading Towards Zero. I finally got hooked on page 42. It's an atypical Agatha Christie because: 1) it doesn't have Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple, or Tommy and Tuppence--it has, instead, Inspector Battle; 2) it has several plots that intertwine and eventually merge; 3) it is written in the style of Mary Westmacott's romances. Very few people realize that Agatha Christie's main influence is Anton Chekov--both his stories and his plays--in terms of structure, dramatic action and non-action, and psychology. Reading Towards Zero, to me, is as enjoyable as reading a four-act play by Anton Chekov.  

Tony Perez's Art of War: Take on a normal job that will give you good annuity after you retire. Do not announce it.

What you should announce are all the workshops you've been conducting.

All of your enemies will follow suit and conduct workshops on their own, believing that workshops will sustain them.

After they retire they won't know what hit them and how they can continue trying to make money.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Announce to everyone that you wish to attend the carnival in  Rio de Janeiro and your enemies will spend their dollars to go there.

Announce to everyone that you wish to attend the carnival in New Orleans and your enemies will spend their dollars to go there.

In the meantime stay home, create your next six masterpieces, save your dollars, and be wealthy.

Sometimes, rather than worn, a talisman is best used as a key chain.

Worked half an hour on eleventh layer.

Looked at myself in the mirror while taking my evening shower. The strangest thing I saw is that I look neither like my two grandfathers nor my two grandmothers, and neither like my father nor my mother in their old age.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Then Angelique arrived from her study session.

Sunday night. Aubrey steam-ironing her school uniforms.

Night rain falling on Cubao. Got home just in time.

Last December I purchased a gingerbread house and a gingerbread castle that both light up from Farmers Garden, which has all sorts of kitsch for sale including pink flamingos. I actually wanted them not for Christmas but for Halloween. I thought of attaching candy bars round them and then having the compound children pluck them off on the eve of All Saints. If I can take time off from painting. We'll see.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Changed dollars to pesos for my granddaughters' weekly allowance, then bought two dozen Krispy Kreme originals.

It was nice taking a walk through the center like this again. I felt like I was a ghost cloaked in dusk, and that no one could see me. It's one of the few evenings when I can still enjoy the district looking normal after dark. When October comes everything will be bedecked with festive lights again.

Chito visited from work. Took an early dinner before proceeding home.

Worked an hour on tenth layer.

Took an early lunch alone. Angelique invited to lunch at J.'s house and is having a study session in one of her favorite coffee shops after.

Worked an hour on ninth layer.

Aubrey now taking a very late lunch in the dining room.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Do not waste your time teaching magic to someone who doesn't want to learn it.

Do not covet everything beautiful that you see, for things, like persons, are highly selective of whom they should belong to.

The corner tables and chairs in a cafe are always the most magical.

The center of a slice of agate is a door. Gently knock or tap on it three times before stating a specific wish.

If your night chores take longer than your morning chores, it is because you are not doing them in the proper sequence.

Study not just archetypes but archetypal relationships.

A strong man is like a placid lake, and his strength lies in stillness.

The man who transcends his troubles is always the true winner.

Do not push others to low-esteem and self-depreciation. Help them figure out how to improve their lives, but remain detached and do not be overly proactive.

Fabric flowers are washable and are all right for everyday decor. Some of them are as expensive as or even more expensive than real flowers.

Switch to real flowers on special occasions. 

Engineer things so that no unexpected friends come knocking on your door. Once you succeed, you will have true peace and quiet.

Blessed is the person who can choose exactly what should keep him busy.

Aging women will always wear chunky jewelry that, no matter how authentic they are, will always come across as fancy junk.

Wet, gloomy day in Cubao, and I have to go jalan-jalan later.

Good noon, Cubao!

Slept eleven hours last night.

Everyone had a staggered dinner tonight due to all the things that everyone was doing and had to finish up with.

A wicked sisig (never again) and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. Didn't stay long because a drinking party was ongoing--and still is--at the long table.

In the writing area, one of my Cubao Cocktails--this one a finger measure of brandy and sangria. Now feeling woozy.

Hope I sleep like a log tonight.

Angelique arrived home from the coffee shop just before the evening rain fell on Cubao.

Worked an hour on eighth layer.

One-hour, late afternoon nap.

Chito visited. His current schedule is 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and I have him take his early dinner here at 4:00 PM before he proceeds home. His schedule will change once again on Wednesday.

Worked an hour on seventh layer.

Back from jalan-jalan. Angelique and I bought a steam iron, then I dropped off Angelique at one of her favorite coffee shops for a long study session before proceeding home. Aubrey taking a late lunch in the dining room.

A soft drizzle on Cubao.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey working on her term papers upstairs.

Worked an hour on sixth layer.

A relatively heavy breakfast: dirty rice with toasted garlic, pork knuckles in black vinegar, an onion omelette, two kinds of native sausage, iced soda, and two cups of very black coffee.

And then I might go back to sleep again.

The last dream I had before I finally woke up was of Darwin Ramos, the Filipino boy nominated for sainthood. He asked me to do a painting of him. I saw him dressed in colors I would not have chosen to clothe him in.

I wonder if that painting would be accepted at Maryhill School of Theology.

I am willing to heal and help only persons in my facebook Friends List, not strangers who e-mail or Message me for healing or ask for help out of the blue.

The full moon did not spare the werewolf despite his desire to sleep. I had many astral visitors from different countries last night. I might as well have announced night classes. The main topic of discussion was how fever occurs on different levels, and how a person in fever can be quickly healed with proper care.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun sits on the tin rooftops of early-morning hawkers' stands.

In all, a productive week. Almost done with layers for the portrait I'm working on. I should be glazing next week.

A shredded beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. Didn't watch a movie in the cafe tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

In bed earlier than usual.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out. Now I can lock up for the night.

Dinner at home with Angelique and J.

Waiting for Aubrey, who is having difficulty getting home because the trains temporarily went out of commission.

A good deed may be passed on, but a bad deed must be made up to the aggrieved person rather than to someone else.

Chito visited.

The neighborhood is talking about an earthquake that allegedly occurred this afternoon, but I didn't feel a thing. We also have lots of things suspended from our ceilings--chandeliers, lanterns, glass planters, Moriones masks, necklaces, and bells (and the bells would surely toll)--and none of them moved.

Perhaps it pays to have one of the 36 Wands and a taladro of A.T.A.R.D.A.R. hanging on one's wall.

Worked an hour on fifth layer.

Okay, that does it. I used to buy different varieties of mooncake and all of my family members would take but a sliver or a bite, and the rest of the week I'd be the only one consuming the rest of them. IT'S BEEN TOO LONG AND IT'S BEEN TOO MANY YEARS LIKE THIS.

From now on will buy round cakes, most probably blueberry cheesecakes, and we'll celebrate with those. It's the sacred, geometrical symbol of the circle that counts, anyway.

And then there even are Oreos, Reese's peanut butter cups, cupcakes, M & Ms, and doughnuts without holes.

And those will ALL disappear before the Mid-Autumn Festival is over.

Angelique off to a study session at one of her favorite coffee shops.I also asked her to buy replacements for the pen case and pens that one of her law school mates stole from her. So disconcerting that, as early as law school, our future lawyers are already thieves.

The clouds are white, Escher staircases.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

It was a wet day all day in Cubao. The rains stopped on or about 5:00 PM, when my son Chito arrived. 

Angelique arrived from college. Ordered a pork chop, tomato, and rice dish from M.'s cafe. Sat with her while she had her dinner in the dining room.

Aubrey and R. arrived from university and dinner out.

A shredded beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. Dark Phoenix played and I stayed to watch all of it. Alas, if that is a sample of twenty-first century movie-making, I am happy to stay away from all of it. The scenes were disjointed, the casting seemed B-grade, the location choices were unimaginative, and the performances were mediocre. No Bel Ami models, which was the saving grace of previous episodes. Everyone in this movie strutted across the screen announcing, "Yoo-hoo! I'm an X-Man! Watch me depict my character!" Worst of all was the horrible script and decadent dialogue, which, I observe, is often the disaster that results when a director decides to write his own screenplay. The whole story seems to have been written backwards, from the climax backtracking to the very beginning--a surefire process by which the writer flounders for the most appropriate point of attack.

Now back inside my bedroom with _Towards Zero_ which I am actually reading rather than rereading. I recall that, years ago, I made it only through the first five pages and then abandoned it, deciding that it was uninteresting. Now that I've retired, I'm giving its author a second chance. 

Angelique off to college.

Chito visited.

Worked an hour on fourth layer.

Lunch alone. Then worked an hour on third layer while Angelique took her lunch in the dining room. Aubrey at university.

The Hermit comes and goes. That is his nature.

Wet day in Cubao. Woke up three times this morning but kept going back to sleep for hours more.

Good morning, Cubao!

The rain is a parade of silver carriages bedecked with crystal prisms.

A sliced pork and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

Now to bed with Hercule Poirot.

I see them die for what they believed in. Then I hear their enemies say, "Good riddance".

And life goes on.

Finished rereading Poirot Loses a Client. Retrieved Towards Zero for rereading tonight.

Angelique and J. arrived from college.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Dinner at home with Angelique and J.

Calling it a day for painting. Will resume tomorrow.

Worked an hour on second layer.

Worked half an hour on first layer.

Chito visited to give his motorbike a check-up.

So hilarious that people keep announcing goodbye to everyone, intending to leave facebook forever. They might as well say goodbye only to themselves and their personal records, period. They needn't bother to say goodbye to anyone because 9/10 people really don't care. They care only about maintaining their own accounts.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Lunch at home alone.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

This portrait begins today, September 11, 2019.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun rests at a window and looks into an artist's studio.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

Ready to snuggle up in bed with Hercule Poirot.

If you can't buy mooncakes especially because no one in the family likes them, buy any round cake of their choice instead.

This day is over so soon. My brief respite from painting is done.

Will commence construction lines on the new portrait tomorrow.

No spontaneous and unscheduled visitors will be admitted.

Angelique arrived from college and ordered dinner from outside.

Aubrey arrived from university.

Dinner at home with Aubrey.

Brought some food to M.'s cafe staff.

http://www.chineseamericanfamily.com/mid-autumn-festival/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mid-autumn-festival&mc_cid=cde270e54e&mc_eid=b29e5b905b

Reread more pages from _Poirot Loses a Client_.

A two-hour, afternoon nap.

Lunch at home with Angelique, then went to the center for a coffee meeting with a facebook Friend I'd never met before. Signed one of my books for him. Also gave him a set of paperbacks I no longer want and am sure my grandchildren will never want.

Angelique now off to college.

Home alone.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a cluster of rocks upon which the rain flows in rivulets.

Installation Of Four Paintings At Maryhill School Of Theology (September 9, 2019)

An early lunch with V. Now waiting to be picked up and proceed to Maryhill School of Theology.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun shines on all bridges between worlds.

A spicy beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. Didn't linger. The place was too full for my comfort.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Brought some food to M.'s cafe staff.

The granddaughters are now in their rooms upstairs.

Sunday is over.

After a hot shower, will cuddle up in bed with Hercule Poirot.

Finished rereading What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw. Retrieved Poirot Loses A Client to start rereading before painting again.

Aubrey back home from a late lunch and dinner out with R. and his family and a purchase of shoes for school.

Aubrey joined R. and family for a late lunch and dinner.

Angelique and J. walked Keiko Kashigawa on the compound and then took a late lunch in the dining room.

Ben  arrived. Three-hour, deep tissue massage.

A brief drizzle in Cubao.

An early lunch alone, then put together an emergency retouch kit to bring to Maryhill School of Theology tomorrow for the installation of four paintings.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun will send you a bouquet of yellow flowers.

Angelique and J. arrived home from college and dinner out.

Locked up for the night and will probably have a small snack in the kitchen. I don't want to go to M.'s cafe with carousers there.

Aubrey back home from the family dentist's.

Dinner at home alone. Brought some food to M.'s cafe staff.

The neighborhood elfin mound is alive with carousers on a Saturday night.

Corrections to the Taladro Ng A.T.A.R.D.A.R.

In the taladro of the A.T.A.R.D.A.R., the word "PRINCIONUM" should be corrected to "PRINCIPIUM".

The phrase "PROCTUCTUM REDEUS" should be corrected to "PRODUCTUM DE DEUS", though an awkward combination of Latin and Spanish.

The phrase "CREUM DUM DEUM" should be corrected to "CREDO IN UNUM DEUM".

Remember that oraciones were copied by hand from albularyo to albularyo, often furtively and in haste, or, worse, they were dictated, and that such typos were frequently committed.

Back home from photo shoot of a female writer for yet another portrait in my series of portraits of contemporary Filipino writers.

Chandra, Hindu goddess of the moon

Angelique and J. off to college.

Lunch at home with Aubrey.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun sits on window sills and plays a golden guitar.

Beauty has become important because we constantly condition ourselves that it is so. We therefore seek it out in ourselves, in our fellow human beings, in the world, and in Nature

Life is not short, it is long. It only seems short whenever we rush and make mistakes.

Never fear the night, for it gives you peace of mind more than the day does.

Angelique and J. arrived from the coffee shop and dinner out.

Had a sliced pork sandwich and pineapple juice at M.'s cafe.

A finger of rum on the rocks. Feeling woozy again, but not too woozy to reread more pages from What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw in bed.

Bought some stuff at D.'s store.

Evening chores.

Dinner at home alone.

Brought some food to M.'s cafe staff.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Be polite to those who are polite. Be rude to those who are rude.

Angelique took her lunch in the dining room, then went to a study session in one of her favorite coffee shops.

I am back to bed with What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw.

Breakfast, a two-hour, mid-morning nap, and then an early lunch alone.

Preparing for a photo shoot of a female writer and friend tomorrow. Hers will eventually be the fourth portrait of my series of 12 portraits of contemporary Filipino writers.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are lists of weekend duties.

A finger of rum on the rocks. Feeling woozy.

Dinner at home alone.

Brought food over to M.'s cafe staff.

When nothing else is newsworthy, news writers will take a piece of tired news and blow up aspects of it.

The item on the menu says "Cheeseburger with Fries" but you don't want fries?

Here's what DOESN'T work: "I want a cheeseburger only. No fries."

Here's what DOES work: "Charge me for the fries anyway but serve me the cheeseburger only."

Know that all items on a menu exist as packages with set prices and are encoded in a computerized cash register known as a point-of-sale (POS) billing system. Neither the waiters nor the cashiers themselves have the authority to revise those packages.

A cup of tea and a lit candle inside our carved, soapstone holder while I sat in the foyer, looking out onto the driveway. Next week this little break will be over, and I shall be painting again. At least, for now, the aches my body acquired from unusual positions while painting over the past weeks have gone.

In bed with What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw. This is the life I have always dreamed of. Others think that to do nothing but lounge about makes one feel unimportant. Not I. My curriculum vitae as of 2015 was completely satisfactory to me. I haven't felt the need to update it since then. I love resting. To me, it's the ultimate reward.

Good noon, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey at university.

A BLTC sandwich and root beer at M.'s cafe. I often take a late night snack there because I set our dining table for meals everyday and would like to be served food and waited on before I call it a day. I also like watching P. Tuazon Boulevard and its night denizens through the glass windows.

In the meantime Angelique arrived from college and dinner out.  

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Paid our electric and phone bills. Met Elline's family twice, which I found strange, Cubao being far away from their home, then I figured out that it was basketball day at the Coliseum. I heard the drums beyond the Skyway.

Visited my Muslim  friends.

A banana split.

Later, Chito visited, and we had an afternoon snack.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey at university.

The clouds are stacks of white bread smeared with lemon butter.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept eight hours last night and woke up to a warm, sunny morning.

A dish of sauteed vegetables from M.'s cafe.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Dinner at home alone.

Angelique arrived from college. We ordered sisig and rice from M.'s cafe. Sat with Angelique while she took her dinner in the dining room.

Retrieved What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw a.k.a. 4:50 from Paddington to reread. Started rereading in the foyer overlooking the driveway, with a lit candle in the carved, soapstone holder. A soft drizzle outside. It's the kind of Miss Marple novel I like, in which she is not someone else's guest but is in her own house in St. Mary Mead. Tea, homemade wine, dinners. After the fist chapter I couldn't help but have a cup of tea with two vanilla cupcakes.

V. visited and broke my cozy fantasy, though.

Home alone. Angelique off to college.

Changed my bedding. Wrapped the cushion with two, antique, Tausug malongs, oillows with two bohemian pillowcases, laid a flannel blanket, and over ll that an Ifugao pinagpagan for a cover.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey at university.

The sun writes lengthy novels, but only of brightness.

Good noon, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

I love the way our incandescent lamps create pockets of warm light on the objects around them.

Angelique arrived from college and ordered a take-out dinner.

Had spaghetti and iced tea at M.'s cafe.

A brief cloudburst.

Dinner at home alone.

Aubrey arrived from university and dinner out.

Brought food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery to buy a few more things.

I hope that the brouhaha over foreign construction workers is over. I have always believed that a Chinese contractor and a Chinese foreman should prefer Chinese construction workers for ease in communication. Moreover, Chinese construction workers seem to:

--report for work consistently early
--not ask for vale
--not take merienda
--work rain or shine
--follow instructions to the letter without making shortcuts
--do their jobs without malingering
--do not absent themselves because they are sick or because their relatives are sick or because a distant relative died
--do not absent themselves because they still have money in their pockets.

If I could only speak Chinese, I'd probably hire a few to remodel our house.

Sometimes, Pinoy pride gets in the way of Pinoy progress.

A mid-afternoon snack, then brought Angelique's bed linen to the laundry. Outside, a young man was being tattooed Chinese characters on the right side of his neck. Stayed awhile to watch and talk tattoo shop with everyone. 

He preaches about the diamonds of the spirit and frowns upon the diamonds on my fingers. He has absolutely no clue that, in this world, one can have both. 

Our September gnomes

Finished reading Come, Tell Me How You Live last night. Very piquant. I wish there'd been more descriptions of Middle Eastern art, but then again the author was on archaeological digs and had access only to excavated pottery and amulets.

Retrieved one of my books on Velazquez. I want to revisit his painting techniques. Yes, plural.

Now back from jalan-jalan. Bought a lot of housekeeping stuff.

Angelique in college.

It is quite heavenly to be a materialist and have many friends who shun materialism. They never envy you or begrudge you anything, and you can continue shopping for yourself without guilt.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Angelique soon off to college, and I have to go jalan-jalan at the center.

Today, when we would like to identify or know about something, we encode a word or phrase in the Google window and do a search for it.

Before ten more years will pass, Google will develop a way for us to enter a PHOTO in its window and do a search for it.

A meatballs and vegetable dish and a Pepsi at M.'s cafe.

Hesitate before acting. Wait for at least three signs from your spirit guides.

Since my bedroom has a south window looking out onto the security guard's outpost, a secret door opening out onto the driveway, a north door opening out onto a small porch that looks out onto the interior of the compound, a door and window to the rear passage, and a door opening out onto the writing area and foyer, I've decided that I CANNOT move to another bedroom on the ground floor after all. Where I am right now, I am able to hear the water tank's overflow and can respond to deliveries and callers at the side entrance.

Wherever there atchays, there is corruption.