Worked an hour on third layer.

"I see a red door/
And I want it painted black/"

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Worked an hour on second layer.

Aubrey cooking our lunch in the kitchen.

A quiet day in Cubao.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sky is blue silk embroidered with gold and white threads.

Another day is over. My main accomplishment of the day was finishing construction lines and applying the first layer on my current painting.

As to the main accomplishment of the night, must get off the computer now. Everything must be in place before midnight.

You can never really "change a person's life", because it takes a confluence of strong factors to actually change a person's life, the strongest of which should be his own desire to achieve that change.

Besides, the most life-changing event in a person's life is most definitely the death of a loved one.

Dinner at home with Angelique, Aubrey, J., and R. We had KFC via FDS.

We discovered only later that the cole slaw was missing but that we were charged for it.

Like the McDonald's order last night, the phone order went through an atchay branch.

Hallowed Evening In Cubao

Into my month of Yesvember.

Worked an hour on first layer.

Tried to send my model a photo of the beginnings of the portrait, but he doesn't have load.

I love it when the kitchen is filled with the fragrance of freshly baked cookies.

Aubrey's Halloween cookies are delicious but exceedingly rich.

The October leaf falls off my planner.

Worked another hour on construction lines.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Aubrey resting after her baking session, but she came down to lunch half an hour later.

Developed an interesting Halloween game for P., but when he saw this photo, he backed out.

I guess, some people don't have a feel for the risque.

Bought food at the Sitio Catacutan hawkers' center. Wore all black (yes, I have black Spandex shorts) and my peaked, wizard's hat. It made some people nervous. There must be something about me--when I wear a Halloween costume it doesn't look like a costume, it looks real. Had I brought along one of my staves as well, I think that everyone's jaw would have dropped.

Worked another hour on construction lines.

Aubrey is now baking Halloween cookies in the kitchen.

Two cups very black, espresso blend.

The sun is a cosmic beacon.

Good morning, Cubao!

I woke up to blazing sunshine.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand. They have foot-long, Hungarian chili dogs again. Bought one for M. and another for the compound security guard.

Aubrey and R.'s McDonald's FDS arrived after TWO HOURS.

I know how that goes. The phoned order went through an atchay branch.

Worked another hour on construction lines.

Dinner at home alone, but Aubrey and R. sat with me while waiting for their FDS.

Later, Angelique and J. arrived from visiting the grave of J.'s grandmother and dinner out.

The drizzle has stopped.

Bought Magnum ices.

Worked another hour on construction lines.

Dark as the White Rabbit's tunnel at 4:30 PM. Turned on the lamps and the Halloween lights.

Worked another hour on construction lines.

Aubrey and R. back from the Castle of Baking and Confectionery.

The soft drizzle is turning into a hard one. 

That show teaches singers not to own songs but to copy the way they were originally sung.

Laro Ng Daga mentality.

If you want to live longer, retire.

The only thing unstressful about being employed is your paycheck.

The worst assumption to make about extraterrestrials is that they want to hide away from us.

Try to read broadcasters' faces and look into their deep and personal sadness.

Aubrey and R. off to the Castle of Baking and Confectionery to buy more ingredients for Halloween cookies.

Commenced construction lines.

This painting begins October 30, 2018.

Writing is my passion.

Painting is my penance.

R. arrived.

1:51 PM. Finished underpainting. If it dries by this evening--in this cool, drizzly weather, I mean--I can probably lay construction lines tonight.

Listening to the regular passing of cars on the street outside, their wheels slushing in rainwater. The sound is like that of waves washing on the shore.

Lunch at home with Aubrey.

Recalled that, while Edwin and I were having lunch yesterday, he looked round our interior and declared that all artists' houses look the same to him.

Set another unit of cradled canvas on an easel and commenced underpainting.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Photos by Maryhill School of Theology

Slept through Yutu's fringe rain. Now the trees and the rooftops and the streets are fresh and slick. I see them as though through the eyes of a toddler experiencing a cool morning for the first time.

I love the rain. It renews Creation.

It even seems to chase Death away.

Good morning, Cubao!

The raindrops are white sapphires strung in silver necklaces.

There are only two occasions when I feel like a stranger in my own district: one is when I am having coffee at the Cubao Hogwarts Espresso Station while a basketball game is going on at the coliseum; the other when I am walking through the Araneta Center Bus Terminal at a time when people are rushing off to their hometowns. On both occasions the place is filled with thousands of transients. The existential, paradoxical feeling I get is that all who surround me traveled far and wide just to get to the center and are anxious at being at a strange destination, yet I myself am actually home, calm, and centered, though nobody else knows it.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

In the practice of magic there are only three kinds of associates:

--Colleagues, with whom you should never share your secrets
--Students, of whom a mage should have only three to six
--Personal assistants, usually one per mage, who, presumably, take over from the mage after he has gone.

In bed just watching TV with a big bag of potato chips and soda with lots of ice.

Home. Just so relieved that my painting is now installed at MST. I can now clean the ground floor and move on to other things.

Monday, October 29, 2018: Installation of _Christ Calming The Storm_ at Maryhill School of Theology

Christ Calming The Storm
Oil on cradled canvas
9' x 4.583'
August 12 - September 21, 2018

Edwin arrived and is currently bubble-wrapping Christ Calming The Storm for transport to Maryhill School of Theology.

Good morning, Cubao!

The clouds are ice sculptures for a wedding banquet.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand.

Aubrey and R. back from dinner out with R.'s family. They've been on Halloween break since October 26..

Went to the neighborhood grocery store because D.'s store was closed for the night. Bought two packs of cigarettes and Magnum ices for the granddaughters.

I'm giving M. a 2019 planner for Christmas. He wants a Starbucks planner, though.

I'll just give him the card filled with stickers and have him choose and claim the planner himself.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Aubrey and R. are having dinner out with R.'s family.

Dinner at home with Angelique.

Back from jalan-jalan. Farmers Garden is filled with so many flower arrangements shaped like hearts and crosses that you can actually play giant tic-tac-toe with them.

Among other things, swung by the Cubao Leaky Cauldron. Tried the Macha Mint De Luxe Yuletide Surprise this time. Though it also has my favorite, silver sugar pearls, I still prefer the Strawberry Shortcake.

Nothing beats last year's planner, that is why I bought all four of them. I'm only buying one this year--I don't like that figural coffee-cup closure, which makes the cover look the cover of a breakfast menu. They have no violet or purple this year--a shame, because both are always magical colors. They have metallic gray (for strength and protection) which fabulously looks like a sheet of iron, metallic blue (for a creative and active year), cerise (this is the inert one this year), and roan (for prosperity). I'm saving up for metallic gray; I am a Metal Rabbit after all. This is also a color I've never seen for a planner cover before, and is thus most unusual.

Took an early lunch.

Angelique and J. now taking their lunch. Aubrey still in her room upstairs.

Must go jalan-jalan in a few.

One More Look At The Night

Sunday, October 28, 2018

This is the last night of Christ Calming The Storm inside our house before it makes egress to Maryhill School of Theology. It's been two months with us and I know I'm going to miss seeing it everyday.

When facing a taladro or magical sheet, always bear in mind that the "left" side is not your left but the left of its principal figure.

An amulet endows you with the qualities and protective powers of the natural object it came from. Its use, therefore, is defensive.

A talisman, on the other hand, is a weapon, though not classified as a physical firearm because it operates on the astral plane. Its use, therefore, is offensive.

On October 31, three Spirit Questors and I will attempt to access what the Philippines will be like in the 30th century.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a field of golden squashes.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand.

Looks like M.'s relatives are having a Saturday night reunion in the cafe.

Aubrey and R. arrived from a session at the salon and had food delivered for their dinner.

Then Angelique and J. arrived from the ball game at the coliseum and dinner out.

I enjoy Star Trek a lot more than I do Star Wars. In every episode of the former I witness fine, ensemble acting. In every episode of the latter, the cast members seem to act and be aware of one another only in twos and threes.

Aubrey and R. off to the family dentist's and to buy ingredients for Halloween cookies.

Then Angelique and J. off to watch a ball game at the coliseum.

Rediscovered our two sets of shamanic, musical, percussion instruments. They're made of hollow animal horns strung in bunches like bells. When stirred, they make the sound of water in a babbling brook, like a magical water-caller.

Tried to hang them at our loggia door but Angelique said that the place looks crowded already as it is.

Happy 78th Birthday to one of my most proactive spirit guides!

Dinner at home with Aubrey.

Reshuffled more lamps. The arrangement should satisfy me when I look at it from all around.

Lamps on the floor make us feel as though we are dining on a gantry looking down on a lower level.

With 5,000 Friends from different countries, I feel that I listen to the world and that the world listens to me.

Good morning, Cubao!

Sunshine is a golden road to good memories.

Sent food over to the cafe staff.

Angelique arrived from college. She is taking her dinner upstairs.

Visited Derrick at M.'s cafe. He'd just arrived and opened the cafe for the night.

The flower man buzzed by and pressed two strands of white flowers on me.

Libated clean water on our shivalingam.

Sat with Aubrey while she had a late lunch.

Placed two lamps beneath our dining room sideboard, for an interesting change. The bulbs generate so much warmth that the nook functions as an artificial fireplace or radiator.

Posting this here for now because Google+ is currently unavailable:

TONY PEREZ'S GUIDELINES FOR HIS GOOGLE+ FOLLOWERS FOR THE WEEKEND (SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018):

1) Don't make a big deal out of a small thing.
2) Try a different color scheme.
3) Look for beauty where others believe there is none.
4) Do not anticipate negative occurrences. If you do, they are good as having happened and having affected you already.
5) It is normal to sometimes feel that you are bearing the world on your shoulders.
6) The Chinese oracle never fails.
7) Always consider the proper context of everything.
8) Do not trust celebrities who latch on to political figures.
9) When down and out, think of the golden sunshine.
10) Not all addictions are drug-related.
11) Take regular breaks so as not to feel smothered.
12) The deceased always like being remembered.
13) Avoid people who are always trying to be cute.
14) Give out goodies to neglected children for Halloween, but only to family for Christmas.
15) There is nothing like a real lantern carved out of squash where pumpkins are not available.

If you are not my Google+ Follower these do not apply to you, because they were composed based on a scanning of all Followers in my List.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a pot of chrysanthemum tea.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand.

Someone please tell me why cemetery plot owners can't maintain their plots the whole year round, the way they would their houses and their vacation houses.

Why don't they give value to the birthdays and death anniversaries of the deceased, for example?

Aubrey and R. arrived from university and dinner out.

Set aside The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins to snuggle up in bed with later. Fortunately I can't remember the plot and the ending. I do like Wilkie Collins, whose novel The Moonstone I read and loved many years ago. It made me value my moonstone pendant, a gift from my sister Sylvia in Australia, so much.

Dinner at home with Angelique and J.

Sent a plate of food to Neil and another plate of food to the compound security guard.

Stay home and make this night as restful as you can.

Back from jalan-jalan. Bought 15 meters bubble wrap and checked out expensive bristle brushes and Manga figurines.

Angelique and Aubrey, the race is on! But, your planners won't be on the counters until November 2.

Had a Strawberry Shortcake Yuletide Surprise, the only holiday drink I really like so far. Love the crushed cookie bits and the silver sugar pearls.

M., who takes the MRT everyday to and from work, is quite distressed that more and more Chinese nationals have been riding the MRT.

Lunch at home with Angelique.

Must go jalan-jalan after lunch. Our cable bill arrived and I have to buy a huge roll of bubble wrap.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a sparkling, merry-mix-up ride.

Spent an hour and a half at M.'s cafe with M. and Derrick, a staff member from long ago who is back to work at the cafe.

Angelique arrived.

Went to the neighborhood grocery store to buy cup noodles for Angelique, who seems stressed out and might be on the verge of having a cold.

Aubrey and R. arrived from university and dinner out. As usual, Keiko Kashigawa is so overjoyed to see one of my granddaughters, he forgets to respond to the instruction, "Sit".

Dinner at home alone. Had veggies and rice only.

Went out to buy two meat dishes for Phat Doog Cerefina's din-din later.

If you practice low magic, such as witchcraft, do not seek advice and solutions from someone who practices high magic. He won't be able to give you anything he has, because everything he has is ruled by high-level spirit guides.

If you feel for a variety of interiors that would clash with one another, decorate by the room or by the area. A house, after all, does not need to have a unified, overall look. Note that even Victorian houses had Japanese corners and Persian corners for intimate conversations.

I stopped buying books because they need to be moved and transferred to different shelves from time to time, pretty much the way plants need to be rotated, though not as often.

I also prefer to have other, interesting furniture than book cabinets.

https://tonyperezphilippinescyberspacebook18.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-masterpiece-first-comes-into-tangible.html

The guilty will always punish themselves.

Never spend your time arguing with other people.

Instead, commence your next, major work quietly and behind their backs.

Lunch alone.

We are all set to install Christ Calming The Storm at Maryhill School of Theology early next week. Once that is done and once I get home from the installation, I can set up the unstretched canvas for Portrait of Jacintha Abisheganaden in my studio area.

Two cups very black, espresso blend.

Home alone.

Angelique at college and Aubrey at university.

Putting together a retouch kit for our eventual installation at Maryhill School of Theology.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun is a bedroom side table laden with precious objects.

Hooked on 9-1-1 because the characters are interesting.

An artist becomes prolific when he allows only the least amount of distractions in his life.

Libated clean water on our shivalingam and white flowers.

Too much of a good thing disperses into air like soda froth.

A hermit has more peace of mind than a priest because he does not need to discipline and admonish any of the people around him.

If you are not happy, it is because you seldom followed your heart.

Buy yourself a holiday gift in October, November, and December.

Keiko Kashigawa's playpen arrived today. Angelique and J. set it up as soon as they came home.

Neil knocked at our door and asked to enter the cafe through the secret passage.

The flower man buzzed by and pressed two strands of white flowers on me. There must be a message for me from Lord Shiva. Will have to pay attention to my dreams tonight.

Flowers and oil lamps on our family altar on the occasion of my elder son Nelson's 48th birthday.

Swung by the Christmas bazaar and bought two Vigan empanadas for supper. Discovered that, aside from the P60-empanada, there is an P80-peso empanada with more sausage inside it. Went for the latter. Brought the empanadas home rather than eat one at a table among holiday carousers.

Impressed with our new alkaline water service. The delivery boy intuitively knows when we need to replenish our stock of five, ten-gallon water jugs and comes and knocks on our door.

I keep a heavy, iron, antique music book stand on the floor beside my bed to contain the books I am currently rereading or browsing through. Into my Sargents this week. I love him for his handling of oils and his mastery of anatomy.

Now using the notebook I bought years ago at The TinTin Shop in Singapore. The cover shows a scene from my favorite episode, _The Blue Lotus_.

The gypsy crystal ball is the precursor of the modern drone.

Good morning, Cubao!

Sky fairies take rides on cloud galleons.

The werewolf crossed the street to the burger stand.

Watched this week's episode of Folklore, an ASEAN horror series, on HBO. This one seems to be Malaysian. Set in a remote construction site with a lot of male semi-nudity by a Chinese, Malay, and Indian cast.

The body of a girl who was raped, tortured, and killed is accidentally unearthed on the site. The protagonist, a Chinese man named Peng, is ordered to burn the body. He takes away the cadaver but does not burn it because he himself has a daughter and feels conmpassion for the dead. He pulls out the brad that was hammered into her nape to prevent her from coming back as a pontianak, and so she comes back as one, killing males not necessarily her murderers indiscriminately.

An interesting ritual by a visionary, Malay shaman who sees into the past and witnesses, in his mind, what happened to the girl, but he, too, dies.

Although there are no special effects in this movie, the horror is competently carried through. The ending is also ambiguous but, surprisingly, conveys a sense of closure.

Looking forward to next week's episode, from Thailand, which I consider the best producers of ASEAN horror movies.

Aubrey arrived from college and dinner out.

Dinner alone, then Angelique arrived from college and dinner out.

I've been going in and out of the house the whole day and Keiko Kashigawa has been quiet on the upper floor. When Angelique comes in, though, Keiko just KNOWS that it is Angelique, and starts barking with joy non-stop and uncontained.

I recall the times when Kichiro Mayuzumi knew that Angelique or Aubrey was arriving from school. Three minutes before either one arrived, Kichiro would run to the upper-floor side balcony and hang dangerously there, scouring the view and waiting hopefully.

Angelique, Aubrey, and J. have been investing a lot of time and money on Keiko Kashigawa. This evening Angelique ordered a playpen especially for him. 

And actually, if I had more time, I would like to raise knitting to the level of fiber art in the Philippines.

I've had my share of local travel before I retired. I don't miss it and I don't want any more of it.

My mother died in her late 70s, my father in his early 80s. Based on their ages when they passed away, I surmise that I have only ten to 15 years more to live. I don't want to spend this time on public relations, meeting people, and further promoting my public image. I need all of the rest of my life to complete my 40-volume, literary collection and my 40-painting collection for Maryhill School of Theology.

These are my two, metaphorical, Sistine chapels, and what I would like to leave behind before saying goodbye.

Things usually get worse before they get a lot worse, not always better.

The streets of Cubao are once again filled with mendicants: usually women toting babies, old women, and little boys asking for money for food or for transportation for them to get home (how they got there in the first place, I have no idea).

Most of them are method actors.

Due to the rotation of the earth, the Serpent always slithers upward.

Violence--whether physical, mental, or emotional--is never compatible with spirituality.

Old artists never die. Neither do they just fade away.

Strange. Now Charisse a.k.a Jake Cyrus looks like a former co-worker named Jomar.

There are times when Senator Antonio Trillanes reminds me of Paul Dumol, not only because of the shape of his head, his haircut, and the way he moves, but most especially because of his dispassionate mien, his fastidiousness for detail, and his obsessive-compulsive, tenacious, research on selected subjects.

The werewolf crossed EDSA to the Christmas bazaar in the center's southwest parking lot. Finally had a Vigan empanada; it has sausage bits, sprouts, and a whole egg, and is served with a tube of sweet, Ilocos vinegar. Not bad for P60.

I think that this is the man who delivers Vigan empanadas to T.'s house. She served us some when we visited her years ago, but in deep saucers, swimming in vinegar, and with a knife and fork. I felt that it was all wrong. I like eating Vigan empanada holding it in its wrapping--like tacos or like fish and chips. Must get the man's contact information next time.

When trying Cubao street food, do what I do, which is to bring my own paper napkins. I always have a roll of toilet paper, as a matter of fact, inside my backpack.