The paths of art, literature, psychism, and classroom teaching are the usual paths to poverty, especially poverty in old age, unless you are so exceptional in your field that your low ceiling raises itself to a higher one for you.

The only solution is to straddle two, simultaneous paths, the other one the path to lucre, by tweaking the Tagalog idiom of riding your boat in two different rivers. 

Spirit Questors, always remember this: My objective was never to be Batman. My objective was to be Bruce Wayne.

We moved our coffee and tea sets to the table in the breakfast area. In the background, two Bruce Lee action figures in glass cloches, one a gift from Bong and the other a gift from my spiritual son Ferd, fabric roses in a crystal vitrine, the blue-and-white Q'ing Dynasty dragon jar which I hope will stay in our family forever, and Andrew Cawrse's ecorches (which I must remember to move to the relocated studio). All these atop an antique, Maranao trunk with drawers, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, imported to Cubao from before the Marawi City siege. 

Our relocated living area can be seen beyond.

Good morning, Cubao!

Consult the god of beginnings before traveling.

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Any excuse to have a family get-together, but this time for the first time in our relocated dining area.

Your Messenger message:

"Is it safe to transfer to the appartment where my papa died. A psychic said that the entitys and the spirit of my father still linger in the appartment and that his illness will stranger to the new occupants. Is there anyway to cleanse the appartment. As for his ashes, his last will is to bring it spain. Is it okay to scater his ashes to the sea as per sadgoru advised? Thank you very much sir tony"

My reply:

Hello ____!

You asked me this before. My answer remains the same. This time I will not bother to elaborate.

1) It is safe.

2) Whose instructions do you value more, your father's or Sadgoru's?

3) If you cannot afford to bring or send your father's ashes to Spain, however, install the urn in the columbary of a church operated by Spanish priests.

4) Please do not consult me about this matter again.

March 2024

Our relocated breakfast area. A second mahjong table functions as a breakfast table.

Our one-meter tall, porcelain Kwan Yin that traveled all the way from China to an antique shop in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, to yet another antique shop in Ermita  Manila, and then to our house awaits a pedestal. Behind her are a few, wrapped paintings awaiting delivery.

The far wall is painted Van Dyke brown. High on the wall, lighted by spots, is a framed, cross-stitched "M" (for Miranda) that my sister Alice executed for us years ago. The celadon plate on thwe right features an embossed, Chinese dragon. On the left is a pair of New Orleans theater masks, a gift from actress Naty Crame-Rogers. The cupboard with crystal ware on the extreme left, like the spice hutch in the prep and cooking area, is another Papemelroti export over-run; we trimmed it also with metallic, yellow-gold paint.

As you can see, our shelves of mugs on a wall in the kitchen area are reflected in the huge mirror, and the prep and cooking area behind that wall. The breakfast area, kitchen, and prep and cooking area thus span the entire length of three apartments standing side-by-side.

Good morning, Cubao!

Be observant. Correctly distinguish the good from the bad.

It was a Sweet 60

Then a Serene 61
A Solitary 62
A Stunning 63
A Superb 64
A Suave 65
A Soaring 66
A Spectacular 67
A Splendid 68
A Shining 69
A Sleek 70

A Sparkling 71

A Sensational 72!

And now a Starry 73!

Fate willing, two more years before I withdraw from Facebook at 75 and become a complete hermit.

Lilo gifts me her framed, linoleum-cut self-portrait titled "Saturna," Giselle gives me ripe pineapples and mangoes.

Learned from Lia Torralba this afternoon that Lui Bacaltos passed away four years ago. 

In wish Lui the best in her continued journey.

I am really out of the loop.

Good night, Cubao!

Avoid acting like a proud peacock.

One Message For One Of 3,600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with seven syllables in your name: Do not heed gossip about other people.

Saturday, March 30, 2024 

18th Bilbo Baggins afternoon

With artists Lilo Gutierrez and Lia Torralba, Spirit Questors Allan, Gisele, and Jimmy, and Mark, whom I am mentoring in creative writing

Our antique, "secret" Kwan Yin, carved of rosewood, stands atop the pantry cabinet in an inconspicuous corner of our prep and cooking area. She holds the A.T.A.R.D.A.R. wand, carved of dignum, a gift from the late mage Roy Alvarez, and a gold-plated, copper talisman that allegedly enables its owner to decode magical spells, also a gift from Roy Alvarez.

The antique, Maranao warship inlaid with mother-of-pearl on a wooden rack is from Marawi City. The smaller, antique, brass warship in front of it was purchased in Cagayan de Oro City many years ago. (I wasn't able to buy a model of The Unicorn from The Adventures of TinTin, but at least I have these.)

On the right is a rare, black metal Igorot gong--not to be confused with the brass Igorot gong which I also have--which is so powerful that its sound, when struck, can be heard all the way from our house to the intersection of P. Tuazon Boulevard and N. Domingo Street, especially on a still day like Good Friday.

Good morning, Cubao!

The goddess of the sea should be consulted in all matters.

Good night, Cubao!

Never pretend to be someone other than who you really are.

One Message For One Of 3,600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with six syllables in your name: 

"A fire is not put out with a mouthful of water."
--African proverb

Atop an antique, narra book cabinet on the far wall of our prep and cooking area. In the background, Left, an oil painting by actress Raven Villanueva, and, Right, a framed, watercolor and pen-and-ink work by a Filipino comic book illustrator based in Hong Kong. The former was a gift, the latter purchased from an exhibit held by the Saturday Art Group.

The statuettes on the ledge are of bonded Carrara marble: Left to Right, Perseus based on the original statue by Benvenutto Cellin; head of David, purchased during the celebration of the 500th year of Michelangelo's David, and a statuette based o n Rodin's Thinker.

More Greco-Roman figurines on the shelves below. Partly visible are Design Toscano's "Hercules Throws King Diomedes to His Man-Eating Mares," a bust of Ares (I am an Aries), and Boy With Thorn by Fedelino Spinario.

Look, Ma, no more books!

Good morning, Cubao!

Money is in danger of being depleted.

Do not overshoot your budget. Offer five plain cupcakes drizzled with honey  or five sweet cupcakes and five joss sticks to the goddess of love and prosperity. After the joss sticks have burned down, place everything in a plastic bag and dispose of it in a  dustbin.

 M., Neil, and Nino are having a drinking session (gin mixed with kumquat) in the kitchen. The scene reminds me of the ending of _A Streetcar Named Desire_. Minus Blanche du Bois, unless I can pass for Blanche du Bois at this hour, except that I have never depended on the kindness of strangers--on the contrary, strangers have always depended on my kindness.

 I learned tonight, while surfing, that my old friend Diego Quejada has been deceased for a year now. Ours was a strange companionship: we were Teen Theater group mates, along with Lutgardo Labad and Maryo de los Reyes, at Cecile Guidote Alvarez's Philippine Educational Theater Association in the summer of 1968; after I graduated from high school. I even recall that stage actor Lino Brocka, who was not yet a movie director at the time, had a crush on him at the time. We parted ways when I was at university; two years later Saint Paul cross-enrollees informed me that he was one of their favorite instructors in college.

Diego, Gardy, and Maryo were seminarians at Our Lady of Guadalupe when I first net them. Diego went on to pursue theological studies at Maryhurst Seminary in Baguio City, after which he became academic dean at the Inter-Congregational Theological Center. He did not, however, become a priest. Many years later, I was not surprised to have him as my teacher in thesis, research, and quantitative measures class during my final year at Maryhill School of Theology. He attended both my public lecture and my thesis defense.

I thought that he was one of those people who would live forever. Alas, I was unable to say goodbye.

I wish him well on his continued journey.

Good night, Cubao!

Win the battle and claim your laurels.

One Message For One Of 3,600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with six syllables in your name: Be brave and face what you fear.

March 2024

Our relocated prep and cooking area, view from the northeast side. The mint-green door leads to the back of M.'s cafe, which in turn leads to the cafe's cooking area. On the right, beyond the tiled counter, is our kitchen area.

The spice hutch is a Papemelroti export over-run,. We trimmed it with metallic, yellow-gold paint.

Good morning, Cubao!

Stand on your own two feet and face your destiny. The king of lightning smiles on you.

Good night, Cubao!

There are four warrior spirit guides: the one who opens doors, the one who rules iron, the archer, and the herbal healer.

One Message For One Of 3.600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with five and you with six syllables in your names: Patience is the key to conquering all troubles.

Your Messenger message:

"Good evening po Sir Tony. Pasensya na pi sa disturbo. I would like to ask po your opinion about this video. Is this a ghost, or some kind of entity? A priest, mentioned in a different interview that this is a form of fallen angel."

My reply:

Hello _____________!

The video, of courswe4, is a dramatization rather than the real thing.

The most sensible explanation could be that the "person" running across the street is a memory trace recorded in ether from an actual event in the past. Therefore, it would be wise to investigate whether a person of that description encountered and perhaps died in that location a month or more than a month ago.

"Fallen angels" hardly show themselves to humans. They detest us and want nothing to do with us. Besides, if they did, we would be paralyzed with sheer awe in their presence. What others perceive as "fallen angels" are more often than not elementals or human spirits--or elementals disguised as human spirits.

Sometimes I wonder whether I have grade school and high school teachers who are still alive and are highly perplexed at how I turned out to be.

Never make life miserable for others--simply because it makes no sense.

Your dreams in life are living documents. Always be willing to tweak, change, or revise them as your situations dictate.

March 2024

Our relocated prep and cooking area, view from the west side. A granite-top serves as a prep table. A second coromandel screen, this one with a floral design, hides the area, in lieu of curtains, from the sliding doors that lead to a side porch on the driveway. On the left is an antique, narra cabinet from the Art Deco period, repurposed to serve as a pantry cabinet for snacks and other foodstuffs.

Our electric oven and our gas oven are placed side by side, as they were in our old kitchen.

We are leaving this area as bare as possible to comfortably accommodate everything needed during cooking.

Good morning, Cubao!

Your warrior spirit guides will fight for you.

Good night, Cubao!

Pause at the crossroads. Choose the path leading to the strengthening of your spirituality.

One Message For One Of 3,600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with five and you with six syllables in your names: Do not be hasty. Wait and clear your mind before taking the next step.

Philip installs the items he claimed from the 17th Bilbo Baggins afternoon in his condo unit. He is 100 percent Ifugao and I hope he eventually claims all of the items from the Cordilleras that we have in our collection.

March 2024

We finally relocated our kitchen area, which has a Halloween motif only because we have lots of nice Halloween stuff. One of two mahjong tables functions as a kitchen utility table, We're using the low cabinets with doors mostly for pots, pans, and less frequently used items, but we have always preferred open shelves so we can see at a glance what we still have and what we need to replenish; it also forces us to organize things for visual tidiness.

The second photo shows how the space looked like when  I was using it as a messy studio area.

Look, Ma, no more easels, canvases, and taborets!

Good morning, Cubao!

Offer three pieces of tuyo or tinapa with three joss sticks to the god who opens doors. The fish may be sealed inside a Ziploc bag.

After the joss sticks have burned down, dispose of everything in a plastic bag in a dust bin, if possible at a crossroads. 

Another work day ends for Neil. We rearranged and organized more stuff, and we set aside more items for the 18th Bilbo Baggins afternoon.

Good night, Cubao!

Value and trust the wisdom and experience of your elders.

One Message For One Of 3,600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with five and you with six syllables in your names: Wear something white on your head or in your hair for eleven days.

The relocation of our kitchen area, prep and cooking area, breakfast area, dining area, living ar4ea, and my new studio space are now complete. The granddaughters used the new kitchen and dining areas for the first time this morning.

I use the word "area" rather than "room" because our ground floor has an open layout (no walls), which I love because it allows me to creatively rearrange things from time to time. It also compels me to conceive of the space as an integral whole rather than a room-by-room affair. Nice for indoor glamping, too.

March 2024

Moving the dining and kitchen areas to the former studio area. View from west end.

The dining area is our chinoisserie area. On the left is a framed work by a celebrated Chinese brush artist. Unfortunately I can't recall her name, but it was sold to me by a co-worker when I was still at the U.S. Embassy. The decorative plate below it is a traditional Jingdezhen piece featuring a scene called "100 Sons of Wu." The chrysanthemum vase is an antique that my father used to own. The crane and the 100 boys are typical symbols of long life and prosperity.

The iron tea stove for tea lights and the wooden case containing tea things are a few oF many gifts from Sim Teow Lii, a very special friend in Singapore. When my granddaughters visited Singapore last year, I arranged to have Teow Li meet up with them. At first my granddaughters refused to meet anyone they didn't personally know--until I told them that Teow Li was the closest I ever had to having a girlfriend.

Look, Ma, no more easels, canvases, and taborets!

Good morning, Cubao!

Be mindful of a possible misunderstanding between elders and youth.

Good night, Cubao!

An oracle will advise you on how to achieve mental and emotional cleansing.

One Message For One Of 3,600 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with six syllables in your name: Avoid jealousy and its dangers at all costs.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

17th Bilbo Baggins afternoon

Photos by Shand Rodriguez