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

Your Messenger message:

"Sir Tony, magandang gabi sir. Tatanong ko lang sir kung dapat ko bang takpan ng tela ang salamin na nasa kuwarto ko? Dalawang salamin po siya, isa sa may ulunan at isa sa paanan. Masama po ba iyon??"

My reply:

Hello ________!

It is allegedly not advisable to have a mirror in front of your bed. It can serve as a nocturnal portal that will tend to suck in your astral body while you are sleeping. It will give you nightmares rather than pleasant dreams.

A mirror behind your bed, on the other hand, will have the opposite effect, because your head, so to speak, will be in the lead.

Having said all that, it is possible that this belief developed as a superstition from the hospital practice in which casualties are rolled in feet first and survivors, heads first.

And, no, don't cover your mirrors with cloth. It is a sign of mourning--and is yet another superstition!

The day turns slowly like a creaking water wheel.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night. Gazing at a lit tealight inside a small lantern on a window sill helps me drift off to sleep. The lantern always looks to me like a folly round which fairy folk gather in the wee hours of the night.

Finished reading The Secret Kingdom: The Stones of Ravenglass, and this is another book I'm keeping for future rereads. I like Jenny Nimmo. She has a unique and vivid imagination and, unlike other juvenile literature writers, she has no metaphysical pretensions.

Retrieved Peril at End House despite the DVD version that I didn't fully enjoy, and started rereading it.

Worked on twentieth glaze while waiting for the granddaughters to come down to dinner.

Dinner with Angelique and Aubrey. We ordered spicy buffalo wings from M.'s cafe.

Read a few pages of Timoken in bed.

Worked half an hour on nineteenth glaze.

Worked half an hour on eighteenth glaze.

Jazz arrived.

Worked an hour on seventeenth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

A heavy downpour in Cubao. Lit tea lights in my bedroom lanterns.

A cup of very black, Kalinga coffee.

Your Messenger message:

"Hello Tony! I would like to ask for your insight on how to be graceful during difficult times. It has become somewhat difficult just to be part of the current collective thought. I'm talking about the police brutality and the government's inaction. The rich just exploiting people. The system is rigged to benefit them. It's feels overwhelming sometimes and I just I can't help but feel dread and hopeless because we can't seem to affect anything, that things will always remain the same. I'm grateful that my family and I remain healthy and employed but there are days when anger and hopelessness consumes me and I shut down. I do what I can to help, educate and remind myself that we're all here as part of our karma. Is it really as simple as changing what we can change and accepting what we cannot? I know it's even worse in the Philippines. You are the most enlightened person I know and I have learned a lot from you. Thank you for your guidance."

My reply:

Hello _____!

The problem you indicate is an archetypal one, and dates back to the authoring of the Bible itself, from Cain and Abel onward, where we will find, again and again, that God Himself--and fathers of two rival sons afterward--exercised favoritism and discrimination. That will forever remain in the Collective Unconscious, and will be especially pronounced during times when people are especially hard up, in want, or threatened by non-survival.

While in many cases this is part of our karma, it does not mean that we should meekly accept given situations. It is our duty to remain steadfast with our positive values and be proactive in helping ourselves and helping others. Every soul must be a bright lamp that lights the way forward.

Improve yourself and your status in silence. Save money. Be rich. Be successful.

All trials are mere fuel to your fire.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun exposes truths that the moon will not.

Good night, Cubao!

Fairies and gnomes will always watch by your bedside whenever you are in bed and indisposed.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Timoken.

Angelique attended an online class this evening, for which she was the beadle. (If members of the class have questions, they forward them to the beadle, who then presents them to the professor.)

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

We sampled Ramy's Korean salad and kimchi, both of which were excellent.

Worked half an hour on sixteenth glaze.

Ramy sends me salad and kimchi he made himself from authentic Korean recipes. Can't wait to try them with dinner tonight.

Sunday afternoon

The Blessed Sacrament passes by our house, and one of the priests asperged me with holy water.

Three-hour, deep tissue massage.

Worked half an hour on fifteenth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

W. messaged. He'll soon be able to cross city boundaries again and resume our renovation work.

Worked half an hour on fourteenth glaze.

Your Messenger message:

"Hi Sir,

"I am one of your followers. Nababasa ko po nag iinterpret po kayo ng panaginip.

Madalas po kasi akong nananaginip na nahuhubaran o hinuhubaran sa publiko tapos, 'pag hindi ko ma-cover sarili ko ng cloth or kahit na kamay ko, tinatanggap ko na lang at naglalakad na lang ako ng di ko sila pinapansin. Ano po kaya ang ibigsabihin nito? Salamat po."

"-____"

My reply:

Hello ____!

Frequently dreaming that you are naked in public indicates that you need to let down your defense mechanisms, particularly that of denial, and value truth and truthfulness especially in your dealings with others.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun lights bowls of frankincense at the cardinal directions of the earth.

My usual midnight snack: a tomato sandwich on toast bread with thin slices of cheddar cheese and two stripes Korean mayonnaise, and a glass of chocolate milk. 

Good night, Cubao!

Fairies and gnomes prepare the most sumptuous midnight meals.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Timoken.

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Worked half an hour on thirteenth glaze.

Work to retire and retire to live like a king, and only Death can overthrow you.

Angelique is done with her mock, electronic final exam.

Finished rereading Murder at the Vicarage last night. A good reread. Already started reading Jenny Nimmo's The Secret Kingdom: The Stones of Ravenglass.

Worked half an hour on twelfth glaze.

And now to do nothing but sit on the side porch with a cup of very black, Kalinga coffee and a pack of cigarettes.

Staying home. Angelique is working on an electronic, mock final exam.

Worked an hour on eleventh glaze.

Being happily retired means that:

--you no longer have to please supervisors

--you can say "No" to everyone

--no one can tell you what to think, say, and do

--no one can make use of you for political or other reasons

--you can be outspoken and critical of others, especially if they've been needing correcting for the longest time

--you no longer care if you are perceived as rude

--no one can make use of you without your consent

--you can choose to keep friends and acquaintances, and turn your back on everyone else

--you are no longer at the mercy of other people's kindness and cooperation

--home is your office, your abode, and your kingdom

--you can wear anything you like anywhere you go

--you can spend your money only the way you want to

--you can finally weed out hypocrites from your life 

--no one can make you feel guilty for anything

--you can produce as much art and creative writing as you like while others must continue slaving at their jobs

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey still resting upstairs.

Whenever it is the 13th of June I am reminded that I was named after Saint Anthony of Padua and that 13 is my lucky number.

The sun is out, and now the rain is but a dream. Yet, when it is raining, we know that the sun is above it all, and resting.

Fairies knit rainbow scarves for the sky to wear.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Good night, Cubao!

Elemental leaders always hold nocturnal meetings in the centers of bamboo groves.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Miss Marple.

Rain clouds have blown over.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

We have all been lighting mood candles in our bedrooms.

Worked half an hour on tenth glaze.

Afternoon rain in Cubao.

Worked half an hour on ninth glaze.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Bought two packs kua pao and a pack of crab sticks at the Chinese grocery, and four boxes ube hopia and a loaf of white bread at the bakery. No, didn't pass by the Japanese store to add an item to my collection.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery and bought four bottles apple juice.

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

Worked an hour on eighth glaze.

If you're feeling:

--that the soles of your feet are raw and oversensitive

--intermittent muscular pain from your hips down your legs

--pain that comes in waves in your veins

it is because you aborted a fever and it's still festering inside your body.

Take paracetamol three times day or once every four hours until it all goes away.

Good morning, Cubao!

When the sun dons its gray cloak, the sky becomes overcast.

Good night, Cubao!

Nurse fairies visit sick children and heal them in their sleep.

Drizzly evening in Cubao.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Miss Marple.

Worked half an hour on seventh glaze.

Afternoon rain in Cubao.

When it rains I have to stop painting and welcome the rain at our side porch, and hold its hand, and listen to the sad stories it tells me of life in the city. The rain is an old and loyal and consistent friend.

A mug of barley tea while a tea candle is lit inside a soapstone, Indian holder and an incandescent lamp is lighted above our foyer.

See the photos on my Facebook Wall: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3048658528554187&set=pcb.3048658935220813

Worked an hour on sixth glaze.

Two cups very black Kalinga coffee.

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

Good noon, Cubao!

The day ravels like a skein of golden thread.

Good night, Cubao!

The gnomes' dawn coffee shop opens 4:30 AM without fail and shuts down at daybreak.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Miss Marple.

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

Calling it a day for painting. Glazed some capiz windows and angels' wings today and, for some reason, the angels' wings exhausted me.

Jazz arrived.

Worked an hour on fifth glaze.

Lanterns in my bedroom on a rainy afternoon.

Read a few pages from Murder at the Vicarage in bed.

Angelique came down to lunch in the dining room.

Set up two small lanterns inside my bedroom.

Worked half an hour on fourth glaze.

My prayers for John Dumol, who, as his brother Paul informed me, passed away yesterday morning due to a stroke.

The rain has many voices. It speaks to you of your childhood, of everything that makes you happy, of your biggest dreams, of where you want to be, of what you want to become. You listen to the rain over a cup of coffee and the tiny hearth of a cigarette, or you snuggle in bed and allow the voices to lull you to sleep.

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

A light rainfall on Cubao.

Reading in bed then napping rather than painting seems to be a great idea.

A brief drizzle in Cubao.

Worked an hour on third glaze. I just love this stage of the painting process. Glazing stimulates and excites me. It opens my eyes to things I've never seen before.

Love it when I slide open the glass doors first thing in the morning and the trees heave in the breeze as though they were delighted to see me.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun embellishes cloud cakes with gold and silver dragees.

Good night, Cubao!

Elemental royalty love gazing at faceted gemstones.

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

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then off to bed with Miss Marple. I LOVE murder stories set in St. Mary Mead.

I think, but I am not sure, that I was indirectly introduced to Agatha Christie by a classmate in sixth and seventh grade. He always had a Dell paperback Agatha Christie with him and always covered them neatly with white bond paper so that no one would know what he was reading. I believe he would read it in the car to and from school. The first Agatha Christie I ever picked up, though, was in college.

In the summer I paint the rain, in the rainy season I paint the sun.

Worked half an hour on second glaze.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

"You have offended my family, and you have offended the Shaolin Temple."

--Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon

Finished rereading So Many Steps to Death in bed. A good reread. Retrieved Murder at the Vicarage to start rereading before going to sleep tonight.

A well-stocked ref is one that, when family members open it, they find at least three things they want to eat at any time of the day.

A brief rainfall on Cubao.

Worked half an hour on first glaze.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center. Bought two packs shrimp siomai, a pack of kua pao, two boxes ube hopia, and three bundles joss sticks.

Also bought one piece of a set at the Japanese store to eventually add other pieces to. Will probably photograph the set once I've completed it. (This sounds like I might have nothing better to do, but I am still painting for Maryhill School of Theology.)

Wearing Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey resting upstairs.

Angelique is going to the neighborhood grocery in a while, and I to the Chinese grocery to buy joss sticks.

I thought I would never go shopping again, but, yesterday, I saw a set of something that I want very much at the Japanese store I always pass on the way to the center. I tried to push it out of my mind all of yesterday but couldn't.

Wondering where I should go from here.

Shopping is the old normal, yet it seems to still be very much in my scenario.

Take a reality check.

If all of your fans are mediocre, it is because you are mediocre.

Remember this, that all of my enemies are vanquished by fire.

Humility is never a prerequisite for survival, success, or fame. As a matter of fact it is never a prerequisite for anything. It is merely a cheap ticket to a fake heaven being sold by the self-righteous to everyone they envy and cannot ever be like.

Silence is the real music of the night.

It is the person you are not in love with who will insist that you are in love with him.

There is no such thing as complete happiness, yet that is the direction that everyone always takes.

If the Devil can turn the table on you, so can God.

People can go around the law as they can go around their religions' sacred scriptures.

Your magic no longer works when you strike out logic and common sense from your life.

For a nation that prides itself in its telecommunications, we have only a smattering of TV stations, and not all of them are capable of broadcasting countrywide.

Sadly, the same is true in this country of:

--movie producers

--publishers

--theater producers

 

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun bleaches the earth white.

The guiltless and the innocent always sleep well.

In a sense, living as a hermit is a form of sensory deprivation. While the hermit is essentially, voluntarily cut off from social contact rather than the use of his physical senses, the results are the same: heightened psychic abilities, a keener insight into the minds and hearts of others, a propensity to explore the heights and the depths of life, and a talent for crossing boundaries.

A long life is a blessing many people laugh about because they know that they themselves won't have one.

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey took a very late lunch and is skipping dinner.

Worked an hour on sixtieth layer.

Layers are done.

Glazing begins next.

It was too hot at the center. Couldn't find boxed dessert for dinner, skipped buying extra pairs of reading glasses, and couldn't be bothered to check out new brushes and oil paint tubes.

Had a cold, fresh mango and two glasses iced water upon arriving home. Now preparing to get into bed with Agatha Christie.

Back from jalan-jalan. The bayad center I used to go to is open again. Had money changed and paid our electric and water bills. After paying our bills promptly I feel carefree and free from everything else. Swung by a book store and bought a Jenny Nimmo book to eventually read in bed. Then bought two trays salmon and tuna sashimi before walking back home.

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

Good morning, Cubao!

Everything is of gold inside the treasure chest of the sun.

Good night, Cubao!

Fairies love clocks that mark the midnight hour with music.

A brief, evening rainfall on Cubao while I was filling up our water tank.

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

Night chores.

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