Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

In the meantime M. and I held a one-hour, business meeting. We made plans for the immediate and the remote future.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

During the lockdown:

1) Keep yourself hydrated.
2) Snack on fruits rather than on junk food.
3) Rest whenever you feel tired, no matter how often that is.
4) Do not engage in more than one main activity each day.

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Joseph the Worker, the patron of Barangay Kaunlaran.

No fiesta this year.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are hung with gold and silver wind chimes.

Good night, Cubao!

Elves always feast by moonlight.

My favorite hour of the day has come again: an evening shower and then off to bed with Agatha Christie.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

The April leaves fall off my bound planner and my desk planner. One-third of this year is over and I have only two huge paintings to show for it. I want to make up for lost time.

Look, Dick, look!

Another 6' x 4.5' cradled canvas arrived, so now I have three in stock for Paintings #16, 17, and 18! The studio area looks crowded to others now, but it sure looks like heaven to me!

Your Messenger message:

"Hi pai. This is a stupid question. But I have met conflicting opinions and comments. And alas. I myself got lost. I only trust you when it comes to this matter. Is it ok to light joss stick incense in the evening and night time. I arrive home from work at around 9 pm and wish to honor my deities. And also to cleanse negative energy i may have brought home. The conflict is that I have vivid dreams when i do so that leaves me restless and tired. Thank you pai. Miss you pai."


My reply:

Hello ________!

It is all right to light joss sticks in the evening and at night because it is all right to light joss sticks at ANY TIME. Devotion is a personal thing; it is unique in many ways and need not conform to the prescriptions of other persons, especially persons whose mentality is bound to the rising and the setting of the sun and to the changing of the seasons. Those are persons whose attitude is not religious but mythological.

Your dreams have nothing to do with the lighting of joss sticks but have EVERYTHING to do with the fact that your psyche is sending you urgent messages that you have not been appropriately acting on. Listen to your dreams. They will keep you safe and unharmed, especially at this time of high risk.

Bought a fresh watermelon and 1 1/2 kilos of fresh mango at the fruit stand across the street. Had the watermelon sliced into triangular chunks.

A lazy Thursday afternoon.

Disallowed the compound boys from setting up their barbecue grill between our porches because the granddaughters complained that the smoke kept wafting into their bedrooms.

Retrieved Murder Is Easy to reread in bed later.

In the meantime I AM in bed writing random reflections in my journal.

Tomorrow, Friday, I begin varnishing RESURGET MARIA.

Back from jalan-jalan. Sent some money to my younger son Chito to cover his personal expenses.

Angelique came down to lunch in  the dining room.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

When it rains, it pours.

Another vendor delivered this 200-ml tube of zinc white. Zinc white is one of my staple colors. Unlike titanium white it has no covering power, and I use it as is or mix it with other colors to create the illusions of glass or transparent fabric.

I also use zinc white rather than titanium white to highlight faces, arms, and feet to prevent flesh tones from becoming chalky.

The day-fairies whitewash the sky to hide away the stars.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

Street gnomes watch over workers trudging home from their night shifts.

Night chores.

Locked up for the night.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed. Taking a break from reading tonight.

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey took her dinner upstairs earlier.

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

Look, Dick, look!

Another 6' x 4.5' cradled canvas was delivered. I actually ordered two but they got mixed my instructions mixed up. They will come back to deliver the other one tomorrow.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

A very early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Waiting for two deliveries today.

A cup of very black, Kalinga coffee.

Now back from jalan-jalan. Had money changed and then, since I was in the vicinity of the Japanese grocery anyway, bought two trays of kani sushi, a tray of salmon and tuna sashimi, and a pack of frozen crab sticks.

Finished rereading The ABC Murders last night. A good read. A uniquely structured Agatha Christie in which we are shown episodes with the "perpetrator" from time to time. I am certain that this influenced Thomas Harris before he penned Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs.

I noticed that I've been rereading books through in at least two days, so I'll stop reading in bed for a change of pace for now.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a glass jar filled with blue and white marbles.

Made initial sketches on paper for Painting #16.

Aubrey fixed herself a late dinner and brought it upstairs to her room.

And now I am in bed with Hercule Poirot.

Good night, Cubao!

Once dusk has fallen, we must begin living in the dark.

"...(A)nonynmous letters are written by women rather than by men. We must bear that in mind."

--Hercule Poirot in The ABC Murders

My favorite time of the day once again: an evening shower and then off to bed with Hercule Poirot. Still rereading The ABC Murders. Three murders have already been committed so far.

Dinner at home alone; Angelique took an early dinner while I was watching the news and Aubrey already sleeping inside her bedroom.

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

Third pack of relief goods from the mayor of Quezon City

In bed with Hercule Poirot. Reading, not napping.

Angelique is cleaning and rearranging her room and disposing of stuff she no longer wants. We brought up a side table that she intends to use as a vanity table.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Scrubbed the staircase landing, the stair treads, and the foyer floor. It's fun imagining that the wet rag I am using is a brush and that I am applying glazes on canvas. Cleaning is an art; once you get the knack of it everything becomes easy and gets done in a very short while.

Will do the dining room floor next while waiting for my painting to dry before varnishing.

An early lunch alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Washing 34 brushes. That's the average number of brushes I use on any one painting.

The sun embroiders the garden grass with threads of golden light.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept night hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

Music is always more haunting against the silence of the night.

The golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and then off to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Finished rereading There Is A Tide. A good read, but too complicated a plot and ending was quite contrived. Retrieved Taken at the Flood only to discover that it's the same novel retitled.

Retrieved The ABC Murders instead.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Two deliveries arrived this morning.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Replenished our soda supply.

In bed again with Hercule Poirot. A murder has already been committed.

Mopped the service passage floor. Must do the dining room floor and the foyer floor next.

Caught forty winks.

A very early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

My painting spirit guides truly bless me, for what should arrive early this morning but the two tubes of titanium white that my granddaughter Angelique ordered for me online.

Now I'll never run out of paint, lockdown or no lockdown.

_RESURGET MARIA (MARY RISES)_

RESURGET MARIA (MARY RISES)

Painting #15 for Maryhill School of Theology.

This painting was completed April 13 – 26, 2020. It will hang in the reference section on the ground floor of the library of Maryhill School of Theology.

RESURGET MARIA (MARY RISES)

Oil on cradled canvas

6’ x 4.5’

April 13 – 26, 2020 

In the evening sky the waning moon marks the transition of the Female from Nurturing Mother to Mature, Wise Woman. A conflagration, symbolic of oppressive forces, razes a neighbourhood on the left and a forest on the right. An old woman, a little boy, a little girl, and a young woman representing victims are at Mary’s feet.

Mary wields a Batangas dirk in her right hand and raises a banner emblazoned with Maryhill School of Theology’s logo and coat of arms in her left. She “comes with a sword” to defend and vindicate the oppressed and the marginalized. 

I believe that, should there ever be a modern revolution—cultural, social, or political—in this country or in any other country in this world, it will be led by women, mainly because they will have been fed up with the leadership and management of men. In a sense, it brings Joseph Campbell’s evolutionary cycle full circle.

The auditory stimulus I used while making this painting is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqJnhYabfsY. The auditory stimuli I use have nothing to do with the subject matter of my paintings.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a baby blue, velveteen blanket.

Good night, Cubao!

The gnomes' grocery stores are open through daybreak.

The golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and then off to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Now that Painting #15 is done I can mop the floors tomorrow.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Night chores.

Actually Painting #15 for Maryhill School of Theology is done, but I'll Post a photo of it tomorrow.

Can't wait for this to dry completely and finish varnishing it, after which I'll immediately commence Painting #16. I'm behind on this project by two months because I extended my New Year holiday and didn't paint anything in the second half of December 2019 and in all of January and February 2020.

Three-hour, deep tissue massage with ventosa.

Worked an hour on fiftieth glaze.

Your Messenger message:

"Good morning, Sir. It's been so long. First of all, I want to thank your posts on my wall telling me those things which I do greatly. The other day, I dreamed I was in a familiar place, maybe one of the places where my family had previously lived, thinking about these things which happening along with my porbidden career, my search for job, my mother, and how I feel I'm nothing compare to my friends and other persons my age for not producing even the money to buy the things I want to. Suddenly, there was a force which feels like electric current which pushed me up. Thinking I could fly, I just let my body higher and higher. Based on how I felt, the height of the place where I was brought by the invisible fource was so high that It beyond the measure of anything.

"There was a stone quadrilateral platform, then a little uneven on the right where a nice but dusty wooden door is located. I knocked on the door a few times. Thinking that no one would open it for me. I decided to go back down, but the invisible force was kinda holding me up, causing me to have a little difficulty going back down.

"I once again tried to knock, and there was a woman who opened the door for me. then asked me to have a seat. After some minutes, I was greated by a nice young lady, whom I ask what place I'd been. She told me we had to talk near a place which I new at that time is a place for dead people.

"Realizing I shouldn't be there, I immediately insist I should go back. A human like creature helped me in order for me not to be pushed back up.

"In my dream, I tried to tell my brother what happened, but while I was doing that, I seem to feel the invisible force pushing me up again."

My reply:

Hello ______!

While your conscious mind summarizes and assesses current failures, your Higher Self is telling you never to give up, for many good things await you in your future. The electric force that goads you is your life energy, which pushes you on whenever you feel about to give up. The platform in your dream is where you should be ascending. The door is unimpressive, but that is because things are never what they seem to be. When the door opens, it is your Higher Self personified that greets you. You choose to retreat because you cannot believe you deserve such an encounter, The "dead people" are your past mistakes and sad memories.

When your life force seeks to lift you up, let it do so. Listen to your Higher Self. Converse with her if you can. It is all right to be blind to the world, but you should never ever be blind to your true self.

Took an early lunch alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Worked an hour on forty-ninth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

Brown sparrows swim across the ocean of sky.

Good night, Cubao!

The earth sprays itself with the night's perfume.

The golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and off to bed with Hercule Poirot.

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey took a heavy snack upstairs earlier.

Worked an hour on forty-eighth glaze.

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

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on forty-seventh glaze anyway.

Started rereading There Is A Tide in bed.

Caught forty winks.

Worked half an hour on forty-sixth glaze.

Calling it a day for painting. Must wait for these glazes to dry completely.

4:25 PM and Saturday is almost over.

Where did my day go?

Where did my week go?

Finished rereading Murder with Mirrors last night. I enjoyed it.

Retrieved There Is A Tide to start rereading tonight.

Bought a fresh watermelon and a bunch of bananas across the street. Had the watermelon sliced into triangular chunks. Also tried their fruit compote milk drink, which was quite refreshing.

Aubrey came down to a very late lunch in the dining room.

An afternoon snack.

Worked an hour on forty-fifth glaze.

The compound boys set up their barbecue grill between our side porches again.

Back from jalan-jalan. Bought medicine, two bottles sanitizing liquid, and a loaf of bread.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on forty-fourth glaze.

Lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Must go jalan-jalan in a few.

I find that I easily get tired of unresponsive persons. When they finally do respond, I no longer care about them.

Did my laundry in our washing machine.

Worked half an hour on forty-third glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are white shirts hung on the clotheslines of the sky.

Good night, Cubao!

Fruit bats weave indigo lace against the night sky.

The golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and then off to bed with Miss Marple, who is still at Stonygates reformatory for delinquent boys.

A murder has already been committed.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked half an hour on forty-second glaze. Calling it a day for painting; must wait for these glazes to dry completely.

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

Night chores.

First get rich and get settled.

Only then will you be in a position to help others.

Always ask yourself from time to time, "Am I getting richer by the hour or am I getting poorer?"

Because, while spirituality and creativity are highly important, you do need to get richer by the hour to pay your bills, to feed your family, to send your children to school, to buy the medicine you need, to keep yourself well-dressed, and to go shopping.

Worked half an hour on forty-first glaze.

Aubrey came down to the kitchen to fix herself a snack and take it upstairs.

Worked half an hour on fortieth glaze.

A glass of cold chocolate milk.

Worked half an hour on thirty-ninth glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-eighth glaze.

I allowed the compound boys to set up their barbecue grill between our porches again. Ordered liempo for dinner later. 

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on thirty-seventh glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-sixth glaze.

An early lunch alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

My sister Alice brought us good news today: D.'s store, which is on the ground floor of Apartment D beside is, has taken on the additional responsibility of being a bayad center for the neighborhood. We can now pay our utility bills there instead of having to go to the center.

Ah, the joys of living in a busy neighborhood!

Good morning, Cubao!

Sky fairies whitewash the sky on silver ladders.

Must have snacked on triangular chunks of fresh watermelon four times today. They both slaked my thirst and sated my between-meals hunger. They were sweet and dark red. It was like slicing my fork through edible faceted rubies.

Good night, Cubao!

A dollhouse dining set under your bed for the gnomes ensures your prosperity.

Night chores.

And now the golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and off to bed with Miss Marple at Stonygates reformatory for delinquent boys.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked an hour on thirty-fifth glaze. Calling it a day for painting; must wait for these glazes to dry completely.

One of my spirit guides

"Angels and ministers of grace defend us."

--Mark Easterbrook, in The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie.

I continue painting in my dreams, so that, when I wake up the following day, I know exactly what to do and how to do it.

Bought fresh eggs and salted eggs and replenished our soda supply.

Aubrey came down to a very late lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on thirty-fourth glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-third glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-second glaze.

Worked an hour on thirty-first glaze.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

The sun bleaches the clouds a blinding white.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

The gnomes are making preparations for a midnight flower parade.

The golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and then to bed with Miss Marple, who is currently at Stonygates reformatory for delinquent boys.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Night chores.

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

Thought of painting for at least half an hour, then decided to pick up tomorrow.

Worked an hour on thirtieth glaze.

Bought a fresh watermelon from the fruit stand across the street and had it sliced into triangular chunks.

Angelique bought several glasses of milk tea at the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea Fountain.

Moved the tenants' barbecue grill to the concrete platform between our two side porches so that the smoke won't waft into Aubrey's bedroom window. It's the same platform where Jeffrey set up his cotton candy stand a few years ago.

Worked an hour on twenty-ninth glaze.

Worked an hour on twenty-eighth glaze.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on twenty-seventh glaze.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery.

Worked half an hour on twenty-sixth glaze.

A cup of very black, Kalinga coffee jump-starts my day.

Vigilance is a function of skepticism, doubt, and distrust.

Your body will always tell you what it wants and what it doesn't want.

"If you can't go to everything, then everything must be made to come to you."

--Mr. Venables in The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie.

Finished rereading The Pale Horse last night. Actually enjoyed it all over again because I'd forgotten who the murderer was.

Retrieved Murder with Mirrors a.k.a They Do It with Mirrors to reread in bed later.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are a bevy of white and yellow paper fans.

Good night, Cubao!

Fairy chimes mark the quarter-hours of the night.

At last, the golden hour of my day: an evening shower and into bed with Mark Easterbrook.

Might finish my reread tonight.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on twenty-fifth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-fourth glaze.

Worked half an hour on twenty-third glaze.

An afternoon snack.

Angelique and Aubrey are back from the neighborhood grocery.

Once again it's Great-Gatsby-summer hot in Cubao!

Unfortunately one can't say, "It's too hot--let's go to town!" while in quarantine.

Wearing Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds.

Yes, I wear scents even during a lockdown.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Changed money. We also received our PLDT bill covering two months and were advised to pay the bill for the first month immediately. Thank God the place where I have money changed is also the place where we can pay our utility bills.

More relief goods from the mayor of Quezon City. This time around they issue a stub they are to sign each time they give us relief goods.

Looks like they're coming back to us four more times.

Translation: Don't think the lockdown is ending soon.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Good morning, Cubao!

What the sun takes away, it gives back another day.

Good night, Cubao!

Patrol pets do their rounds at midnight and at 3:00 AM.

My golden hour of the day has come again: an evening shower and then into bed with Mark Easterbrook.

I love sleeping. It is an art that very few have mastered.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked half an hour on twenty-second glaze. Calling it a day for painting. Must wait for these glazes to dry completely.

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

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on twenty-first glaze.

Worked half an hour on twentieth glaze.

Worked half an hour on nineteenth glaze.

Worked half an hour on eighteenth glaze.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on seventeenth glaze.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Shared from my sister Alice:

"Got this from another Viber group. To clarify life after lockdown:

"A Must-Read:

"I think the thing most people don’t understand is that the lockdown is in place to slow the progression of the disease, NOT to eradicate it by end of May.

"I think people are missing the point because they naively think the govt will somehow get rid of it so life may go back to normal. These are people who have ignored the global reality since January. So let’s lift the curtain a bit.

"1. Flattening the curve means slowing down the disease so that hospitals can cope with the sick. It does not mean eradicating the disease altogether.

"2. No government will be able to eradicate the disease this year. It’s here until a cure or a vaccine is found.

"3. A vaccine is at least a year away. That’s April 2021. The earliest vaccine trials started late last month. It takes 18 to 24 months to make, test, and assess the efficacy of a vaccine. So 1 year is literally a Hail Mary.

"4. There is NO going back to normal. Your normal will not exist for at least a year. Economies globally will keep bleeding and we are likely to have rolling lockdowns until a vaccine is found.

"5. Even when the ban is lifted, the tourism and hospitality industry, and many others, will not see an increase in business for at least a year. Until a vaccine is found, people will continue to self-isolate even when a lockdown is lifted.

"6. The only reprieve we are going to get is if we have thousands of people who have been infected and recovered and minimum deaths so that we have some level of herd immunity. That is also still a theory that is yet to be proven because some countries think they may be seeing people get reinfected. Even with that in place, normal is not feasible because fear still reigns and people will remain isolated until safety is guaranteed with a cure or vaccine. Refer to point 3.

"7. The above is still 6 months away. We are projected to reach our peak in September.

"8. The decisions made in the lockdown are not made with the privileged in mind. They are made with the masses in mind. What you allow in the suburbs you must allow in the townships and those two things look very different in execution.

"Now our government is doing the best it can and they have reacted faster than most developed countries. Our progress is still better than most and right now we’re riding the dumb hope that somehow BCG gives us some fighting chance (still unproven).

"So please, please we all need to do whatever we can to help our neighbors, help each other, support our government, and stop having delusional ideas about any level of normalcy at the end of this month. Adjust your projections and hunker down.

"Normal is dead. Let that sink in. But Hope is very much alive!"

The sky is a journal page waiting to be written on.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

When the sun does not respond, turn to the moon.

My golden hour of the day has come once again: an evening shower and then off to bed with Mark Easterbrook.

A night snack of semi-frozen watermelon triangles, like sweet, crunchy popsicles.

We placed Aubrey's dinner in the ref.

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

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey still working on her group thesis electronically.

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on sixteenth glaze.

Calling it a day for painting. Must wait for these glazes to dry completely.

Worked half an hour on fifteenth glaze.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on fourteenth glaze.

Worked half an hour on thirteenth glaze.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

The sun is the repository of your highest dreams.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnome carriages traverse the gutters of rooftops across the district.

My golden hour of the day has come again: an evening shower and then to bed with Mark Easterbrook.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Calling it a day for painting. Must wait for these glazes to dry completely.

Worked half an hour on twelfth glaze.

Another spectacular, pink, Cubao sunset.

Afternoon snack.

Worked half an hour on eleventh glaze.

Crossed the street to the fruit stand. Bought a fresh watermelon and had it sliced into triangles. Also bought 1 1/2 kilos fresh mangoes.

Worked half an hour on tenth glaze.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Worked half an hour on ninth glaze.

A very early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Why do people keep saying that, during a quarantine, money is useless? That isn't true. Money keeps us alive without having to rely on dole-outs.

Tony Perez's Art of War: The most enjoyable enemies to have are those you can live without but who cannot live without you.

Age is not just a number; that is why we age.

Worked half an hour on eighth glaze.

Worked half an hour on seventh glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

Watch for the afternoon sun, for it is what stimulates your mind and your body.

Good night, Cubao!

Under moonlight, rooftops are splayed book covers of the hardbound diaries of the night.

The golden hour of my day has come again: an evening shower and then into bed with Mark Easterbrook.

I love reading myself to sleep, and I love sleeping.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on sixth glaze.

When I started being a hermit in 2015, I never spent a single day in pajamas or shabby house clothes. I spent from half an hour to an hour grooming myself each morning and carefully matching my jewelry with my clothes, even if no one would see me and I was not receiving visitors.

I note that, during this lockdown, some of my friends spend the whole day in their bedtime clothes and even go out in the street wearing them.

I also note that they are the friends who are rapidly, psychologically deteriorating. 

Aubrey bought six big glasses of winter melon milk tea at the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea fountain.

Worked half an hour on fifth glaze.

Worked half an hour on fourth glaze.

Worked half an hour on third glaze.

Retrieved The Pale Horse to reread in bed later. Not one of my favorites, but I recall that I enjoyed the atmosphere.

Worked half an hour on second glaze.

Worked half an hour on fifth layer.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on first glaze.

Your Messenger message:

"Good afternoon, sir Tony. I was just wondering why do I always dream of being back in our home in the Philippines? I can remember the sight, texture, and smell. My siblings have often commented how would I know changes outside the house when I am not physically there. I also saw how my dog died on the rooftop garden that night as I cradled her in my arms, only to be told by my brother that she is indeed dead and currently being buried in the yard. It feels so real, I often wake up as if I was just dragged back to my bed. I wonder why am I having these dreams?"

My reply:

Hello ______!

It is not uncommon to have episodes of psychism and astral travel during a quarantine or lockdown period--a state of being equivalent to prolonged, sensory deprivation. During such a period, your movements and your physical senses become terribly restricted, that is why your psychic senses get amplified in compensation.

There is nothing to fear about your dreams. On a psychological level, it merely reflects how much you still care for the family and the home you left behind.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Note that during a lockdown some artists/writers produce treasures, others produce trash, and still others are unable to produce anything at all.

Finished rereading The Mirror Crack'd last night. A perfect read for the quarantine period, actually.

Good morning, Cubao!

The condor is the real king of the daytime sky.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Your enemy's breaking point is always when he suddenly realizes that you'd been right all along--and that there is nothing he can do about it for himself.

Good night, Cubao!

Night time heals what the day cannot.

Calling it a day for painting.

My golden hour of the day is now: an evening shower and then off to bed with Miss Marple.

Dinner at home with Angelique. Aubrey made herself a big sandwich upstairs and took it upstairs; she's been working on their group thesis electronically.

Worked half an hour on fourth layer.

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

Afternoon snack.

Replenished our soda supply.

Worked half an hour on third layer.

Worked half an hour on second layer.

My babies are disappointed. The I Love Milk Tea fountain is closed today.

Worked another half-hour on construction lines.

Then worked half an hour on first layer.

Heat drizzle on Cubao.

Anxiety always hits hardest those who own more than one piece of property.

In bed with Miss Marple.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique now taking her lunch in the dining room.

Worked another half-hour on construction lines.

Talent is the result not of desire but of the confluence of all the right circumstances.

Took reference photos of one more model.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

A very early lunch at home; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

A red sky asks you to wrap up your day and make preparations for a cozy night.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Let your enemies fall to the ground like dead leaves off a branch in the hottest summer.

Good night, Cubao!

The fairies invite you to their midnight masquerade.

The golden hour once again!

Evening shower and then into bed with Miss Marple.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Continued rereading The Mirror Crack'd.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique came down and took her lunch in the dining room.

Went round the compound and took reference photos of three models.

Back from jalan-jalan. Picked up the trays of tuna and salmon sushi that I ordered yesterday from the Japanese grocery.

Lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Good morning, Cubao!

A gray sky foretells a slow day and quiet reflections over a cup of black coffee.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes pitch tiny tents and camp out in the lonely corridors of houses.

My favorite part of the day begins.  An evening shower and then turning in to bed, tonight with Miss Marple.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

Finished rereading Evil Under the Sun. Retrieved The Mirror Crack'd a.k.a The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side to reread in bed later.

Some people read to learn.

Others read to feel important.

I read to sleep.

Worked an hour on construction lines.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Changed money and sent some money to my younger son Chito to cover some of his personal expenses. Bought a bag of pandesal at the bakery and ordered a tray of tuna sushi and a tray of salmon sushi at the Japanese grocery for pick-up tomorrow.

You are a sparkling diamond. Turn. Only then can everyone see all of the facets of your self.

Death has always been an equalizer for human beings, animals, and everything else on earth, virus or no virus. With this virus, though, I observe that we are not equal mainly because of what we are and what we are not, and what we have and what we don't.

Good morning, Cubao!

An orange sky showers happy memories of childhood on earth.

Good night, Cubao!

Elfin lanterns glow in the corners of dark gardens.

Dinner at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey had heavy, afternoon snacks and will probably come down to eat something toward midnight.

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

Night chores.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

This painting begins today, April 13, 2020.

Ready to commence Painting #15/40 for Maryhill School of Theology.

Sorry, no visitors will be admitted.

The diptych The Wedding Reception at Cana and Feast of Tabernacles is now ready to be picked up and installed at Maryhill School of Theology. However I aim to make two more paintings, or a total of four, for pick-up and installation.

A one-hour morning nap and a two-hour, afternoon nap.

Aubrey came down and fixed herself a very late lunch in the kitchen,.

Gave some lollipops and rock candy to the compound children playing in the driveway.

Angelique now taking her lunch in the dining room.

Noon rain on Cubao.

Bought food at the hawkers' stands.

Lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Now waiting for Jerome and Neil to wake up and wrap Feast of Tabernacles, which is now touch-dry.

We were born into this world neither to conquer nor to submit to Nature, but to transcend it. Thus begins our spirituality.

Good morning, Cubao!

A pink sky always lingers over enchanted realms.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes who ride on sparrows rest from their travels on bedroom windowsills.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Retrieved and started rereading Evil Under the Sun.

Evening shower. Best three hours after a massage.

Angelique and Aubrey are cooking a Korean dinner in the kitchen.

Three-hour, deep tissue massage.

Aubrey is now taking her lunch in the dining room.

Must prepare Feast of Tabernacles for wrapping.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Good morning, Cubao!

A yellow sky showers enchantment on the world.

I'm quite content to greet people a Happy Easter minus such lines as "He is risen!"--as though Jesus had been crucified all over again and actually died all over again on Good Friday. It's too Dionysian for my comfort.

Finished rereading A Caribbean Mystery and enjoyed it all over again. Might choose to reread Evil Under the Sun tomorrow.

Jacintha Abisheganaden sent me the recording of her rendition of "Memory" via Messenger. She has an exquisite, golden voice, and this is the best version of "Memory" I have heard yet--pure music, no melodrama, no theatricality. Unfortunately I don't know how to Share it on my Wall.

Good night, Cubao!

Tonight the fairies are staging a full-length play on our front balcony.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Night chores.

Angelique bought several glasses of milk tea at the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea fountain.

Walked to the Sitio Catacutan bakery and bought two bags of hamburger buns and two loaves of sliced, white bread.

There were fewer people out at this time of the afternoon, and most of them were homeless. Tried to pretend, once again, that I was walking round Crystal City, Virginia with no vehicles on the road, but I just couldn't pull it off. I suddenly realized why, in normal times, we opt to clutter our environment with people. It is for the visual chaos to mask the glaring imperfections around us: uneven roads, undeveloped pavements, vandalized walls, electrical wiring like suspended Gordian knots, litter that the garbage people didn't bother to pick up, exteriors badly in need of extensive cleaning and repainting, rusted steel, weather-beaten wood, everything screaming out loud for upgrading. If not to the 21st century, at least to the mid-20th. 

Swung by the neighborhood grocery to buy more foodstuffs.

The I Love Milk Tea fountain is open and is doing good business even at this hour.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey resting upstairs.

Back from jalan-jalan at Farmers Market. Escorted Aubrey to the Korean grocery store and bought a lot of foodstuffs for our meals.

Whenever I go out, the god of iron and the god of the crossroads protect me.

There were soldiers herding a long, long line of people into Police Precinct 7, which is right across our house. The people had gone out without quarantine passes.

Don't just see the hell-hole you are in. Look at it from three levels above you, and from even beyond that if you can. Otherwise you will never fully comprehend your misery.

Good morning, Cubao!

A white sky always hides big secrets.

Good night, Cubao!

The sky is a pot of black ink.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

One-hour, afternoon nap.

I make more money painting than writing. The people who read my books, whether in print or in cyberspace, are language-bound. The people who buy my paintings are not, for there is nothing more universal than the archetypal patterns formed by lines and shapes and colors.

Bought more fresh mangoes.

Angelique is now taking her lunch in the dining room.

More good news--the neighborhood grocery is open. 

Bought two kilos dinorado rice across the street. Will go back for more fresh mangoes later.

Delighted that D.'s convenience store and the fruit stand are open.

Lunch at home alone; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Good morning, Cubao!

Ten brass bands precede the sun as he travels across the sky.

Actually, there is no such thing as cabin fever or lockdown boredom as long as you always have money in your wallet. Because, lockdown or no lockdown, relief goods or no relief goods, that is what it always boils down to.

Good night, Cubao!

The moon is a lemon lozenge melting on the palate of the sky.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Almost done with Postern of Fate. I think I'll reread A Caribbean Mystery next.

Look, Dick, look!

The framers delivered two 4.5' x 6' canvases this afternoon.

I AM ALIVE AGAIN!

Lock me up for another two months, I'll still be happy!

It rained briefly in Cubao, and everyone had the intelligence to stay in and stay dry.

And we all forgot to gather some of the first April rain for healing.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Bought two more kilos of fresh mangoes across the street. The fruit stand will be closed all of tomorrow.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a sheer curtain of golden dust motes.

Good night, Cubao!

The moon is a silver serving plate on the black tablecloth of sky.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

Cozy night.

Looking forward to being in bed with Tommy and Tuppence again.

Go easy on tinned food. The preservative in it causes gout. If you must eat it, drain all of the fluid through a colander first.

Two-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique came down and took her lunch in the dining room.

Jalan-jalan at Farmers Plaza and Farmers Market. This time around I went in my Spandex shorts and flip-flops. I know that despite my skull mask people recognize me anyway. Yes, they stared. It felt so wonderfully normal to be stared at again. Moreover, I didn't feel hot, exhausted, and drained of energy.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery to buy soda and a box of Hershey's chocolate ice cream with almonds.

Whenever I lie down on my bed, I feel like I never want to rise again.

An early lunch at home; Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a necklace of yellow amber.

Watched Miss Philippines, a 1947 black-and-white, Tagalog movie by LVN on Rap Fernandez's Wall. It was directed by his grandfather Gregorio Fernandez and starred Carlos Padilla, Jr. and Norma Blancaflor. It was quite uncanny watching Carlos Padilla, Jr. perform. He was Robin Padilla and Dennis Padilla rolled into one, both of whom had not yet been born. The movie reminded me of old, Rita Hayworth movies, and I felt that it was quite modern in temper for its time.

Especially loved the ladies' costumes. I learned that geometric appliques were of the 1940s rather than the 1950s.

Aubrey now taking her dinner in the dining room.

Cozy night with Tommy and Tuppence.

Good night, Cubao!

The moon is a thousand-petaled lotus on the lake of sky.

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey will take her dinner later.

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

Hurray! The canvas makers are back in operation! I quickly ordered two, huge cradled canvases for the Maryhill Project.

I was thinking of making an asuwang series on paper for a future cyberspace book, but I guess I'll put that one on hold.

Sometimes religion is all we have, but I always prefer to have cash.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Escorted Angelique to deposit money in her and Aubrey's bank accounts. I then went to the money changer's to reinforce my cache for the rest of the Easter week while Angelique went to the drug store. Then we stopped by Angelique's and Jazz's favorite Korean grocery and bought lots of foodstuffs. We walked home, though the sun cooperated by hiding behind clouds some of the way.

Exhausted. Felt like I did a marathon walk round the entire center.

We are still using the term "social distancing' because it is the opposite of "social proximity" and "social intimacy", whereas "physical distancing" does not imply the involvement of human beings and could refer merely to objects.

During a lockdown it becomes very clear to all which neighbors can survive without help--material, financial, or psychological--and which neighbors cannot.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

https://tonyperezphilippinescyberspacebook18.blogspot.com/2020/04/when-writers-works-are-as-yet-immature.html

Academics will impose hard and fast rules about poetry for purposes of promoting it as a craft, but poetry is as diverse as personality, and the poems you write, no matter what forms they take, are fingerprints of your soul--they are unique and they will never be like anyone else's.

When you sew fabric dust masks, include a pocket that can accommodate paper coffee filters. They are excellent filters.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a bouquet of brass roses.

Good night, Cubao!

The moon is the eye of a steamed milkfish.

Aubrey went to the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea fountain this afternoon to buy glasses of winter melon milk tea.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey. They had a spinach pizza delivered.

Fresh mangoes for dessert.

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

Night chores.

My favorite part of the day begins: taking an evening shower and turning in for the night with a book that helps me drift off to sleep.

Been doing hundreds of tiny retouches on my painting for want of a new canvas that I can't order just yet.

It's also been so hot that the varnish is already touch-dry.

No, I can't be bothered to photograph the entire thing all over again.

Angelique came down to lunch.

One-hour, afternoon nap.