January 1, 2021

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

Watching the live, New York City New Year's Eve countdown on Facebook videos. Those streets look relatively empty to me.

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

Gave Yukiko Taka her third dose of deworming drops yesterday. It'd been two weeks; now to wait for another two weeks.

After lighting jasmine-scented joss sticks at our three, ground-floor altars, gave Yukiko Taka dishes of fresh milk and water.

First morning chore: Washed wine goblets and dishes that collected in the sink. The first time washing at the sink for the day I always say, "We honor our ancestors at the kitchen sink."

A cup of Ma-ay's very black coffee from Cotabato.

Good morning, Cubao!

Even in the driest summer there are gnome rivulets beneath the grass and the weeds.

Look at me, world!

I Stand On The Shoulders Of My Ancestors!

 MAGNAM TIRGAM

JUADARITA

ALAAYA

SARADOC

GEATAO

TE APELLA

GEPARATO

GEPIPO

CHRISTUM PEPUM

BISTE

BANGE

BESTIPO

RECANTAR ITE

BUM

QUE SE DEUS PACTENIT

MOLAI

MALANAI

MOLAO

PETAT MATAT

HARI ANG DADAAN,

HAHAWI KAYONG LAHAT!

MAIGSAC

MAIGMAC

EGOLHUM PETIGSAC

PENIVICCIUM LUXCIRIS SALVAME

11:01. We made a toast to 2021.

Cheers, everyone!

Good night, Cubao!

Neighborhood gnomes love watching movies on TV screens through bedroom windows.

Brought some food over to Lennoel at the cafe.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Granddaughters will be drinking wine in the dining room later, and I think I'll ave a glass of brandy before turning in for the night.

Lighting the side porch ceiling lights through midnight,

 New Year's Eve dinner with Angelique and Aubrey. We wore some of our gold and diamonds.

Superstitious behavior is one of the 36 defense mechanisms. By this, a person tends to repeat acts that were immediately followed by good luck in the past.

If you bought 12 kinds of fruit and you did the same last year, is it because you had a good year?

Some people pass away with pomp and circumstance. Others quietly slip away into the night.

Religion brainwashes the poor to be content with their poverty, but when the poor go hungry no amount of brainwashing will quell their anger.

Think twice before snacking.

No criminal ever really goes scot-free, for fate will always give him the ending he deserves.

When I wake up in the morning I stay in bed for another hour without going back to sleep.

You CAN take it with you, but what is the point in taking items that will only depreciate with time, since your soul will only outlast them?

I hope it's become clear to everyone by now that fireworks do NOT drive bad luck and evil spirits away. All you have to do is look around you on the first day of each new year.

Went through Newsfeed and unFriended a lot of non-interactive Friends I saw there. A bit of cleaning before the year ends.

Pizza and pasta delivery arrived for our New Year's Eve dinner.

A patrol car has been going round the whole day with the announcement that fireworks, among other things, are prohibited. I suspect that our neighborhood will be celebrating inside their houses peacefully tonight. After all, Precinct 7/Camp Panopio Compound is right across the street, and I am certain that no one wants to meet the New Year there.

I will go out on the roof deck to watch phenomena in the night sky only if I own an astronomical telescope.

I will not bother to go out if all I will see are tiny dots of light in the sky. The last time I saw those, I said, "So what?" and went right back inside.

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

Had myself a bowl of papaitan soup, which my granddaughters don't like.

Just because the year is ending today doesn't mean that tomorrow will not be its continuation. The only certain thing is that you'll be a day older than you are today.

Good morning, Cubao!

Parasols unfurl like tropical flowers in the sunshine.

Change always means that some people gain new jobs and that other people lose old ones.

Just because something is a tradition doesn't mean it can't be ended.

Never overdo anything.

Good night, Cubao!

Lavender and rose are the scents for a blissful bedtime.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, and Dan Patrick videos.

Chilly New Year's Eve eve in Cubao.

Dropped by M.'s cafe via the secret passage to see how Rose and Lennoel are managing. They seem to be doing fine. Jay and Brian should be back tomorrow, and M. on the first day of the new year.

Yukiko Taka likes dropping her pink teething toy in the most unlikely crevices and then begging us to retrieve it.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery with Angelique and Aubrey, then they passed by the milk tea shop to take home drinks.

Claimed Angelique's bedding from the compound laundry.

With every human death we approach the death of the entire planet.

Missing those days in the past when I would spend hours browsing through a store that sells fountain pens, ink varieties, leather-bound journals, and other writing stuff.

A cup of pure chamomile tea.

Angelique came down to a late lunch in the dining room.

Two bottles of wine arrived for tomorrow's dinner.

Painted two cradle sides of Assumption black.

Cheesecake delivery for tomorrow's dinner arrived.

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

M. has gone to his grandmother's wake in Bicol, but his girlfriend and Lennoel are keeping the cafe open until he returns.

It isn't necessary to greet the New Year with a lot of noise and ruckus. All you have to do is be with your loved ones inside your house and play music. I recommend marching band music, but your own, favorite music will do.

Good noon, Cubao!

Cattails release their blossoms to rise to the sun.

To gain insight into vastness, inspect the extreme minuteness of the tiniest dust mote.

One of the most basic things we need to accept from our explorations of outer space is that our planet will eventually die, along with our collective knowledge, cultures, art, dreams and speculations, and religions.

On all other planets, since nothing lasts forever, there must be sickness, pain, suffering, and death.

On all other planets there also must be dreams of immortality in whatever form of verbal or visual language.

It is when someone you know has died that you begin fearing being alone and desire to sleep beside someone. This is the Eros impulse attempting to overcome Thanatos. Unfortunately, many experience this as loneliness and plunge into a relationship that only leads them nowhere.

If you are a man, discourage every woman from consulting you with her problems or requesting you to be her mentor. Direct her to an elderly psychologist of her own gender. This prevents both of you from having to deal with transference, that annoying phenomenon in which a female counselee projects her feelings toward a male counselor and begins to perceive him as her father, grandfather, uncle, brother, husband, and eventually her secret lover.

While transference does occur between men, it is rare and is easier for them to recognize and resolve between themselves.

Unless, of course, YOU are the flirt.

I watch Facebook videos I like until the video admin begins indicating that I need to pay them some money to be able to continue watching. I just stop watching.

Laugh at the world. It keeps you sane.

If you have no pets and then a puppy or a kitten comes into your life, do not turn it away. Your spirit guides sent it to you to extend your good health and your longevity.

Good night, Cubao!

House mice stage stand-up routines and solo concerts on round biscuit tins.

My deepest sympathies to M., whose grandmother passed away today at 85.

Cruel 2020 is still on a rampage and may continue to be so through the very last nanosecond of December 31.

Stay indoors, keep safe, and place those red, plastic flyswatters at your front doors, everyone!

What would men do if I told them that, every time they masturbate, someone gets violently, sexually assaulted somewhere else?

Bipolar persons should be prevented from taking on service-oriented jobs.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Then Angelique arrived from her dinner and coffee reunion and exchanging of gifts with her college friends.

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

A leapin' Tuesday night: A group of bank employees booked M.'s cafe for their holiday party. Music, food, games, balloons popping, shrieks, and laughter.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, and Dan Patrick videos.

Aubrey repainted another wall in her bedroom, and it looks well done!

I'm proud of my granddaughters. I encourage them to do things for themselves and teach them to never depend on men.

The problem with living one's life as a housewife is losing one's income when one gets widowed. Many such widows in our neighborhood are now in their old age and resort to begging, conning, and depending on the kindness of others.

When uncertain as to whether to buy a certain item and you need to ask the opinion of others, do NOT buy the item.

The mind is like a sponge that is always soaking wet. No matter how frequently you squeeze it of great ideas, it never runs dry.

If you can't afford to buy a token dollhouse representing your home, make one yourself. It's actually a fun activity.

Tagalog lore informs us that gnomes get upset and make people sick if someone goes behind a tree and accidentally pisses on them or drops food, wrappers, or other stuff on their heads. The truth is that gnomes are more forgiving than that, knowing and accepting that people can't help being people.

There is only one way to hurt and insult gnomes, and that is to step on their super-sensitive toes. That is why they often wear boots with protective, brass, pointy tips.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery.

Asked Brian to check our kitchen tap.

Now Angelique is off to her annual reunion with her college friends.

To view the photo of the silver-plated buckets, go to my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3603914653028569&set=a.936008466485881. If Google Chrome does not enable you to open the link, simply copy and paste on the browser of your Facebook page.

Aubrey puttied another wall in her bedroom and is working on repainting it today.

A few weeks ago while overhauling her bedroom, Aubrey found these three, silver-plated, buckets pierced with Christmas patterns and set them aside to throw away. Angelique saved them and placed them on my writing table. I filled them to the brim with coins and candy toppings and gave them away to the little girls who regularly play outside our house. (They are actually miniature, tea light holders but I didn't place tea lights in them because they might get lit improperly.)

At a certain point in your life your dreams stop being fantastic and surreal and you begin living a parallel life in them. This is because your ego has sufficiently matured hand in hand with your psyche, which typically happens when you withdraw from your social life into solitude and declare to yourself that you have no real and urgent need of other people in this lifetime.

Social media or no social media, it is VERY easy to tell who your real friends are.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

To view the photo of my 8M ring, go to my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3603726519714049&set=a.936008466485881. If this link won't open here, copy and paste on the browser on your Facebook page.

Your Messenger message:

"Good morning Sir Tony

"What is the Meaning of waking up at 3am . How would I know who is spirit guide ? Thank you

"

My reply:

Hello _______!

Each three-hour segment of the day and the night ( = 24 hours) is ruled by an elemental king. Their names in Philippine magic are MATAM, MITAM, MICAM, MACMAMITAM, MILAM, MAEMPOMOEM, MALAMUROC, and MOMOMOM.  

When you wake up at 3:00 AM your energy simply attunes to the "changing of the guard", and nothing more. It is quite hilarious that very ignorant Filipino scriptwriters believe that it is a time when spirits visit the living. Why should spirits visit the living at 3:00 AM, when, like all other spirits, they can very well visit the living at ANY TIME?

(If you are sensitive enough you will find that you also attune to the "changing of the guard" at the beginning of all other, three-hour segments.)

As to knowing who your spirit guides are, the easiest way is through creative visualization and hypnosis. I retired in 2015 and no longer do this. 

Good morning, Cubao!

The day is divided in four sections, and each section is ruled by an elemental king.

Good night, Cubao!

Dark clouds are pirate ships scudding across the night sky.

Lennoel arrived from an overnight in Tagaytay with his former schoolmates.

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 spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Yukiko Taka had a three-course dinner: chicken adobo, pork steak, and mechado.

If you are a writer, organize your piles of paperwork before the New Year comes in.

Spirit Questors, know how to ride on the constant sound of jingling bells.

Whenever idle during the holidays, lie down and take a nap rather than have a snack.

An adept knows how to use a gaze and an intense emotion like laser beams or invisible lances.

Live the life of a writer or an artist only if your writing and your painting sustain you. Otherwise take on a full-time job that will feed you and your family and pay all of your bills.

Celebrate indoors as much as possible. Lower the probability of your catching a cold in the December chill.

If your water tank does not have a stopper, consider locating plants and wind chimes beneath it.

Some people prefer not having stoppers in their water tanks because:

--they like marking the time it takes for their tanks to fill up

--they like knowing how many tanksful they consume in one day.

It is imperative for every artist to study the anatomy not only of human beings but of animals as well.

When you finally come into your own, there is nothing your former classroom teachers can do about it.

Complementary colors are magical. Use them in combination from time to time.

Amazing how those who were stable and prosperous before the pandemic hit made a complete turnabout and are the exact opposite now.

Instead of cheese, do try salted egg with your wine.

If you don't like imbibing cold water yet only cold water is available, allow the water to warm up inside your mouth and on your tongue before swallowing.

What you no longer have in stock, replenish now.

Do not cling to the illusion that 2021 will bring about sudden, major changes, for major changes are always painfully slow and gradual.

Always rely only on the money you already have, never on the money you are still anticipating to have.

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

Replenished our soda supply. Bought two more rolls of masking tape for Aubrey's room repainting.

Took forty winks.

Monday, Monday

UnFriended more non-interactive Friends. It was like discarding photos from the past in which everything has gone out of style.

Down to 4,666 Friends from 5,000.

Non-interactive former co-workers and Spirit Questors: I will start unFriending you the Monday after the New Year. You are in my four Private Groups anyway and I don't see why you should have continued access to my main account.

December 27 -30: This is the time frame within which near-desperate people realize that they don't have money to celebrate the coming of the New Year.

Social media inculcate habits that users become extremely comfortable with. Therefore, non-interactive Friends seldom change. Once you unFriend them, do not make the mistake of accepting their Friend requests all over again.

Planner entries are best written in block letters.

Never extend your holidays. You will only realize that the extension time isn't much fun and is subconsciously spent mulling over how the holidays are actually over.

To drift off to sleep quickly at night, keep your mouth closed while expanding its interior cavity as though it contained a small chicken's egg.

All of those unusual objects found on Mars are fine, but what do they really mean--that the plant was inhabited long ago but is no longer fit for habitation? Why plan to move there, then?

They observe that all gay relationships are feudal in nature, conveniently forgetting that almost all relationships are feudal in nature.

A person deprived of sleep cannot face the day with a clear mind and a clear heart.

A calendar reminds you not only how far you've gone but also how much farther you have to go.

Every day can be a good day. All you have to do is make it so, for it is within your power to author your own life.

It is suffering, not time, that makes us age.

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

Vernissage: Assumption

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun sprinkles the earth and the sea with iodized salt.

December 28, 2020

Here comes the sun.

People who deliberately splurge in December never learn to save up for it as early as January.

Loners resent unexpected company.

Never wish to trade places with someone you think is more fortunate than you are.

Eat healthfully and well, and that is good enough.

Those who greet the New Year in black without changing into white are in for another lean year.

Good night, Cubao! 

Second to moonstones, sapphires are the enchanted gems of the night.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Mealtimes are constant, but our body clocks are not.

Tasteful fancy jewelry is better than no jewelry at all.

In meeting the new year, consider changing your favorite colors and your favorite numbers--and see what changes in energy occur.

Like Elise who wove shirts out of grass for her 12 brothers in "The Wild Swans", do not speak a word while completing your current masterpiece.

It does not matter when the last time you did anything was. Sooner or later it becomes part of all sentimental claptrap.

Blind obedience should never be demanded of anyone, for everyone on earth has a mind of his own.

Search far, but also search near. Always look closer to home.

Wet morning, wet day, wet evening in Cubao. I always have to use an umbrella whenever I go out of the house.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery and the vegetable stand across the street.

The forbidden fruit was not sex, for there were all kinds of animals, all of whom Adam named, in the Garden of Eden, and I am certain that they engaged in sex. So, then, would have Adam and Eve, since they were created with male and female genitals. Innocence and the sacrament of matrimony were conceived by other men thousands of years later.

I wonder now if Adam and Eve had progeny in Eden, or if Eve already bore Abel in her womb before they were exiled from the Garden.

A painting always serves as a visual and psychological stimulus to whoever looks at it.

Don't just be warm, be warm and dry. Don't just be warm and dry, be warm and dry in a clean place. Don't just be warm and dry in a clean place, be warm and dry in a clean, sweet-smelling place. Don't just be warm and dry in a clean, sweet-smelling place, be warm and dry in a safe, clean, and sweet-smelling place.

Watched CLTV 36's excellent documentation of the Gregorio funeral cortege. I actually felt that I was physically there.

As for myself, I want the immediate aftermath of my death to have only three, quick and easy steps:

--Ensure that I am dead.

--Cremate my cadaver.

--Inter my ashes wherever the ashes of my deceased relatives are.

After that, everyone, please go back to normal, daily activities. Wash the dishes, do laundry, or take a nap.

Sat with Angelique and Aubrey while they took a late lunch in the dining room.

Aubrey is now repainting one of her bedroom walls and Angelique is helping her.

A very quiet, wet Sunday.

Your Messenger message:

"Hello, Sir Tony. Merry Christmas. I just wanna share my strange dream last night. Lumipat daw kami sa bahay ng isang kakilala dahil may nabili na raw sila na bagong bahay. Sa naaalala ko, concrete yung bahay pero unfurnished at ang pakiramdam ko malayo sa siyudad yung lugar pero may mga kapitbahay naman. Nang nakalipat na kami, isng gabi may naramdman akong kakaiba na parang may tao sa labas ng bahay. Nang lumabas ako may nakita akong anino mg lalaki na parang biglang tumakbo papalayo paglabas ko. At kinaumagahan, may lalaki akong nakausap medyo chubby siya at hindi ko naman kilala, siguro mga 25 years old ang edad. May sinasabi siya sa akin about aswang at sinabihan ko naman siya na kagabi may naramdaman akong kakaiba s labas ng bahay at doon siya umamin na siya raw iyon. Sinabi niya sakin na karamihan daw ng kapitbahay namin ay aswang at isa sya sa mga iyon. Dadag pa niya, siya raw ay isang tiktik nag iba ang anyo niya na parang halimaw bigla at kinuha ko naman agad ang kutsilyo. Nang sinakasak ko siya, hindi man lang nagalusan kaya mga ilang ulit kong sinambit ang salitang 'possum'. At hindi niya ako ginalaw. Naputol na po dun amg aking panaginip. Kanina paggising ko mga bandang 3AM. Hinanap ko sa google ang word na 'possum'. Alam kong latin yun na salita pero first time kong ma encounter. Ang ibig sabihin po pala noon pag pinag conjugate ay ' I am able or I am capable.

"Sa tingin nyo po, sir Tony ano po bang ibig sabihin ng aking panaginip?. Salamat po."

My reply:

Hello _______!

Dreaming about moving into another house means that the message of the dream is about a fantasy self, an imagined self, or a desired self rather than the real self that needs to be well-grounded.

In your dream, the supernatural activity features shape-shifters and your valiant albeit ineffective attack on one of them. This signifies, to me, an unusual interest in supernatural matters on your part--an interest that always tends to dwell on the dark side.

The Google translation of what you believe to be a Latin word, "possum", is too flimsy. When I first read your narrative, "possum" came across to me as the marsupial and the English idiom "playing possum", meaning pretending to be not present or pretending to be uninvolved. This seems to reflect  two contradicting attitudes in your life: you want to be there and you don't want to be there.

Make up your mind as to what you want and what you want to be without fearing the judgment of others. Your indecision has been preventing you from finding true happiness all these years.  

Lunch at home alone; grandchildren still resting in their respective rooms upstairs.

Wearing three of my antique bead necklaces today. Move over, Ariadne Oliver.

Unable to varnish due to the water molecules in the air.

My first cigarette of the day. A body feeling that I wish could last forever.

Weather for ducks and a chilly morning in Cubao.

Reminds me of the first five years of my life in our ancestral house in San Fernando, Pampanga, where my eldest aunt loved having ducks, geese, turkeys, and pigs. Part of the huge back yard was a tiny farm in itself.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun always responds to the deep chiming of brass bells.

Good night, Cubao!

Capture the moon's reflection on a garden pond or a bowl of water.

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 spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick videos.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Jazz; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Time is a continuum that man gave a name to. Man also made discrete divisions in time, and whatever was beyond it he called infinity.

No matter what we do with time, however, we cannot ever control it, for, in the first place, we spend time wisely or foolishly, but we cannot even turn back time.

Meet each new year with two lists of your personal objectives: realistic, easy to achieve objectives and fantastic, perhaps impossible to achieve objectives.

You never know what your spirit guides will help you achieve.

Always monitor work being done in your house. Only then will you see and comprehend what the workers are going through and whatever difficulties they may be encountering.

We ordered another box of Cath's assorted, chocolate chip cookies. Please believe me when I say that they are the best cookies in the world.

Saturday. The Yakult woman dropped by to give us our weekly, two packs.

Angelique and Jazz took a late lunch in the dining room.

Went jalan-jalan to the center. Had money changed for the weekend and bought another ball of ham and incandescent ceiling bulbs for our side porches and hallway. Lennoel installed the bulbs. I decided to switch to incandescents because the fluorescents exuded an unwelcome, cold, frigid atmosphere. We are now reserving our fluorescents for our bathrooms and toilets, kitchen, service passages, reading lamps, and the studio area.

Jazz arrived.

Afternoon rainfall in Cubao.

Armand and Lani swooped by and dropped off a kilawin dish and two pans of Lani's scrumptious pound cake, my favorite! I take her pound cake most creatively: as is or with butter, with cheese, with blueberry jam, even with drizzled, black coffee!

Again, they passed by without warning. I was unable to prepare anything to give them.

One-hour, noon nap.

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

Swung by the neighborhood grocery. Bought a loaf of sliced, white bread, two cartons fresh milk, a bottle of Nutella, and a set of triple A batteries for Aubrey.

Good morning, Cubao!

Gnomes will always build their castles in lush gardens.

Take the year 2021 seriously--without whims, without nonchalance, and most especially without presumptions.

Behind closed doors and in the privacy of your home, the best, the safest, and the most legitimate form of escape is still a goblet of liquor.

Always compose a concise paragraph summarizing your year and enter it in your journal. What important insights about yourself, others, and your life did you gain this year?

Make a list of things you were unable to do for yourself and/or for your family this year. Will you finally be able to do these the coming year?

How many changes in direction did you make over the past 12 months? If you were to graph or illustrate those changes in direction, what would the graph or illustration look like?

Silent night.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes ferment a sweet wine that only a few human beings are allowed to imbibe.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Asked M. to bring some food over to his cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Even when the night is as black as ink, the leaves of enchanted trees sparkle and reveal themselves to unwary travelers.

Do not choose a career that will leave you penniless in your old age.

Every unexpected, delightful gift is like a poem delivered and read to you by an angel in the sky, after which the angel gives you a fresh, white rose in full bloom.

Count your blessings, never your misfortunes.

Scry on the sky at midnight on New Year's Eve to witness the giant tapestry of the coming year.

Which one of your Christmas elf figurines is a talisman by which good wishes are granted?

Mawil passes by and drops off some pate and chili garlic.

Aubrey came downstairs to a late lunch in the dining room. Angelique, who had her lunch earlier, came down for a snack. Sat with my granddaughters with two cups chamomile and spicy apple tea.

All three of us are always fast asleep whenever there is an earthquake, and the earthquakes don't affect our dreams.

Glowering skies above Cubao.

The Winter King eats a bowl of ice cream in his brightly-lighted chamber.

One-hour, Christmas day noon nap.

Then Joel Messaged and said he was standing outside my house and had something to give me.

OMG I haven't seen this former student in years and he knows exactly what I want! Am reading the BL bio in bed tonight.

Friends, don't drop by spontaneously. Message me first so that I can prepare something to give you as well.

Joel, you have a rain check date with me at the Cubao Leaky Cauldron.

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

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun showers the earth with golden confetti.

Good night, Cubao!

Fairies and gnomes love observing humans on their holidays and celebrations.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Christmas Eve is done as far as this home admin is concerned. Now he looks forward to a night of peaceful and undisturbed sleep.

Neil and I lowered Assumption on its easel in preparation for vernissage, hopefully tomorrow.

Then Neil helped me hunt for and retrieve a small crystal ball that had rolled behind a piece of furniture.

It really costs little to make other people happy.

After pigging out on food, what?

When we used to have Christmas trees, it was our custom to hang something new on it on Christmas Eve.

There are two kinds, among others, of budgetary surprises: thinking you can afford something but actually cannot, and thinking you cannot afford something but actually can.

The most unreliable income is doing sales.

Some neighbors are at M.'s cafe, most probably those who don't have time to cook a Christmas Eve dinner.

What to do on the night of Christmas Eve: Sleep.

Some pieces of jewelry, when worn to bed, give you marvelous dreams.

Preparing a holiday meal is just as enjoyable as partaking of the meal itself.

Christmas Eve Dinner For Three

Christmas Eve dinner with Angelique and Aubrey. We didn't invite guests due to the pandemic. Nothing fancy like in previous years--steak, truffles pasta, dwarf potato salad, corn, sangria with fruit, and one of my granddaughters' favorite cakes.

Even if it was just the three of us, my granddaughters dressed for dinner and wore make-up and their gold necklaces.

Yukiko Taka's Christmas collar didn't last six hours. She tore it to pieces--was probably irritated by the jingling bell that hung from it.

Never neglect daily chores even on holidays.

Everyone who knows what it is to love and worship a father will forgive her.

They who never cry out prefer to suffer in silence.

Do not buy too many antiques if the generation next to you won't appreciate them.

Besides, no one really likes living everyday in a house that looks like a Vigan hotel.

Always be intelligent enough to know that God has given you everything necessary for you to solve even your worst problems. All you have to do is look and see.

Always be intelligent enough to know that you have more than what you need, if not everything.

One-hour, Christmas Eve afternoon nap.

First rinse of 15 brushes and two palette knives.

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

Lit rose-scented joss sticks at our three altars this morning.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Our Christmas dinner arrived, thanks to LaLaMove.

Even today people are already thinking of the tedious task of having to take down their Christmas trees.

Taking notes is an art that not every writer has mastered, for many writers believe that they can rely solely on their memory.

Too much tinned tuna causes gout. To reduce this possibility, always strain the brine from the tuna well.

Never keep letters that incriminate others in your possession. If you suddenly die, no one will bother to properly dispose of them.

It is when you think he has a crush on you that he really does not.

Rest between major activities. Never plunge from one to the next.

Some spirit guides are always with you, others come and go several times during the day and the night.

Whenever I hear a choir singing "Carol of the Bells", their voices don't sound like bells at all. They sound like a hysterical crowd in a chaotic, escalating argument.

Your Messenger message:

"Sir Tony, good morning po. Nagising po ako bigla and tingin ko po baka po matulungan nyo po ako. Nananaginip po kasi ako. Okay naman po. Normal na panaginip. Out of nowhere, napunta ako sa gitna ng kalsada. Katapat ko ang isang lalaki. Hindi ko maalala mukha niya. Pero pamilyar po siya. Parang kilala ko siya. Narinig ko po ang sarili ko sa panaginip na umusal ng, 'bakit andito ka? Bakit nasa nakaraanh buhay ako?' Tapos nakangiti lang siya. Hinawakan niya ako sa magkabilang balikat, sunod sa leeg. Sabi niya, 'mamamatay ako. Mamamatay na ako. Sabihin mo. Paalam.' Nakakatakot po siya. Tapos nagising po ako. Pero hindi pa po buo. Half-asleep. Then nung sinubukan kong pumikit, sinundan niya ako sa labas ng panaginip. Sa realidad. Naramdaman ko pong nagagalit siya. Umuga nang umuga ang sofa. Sinakal niya ako. Hindi ako makakilos. Kaya sumigaw ako kahit walang lumalabas na salita kundi ngongong tunog lang. Thankfully nagising po si Papa. Iniangat ako. Tinanong ko po siya kung me lindol pero wala raw. Ano raw nangyayari sa akin. Ano po kaya iyon, ser Tony? Ramdam ko po na parang nakasunod pa siya sa akin. Kinikilabutan po ako."

My reply:

Hello ___________!

The man you encountered in your dream is not your self from a previous lifetime. It is your Shadow. I suggest that you read up on  the Shadow and on Shadow therapy. As I explained to you last time, it is necessary to confront the Shadow rather than fear it. The next time you dream of it, stop and face it--and make it your ally. Converse with it. Befriend it as you would befriend any human being.

As reflected in the details of your anxiety dream, it is your Shadow that has been pushing you to depression and suicidal thoughts.

Make the Shadow your ally. You will find that it will make you a most creative and productive person beyond your imagination.

Good morning, Cubao!

The earth heats up when the sun and the rain take a walk hand in hand.

Ordered a "Kaperfect Match" from M.'s cafe for a bedtime snack for PHP99: a milk tea drink (one's choice of flavor) + a sandwich (one's choice of filling). I had a taro milk tea drink and a BLTC sandwich.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes collect night rain in their stainless steel tanks for their drinking and bathing water.

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

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Stocked up on rice from the stand across the street. Bought garlic as well.

The granddaughters also reminded me to buy a delicious apple and an orange for tomorrow night's sangria.

December 23, the lull before Christmas. It's as though everyone in the neighborhood is quietly lying back and waiting for the first person to give the first neighbor's gift and jumpstart the holiday activities.

We really don't believe in Santa Claus, but we allow him to exist.

Bought rolls of masking tape for Aubrey, who is repainting her room over the holidays.

Every night after dinnertime the little girls on the compound walk up to the small loggia and the side porch writing area to admire our colorfully lighted gingerbread house and gnome castle. I've learned to keep the lights on two hours longer for them.

Like Cerefina before her, Yukiko Taka likes snacking on ice cubes.

Whenever I need a simple snack I order a "deal" from M.'s cafe. This is part of their snack menu. It's a bag of chips (of one's own choice) + a canned drink (also of one's own choice) for PHP69.

Laurice Guillen called. Our project is marching on.

Your Messenger message:

"Sir tony matagal ko nang gustong malaman ang tungkol sa madalas kong napapanaginipan dahil ngayon ko lang nalaman na Kaya nyo palang ipaliwanag ang mga kahulugan nito ...madalas ko pong mapanaginipan ang sobrang nakakatakot na burol at sementeryo at bangkay ...ano po bang dahilan o gustong ipahiwatig sakin nito?"

My reply:

Hello ________!

On one level, these anxiety dreams reflect your fear of death, specifically leaving this life without having made any significant contribution to the world.

On a deeper level, you have one or more habits or debilitating blind spots in your personality that your psyche is telling you to get rid of and bury forever. The dreams recur because you have not been taking the proper action on their message. 

Did Mary keep the baby Jesus' umbilical cord? If she did, that would be one of the most precious relics of all.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun pays afternoon calls on his best acquaintances.

Good night, Cubao!

Rain elementals play percussion rhythms on tin rooftops.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Asked M. to bring some food over to his cafe staff.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Buy only things that you will put to maximum use, not things that you will merely show off to others.

Whenever you think of the deceased with pain or suffering in your mind and in your heart, the deceased undergo the same pain and suffering. For many of them, it is their purgatory.

He listens to music whenever he is upset. Sometimes he wishes that the music would never end.

Justice is demanded the same day, but it is never carried out at the very same time.

Back home from jalan-jalan at the center an hour after sundown. Met with two young writers who also draw at the Cubao Leaky Cauldron and passed on to them a lot of dry art materials I no longer want.

It feels great to be retired and writing reflections in bed at 10:00 AM, the very time everyone who is not yet retired is hard at work in the office. I savor the morning light in my bedroom windows, the atmospheric sounds around me, and my semi-nudity, if not my comfortable clothing.

I often go out of my way to do this.

Your body needs bitter food. Once in a while take bitter melon, chopped Chinese cabbage with tofu, and gising-gising.

Great things start from great beginnings.

Whenever an eclipse or an unusual conjunction of planets occurs, I snuggle in bed with The Shooting Star from The Adventures of TinTin.

Despite what appears on the surface, it is being short of money that causes people to be short-tempered.

Tear up and throw away all of your 2020 calendars before midnight on New Year's Eve. Ideally they should be burned outdoors in a fire pit or Chinese burner, but the first way is a safer practice.

It is all right if you stull don't have new calendars to replace the old ones.

This is a New Year's Eve ritual in itself.

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

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun wears gold ties in his hair.

Finalized sketches for Painting #21 for Maryhill School of Theology. The framer responded and said that I should have a new piece of cradled canvas before the end of this year, though they did not specify what date that would be. Ah well, to nap and sleep in the meantime, perhaps with some TinTin comic books.

Meeting two young writers tomorrow because I promised to pass on to them my dry art media.  

Good night, Cubao!

Banana groves house garages for gnome carriages.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick videos.

Yukiko Taka's Christmas collar.

Am pretending that it's not a poinsettia but a hibiscus, which is the flower of the goddess of the storm.

To view the photo, go to my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3584451071641594&set=a.936008466485881.

Old and new gashes caused by Yujkiko Taka's razor-sharp talons when she's too excited to see me.

Am relieved that we finally had her nails trimmed earlier this afternoon.

Monday, Monday

UnFriended more non-interactive Friends. It was like getting rid of old Christmas decorations that were put up during happier times.

Down to 4,713 from 5,000.

To my real friends, those whom I personally know and who personally know me but are nonetheless non-interactive on my Facebook Wall:

I will start unFriending you once my List goes down to 700. You will be among the 200 that will bring my List down to the final 500. This shouldn't be a big deal because we know each other anyway.

Brian trimmed Yukiko's Taka's paw nails while Neil and I kept her diverted, but she was very well-behaved and enjoyed the attention she was getting.

Yukiko's nails were talons as sharp as razor blades. My legs and feet still have scratch marks all over.

Do EVERYTHING to prevent a sad Christmas from coming into your life.

Staggered lunchtimes.

Our bohemian, holiday lifestyle.

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

Ordered a new piece of cradled canvas but no response from the framers yet.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun's heralds hoist golden banners at the head of his parade.

Good night, Cubao!

The fairies hold lavish costume balls once a month.

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

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

_The Glorious Mysteries: The Assumption of Mary Into Heaven_

The Glorious Mysteries: The Assumption of Mary Into Heaven

Oil on cradled canvas

6' x 4.5'

December 11 - 20, 2020

In this painting, Mary is assumed into heaven above a tropical, Philippine landscape. She is dressed in 1920s carnival queen attire; this was a huge, annual pageant that was looked forward to in San Fernando, Pampanga where I was born, through the onset of the Second World War. 

The ribbons round Mary's waist are representative of the contemporary movements for gender equality, breast cancer awareness, and the fight against domestic violence on women and children, which she brings to heaven like prayer banners.

I deliberately syncretized Mary's figure with that of Chang-O, the legendary, Chinese goddess of the moon, who obtained from her husband the elixir of immortality and then ascended to the moon. Interestingly, the Catholic feast day of the Assumption, August 15, is closely followed, from mid-August to September depending on the lunar year, by the Chinese Moon/Mooncake Festival. It was typical of the early Catholic Church to syncretize its feast days with "pagan" festival dates.

The planet Venus, a symbol of woman, shines at the top of the painting.

The pandemic is still on and I continue to refuse to admit outsiders and models into my studio. My granddaughter Aubrey sat for the figure of Mary.

The auditory stimulus I used while making this painting is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Oxwnf1lPE. Do listen to it while viewing the painting.

I was overjoyed when the latest piece of cradled canvas was delivered to our house December 10. I commenced construction lines the following day and looked forward to painting throughout the holidays, hoping to finish December 31. Alas, I finished Painting #21 for Maryhill School of Theology in a mere nine days. It is December 20, and I am now torn between ordering a new canvas, though I'm afraid the framer's men are already on vacation, or simply doing nothing but eat and sleep the rest of the year.

It is possible that my spirit guides want me to rest and take a break from painting until the first week of January 2021.

Staggered dinnertimes.

It is all right to have illegible penmanship, but all of your written numbers should be clearly written. Illegible numbers always lead to disaster.

It seems that everybody wanted, and still wants, a piece of Drew Drechsel's prize money.

Worked an hour on eighteenth glaze.

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

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery and bought a gallon of ice cream.

Saw that the new milk tea shop across the street is now open.

Staggered lunchtimes.

Worked an hour on seventeenth glaze.

An artist becomes more and more beautiful not because he improves his looks but because he improves his works.

Fervent prayers and wishes not granted are forms of karma in themselves.

It is quite interesting that we Filipinos, in Freudian terms, seem to be very oral, as evidenced in the Tagalog phrase "Ang sarap!" That phrase doesn't only mean "delicious" in referring to food--it is applied to cute babies, crushes, joy rides, vacations, recreation, hobbies, sex, obsessive-compulsive habits, among others--even to anger-related examples as in "Ang sarap niyang patayin!" 

Does this verbal fixation have anything to do with breast feeding? It certainly isn't because "Filipinos love to eat"; I Posted elsewhere that, if that were true, we would have the largest culinary schools and cooking competitions in Asia. (Filipinos DO love to eat, but mostly chitchiria and standard office party food, not fine cuisine.)

Here are other oral phrases:

--Maasim ang mukha 

--Matamis na dila

--Matamis na ngiti

--Mapait ang sikmura (I'm not including "Mapait na katotohanan" because it is a literal translation from "The bitter truth".)

--Inaalat ang suwerte

--Matabang na pagtingin

--Maanghang na salita

All of the creches depict a silent night, but in none of them have I ever seen shepherds quaking; all of them seem peaceful and mildly ecstatic.

The back pages of a student's notebook always contain his greatest fears.

Never be the cause of others' sadness. You will regret it even far off into the future.

A very early lunch at home alone; grandchildren still resting upstairs.

Waiting for M.'s cafe boys to come back from shopping and church. I need them to raise the cradled canvas on the easel.

Ninth day on Painting #20.

Worked an hour on sixteenth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun wears a golden cloak with a train of a thousand miles.

Know how to sleep well whether alone or with other people in the same room you are in.

Those with truly excellent abilities are often willing to render services for free.

It is fine to make a relatively unimportant person feel important because:

--it raises his self-esteem

--it makes him feel loved and accepted

--it inspires him to rise and live up to your expectations

--it allows him to become introspective and discover his unused skills and talents

--it teaches him to be grateful to be alive.

Valedictorians turn out to be useless men when they start believing that the world owes them a living.

It was a miserable leap year for most of the world, and the extra day didn't help any.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes saddle water rats and ride them like night horses.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come gain: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

It was drizzly all of last night and all of today, and I'm glad the drizzle has finally stopped.

Staggered dinnertimes for everyone.

Worked half an hour on fifteenth glaze.

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

Worked an hour on fourteenth glaze.

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

It takes only one letter change to turn a lover into a loser.

Workers wake up early because they need to cater to the needs of their bodies before beginning their day.

Never treat painting like automatic writing. You will only manage to come up with visual drivel.

The idiomatic phrase "Tama na!' is quite interesting. It is uttered by victims of torture and gang rape to indicate to their tormenters that they cannot take any more discomfort and pain.

Yet, literally, "Tama na" means "Right already" and can actually be taken to mean approval rather than disapproval.

The soul will go on and on in a series of different bodies in successive lifetimes. Its faces will almost never be the same, but its hands and feet will.

If you no longer dream of your deceased parents, it is because they have reincarnated into new lifetimes.

Which of your ancestors always figure in your dreams and are undeniably responsive to your prayers and your pleas for help?

Never write nonsense, for it is a waste of energy and is nothing more than mental debris.

Enunciate clearly. Men who feel that they are losers in life tend to mumble and speak inaudibly.

 Angelique and Jazz left to buy something and have a late lunch out.

Worked half an hour on thirteenth glaze.

Worked an hour on twelfth glaze.

Jazz arrived.

A very early, mid-morning, lunch at home. Angelique and Aubrey still resting upstairs; it's the first day of their holiday break from school.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun wears a royal turban encrusted with topaz for sunshine and aquamarine for rain.

Remember that your skin needs to breathe easily at night.

What at first appears difficult turns out to be easy; what at first appears easy turns out to be difficult.

Old photos are fun to keep and nostalgic to look at and relive, but the reality is that they keep you back more than they move you forward.

It is not superstitious to wear or use at least one new item on New Year's day. It jumpstarts your year with a fresh attitude or outlook.

Due to the pandemic, am foregoing one of my favorite pastimes: watching the crush of travelers going home to their respective hometowns at the Araneta Center busport.

Always paint human figures from actual models, never from imagination. Otherwise you will never be able to capture the myriad of characters and emotions available. When you paint human figures from imagination, the only character and emotion that will come through are your own, and you will tend to repeat yourself in every painting until your entire oeuvre becomes decadent and boring. 

Good night, Cubao!

Coffee and cacao were originally grown by earth elementals.

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 spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick videos.

Asked Lennoel to deep-fry two bowls of french fries in our kitchen for the granddaughters.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked an hour on eleventh glaze.

Worked an hour on tenth glaze.

Hired Neil and Brian to wrap Ascension and then set up the current work in progress, Painting #20, on the easel.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Had money changed for the weekend, sent some money to my younger son Chito, paid our water utility bill, bought three items for the studio, two items for the granddaughters, and one item for myself.

Fascinated with Rav Dror's commentaries on the Old Testament and on Jesus.

Unexpected holiday gift of Benguet Blend coffee from Peter and Christine Bellen Ang.

Whenever I take coffee from the Cordilleras, I hear gongs striking rhythm to a primal dance.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Language deteriorates where social media rule, for, while words are used in social media to communicate with others, social media are really not verbal in nature--they employ, rather than left-brain hemisphere thinking, three-dimensional thinking.

The sky fairies sow silver seeds in the plantations of the clouds.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

Elementals are silent witnesses to human misdeeds committed in the night.

Angelique and Aubrey came down to dinner in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on ninth glaze in the studio area.

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

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn,. and Dan Patrick videos.

Took an early dinner at home; Angelique is still resting upstairs and Aubrey is attending an electronic meeting.

Adequate rest helps prevent your body from being vulnerable to many kinds of ailments.

The hermit sees more than socially active people do.

Be rich, but do not be a prominent person. You will avoid having huge problems that way.

Sometimes the messenger is himself the source of the news.

I am hopelessly hooked on Chinese hot sauce. I eat almost everything with it.

Your works in progress always tell you what to do next, every step of the way.

Learn to shun a religion that continues to condition the public that men are superior to women.

The head of the family must always be constant and consistent, even to himself.

Worked half an hour on eighth glaze.

Gave Yukiko Taka her second dose of deworming drops. It's been two weeks since the first one.

Worked half an hour on seventh glaze.

Worked an hour on sixth glaze.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room; this is her penultimate day of electronic classes before her holiday break.

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

Huge areas of Yukiko Taka's fur are gradually turning beige. She won't grow up to be a white dawg after all.

Good morning, Cubao!

Glass castles sparkle above snow-white clouds.

Good night, Cubao!

House mice knit warm sweaters from cobweb skeins.

My day was wiped out by all of the time we spent at the center.

I hope to do a lot of painting tomorrow to make up for it.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick videos.

Worked half an hour on fifth glaze.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

There will be herald angels.

When your feet tingle and become numb, it is usually because you need to be better-grounded in reality.

It is not too early to make plans for and map out your first quarter of 2021.

Fully experience and savor happy moments, for they do not last and are easily buried by sad moments.

Observe more than you act.

Train your children to value money and make it whenever they can, but honestly and without undue stress.

Think pleasant thoughts of yourself and of others only, and your dreams will be pleasant as well.

Because, if our dreams are the heaven or the hell we continue to exist in after we die, we would not want to exist in an eternal nightmare.

Now prepare a personal scenario for each day through the end of this year, and mark the highlights, if any, of each day.

What do you need to make each day satisfying and complete?

Have you omitted any obligations and activities?

How much time each day are you spending with your family and alone?

A well-prepared scenario each day helps you balance your availability, your energy, your time, and your money.

Each scenario is also a snapshot of a day in your life.

Author your life and give it a happy ending.

Worked an hour on fourth glaze.

Happy Birthday to my daughter-in-law Ivy!

Lit candles and special joss sticks at our family altar.

Angelique, Aubrey, and I are back from the center. Toto drove us there.

We did major groceries and had lunch out.

Good day, Cubao!

During a solar eclipse, the sun sends flying kisses to everyone.

Good night, Cubao!

Empty bedroom corners are best converted to pets' sleeping spaces.

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, then spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

Worked half an hour on third glaze.

Worked an hour on second glaze.

An early lunch at home alone, then Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Early gifts from my sisters arrived this morning. Everything is in cash--as my gifts always are. I guess, no one feels like shopping the old-fashioned way.

To view the photo, go to Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3568910693195632&set=a.936008466485881.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun casts rainbows through dragonfly wings.

Some years ago portrait artist Rafael del Casal was chosen to do the painting of Aeneas carrying Anchises for the movie Ang Larawan, the musical version of National Artist Nick Joaquin's Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. For some reason the producers did not like the painting, and it was kept mostly defocused in the background. Rafael was perplexed and quite offended by this.

I never bothered to inquire, but it is possible that the producers felt that Rafael's rendition of Lorenzo el magnifico's painting in his classical, realist style was inappropriate to the material. Lorenzo el magnifico was a rebel and an outcast among his peers. Braque, Matisse, and Picasso were already deconstructing realist images elsewhere in the world--so, then, must have Lorenzo el magnifico.

Good night, Cubao!

Conscientious pets go on night patrol round your house at 12:00 MN and 3:00 PM, that is why they sleep a lot in the morning.

While going over many of my Postings, I notice that the first letters of successive Postings sometimes spell out names, but I don't know why that happens. My recent Postings recently spelled out the name "Dido".

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Asked Neil 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 spending some time watching Bounty Hunter D, Patty Mayo, Paula Zahn, and Dan Patrick online videos.

In my blog titled Tony Perez's Enchanted Knits I mention a workshop I once led for the high school students of Philippine National School for the Blind under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy in Manila. One of the exercises in that workshop was to have the participants feel crayons and strands of yarn of different colors and determine the differences in feeling. Ninety-nine percent of the participants succeeded in identifying colors by feel alone. The color pink stood out most--pink yarn has a sandy, sticky feeling between one's fingers.

While painting this afternoon I noticed, for the first time, that different colors mixed with linseed oil have different SMELLS. I'm going to continue observing this before describing the unique smell of each color.

Do not spend your money on a trip or a vacation if part of what you are buying is the danger and the probability of contracting a virus.

One way of explaining that God is everywhere is that He/She is in your Superconscious, your Conscious, your Subconscious, your Unconscious, and the Collective Unconscious.

You need not worship gods and goddesses. All you have to do is believe in them.

Talismans you've forgotten but are still in your possession continue to work effectively for you.

Rest and sleep are the best medicine for physical and psychological stress.

https://tonyperezphilippinescyberspacebook18.blogspot.com/

Employment's evil is taking employees away from their families, for all of that time can never be repaid. This is one of the reasons why most intelligent employees desist from getting married and/or having children.

Many people are mentally, emotionally, and physically weary. They yearn to lie back and rest and have someone take care of them. Their biggest mistake, though, is taking on lovers in the hope of achieving that end.

Lovers don't take care of you. They expect you to take care of them.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery and did minor groceries.

Worked half an hour on first glaze.

The year-end holidays should never be a source of stress. If they are, you miss the point of the holidays completely.

Teach your children ambition. Only then can they change their lives, the lives of others, and the world.

The best block lettering to adopt is the handwritten block lettering in your favorite comic book.

Remember this throughout your old age: a retiree needs no new friends, for he has more than enough of old ones.

Both a loving wish and a curse travel swiftly through ether.

The least unlikely person is usually the one who has an intense crush on you.

In the midst of the hilly city I hear the rushing of the sea.

Working on Painting #20 but already making sketches for Painting #21.

An egg-shaped container is the best vessel for written wishes.

Honor the elements in your paintings and in your literary works.

Never praise a fat little girl for being cute. She will only grow up to be fat woman.

I always cherish my freedom to be unpredictable.

Monday, Monday

UnFriended more non-interactive Friends. It was like placing unwanted items in a cardboard box to give away to charity.

Now down to 4,757 from 5,000.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room. She has an electronic class after noon.

Sangria delivery for New Year's Eve arrived. Must pay Aubrey for it.

Worked half an hour on fourth glaze.

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

The granddaughters' last week of electronic classes before the holiday break, and Angelique is counting hours.

Since about a week ago the compound tenants have been allowing their little children to play outside, albeit within the gates, perhaps because it's getting close to holiday time. Yukiko Taka is oblivious to their shrieks and laughter since she spends most of her time in the laundry area and is focused on lapping up her milk, but I recall that Cerefina loved children and used to bark at them while standing on our side porch.