To continue reading my electronic diary, proceed to http://www.tonyperezphilippinescyberspacebook25.blogspot.com.

Height of summer in Cubao

"One of these mornings/
You're going to rise up singing/
Then you'll spread your wings/
And you'll take to the sky/"

A renovated house with good repair work is ten times better than a new house with undiscovered defects.

At the moment one of you is being tempted to set up an aquarium.

Now that the eyes of the world are turned elsewhere, please, just sit back and relax.

Do not try to regain attention by claiming sightings of religious apparitions, statues that weep tears of oil, and crowds being possessed by the devil.

Entertainment is ephemeral. Thank God, not everything in this world is entertainment.

The color red is inappropriate for aging women.

The worst friend in this world is someone who is intelligent but is extremely lazy. Such a person is all talk and no action, and will get you--and himself--nowhere.

Never get involved with your students' personal problems.

A true mage never searches without for answers, for he knows that all of those are already within him.

Your Hangout message:


"Hi Sir, I need to consult you on what I may do regarding my relationship with my husband.  He and I are growing apart, he is usually out and gaming and should he be home it will be for a maximum of 4 hours to get some sleep, take a bath and leave again. We have a son turning 5 this year and the reason I am not ending the marriage is because of our son.  However, inside it really pains me to see the marriage is on the rocks.  If you may please advise on what I may do I would truly appreciate it.  Thanks,

"____________"


My reply:

Hello ___________!

1) First of all, why don't you discuss this directly with your husband? Are you afraid of what he might say, and that he might place the blame on you rather than on himself for the deterioration of your relationship? You need to be prepared for whatever he has to say.

2) If your husband prefers to live his life without you, the problem as you stated it has nothing to do with you but everything to do with your son. Again, only both of you can discuss that on a practical level.

3) Improve the way you look. Go on a diet, buy new clothes, pamper yourself with sessions at a beauty parlor, change your hairstyle, learn to cook new dishes, rearrange your house.

4) If you were asking me for a magical solution, however, go to Baclaran and buy a talisman made of deer horn (sungay ng usa). A married woman who keeps this on herself will rest assured that her husband will always come back and find home in her heart. 

But, do #s 1 -3 as well.

If you cannot live without a seamstress, buy a sewing machine and learn how to operate it.

If you cannot live without a photographer, buy a camera and take your own pictures.

Sometimes survival means reducing your dependence on other people.

Taking in this day more slowly than usual.

Good noon, Cubao!

Seen two episodes of Obsession: Dark Desires on Ci so far. Both episodes involve stalking by telephone, especially mobile phone. This does not work in the Philippines, because Filipinos:

1) Will answer an unknown number only once and then, if the caller is a nuisance, either block the number or change the SIM card.
2) Creatively out-nuisance the nuisance caller with a bevy of tricks.
3) Feel flattered to be stalked at all.

In the end, the stalker will end up wasting his time and his money.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

When you put a suicide bomber to death, you assist him in achieving his martyrdom.

Shutting him away for life is the worse punishment, because such a situation is never in the script.

Reshuffled bird cages in the small loggia.

Lunch at Gateway with my granddaughters. I remember that, when Angelique was six and Aubrey three, their parents allowed me to take them out for a snack at Yum-Yum Tree in Rustan's Cubao. We walked, and Aubrey got exhausted, and so I carried her most of the way. It was a thrilling experience for them to be waited on and entertained by Resty, the head waiter at the time.

Now Angelique is 19 and Aubrey 16, and both of them are metropolis-wise. It was nice being taken care of by my granddaughters for a change.

World-class always wins outside the Philippines.

A Saturday that has many exciting things in store.

A day that goes whichever wonderful way you take it.

Media not allowed in court trial, which is how it should be.

Life is not a TV melodrama.

My e-mail student from Georgia is so far satisfied with the readings I sent him. He is halfway through a book and is begging for more.

It is not the shapes of clouds that fascinates us, but the gradual dissipation of those shapes as the winds prod them across the sky, reminding us that life on earth is not forever.

When astral traveling, try to control your vision as though it were a video camera.

I cannot understand why champagne fountains were scandalous in the 1970s. The ignorant probably thought they were bottomless.

It is your goddess who determines how your enemies are punished.

Good morning, Cubao!

Fed and watered the birds in dappled, morning sunlight.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

The king made my face of clay
I remold and shape it every night
So that, when the sun rises
I am someone else all over again

The queen gave me many colors
I change my raiment every day
And cover my new face
With a mesh of wind and fire

Angelique home after her last final exam this semester.

The night always brings the inspiration to reflect, because the mind is a lamp that shines in darkness.

Whenever you re-read a good book on magic, you discover new meanings that you didn't catch the last time around.

Lately the best part of my day is after lunch, when I feel on top of everything!

Aubrey and I have been having large glassfuls of neighborhood halo-halo every other day. Angelique doesn't care much for it.

The bird man arrived this afternoon. I like his avian ware and enjoy his instructions as to how to care of them. What I don't like is that, whenever I buy birds from him, he encourages crowds to gather and gawk at us.

My sister Lourdes sent me a bottle of instant coffee called Noir from Australia. I always take my coffee black, and this one tastes like brewed coffee!

When you pass up on a magical object, it will never be available to you again.

My current obsession with knitting is an indication to me that, once I finish up with my current knitting projects, my obsession will shift to painting or writing. Again.

Making up for lost time, I guess. Doing everything I've always wanted to do but couldn't when I was still employed in an office.

More and more people express their talent, meaning that, despite all suffering, we are all on the right track to the future!

T. wants two talismans--one for him and one for a female friend--that they can take with them whenever they travel. The thunderstones I gave them show up as opaque black on TV monitors at airports!

The only way to survive cleaning, doing laundry, washing the dishes, and pre- and post-activity chores such as before and after cooking or before and after painting is to convince yourself that they are enjoyable, and that they are meant to be enjoyed.

I must say, when one plans to go astral-travelling at night, one must be open to waking late the next day, such as 12:45 NN!

Good day, Cubao!

My jeweler arrived. It's quite exasperating that our smith is left-handed. All of the hooks are on the left, and the silver screws turn counterclockwise to lock!

I have to go back tonight. J., would you like to come with me, or are you still afraid?

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

The Test of Staves

Two or three years ago I was sitting in the studio lounge with three former, male students. I told them that I would give away three staves and that each of them could take one: one from Siquijor, one from Tayabas, and one from Bulacan.

When I brought out the staves I deliberately gave them wrong information abut the sources of the staves.

One of them went straight for the stave from Siquijor. The other two had no choice but to go visual. The youngest student ended up with the shortest and most ordinary-looking stave.

Unbeknownst to the youngest student, he has the stave of true power--unless he threw it away when he got home.

Tests like this demonstrate how power-hungry students can be.

Bipolar priests should be prevented from hearing Confession.

A window box kept opening and selling a security application. Per the advice of an IT friend, I kept closing it.

Eventually another box opened--it said that the application would be downloaded and applied anyway.

Angelique came home directly after her exam today.

Good morning, Cubao!

I've been hearing of too many people getting hospitalized of late. There must be a magnetic wave passing through that is generating this tendency.

Today the sky over Cubao was made of steel. The sun blazed on the sharp edge of its blade.

Night classes, 4:00 AM

Third session on the same topic, after which, and I hope you are successful, we astral-travel to a disaster area. I will give instructions upon our arrival there.

If you are unable to sleep at any appointed time, tune in to Baby TV. Gaze at the screen without thinking of anything.

Baby TV is a third-eye opener, a sedative, and a perfect entry point to my night classes.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in front of the TV.

How sweet! I received my renewed MTRCB card today.

I, of course, am always R-18.

A heart that is seldom kept clean is festooned with cobwebs.

Angelique home after a three-final-exams day.

A cup of Brendan's wonderful Zen tea. Mixed berries and herbs.

The ancient Chinese were extremely wise to include wood and metal as elements, because we cannot live without them.

Prudishness is always a mask or a front. The most lecherous person will pretend to be offended at the slightest joke about lechery.

That is why I doubt that any living person has the right to refer to himself as "holy".

Always be aware that protective magic has a radius. With normal wands you can protect, at best, yourself, your family, your house, and your neighborhood.

Whenever you accidentally tip a glass on a table or desk, it is because your psyche is urgently reminding you that you have been neglecting doing something for too long.

War always begins in someone's heart. And gradually works its way outward.

We are so proud of technology and its series of milestones. Yet, we are not cognizant of its many side effects on our individual freedom, our family life, our communal values.

The source of all unhappiness is wanting things--things one has lost, things one has always wanted but can't have, things one can only dream about, things impossible to get.

This source is directly linked to yet another source, a lack of money. Because, despite your finicky, religious protests, money can buy anything nine times out of ten. I have observed that it can even buy love.

And so, get a good job, start your own business, save up. And get to it now. That is the real meaning of "leveling up", which has nothing to do with intelligence, talent, or beauty.

On my Google+ page, someone in a foreign country tagged me on a photo I am supposed to be in. His name is also Tony Perez and he is, apparently, a rock fan.

Even in your saddest of moods you will find that there are people who will say and do things to lift your spirit. If no one does, know that it is in your power to do so yourself.

Good morning, Cubao!

Bright and sunny again!

Good night, Cubao!

Finished knitting the front and back panels of Angelique's pullover today, and then spent hours teasing the red band with the ribbons. Will commence doing the sleeves tomorrow.

It won't take long before she decides to expose her abusive marriage and ask for freedom.

I have a wand that no one has ever seen and that of course I shall never photograph. Whenever I hold it I feel very much empowered and, believe it or not, I can prevent anything from happening that day.

I enjoyed heritage conservation because it was a big part of my job before I retired. I would never allow it to take over my life again, though. I much more enjoy staying at home and doing things that make me happiest, and that is what blissful retirement is all about.

Overcast skies in Cubao.

Trimmed plants on the roof deck earlier this afternoon.

It is wrong to relegate to museums all of the artifacts of a tribe or community THAT IS STILL LIVING, and many such tribes and communities ARE STILL LIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES. You will simply be telling your museum visitors, "Here are things that are all in the past and are no longer part of the modern world." All of those pieces that you label as "ethnic art" are implements that are BEING USED in everyday life.

Similarly, do not convert those tribes and communities to the religion you practice because, in doing so, you take away from them EVERYTHING.

Do not allow any "program" to "make changes" to your computer.

Good morning, Cubao!

Three bits of new information made me feel good today.

Night class, 4:00 AM.

Last night's lesson continued.

Good night, Cubao!

Resting from knitting tonight.

Every relationship must be scrutinized not only in the light but also in the dark.

One of the worst Psychology teachers I ever had in the 1970s was B., an obsessive-compulsive, lay nun who was extremely biased against non-Christians and always insisted on having the last word even if she was terribly wrong. Her habit was to copy entire textbooks by hand and then pass those voluminous sheets off as her lecture notes--she read from them asloud in class.

B. was my practicum adviser in Clinical Psychology. She decided that I should spend my practicum hours in the Guidance Office of the university's high school department. Its director at the time was a Father Duffy.

B. went through the formality of sending Father Duffy a memorandum outlining the course's requirements and expectations. Two weeks later she was thrown off her seat when Father Duffy replied that his office could not accommodate practicum students.

In every class session we had thereafter B. kept rubbing her palms together and asking the walls, "What shall we do about Father Duffy? What shall we do about Father Duffy?"

To the best of my knowledge B. no longer teaches in the Psychology Department. It is safe for me to assume, however, that, if she is still alive, she continues to have a tortured mind.

Knitting the day away.

If "outreach" means becoming riffraff, don't even bother to do it.

Listening to Ivy's Strauss CD.

Everyone has two "guardian angels". The second "angel" is usually a living, human being.

Even underpainting should be smooth and well-executed.

Never perform rituals that make you look like a fool--to others and to yourself.

It is easier to accept that a person was a hero or a saint after he has passed on to another lifetime.

The majority of astral students arrived on the roof deck at 4:00 AM. This happened more than once before, and so all night classes will henceforth be held at 4:00 AM.

The Philippines has four strong contenders to the Grand Finals of Asia's Got Talent.

Vote, but DO NOT OVER-CELEBRATE. DO NOT GET EMOTIONAL. DO NOT GET HYSTERICAL. DO NOT GENERATE SIXTH-GRADE GIMMICKS.

Allow them the dignity of fighting their own battles alone and minus your obtrusion.

Otherwise, after the event, you will be like a mad dog yearning to pounce on the next possible splash that will put the country on the map.

Again.

The problem with programs like Brain Games and How 2 Win is that, after they air, they nullify themselves. Like books on how to achieve success, once they are published and read, they no longer work.

Always celebrate AFTER a victory, never before it.

Good morning, Cubao!

Another bright and sunny day!

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

Night classes at 4:00 AM

The bird man visited our compound at 8:30 this morning but I was still fast asleep. I cannot recall my dream--only that it was a long, long dream and that I was traveling to different cities with my workshop portfolios in that dream.

The day creeps on in quietude. I spent most of it alone. When I woke up late this morning, my granddaughters went out on a jaunt to the commercial center. I suppose, it is their way of de-stressing, as writing, painting, and knitting are mine.

This is the kind of life I have always wanted--sleeping, waking, and eating whenever I want, going where I want, and meeting only with people of my choice. I do not care who need me and who do not need me. I note that even my current works have improved by leaps and bounds because of this social, psychological, and emotional freedom.

I am bound by nothing except sickness and death, when they come, because, after all, they come to everyone.

It is everyone's human right to dream, but it is a human tragedy that we almost never attain our dreams.

Google+ is my secret room in which I receive visitors who come for consultation.

It is all right to be sentimental as long as you have a lot of money to back up your sentiments.

Last night on TV the host embarrassed the sophisticated winemaker by saying that he will always prefer the authentic, ethnic version of an Ifugao wine over her product.

Doesn't he know that the winemaker was taking a crude song and having it played by a symphony orchestra?

Indeed, sometimes, insistence on conservation is the opposite of evolution.

The soaring eagle is the power animal and symbol of Haring Bakal.

Good day, Cubao! Slept eleven hours last night.

Waited up through midnight for Angelique, who attended a classmate's debut in Intramuros.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed while being tuned to "CNN Absolutely".

I sleep well on rainy nights.

Sometimes I sleep better when I have someone I like beside me.

Eepaa Heyi!

In the daytime she rides a silver Sky Dragon.

At night she rides a giant, Black Serpent.

Listen. Can you already hear her voice?

Repetition is an effective communication method, especially to the mentally challenged, but it is not applicable to advertising, especially advertising on television. When it happens on TV, the viewer simply keeps being reminded that someone is after his money in exchange for something that may not be worth it, and so he subconsciously goes tighter and tighter on thoughtless spending.

I like the professionalism of only one female broadcaster, Ruby Bernardo Tayag. She does not get emotional, she is sedately dressed, she does not try to look seductive, she listens as well as she speaks, she is not crass, she does not yell, gripe, and groan, she does not crack useless jokes and waste air time, and her hair, make-up, and jewelry are all business-like, unlike those of other female broadcasters who look like they are wearing revelation outfits from How Do I Look?

"Washing Machine" (Night of Friday, May 8, 2015)

Events of the Day:

Perhaps events of the previous days, since I've been using the washing machine lately?

T. and P. visited in the morning and gave me interesting things.

My sister Alice and I enrolled Aubrey in Grade XI.

Visited Artery Art Space with T. and P.

Been knitting and reading a book.


The Dream:

I am planning to dump my pillow and pillowcase in the washing machine, let it spin-dry, and hang it to dry completely somewhere.

In the laundry room, Angelique tells me that the washing machine is out of order and that we should buy a new one and throw the old one away. I am a little annoyed. I want to wash my pillow/pillowcase now.

Next, I see a plastic grocery bag on the floor. Washing machine tubes are attached to the bag. It is filled with detergent and water. I know that I am supposed to dip my pillow/pillowcase in the solution, but I wonder if the thing will actually work.


My Interpretation:

Though my life has been relatively quiet, this dream tells me of a change in objectives, dreams, and plans (pillow/pillowcase) that i have been mulling over. It seems, however, either that I am not ready to make these reality (the washing machine is out of order) or my loved ones may not be ready, or are unwilling, to see these changes.

My psyche creates a temporary, albeit flimsy, washing machine out of a plastic grocery bag in order to make this a wish-fulfillment dream.

Alternatively, this dream could also signify a need to cleanse one's head, one's mind, one's thoughts. I have always wanted to live a creative life, but even creativity, I know, can be overdone, especially when I spend hours painting, writing, knitting, and whatnot. The perfect cleanser is a mundane, practical item, a washing machine, for there is nothing like doing everyday chores to counterbalance other matters. (Yes, come to think of it, I need to vacuum-clean the entire ground floor.)

Atchays will search high and low to lay the blame on people other than themselves.

Never accept a proposal for "cultural exchange" from anyone in a foreign country if you will only end up writing the proposal yourself. That person is simply interested in coming to the Philippines and not sending you abroad.

A good proposal is one in which YOU get to travel to the foreign country, and back, FIRST.

Every syncretism becomes an archetype that can never be undone, whether immediately or in the far future.

Beware the priest who begrudges other men their freedom of thought and lifestyle. He is like a viola that does not acknowledge the existence of other string instruments.

Don't you remember over-celebrating a young skater who afterward kept using injuries as excuses for his losses?

Your over-celebration nipped his career in the bud, and you aborted his future.

Stop this neurotic pattern now.

People cannot get over a defeat whenever they over-prepare for a hyperbolic victory.

Stop playing brass bands to over-celebrate gullible participants.

The same bands might just as well play at their funerals.

Good morning, Cubao!

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

I'm not about to sell my anatomical ecorches and skulls because Aubrey seems to be interested in taking up Medicine.

The goddess of the storm is your mother if you are the type who speaks his mind with firm truthfulness, no matter who you are talking to.

Listening to Ivy's Tchaikovsky CD.

The human body is an exquisite fighting machine that requires neither armor nor weapons. Consider that the ancient Celts went to war naked except for the torques round their necks.

Today, one must train in order to fight. So that, when one fights, he must follow certain rules.

Met a fabulous Vietnamese tattoo artist and oil painter this morning. He lives very near my house. I was going to take him to Artery Art Space but it was still closed.

T. gave me wonderful gifts this morning. I gave him something that he really needs in reciprocation.

Just arrived from an errand with my sister Alice and my granddaughter Aubrey. It was a pleasant journey. We had ice cream at Dairy Queen Gateway afterward.

To protect your house from a storm, hang a shiny mask at a window.

Under the pressure of an expert interviewer, he gradually dropped his defenses and started tittering, giggling, talking, and acting like the pansy that he really is.

Good morning, Cubao!

Two important things scheduled today that will temporarily take me away from knitting.

There are two causes of excellence:

First, when people believe in your talent and it is your duty to develop it.

Second, when people do NOT believe in your talent, and you are challenged to persevere and prove them wrong.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed.

Rain, wash the dust off the trees
Wind, brush their hair
Dead leaves, fall like sad moments
Feed the earth while you rot
So that new trees can grow again

T. coming tomorrow morning, and I'm quite eager to see him!

She rides the Sky Dragon above the clouds and waves at me.

The heavens are kindly watering my plants.

I have a rondalla threshold. There are times when I long to hear one, though. It is the music of babbling brooks and streams, of leaves fluttering in the breeze.

Religious Studies is not and never should be Christianity Studies. It is a course that requires the in-depth study of all major and minor religions, and it is the duty of every R.S. major to do exactly that.

God created many religions because men strive to monopolize everything, and one of the worst monopolies of all is monopoly of religion.

When religions go to war, God allows it also. It is a way of keeping things in check.

I always take the words of religious leaders with many grains of salt, because they are biased participants in the race for monopoly.

Listening to a rondalla CD. Possible background for a lunch party.

Take a map and connect the dots.

Good morning, Cubao!

The dawn was pleasantly cool.

Good night, Cubao!

Re-reading a goddess book in bed. Now that I really am at leisure, I am re-reading it slowly and discovering new meanings in many paragraphs.

Consulted the Oracle of Kung Ming this afternoon.

Eepaa Heyi!

Owner of the place of worship!

Third and last visitor accounted for.

After I gave my alumnus presentation to a graduate school reunion last year, the dean, possibly vexed by the new things I shared, kept asking me what I learned from my studies in school.

I wanted to tell him that, after one graduates from school, one continues learning, and that new learning is always in combination with old learning, so that old learning is never the same.

But, of course, I didn't say that. I said something conservative to pacify him.

A cup of grape wine.

Knitting like there's no tomorrow.

Now listening to Drive-By Leslie. I have no idea who gave it to me. I also have no idea why people keep giving me jazz CDs. It must be one of my karmic punishments.

Another karmic punishment I recall is, whenever I was a newcomer in graduate school or office groups, people kept recruiting me to play basketball, a game I have totally no comprehension of.

It is better to be the person paying for someone's hospitalization than be the person who is being hospitalized.

It is better to be the person shelling out money for someone's funeral than be the person who died or that person's immediate relative.

After they stop complaining that they are being oppressed by outsiders, they will start complaining that they are being oppressed by themselves.

It happens that, when the cosmos sends you money, you are not free to spend it as you will because expenses beyond your knowledge are already creeping toward you.

I enjoy watching CCTV 4, especially its musical shows, but am saddened that it does not bother to post subtitles for foreign audiences.

Sometimes hell is being trapped in the company of someone who does not share the same interests as you.

I often felt this way in graduate school, whenever I was in classes led by teachers I did not believe in, or with classmates I did not particularly like.

There are times when I feel that I have too much, and those are the times when I give to those who have too little.

Now listening to Mike's Libera CD.

Good morning, Cubao!

Woke up early. Expecting three people today.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

Whenever you study the birds intently, they will face toward where disaster will happen.

The energy field around you is changing. Sense it. It should feel different, as though something exciting is about to happen.

Actually those fist-to-fist and then fist-to-camera sets of movements were magically wrong. The recipient of those astral blows was none other than the person they were rooting for.

Do study The Magical Passes by Carlos Castaneda.

Listening to Up On the Roof.  Am not a jazz fan but this should make good background for when friends are visiting to just hang out and relax.

This occurred to me while I was knitting, and I should add it to my blog Tony Perez's Psychic Exercises for the Spirit Questors under the section on developing sensitivity in hearing:

Did you know that "Star-Spangled Banner" and "Tennessee Waltz" can be sung simultaneously?

The owners of Artery Art Space across the street, who are my neighbors and friends, dropped by while I was knitting inside the small loggia and took a peek into my studio. I'm tentatively scheduled to consign two or three new paintings in their gallery.

The birds seem to be enjoying Mozart.

The man sent me another e-mail message. His second message had an attachment, a photo of him and his family. His third message contained his biographic information.

I sent him a pdf book to read and I hope that he finds it to his liking. Otherwise I am not the mentor for him.

I will call him X.

The more I stay home, the more peacefully I sleep. It is possible that the world outside is the cause of stress.

The sun rises and sets whether I love you or not.

The rain stopped, but I can still hear the rain
Your breathing, your chest heaving as you dream
Your heart pulsating against mine
Is it your heart or mine I hear
Are they your thoughts or mine that fall like rain
Is it this morning or last night
Is it the rain or just a feeble memory

I go only where people do not go. And, when they follow me there, I leave and go elsewhere.

The world will never run out of places for me to go in one lifetime.

Mars is my planet, and it is also a hermit.

A quaint pleasure is waking up to the chirping of the pet birds inside the small loggia, onto which one of my captain's cabin bedroom windows looks out.

Good morning, Cubao! Slept nine hours last night.

It was so chilly that I actually had to pull up my blanket!

Good night, Cubao!

How distressing: a man whom I don't know sent me several e-mail messages asking for my guidance in exploring his higher consciousness.

I have to do it on-line. Since I am a hermit, I don't go out of my way to meet people.

I need to re-read all my 91 books on gods and goddesses.

Playing Ivy's Mozart CD.

I enjoy being a spectator more than I enjoy being a player.

Moved three bird cages inside the small loggia, where the pet birds can have more air, sunshine, and the vista of trees. When the sun is too harsh I drape the cages with expensive scarves.

The groupies continue to feed his ego with fake compliments, hoping to remain in favor much longer and continue being showered with material gifts.

If God says "Go", He also says "Stop".

Stop wanting more and more, or God will take everything away.

Water is your fuel. Make sure you are on full tank.

I can see another one coming. Let us let this one in.

In case you didn't know, God is on everyone's side.

It is men who invented war.

Do not bolt your food when eating, do not contemplate other things while eating, do not ignore what you are eating.

Focus on your food. Merge with it. Consciously taste it. Savor it.

Only then will your food give you pleasure and 100% of its nutrients.

Use time. Never let time use you.

Good morning, Cubao!

Let us thank God for another bright and sunny day!

The best horror shows are those that do not resort to using special effects.

The cheapest trick I have seen so far is that fabric wall against which someone behind it presses his face and hands to simulate a ghostly manifestation.

As long as you have people whom you truly love, you will never have nothing.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

Now watching another paranormal show on Ci.

Watched My Uncle Is The Green River Killer on Ci and swore to myself never to watch such shows again. It was quite depressing.

Grimm is riveting because of its beautiful cast members, but it is severely hampered by its melodramatic, Peyton Place subplots. Its writers did not learn the main lesson from its template, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Note that Night Stalker is a big success because it focuses completely on its main story per episode.

Subplots are red flags that indicate to the audience that the subject matter is not substantial enough to carry through an episode.

Waiting is an art that is meant to be enjoyed.

Listen to your body from time to time. In the same manner that it leads you to take it to its most comfortable position, it will tell you what it wants you to eat and drink.

It has occurred to me, again and again, that atchay mentality never goes unpunished.

GUIDELINES FOR MY GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE COMING WEEK (MAY 4 - 8, 2015) are now on my Google+ page. To access them, click on my round badge on the right-hand column.

Look at life as a series of rewards, no matter how unapparent, rather than a series of punishments.

Like a rock that is still, it is silence that has strength.

The most unbiased reports are on "CNN Absolutely".

We really should stop generating promotions, press releases, and publicity gimmicks if they will only delude the people to believe what is not real.

Stop rationalizing and continue to praise God.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night. Woke up to the excited voices of tenants and guests watching TV outside one of the units two doors away.

I discovered the joy of a two-hour breakfast, a two-hour lunch, and a two-hour supper, then tried a two-hour shower but it was just too much time inside the bathroom!

Good night, Cubao!

I now have eight Marian statues from all over the Philippines.

Why is it that when an ethnic artist goes modern, we praise and encourage him, but when a modern artist goes ethnic, we condemn him for bastardizing ethnic art?

Leaving in a few to meet K. at the Cubao Hogwarts Express Station.

Generating too much excitement about something that does not require it is like overloading an electric circuit.

Never practice black magic. From my observation of people who do, it makes you ugly and it makes you sick.

Never walk guests through your house like a tourist guide. Behave as though everything were ordinary.

When someone asks something, that is the only time you should offer information.

The crown prince always resents it when the king never dies.

Nine times out of ten, he attempts to build his own kingdom--and fails.

I know of no country or place in this world that has peace, because peace is always relative.

War and disaster remind us that, stripped of all of our trappings, nothing else matters but our lives and our loved ones.

Second cup of black coffee, second time I'm thinking about you.

I remember that I used to get anxious whenever I got ill for some reason--mainly because I didn't know how long I'd be infirm and away from office work.

I've been in good health so far, but it has occurred to me that, should I have a cold or the flu, I would take it as a sign that my body needs rest and simply loll in bed until I get well, however long that would take.

Watched portions of The Legend of Hercules on HBO last night. Very violent, but it had excellent fight scenes and excellent stunts--which was the only point of the movie anyway. It puts Gladiator to shame.

Correct pronunciation is like correct spelling. It is an indication of proper education.

Don't insist on having "proper chips" if you can't even pronounce "Nepal" properly.

Good morning, Cubao!

A bright and sunny morning here!

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

I just can't stop!

Romance is not complete without a kiss
On her lips, to affirm your passion
On her cheek, to affirm your affection
On her brow, to confirm to yourselves
That your union is blessed by your spirit

The Wands should continue to point to the ground.

The representative has no hubris, but the rest of the country has.

The first of May is so festive in our neighborhood that I should actually plan that day with relatives and friends on our front balcony. We could snack and play cards, board games, or mah-jongg the whole day.

The best vacation of all is staying at home.

Unless it is a fake account, "Bishop Luis Antonio G Tagle" signed up to me as a Follower on Google+.

At any rate, fake or not, I sent him a Hangout message as follows: "Is this really you? If it is, know that I was your Psychology teacher when you were a college freshman."

That should give him or others something to think about, fake or not.

P.S. I really was his Psychology teacher when he was a college freshman.

Today wasn't completely a knitting day. I went to Arayat to purchase a kilo of feed for the blackbirds and half a kilo of striped sunflower seeds for the cockatiel.

She has no clue that the media are merely using her anger for sensational purposes. After they leave her alone, she will feel despondent and suicidal.

GUIDELINES FOR MY GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE WEEKEND (MAY 2 -3, 2015) are now on my Google+ page. To access them, click on my round badge on the right-hand column.

After you take off the sash, insert the brass figure of the man through the loop round the brass figure of the woman, then wind the rest of the cord around both figures.

It's the feast day of Barangay Kaunlaran, which is right across us. Their patron is Saint Joseph the Worker.

Anticipating a lot of Mardi Gras parades.

This will be a month of extremes: grave disappointments for the unworthy and substantial merits for those who worked hard for and deserve them.

If they can pronounce "PayPal", why can't they pronounce "Nepal"?

Especially, for heaven's sake, the broadcasters who look like they were born in the vicinity and are pretending that they were bred and raised differently.

Good morning, Cubao!

Switched to ceramic mugs for the blackbirds' feed and water vessels. Birdcage vessels are too flimsy.

Good night, Cubao!

I am mastering the art of the small bedtime snack.

The Librarians was not successful because:

--Everyone in the cast was trying to be sexy rather than wholesome, as though all of them were auditioning for future programs.

--You can't really change the public's expectations of what librarians look like and how they behave.

Whenever you announce that you succeeded in the name of your god, people who have other gods will go out of their way to prove that it was otherwise.

Aubrey's knitting lesson resumes. Her current project is to make swatches in the following stitches: stockinette, 2 x 2 ribbing, and garter stitch.

I flinch whenever broadcasters pronounce "Nepal" as "Neh-poll".

If wrong pronunciation cannot be corrected, how much more so wrong information?

It's 2015 and people are still using the overused and pretentious word "robust" in their speeches and reports!

It's one of those days when I can't just sit in quiet--my sisters dropped by to send bananas and mangoes, the guard delivered a package that arrived, my son text-messaged several times...

Still, I believe that it is possible to be a hermit in an urban setting. I just have to keep trying.

A charlatan will be forced to give up his position and his job, and he will die in obscurity.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept eleven hours last night.

Whenever you raucously celebrate in the name of your god, people with different gods raise their eyebrows.

Pray inside your closet, never in public.

Good night, Cubao!

Morbid as it sounds, I'm tuned to crimes and hauntings on Ci and hoping to drowse off to sleep.

One victory, one loss.

The skull is the temple of the body.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit can be interesting while one is knitting, but the formula it often uses makes it too predictable--close to the ending, the perpetrator in each episode launches into a long-winded, Tennessee Williams monologue as the camera moves into extreme close-ups. I suppose the performers themselves consider these as opportunities to showcase their talent, although, most of time, they verge on over-acting. The formula, you see, typically works for theater but not for television.

Sheer madness is when your sister orders something for you on the Internet, it must travel from the U.S. to Australia and then to the Philippines, and the shipping will cost three times as much as the actual item.

Passersby on the driveway have been gawking at my new knitting project. This one's in warm colors of autumn.

Compassion is not complete without compassion for self.

The grandchildren may be fortunate to have a Grandpa who knits, sews, embroiders, does beadwork, draws, paints, and sculpts, but Grandpa is equally fortunate to have gorgeous young models.

When an insect flies away from its drove, it fades and dies.

When a human being detaches himself from the madding crowd, he recuperates.

Good morning, Cubao!

Be in silence for a change, and let the world go by.

Good night, Cubao!

My knitting needles were freed up after I finished Aubrey's pullover. I repaired them again tonight, so that I can commence knitting Angelique's pullover tomorrow.

"Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow describes three of my five grandchildren--except, of course, for the golden hair.

It takes me two months to finish a pullover. Apparently that is my current pace in knitting.

Assembling Aubrey's pullover. A most relaxing and most rewarding phase of the project, and so, I am taking my sweet time.

Love is forever, because human beings are forever.

Sometimes I wish that the day would last. That the sun would never set. That I would be able to gaze at the cerulean sky and have as much time as I could to contemplate everything.

If the day would last, if the sun would never set, I know that I would have all of the answers to all of my questions.

It is possible, therefore, that the day does not last and that the sun will set because we are not meant to have answers to our questions.

You cannot collect pendants and not collect chains to go with each and every one of them.

Home alone again. There have been many moments like this since I retired, just me and the house, and I treasure them.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept eleven hours last night.

Tuned in to "CNN Absolutely".

Good night, Cubao!

Still knitting Aubrey's pullover.

Always, in the past, whenever I dreamt of food--piling it on a tray in a restaurant or in a cafeteria--I actually never get to taste or eat it. Either something happens that compels me to leave the food or I wake up. Like dreams in which someone or something is chasing you.

Last night I dreamt that I was in a restaurant, and that I was actually eating the food on my plate and enjoying it.

I believe that, as one ages, one's worlds merge in one's dreams, and that one eventually gets what he wants.

Re-reading my copy of The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee tonight, only because I love Judge Dee and Robert van Gulik and because it is my only other Judge Dee book, alas! I actually remember it as a depressing read.

Lovers are not meant to sleep in each other's arms
Both soon shift their bodies, love is a dance
It is not static, one stirs while the other keeps still
And keeps still in turn while the other stirs

Even a kiss, no matter how ardent is love
Must cease for lovers to catch their breath
Love is a dance, love always moves
Until the dance is put to end by death

Waking, I see you sleeping against my body
The dream slips back and can no longer be retrieved
I ponder briefly whether it is you who are the dream
For you feel one and the same in my mind's embrace

You have not lived life fully unless you meet a man obsessed with art.

Extraordinarily talented people are, by nature, unpredictable.

Every week I draw up a list of house chores to do. The most delightful thing about it is that no one sets deadlines for me. I simply do what I think I'd enjoy most first, and leisurely go down the line.

Commencing a re-read of another Judge Dee book tonight.

Judge Dee and TinTin are my default escape mechanisms.

Good morning, Cubao!

Almost done knitting Aubrey's pullover.

Angelique went to school extra early today.

In ancient China, the literati always wore caps outdoors and indoors. They took off their caps only before going to bed. This wonderful body signal helped their minds and their bodies prepare themselves to sleep.

Because death surrounds me
When love beckons I am unmoved
You call me yet I hear only the voices of the dying
My vocation is to give to those who will soon be forgotten
At the expense of losing you for my own

In the summer I dream of rain
In the wet season I dream of sunshine
I want you and I do not want you
I love you and I do not love you
We lie together in the night
but I wait for sunrise

The night holds my head against the pillow
I set the day aside, imagining you beside me
What would you be like if you were really here?
What would you say of the pattern of the bedsheet
the scent of my body
the passion in my heart?

Another hacker scam:

DHL Express

To

studioantenor@yahoo.com

Today at 9:49 PM

=D H L=

Dear Customer ,

Your partner in business sent out an enclosed package addressed to you.

Due to usual parcel misplacement that we have experienced in the past,

we now confirm delivery address from receivers before final delivery.

You need to re-confirm your delivery address to ensure smooth delivery.

Failure to verify address might lead to delay in scheduled delivery or loss of important document

Sincerely
DHL Delivery Team.

Reply, Reply All or Forward | More


How tempting to reply:

Dear DHL Delivery Team,

What is my name?

What is the name of the sender of the package? Did he or she not pay you enough to ensure delivery?

And since when did you change your logo?

Your Dear Customer

P.S. How did you get my e-mail address? None of my business partners have it.

Good night, Cubao!

Weaknesses are not excuses to prevent progress.

Don't even bother selling anything to someone who cannot afford to buy it.

To wait for the best until it is available again, or to settle for second best now.

Decisions, decisions.

I think I will wait.

And now, back to "CNN Absolutely".

To heighten your psychic abilities, switch to Pepsi Max.

When the sun shines directly above and the trees cast their shadows on the ground, when men and women walk by laden with bags of vegetables, when children sit in the shade chipping away at halo-halo cups--even if I am in Cubao I feel as though I were in some remote province.

There is something about the Philippine sunlight that encourages contemplation.

At last they have found a convenient excuse to step in.

It is the mind that weeps, never the heart.

CNN hosts say the word "Absolutely" so frequently that it spontaneously comes out of their mouths without their thinking, almost as though they don't mean it at all.

Like "Thank you so much".

I am waiting for, and somewhat dread, the showing of the Asian edition of How Do I Look? This program's success is based on its taking the average American woman off the street and raising her consciousness to tasteful style.

The average Asian--the very target of this program--DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH AND DOES NOT THINK IN ENGLISH. As such, I am certain that the program will resort to drawing English-speaking participants from the upper-middle class--mostly literati and perhaps more highly intellectual than its hosts--a drastic change in concept.

GUIDELINES FOR MY GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE COMING WEEK (APRIL 27 - MAY 1, 2015) are now on my Google+ page. To access them, click on my round badge on the right-hand column.

"CNN Absolutely".

Can't they think of another word?

Jewelry goes through cycles. Develop the sensitivity to know when their positive energy peaks.

You know that a teacher is superb if his former students come back to him again and again--even when he drives them away.

Restoration is foolish if a structure has collapsed completely. Time, the earth, the sky, and, perhaps, God Himself took it all away.

Why not just use the funds to cover more pressing needs, such as those of living human beings?

When winter comes to the Philippines, it will share the same seasons that Russia and China have.

Good morning, Cubao!

Tuned in to CNN all night. It's night time here while it's daytime in the U.S., and so the program makes a good, informative bedtime companion.

If the mind is capable of telepathy, the heart is capable of its own. This is one of the foundations of magic.

The bird man keeps text-messaging me, but I'm not inclined to buy his mynas at this time.

There was a time when I kept wishing he would pass by.

Now it is he who wishes that I would ask him to the house.

Life is a series of Chekovian ironies.

Placed my African statues together on two glass shelves inside my captain's cabin bedroom. I hope I didn't miss anything.

Tomorrow I am redoing the alcove and moving its present contents to a new location.

There is a dream I did not bother to record. It was about a statue of Saint Anthony that I used to have but that I sold off 15 years ago, and I can't even remember who bought it. Its head and base were more than 100 years old, its sculptured robe was shellacked in metallic gold, it held a sculptured calla lily in its right hand, and tiny diamonds were encrusted at its feet.

In the dream the statue comes to life and tells me that it has finally awakened and is unleashing its power.

I wish I could remember who owns the statue now.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed, then reading more pages from Poets and Murder before turning in.

Angelique will have her final exams in arnis next week. So far her grade is high. This evening I gave her my magical, kamagong arnis sticks--not to take to school but to keep in her self-defense arsenal.

There is order in earth changes, in the same way that there is order in chaos.

If you are currently in a relationship, ask yourself if you feel free, satisfied, joyful, complete, and centered. If you do not, you are in the wrong relationship--you have stopped being creative, have reached your ceiling, and have stopped learning new things.

The next will begin with O, and then with P.

Now placing all weird stuff inside my captain's cabin bedroom. All other parts of the house should look normal and attractive to ordinary people.

Whenever I oversleep, I only have half a share of daytime.

The more you watch a commercial, the more you take note of its risible flaws.

Taking a break from Saturday afternoon knitting.

I offered Angelique the option of giving her piece a front closure like a blazer, but she wants it knitted and assembled like Aubrey's.

On TV, frequently repeated trailers and teasers actually, subliminally, make the viewers resistant to the subject matter. The subconscious mind first becomes annoyed by the repetitions, and then becomes highly critical of the subject matter, and then triggers off a dislike for it.

When a repetition comes on, hex it by hopping to another channel and staying there for a few minutes.

Good day, Cubao! Slept eleven hours last night.

Caught the replay of the final episode of the first The Amazing Race Australia. I enjoyed watching this series--I felt like I was traveling with the participants all over the globe.

Should the show come to Metro Manila, here are a few suggested challenges:

1. Travel through Katipunan Avenue and C-5 at 4:00 PM to deliver something in 30 minutes.

2. Buy something at any SM branch, then try to convince an atchay saleslady to search for a better item in the stockroom even if she says, "Ser, all out na po."

3. Go to any branch of National Book Store and ask an atchay employee to search for a book title on the shelves.

Good night, Cubao!

Been having a Law & Order (you name it, SVU, Criminal Intent) overdose the entire week. Good for kids, actually. Raises awareness about crime and perpetrators.

Once the no-longer-a-cafe space is up and running, I will focus on creating a room for bed-spacing for call-center employees in the back of the house.

Don't go on a hunt for blessings.

Give God a chance to send them to you.

As of 12:00 NN today the ground-floor cafe space has been taken--not by the man from Saudi Arabia and his wife but by a woman who owns a shop at Market! Market!.

She was willing to follow my New Orleans French Quarter design requirement for the facade.

Sadly, it won't be a cafe at all.

The heart has a lid that can be opened and closed. Yet, the heart itself is bottomless.

Itching to do a Cubao New Orleans mural on the far wall of the ground-floor cafe, but it all depends on who the lessee will be.

Staying home has opened my eyes to areas of the house that need constant cleaning and maintenance--things that I never saw whenever I went to work in the morning and came home in the evening.

People read Tarot cards because they are responsive to matters of the heart.

I light candles only on our family altar.

If I must light something similar elsewhere in the house--for a specific purpose or simply for atmosphere--I use lamps filled with paraffin oil.

Why are people afraid of Tarot cards? Why are they not afraid of lit candles?

Whenever you light a candle, all kinds of spirits come forth. They are attracted to candle flames. That is why churches are full of them.

GUIDELINES FOR MY GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE WEEKEND (APRIL 25 - 26, 2015) are on my Google+ page. To access them, click on my round badge on the right-hand column.

The Hermit will of course choose a social medium that is not as easy to access as others are.

Good morning, Cubao!

Bright and early on a Friday!

Good night, Cubao!

In bed and watching TV.

Your preference in jewelry arises out of your need for the day:

Crown/headband: Intuition
Earring(s): Clarity of psychic hearing
Choker: Throat chakra, communication
Pendant/Pectoral/Long necklace:Heart chakra
Arm band: Strength, defense
Bracelet/Bangle: Action, aggression
Ring: Feeling chakra, plus further meanings depending on which fingers you place rings on

It is not easy to read one's mind. But, it is easy to read one's heart.

Love falls like rain and burns like sunshine, and should never be given nor received in excess.

Taught Aubrey how to knit and purl.

Because we have the moon and the stars, we were never meant to sleep in total darkness.

Poor men have less fears, because they have less to lose.

God created the world out of love.

Men, in desiring to be like God, wage war in the name of God.

A hermit is usually perceived to live in seclusion and isolation. However, a hermit is never alone. His main relationship is with God, and his constant companions are spirits.

A hermit is also never idle. He performs works dictated by spirits--in many cases, works that other people cannot do.

In a relationship, neither party must sit back and remain complacent. Both parties must be productively proactive in order to make the relationship work. Otherwise one party will be on the losing end.

Relationship requires hard work without getting paid for it, and, in a permanent arrangement, there is no such thing as retirement.

Good day, Cubao!

Slept a scandalous eleven hours last night! The only reason I could think of is that I watched World Trade Center on Universal. While I admired the performances, the special effects and set design, and the way that many things were not shown rather than shown, the movie taught me nothing that I already didn't know. It brought back too many sad memories.When I really want to shut the world out, I oversleep.

I WISH THAT 9/11 NEVER HAPPENED.

The world lives with a whole range of animals--in the air, on land, and in the sea. The world lives with a whole range of plants, cultures, food, apparel. The world lives with a whole range of dreams and fantasies.

God Himself made the world that way.

Why can't we see that people who think differently than we do are also entitled to a whole range of happiness?

Good night, Cubao!

Still on Poets and Murder.

Every relationship must be kept in balance--neither too far to the left, neither too far to the right.

When the fashion specialist gets excited, she quacks like Donald Duck.

The event was a fiasco, yet the station continues to promote it--either as a cover-up or in the hope that their next, similar, event picks up.

I learned from Abramelin why a mage must wear a bonnet, cap, or other kind of head cover.

Now that I brew my own coffee, incentive to go to the Cubao Hogwarts Express Station has been very low.

The businessman from Saudi Arabia and his Filipina wife came back this evening. They seem to be still interested in renting our ground-floor cafe space. This time I gave them my e-mail address and cell phone numbers.

They will, of course, eventually find me on the Internet, and discover that they are dealing with The Vampire Marius.

A man who wants to be treated like a king is not, and never will be, a king.

Riffraff make themselves feel important by deliberately making others wait for them.

Try this:

When you are down and out or just feeling bad, go out of your way to make someone happy.

The world is imperfect because of the necessity of cleaning.

A news program is not worth watching if a good percentage of its time is spent promoting its station's gimmicks.

Traditional festivals--those that have been held for hundreds of years--keep a nation together.

New festivals--typically generated by event coordinators--teach people to abandon tradition and spend their time and their money on the ephemeral.

When your time is your own, you may allow yourself to be sidetracked by interesting projects without abandoning your original commitments.

Beautiful penmanship is a reflection of a beautiful inner self.

Watched Text to Kill last night on DIVA. It was well-made, well-performed, and enjoyable, but it used the whodunit template in which the criminal is the most unexpected cast member.

Amazing how, despite leaps and bound in technology, the content of media remains the same, almost as if the human brain--of producers and audiences--cannot function above the same mediocrity that existed since the invention of television.

Good morning, Cubao!

Pleasantly bright and sunny once more, and rainmakers back in storage!

Good night, Cubao!

Will commence Angelique's pullover after I've finished Aubrey's, and then I'll take to the vacuum cleaner and do a thorough cleaning of the entire house.

Something will be sighted and reported within the next two weeks, and it will have something to do with the existence of aliens.

I am so glad that Angelique left school after her last class before the strong rains and the flash floods came on.

We are now safe and sound at home.

Practice magic, but do not network. You will be dismayed to see that the field is full of "practitioners" who are megalomaniacs, paranoid schizophrenics, and fakes.

There was one wrong thing I did after retiring, which was to rush things and attempt to do in less time what I normally could do everyday while I was still employed. For instance, I used to knit four hours on weekends only, and now I have caught myself knitting the whole day every day. If I didn't correct myself in time my mind and my body would be worked more than they were when I was not yet retired.

The day and the night are mine. It should not be the other way around.

Rainmakers work.

However, you need two: a light one to make rain (shaken) and a dark one to stop it (never shaken).

Don't give in to "Update". Just keep closing the box.

Hot but with overcast skies wanting to be ripe enough for rain.

Every night I am reading a chapter from one of my favorite Judge Dee books, Poets and Murder, and I am slowly savoring every exquisite word.

Good morning, Cubao!

The last third of The Book of Abramelin the Mage, which has the seals and what to use them for, is the most interesting, despite the turgid read.

This time I shall practice it alone and will not involve others.

Ivy was discharged from hospital this evening, but will stay in Cavite, where her aunt can take care of her while she recuperates.

My granddaughters are back home after paying the hospital bills.

Once you are retired, you can demand that everyone adjust to you instead of the other way around. If someone does not want to adjust to you, you are very free to walk away.

Synchronicity. Caught an episode of Criminal Minds: Behavioral Analysis Unit set in Miami, Florida. It had elements that I recognized, and I took the episode as some kind of message.

It takes several steps to create an Album on Google+:

First click on "Photos".
Then click on "Photos of You".
Then click on "More".
Then click on "Albums".
Then click on "Upload Photos".

"I love you more today than yesterday/
But not as much as tomorrow/"

Lighted my elf lantern last night. I think I should place it on my magical table. It can help propel spells.

To detect spam or a hacker in your e-mail, make your cursor hover over the return address (e.g. "Yahoo Account!"). The REAL return address will appear on the screen--and it usually belongs to an individual with a name.

For example, I received the following:

U-N

To

studioantenor@yahoo.com

 Apr 19 at 9:29 AM

• Reply, Reply All or Forward | More

I placed my cursor over "U-N" and the following appeared: joanne.mcgowan@bt.net. 

Note: There is usually an attachment, which you should not click on, download, or view.

It was extremely tempting to copy and paste the address in a separate message and say, "Dear Joanne, I know that even low-life has access to the Internet, but don't you really have anything better to do?"

Of course I did not even bother to reply--and neither should you.

A person who has enough on his hands never experiences wanting, waiting, and wasting.

Ci's My Ghost Story On Camera is a nice program I like drowsing off to late at night, but the writer, director, and cameramen and women are so preoccupied with creating horror--even when it shouldn't be there--that I can't help but think that misunderstanding of spirits, rather than understanding of them, is being promoted. Perhaps it targets a gullible and unenlightened audience.

As for the rest of us, we must be informed that:

1. "Spirits" are often mere projections of the living.

2. No spirit can ever be entrapped in a physical locale as though in a repetitious tape loop. God and the angels won't allow it--it is an indication of spiritual neglect. Any "spirit" that keeps re-enacting scenes is a mere memory trace, or an emotional impression on ether. Memory traces do not and cannot interact with living beings, no more than a painting or photograph can interact with its viewers.

3. If spirits want to be photographed, they would appear clearly and distinctly--not as some dinky, blurry, vague spot in a dark corner in the background. A spirit that wants to be seen will hog the limelight and appear in the foreground.

4. It is disrespectful to attribute "ghosts" to previous owners or residents of a house, and their relatives. Their lives are no more tragic than their "ghost"-hunters'. We are equal in birth, we are equal in life, we are equal in death.

5. People who deliberately hunt for ghosts are not brave, courageous, heroic, and admirable. They are typically over-curious, want some thrill in their life, and, if you look closely enough, rude not only to spirits but to the living people who request their assistance.

6. Are not the lives of saints and martyrs, and are not "religious" apparitions and "miraculous" statues made of the same stuff, except that the writers', directors', and camera people's treatment of the material is different?

7. Learn reality from the American playwright Harold Pinter, who created horror out of the simplest relationships and things onstage, such as a steadily leaking roof.

One of my whimsical dreams is to pitch a tent on our roof deck and camp there for a night, but, whenever I am about to do so, I think of all the reasons why I should not.

Good morning, Cubao!

It's bright, sunny, and hot!

Last night was hot as well--I had to sleep without any clothes on.

Time is like rich fabric on a table, and all I have to do is decide how to cut it.

The luxury of time allows me to do that only when I want to, and when I feel like it.

The fabric I cut and sew together is either for myself or for others.

Good night, Cubao!

Finished the front and back panels of Aubrey's pullover.

Picking up and working stitches for the right sleeve tomorrow!

Kichiro knows when my granddaughters are one minute away from home. This afternoon Angelique and Aubrey visited Ivy at hospital while I sat knitting inside the small loggia. Much later, a tenant who was passing by alerted me and pointed to the floor above me, exclaiming, "The dog is hanging over the balcony and might fall!" One minute later, my granddaughters arrived in a taxi.

A businessman from Saudi Arabia and his Filipina wife dropped by and inquired about the rental of our front area, the prospective ground-floor cafe. If he takes it on, all of the food will be halal, which is wonderful!

A Mardi Gras parade passes by our house every Sunday afternoon and makes the day more interesting, especially now that we have a Cubao New Orleans French Quarter front balcony.

I once thought of having buntings made for the front grilles but decided that the neighbors would deem it over the edge.

I saw the bird man again. He has a pair of elegant myna birds. This time we exchanged mobile numbers. He is scheduled to come to the house next week.

I forgot one mission that I have from time to time, which is to have a banana split.

While the granddaughters were doing groceries I went to the commercial center to buy bird seed. Despite my resolution to not buy anything else I ended up not only with half a kilo of mixed bird seed but also with:

--A pair of altar candles in bottles
--Three chains for talismans
--A hair garter
--A double-dipper for linseed oil and turpentine
--A fancy butane lighter shaped like an elf lantern

Rich Tagalog

Future-related terms:

Kinabukasan
Hinaharap
Bukas
Bukas-makalawa
Oras na (mangyari)
Pagdating ng araw
Pagdating ng panahon
Mangyari lamang
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TONY PEREZ'S GUIDELINES FOR HIS GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE COMING WEEK (APRIL 20 - 24, 2015):

1) Wood is warm, but it can also be hot.
2) Do not compare yourself to others. It will increase your unhappiness.
3) Look beyond what leaders show you.
4) You need to maintain the roof over your head.
5) Ask yourself whether what you love to do most is not merely a defense mechanism to deny what you really love to be most.
6) A small but meaningful gift comes from an acquaintance.
7) Stop running. There is really no race against anything.
8) Honor the goat or the sheep by abstaining from it.
9) If you live with other people, be sensitive to what they need.

Men go to war because they want change for what they think is the better.

Globalization has the same objective.

It is highly sexist to say that a woman's most important day of her life is her wedding day, considering that the same is not said of a man.

Someone in yesterday's workshop approached me and said that one of her gay trainees claimed to have seen a "spirit" following her, and that the gay trainee performed some mumbo-jumbo to "entrap" the spirit inside her ring.

She showed me the ring, and I showed her that the gay trainee was merely a delusional practitioner of "magic".

You cannot "entrap" a spirit in a cheap, fancy ring, especially one that you bought in Divisoria. Spirits will voluntarily reside only in precious and semi-precious stones.

When I was not yet retired, a cup of coffee used to mean a break from work.

Today a cup of coffee is a niche in time in which I am with no one but myself and can be as selfish and introverted as I want.

It is an affirmation that, while all of my time is mine, I should set aside some of it in which I can remind myself how special I am to myself, if to no one else.

It is a respite in which both my body and my mind can relax--or contemplate something highly pleasant and enjoyable.

It is a symbol of security, of sanity, of normalcy, and of the desire to remain wakeful and reflective in life.

A cup of coffee knows no religion, no race, and no gender. In a cup of coffee, no matter what the cup, we are all equal.

Do not stock up on candles. You will tend to forget that you have them, and they will discolor, get covered with dust, and be hard to clean.

Buy candles only as needed. They should be as fresh as bread when you use them.

When pets are treated wrong consistently, they become psychotic.

Always ensure that you are the master of a pet that is not insane.

Hoping against hope that someone would invent welding equipment that would not involve sparks flying all over the place. I know that it's theatrically Hephaestus-like, but, surely, there could be cleaner, safer ways to vulcanize steel.

Sex becomes eventually jading or boring, but love remains constant through all seasons.

The destruction of the planet, if it ever occurs, will come either from without or from within.

A lover's signature is always a bouquet of roses or a box of chocolates, and no other message to you could be clearer. It is any other gift that seems unclear, until you see it as a reflection not of yourself but of the gift-giver.

Love looks at you through a doorway, through a window, or through other apertures. Whichever way, it is framed by what it looks through. Sometimes, you are influenced not by love itself  but by the frame it looks through.

A talisman from any country or culture is a sigil. It can be used as such, and is, therefore, not only worn--it can be placed on magical tablets, on one's head, on a scrying surface, and others, as indicated in all grimoires.

Wands are used to STOP something, not make something manifest.

She laughed at the women whose wedding receptions were held in inexpensive venues. Now all of those women remain happily married while she wallows in misery and self-pity.

J. and M. dropped by. J. took photos of one of my collections, and I gave M. the antique, terracotta bead necklace I promised her.

M. rides back to Baguio tonight.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept ten hours last night.

The workshop in San Fernando, Pampanga was a big success, and we are scheduling the next one to occur also on a weekend. I desist from taking photos because an entire family and their relatives are among the participants.

Good night, Cubao!

Knitting in bed again.

Watched Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright on HBO, a cartoon take on Phantom of the Opera.

TONY PEREZ'S GUIDELINES FOR HIS GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE WEEKEND (APRIL 18 - 19, 2015):

1) Do not disappoint those who are expecting much of you.
2) Absence does not make the heart grow fonder.
3) The Wands must continue pointing to the ground.
4) Perform an act of charity to someone who deserves it. The good deed will come back to you unexpectedly and when you need it most.
5) Troubles reach a plateau and will now begin a downward slope.
6) Avoid manic speech and behavior.
7) You will find an unexpected stash of money among your belongings.
8) Be steadfast and stick to your principles.
9) An attractive person will sit to your left.

Knitted a few rows this afternoon after rearranging our sales display and putting some books on their right shelves. Hung a bird cage and a fantasy sword as well.

My body tells me when to stop and rest. And, would you believe, it never conforms to the regimen of a Saturday/Sunday weekend.

Probably why people are stressed despite weekends. They don't listen to their bodies.

Arsenic leaves no trace in any substance.