Wednesday, Wednesday.

The actress says goodbye.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are tents of mesh netting.

Jalu-jalo at M.'s cafe, the perfect snack.

All three jalu-jalo mixtures in the neighborhood are different:

--The Sitio Catacutan hawker's stand has rock melon, jackfruit, palm fruit, purple yam, sago, red beans, white beans, milk, and white sugar.
--John's townhouse has egg custard, palm fruit, fermented coconut cream, purple yam, gelatin, candied banana, jackfruit, two kinds of milk, and white sugar.
--M.s' cafe has ice cream, egg custard, chocolate soil, crispy rice, purple yam, red beans, white beans, fresh coconut strips, and milk.

Back from Quezon City Hall. Going to and from it was a phenomenological experience. Since I retired from work in December 2014 I hardly went outside Cubao. Sitting in a taxi both ways this afternoon, I saw from the window that many things had changed--shops and signs in particular. I felt that I was in a different city.

That is probably the same feeling of the legendary man who is stolen away by mermaids and is returned to land after seven years.

Kayraming banyaga na pilit nagme-Message sa 'kin ng iba't ibang larawan na may mga hugis-puso at kung anu-ano pa, datapwat Martes at maalinsangan at wala akong panahong makipaglandian.

Your Messenger message:

"___.

"A friend of mine saw a man sitting in his sala while we were having dinner last night.

"This morning he woke up with fever. He looks diff and is talking in a diff tone.

"He asked me. Bakit ka pumayag na umuwi si j____ ng walang bumbunan?

"Nasa bungad palang kyo kitang-kita na na wala syang bumbunan. Maibabalik nyo pa ba yun?

"I put our oil on his forhead, heart and gut and said. Pasensya na po di ko po kayo lubos na naiintindihan. Aalamin ko lang po kng ano ang ibig nyo po sabihin. Maaari po bang alagaan mo po muna ang katawan ni j____ habang inaalam ko po ang ibig nyo iparating?

"Hindi daw po sya mag isa, ___.

"I told him na ipagdarasal namin si j____ ang paggagalingin.

"Sabi nya at... ikukulong nyo ako. Kaya nga kami hindi umiimik e. Nananahimik kami.

"What does that mean po, ___."


My reply:

A transient spirit is trying to relay a message through your friend.

Take a fresh egg, touch your friend's forehead, throat, and chest with its big end, then crack the egg open and pour all of its contents into a clear glass of water. Set the glass on a flat and stable surface. Wait for the albumen to rise in strands and bubbles. Look round the glass and gaze into the shape that the albumen takes. You should be able to scry on the albumen and obtain the entire message. Take photos of the albumen from different angles if necessary.

If you are unable to do this, send me a message again.

My brass, cosmic egg cleaned and gold-plated by our family jeweler.

Any container that is egg-shaped is an effective wish-keeper.

Gold dragon marries on a Tuesday.

Nuns will not blossom to their fullest as long as they are overshadowed by priests.

You are truly rich only if you have no relatives who are poor. For what is a shining kingdom if a tenth of its subjects grovel in the dust?

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun shines from the surface of a basin of water.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Then went jalan-jalan at the center.

Why do we say "hatid-sundo"? Isn't "sundo-hatid" more logical?

"Who will buy/ 
This wonderful morning?/ 
Such a sky/ 
You never did see/ 
Who will tie/ 
It up with a ribbon/ 
And put it in a box for me?/
So I could see it at my leisure/
Whenever things go wrong/ 
And I would keep it as a treasure/ 
To last my whole life long/ 
Who will buy/
This wonderful feeling?/ 
I'm so high/ 
I swear I could fly/
Me, oh my!/
I don't want to lose it/
So what am I to do/
To keep the sky so blue?/ 
There must be someone who will buy/"

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a faceted aquamarine.

Dinner at home with Angelique and J. Aubrey is attending a friend's birthday party.

Angelique and J. are back home from university.

Finished rereading The Phantom of the Temple. This novel is quite fast-paced.

Everyone with secret agenda is automatically a traitor.

From every group that you manage, weed out the ambitious, the pretentious, the self-centered, the grudge-bearing, and the envious. After that you should have a tight-knit and solid group.

Assif passed by while I was writing inside the small loggia. It is always a pleasure to converse with him. He is like one of those nice, neighborhood men in The Kite Runner.

Leaves overlap and so form a green fabric over your head.

The success of every workshop rests on the resource person's giving more than what is expected of him, never just enough and never less.

Compound tenants walking up the driveway, dressed for a Sunday afternoon out. Some families are even dressed in the same color.

As a writer, never be derivative of foreign bestsellers. You will always be remembered as such.

A dog chases its tail not in order to catch it but to have physical exercise.

Vertigo is, on the astral level, the sudden connection to the rotation of the earth.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Remember everyone who shunned you in the past. When they need you and come back to you--and, by the nature of karma, they will--also remember to shun them in return.

Without shadows we die of excessive light.

Lunch with Aubrey at home. Angelique submitting the last of her requirements for her senior ball.

When fundamentalists patronize chaos, it is because they subconsciously want to speed up the end times.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are white shirts being bleached in the sun.

The knot is connected to the swamp flower.

"They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds."

--Mexican proverb

Your dream:

"sir nais po sanang pa interpret sa inyo... ito po.... salamat po - . MAY PINUNTAHAN AKO N LUGAR S0MEWHERE IN ____ S PLACE DN NAMIN, HINDI KO ALAM ANG GINAWA KO DUN, TAPOS NUN PAUWI N KO NAWALA ANG DAAN KASI NAGING PARANG DAGAT SYA, SO N0 CHOICE AKO KUNDI ANG DUMAAN S PARANG PILAPIL, TAKOT AKO KC I D0NT KN0W KUNG MAKAKATAWID AKO AND MAY MGA ASO S MAY BAHAY NA MADADAANAN KO PERO HNDI NAMAN AKO TINAHULAN, NUN NASA DULO NA AKO NG DAAN MAY NAKITA AKO NA MADADAANAN KO PARA MAKAPUNTA NA AKO S KALSADA KC NALAMPASAN KO NA UN PARANG DAGAT, PAG DATING KO DUN MAY BABAE NA MAS MATANDA AKO NA NAGLALABA,. TINAN0NG KO ANG DAAN AT HINDI NYA AKO ITINURO SA ALAM K0NG DAAN PINALUSOT NYA AKO SA BINTANA, SUMUN0D AKO, NUN NAKALUSOT NA AKO AY OKAY NA UN DAAN, MAY MGA TAO NA KILALA KO NA MASAYA KC NAGLALARO AT NAGBABIKE CLA, PARANG MADALING ARAW NA YUN, TUMINGIN AKO S DAAN TAPOS DUN S LUGAR NA UN NA FAMILIAR AKO INISIP KO NA PARA MAKAUWI AKO DUN S BHAY NAMIN S ____ KAILANGAN KO MAGLAKAD, NAGWORRY AKO NG KAUNTI KC BAKA MAINIT ANG KALSADA E NAKAAPAK AKO. . un po, slamat, hnd ko alam kung nakauwi ako ang alam ko uuwi ako kc mdyo malapit na un. . Tnx much. . --- maraming salamat po."


My reply:

Hello _______!

Here is what your dream means:

1) Your emotions frequently take over, and this prevents you from being well-grounded and capable of making practical judgments.

2) Your parents have always disapproved of your decisions, perhaps regarding your career and/or your romantic life. Yet, the feeling is mutual, because you have never been interested in becoming like your parents.

3) At the present time you are worried about a possible, major change in your life--a change that reflects your mental, emotional, and behavioral patterns. It worries you because it promises to be an irreversible change.

4) My advice to you is to stop exploring different lifestyles. At this stage in your life you seem to be still unsure of who you are and what you want. It is fine to live for the present but, contrary to what other people may believe, it is also always wise to live for the future.

Angelique and J. back home from university. Bought everyone jalu-jalo from the hawker's stand.

A hot afternoon in Cubao.

Lunch with Aubrey. Angelique at university.

Two cups black, brewed espresso blend.

The clouds are pairs of sparkling, roller skates.

Good morning, Cubao!

Two delivery men woke me up. I paid them, then asked Gary and Elmer next door to install something.

Tonight's replayed episode of Grimm was interesting. It was about coyotes and their fertility ritual.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand.

Bought Aubrey a couple cheeseburgers because she skipped dinner earlier tonight.

I just said yes to participating in ______________________'s summer camp for 30 children. I was invited to prime the children in the use of art materials for the painting competition on the theme _________________. I am currently being encouraged to stay longer and view the _____ and the art exhibit and attend the awarding of prizes but I don't want to stay away that long from home.

I said yes because I feel that I am qualified to do what the sponsors are asking me to do. I am not a Fine Arts graduate, but do I not paint more ably than some Fine Arts graduates, whose anatomy is so bad that they refuse to paint figures?

I am not a Creative Writing graduate, but am I not a creative writer?

Every gift is first and foremost a reflection of its giver.

Enchanted creatures move on after their duties are done.

Magic is never simple. It is always complex--philosophically and technically. On top of that, it must be operated by a complex individual who has great knowledge about the breadth and the heights and the depths of life. Otherwise there would be no need to study and master it.

The young talents yell, hoot, screech, groan, moan, holler, and howl. I would never mistake their performances for singing, no more than I would mistake acrobatics for dancing.

Long drafts of ice-cold water from the big, stainless steel thermos that Cherry gave me for Christmas. Each draft is a deep dive into a cool, forest river.

A quiet Friday in the neighborhood.

Two cups black, brewed espresso blend.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a giant board of Snakes 'n' Ladders.

This evening one of the hawker's stand owners asked me if I could check out one of the bedrooms in her house. According to her one of her kitchen staff members has been refusing to come out of the room and work for several days now. As far as I know no one in my neighborhood is aware of the things I do and that I head the new Spirit Questors and The Wands. My local name is not Tony but Boy. Could it be possible that the owner saw my photo on Google+ and ventured into reading my blogs?

It is quite interesting that in both Grimm and Supernatural the mothers of the protagonists make an appearance and play significant roles in the series.

Caught the first episode of American Ninja Warrior 7. New, formidable, and seemingly impossible obstacles.

As long as a fountain pen functions well, my only other concern is that it looks good--unusual rather than classic. Branded pens are fine, but I have never been interested in investing in them, as I have never been interested in investing in expensive watches.

One of the keys to contentment is the ability to accept that you will not get what you want very badly, and that others will have it or do have it already.

Business meeting with M. We caught up on a lot of things.

Dinner with Aubrey at home. Angelique and J. are having dinner out. Gave some food to the waiters and kitchen staff  of M.'s cafe and the compound security guard.

While they rant and rave, step back and create exquisite works of art.

Gold and silver on a Thursday afternoon

My full-length, studio mirror (for viewing bodies and paintings) arrived, but I can't locate it properly yet because the studio is still filled with canvases. I wanted something unusual--not something that would make my studio look like a dress designer's fitting room. This is a Maranao piece and was shipped all the way from Marawi City.

Do not fall into the trap of being the Greek chorus for heroic, tragic, or comedic protagonists.

A human's embrace is whatever his/her arms can encompass round your body.

Sleep's embrace encompasses everything inside and outside your entire body.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a gleam on the tip of a golden spear.

Fundamentalists are cranks. They are incapable of seeing things from other people's points of view, and observing things from different perspectives.

While it is all right to be a concerned citizen, know that many concerned citizens are also cranks.

Be a concerned citizen, but be a creative citizen as well.

Been watching the episodes of the 2015 Masterchef Australia (replays), then the latter halves of the episodes of Grimm 2  (also replays).

Insects think collectively, not individually. At the very least they think in pairs.

Magic works not because you feel aggrieved but because you proactively give something in advance. (An act of charity is a form of giving, as an example.) As such magic never works for lazy, self-centered, and selfish people.

Note that, because you are all opinion, your enemies strategically become all action.

No one ever wins by sitting comfortably and doing nothing.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand.

One of M.'s female waitresses has been back for a week now. Everyone seems to be more cheerful, for some reason.

And tonight your dream will be a carryover from last night's.

Dinner at home with Aubrey.

Angelique is out with her former block-mates.

I wake up several times each morning and luxuriate in drifting off to sleep once again. Sleep is sweet and sensual. Sometimes I can't have enough of it.

Cool shower over Cubao.

Jalan-jalan at the center. Paid our electric. Bought myself something. Bought the KTs something too.

Look around you, touch everything you can touch, and clean, rearrange, and improve your surroundings.

The virtual reality on your computer screen has been preventing you from paying attention to your physical reality.

Detail from a page of the book _Aklat Ni Haring Kamatayan_. It is said that one may write the names of one's enemies on a slip of paper and then press it between a particular spread within the book (not this page).

Detail from a page of the book _Aklat Ni Haring Kamatayan_. Shown here are paper tablets of old, Hebrew curses.

As long as you have The Talisman, your enemies die by fire, literally or figuratively.

Their highest leader, on another continent, becomes guilty of everything they accuse you of.

The box on the hill will break in two, and everyone within will try to scurry out like panicked, white mice.

These are what your dream was trying to tell you:

1) Do things yourself and do not rely on other people.
2) An old friend already has a commitment, to another person.
3) Appreciate your home all over again.

Don't go out of your way to explain lechon paksiw to a foreigner in so many words. All you have to do is say "twice-cooked pork".

The Wands must continue pointing to the ground.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night.

The sky is a frosted-glass window pane above an iron fire escape.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Be proud of yourself no matter what others think of you. It is exactly what your enemies dislike, especially if they themselves have nothing to be proud of.

Long commercials with narratives or short interviews have the disadvantage of being boring when viewed a second time. Knowing exactly how long such commercials take, the viewer switches to another channel, after which he switches back when the commercial is over--or does not switch back at all.

Dinner at home with Angelique, Aubrey, and J.

Setting aside _The Phantom of the Temple_, another Judge Dee mystery, to reread later.

Everybody home. They came with the rain.

Finished rereading The Red Pavilion.

Finished varnishing Tay Tong's portrait. Hope it dries quickly in this heat.

In the meantime Benjie re-hung our Chinese lanterns in the studio lounge.

Angelique and Aubrey went to university to enroll Aubrey for her first college semester, then they went to a private salon for their second session of a pricey laser treatment.

In your everyday life, ALWAYS bring a cheap, ballpoint pen along with your fountain pen. That way, when someone asks to borrow a pen, you can always hand him the cheap, ballpoint pen instead of your fountain pen.

Never say "Work hard" and "Study hard". Say "Work well" and "Study well".

Never bring your fountain pens with you when you travel by air.

First, you might lose them.

Second, they might get stolen.

Third, customs and immigration forms will accept writing only in black or blue ballpoint ink. Should you insist on using black or blue fountain pen ink, the ink will feather because the paper used for such forms is substandard, as is the paper used in bank forms (gone are the days when banks used fountain pens and really classy paper).

Finally, the pressure inside an airplane will cause your ink converters to leak or explode (and say goodbye to those converters afterward).

Traditionalists do not fear hell.

They fear change.

Theology always comes from the streets, not from the skies above. It is formed by the people's lifestyles.

It then gives rise to a mass of superstitious beliefs and behavior.

This mass is then honed by preferred values, the need for law and order, and a process of elimination--what works and what doesn't.

Time steps in, until one can look back at one's theological history.

Scholars then study everything that has been formed and back it up with cross-references and footnotes.

Finally, the scholars feed back everything to the masses, reinforcing what they have been practicing so far.

...Problems arise when people change their lifestyles, and they usually do.

Two cups black, brewed, espresso blend.

Every rooftop is a landing deck.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are etageres filled with treasures.

Buy a multi-million dollar house only if you have a REGULAR multi-million dollar income. Otherwise you will rise from bed one fine morning and decide to put up your house for sale.

The real problem with Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders is that it uses a two-hour script that is truncated into a one-hour show. As a result of this Procrustean solution the story begins to develop, then there is a sudden if not inexplicable identification of the perpetrator due to a computer that functions as deus ex machina, and then the hunt for the perpetrator takes up what remains of the hour.

Gifts From E2

E2 visited this afternoon and gave me a B.L. T-shirt, two bags of Almond Roca, and a bag of organic oolong tea from our friend Yat in Hong Kong. He leaves for Cebu tomorrow.