DAYS OF THE MENDING

The Bangkok and Phnom Penh meetings were locked in. 

Climate finance commitments will be aligned with the stars to reconfigure three meetings, a field vist, and a team dinner.

A side hustle in Kuala Lumpur between two more Thai engagements is taking shape.  

One final glimpse of the Canberra reports exposed the signed guidelines and a committed support package for Jakarta.

Monday's shuffle progressed into Saturday's steady strides.

Black Velvet celebrated an employment eligibility.

A petite eye doctor threw pink shoes at managed healthcare.

Near beer, pizza, and chicharon fell an ancient molar.

Absence monitoring, workforce management, and a single source solution are the Signs of Change.

Case researches were elevated into an inclusive nexus for just energy transition that was explored and probed in Manila.

Payment was requested for cleansing electronic folders and organizing vistual boxes during the Monday meetings.

The troika of the Ironman, the Chef, and the Caregiver prays as the Phantom Biker for the complete mending of a Braveheart...

BRAVEHEART

The Grim Reaper hovered to sqeeze her soul.

It was almost over but her heart, reinforced with prayers and aided by the spirits of her father and brother, fought back with great courage and determination.

Not yet, and thus was how the intubated who lived and the comatose who woke up broke free from a feeding tube and the shackles of a urinary catheter and an intercostal drain to liberate free air from the suffocation of a venturi mask and regain composure from the beeping noise of a multiparameter monitor; strong and valiant in the face of danger and adversity that rendered a central line, a sequential compression device, and incontinence pads moot and academic.

He wanted to but why can't he cry hard enough? 

Perhaps it was the stone hearted pragmatism that, throughout the ordeal, delivered a communications work plan to nudge a Dutch email account, resolve the remaining financial agreement, and secured slots for Jakarta at Bangkok's Climate Action Week and Kuala Lumpur's Energy-Business Forum, provisions that justified the launch of a multi-country program practitioners guide and the first engagement with a digital economy framework agreement. 

He remained level-headed in the Monday meetings, tranquil and collected in responding to Manila's proposed presentation, drafting an agenda for Phnom Penh, and DocuSigning requests for payment. 

But resoluteness is just a facade, a survival mechanism, his heart's pleadings and gratitude known only to the deities, his most sincere and vulnerable moments exposed only in heaven's portkeys.

Like on Friday morning at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. 

Their eldest might have missed the surgical staple extraction and spyrometer exercise in Room 6200 but his daily post-ICU hustles from Tower 2 (10L) and Tower 3 (22V) revealed a steady and reliable heart that kept the refrigerated ginisang monggo and nilagang baboy from Bakal 2 warm and delectable. 

On Friday afternoon, the last of a phalanx of doctors signed the discharge papers at a cost of P17,640.20 in lieu of P2,603,453.40.

We have relieved happy hearts, grateful for her brave heart that pulled us through: she had a face-off with a flatline and prevailed.

Somewhere up there, the deities heeded our prayers and smiled kindly on us. 

Back in Bakal 2, the Samara Suntrust skyline faded into flavors of near beers paired with litsong manok and sinigang na ulo ng salmon, and a smorgasbord of dinakdakan, pocorns, luncheon meet, tinumis, bopis and the first of early morning walk exercises...

ANATOMY OF A NIGHTMARE

Moday's forecast was the sun will shine like ramen eggs bathing in a bowl of Tantanmen amidst a myriad of readiness appraissals and a consultancy roll out, sterile like hallways of antiseptic baths for the morning parade to the operating theater and an annual work planning workshop until Tueday's declaration of a touch-and-go situation evicted a comatose procession from Room 2002 to a dark uncertain night.

Let us pray said the thoraic surgeon.

The portkeys of heaven at the Anglican Cathedral of St. Mary & St. John and St. Luke the Physician's Chapel were stormed with desperate pleas, sincere petitions for the deities' compassion who on Wednesday morning intervened through a faint wave of recognition to usher The Awakening from unintelligible scrawls and gestures to a familar script that on Thursday were liberated from the restraint of intravenous lines. 

In the aftermath of a 10-minute brush with near-death, a pair of  specters descended to secure ICU 2 and offered comfort that resuscitated neurons and nephrons to functional normalcy. 

This was the story told on Friday night and by Saturday morning, the dark nights of Tower 2 (19M, 27P, 17L) metamorphosed into hazy but brigther days in Tower 3 (24Z) with the taming of the hypotension and extubation from the breathing machine. 

A brave strong heart noted the cardiologist.

From relieved hearts, an outpouring of grateful prayers were coursed through heaven's portkeys by a gathering of Carmelians at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, an Episcopalian mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary & St. John, and four lighted candles for supplication at the Santuario de San Ezekiel Moreno.

It was a nightmare with limited visistation hours (9-10 am, 6-8 pm) but faith in the deities, prayers from family and friends, and the welcome distraction of drafting a communications plan that was circulated as guidelines for partnership management pushed forward the first payments to Manila, Jakarta, and a consultant immensely helped us to pull through...

THE MATRIX (Bakal 2 Edition)

Ours is a digital rain of Yin and Yang forces.

Opposing yet complementary, like the eternal struggle between night and day.

A symbiosis of Kana characters and Latin symbols, like men and women. 

An endless loop of a death@71 and a birthday@62 in Cabanatuan...

In the CodeScene for the Phantom Biker, emails were responded to and remote meetings convened in Phnom Penh as dscussed in chat box conversations with Melbourne about a proposed assembly in Manila that will address matters related to a one-stop shop on first payments, the provisions of which, as indicated in a consultancy covenant transcribed in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia, will ship a cybernaut instrument to Nairobi.

Year 4 is a work plan that executed the second submission of Year 3 reports to hopefully unlock Step 5 through leisurely rides in the wet roads of Bakal 1, Kukusim, Mapak-ol , Korokan, Purok 5, and Bakal 3.     

Outlook is now powering iPhone 16 ever since the news broke out that Millenum Harvest is being felled by bills payment.

That's when Ateng's Garden's green screen blinked with computer codes for tinumis and sisig, litsong manok and pinakbet, pork barbecue and popcorn, dinakdakan, and a makeover... 

INTO THE STORM, AGAIN (How We Scaled Senate Room 527)

Unfortunate maybe but not orphaned nor rejected. 

Thus was how a low pressure area morphed into Tropical Depression Isang as the prognosis of a recurrence marked "worrisome" was conveyed, bringing us back to Baguio during the time of of Typhoon Carina.

Just the same, we prayed for the intercession of Our Lady of the Abandoned (circa 1720), amplifying last year's pleadings to Our Lady of Atonement (circa 1920).

[This while a financing agreement and refund in Jakarta eased the slightly delayed subbmission of a narrative report to Melbourne that concluded the partnership agreement for Kuala Lumpur and resolved a foreign exchange loss in Manila because yogurt was served during a weekly catch up on images of a certain Diane from the past, a replacement for the dead motherboard and tired exhaust fan displayed at a bankteller's counter in Cabanatuan.]

Both baliwag Transit and Victory Liner skipped the mandatory checkpoint in Dau to call in an Admission Order after the last two remaining claims were settled to usher a new request for a Guarantee Letter.   

[The inbox was wiped clean despite a deluge of online correspondence on social protection under the sponsorship of Our Lady of the Orange Top, patron to those who partially pay credit card billing statements that were printed in a draft consultancy contract from Kathmandu, to them who initiated their first request for reimbursement, and to us who are required to aassess amd update the system.]

There were apples and popcorn, tokwa't baboy and fried tilapia, fake wine and beer, and the Phantom Buker's conquest of the Riverside in Bakal 2 via the Jose W. Diokno Bulevard in Pasay.

We got in through a portkey at the second floor security check of the GSIS Building, and were led from crowded elevators to Room 527 that is actually a cornucopia 6 huge ramen bowls of Tonkatsu, TanTanMen, Shio, Shoyu, Miso, and Soba that surprisingly tasted like grilled squid and tuna belly garnished with a selection of parfaits and sundaes.  

Despite an encounter with the wolf snake and a hurried funeral in Talavera, the impact of the impending second storm is somewhat subdued compared to last year's,  harsh still but subtle enough to justify a few sips of warm but real beer from a plastic cup in Bantug after the near beers were gone...  

SCARS

It's been 19 days since the 79th. 

In 7 days of that, I walked out of a virtual consultation on fundraising to meet with the Swedes in Bangkok who co-authored a mandate for Jakarta that will define the context of ASEAN 2026.  

My new friends, Oettinger and Warsteiner, cancelled their financial management support for a policy toolkit in lieu of a request for refund from Melbourne's impact measurement approach. 

On the 5th of the 7th, an active fibrotic NASH was ruled as a request for computer maintenance.

On the 6th, a worrisome possibility for recurrence was detected before 5 hours of a ureteroscopy.

The scars will linger like a YOSAS approval for 5 settlements. 

Recurring (an assessment report?), exasperating (a fiscal governance plan?), delayed (hosting arrangements?).  

The opthalmologist was absent during a payment to a locked investment.

The opthometrist held court in Phnom Penh for a headhunt in SM City.

And the Phantom Biker got lost in Bakal 2 while tending to The Trestleboard.

On the 7th of the 7th, the computer was revealed to be a washing machine laundering a weekend narrative report. 

The scars, they will come and go.

But if they remained, my prayer to the Immaculate Conception in Cubao is for them to stay just like that.

Scars that will mark our riumph over our afflictions...

DETOURS TO A REMINISCENCE

"Nasaksak, nawarak, dinugo..."

The triumphs of a Year 3 financial acquittal and requests for project change pushed forward a headhunt. 

"...ang tinusok ni Lupin sa San Miguel..."

Three weekly meetings passed down twice to a KL debrief and a second round on updating a policy toolkit.

"...na naihi ng sobra sa bus..."

No response from Jakarta but Cigna settled  for the submission of the Clark requital through a fair finance report. 

"...dahil malamig ang opisina sa Bantug."

The quarterlies exposed sweet blood and a fatty liver that were paired with a near beer thrice and dealcoholized wine once.  

The price of a quarterly SSS premium was converted into a weekend karaoke session in Baloc and a despedida to London as the season of non-alcoholic spirits commenced in Bakal 2. 

"Medyo antak pa ang mga sumunod pero mas malasa na".

These are the detours of life that the Phantom Biker embraced as he reacquinated with Culiat, Fronda, Saverona and even Mapak-ol before Bulan drove to Dalton Pass and back for the first time...

THE BLUE COMPASS (Almost an Epylion)

For the guardians of the Quad DisCon presentation to be allowed to cross Canili Dam from Castaneda into Maria Aurora, the Phantom Biker must first chase the Four Cardinal Directions as it metamorphosed from dawn in Casulucan into the  rising sun in Sto. Tomas --- a biker's epic about the eternal duel between the days in Buasao and evenings in Pandalla that stretched into 4 days in the trails of the Southwest Monsoon.  

Thus was how the mystery of the missing counterpart request was fnally unravelled as a policy toolkit on how to clean inboxes and catch up on unopened emails despite the continuing enigma of a project change request.

Yet, Kuala Lumpur as usual lagged behind behind Phnom Penh, Manila and Jakarta, outclassed even by Melbourne that recently fell from the sky and Brussels too whose settlement remains uncertain.

That's what the feather-pen inscribed in a timesheet as the Quad DisCon was called to order in Baler so those men wearing aprons can line up for Chef Gerry Yan's buffet lunch while their guardians explored Ermita Hill and the rock formations in Daguisit.

Then there were the Garage Nights in Bakal 2 to celebrate an enrollment and liberation from a massive credit debt that would have covered utilities, credit card and phone bills, and insurance premium even without an HMO settlement. 

An anticipated tryst turned out to be an optical coherence tomography, perimetry, and a full abdomen and prostate sonography. 

That was before a middle-old old kalderetang kambing was infused with non-alcoholic sweet wine to season a middle-aged adobong manok and 4 bottles of near beer. 

CASINO ROYCE

Not in Montenegro but at Clark Global City.

A regional dialogue instead of a Texas Hold 'em poker tournament.

Le Chiffre, Dimitrios, and Mr. White disguised as Crising, Dante, and Emong dressed in four colors of polo barong.

For 4 days, the Premium Ballroom buzzed not of slot machines but the chimes and bells of the "Missing Middle", of distribution and food assistance spinning in roulette wheels while in a nearby bingo table, numbered capacity building and regional collaboration were announced for the benefit of the cage cashier who traded gaming tokens for a torn Euro bill that will cover breakfasts at the 21 All-Day Dining Buffet, the gym at Level 2, and a cabaret show on Day 1.   

(Day 1 featured a quickie with "I" on behalf of M.) 

By afternoon of Day 3, the "Missing Middle" was drafted by the bureau and dispensed at the relocated gateposts of old Fort Stotsenburg as Dante and Emong waltzed with crones while dumping rain upon the ghost of Manoling who was called to the Celestial Lodge 7 hours after having a photo with an American general, almost 3 months since granting a general amnesty to the collaborators of the great war, and many years before Mt. Pinatubo erupted to usher the casino invasion of Clark Air Base. 

(Day 3 was when everyone checked out except for a blue umbrella.)

Finally, Aling Lucing picked the remaining sisig morsels  from Donenoo's charcoal grill that is sweating with melted fat from various cuts of fresh beef and pork from Korea Town where the partnership amendments, a counterpart creation, a request for project change and a waiver, and two goals got caught up in the storm.

EIDC sounds like Quantum and TB might be the Obanno of a coded reheated birthday lechon that's as chewy as the last 4 sticks of pork barbecue in Bakal 2 yet soft and delicate like two pressure-cooked sinampalukang ulo ng kambing from a Saturday cocktail where the Phantom Biker, soused in 6 bottles of Pale Pilsen, disappeared into a line of drying laudry.  

His name is Bert, Shu-Bert.

And he takes his beer chilled and bottled, not poured and iced.

UNQUOTABLE QUOTES

"Sa puno ng maputing suso hinango ang laman para sa kalderetang bibe, kilaweng kambing, at sisig ni Aling Lucing."

“Immunize a dog and you’ll find an ancient motorbike inside a leaking aquarium that smelled like the PET Scan appointment of two Monday meetings".

"Love is the energy of life, gender inclusive and low carbon in Kuala Lumpur, and sometimes confused too like a consultancy requisition for the social protection of a special economic zone near Manila".  

"The budget is not just a collection of numbers but an expression of counterpart creation, understanding pass downs, partnership amendments, final report submissions, and a catch-up meeting".

"You're only as good as your last haircut and a leak-proof roof to host ASEAN 2026".

"Bridges become frames for looking at the world around us until a typhoon locked my bike wheels for two days".

"Ang mga naghapunan ng keso at pulang alak ay higit pa ang katapatan sa Banal na Rosaryo ng mga Anghel na kumupkop sa Museu ng mga nakatikas pahingang Puntod".