THE [not so] INNOCENT AGE

The leader of the band is not yet tired but his eyes are growing old 

[onset of glaucoma]

Blood is absent in the band's instruments but beer is in their souls

[whiskey and brandy too]

My life is not a poor attempt, I imitate no one

[going Joaquinesque maybe?]

I am my own legacy of being the leader of  bands

(PM, PGLI, PDGL, PJGL)

That Saturday morning, only one suspension was gaveled and it's not Dan Fogelberg whose omnibus nomination was duly seconded and elected through a single vote cast as paper money into a poor box to effectively suspend a self-imposed rule on moderation.

That week, Bozo and Coco were reincarnated as pancakes and sausages to commemorate the Phantom Biker's capture of the year's last edition of "The Quarterlies" before he got stapled by Ronald McDonald's absence in Munoz...

 ...all in the name of four combo-meals-with-beer options: adobong guya and ensaladang pako, lumpiang shanghai and kalderetang baka, Christmas dinakdakan and adobong bibe, and sinampalukang ulo ng kambing and chicken nuggets. 

Definitely not for the innocents.

And just like that, a session with the Applanation Tonometer at a polyclinic got the Manila Meeting and Field Visit signed off with a date stamped upon a Regional Convening on the day the 5th amendment to an agreeent was initiated. 

Viva Engage tripped over Tuesday's trash.

A partnership pltaform was updated and a regional operations plan budgetted.

Cigna acknowledged, emails too, and a catch up.

One final look at the details then a submission before power went down...

HAI[na]KU 74-78

-74-

Peter and Paul, us

a prayer through the martyrs

saints of Calasiao

***

A delay in Wattay held-up Noi Bai, the bus driver in Manila showed up in an Ao Dai.

The Manila Meeting dodged confirmations to book the Bali Workshop and got rain checked on the field visit.

***

-75-

Ramon's church, refuge

a blessed kaleskesan

soup for the mortals

***

Phnom Penh convened to draft a survival plan for Asia before catching up with Australia.

A Code of Conduct refreshed Year 4's budget re-submission to update the monthly burn rate.

***

-76-

Kapampangan lunch

kuhol, sisig, and pindang

food for the non-Gods

***

Finance and energy were responsible for the eye doctor's transition into bloodletting. 

A pass-down exorcised from the inbox of credit card liquidations nudged a regional convening. 

***

-77-

St. James beheaded

ceiling painted, the choir sang

pilgrims in Betis

***

A lotto bet was placed in a forex transaction when the Phatom Biker changed tires while settling power in the market.

The Engineer from Singapore celebrated in Bakal 2 with a birthday cake of kilaweng kambing. 

***

-78-

47 years

hail to Lam-ang, to Hogwarts!

47 years

A PRAYER FROM THE VIENTIANE CONFERENCE

"May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. 

May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. 

May the powerless find power and may people think of befriending one another. 

May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses - the children, the aged, the unprotected - be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood."

It was Sunday in Vientiane.

A prayer was was offered to a thousand Buddhas with the hope that one of them will convey it to the heavens above Wat Si Saket, or to the 7-headed naga of That Dam, or to the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok that once resided at Ho Phra Keo. 

Burning meat is conspicously absent at the Khua Din Market. 

It was Friday in Vientiane.

Feminists broke their fast to predicate a recruitment into the drafting group of the "ASEAN Civil Society and Partners Exchange on Gender and Climate Change" (aka the Vientiane Conference).

An 800,00-kip taxi fare paid for a free dinner of Beer Lao, duck stew, fried pork intestines, and grilled catfish.

It was Wednesday in Bakal 2.

The Phatom Biker, riding on a flat tire, chased a budget revision, the Vientiane Conference, and the Manila Meeting (with an embedded Field Visit) and Regional Convening.

The Itron Man emptied the trash bin and decluttered an inbox while engaged in a couple of virtual meetings. 

A public hearing was documented as a closure report for a convenience store project.

Kuro Ramen was garnished with adobong kambing, litsong manok, and balot.

It was Thursday in Hanoi

A rude passenger, presumably Korean, should have been offloaded from VN 0921 to counter a first quarter report feedback.

Lunch was paid through a foreign exchange and Friday's recruitment into the drafting group.

It was Saturday in Vientiane.

For women with disability, zero waste is equivalent to zero Marlboro.

Lunch was grilled fish that is as huge as the Mekong River, roasted chicken that has the flavor of a papaya salad, and a do-it-yourself local rice noodle soup. 

Variations of the Xout Lao competed in the shadows of the Vientiane Museum of Contemporary Art's massive gold-gilded pillars --- custodians of the Buddha whose likeness were etched in salvaged wood --- a premonition for the Sunday vespers.  

Sleek, like an inverted durian-flavored ice cream bar...

"The centuries old That Luang stupa stands tall as a national symbol and keeper of the Buddha's sacred breastbone."

...regal, like the colors of a Johnny Walker Gold Reserve and the cab driver who got paid in US dollars after a culinary encounter with braised duck, stewed eel, and spicy pork salad.