Now just waiting for the varnish to dry completely. Gave Benjie a heads-up to make iron brackets and get ready to install the painting at Maryhill School of Theology. I just hope that MST can get a vehicle big enough to accommodate the piece for transport.

Considering rereading another Judge Dee book or another secret book in bed.

End of Saturday.

Dinner at home with Aubrey. Then we walked over to the neighborhood grocery store to check out what they have. Took a mental note of shrimp dumplings, ground beef and ground pork (we can take those in lettuce cups), and frozen strawberries. Bought frozen Magnum for Aubrey and myself and three KitKat bars for Angelique, Aubrey and myself.

Angelique back from J.'s graduation, lunch, a game, and dinner at MOA.

Acquisitions

Natanggap: Received.

Nakuha: Took, got.

Nabingwit: Hooked.

Napala: Benefited.

Nasungkit: Methodically took.

Naarbor: Taken away from someone.

Nalimos: Begged for.

Pinagpaguran: Worked for.

Pinagpawisan: Labored for.

Iginapang: Made sacrifices for.

Binili: Bought.

Ninakaw: Stolen.

Kinulimbat: Stolen on a large scale.

Kawat: Snitched.

Kinikil: Poached.

Hiniram: Borrowed.

Sinalo: Salvaged something that was thrown away by someone else.

Angkat: Imported.

Hiningi: Asked for.

Dinukot: Pickpocketed.

Dinekwat: Shoplifted.

Kinalap: Gathered from scraps.

Kinalakal: Gathered from a junkpile.

Inagaw: Grabbed.

Napanalunan: Won as a prize.

Ginantimpala: Awarded.

Nasambot: Earned.

Bigay: Given.

Ipinamana: Inherited.

Regalo: Given as a gift.

Hanggi: Indirect or shared blessing.

Balato: Bonus.

Biniyaya: Received figuratively from fate or good fortune.


Yes, Virginia, we take more than we give.

An immature and vindictive leader is always a curse to the society he lives in.

Our five Halloween witches are now on our side porches.

Sat with Aubrey while she had a late lunch in the dining room.

While walking through the center this morning I saw two things that I MUST BUY and that SIMPLY MUST BE MINE, MINE, MINE!

Gave Chito our three jack-o'-lanterns and two Halloween figurines for their upper-floor apartment unit balcony.

The sun is a stack of pizza boxes.

Good noon, Cubao!

Back from a morning out with my younger son Chito.

Angelique at college.

Aubrey and R. walked Keiko Kashigawa this evening.

Dinner at home with Aubrey and R.

Angelique and J. are having dinner out, then coming home to pick up Angelique's overnight bag. They are staying in a hotel on Roxas Boulevard with J.'s parents so that they can be up 5:00 AM tomorrow for J.'s early-morning university graduation.

Listen to yourself, never to your fans. Fans, especially the most avid ones, can drag your art down to the level of pop trash.

Your true audiences will exist centuries from now.

It is easy to find the richest man in the country, but not the poorest. The former is highly conspicuous, the latter, highly inconspicuous.

It is possible that ants are from another planet. Under a magnifying lens, their heads and faces are shaped like those of Grays'.

Pride comes before a fall, but then again everything else can also come before a fall.

A fancy walking-stick is a costume in itself.

Been veggie-tripping the past week at the Sitio Catacutan hawkers' stands.

First, pinakbet without squash.

And then, patola.

And then, blanched, fresh okra with shrimp paste.

Today, adobong sitaw.

Painting Madness

As soon as this painting exits and goes to Maryhill School of Theology, I'll clean up a bit and then place another canvas on one of the easels.

Awkward Falls

Bumisaklat: Fell backward and flat on the floor, face up.

Bumuyangyang: Fell backward with all limbs splayed, usually revealing underwear and/or private body parts.

Pumlakda: Lay artlessly and still, as though unconscious.

Sumalampak: Fell heavily on one's butt.

Bumulagta: Collapsed and fell motionless.

Nasaldak: Got jogged.

Sumemplang: Landed on one's side.

Dumapa: Dropped and lay on one's stomach, as though to escape gunfire.

Napatirapa: Tripped and fell flat on one's face.

Napatilapon: Got unseated and landed a distance away.

Napatihaya: Fell backward in a passive and vulnerable stance.

Work on Christ Calming The Storm is finished. Will just have to wait for the varnish to dry before bubble-wrapping the painting.

Angelique off to college.

Roy arrived.

Done with second layer of varnish on Christ Calming The Storm.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Some details from the varnished _Christ Calming The Storm_, albeit taken with fluorescent ceiling lighting and camera flash.

Done with first layer of varnish on Christ Calming The Storm.

Commenced varnishing work on Christ Calming The Storm. It was quite backbreaking.

I have to rest awhile now.

The wisest celebration of all is not the least expensive but the most cost-effective.

Never swim in the same pool with someone you do not like.

Avoid the heat. It will sap you of your energy.

Be a bitch. But, to be most effective, be a subtle bitch.

If your master does not even have enough money to build his own house, he cannot be expected to help you build yours.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a lavish breakfast buffet.

A neighborhood cat snuck into our house and gave the granddaughters and Keiko Kashigawa a scare. R. and I chased it out.

I was hot and sweaty afterward.

An excuse to have a two-finger measure of Black Label.

Now in bed watching E.T. documentaries on National Geographic.

It's 9:39 PM in Cubao but for some reason I feel that it's 11:30 PM already.

Varnishing tomorrow. No visitors allowed.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Aubrey and R. back from the family dentist's and dinner out.

Aubrey wants to permanently install series lights in her bedroom. I'm thinking of permanently trimming the Italianate ironwork in our dining area with series lights as well.

Been looking for whitewashed Christmas trees made up of scrap twigs, the kind they used to sell by the roadside, but I still can't find any.

Jolly helped me set up the second mah jong table (this one was really heavy) three feet away from the first mah jong table. We then placed the huge painting on top of both tables.

_Christ Calming The Storm_ is now ready for vernissage.

I remember a time in the past when people were so hard up that many parents pulled their children out of exclusive schools and enrolled them in parochial schools and lower-end private schools.

I wonder if something like that is going to happen all over again.

The werewolf crossed the street to buy two strawberry ice cream cones and two bags potato chips.

I SAW THE 2019 SEATTLE'S BEST COFFEE PLANNER and I plan to buy only one. That metal catch looks like it will rust after a few months' exposure and use.

Back home from jalan-jalan.

Aubrey and R. still at the family dentist's, after which, they said, they would eat out.

When you wear head kerchiefs, they will wear head kerchiefs.

When you wear scarves, they will wear scarves.

When you wear Caribbean beads, they will wear Caribbean beads.

When you wear crystals, they will wear crystals.

When you wear diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, they cannot.

Cyberspace is my land and my ocean, and I bury my treasure chests within its depths.

Nakaharang = DELIBERATELY in the way, such as a game player who intercepts you or a pole set up across a broken gate.

Nakahambalang = ACCIDENTALLY in the way, such as a stray dog that decided to lie down in the middle of the street or a car parked the wrong way in a narrow passage.

In the 20th century, writing mentors--including office supervisors--stressed that it was ineffective--a sin, even--to use the passive voice.

That always perplexed me. Was it their superstitious belief that the active voice was the hero's voice, the voice of action, the voice of advancement?

So how many heroes are there now, and how much action has been taken, and how much in advance have we all gone?

I love the passive voice. I use it for variety. It is the yin to the active voice's yang.

Whoever tells me not to use it now, I consider a pretentious fool.

When Apps add on the most useless functions, I get the impression that it is the handiwork of a mediocre summer intern.

Lunch at home with Aubrey, then R. arrived.

We are going jalan-jalan in a few.

R. is accompanying Aubrey to the family dentist's and I am going shopping.

On the day that everyone decides to grow their own vegetables, vegetable dealers will be sorry that they raised their prices.

I never Post on "Your Story".

They made it so that you are now always faced with a choice between "News Feed" and "Your Story"--thus only adding a Click to waste your time.

Know that Applications might speed progress but can also retard it.

I really don't mind computer updates, but Windows updates:

--take so primitively long that I always think that something is not right, and, in the meantime, everything stops.
--never tell you exactly what got updated, and as far as I can tell everything was just as before, or whatever they added I neither need nor use, so they might just as well not have done any updating at all.

I suppose we have no choice but to wait for better technology.

The richer and the more successful you are, the less trustworthy your new associates and friends also are.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun guides you from every horizon point.

Logging off and going to bed.

End of Wednesday.

Dignity is the psychological bridge between poverty and wealth.

Roof deck work scheduled tomorrow.

Rediscovering the Sitio Catacutan hawkers alley at night.

Bubble-wrapped a painting I retouched a week ago.

Now setting up two mah jong tables a distance apart to lay the huge painting on for varnishing.

All in good time.

Watching Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows on HBO. Interesting props.

J. arrived 11:00 AM to babysit Keiko Kashiwaga while Angelique is at college.

Sat with Angelique and J. while they were having lunch.

Aubrey and R. arrived home 1:50 PM from two prelims and lunch out. As usual, Cerefina met them at the door.

Everybody home.

Waiting for the delivery of Tanet's backpack.

My sisters Remi and Alice send flowering plants on our Mom's birthday.

Will have to take them out to the side porch tonight.

It is the narrow-minded worldview that always loses, because it never includes the bigger picture.

Two cups very black, espresso blend.

My Mom's birthday.

Our altar lamps will remain lit the entire day.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a basket of yellow orchids.

A two-finger measure of Black Label in a whiskey glass.

Must go with Aubrey to the center on Friday. She needs to visit our family dentist to have her braces tightened, I need to do some groceries.

My sister Sylvia says I look like King Geyn ap Nudd of the Underworld from The Sacred Circle Tarot deck--and I think I do!

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

I have a political-news threshold. I just shut it all out when I want to and get on with my life.

They who live in tiny houses save the most money.

Contemplation arouses the mind and generates creative ideas that would not have occurred to you in an ordinary state.

Angelique back from jalan-jalan.

Keiko Kashigawa is now scheduled for a walk on the compound.

Sat inside the small loggia, writing in my leather journal and watching some of the tenants go by. I haven't done that for some time because it's been rainy, but today is a fine, dry day.

Aubrey having a late lunch after a morning prelim and a nap.

Angelique now going jalan-jalan.

When August is a month of death, October is a month of new beginnings.

On October 23:

Happy 48th Birthday to my elder son, Nelson!

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Angelique going jalan-jalan in a while. Every month my granddaughters ask for a budget to buy "personal things", and I give them more than what they need so that they can confidently go shopping.

Chito wants more pizza, which we can buy during his day off.

Aubrey wants an expensive but really gorgeous pair of eyeglasses.

As for myself right now, I want to get the work on the roof deck done as well as finish varnishing my huge painting.

Send the rain to Africa, where it will be blessed.

Good morning, Cubao!

Look at the sky and read your children's highest dreams.

Frankly, you need not worry about other people cloning your account and pretending they are you IF:

--You write in a distinctive style that is difficult to simulate.
--You are prolific and make at least 20 Posts a day, making it tedious for the cloner to keep up with you.
--You think differently from everyone else, so that everyone who reads the fake postings will know that it is definitely not you.
--You are multi-talented, and showcase all of these talents regularly.
--Your spelling and grammar are always correct.
--You do not use coined, popular words.
--You have a level of sophistication that no cloner can ever match.

It was a pleasure to see Jennifer Love Hewitt on 9-1-1. I haven't seen her in a while. Her acting is more natural and relaxed.

9-1-1 is an interesting series. It has characters of all possible genders, and it always gives me the impression that it has a huge and fabulous budget, what with all those breathtaking long shots and special effects.

Dinner at home with Angelique, Aubrey, J., and R.

Aubrey had honey-lemon-flavored buffalo wings and J. and R. had sizzling sisig from M.'s cafe. J. cooked thick-cut bacon for Angelique. I had grilled pork belly, ground pork, a jackfruit vegetable dish, and an onion omelette. Angelique's Purple Oven birthday cake for dessert.

Everybody home.

Do not overdonate. Some of the stuff will end up in the wrong hands, and some of it will end up in the incinerator.

When you lose or dispose of the talisman, its support will leave you.

Why predict a Christmas shopping crush when people have no shopping money?

How many people in power are using the massacre strategy?

It is the era of shining, individual stars in the firmament of society. Gone are the days of joining groups.

Never base your knowledge and use of language on the speech and idioms of broadcasters.

I never wanted to live a conservative life and have a career that would restrict my freedom during employment and even long after retirement. No supervisors, religious advisers, and straitlaced collaegues to kowtow to.

Now loving the life of a full-time creative writer and and an artist in cyberspace. No publishers, critics, gallery owners, and collectors to kowtow to.

Beauty always triumphs.

The man in a yellow shirt always streams in like bright sunshine.

The primary purpose of psychic abilities is self-development. It is not to entertain or to extend assistance to other people. At the the very most, the psychic shows people what those people do not ordinarily see, and then he leaves it at that.

http://tonyperezphilippinescyberspacebook18.blogspot.com/2018/10/when-having-to-wait-too-long-in-public.html

A man should love his mother, but he should avoid being Norman Bates.

Back from the center. Paid our cable bill and did other stuff.

Aubrey and R. studying for their next prelim.

Angelique at college.

J. babysitting Keiko Kashigawa.

A quiet Monday afternoon.

Lunch at home with Angelique. Aubrey and R. had lunch out after their prelim.

Must go jalan-jalan in a few to pay our cable bill. Must prevent myself from going shopping.

My Maranao antique dealer has social media accounts all over the place because he keeps losing his passwords. Sometimes he is able to recover them, but it is quite tedious to look everywhere just to find the photos he insists that I see.

In a militarized society, the people's money goes to the raised salaries of military personnel.

In the Philippines, caterers who are more arrogant than the people they serve immediately lose their clients.

Actually, lying in public was natural to him. But, he got deeply offended when caught doing so.