The Hermit of Cubao
Photo by Marlon Cagatin, December 13, 2015
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Went to M.'s cafe and had sisig and two cans of orange soda. M. skipped his night job tonight and brought their youngest waiter (his cousin from Bicol, actually) to the miting de avance at Quezon Circle.
Thinking in geometric threes again:
1) Wondered what direction M.'s candidate's campaign will take.
2) Poured an orange drink into a glass filled with ice cubes and was dismayed that some it spilled on the tabletop. Wondered why a familiar wrist movement does not ensure that all of my drink gets into a glass.
3) Thought about ejaculation for some reason--it just crossed my mind. Wondered why it is not possible for me or for any other man to control how much semen comes out, what direction it will shoot in, and where it will fall.
Crazy Saturday night. Thinking of things to write, because I've been painting. It seems to balance my creative energy.
Thinking in geometric threes again:
1) Wondered what direction M.'s candidate's campaign will take.
2) Poured an orange drink into a glass filled with ice cubes and was dismayed that some it spilled on the tabletop. Wondered why a familiar wrist movement does not ensure that all of my drink gets into a glass.
3) Thought about ejaculation for some reason--it just crossed my mind. Wondered why it is not possible for me or for any other man to control how much semen comes out, what direction it will shoot in, and where it will fall.
Crazy Saturday night. Thinking of things to write, because I've been painting. It seems to balance my creative energy.
Actually, the voice has it.
One man lost his ratings because, in trying to come across as humble, he muttered and mumbled and spoke unintelligibly and sounded like a broken man.
The other man lost his ratings because he spoke Tagalog too mechanically and too fast, and sounded like those con artists who jump on buses and recite long-winded, memorized stories about how they lost their jobs and now need donations from the passengers.
One man lost his ratings because, in trying to come across as humble, he muttered and mumbled and spoke unintelligibly and sounded like a broken man.
The other man lost his ratings because he spoke Tagalog too mechanically and too fast, and sounded like those con artists who jump on buses and recite long-winded, memorized stories about how they lost their jobs and now need donations from the passengers.
There was something my daughter-in-law Ivy wanted to pass on to us, but I just couldn't keep it up because it was inconvenient and I'd always considered it a myth: it was to not use soap or detergent on the interior of a rice cooking vessel and, instead, after soaking it in water, to wipe it clean with a soft sponge and water.
I thought about this because I was washing dishes again tonight, and I wondered whether there might be some truth to the myth after all. Perhaps the interior of the vessel becomes coated with fine layers of rice powder, becomes bonded to the metal with continuous heat, and makes new rice taste ten times as good.
My labyrinthine mind considered this after leaping from my contemplation of the glazes that I need to cover my painting with, and then leaping to dish washing, and then leaping to Ivy and the rice cooker.
I always think in geometric threes.
I thought about this because I was washing dishes again tonight, and I wondered whether there might be some truth to the myth after all. Perhaps the interior of the vessel becomes coated with fine layers of rice powder, becomes bonded to the metal with continuous heat, and makes new rice taste ten times as good.
My labyrinthine mind considered this after leaping from my contemplation of the glazes that I need to cover my painting with, and then leaping to dish washing, and then leaping to Ivy and the rice cooker.
I always think in geometric threes.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Your Messenger message:
"Sir baka naman po pwedeng matulungan yung friend ko, kalilipat lang po nila sa 3 stories na condo unit. Dun po sa girls bedroom, may isang white lady na ginugulo yung nag ro-room na teenager. Ito po yung pictures ng bahay."
My reply:
Hello _______!
Tell your friend to do these and the manifestations will immediately stop:
1) At the end of the corridor where there is an altar, a mirror should be hung on the wall.
2) In the girl's bedroom, on the wall where the window is, there should be a tall, potted plant.
3) The girl's bedroom door opens out onto a blank wall. There should be a painting or poster there, preferably of flowers.
"Sir baka naman po pwedeng matulungan yung friend ko, kalilipat lang po nila sa 3 stories na condo unit. Dun po sa girls bedroom, may isang white lady na ginugulo yung nag ro-room na teenager. Ito po yung pictures ng bahay."
My reply:
Hello _______!
Tell your friend to do these and the manifestations will immediately stop:
1) At the end of the corridor where there is an altar, a mirror should be hung on the wall.
2) In the girl's bedroom, on the wall where the window is, there should be a tall, potted plant.
3) The girl's bedroom door opens out onto a blank wall. There should be a painting or poster there, preferably of flowers.
Done reading Some Chinese Ghosts. I'm not sorry I bought it many years ago, when I was in my 30s, and read it only now that I am 65, retired, and have all the time in the world to enjoy my undiscovered treasures.
Certainly not the typical, Halloweeny ghost stories. They are gemstones of Chinese culture, literature, and history.
Reading Traditional Chinese Festivals next. Yes, all of these are from my tiny, Graham Brash collection.
Certainly not the typical, Halloweeny ghost stories. They are gemstones of Chinese culture, literature, and history.
Reading Traditional Chinese Festivals next. Yes, all of these are from my tiny, Graham Brash collection.
Your Messenger message:
"___ I had a strange dream last night, can you see anything on it....
"I saw 2 male neighbors by our window, one is calling me, the other said...wala na patay na si mommy ___. Then i saw another batch of my friends sabi nila patay na ako maligalig pa kase hinaharot daw sila multo ko...and i remember telling them that when i die i will prove to them that there is an after world. Then I saw a very bright light upwards. It was there I opened my eyes...I saw my daughter with her cp on flashlight mode channeled upwards. She then closed it and sleep, then I saw my grandson facing me, his hands on my hand. I felt no fear...but yes I was curious."
My reply:
Hello ____!
This dream has nothing to do with your actual death or with mortality.
Just change "patay" to "umalis" and "afterworld" to "greener pastures".
It is your subconscious desire to vindicate yourself to the people who put you down in the past, and to show them that you have become not only a better person but a happier and more prosperous one after you left them.
Your daughter and your grandson are the greatest blessings that you have. They are not only the persons whom you decided to center your life around, they are also the constant reminders that you need to stay healthy, live a long life, and persevere in order to shower them continuously with your love for as long as possible.
"___ I had a strange dream last night, can you see anything on it....
"I saw 2 male neighbors by our window, one is calling me, the other said...wala na patay na si mommy ___. Then i saw another batch of my friends sabi nila patay na ako maligalig pa kase hinaharot daw sila multo ko...and i remember telling them that when i die i will prove to them that there is an after world. Then I saw a very bright light upwards. It was there I opened my eyes...I saw my daughter with her cp on flashlight mode channeled upwards. She then closed it and sleep, then I saw my grandson facing me, his hands on my hand. I felt no fear...but yes I was curious."
My reply:
Hello ____!
This dream has nothing to do with your actual death or with mortality.
Just change "patay" to "umalis" and "afterworld" to "greener pastures".
It is your subconscious desire to vindicate yourself to the people who put you down in the past, and to show them that you have become not only a better person but a happier and more prosperous one after you left them.
Your daughter and your grandson are the greatest blessings that you have. They are not only the persons whom you decided to center your life around, they are also the constant reminders that you need to stay healthy, live a long life, and persevere in order to shower them continuously with your love for as long as possible.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Been looking through the houses of old friends and they all seem to be stuck in the 1960s. I now find it difficult to appreciate the following stereotype styles:
Old Malate
Vigan Fil-Hispanic
Department Chairperson Kitsch
Mabini Art Gallery
Three-Star Hotel
SM Moderne
Tacky, Faux Italianate
Opus Dei, Faux Vatican
Boracay
Tiendesitas Tibetan
Repurposed Ecclesiasticals
Papemelroti Country Slogan Central
Drop-Dead Ceramics
I stopped looking after that. I now fully appreciate the simple, unpretentious houses of simple, unpretentious people, such as those in my neighborhood.
Old Malate
Vigan Fil-Hispanic
Department Chairperson Kitsch
Mabini Art Gallery
Three-Star Hotel
SM Moderne
Tacky, Faux Italianate
Opus Dei, Faux Vatican
Boracay
Tiendesitas Tibetan
Repurposed Ecclesiasticals
Papemelroti Country Slogan Central
Drop-Dead Ceramics
I stopped looking after that. I now fully appreciate the simple, unpretentious houses of simple, unpretentious people, such as those in my neighborhood.
I am sick and tired of old lines from house construction shows: "We're running out of time." "We won't make it to the deadline." "Only three more days and we haven't done that yet." "The family is coming in 30 minutes."
Why don't those builders and decorators keep their hysterical, stressful tensions to themselves and let me watch their show in peace? Any more of that and I'd much rather flip through a glossy magazine.
Why don't those builders and decorators keep their hysterical, stressful tensions to themselves and let me watch their show in peace? Any more of that and I'd much rather flip through a glossy magazine.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Monday, May 2, 2016
Taking a rest from painting today to continue reading Some Chinese Ghosts. At least my friends won't be inundated with photos of my work in progress. For now. The Album is fascinating, though--I love clicking on the photos in succession and seeing the painted areas appear one at a time to cover the entire canvas.
I've slowly become a night person from the morning person that I was when I was still going to work. The last view from my window to the world at night is often Animation Domination, which plays across midnight in the Philippines. A most soothing consolation that other people are darker than I am, before I drift off to sleep.
The sun is still setting. Outside, the sky is overcast and washing everything with a glaze of Payne's Gray.
Angelique's classmate C. left for the day but is coming back tomorrow so that they can continue working on a joint school project. I think we'll have halabos na hipon for lunch tomorrow.
I decided to call it a day for painting at 5:30 PM. I've already gone over "the hump", i.e. the most difficult phase of painting during which all painting problems and obstacles are solved and overcome. This is usually the time when whatever I'm painting becomes miraculously finished before I know it.
Still, I will not fall into the trap I used to fall into when I was still working at the office, when I was always only too glad to be able to finish a painting and then move on to other obligations. I am compelling myself to work slowly and surely, and enjoy every minute and every second of my painting process.
I'm allowing the painting to converse with me. Indeed, it is a window through which the characters I am painting look into the studio and the world I live in.
Angelique's classmate C. left for the day but is coming back tomorrow so that they can continue working on a joint school project. I think we'll have halabos na hipon for lunch tomorrow.
I decided to call it a day for painting at 5:30 PM. I've already gone over "the hump", i.e. the most difficult phase of painting during which all painting problems and obstacles are solved and overcome. This is usually the time when whatever I'm painting becomes miraculously finished before I know it.
Still, I will not fall into the trap I used to fall into when I was still working at the office, when I was always only too glad to be able to finish a painting and then move on to other obligations. I am compelling myself to work slowly and surely, and enjoy every minute and every second of my painting process.
I'm allowing the painting to converse with me. Indeed, it is a window through which the characters I am painting look into the studio and the world I live in.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Your Hangout message:
"Hi, sir tony. Nanaginip po ako kagabi na natanggalan daw po ako ng ngipin. Nasira po ung isa sa upper teeth ko, then tinanggal ko raw po nung nakita ko nga na sobrang nasira na. May gum part po na nasa gitna, hugis stalactite after po tinanggal ung ngipin. Masama po bang panaginip ito, lalo na po dahil ang kasabihan ng matatanda ay may mamamatay daw po kapag nakapanaginip ng ngiping natanggal? Salamat po."
My reply;
Hello _____!
That someone will die when you dream of losing a tooth or teeth is merely a superstition.
Such dreams indicate a temporary loss of power, such as having no money or having no control over a relationship, which your psyche translates to other imagery to avoid hurting you directly. With men it means impotence or a loss of authority at work.
Observe your present circumstances and see where you have been neglectful of your obligations or where you have been unable to meet other people's expectations.
"Hi, sir tony. Nanaginip po ako kagabi na natanggalan daw po ako ng ngipin. Nasira po ung isa sa upper teeth ko, then tinanggal ko raw po nung nakita ko nga na sobrang nasira na. May gum part po na nasa gitna, hugis stalactite after po tinanggal ung ngipin. Masama po bang panaginip ito, lalo na po dahil ang kasabihan ng matatanda ay may mamamatay daw po kapag nakapanaginip ng ngiping natanggal? Salamat po."
My reply;
Hello _____!
That someone will die when you dream of losing a tooth or teeth is merely a superstition.
Such dreams indicate a temporary loss of power, such as having no money or having no control over a relationship, which your psyche translates to other imagery to avoid hurting you directly. With men it means impotence or a loss of authority at work.
Observe your present circumstances and see where you have been neglectful of your obligations or where you have been unable to meet other people's expectations.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday, April 29, 2016
Done painting for the day.
S.and I did groceries in the rain this afternoon. Bought another new ice cream flavor, two balls of ham, three boxes of cereal, more instant noodles (an emergency cache), kitchen detergent, chocolate candy for the granddaughters (only now do I connect this with a dream I had!), and two cartons of milk.
Aubrey asked for two more candle holders--lanterns, actually--for her bedroom.
S. still working on the first of his nine-panel painting for M.'s cafe.
Caught the replay of American Ninja Warrior: U.S.A. versus Japan. Clint Eastwood should have been watching this too.
S.and I did groceries in the rain this afternoon. Bought another new ice cream flavor, two balls of ham, three boxes of cereal, more instant noodles (an emergency cache), kitchen detergent, chocolate candy for the granddaughters (only now do I connect this with a dream I had!), and two cartons of milk.
Aubrey asked for two more candle holders--lanterns, actually--for her bedroom.
S. still working on the first of his nine-panel painting for M.'s cafe.
Caught the replay of American Ninja Warrior: U.S.A. versus Japan. Clint Eastwood should have been watching this too.
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