I just suddenly felt like doing something extra today. That weekend trip back home to see friends lifted my mood that carried over to this week. So far, so good. I will be interviewing a candidate tomorrow and I have three CVs on my file now, all are promising.

I first grilled marinated baby back ribs until they looked cooked on the outside. Then I cooked it on the Instant Pot on High Pressure for 16 mins with a combination of beef broth, ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce as liquid marinade under the ribs that were placed on a trivet so they won’t be swimming in the marinade.

Et voila! It was tender and yet perfectly glazed on the outside.

My customers (i.e. the girls and Ate C) consumed it all. With pinakbet as vegetable side dish, this was *chef’s kiss* The thing here is that I didn’t have this for lunch and instead I ate leftover meatballs with home-made gravy. I am limiting red meat intake, if I can help it. My brother is now diabetic, like my two sisters. And my mom. So aside from sugar, I should be watching out for my red meat intake and processed carbohydrates.

I’m also restarting my exercise regimen. I got stalled in October when I got the flu.

This is a light sketch of a scene in my head that keeps playing over and over whenever I hear the song Beauty and Madness by Fra Lippo Lippi. I had been trying to draw this for over 25 years but I couldn’t because I lacked the proper technique. I will try to make this again and again until I get it right.

In my head, the sky is dark with slight illumination from the moon that is sometimes obscured by clouds. A woman is on a cliff overlooking an angry sea. Or an unquiet sea.

I don’t know why I’m stuck with that imagery and it’s forever attached to that song. Maybe I read too many Gothic novels when I was younger.

I had been playing that song by oido for years as well. The chord transcripts I had and the music sheet I have of the song are somehow incomplete.

This transcript, which I got from a tutorial on Youtube, is close to the original piano version.

I should review my major and minor sevens. I keep on forgetting them, unlike other chords, which are now like instinct when I play them on the piano.

This song reflects the struggles of people, in varying degrees. It resonates with me, even way back in high school, as I am drawn to the darkness of the image it painted. But the melody is not dark; it is quite emotional–it’s haunting, like there is this emptiness that you haven’t quite figured out just yet.

Who will see the madness in your life

And who will be there to catch you if you fall?