Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.
Asked Lennoel to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Bartleby the Scrivener.
I recall this story, not in the original print but as dramatized for a series of famous American short stories for USG TV. I was working at USICA (United States International Communication Agency), which later changed to USIS (United States Information Service), and then to the Public Affairs Section of the US Department of State. One of my tasks at the time was to invite English and Lit teachers from different universities and encourage them to schedule screenings for their classes at Thomas Jefferson Cultural Center. A tame task compared to everything they would make me do years and years later.
Done saving receipts at the neighborhood grocery to purchase a set of these glass containers. They're airtight, with vents for microwaving. Great for storing leftovers. I use the smallest size to set aside fresh cayenne pepper, which then keeps for weeks!
Thought of buying more but decided these are all we need.
Goodbye, plastic boxes!
Lunch at home alone; grandchildren still resting upstairs.
Finished reading The Moonstone last night, through the wee hours of the night. A satisfying literary adventure. Characters, their relationships, plots, and subplots are as complex as in The Woman in White. Four characters died--strangely, four characters also died in The Woman in White. As in The Woman in White, though, I felt that the ending was rushed and over-consciously written to tie things up.
I strongly agree with critics that Wilkie Collins was the inventor of the detective story. The same critics indicate that his later novels "deteriorated", and so Moonstone and Woman are his two legacies. I wouldn't mind reading those later novels, though, except that they are not available in bookstores.
Angelique and Aubrey took dinner while I was watching the news.
A late dinner for me; did some changes on the screenplay.
Asked Lennoel to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Wilkie Collins. Can't wait to get rid of annoying Miss Clack.
Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey took her dinner earlier while I was watching the news.
Asked Jerome to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Wilkie Collins. Am now halfway through the book and currently reading the account of Miss Clack. Wilkie Collins and I clearly have the same views on religious fundamentalists.
Late-night Messaging with Laurice.
So nice of Christine to send this to me:
"Hi Sir Tony, birthday po ni Rene Villanueva nung Monday. May nagpost ng ilang sanaysay nya sa aklat nyang 'Personal.' Isa po ito sa mga entries:
Angelique and Aubrey took an early dinner while I was watching the evening news.
Dinner at home alone, then asked Lennoel to bring some food over to M.'s care staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Wilkie Collins. Miss Clack has taken over the narrative.
Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Had money changed, paid our water bill, bought five, novelty ice cube trays, and purchased a copy of Herman Melville's Billy Budd and Other Stories because it seemed like a good, bachelor's read.
Aubrey fixed herself a very late lunch in the kitchen before attending another online class.
The end for each one of us is truly unpredictable, but I wish that, on my deathbed, I would be able to convince my loved ones:
--not to grieve for me, for I will soon be back in a succeeding lifetime, in the same karmic group, and, I suspect, baptized in the same name;
--not to fear my activities in the afterlife, for I will always be a spirit guide to my loved ones and my loyal students and will be a haunting ghost only to those who did me wrong (I am the latter already);
--convince everyone that I led a happy life, for I was free and I had fun, unlike other men, who were constrained and suppressed, if not oppressed, by convention, tradition, religion, and rules designed by men to control other men;
--let the world know that I'll be with them again as soon as I can and even before they know it.
Your Messenger message:
"I need your guidance and opinion again Sir Tony. When I was still young, my mom and dad left me at home and early in the morning I saw a shadow man walking towards me at sobra natakot po ako. At sa bahay din po namin sa _____ meron ako nakikita mga shadow. And now that I am already 30 years old, it happened again, twice. First nakita ko po siya umaakyat sa hagdan papunta po sa kwarto ko, but I was lying in bed at that time, second noon natulog po ako sa sala namin, I saw it again like, nasa tabi ko po siya nakaluhod like watching me. At isa pa po, natulog ako sa bahay ng kapatid ko, Hindi po ako mapakali at makatulog hanggang umabot sa point na meron tumabi saken at niyakap po ako at hinawakan po tiyan ko at bumulong sa tenga ko, sabi po niya, 'hindi ako papayag na umalis ka sa bahay na eto hanggat di kita nagagalaw.' At bigla na lang po ako nagulat kasi nakita ko mismo kamay niya at ngipin na kulay itim. I don't know if it's the same entity. Isa lang po eto, sa mga weird na nangyayare po saken. Thank you Sir Tony for all your guidance. God bless"
My reply:
Hello _____________!
Believe it or not, my initial reading is that these shadow figures are not supernatural entities, they are extensions of the dark side of yourself. In Jungian terms, they are your Shadow manifesting outside you rather than inside you. It personifies your greatest fears and your most turbulent rages: the fear of being unloved and undesirable, dissatisfaction with your family situation, repressed sexual urges, even the desire to kill.
To make a long story short, you do not know how to relax. Take up therapeutic hobbies such as experimenting with essential oils in lamps, perhaps painting and creative writing, or yoga. You will notice a great difference in your life after a month of doing so.
Yes, it's been the same "entity" all throughout.
Dinner at home alone; Angelique has online classes through 9:30 PM and Aubrey took her dinner upstairs so she can work on her laptop while eating.
Asked Jerome to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Wilkie Collins.
Your Messenger message:
"Sir Tony, this is one of my most vivid dream in years. Most of them were just a blur but this one’s full of details, sort of. Just sharing this with you because you were in it. Thanks!"
My reply:
Hello ___________!
This is a self-prophetic dream of sorts. You've been yearning for a big breakthrough--one that no other Filipino artist has yet undergone--but your dream ego is unsure as to how to go about it. The scroll is purple because it is the color of royalty.
In the dream, I personify your psyche.
The name you are pondering is neither Nicomideon nor Nicomedes. It is NICOLAIDES. If you did not encounter him in your art studies, buy his timeless book and do the exercises therein faithfully. If you've actually done his exercises before, there may be one that you skipped or that seems to have given you great difficulty. Master that and you'll conquer the hurdles along your journey. At any rate go through the book--for the first time or again--because there is something special there for you.
Your pineal gland throbbed because your third eye is opening wide and is ready to be in the service of your art.
"If so" is the metaphysical question your psyche is asking you: If you achieve the greatest possible success... If you exceed even your expectations of yourself... IF SO, how would this change your life? How would you deal with it? How would you use it to improve this world?
Take the plunge and soar.
Asked Jerome to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
Laid out our last offerings of fresh drinking water, tea lights, joss sticks, and food on our side porch for the Hungry Ghosts.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then my reread of Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone.
Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Sent some money to my younger son Chito, then bought a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts to take home for the granddaughters.
Also bought a copy of The Moonstone. Years ago I gave my old copy away to Agnes, who purchased the moonstone pendant embellished with a garnet that I bought at the crystal store near the university in North Carolina. Alas, her maid eventually stole it from her.
Your Messenger message:
"Hi, Tony. I've kept these 2 things you gave in college before during our thesis class. The black stone you asked everyone in class to pick one from a box. I'm not sure what it is. Is it volcanic rock? It looks like obsidian. The rosary card, I won as a prize in a pendulum exercise you did. If I remember correctly, you drew a map of the Com Arts classroom and asked everyone to take turns divining it with a pendulum. And then you asked where an item was located in a specific place in the room, by elimination I was the last person to say it was on top of the door or door frame. I think this was the object, and you gave it to me. "
My reply:
Hello _________!
It's a sealed and polished river stone. There is a belief that, when humans demise, they rise to the clouds, descend as rain, and become river stones.
Finished reading The Woman in White last night. A good read. Felt like Dr. Zhivago minus the backdrop of revolution. The ending was quiet and non-spectacular, though, which was a letdown after all those dramatic flourishes, and as though the author simply wanted to tie up all loose ends and get on with other things.
Your Messenger message:
"Sir Tony.. it's been days that I've hesitated writing to you because I don't want to trouble you with my personal concerns but I dont't know, the urge to send you a message has been quite strong. I am at a crossroad, grieving over something that I built for more than a decade but is now being taken away because of certain people's malicious and selfish intentions. I do not know how to defend myself.
Dinner at home alone; Aubrey took her dinner while I was watching the news and Angelique is attending electronic classes through 9:30 PM.
Asked Jerome to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Wilkie Collins.
Your Messenger message:
"Good evening po. Sir Tony, I’d like to ask your thoughts about destiny and fate. Are they the same? Two sides of the coin? Is destiny changeable and fate is unchangeable? More powers to you po. Keep safe."
My reply:
Hello _____!
My answer is potentially disappointing. To me, destiny and fate are mere literary words that are used to make life more poetic. We are what we are and we will be what we will be because of what we are and what we do about it, and that is about the long and the short of it.
Destiny seems to indicate a greatness that is brought about by men with the help of the whim of the gods, such as being destined to be heroes or kings.
Fate seems to be the yin of the yang--we are fated to something, usually tragedy or loss, whether we like it or not, and it is something we cannot escape, like a fresh catfish being fated to be grilled over hot coals.
At any rate, rather than mull over semantics and quirky definitions, simply ask yourself where you are right now and where you want to be.
Know what you want, and go get it.
Your Messenger message:
"Good Evening Sir Tony,
Your Messenger message:
"Hi Sir Tony, good morning. I read your post about taking my troubles to the sun. Do I have to ask my concerns out loud po?
Went jalan-jalan at the center. Bought two packs tea lights, a light bulb for my study lamp, a big tube of black paint from The Oil Paint Store, vitamins and first-aid kit supplies, toilet paper, washing machine detergent, and two bottles insecticide.
The rain tumbled on Cubao like an ugly matron's lust.
Took a taxi home.
Your Messenger message:
"Naalala ko po nagsindi po ako ng candila sa mga entrance ng dati naming tinitirhan at nag offer ng pagkain nung nabasa ko po yung post mo about sa hungry ghosts month.
"Ask ko lang po. Big factor po ba ang tinitirhan na bahay sa araw araw na buhay ng isang family? Simula po kasi nung lumipat po kami dun sa last na tinirhan namin medyo malas yung dalawang buwan namin. 3 times na reject si misis sa work na ina applyan nya po, maraming expenses na dumadating, at a night before bago po kami lumipat nabundol pa yung isa naming aso."
My reply:
Hello _____!
Wherever you decide to move you need to establish good relations with Nature, with the elementals, and with the spirits who were there before you. Otherwise, from their point of view, you are a mere intruder. Land titles and certificates of ownership mean nothing to them--as they mean nothing also to informal settlers.
Your Messenger message:
"Hello, Sir Tony. 3 weeks ago I had read your guildlines for facebook friends. One of the guidelines stated that: write three things that you want to make happen this coming month (September). I immediately got a pen and look for a calendar. I wrote these three things: I will be hired in ________________________, I will be free from minor debts, and new opportunity for my wife. Another week had passed, I got a call from the HR of ______________________ saying that my application has been considered. Another, I already have a money to pay my minor debts. Im still looking forward that new opportunity come will come for my wife. I just want to say thank you for the weekly guidlines that you have been shared in your FB group. Godbless po.:
My reply:
Hello _________!
Congratulations! Such blessings this season always come from the Hungry Ghosts, who reciprocate gestures of kindness and care. Make offerings of compassion to them; at the very least light candles in safe vessels and joss sticks to light their way.
The last day and night of Hungry Ghosts Month this year is September 16.
And now Christine sent me a photo of this painting "Illustration by Eleanor Fortesque Brickdale (1871-1945) for Tempest" saying that it is a portrait of me.
Very few people know that Shakespeare based the character of Prospero in The Tempest on his close friend John Dee, the mage who developed Angelic Magick. I even have a suspicion that the magic ritual that Prospero performs onstage was directed in consultation with John Dee himself.
Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.
Asked Lennoel to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.
Night chores.
My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Wilkie Collins. I'm almost through with The Woman in White. It is more exciting than The Moonstone. I think everyone should read it. The author is a mater at manipulating the reader's mind and emotions.
Your Messenger message:
"Good day!
"I've been your fan. I have several Cubao books I've used to read til now. I really enjoy and appreciate your thoughts thru 'weekly reminders', truly, your intellectual level is beyond normal.
