May Kwento Ako

May Kwento Ako #57 : Stamp Collecting to Document Collecting

Now, I feel my age. I now have grown up responsibilities. I say this because each day simply progressed since we were born. Like there is not chapter that begins, no chapter that ends. Life just continues. One day, I was a stamp collecting boy in grade school in Naga. Sharing what stamps had been given to me with classmates who had the same hobby

. And it went on and on until we all graduated from university. No, I did not collect stamps in high school nor uni. Just grade school.

And then, in recent years, I now have been besieged with documents and papers that I had to read with important names and dates that were meaningful to me and my family.

Until just yesterday, as I had to dig up again more documents, alas, my memories of my grade school years many decades ago were right there before me. For the first time in about three decades, I opened them. Relishing on those years that passed. It thrilled me to see these stamps once again. Which my smaller fingers then sifted through, very carefully much like the documents that have been coming my way in the recent years.

The issue of mortality has been bothering me lately. Because of my age and this pandemic. I suppose that there are many other there who are in the same boat as me. We pray and deal with it. We appreciate each day as a beautiful day. It is now just past 6:00AM and a new day has begun.

This stamp from the Trinidad & Tobago has a story. I recall a classmate of mine, RB and I got into a fight over this stamp. I don’t recall the details except that we were likely to be in the 5th grade. There was novelty in the fact that the stamp had a silver foil on it. None of our country’s stamp had such hence the novelty. And the fight. Hahaha

Did I even think I would get to visit any of these countries in my stamp albums, no. It did not cross my mind that I would leave Naga where I grew up. And I was fine with that.

Now off I go for my morning walk. Till the next post.

Anyway, I am writing these features primarily for myself. To go over in my old age, I hope. And while I am at it, others will enjoy them and be enlightened by some of these posts. For what they are worth.

Stamps from the People’s Republic of China then. I don’t recall where the others were from now. Will edit in the future.

Have you seen a triangle shaped stamp before ? Or a “diamond shaped” stamp? well that’s what I called it then and now.

Please comment what the correct term should be.

Another tin foil on a stamp this time in a gold color. I don’t recall where this is from except that it must have come from a country that is a part of the British Commonwealth. But I wonder where this postage stamp is from.

May Kwento Ako #56 : Not Just Curtains

I have a thing for touching great fabrics. It’s texture, it’s sheen, it’s weight can be very telling. Where the raw materials came about intrigues me, specially silk which is a natural fibre produced by silk worms which feeds on mulberry leaves. Silk while very famous to be made in Italy, Spain and France among others, originated in China some 4,000 B.C. From some research, countries in Europe are not producing silk like it used to. People in the countryside are abandoning this tradition in favour of more prefer the perceived convenience of city living. But I know Europe is in very recent years is trying to bring back production of silk.

To my knowledge of Asia, silk is still produced in the silk farms of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Japan and China.

Sericulture is promoting propagation of silkworms to produce silk. Like wine, silk is an agricultural product which is largely depended on rural folks to take care of. So, I think places that produce silk tell a lot about a city, the country’s history and economics.

Here is a video that was taken sometime ago. But lower the volume settings please.

I thought I’d post it so I can easily go back to it of a happy memory. Specially at this time when I am homebound because of the Pandemic. Who isn’t going through anything these past months anyway. We all are. And I am drawing on some of my aha and happy moments to keep myself together. And I am the sort that enjoys a lot of alone time at home.

The thrill of putting this together and making it happen for the first time with so much fun and discovery to get this to happen. And now, I am more confident having taken this big step. Might have been done a thousand times for some but it was my first.

Thinking deeper, I know that life is short. And there are times in the recent months when I feel outraged at how my time is being forced to stop by this pandemic. So annoyed, so upset. I see posts of people and doctors about a segment of the reality of what are happening to those struck by this nasty virus. But I am thankful that I am able to snap out of it and just carry on with my time. I am thankful to be able to go to social media and peeked into what people are posting and how they moving on. And isolate and be careful of my movement when I need to leave my home.

Most of the music I hear over the radio and TV are now mostly mellow. And I appreciate that. Hitting the breaks in life – for this big reason … to surpass this nasty Covid19 Virus.

Fabric from Bangkok, Thailand; Curtain Mechanism from a supplier in the Mainland China; Awesome Music provided by the homeowner;

Location : BGC, Taguig, the Philippines.

May Kwento Ako #55 : Meeting Nobu Chef Matsuhisa

I have to thank friends for pointing me to this direction. First, I asked where to go for Sunday Mass. There was one Roman Catholic Church literally outside the window where I was staying in but I would not be able to understand most of the Sunday Service.

Hence, I went to a nice chapel frequented by Pinoys living in the city in the 8th Arr. And it felt good to me. Basta. The Service went very well. : )

Using the borrowed wifi that I brought with me, I walked towards this place which I only knew by name and nothing else. It was not a modern hotel but I am glad it was not. But it had a lot of good visual treats which I thought was always perfect for a walk around town.

Candidly, I asked the two young ladies at the desk if the restaurant was open and I could take a long around. They said that it would be opened soon but I could not dine without a reservation. Playing it cool, I simply said “Ok, thank you.” Until the maitre d’ walked in and asked what. They said I wanted to walk in and look around but did not have reservations as the evening was fully booked. The maitre d’ who was about my age asked me “Alone ?” I said, Yes. He asked “Would you want to dine ?” I said “Yes but no table according to the young ladies”. Then, he said … “I can give you a table if 1.5 hours was enough for me.” So, I said, “1.5 hours is plenty”. And it was a nice, nice evening. And he dropped by my table every now and then for a chat. And once I told him, “My 1.5 hours is almost over but I am just a little over half way with my dinner”. Then, he winked. So, we both had a good brief chuckle! Message sent, message received. Hahaha. Hay naku, Ginoo!

Learned that the interiors were done not too long ago by Philippe Starck.

The extra treat of the evening was meeting Chef Matsuhisa, a nice, young man who spoke good English, of course. He asked me if I had dined in the Nobu in Manila. I was a bit embarrassed not to have had the pleasure. He proudly claimed in a very pleasant way that he had spent 2 weeks during the opening of the Nobu-Manila which one day, I hope to have the pleasure of dining in.

But not during these times of quarantine, unfortunately. In due time.

May Kwento Ako #54 : After almost 80 Days of Quarantine

I did not experience what some refer to as “Cabin Fever”. I don’t know why. Perhaps, because I am ok to live quietly. And I am ok with my setup at home. I just have to make sure that I have water, food and ConvergeICT, my fiber internet supplier that did not fail me. And I am very thankful that I did not get stressed with staying home.

Rarely did I got out except to pickup food. Instead, I busied myself. I will leave out the details as they were plenty.

I am still very apprehensive to go out and be near people. Talking to them over the phone or the APP of the covid19 season, Zoom works for me.

Let me share some photos of the early hours of the “1st day of freedom” as I saw it.