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...

THE PHNOM PENH CONVENING

Finally, the docket was sealed, the rooster finalized, the arena booked with a downpayment in lieu of a framework agreement, and the entry requirements submitted and approved as weeks of uncertainty and negotiations converged at the 25th floor of Fairfield by Marriot along Russian Federation Boulevard to snatch a wacky group selfie amidst a possible security situation. 

A phantom buzz almost ruined Sessions 1-3 (ASEAN's energy cooperation, defining transition in the transport and agriculture sectors, money matters and taxonomy), silenced as Session 3 (community-owned renewable energy) predicated four workshop outcomes and the inauguration of an online policy library prior to Session 4 (gender, the banks, and Mekong hydro projects), reincarnated as a spooky voice intruding into the conversations for a communique.

This is the text between the close (superb Khmer lunches near Mao Tse Tung Boulevard) and open (a craft beer taste test at Street 29) parentheses of the Phnom Penh regional CSO convening...  

...where The Winds blew a $40 dinner on Monday that is why I urinated Teutonic beer on Tuesday because Ganzberg is a German brand that is only available in Cambodia on Wednesdays from courtesans who can't read under a a red light where the local band entertained a floating retaurant on Thursday before being introduced as the muses of the Botanico Craft Beer Garden on Friday night as August segued into September for two more regional events in Vientiane.  

It was my first and probably my last in-person I-JET PMU meeting although it is still uncertain if the Phantom Biker will consider wearing the colors of the Tara Climate Foundation or Rainforest Action Network, or both.

The post-surgery prognosis was exhilarating despite the rains in Quezon City and our disqualification from a social service program in exchange for the emerging possibility of OPLAN SCM-SWDO. 

I was welcomed with ginisang monngo, sisig and pork barbecue by the Tursday Group and I wonder what the MILF of Bakal 2 wore under the orange towel, which is probably why I dozed in the middle of an apparently bigoted homily in Cabanatuan City. 

CONVALESCENCE

Tubes out!

That goes for the thoracentesis, the urinary drainage system, and the nasal cannula to vaporize an accidental butt flash with quick smokes along Sta. Ignacia Street where I chased papers that will enable a P200,000 medical assistance.

Discharged!

Five bundles of cash prepared by two curious bank tellers quickly devoured by the hospital's bill counter --- P916,410.21 of P1,063,525.31including a contested P7,183.00 from the blood bank minus PWD and PhilHealth discounts --- but we waited 3 hours to be discharged after signing a written promise that I will be back to settle the remaining P100,000.00 balance. 

Make up! 

There was that episode at the parking lot and the sultry muskiness of the MILF in Bakal 2 amidst a flurry of emails and virtual meetings as Bulan finally accomplished OPLAN DOH-MIFIP while three other fund raising projects were initiated in Guimba, Munoz and San Jose.

I finally got my May remittance too and it smelled of Wedneday's kapukan, Thursday's inihaw na liempo, and MASP's pulutan smorgasbord on Friday. 

On the road!

I was able to squeeze in two short rides --- the first to seek the intercession of our village's patron saint and the second as a pre-celebration for the imminent endorsement of the  ASEAN Declaration on Care and Resilience --- as OPLAN PCSO was launched on Sunday during an 8-hour transit in Bangkok for the regional convening in Phnom Penh...

THE PHYSICIAN IS AN EVANGELIST

The Pauline Letters otherwise known as the Epistles or Letters of Paul referred to him as a physician and a non-Jew.

In the books of the New Covenant, he is called as Luke the Evangelist.

To us, he is a high-end hospital where we were directed to be admitted for a lobectomy right after marshalling preparations for the regional convening in Phnom Penh.

Thus was how a chapter and verses of the Book of Bakal 2 were composed at St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City: by the music of the piano player at the lobby during our admission, the sounds of machines during the pre-op assessments including a Pulmunary Function Test, the snores and moans emanating from both sides of our bed at Ward 5206C, a  retinue of medical briefings and the tapping sounds of a fund raising, and the rustle of papers for submission to the Department of Social Services.

I chased the trails for a line to heaven at the churches of the Latter Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventists and Iglesia ni Cristo in Munoz before Thursday's D-Day and when it happened, I sought refuge at the cold and empty second floor chapel of the The Physician-Evangelist.

I was sleepless but thankfully, the procedure was relegated to a less complex segmentectomy to which I offerred my gratitude to the Great Architect of the Universe at the Diocesan Shrine of Jesus the Divine Word.

I pleaded for a seamless recovery at the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and it was granted.

Weekend and the family brought a welcome warmth to the sterile corners of Room 5110 and broke our medical confinement with stand-up lunches and banters.  

I've been under pressure but it doesn't matter in those two days.

We are almost there and we are grateful for the beeping IV monitoring machine, the soft knocks announcing regular vital signs check, the twice-a-day room cleaning service, the warm and properly covered food, and the overall excellent service of the Physician-Evangelist's disciples;and  the solidarity visits and encouragement, the generosity and kindness, and the prayers of friends who helped us pull through a week of uncertain and sleepless nights at 279 E. Rodriguez Senior Avenue, Quezon City...

THE BANGKOK WALKERS

On his 33rd year in 1960, King Rama IX set down the foundation stone of Wat Bhoman Khunaram, almost 40 years before and 4 kilometers away from his massive $8 million cable bridge that was the offering for his 6th cycle birthday including the public park that hummed of dominant South Asian tongues and a couple of Australian accents from the Autumn Room of the Chatrium.  

They, we, are the jolly walkers of Tower 1 who picked on the grilled fish while waiting patiently for me to finish my usual 3 bottles of  Beer Chang although on my last day, I took a ride in the shuttle van to Chong Nonsi where the trains led to the Siam Center, Payya Thai, Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the Victory Liner Deluxe Bus to Bakal 2.

And in Bakal 2, a discourse on a gender-just energy transition got cut twice so I requested a flight booking to Phnom Penh where I've taken over the PMU despite the still missing May remittance that was somehow assuaged by a wedding lechon in Bakal 2, some fried fish from Anda, and a couple of grilled bangus in Munoz.

But somehow, my daily bike rides were short and boring despite a haircut and updating the front wheel of my ancient motorbike. 

The Breast Center came up with benign results though while the repeat histopathology confirmed what we already knew in Baguio so yeah, that should be enoough for a Friendship Night of steamed talaba, inihaw na tuna, assorted grilled steak, and a bottle of Pinot Noir...

almost SLEEPLESS IN VANG VIENG (in Vientiane and Bangkok too!)

The nights in Vang Vieng were lullabyes of Beer Lao 

and a lei of grilled pork intestines.

From Patuxai, I raced from two meetings to the eternal rains 

of a national dialogue.

I was kip-less in the train, baht-less at Chatrium as the tracer 

was unleashed in Manila.

For the sake of rights and security, generative AI deep learned

VUCA and the C Risk Matrix.

The Onion Router browser will shield  ISPs, DNSs and VPNs 

from metadata's digital repression.

Baguio revisited, annihilation photons reported back, a temple, 

Suan Phlu is also Lumpini and Patpong. 

The trains led us to Hua Lumpong, a prayer at Wat Trimit, and the crowded markets of Yaowarat.

We ate Wat Arun for lunch after peeking at Wat Pho's massive feet and the guarded gates of the Royal Palace. 

Bangkok's holy trinity lulled me to sleep but I smelled of Chang Beer in each early morning that I wake up.

INTO THE STORM (How Our Shoes Got Wet at the Igorot Stone Kingdom)

We thought we eluded Typhoon Carina until it caught us at the Igorot Stone Kingdom...

where storm rain cascaded down steep streets
flooding the dining room of a Farmer's Daughter
and made us wait with love almost lost in a Trulab.

Suddenly, we were enveloped in a storm of surreal and scary hospital appellations...

adenocarcinoma with a lepidic growth pattern from NDCH  

who can do a thyroid transcription factor 1

but not the thyroglobulin immunostaining at BGH. 

We have descended into the storm amidst a flurry of weekly meetings, I-JET matters, the national dialogue in Vang Vieng and a regional convening in Phnom Penh, a forum and a summit in Vientiane, and early morning email catch ups that not even the payment of P216,000 for my labors in May and July can dissipate.  

My shoes were soaked as I sought refuge in leftover pinatisan, day-old carinderia food, an early birthday bash, and even paid the bills despite the still missing remittance from May.

I prayed for divine intervention from San Sebastian and the Sacred Heart of Jesus to deliver us to the best oncologist that we can afford as I forced my way through wet bike trails.

St. Luke and one of the doctors in Nueva Ecija responded with an encouraging initial prognosis and a positron emission tomography scan schedule on July 31. 

One day at a time.

I prayed during my Grab ride to the airport after checking out of Hop Inn-Morato, then waited for almost 6 hours for TG 574 in Bangkok before arriving into a  late night wecome reception in Vientiane...

CAST AWAY (The Blog not the Movie)

No, this is not about the FedEx guy who survived a plane crash but ended up being marooned in an island for 4 years until he was rescued by a cargo ship.

It's about a plaster cast for a wrist hairline fracture that was opened with an oscillating saw and a cast spreader two weeks after the Legends of the Fall.

And bursting from the plaster fragments are bits of Year 3 and Women Leders' Summit budgets, logistics for the Vang Vieng National Dialogue and the Phnom Penh regional convening, the usual weekly catch ups, a CSO mapping, and regional HR matters.

We attended a friend's funeral too and had beer for breakfast while he was being cremated. 

My consultancy fee for May remains in limbo but the order for an optical coherence tomography of the optic nerve head was finally delivered along with the payment of third quarter SSS premiums plus an inquiry on teaching license renewal and catching up on a missed PMU meeting.

The cast has been broken but the The Conjuring in Baguio is still inconspicuous and for that, we entreated St. Rose of Lima's divine intervention for next week to be all well.  

Beer poured in the highway on Tuesday and Friday nights where Wednesday's adobong bibe frolicked because Richard Carapaz finally won a Tour de France stage before Thursday's kinilaw na bangus and inihaw na hito, Saturday's menudo, and Sunday's calamares were unleashed.

Then there is one tire change in four stages of my mini-TDF in between the weekly laundry, a living room rearrangement and a bit of Ironman work...

THE CONJURING (The Seers of Baguio)

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade".

A lot of lemons were thrown at us lately so I made lemonade by taking only airconditioned buses when [1] we received the order for a CT scan-guided biopsy from a conjurer in San Jose City that I tried chasing away with a Monday night adobong tofu, [2] retrieved scanned images from the  conjurers of Cabanatuan City that I marked with a Tuesday beer, and [3] upgraded my Pay Maya app while having a meeting in an airconditioned bus to finally seal the dates for the Vang Vieng National Dialogue and subsequent flight bookings to Bangkok and Vientiane. 

We took the first Solid North trip to Baguio on Wednesday for a breakfast of Balajadia Kitchenette's classic sinanglao and pork tinuno overload (Sobresaliente!) that helped us endure an 8-hour wait for a private room in the company of a gangrenous man, a pale woman and what must be her concerned husband, a hysterical woman who apparently works in a bank, a white man who the next bed said was given preferential treatment on room assignments, and a baby with a possible gatroenteritis at the Notre Dame De Chartres Hospital's Emergency Room which is a paradox since it does not seem to operate in an emergency sitiuation.

We stayed in Room 1 for a succession of CT scan conjurings that revealed benign cysts but what-we-must-know will only be disclosed after 10 days and for that I pleaded to Our Lady of the Atonement for mercy, in my bare feet and knees, and received holy communion after a long while before charging into the soft rain of Session Road for a recovery take-out dinner of mami and siopao from Luisa's Cafe (Bien but not in the level of Ma Mon Luk) and getting discharged the next day to the haunted halls of Casa Vallejo, a thanksgiving visit to the Baguio Cathderal, and a dinner at Hill Station (Notable alto but pricey).

The ghosts of Casa Vallejo were apparently absent because we almost did not make it there due to an Agoda debacle and broke a glass jar of bath gel too so we searched for Baguio Masonic Lodge No. 67 before enduring breakfast at a Cafe by the Ruins (Insuficiente, ruinuous, disappointing and overrated!) that was somehow mitigated by a criterium and sparring boxers in Burnham Park, and three approved Fridays off in lieu of my first meeting with CANSEA and a weekly I-JET PMU catch up on why Jonas Vingegaard outsprinted Tadej Pogacar in Stage 11.

After 3 days of conjuring and a day of recovering, I finally snatched a smoke in the toilet of a vegetable stall along Kennon Road, almost 3 hours before entreating Apo Baket Manaoag for her divine intervention.

The kinigtot, pigar-pigar and grilled boneless bangus at the Kainan sa Kubo Ningnangan Ed Manaoag rocks but their dinakdakan, sinigang na salmon belly and pinakbet Ilocano sucks.

That is my conjuring back in Bakal 2 where the beer freezeth over a weekend of birthday sessions...