Blessed Good Friday

     It's the Good Friday in the Catholic calendar, a commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ after he was persecuted by the Jews.

     I watched the seven last words broadcast live on TV from Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, Metro Manila. It is the remembrance of the seven last words of Jesus as he was dying, crucified by the cruel Jews.

It's a national religious holiday

     The speakers took turns giving meaning to Jesus' last utterances. I remember my parents and grandmother were devout Christians. We used to fast, especially on Good Friday, they sang the traditional passion of Christ which I don't think anyone is still doing, and we prayed the way of the cross in church, religiously following the fourteen stations Jesus passed through carrying the heavy wooden cross. 

The seven last words

     I pray that with this passing of the Holy Week this year, may God continue to shower us all and my family with love, protect us from all evils and guide us in all our endeavors that we may be successful. 

Friends Visit to the Farm

     Yesterday two close friends from college came to visit me in the farm, since they are free starting the week-long Holy Week religious festival. I've not meet then for about four years and it's great to see them again in person, Roy and Jerry.

Only two finally made it

     Jerry became close to me because we were together in the students publications, I was the editor-in-chief and he was the photographer then layout artist. In my third year in college, he ran for the Supreme Student Council as President, I campaigned for him vigorously but unfortunately he lost. Now he is the first city councilor of Tacloban City, the only real opposition since the Romualdezes rule the city. This is his first term after the required three-year hiatus as he was a three-term councilor previously. He is a lawyer and a businessman, the owner of Paper World, an office supplies and bookstore as his other family members own Nitrofuel, City Hardware, Bo's Cafe, XYZ Hotel, Z-Pad Hotel, Cellcom and EDS Computer shop among many others. I realized his family is formidably wealthy. He gave me tea leaf, biscuit and 10,000 pesos cash. This is the second time he gave me cash of 10,000, he gave me in Dec 2021 I think.

Jerry's gifts

     Roy is another close buddy in college. We were together in the publications in my later year and we were both active in our socio-political organization DALAIT-AKMA, which I formed during my college days when I was politically active. He is now a lawyer and I see his social media pages that his clients are the powerful politicians in the region. Although indirectly not related to the principles of our organization, I hope and pray he realized his basic principles. I see that his cases involve people who are his friends mostly and I am not sure of their innocence.

     They didn't forget me after all those years and that means I made an impact in their lives during the times I knew them when I was younger. I don't think our friendship will end until the end of our lives. I am fortunate to have them as my lifelong friends with many others who didn't make it this trip.

Holy Week

     We have come to the final week of the 40-day Lenten season, the holiest week of all for Christians. It commemorates the tragic death of Jesus Christ who was condemned to death by crucifixion by the non-believers in Israel.

In 2016, BGC out up an ultramodern way of the cross

     During the 40 days, Catholics do fasting and abstinence although it's entirely voluntary, unlike what Muslims do during Ramadan when it's compulsory for them to fast. The ultimate part is the Holy Week, with Good Friday on the Friday and Easter Sunday on the Sunday when Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. It is a religious festival of sacrifice and joy at the end.

     Last time when I was working abroad, I usually make sure I was home during the Holy Week. I brought my family to do the Visita Iglesia, literally church visits, usually seven churches. I think I did it two times with my family. It was like a pilgrimage to seven churches of our choice, praying at those churches and ending exhausted at the end of the day.

The Quiapo church, one of the churches we visited in one Visita Iglesia trip

House of Beehon

     There are many eating places in Singapore that I won't forget, from the simplest ones to o the high end types. This one is something I won't forget, not only for having a simple dish, but it had a Filipino bartender whom I met when I was still working in Singapore. It was in the neighborhood so it was very convenient for me.

The House of Beehon

     Beehon in the Philippines is maybe a poor man's food but this restaurant made it so special that I love to eat it after work. It was a simple dish but it was delicious.

     One time I was having dinner, the bartender who served my drinks is a Filipino. I had a funny conversation with the guy about his experience and his job predicament. It has been years I've not been to this restaurant so I won't know what happened to him.

His typical OFW story

Jotun Memories

     I miss Jotun a lot, a company I worked with for about ten years. The Norwegian bosses are to me the best bosses in the world. They are so humble and knowledgeable. In my work with them for ten years, I experienced travelling around Asia to provide technical support when required. When China regional lab started, I had to provide training to the new chemists.

In their factory in Zhangjiagang, Shanghai

     There was one trip I stayed there for two weeks with Malaysian colleague Khairi who went there to provide training to the IT team. It was dedinitely an unforgettable experience. In the weekend, we went to the nearest city Suzhou for sight seeing.

In Suzhou's park

Carica Papaya

     I found a huge ripe papaya, scientifically is Carica Papaya, in my niece's nearby lot. I made sure I get this for seedling purposes as it is about a foot long.

Carica Papaya or papaw

      Papaya is an excellent anti-oxidant and high fiber fruit which is beneficial for high blood individuals. It's a cheap fruit yet it provides a lot of health benefits. It is easy to propagate as the seeds are easy to grow. I remember my Malaysian Chinese friends used to tell me it reduces libido, whether it's true or not, I have no idea.

 

     I read somewhere online these benefits of eating papaya.

1. Nutritious

2. High anti-oxidant content

3. Anticancer

4. Improves heart health

5. May fight inflammation

6. May improve digestion 

7. Protects skin damage

8. Delicious and versatile

(From Healthline)

A Waste of Energy

     Watching the local news is frustrating everytime it focuses on the politicians's pogi-points antics to be remembered by the masses every election. This senator is an example of someone always wanting to be in the headlines.

He is attacking sweepstake winners 

     It happened that based on statistics, there are bettors who won the lottery games 20 or more times in a month. According to the PCSO boss, these are not the major prizes, and the ones claiming the prize may not necessarily be the real bettor, where they are required to claim and appear personally for the major prizes. Yet, he is persistent in claiming for possibility of fraud, and the mass media are giving him much avenue to portray he is fighting a cause of the masses.

     He is truly focusing and wasting his energy at the wrong issue. This sweepstake issue is nothing compared to other major issues such as poverty and unemployment, where he and other politicians should focus their time to root out the causes of poverty in the country. 

My Dilemma

     I am a very principled person but due to necessity, I seemed to swallow my principles. I am unable to be like this often, primarily because I am poor.

Walking alone against the many

     When I was studying, I learned through my extracurricular activities in college that the poor in the country is worth dying for. But when I graduated, I had to work hard because my poor family needed me. I became an OFW to uplift my family's standard of living, haul them out from the pits of poverty. 

     In my mind, I have strong principles but circumstances are hard. I am back to my hometown after my stroke and I have to swallow my principles very often because the people here behave and act like everybody. During the election, there are many things that go against my principles. But I have to set them aside because family pressure is on.

     If I am wealthy probably it will be a different story. I can decide on my own and even convince others to follow because I have the money. The ones with the gold make the rules accurately apply.

Plant Net, Plant and Flowers Identifier

     I found this app to identify the plants and flowers in the yard. I tested it with some and it worked. I am very glad to have found this. It makes easier for me to know their names. Examples are as follows.

Insulin plant

Crape jasmine

Mother in law's tongue

Caladium

Canna Lily

     The flower is blooming in the yard. I found out the name of this is Canna Lily.

Canna Lily bloom

     It feels great looking out the window to see the flower bloom. It seems the start of summer is here. Although early in the morning, it is cold, it becomes humid towards noon. The heat is intolerable without the fan.

Water Is Life

     Water is of prime importance to human existence. I learned to drink lots of water on a daily basis when I worked in Malaysia with my Jotun colleagues who showed me the importance of up to two liters of water intake daily.

     I am into water therapy. I drink two liters of water daily, two glasses of which when I wake up in the morning. I am firm believer that it flushes out the toxins in your body which can cause illnesses. Urinating is a way of flushing out.

I changed my drinking bottle to this graded type

     I want to encourage others in my family to do the same but it is hard. They love soft drinks. I am not sure they believe me that drinking lots of water leads to a healthy life.