Good morning, Cubao!

The sun visits the forge of Hephaestus.

Good night, Cubao!

The moon strews silver glitter on the ripples of river water.

I believe they're telling you to buy bananas because, due to the fact that they can't export them for now, there is a huge surplus in stock.

Bananas mainly fortify you with potassium.

Sat with Angelique and Aubrey while they took a late dinner in the dining room. Sweet, fresh pineapple for dessert.

Visited M. via the secret passage. They're closing for the night due to the Quezon City curfew.

Night chores: Washed the dishes and a frying pan; filled our ice box with ice cubes and refilled our ice trays with alkaline water; turned off all the ground floor lights; locked up for the night..

And so to bed with Charlie Bone.

Bought sweet pineapple at the fruit stand across the street. It has more vitamins than all other fruit.

Lots of military personnel at the fruit stand, in D.'s store, and in M.'s cafe. Actually several of them live on our compound; their headquarters, Police Precinct 7, is diagonally across our house. Asked two of them if a curfew is in effect in Quezon City, and they said yes.

Dinner at home alone; granddaughters still resting upstairs.

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

End of another workday on the ground floor laundry room and service passage.

Worked an hour on thirty-eighth glaze.

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

Angelique, Aubrey, and Jazz bought glasses of milk tea at the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea fountain.

Bought a snack for W.

A half-hour, late afternoon nap.

Prayers for our family friend Liberty Ilagan, who passed away this morning.

Worked an hour on thirty-seventh glaze.

Angelique, Aubrey, and Jazz now taking a late lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on thirty-sixth glaze.

Lunch at home with W.; grandkids still resting upstairs.

W. repaired and cleaned one electric fan and assembled Aubrey's executive office chair for her study table. He is now replacing the bulbs in Angelique's bedroom globe chandeliers and one ceiling light each in  Angelique's and Aubrey's bathrooms.

A day of sundry chores and housekeeping expenses.

It is difficult to live in a condo unit during the lockdown of a metropolis, because condo living is always designed for its residents to live more outdoors than indoors.

A father does not have to be abusive in order to produce a rebellious son.

All he has to do is be poor and unable to provide his family with everything they need.

A cup of very black coffee.

W. reported for work this morning.

The sun lays golden carpets on honest persons' pathways.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

After panic-buying, where did your good money go, now that your children are begging you for a porterhouse steak dinner?

It is necessary for the military to expedite the prevention of entrances and exits to an area that is locked down, because many Filipinos are compulsively rebellious and detest being disciplined, possibly because of the way their fathers might have dealt with them in their childhood.

Behavior in traffic is one example of being undisciplined.

Panic-buying toilet paper, alcohol, and sanitizing liquid is another--quite ridiculous because all of those items are locally-produced and usually available under Best Buy, unlike in First World countries that have to import them. Go ahead and buy everything on the shelves. A few days later you will find that the shelves will be filled again. I believe you mistakenly thought that you were in Australia, or saw that video from Australia and fancied it would be cool to do the same.

Wastage of water is another example.

Wastage of electric power is another example.

Non-segregation of garbage is another example.

Littering in the streets is another example.

Noise pollution is another example.

Vandalism is another example.

Behavior on Facebook is yet another example.

Yes, true discipline begins with self-discipline.

Now that you have a chance to hole up at home for a long period of time:

--Go round your house and sit down and contemplate every single item you love in it, be it a wall, a door, a window, a painting, a piece of sculpture, an antique, or just a simple thing.

--Learn to enjoy what I've been enjoying since I retired--the slow, two-hour breakfast; the slow, two-hour lunch; the slow, two-hour dinner; and the slow shower. You will find that time will cooperate with your pace. You don't have to rush everything the way soldiers do in combat camp, or they way the stereotype New Yorker goes about his day. After all, you are not in New York.

--Take up needlework, such as knitting.

--Clean your house really well. It's a good form of physical exercise, and it centers you.

Go to bed not with electronics but with a book you love reading.

Electronics overstimulate your mind and prevent it from relaxing.

The purity of words on paper gently makes you drift off to sleep.

To sleep well and long, write everything you need to do the following day in your planner. That way you won't go to bed cogitating over everything you have to do next.

Self-quarantined at home?

Learn and enjoy and love the art of sleeping and napping. It keeps your body and your mind fully mended and healthy.

I've been doing that every day since I retired in 2015.

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

A goblet of red wine after my evening shower, and then back to bed with Charlie Bone.

Dinner at home alone; grandkids still resting upstairs.

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

Ordered a KFC dinner for Angelique, Aubrey, and Jazz.

Worked an hour on thirty-fifth glaze.

Remembering the cholera epidemic in the Philippines during the time of Mary Helen Fee.

Two-hour, afternoon nap.

Jazz arrived.

Two more cups green tea, and I keep dropping ice cubes in them.

Brought a plate of biscuits over to M.'s cafe staff.

Worked an hour on thirty-fourth glaze.

When President Duterte jokingly advised us to stay home and explore everything in it because "baka may mga lugar na hindi n'yo pa napupuntahan", I took it seriously because our house is too big for us. We seldom go to the roof deck, the front and side balconies, the upstairs dining area, and the future study room. I should do something about it and make better use of all that space.

Ordered 40 gallons alkaline drinking water. Our consumption will be bigger within the month that all of us are staying home.

Sat with the granddaughters while they took a late lunch in the dining room.

A cup of green tea.

Refilled our water tank.

Worked an hour on thirty-third glaze.

An early lunch at home alone; granddaughters still resting upstairs.

Worked an hour on thirty-second glaze.

Exercise temperance. It is always the best option.

When you overstock on something, it means that you will have no money to buy other things--those that you really need, love, and like.

People who are stressed, who live lives conducive to stress, or who enjoy being stressed are the people most vulnerable to the virus.

The sun is a pineapple-flavored lollipop.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

My anak-anakan in literature and art lives in a city east of and outside Metro Manila, meaning that we won't have our monthly meetings during the MM lockdown.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes emerge in neighborhood homes at twilight.

Angelique and Aubrey stepped out before dusk to buy glasses of milk tea at the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea station.

After I watched the evening news, we had dinner together in the dining room.

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

Wanted so much to join that Cebu art competition commemorating the arrival of Magellan, the heroism of Lapulapu, and the Blood Compact, but can't because of the current project I'm working on.

Besides, I note that I can't join any competition I'm qualified for, because I'm a glazer and it takes ages for any one of my paintings to get done.

Back from unavoidable jalan-jalan. Changed money for the granddaughters' weekly allowance, bought Vitamin C tablets for everyone, and couldn't resist buying two Charlie Bone books. They test you for fever and compel you to use sanitizing liquid on your hands at the entrance to every mall; I must have sanitized my hands at least four times. Everyone but everyone was wearing a surgical mask. The bookstore saleslady asked me why I wasn't wearing one. I must keep up with the fashion and use one of my skull-design masks next time.

Upon arriving home I hired a tricycle to take me to and from Heat 'N' Puff in Open Kitchen, where I bought two boxes of dessert.

Glad to be home, and planning to stay home as long as possible.

Now back to my painting.

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

Worked an hour on thirty-first glaze.

Lunch at home alone; granddaughters still resting upstairs.

Worked an hour on thirtieth glaze.

A cup of very black coffee.

Worked an hour on twenty-ninth glaze.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun always looks in through transom windows.

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

Good night, Cubao!

The moon is a wheel of camembert.

Aubrey came down to dinner, then Angelique arrived from the supermarket and sat at dinner also.

Worked half an hour on twenty-eighth glaze while the granddaughters took their dinner in the dining room.

Dinner at home alone; Angelique at the supermarket and Aubrey still resting upstairs.

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

In bed with Charlie Bone.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Worked an hour on twenty-sixth glaze while Angelique and Jazz had lunch in the dining room.

Lunch at home alone; Angelique still resting upstairs and Aubrey attending her online classes.

Worked an hour on twenty-fifth glaze.

Worked an hour on twenty-fourth glaze.

Ordered a tocilog and a mug of brewed coffee at M.'s cafe.

Good morning, Cubao!

No one can hide successfully from the brilliance of the sun.

Brandy night.

Then back to bed with Charlie Bone.

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

Neighbors are still eating at M.'s cafe, especially those who don't want to go to the market, cook food, and wash dishes.

Good night, Cubao!

Night gnomes seek shelter under staircases.

Ordered buttered buffalo wings and saffron rice from M.'s cafe.

Also asked them to fry Mawil's sliced, Chinese ham. Whenever we have food that needs to be cooked, we send it over to M.'s cafe for cooking and just pay them a cooking fee.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Jazz.

No cars on P. Tuazon Boulevard.

The district is fast becoming a ghost town.

Worked half an hour on twenty-third glaze.

The goddess of the storm and four of her sisters/court members/subpersonalities

The two latest arrivals are unexpected gifts from Bong, a student who lives in the USA.

Ordered a BLTC sandwich from M.'s cafe. Couldn't decide whether I was hungry or sleepy.

Worked an hour on twenty-second glaze.

Bought a snack for Aubrey at one of the hawkers' stands.

Worked half an hour on twenty-first glaze.

We think too highly of ourselves, that is why, when Nature decimates our population to ease life on Earth, we vociferously protest, insisting that only human beings have the right to live.

Worked an hour on twentieth glaze.

A very peaceful and serene Wednesday.

Worked half an hour on nineteenth glaze while the granddaughters had lunch in the dining room.

Morning chores.

Lunch at home alone; Angelique still resting upstairs and Aubrey attending online classes in her room.

Replenished our soda supply.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery and bought two boxes of cereal and a bottle of tomato ketchup.

Aubrey's executive office chair for her study room arrived. I hope they quarantined it for a while.

Now the granddaughters are having lunch in the dining room.

Resting a bit before painting again.

Heat rain in Cubao.

The goddess of the storm is my mother.

Another day of online classes for Aubrey. She took a bowl of cereal and milk into her bedroom.

A cup of brewed coffee from M.'s cafe for me.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a writer's cottage retreat with bright yellow walls.

Unfortunately, when you rant against someone or something in social media, people Click on Like and Comment on your Posting--and then they will leave it at that, as though the ranting, the Liking, and the Commenting had already solved the problem.

You get sympathizers, but no real action is taken by anyone, including yourself.

It's filing cabinet mentality.

After I complete my 40 paintings for Maryhill School of Theology, I swear to paint lovely summer nights like this and make my viewers feel what I am feeling tonight.

Summer nights in Cubao. The trees as still as cardboard cut-outs, black against a violet sky. Cicadas chanting mantras behind the shadowy leaves. Mosquitoes humming like miniature Tinker Bells, impervious to insect spray. Cats basking on the concrete driveway baked by an afternoon sun long gone. Radio music floating in from even the farthest neighboring houses. Pitchers of lemonade with ice cubes tinkling like water chimes. Inside the cafe, waiters serving glasses of chilled, golden beer.

Writers contemplating their computer screens while the night holds them in her sweaty embrace.   

A cold, evening shower. In this summer heat it felt like stepping into a room wonderfully air-conditioned at 17.

Dinner at home alone. Angelique still at her study session and Aubrey had a very late lunch and a heavy afternoon snack.

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

End of another workday on the downstairs laundry room and service passage.

Also calling it a day for painting. Will resume glazing tomorrow.

Worked half an hour on eighteenth glaze.

Aubrey had online classes the whole day. She took a very late lunch in the dining room.

Angelique and Jazz are off to a study session in one of Angelique's favorite coffee shops.

The neighborhood snack stand is selling halo-halo again. Bought one glass each for Aubrey and W. Angelique and Jazz didn't want any.

Worked an hour on seventeenth glaze.

Worked an hour on sixteenth glaze.

Worked an hour on fifteenth glaze while Angelique and Jazz had lunch in the dining room.

Lunch at home with W.; granddaughters still resting upstairs.

Jazz arrived.

Worked an hour on fourteenth glaze.

W. reported for work this morning.

Ordered breakfast at M.'s cafe.

Considered being served my food "outdoors"--on one of the side porches, actually--a la Faye Dunaway in Chinatown, but I'm not wearing my white Spandex shorts today.

Had my food served in the dining room instead.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a daytime chandelier.

In bed with Charlie Bone.

Tried M.'s cafe's latest carbonara experiment for a bedtime snack. Last time it had mushrooms and a sunny-side up, fried egg. Tonight it had mushrooms and corn.

Calling it a day for painting because I need all of the glazes I previously applied to dry completely.

Dinner at home alone; Angelique still in college with friends and Aubrey had a heavy evening snack.

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

A piping hot shower that I switched to a bracing, cold shower.

Started reading the sixth Charlie Bone volume. I have to skip Volume 5 because I don't have it.

Worked half an hour on thirteenth glaze while Aubrey was taking a very late lunch in the dining room.

Your Messenger message:

"Hello, Sir.
"My apologies for messaging you.
"I'm feeling depressed, Sir.
"My husband's US-based niece sent me a very hurtful message maligning me and bullying me, accusing me of things I am not guilty of. Ang sakit sa dibdib, Sir. Naubos na yata ang luha ko.
"What can you advice pò?
"Is this part of my 'karma'?
"Sad "

My reply:

Hello ______________!

First, send her a message explaining why you are not guilty of her accusations.

Second, let such matters pass through you without affecting you. I've mentioned somewhere else that one of the exercises I give the Spirit Questors is to sit in front of a strong-blowing electric fan, visualize the wind blowing around their bodies, and then visualizing the wind blowing THROUGH their bodies. Doing this exercise frequently will allow you to let all negative things hurled your way to go through you rather than stay inside you and fester there.

Third, I myself am not new to being maligned. The more important and the more envied a person is, the more he is subject to such things. The perpetrators usually get a dose of their own medicine, and more.

Thus, the karma will be hers. It is not yours.

Saw Angelique off to college, but as soon as she got there they announced suspension of classes through March 15.

Aubrey bought a glass of milk tea at the neighborhood I Love Milk Tea fountain, then we went to the neighborhood grocery to buy all sorts of stuff. Including a bottle of red wine for me.

Worked half an hour on twelfth glaze.

Worked half an hour on eleventh glaze.

Aubrey arrived from university.

Another hot, sweltering day in Cubao.

Magic works where science no longer does, for magic operates on faith in oneself and not in a world that consistently lets everyone down.

Worked an hour on tenth glaze while Angelique took her lunch in the dining room. Today is the first day of her five-day midterm exams.

A cup of Thai green tea.

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