WITHIN AND BEYOND THE SEA OF COUDS

Humanity is the Middle Kingdom, a thin place caught between the collision of the Divine (heaven) and the Material (earth).

Such is Binuangan where at 850 meters above sea level, the celestial waters break through the firmanent, copulate with the terrastrial ecosystem, and ejaculate an overcast layer of stratocumulus clouds over the Caraballo Mountains. 

It was this Sea of Clouds that parted to finally expose the mystery of Belance, 823 meters above sea level, a place so often heard in Almaguer where heavy duty upland-designed jeepneys passed through once a week before the paving of the Malasin-DM Junction Road.    

There was Muta (774 above sea level) and Antutot (706 above sea level) in Kasibu, erstwhile lair of communist insurgents, a pensieve that kept the memory of a young boy crossing a stream with his father to a sawmill, to a carinderia that is also a pondahan, once upon a time in Bambang before the emergence of the Edralin Falls. 

And there was Malico, contested by Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan at 1,248 meters above sea level, that claims to be the Home of Clouds --- clouds that were absent at Salacsac Pass and the fields that bore strawberry-flavored ice cream at the box office of the M4 Sherman Tank curio.

SNR-Cabanatuan is the Mother House, the crowd that squeezed out a merlot and a camembert from Mariwasa ceramic tiles to incubate prosperity with 12 round fruits, 100 pieces of newly minted 20-peso coins, a red salted egg, and two versions of patatim.  

No, the baked pork ribs and chicken for 2026 were not reheated like the lumpiang shanghai and crispy pata of 2025: it represented the Phantom Biker riding away from the old year to greet the new one but without the usual fireworks.  

After the clouds have cleared, blood was drawn to rinse the inbox of a nuclear imaging test that revealed the severed heads of soured mahi-mahi and red snapper from Goshen, a place where the Israelites lived in Bamban that is indeed "little" but does not resemble Rome at all.

This was the keynote address delivered at the 19th installation rites of the Craft where beer and wine tasted like the delayed serving of lechon baka.

HOW ASAHI BEER STOLE CHRISTMAS

Not exactly "stolen" but "preluded" then "wrapped-up.

In 1889, Japan's first bottled draft beer rose with the sun in Sumida.

136 years later, it was promoted as a super dry lager, 60 pieces procured for Bakal 2 by way of SNR-Dau's "buy 1-take 1" offering of which, 48 ushered Christmas Eve and the remaining 12 closed Christmas Day. 

In other words, Asahi Beer did not steal but eclipsed Christmas by elevating the 24th's pork belly lechon and tokwa't baboy and the 25th's reheated dinakdakan and lengua. 

Sandwiched in between is a Christmas brunch of "unclean" bacon-loaded Carbonara Italiana and "clean" pan-grilled semi-Wagyu cubes. 

On the 4th day of Christmas, the law of Leviticus 11 as applied in Pangasinan was imposed in the kitchen of Bakal 2: kulitis and papait leaves were blanched; scaled maya-maya, salinas, tuna, and Bonuan Bangus were stewed, crisped, sashimied, and grilled respectively;  and two buckets of fried bird pre-ordered from Jollibee. 

But there was Cabernet Sauvignon because apparently, Jesus drinks wine.

In Munoz, holiday early morning lights blinked with an array of Microsoft Outlook correspondence about how the fish monger handed a present enclosed with recommendations for a regional component to Hogwarts where a story gathering and branding for The Convening was advertised as a contract for toolkit procurement that was auctioned in the market --- just too  much text for The Grinch who fled Christmas instead of stealing it.

The Ironman hoarded bank certificates and, during a regular ctach-up, thought of stealing New Year's Eve like perhaps repackaging beer as a tub of Spanish sardines, maybe like siomai in a paper cup, or an inihaw na liempo wrapped in styropor. 

OUR 28th YEAR

First there was Anne, mother of Mary.

Then there was Mary , wife of Joseph, who "was free of original sin from the moment of her conception".

Her "Immaculate Conception", misconstrued as a "virginal conception",  actually refers to her own conception by her parents.

And there was Jesus, son of God the Father, God the Son himself, who is celebrated as Christ the Worker in Hogwarts where 28 years ago, on the feast day of St. John of the Cross, the progenitors of Pugad Baboy of Bakal 2 were espoused in his church.   

That was the story gathered, branded, but not told at a pre-Christmas celebration of pork, the King of Meats, as manifested in the pinangat, baked ribs, kaldereta with gata, dark tinumis, and a sinigang too sour. 

28 rice planters sent off the Phantom Biker as he raced his own 5-day tour where 28 dormitory residents cheered him on Tuesday, 28 college students saluted him on Wednesday, 28 fraternity paddles wlecomed him on Thursday, 28 clacking typewriter keys serenaded him on Friday, and 28 angels joined him in the podium on Saturday.

In Phnom Penh, the amendments segued to the initiation of an interim report and disbursements.

Melbourne got noticed with a survey and the confirmation of a risk assessment, 

The Manila Meeting and Field Visit entered into its procurement and digital phase. 

A catch-up preceded a conspicuous absence in Kuala Lumpur's network conversation. 

Oplan Malunggay netted peanuts, banana chips, fried catfish, a currency exchange, enveloped alms, and a suitcase of emails.

God's blessing was invoked in Hogwarts for what lies ahead after the past 28 years.

Lunch was served afterwards with the prayer that in the future, Pugad Baboy will also celebrate a couple of 75th birthday celebrations in Bakal 2 ala Kuya Romy.

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

BREAKFAST OF SAINTS

Prologue 

Fung-wong was animated at Micronesia's Chuuk State. 

A frankenstein storm stitched with bits and pieces of warm sea surface, unstable air, wind shear, hot towers, and atmospheric convection; rapidly intensifying into a beast as it approached Dinalungan.

Power went down, the internet fled as Uwan passed through.

Two weekly meetings besieged but the spotty bandwidth, through the intercession of the saints, failed to hinder the Norwegian Initiative, and the initiation of the Vientiane Conference and Bali Workshop.

St. Joseph the Worker's Hotcakes and Sausage

A carpenter and the foster father of Christ, St. Joseph intercedes in behalf of all workers --- be it those that installed renewable energy models in Cambodia as cased, or a crew of McDonalds' Speedee Service System who prepared a hotcake-and-sausage breakfast offering in the absence of challah bread and kosher meat.  

The Phantom Biker indulged in behalf of the saint, deployimg invitations for the Vientiane Conference afterwards and finalizing a list of participants to the Bali Workshop as a Manila Meeting take shape, enough justification for three bottles of beer to close the day. 

"Forever Young!"

Mary, Help of Christians' Beef Mami  and Chunky Asado Siopao 

Mary is of course the wife of St. Joseph, the mother of Jesus, champion of Christians inlcuding those confronted with  top-up matters, an impending Regional Convening, and a field visit in the Philippines. 

Following a fast food format for a Filipino-Chinese menu, the Phantom Biker signed the Articles of  Incorporation, not for Chowking but for the Manila Meeting, not for invitees to the Vientiane Conference but a siopao dipped in a bowl of beef mami, and for Mary whose help will ensure an outstanding outcome. 

"Tikman ang Tagumpay!"

St. Jerome's Breakfast Hotdog

St. Jerome probably interceded in translating the Vientiane Conference as secured, the Manila Meeting as signed off, the Regional Convening as initiated, and perhaps the transformation of American fast food into Filipino casual fare.

This was revealed to the Phantom Biker's as he  broke through the uncertainty of a  heavy mist into the saint's unfinished sanctuary to patronize Jollibee's oily breakfast hotdog, a veneration that escalated into an unscheduled bout with estofado and beer.

"Bida ang Saya!"

San Sebastian Martyr's Palabok and Extra Creamy Halo-Halo

Arrowed then clubbed, San Sebastian, the patron saint of Munoz,  was martyred after confronting an inquitous Roman emperor.

 At nearby Mang Inasal, deserted tables betrayed the chicken inasal and unli-rice with palabok and extra creamy halo-halo, an odd  breakfast fare, almost strange like why the restoration of a bicycle and a motorbike also solved the riddle of the untransactionable ATM card during the last of Bulan's post-graduate comprehensive examination.  

"Solb sa Sarap, Solb sa Saya!" 

Epilogue

Typhoons are immortal with Fung-Wong/Uwan as the 26th reincaranation of the current year. 

We are mortals, vulnerable to calamities and afflictions, believers of the faith, devotees of  St. Rose of Lima, the designated patron of the Philippines whose intercession was sought to save the country from the faithful blind herded at the Luneta, and her protection implored to shield us from the vulnerabilities of humanity.

A Bosch Evolution Fanfaren Car was installed, gentle yet loud enough to trigger a jiggle for a shovelful of cajun-style mixed seafood lunch in Cabanatuan. 

NIGHTS OF THE KAI JEOW

A monkey sleeps soundly by the Chatrium's pool. 

Inside the Autumn Room, chieftains debated on what they already knew but pretend not to. 

The time allocated for a private sector engagement to mobilize money for renewable energy solutions was not enough.

A fish bowl overflowed with denunciations of a sadomasochistic bureaucracy.

Reimagining a rainbow coalition will restore the normative framework in shifting a prevalent "no because" culture to a "yes if" approach.

In a penthouse bar somewhere, inequality was eclipsed by a billiard game between an erstwhile country director who stayed and the program manager who moved on. 

The frying pan hissed with flavors of Thai omelette.

Eggs vigorously beaten into a a quick PMU meeting, seasoned with nam pla to liberate an embargoed impact measurement, then toasted in boiling oil at a poolside caucus. 

The monkey woke up, asked that his kai jeow be stuffed with crab meat and ground pork instead of an over-sized pla pao, a shared pad kra pao, and chewy yum nua. 

An extended procurement for Kuala Lumpur required 4 days of working out to prep for a risk assessment of the Bangkok airport and Manila's harrowing halloween traffic.

Sign-off in the time of simulatenous birthday celebrations.

A bottle of gold-infused sparkling wine instigated a duel between a delicate kalderatang kambing and wind-burned dinakdakan for the dead of Bakal 2 and Almaguer. 

Matured in sherry casks, The Macallan M Single Malt evoked wood spices but it was reheated leftovers that carried the weekend's sign-off 

The Phantom Biker's siopao from San Jose is filled with Starbucks' cheesecake at the lounge of the Ramen Butcher in anticipation of PR 529 (not 509). 

THE SAINTs

William McKinley is the 25th president of the United States, progenitor of Donald Trump's tarriff madness, executor of the  American expansionism era that included the annexation of the Philippines, and presiding officer of the usual Monday meetings. 

He was elected as president in March 1897, almost two months before the murder of Andres Bonifacio who should have been the first president of the Philippines and possibly a vehicle insurance assesor.

Thus was the name behind Fort McKinley, home of the "Polar Bears" of Asia which is one of only 3 infrantry regiments created and deployed outside mainland USA, later renamed to Fort Bonifacio after World War 2, once the headquarters the Philippines' army and naval forces. 

But Pochok only cares about anethesizing a nasoendoscopy biopsy with its famous grilled bangus, oblivious to the lights of High Street in what is now the Bonifacio Global City, the 43rd most expensive piece of real estate in the world that got it converted fom a military base into an integrated business hub. 

McKinley may be a prominent American politician and Bonifacio a venerated a national hero but neither are saints like the blessed server at Souv by Cyma who preached on the virtues of a Chilean sauvignon blanc for the starters (salad and bread) and entrees (clam and solomos pasta), and why Chilean merlot, in the absence of a Greek wine in a Greek restaurant, is best for the main course (beef kalamaki) specially while responding to a regional retreat survey. 

It was St. John the Baptist's divine intervention that spared the lives of men who were about to be executed by vengeful Japanese occupiers in 1944 to spawn the legend of Bibiclat's Taong Putik.

 

Prayers to St. Jerome ended a cholera outbreak in 1866 that led to the veneration of both its images at the Roman Catholic and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente shrines in Baloc. 

St. Luke once again delivered on Cigna to usher the triumph of the Kuala Lumpur procurement over bureaucracy, and to finally conclude a chase for foreign exchange after Tuesday's catch up where Melbourne agreed on a status quo for the First Quarter report.  

Amidst the din of emails and a top-up, the distraction of a possible inception workshop in Bali, and a preview of Belem after Rayong, the Phantom Biker entreated the Sacred Heart of Jesus who is also known as Christ the Worker, and the martyred St. Sebastian to interecede for a favorable outcome beyond a succesful thesis presentation and reclassification, beyond the confirmation of a meeting in Tulat.

Finally, a brunch of smoked kielbasa sausage, fatty pork belly, a rack of ribs, and beef briskets were entrusted to the patronage of St. Lawrence to ensure PR 736's safe flight to Bangkok after two nights of reheated sinigang na talakitok and tokwa't baboy in Bakal 2 bookended a cheap ramen lunch in Cabanatuan.