Status Updates From State of War

Finished Chapter 8 of Book 2. Mayang’s daughter Clarissa is obsessed with a zarzuela/theater actor. Nice passage about Mayang being enthralled by the theater. She’s me at the movies. In the prior chapters, the book gets eloquent in illustrating the final days of a person during 1900s Manila, lamenting the loss of boats in Pasig River.

Not Mayang’s kid being named Chris Hansen HAHAHAHAHAHA

German guy has a large penis. American occupation time.

On the Book of Numbers now, Chapter 1 done. Very funny to me how this is instantly more interesting than what came before. A historical fiction where we see the trials and tribulations of a family in 1800s Philippines, just around the Revolution.

Chapter 5 done. Things get interesting with Adrian’s encounter with Colonel Amor. References to Philippine rebellions are made. Also very Martial Law coded scene

Chapter 4. Anna goes into a flashback on her activist days. Seems like early Martial Law? Mention of Recto Avenue chaos reminds me of last September. So she was married to a Manolo before.

“Better not to call attention to yourself, better to live like the trees, better to be merely there like the plants, with no desire except to eat, sleep, and work, have a few thoughts, a few moments of happiness, not joy but happiness, better to exist without destiny, only to exist.“

TRUEEEEE