Organized religion will always be the death of authentic culture.

Prolonged anger and resentment cause cancer.

John reported for work this morning. Lunch served by M.'s cafe,

Now cleaning up the encoded copy of Nobyembre. He reads the dialogue aloud, though under his breath, while encoding, but he seems quite stoic about it. As for myself, I end up weeping and blowing my nose while reading my plays silently because of all the emotions I have to go through all over again.

Because of Oktubre, Nobyembre, and Disyembre, Nonon Padilla calls me the Pinoy Strindberg.

Wake up! Do you revel in the shallow pleasure of being a popular Tarot card reader? Are you satisfied that people come to you to serve as an emotional crutch or to provide after-dinner entertainment?

Those people are just using you. They are not even providing you the money you need to pay your bills, go shopping whenever you want to, and walk into any restaurant of your choice to take your next meal.

Take on a lucrative job, preferably one with good retirement benefits. Work and save money for yourself.

It's about time your "clients" read their own cards.

Akoya blue pearls for my granddaughters Angelique and Aubrey. The pearls take their blue color naturally from the blue interior of the shells the oysters are in. Not all of the oyster shells are blue, that is why blue pearls are rare.

Middle-class students manifest erratic and violent behavior because they frequently take energy drinks, especially when they ae cramming for exams.

Teachers who are ahead of their time are always resented by their educational institutions--and then sorely missed, years later.

Work hard to achieve the best reward of all--a happy, loving, close-knit, non-dysfunctional family--and you will also have achieved treasures greater than what other men have.

February 12, 2025

John, I, and Henson. We are standing in front of the bookshelf containing my treasured, Judge Dee volumes.

Photo by John Tigno

February 12, 2025

Pre-Valentine's Day visit from Henson. Brought me goodies from Vietnam.

Henson is the grandson of the Wongaihams, who translated _The Oracle of Kung Ming_ from Chinese to English. (Which I then translated to Filipino.) 

https://tonyperezphilippinescyberspacebook4.blogspot.com/

He is also the last, remaining, Wongaiham in the Philippines. The other, his cousin Vincent and son of Tony Wong, lives in Germany..

I'm counting this as the 33rd Bilbo Baggins afternoon, since Henson selected an item from the table of give-aways in the breakfast area.

Photo by John Tigno

The voting public is comprised of ungrateful children.

It is her refusal to pay up that makes her lose out on many deals.

The warm breezes forebode an early summer.

At the workplace, it is all right to lose the battle if you will end up winning the war.

White dumpling plates

I gave the green set to my sister Alice, because she also hosts meals for our sisters and brothers-in-law whenever they come visiting from Sydney.

All of these will do. I don't need any more dumpling plates.

Photo by Neil de Leon

George sends Angelique flowers for Valentine's Day.

 Always light joss sticks round the house.

Live to continue living, not to wait for your life to slowly deteriorate.

More dumpling plates

The shell-shape honors the goddess of the ocean, the color green, her son, the god of iron.

I will say it again here: If you love your family, you will take continued interest in upgrading your dinnerware.

Photo by Neil de Leon

Your enemies die first because he who dies last will always have the last word.

When light is turned off, it just goes. It doesn't trail off like sound or like liquid.

The most common karmic situation develops when one decides that he/she doesn't like the family that he/she was born into.

The men and women who decided to live alone in the 1990s--simply because it was "fashionable"--now wish they hadn't.

The 4:30 AM night class had a second session, on auras. I must say, auras are best viewed against a midnight blue background. 

An aura is not just comprised of "one color." If you look very closely, it has rainbow-colored particles, like prismatic refractions on a cold, icy milk sherbet. 

Consider having a blank wall in your bedroom painted midnight blue. where you can stand against it with a full-length mirror in front of you. 

Dumpling plates for charcuterie, assorted dimsum, sushi, sashimi, tempura, sliced green mangoes, horseradish, water turnips, celery, fish fillet, French fries, breaded onion rings, sliced cucumber, chicken lollipops, pork barbecue. satay, omelets, chips, ham sui kok, taro pie, oyster cake, sausages, baked mussels, lumpia shanghai, fried spring rolls with sprouts, salted biscuits, rice rolls, and fish balls.

Our favorite dips are Thai sriracha chili sauce, mayonnaise, Heinz tomato ketchup, mustard, Barrio Fiesta shrimp paste, pickles, Kikkoman soy sauce with kumquat juice and red chili peppers, sweet sauce, wasabi, white vinegar with shrimp paste, Chinese black vinegar with sugar or honey or cooking wine, rock salt, croutons, kippers, shaved parmesan cheese, quick-melt cheese, and cream cheese 

I will say it again here: If you love your family, you will take continued interest in upgrading your dinnerware.

A friend from Bicol, now a seaman and visiting, are with M. and Neil in the cafe. Quite wonderful that such persons from the past turn up and come to the cafe, their watering hole. There always seems to be an ongoing party because of this.

Modern images of Eshu and Pomba Gira by Gabrielle Veronese of Design Toscano. Still wondering if she is a descendant of the Renaissance mural painter Paolo Veronse.

Bought the image of Pomba Gira for Karen, a former Spirit Questor, because she loved gothic art and I felt the statuette looked like her, but she somehow dropped off my Friends List and I haven't seen her in maybe 20 years.

Photo by Neil de Leon

Lunch at home with my sisters Remi and Alice.

Deliveries.

Big Toto reported for work this morning. Neil and he resumed cement and steel work on the front corner and side of our house.

Day 13 of the Chinese New Year: A day of dieting and temperance.

Our Guadalupe relief is now spotlighted.

I am thinking of eventually switching the bulb to warm white, though.

I find it both sad and strange that the fighters who abandoned Team Lakay seem to have lost a lot of their original power.

Could it have something to do with the change in the quality of their training?

Or is this simply a case of hubris?

Chinese New Year, Day 12: More bonding and celebrations with family.

Our family mahjong day and Siunday dinner

January 30, 2025

More books from my youngest sister, Sylvia in Sydney

Big Toto reported for work today. Neil and he continued cement work on the front corner and side of our house.

Work to resume on Monday.

 January 30, 2025

My youngest sister, Sylvia, sends me a complete set of Judge Dee books from Sydney. These are six of them. 

Back from my second eye injection at Makati Medical Center. Marvin and my sisters Remi and Alice escorted me.

Then we had lunch at home.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Finally, a  moment of solitude after the overextended holidays. My greatest wish now is, for the rest of  the year, to be left alone to myself, my literature, my art, my jewelry, and my money.

To be left alone thus is the true meaning of "Resting In Peace," because it is resting from OTHER PEOPLE.

My necklaces: Above, faceted red amber; Below, black pearls interspersed with red, Chinese burial beads. The bigger beads are also antique and from the Mexican Galleon Trade. The carved, wooden female goddess pendant was a purchase from Ifugao Province many years ago. It reminded me so much of Eshu's consort, Pomba Gira.

The red scarf round my shoulders is a Chinese maiden's bridal veil.

Photo by Neil de Leon

Sometimes all you need is to be forgiven.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Ryan and Peachie visit with assorted goodies. Ryan flies back to Abu Dhabi on Satirday.

After more than 30 Bilbo Baggins afternoons, I look around me and see all of the treasures I decided to keep and not give away, and everything looks so good.

 

January 30, 2025

My youngest sister, Sylvia, sends me a complete set of Judge Dee books from Sydney. These are six of them.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Dinner with my eldest sister, Lourdes, brother-in-law Manny, and family at Choi Garden Gateway 2, Araneta Center

Photo by Neil de Leon

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Dinner with my eldest sister, Lourdes, brother-in-law Manny, and family at Choi Garden Gateway 2, Araneta Center

Photo by Neil de Leon

If you are exclusively a writer or a painter and your work is not supporting you financially, something is very wrong with the life choices you made.

The more one paints, the closer one gets to perfection.

It's called, practice, and practice makes perfect.

Friday, January 31, 2025

Chinese dinner at home with my eldest sister, Lourdes, brother-in-law Manny, and sisters Remi and Alice.

My youngest sister, Sylvia, and brother-in-law Rey recently flew back to Sydney but today, January 30, 2025, an unexpected parcel arrived containing the COMPLETE Judge Dee books, three Charlie Chan books, and pantry goodies as well!

January 29, 2025

Chinsee New Year and my second eldest sister Remi's 84th birthday at M.'s cafe

My cousin Babette sends me oranges on the first day of the Year of the Wooden Snake.

January 29, 2025

Chinsee New Year and my second eldest sister Remi's 84th birthday at M.'s cafe

Chinese New Year

My second eldest sisrer Remi's 84th birthday.

Family, relatives, and friends will be celebrating at M.'s cafe. M. put together a wonderful menu.

More vintage comic books

It is pathetic for an artist to remain someone's protege for too long.

Remembering Kichiro Mayuzumi Miranda, whose birthday is today.

Teach your children not to worship your awards but to go and earn their own.

Otherwise, when they fail, they will seek refuge in religion and will lose the courage to keep on striving.

The Borneo creeper in front of my sister Alice's house is going wild. I've asked Neil to tie the vines neatly along the grilles and do some manicuring.

Everyone insists that we retain the perch of Kokoy, the neighbor's rooster, who has abandoned our neighbor in favor of my sister and now flies to his favorite vine every evening at 6:30 PM, where he stays and sleeps until morning.

Kokoy is also the only rooster on the compound that allows Princess, the cafe baby, to pick him up and stroke him.

Sunday, January 26, 2025

With three of my four sisters at Four Seasons Restaurant Araneta Center.

Family dinner at my sister Alice's house. Brought adobong Kapampangan and kinilaw ba bangus, both of which Jerome cooked. My sister Lourdes ordered 15 buffalo wings with three different flavors from M.'s cafe. Sweet papaya, grapes, and egg pie for dessert.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Another threesome photo with my sisters Alice and Sylvia

Photo by Neil de Leon

The dust on your Christmas decorations is now so evident.

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Lunch with my eldest sister, Lourdes, brother-in-law Manny, and family at Four Seasons Restaurant Araneta Center.

Accommodations and food are never too expensive if what you are really getting are good memories that last everyone a lifetime.

Back from a pleasant lunch but exhausting day at Araneta Center with family.

1/4 cup Moccona Ristretto.

From the Internet: "A Ristretto is a concentrated espresso shot with a shorter extraction time and less water than a traditional espresso. The name literally translates as restricted, and the idea is that from the same amount of ground coffee, you would get less liquid."

Smooth and silky, but bitter as aspirin. I suspect, can knock out a headache in seconds.

Goodies from Australia

My eldest sister, Lourdes, and brother-in-law Manny arrive from Sydney tomorrow.

I must confess that, during my last few years at university, I often looked around me and silently asked myself, "What the hell am I doing here?"

An egg mayo sandwich at M's cafe.

The cafe baby visited twice.

General house cleaning.

There will always be a sector of society dissatisfied with your work, who will resent the laurels being laid upon your head.

Despite its dim lower chakras (sex, survival, and grounding), a ghost can makes its "footsteps" heard.

M. has been working the night shift as a trainer at a call center in Mandaluyong for the longest time. At 4:30 this morning his co-workers followed him to the cafe to have breakfast. Everyone is now on the videoke.

What is the point in upsetting the entire populace with a prolonged brownout if, when the power comes back on, all you have achieved is to upset the entire populace?

We need to know how Francisco and Jacinta died. Could they have been secretly killed because they were beginning to grow up and come into their own?

Took half a glass of drinking water with ice.

It's way past midnight, but everything is hopping at M.'s cafe. For some reason it seems to be children's dance night, unusual for a Wednesday,. mid-week, night. I can hear the music, their shrieks, and their laughter. It's like listening to the 12 Dancing Princesses who escape every night to dance, in that fairy tale.

Went back to my bedroom with the music still in my ears.

John reported for work today to continue encoding Disyembre on his laptop.

In the meantime I finished proofreading Nobyembre.

You have no idea what a playwright goes through when he proofreads his plays, because he experiences all of the emotions all over again.

Had a ham sandwich at M.'s cafe.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Family mahjong day.

In the midst of it all I met up at M.'s cafe with a vendor who can provide me with all of the comic books I loved in my childhood. My mother and aunts used to buy them for me at Mom's and Pop's after I sat patiently through a crew haircut.

Was additionally delighted to see that the vendor is Chinese, because I intend to have a lasting relationship with him and, for some reason, all of my most loyal friends are Chinese.

Serendipitously, the first cover he showed me was "The Elf Mound" a.k.a. "The Elfin Mound," one of my favorites, since there is an elfin mound on our compound.

Will reread these tonight and conveniently regress to the age of nine!

Friday, January 17 2025

End of another workday. Looking good.

Joel dropped by our dusty construction site to give me four cans Charms Sour Candy Balls.

I now feel very charming. Joke!

But, after these, I'm graduating to sugar-free drops.

Still proofreading Small Toto's printout of Nobyembre for publication,. Quite tedious and a strain on eyesight.

Big Toto reported for work today. Neil and he are working on the side and front of our house.

John also reported for work and is currently still encoding Disyembre on his laptop. He brought us a bag of ensaymada.

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Afternoon sunlight paints abstract images on the wall and floor in my dialysis room.

Taken with Marvin's camera.

Busy day. 

M. claimed a bag of blood for my transfusion, then escorted me to hospital for my nth dialysis session.

Big Toto reported for work today. Neil, Bertod, and he resumed construction work in front of our house.

Jerome's day off from the Chinese restaurant. He cleaned the rear passage and gave the three doggies a shampoo.

Small Toto printed out a copy of Nobyembre that John encoded in his computer shop.

 There can be no peace until justice is served.

Get in character beforer acting.

Offstage, I mean.

To be dandruff-free and rid of the smell of sweaty hair, rub your scalp once a week with a cotton ball and Listerine antiseptic.

Your children's days are thrown off kilter whenever they can't have their morning shower.

Even the proudest will be humbled by illness and death.

Big Toto reported for work today. Neil and he are now buying more materials and will be resuming the reconstruction of our front gate.

John also reported for work this morning. He is now encoding Disyembre on his laptop.

Had a BLTC sandwich at M.'s cafe.

A workday done and I am pleased with the results.

Big Toto reported for work today. Neil and he are now out buying construction materials at hardware stores.

So glad to have work being done on the house again. It's like giving the house a deep tissue massage on a full day at the salon.

You become forgiving of others. young and old alika,  when you remind yourself that they, too, dream.

A second-time Christmas Day occurs January 25.

You cannot clear yourself of a crime by accusing others of the same crime.

Whenever you take your family out, it is all right to be realistic and practical, but, remember that no matter how much you end up spending for them, you are not buying good food and good hotel accommodations but the most wonderful memories that will last everybody a lifetime.

M.'s birthday. He turns 40 today.

I wonder how the cafe plans to celebrate his birthday later today--or tonight.

When both of my sons were still in school, I worked eight hours at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and then proceeded to the taping site of my teleplay for _Lino Brocka Presents_ in some god-forsaken place, where I worked another six hours. I would get home at dawn and have only two hours sleep before rising again to go to the Embassy.

Whenever I walked through mny sons' bedroom at dawn, their radio would be on Veriutas, playing the family rosary being recited by a group.

To this very day, whenever I hear the risary being prayed by a group on Veritas, I think of my sons sleeping cozily in bed and imagine myself lying down and going to sleep myself, safe in the astral arms of the praying groups.

I am now overjoyed to be retired. Never will  I work 14 hours straight again, ever.

https://www.facebook.com/veritaslegazpi/videos/393001060485254

If I ordered a keyboard that had only keys I use and need, the usual keyboard would be reduced in length by half.

Actually they forgot to use the panyo and ritual of Tatlong Batang Nagsayaw Sa Apoy.

It will always be the year to disassociate yourself from everyone who bogs you down.

As a general, rule, spirit guides bless underdogs with longer lives.