Went to the Sitio Catacutan Market to buy bird feed.

Bought ink cartridges for my six dragon pens. Mahalia Jackson. They take only original Cross cartridges.

Treasured pendants from Ifugao, strung with antique beads:

Above: Bulul, carved deer horn

Below: Consort of the god of the crossroads

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a bowl of glass marbles.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Dinner with Tina, Karina, and Ambeth

It is all right for other people to look at and touch your talismans. Their contact with the talismans will be only temporary, while yours remains constant and stronger.

After wearing a talisman for 30 days straight it will have imprinted itself on you. You then have the option of continuing to wear it or keeping it hidden inside your room.

Meeting with Lou at the Cubao Hogwarts Espresso Station. He is with a group of graffiti artists. He gave me some of the stickers they made.

Spirits of the deceased have always been major players.

She who has crossed over decides to stay and have a proactive hand, so watch carefully for the changes.

Pendant my sister brought me in the early 2000s from Sydney, Australia. It features a two-headed snake wrapped around a dagger.

This is actually a talisman of deception.

The pendant is also reversible, and can be worn both ways.

I wonder why news reporters, including atchay psychiatrists, cannot distinguish between a nervous breakdown and sheer anger. A person on the verge of a breakdown becomes immobile and unable to think and speak, as though sleepwalking, and incapable of coherence, of speaking in complete and sensible sentences, and of editing his/her words.

Two nights ago watched Westworld on HBO. Interesting concept, interesting film. It was as gripping as Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Minimal music, minimal sound effects, and the last half of the movie had no dialogue at all. Richard Benjamin is a fine actor, underplaying his role while carrying the tension of the plot through the end. It brought me back to the early 70s, when Italian and French films were all image choreography.

Two cups black, Basilio coffee.

The sky is scalloped with cream icing.

Good morning, Cubao!

Wet driveway, chilly air.

But I do doff my hat to non-atchay beat reporters like Jeffrey Hernaez, who are given assignments other reporters elude, who ply the midnight through dawn hours while everyone else is comfortably ensconced in bed, who are treated shabbily by their elements, who often go hungry, and who are always not given due gratitude and appreciation.

It is not one's enemy that pushes a celebrity to hysterics. It is the idiotic questioning of atchay reporters.

A few pieces of advice:

--When an atchay reporter does that to you, know how to give him or her a dose of his/her own medicine, whether on or off the air.
--Do not waste your time exercising good public relations with atchay reporters. They have no real loyalties.

It has been my singular experience that the more things I have, the less I am attached to anything.

Late lunch at M.'s cafe. Thought I would do some writing at the table afterward, but there were too many people in the cafe. Must reserve that pleasure for really late nights.

On the road outside the gate I picked up this pewter Star of David. If you are my neighbor and if you dropped it, please claim it from me. Before doing so, however, you need to answer two questions:

--There are two letters of the alphabet inscribed on the back of the pendant. What are they?
--Two other things were dropped along with the pendant. What were they?

Home alone. Granddaughters in school and Jeff assisting Hedwig on a photo shoot.

Thinking of a late lunch at M.'s cafe.

Today I am wearing this antique, enamel locket. I purchased it from Lina Cristobal of Cristobal's Antiques many years ago, when the Cultural Affairs Section was still located on Buendia Avenue.

This locket isn't for photos but for a "lock" of hair (hence, "locket") or a tooth-fairy tooth. I haven't thought of anything to put inside it, though.

Two cups black, Basilio coffee.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is a glass slipper.

Still reading the book on emotion in the service of playwriting and teaching playwriting.

Night Classes 4:00 AM

Please go directly to the roof deck.

Years ago she gave my students "crystal terminators" and expected them to be eternally grateful to her. The "terminators", however, were made of cheap glass, and broke easily.

Very drizzly night in Cubao. The werewolf was prevented from going to M.'s cafe.

Yesterday's set-up on my tiny back porch. I have a total of 12 bululs of different sizes. Most of them were passed on to me on Banaue by the son of a mombaki who passed away the previous year. The son did not want to take on his father's role.

Always strive to be on top of yourself, never on top of other people.

Watched Crimson Peak, a Victorian horror-suspense story, on HBO. Everyone looked like a model for a pre-Raphaelite painting.

Love those props!

Caught the Chinese news on CTV. Saw how the typhoon has been devastating China. I couldn't understand a word but the visuals were terrifying.

Know when to rest on your laurels. Otherwise you will continue racing to your dying day and, on your deathbed, wonder where the time for your well-earned rest went. It is how life cheats you. Never wait until it is too late for anything.

Today I am wearing my birthstone, bloodstone. According to legend this stone lay at the cross and the blood of Christ dropped on it. That can only be a legend of course, but, having said that, bloodstone is very hard to find. I bought the oval cabochon at a jewelry shop in North Carolina years ago. The ball was a gift from a co-worker. My jeweler put them together and set them in gold.

Since bloodstone is rare, a second birthstone for the month of March was established: aquamarine. Ironically, real aquamarine has also become very rare, and the usual substitute for it is blue topaz.

Your Messenger message:

"I had a creepy experience pag uwi ko. Got home at 1am from Gapan. While I was browsing ate _______'s posts I heard a growl, at first I thought it was my tummy, so I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Then I went to bed. Then I heard louder growls which were coming directly outside my window. Funny thing is I was on the second floor. I thought perhaps it was my pet dog. So I went downstairs to check on him but I was surprise to see him asleep under our SUV. Then I heard the growling, now as if getting closer so I ran inside the house quickly bolted the main door and the kitchen door and ran upstairs. While in my room the growling didn't stop outside my window as if it is waiting for something. So I put on my headset played music and prayed. The noise stopped at 3am. This is the first time I've experienced this. What's your take?0"

My reply:

Hello _______!

The growls you heard were from tree elementals a.k.a kapres in the vicinity. They were in trouble and were asking for help. Such calls for help (even to the most unlikely persons) usually occur when there is fire somewhere, or toxic waste, or the threat of being cut down. Why not check your environment to see what it was all about?

Siquijor calls, but I still don't know who I can take with me.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is tented with cheesecloth.

The second training program I underwent in DC, years ago, entailed a visit to the U.S. Marine Base and a briefing on border security in San Diego, California. My co-participants and I were allowed to walk all the way to the beach, along which ran a huge cyclone-wire fence, directly behind which was Tijuana. We conversed with the Mexicans on the other side of the fence and shook hands with them through the wires. It was a phenomenological experience for me, standing on the border between two countries, conversing with Mexicans, and, in my case, straddling time zones.

I picked up this red, triangular stone from the border and brought it home. It helps me a lot in magic, particularly magic that involves crossing boundaries.

Things are looking uglier and uglier. Not that people were always decent in the past, but that they are now more lenient about letting their Shadow Selves slip through.

A word on the magical maximum: You can successfully cast only one magical spell a day. More than that will deplete your energy.

Retirement has made it possible for me to do the following, and as I please:

--Paint the whole day.
--Write the whole day.
--Knit the whole day.
--Sleep as much as I like.
--Go anywhere I want, at any time.
--Window-shop and shop the whole day.
--Watch TV and movies the whole day.
--Read books the whole day.
--Contemplate my antiques and my jewelry.
--Garden.
--Have two-hour meals.
--Choose to be with selected persons only.
--Change what I am wearing several times within the day.
--Withdraw from the chaos of the outside world.

At the end of decades of working, retire and enjoy it. You owe it to yourself.

I am disturbed by the way he talks. His jowls are thick like Alfred Hitchcock's, and so he talks like him.

Two cups oolong tea.

Working on a project, but proceeding leisurely and in a relaxed manner. Definitely minus the sense of urgency I would have given it had I not yet retired.

There is always something wrong with any institution that will not update, adjust, or revise its laws along changing times.

Today I am wearing two jade pendants:

Above, a green jade tumblestone wrapped in copper wire, purchased by my sister Alice from crystal queen Riza Regis and given to me as a gift

Below: A heart-shaped, green jade Kwan Yin flanked by a dragon and t
a phoenix, a gift from Boyet Vergara, who worked as a sales manager for Lillian Too many years ago

Finished screening "Ancient Mysteries: Camelot", the third episode of King Arthur and Medieval Britain by History. It is told in five acts, and shows the development of Arthurian literature from Malory to Tennyson.

So strange that, after King Arthur died, Guinevere became a nun and Lancelot a hermit. Same, tragic ending for Maria Clara in Noli me tangere.

Imagine your head divided into four quadrants: left front, right front, left rear, and right rear.

Never let even a single drop of rain or any kind of water fall on the left quadrant (unless you are showering or bathing, of course). If you do, you will develop a cold or a fever, or take on the flu.

This is why many men wear caps or head cloths. It is to protect that particular quadrant.

I really miss those fancy pencils I had in grade school. They contained capsule insets filled with oil. In the oil was a miniature figurine that could slide left and right. My favorite figure was that of an ocean liner. I would play with it for hours.

Come to think of it, maybe those pencils also functioned as spirit levels.

A quiet Monday at home.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a giant, white sapphire.

Wondering what semantic relationship, if any, "Maranao" in Mindanao has to the state "Maranhao" in Brazil.

Saw a brief feature on fire walkers, actually fire dancers, on GMA7. The sound of the bell seemed a stimulus that induced and maintained altered states of consciousness. Interesting that the participants wore red and white.

Could not appreciate the interview portion. The participants seemed not eloquent and quite naive.

Light rainfall on Cubao.

ROTC parade rehearsals at Samson College of Science and Technology, which is just on the other side of the fence. The sounds bring me back to my college days.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Wolf-like Cerefina

Today I am wearing this brass locket. Robin and Ben Diallo bought it for me during their trip to Salem, Massachusetts in 2013. On the lid of the locket is an authentic, Victorian bachelor's button made of mother of pearl.

I haven't gotten down to placing photos inside the locket, after all these years. Maybe I should place photos of Chevy and Vinci.

But as for the hermit, all of his friends' visits must be scheduled a week in advance. He very much resents spontaneous callers. They are usually ignored or driven away.

Angelique and her friends came home from a birthday party very late last night. Her three friends decided to sleep over. I prefer this to having Angelique sleeping over in someone else's house.

I like it that our house is an oasis for my granddaughters' friends.

The Internet is suspiciously fundamentalist Christian. I notice that, when a New Age blog is open to ads, the ads that are placed are semi-pornographic in nature.

How long will it take before other fundamentalists take over?

I have realized that one can truly and totally relax only upon retirement.

It was impossible for me to relax while I was still employed. Every day off always brought me thoughts of the day after.

A vacation cannot be enjoyed if one takes it with an amount of residual guilt.

The sky is a bar of milk nougat candy.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night. I love waking up briefly at dawn and early in the morning, rolling over, and going back to sleep.

Avoid falling in love with someone who tells you what you should look like.

Mike visited to pick up his charcoal portrait.

Three former, young waiters of M.'s cafe came back last night (two from Bicol, one from Zambales) to work again for M.

Waiting for Angelique to come home from her org's general assembly, for Aubrey to come home from a college admission test, and for Mike to pick up his charcoal portrait.

Two cups steaming, Formosa tea.

D. visited this afternoon. I first met him in 2003, when he was a helper at Fernando B. Sena's art classes at The Saturday Art Group gallery and workshop in Ali Mall. He now works as a janitor at a call center building but continues to pursue his interest in art. After his father passed away he was able to put together some money and bought his own little house and lot in ______, where he and his mother now live. He is currently enrolled in an P11,000, two-year diploma course in painting, which he attends on weekends.

D. used to visit me a lot in 2003. He modeled for a nude sketch that I included in my _The Figure in Art_ exhibit at De La Salle University. He text-messaged me last week to ask whether I had any art books that I was willing to dispose of. I selected three for him. Apparently, however, he remembered one particular book that he saw on one of my shelves 13 years ago. There'd been a last copy in a book store that he kept coming back to and saving up for, but, by the time he could afford to buy it, it was no longer there.

I asked D. to look through my shelves and see if he could find the book. He did. I decided to give that one to him as well. One man's long-forgotten book on a shelf is another man's treasure.

We had a snack at M.'s cafe afterward. I am glad that I was able to give him what his little heart desired all these 13 years.

Finished watching "King Arthur: His Life and Legends", the second episode of _King Arthur and Medieval Britain_ from the History DVD set. This episode dwells in greater detail on Merlin, Morgan la Faye, Mordred, Lancelot, and Galahad. Apparently there was one seat at the Round Table which only the purest knight could claim, and that knight was Galahad, who was the only knight successful in the quest for the Holy Grail.

The episode clarifies that Arthur had two swords: the sword in the stone and Excalibur, given to him by the Lady of the Lake.

More bits of information I never knew before:

--The power of Excalibur was not in the sword but in the scabbard
--Merlin's powers were vast but unspecified.
--Galahad's sword was one that had broken into three pieces and that became whole again once he claimed it.
--The Holy Grail is described in different texts first as a stone, and then as a platter, and then also as a chalice.
--The lake round the Isle of Avalon was known to separate life from death.

Your Messenger message:

"Hi, sir...I am really not a 'people' person, as others would call it. Although I have always loved to help others and ease their suffering, I do not like crowds. I happen to have been betrayed by my closest friends multiple times before. That is because I trust easily. The root cause, however, is not that- but my poor judgment of discerning who really are genuine from those who are not. I have always believed in the goodness of people. And that, I think, has blinded me a lot. I often get taken advantage of. Or, that no matter how sincere my gestures are, it remains questionable for them. No matter how much loyal of a friend I am, they treat me as someone who is a threat to them. I never wish anybody harm especially a friend. I comfort them when they are down. I rejoice with them when they succeed even if I failed on the same field. I have tried to remain low key. But that did not stop them from talking behind my back or falsely accuse me of something just so they could damage my reputation esp to those who have been good to me. My problem is, no matter how much wrong they have caused me, I forgive so easily and tend to forget what they have done me wrong. It is a repetitive habit of mine. It has come to a point now that it has become really exhausting. No matter how I try to get angry and to stay away from these people, I find myself still helping them when they are in need. In all honesty, I am not able to hold in any form of anger or hatred towards anybody even if that person is the cause of my suffering. This is not to ask any sympathy but I feel that this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. But I am not capable of solving it alone. May I ask what I could do to stay away from people who only wish me harm? Here's an attachment of some of those people who I feel are not sincere as how they portray themselves to be. I am still hoping that they have their reasons why they are like that and I hope that I could still somehow change how they treat me in some other ways rather than completely staying away from them. Sorry for the very long message, and thank you for your precious time."


My reply:

Hi ____________!

I scanned not you but the persons in the photo you sent me. Reading their minds, I saw that they resent you for your "It's all about me" attitude. It is one of your blind spots, but I hope that you will eventually get rid of it.

Most of the people in the photo were persons whom you hurt impulsively without their knowing why--and without your knowing why also. It is because you raise too many red flags. Once you sense that someone is going to hurt you, you go berserk, jump the gun, and hurt them first in a form of premature and often uncalled-for vengeance. Yes, it is another blind spot.

I hope that this will help you somehow.

My first wish in our new, Chinese, stainless steel burner is released to ether.

A spectacular rainfall in Cubao, as though the clouds were rolling across the sky like ocean waves.

The goddess of the storm is my mother. She said that this is a shower of blessings and that I should step outside and get a part of my body wet in it.

Two cups black, Basilio coffee.

I have two granddaughters graduating this year, one from university and the other from K-12. This is the time of year when the schools begin advising us of exorbitant fees for graduation pictures, reservation fees, permits for this and that, and the like, none of which are optional.

Schools will always be worse than doctors.

Why be concerned with haunted houses when your own mind can be just as haunted by unpleasant memories?

The "sisters" learned too late that leading a discriminated minority would give them sleepless nights, no peace of mind, and chaos in their lives.

They want their supervisor to resign because Christmas is coming.

Christmas is the peak season of corruption. They dread a Christmas of poverty for themselves.

Put everything on mute when the clock marks the time.

The Wands must continue pointing to the ground.

Good noon, Cubao!

The sun is a grain of glass on a sandy shore.

When you are in love, every trivial moment becomes a cherished memory.

Horns honking on EDSA and not letting up. I can hear them all the way from my bedroom.

For a country where there are only two seasons, we seem to be very unprepared both for intense heat and intense rainfall. Every year since maybe the past 50 years.

Horns honking on EDSA and not letting up. I can hear them all the way from my bedroom.

For a country where there are only two seasons, we seem to be very unprepared both for intense heat and intense rainfall. Every year maybe for at least 50 years.

Night session on the back porch/sitting deck

The view from the driveway

This afternoon's set up on my back porch/sitting deck.

Back from the center. Bought stuff. It rained, but I managed to stay dry.

Anyone who knows how to spoil himself will always cancel an appointment to avoid traveling through devils' traffic.

That is why I never venture farther than the center.

There are two types of social media friends: the cute and the curious. I retain only the former.

When Asian designers pronounce the word "collection", they say "KLECK-SHN".

I retained only five crystal terminators in my collection. The rest I sold or gave away. This one is very special to me. It has iron inclusions that were fossilized as they turned to rust. I love this piece because I am an Aries, which rules both under the signs of Mars and of iron. It is set in sterling silver and, while meant to be worn as a pendant, can also be used as a pendulum.

Two cups black, Basilio coffee.

And then must go to the center to seize this day.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are a hundred paper pinwheels spinning in the wind.

Hung out on the back porch, with the light out. When the light is on, passersby in the driveway peek at me through the draped malongs.

Tony Perez's Art of War: Sometimes the best weapon against discrimination is also discrimination.

My tikbalang resides in this antique, brass figurine. It is, however, from Thailand. It is probably a lust fetish. The gender of the person straddling the tikbalang is uncertain.

Note that it has the stance of Shiva Nataraj. Standing on one's left foot means relying on one's intuition or one's Shadow Self.

Finally putting to use the tiny porch behind my captain's cabin bedroom. To be alone and unseen? For private readings for selected, close friends only? Hung inexpensive malongs to screen the view from outside. The doors to this tiny porch used to be locked.

View from inside my captain's cabin bedroom.

Secret smoking area?

Today I am wearing:

Top: A choker with miniature facsimiles of crosses as they evolved in history in different countries around the world. I wore this when I was interviewed on TV many years ago. One of the born-again Christian interviewers asked me why I was wearing so many crosses round my neck. I explained what the choker was, and also said, "It shows that Christianity has many faces."

Below: My antique, scrying pendant. Black onyx set in sterling silver with marcasite (diamante negra).

A volcano stirs in the north.

Watched "Quest for King Arthur" from the History DVD set King Arthur and Medieval Britain. This episode traces the legend of King Arthur way back to its first record in 1469 by Sir Thomas Malory. It hypothesizes that the figure of King Arthur could have originated from any of the following personages:

1) Lucius Artorius Castus, a heroic warrior who pushed back the barbarians from Brittania in 185 CE.

2) Ambrosius Aurelianus, who led the revolt against the tyrant King Vortigern in the 5th century.

3) The lieutenant of Ambrosius, to whom leadership was passed and who fought in the Battle of Baden Hill in 500 CE.

I'm happy that I bought this set. It has magnificent scenes, a lot of medieval art, interesting dramatizations, and new insights on British history I'd never previously known. Aside from the narration there are stand-up interviews with history professors and Arthurian specialists.

Nice to know that the heretofore mysterious Stonehenge was erected in the 5th century to mark the greatest act of treachery during the Saxon wars, when the Saxons slaughtered 460 Briton barons and consuls. This monument was a ring of stones erected to commemorate what was called the Massacre of the Elders.

This episode ends with the cultural concept of chivalry and court life, which completely changed with the introduction of gunpowder.

It also contains the original myths of King Arthur all the way from his birth through the fall of Camelot (in the earlier version due to the treachery of Mordred, in the later, romantic version due to the adultery of Guinevere).

The documentary concludes that there is any one of the following possibilities:

1) That there was no such historical figure as King Arthur ("arth" being the Celtic word for "bear", images of which were emblazoned on banners)
2) That there were at least three possible historical models of King Arthur, the problem being which one of them was the real Arthur
3) That King Arthur is a fictional composite of several historical figures.

King Arthur was mortally wounded by Mordred and then brought to lie in state on the Isle of Avalon, where he is said to be neither dead nor alive. It is also said that he will rise when Britain needs him again.

Is post-Brexit England the time?

Love that crown of gold, laurel leaves!

Good day, Cubao!

The sun is a mason jar filled with rock salt.

In the Philippines, who needs serialized melodrama when all you have to do is watch the treatment of news?

Your Messenger message:

"Good morning Sir Tony. I dreamt of you po. Nasa isang unfamiliar place po tayo with many people, above us is a very large UFO (saucer type), then bigla lang you warned us all not to let them (aliens) see us even in 'entrance and exit'.
- The Saucer above is very very huge. In storm gray colour. - You are wearing a yellow polo shirt, with white cap with a white beads necklace. - People that surrounds us di ko sila kilala. (all strangers) This is the third time na I've been lucid dreaming about UFO's tapos kabang-kaba ako and masyadong takot.

My reply:

Hi _____________!

There is nothing to be afraid of. Make yourself a necklace of five yellow beads alternating with ten white beads.

The werewolf crossed the street to the Sitio Catacutan fruit stand.

I am fortunate to live in the tropics, where most of the healing fruits are. There have been many testimonies to the healing qualities of pineapple.

Always exclude group members who manifest the slightest sign of being schizoid. They should be sent immediately to a psychotherapist.

The presence and the sight of trash within the house generates negative energy, that is why we get rid of useless things as soon as possible.

The same goes for the presence and the sight of useless members within a group.

There are gangs inside prisons because there are gangs outside prisons. They are, in effect, fraternities. In order to get rid of them inside you have to get rid of them outside.

Note that even among expatriates who have settled abroad, whether comfortably or uncomfortably, Filipinos also belong to regional "gangs".

Today I am wearing my antique, gold-filled, silver locket. It contains photos of my two sons taken when they were very young.

A man who lives alone is freer than most other men from social expectations and from time constraints,

In my moments of solitude I pick up and contemplate one of the antiques in my collection. This afternoon it is my bronze, male frog fetish. It has a semi-naked woman in its arms. I wonder which fairy tale it could belong to.

The frog is wearing a bell round its neck. It seems to indicate that the woman is in control of the frog and not the other way around.

Alone on a gloomy afternoon. The granddaughters are still in school and Jeff is with his family and not due to arrive till later.

Deliberating whether to have my late lunch on leftovers from yesterday or at M's cafe.

I have always believed that every prisoner in jail is an artist who did not meet the right teacher at the right time.

I have always believed that every inmate in a mental asylum is a psychic who did not meet the right teacher at the right time.

One of the best things about life in actual and temporal reality is that we are incapable of doing either a true flashback or a true flashforward, because, if everyone were capable of doing that, everything would be chaos.

The sky is a heap of iron filings.

Good noon, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night.

Should you happen to watch the replay of Juan de la Cruz on Jeepney TV and mentally substitute the monsters with drug lords and other criminals, you will get a pretty good reflection of what is happening in our country today.

The dragon tree outside my room (on the ground floor) and Aubrey's room (on the upper floor) is comprised of a peepal tree and a ficus tree that grew side by side and became enmeshed with each other. It is one of the oldest trees not only on our compound but on the entire length of P. Tuazon Boulevard as well. The two, intertwined trees are tall, mature, and lush--instead of seeing though their branches, one can only look into dark-green shadows, like hanging caverns.

The dragon tree has become the abode of a variety of birds. Most of them are escapees not only from our pet bird cages but from those of neighbors' pet bird cages as well: parakeets, African ring-eyes, and the bird man's favorite mayas, costas, and batubatos, or rice field birds.

On mornings like today's, between a night of light rain and an afternoon drizzle, the dragon tree is a concert venue for the birds. They chirp and call and trill and warble all at once, and I cannot help but sit inside the small loggia with my cup of black, Espresso Italiano Blend and listen to the joyous cacophony, trying to gaze beyond the canopies and drapes of leaves, wanting to decipher what songs the birds are singing and whom they are singing them for.

The werewolf crossed the street to the Sitio Catacutan fruit stand.

Your Messenger message:

"Good evening sir, hope i'm not bothering you, but i am need of your help. I just started feeling ill this afternoon, with fever symptoms and lower back pains. Honestly, i'm feeling terrible. Prior to this, i have been feeling drained and lackluster these past couple days even tho i get enough sleep and food. I noticed also that i'm extra sensitive to other people's pain, although i'm only basing it off videos online and this weird feeling i get in the pit of my stomach whenever i watch the videos and see people getting hurt. Could this be something to be concerned ab!out or is it all in my head? Thank you and regards"

My reply:

Hi ____________!

You're manifesting symptoms of psychic feeling. To get rid of it, take a cup of hot tea every afternoon. Oolong tea in particular has a grounding effect.

She Google-searches remedies for her illness and files them away because she has none of the ingredients. Strangely, she gets well just by reading her collection of articles.

In your mind, rise to the top of the highest mountain and look down on everyone. Your body and your mind become momentarily paralyzed, like those of a writer staring through his tears at his blank computer screen. Because that is the moment when you see that everyone is wrong and everyone is right, and there is not much you can do about it.

A dud firecracker always fizzles out.

Never fight for someone you do not personally know, especially if that person will not fight for you in turn.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is the sparkling windshield on a great, white van.

Your Messenger message:

"Good morning, Sir Tony. I broke a round mirror last week. Last night, I broke a tumbler once again. Then just this morning, I accidentally break a drinking glass. I strangely feel that it sends me an important message but I do not know what it is. I hope you could help me if it really does warn me of something or if it is just me overthinking. Thank you."


My reply:

Hi _______!

My reading is that these incidents are symptoms of sexual anxiety. I suggest that you engage in activities that can sublimate your sexual energy and channel it through creative ways.

Your Messenger message:

"Magandang gabi sir tony. Tanong ko lang po nito pong mga nakaraang gabi lagi akong nagigising ng mga 3 (minsan 330) yung gising na parang active agad yung isip. Medyo nagwoworry lang po. Salamat po sir. Dami kongnatututunan sa mga weekly post nyo."


My reply:

Hi _______!

You are in denial of too many commitments and obligations. When you are sleeping, your psyche releases them and you wake up thinking about them. The solution is to consciously tackle these commitments and obligations in your waking life. You will sleep better then.

No one can be naive any longer past the age of 40.

Sun blinds also screen out street lamps.

The gay pastor is in love with him, and pretends to be his spiritual counselor only to get close to him. He gains nothing for himself but mental torture and sleepless nights.

The enemies of every organization come not only from without but also from within.

He asked me to cure his impotence. I told him that men really do not become impotent. They only a need a change of situation, a change of routine, and a change of place.

Watched Angels and Demons on AXN. Liked it better than The Da Vinci Code, although both are infinitely more exciting on paper. On the screen they are mere travelogues comprised of running intercut with yakking. With a book in your hands you can do the running at your own pace. And even stop. I still cannot appreciate the Wikipedia dialogue and superfluous exposition. The formula is also getting trite: antagonists who are semi-psychotic and set up really elaborate puzzles that they know can be solved by others anyway, and a pretty actress thrown in a la James Bond minus the romantic angle because they are supposed to be very intelligent.

This movie is a lot more spectacular than The Da Vinci Code. It also has the presence of Ewan McGregor, who to me has the best role of all, though there were a few other acting vehicles, none of which The Da Vinci Code had.

The director is in love with the actor. The actor has known it for the longest time. He will never love her back. Years from now she will look into the past and resent having boosted his career.

The days are already shorter, the nights longer.

I recall that, when I was still working in an office at this time of year, dusk would overtake me on my way home and I would feel quite sad that I would not see the house in the remaining hours of sunlight.

She is a little intuitive but not psychic. She was never psychic but has been trying her best to convince others that she is. Her energy level was always too low, and will continue to be so through the end of her current lifetime.

Whenever I plan to buy Christmas decor I end up buying gifts instead.

Every action figure has only one, specific, magical purpose. It cannot function as an all-purpose fetish.

An afternoon of deliveries: six jugs of alkaline drinking water and a sack of rice.

I love doing house admin. For my own house

Ironically it is the intellectually superior who believe that everyone is equal and treat them accordingly. The intellectually inferior, desiring to be superior, believe and act otherwise.

A person accustomed to being alone is capable of living with other people. A person accustomed to being with other people is not capable of living alone.

A fragrant pear makes a nice, little snack. Always place a sliver in your pitcher of drinking water to flavor it; should last a day.

Despite the differences in time zones, hours, minutes, and seconds remain the same.

Time is more constant than space.

In the Philippines we pronounce the name "Luis" as "Loo-WISS", possibly influenced by the pronunciations of "Louis" and "Louise" in the U.S.

Watched a movie set in Spain with a character named Luis. Everyone pronounced his name "LOOYS".

"Sacraments Of The Dead" and "The Wayside Cafe" in Bacolod

Don't do the job that politicians should be doing. You're not getting paid their salary after all.

You might have to put down your broom. Otherwise you will live the rest of your life like King Canute, who was doomed to sweep the waves on the shore back to the sea, fervently believing that it could be done.

Start with something simpler. Like your own life and your own happiness.

Good morning, Cubao!

The little boy peeks from behind the drapes of the sky.

Finished watching Zoo, a DVD my sister Sylvia sent me from Sydney because it stars Matt Damon, of whom I am a fan. (I have his Jason Bourne series). Based on a true story, it is about a single parent who goes house-hunting for his two children and ends up buying a property that has a zoo needing upgrading. A feel-good movie, but an intelligent one. It is well-scripted and well-structured. Love the cozy restaurant on the zoo premises!

No humans were apparently hurt during the filming of this movie.

Tonight you lie in bed with an undefinable feeling, for you have unfinished business for the day, and any unfinished business for the day weights you down as though it were unfinished business for life.

We boiled a pack of the barley grain that Regina brought all the way from Malaysia to make a pitcher of barley water. It was all I ever drank in Singapore. I know that it will never be popular in the Philippines because of its taste, like rice husks soaked in water.

Coffee with LJ Sanchez at the Cubao Hogwarts Espresso Station. He gave me two of his books and asked me to autograph one of mine.

Only In The Philippines

The water and the meat of life keep me alive. The Sitio Catacutan fresh coconut vendor passes by everyday. One fresh coconut is P30, a glass of fresh coconut milk P5. Cheaper than soda, and definitely healthier.

I love malauhog.

When you develop a distaste for something that you used to like, it is because your body neither wants nor needs it.

Wearing my Lancelot and Guinevere pendants today.

The Guinevere pendant (Above) has a white jade cabochon set in sterling silver. The Lancelot pendant (Below) has a faceted black garnet, a rare stone, also set in sterling silver.