After my transaction at the city hall, I decided to drop by the 16th-century built Sto Nino Basilica nearby. It's a historical landmark attracting different people - devouts, pretending-to-be-devouts, travelers, observers, and "business people" of all sorts. At the entrance, I opened my bag for the guards' inspection. Yes, the church welcomes everyone except bombers. The first time I entered the said church, a vendor shouted, "Pagbantay sa mga mangunguot dira (Be careful of pickpockets!)." Then I was appalled at the thought that sinning inside His house is now commonplace. But after seven months of living in Cebu, I'm already immune to warnings like that. Cebu is a beautiful rose. With its thorns. Magellan's Cross I went in only to get out. There was a mass going on, and it was too crowded for me. I ended up approaching Manang, one of the ladies clad in a long red skirt, bright yellow blouse, and rubber slippers. I bought a Php 10 candle from her...
Recently I've learned a few things. loml. Social media fatigue led users to JOMO: the joy of missing out. Jacob Collier's Little Blue and Yuuri's Dried Flowers. The merger treatment septic tank is environmentally friendly. Mom's guilt is a basic universal feeling. You can soak banana peels in a bottle of water and use that to fertilize your basil plants with potassium. Sometimes, I feel sorry for the brain. It has this neverending function to learn, relearn, and unlearn. Even if you don't go to school, open a book, or download a reading app, the street university will always throw you a lesson or two. It's always there: remembering, interpreting senses, connecting the dots, maritessing , comparing, analyzing, creating. Perhaps daydreaming and talking to itself too. It's like a hamster on a neverending wheel run or a ball rolling down an endless slope. It can't afford to fall or stop; it knows what a misstep means. You see, I have my own share of faint...