neXtDRAFT Issue 12. The Goddesses of Molo

Published: Tue, 01/16/18

     
Welcome to neXtDRAFT Issue 12. More than 3 months have passed since I began this little weekly eZine as a way of committing to a weekly writing routine. It's incredible how sticking to this writing schedule has improved almost every aspect of my life. So thanks for reading, I'm so glad you are all here.

Historic Churches and Greek Goddesses
I've opened this week's edition with a picture from Molo Plaza in Iloilio City. The plaza stands opposite a beautiful and historic Catholic Church. The Philippines is a Christian country and extrememly conservative: church bells toll before the sun rises, mass is broadcast live to the community via external PA speakers; plus supermarkets and department stores stop at 2-3 hourly intervals for prayers. So I thought it comical that under the gaze of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus (and just a short distance away too) stand the statues of six pagan Goddesses. Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter, and Artemis. It makes me chuckle every time I visit there.

From the Vault
This week the blog will chalk-up 600 posts. Wow! It took a while to build the confidence to write and I hope this might inspire some of my readers to build their own writing practice. I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my older, popular posts and place them at the end of the zine. So this week I've started with a little poem I wrote in 2015 about two boys playing on the beach (in that transitional stage between child and man). Those same two boys now tower over me and have turned into strong and handsome youths and I remember that day so well taking them both to the beach. You'll find poem "Afternoon Amigos" at the end of the zine.

Rain, Rain, Rain 
Since last week the rains have set in again, but oh, the weather has cooled down so much. January and February are the coolest months in the Philippines and sometimes you could even wear a jumper. It's just lovely (well for me anyway).

Most of my readers will have noticed that the workman of the Philippines and the difficult and dangerous ways they earn a living is a recurring theme on my blog and in many of my poems. This week's rainy, cool weather inspired another tale from the swollen rice paddies and rain-gushed roadsides where men pull over and fix their motorcycles.

"When he arrives home does he strip off all that wet, sodden, torn clothing and bathe from a well? Or under a bamboo fashioned drain pipe? Does his wife or daughter boil some water in a rice pot which he mixes in a bucket and allows it to fall over his wet, wrinkled skin? Or does he just get on with it? Warming himself rather with a bottle dark spirits washed down with some loud music and the chatter of neighbours."

It's also a tale of stolen boots, mosquitos and learning to cool down. I do hope you enjoy my description of life here in the cooler months. To read the full story, click the photo my neighbour at work fixing a tyre tube with a flame and piece of metal in the pouring rain.

A Little Bit of Kindness
Finally, I'll close with a random act of kindness from a stranger on the weekend. It did bring a little bit of joy to our Saturday and I hope to you also. To read about it, click the picture of Jerry and me in the tricycle last Saturday morning around 5.45am.

Thank you to everyone who's emailed through the week, it's been lovely reading your messages.

Till next week, all my love.

Melxx

PS: welcome also to my new subscribers this week, I hope you love neXtDRAFT. AND if this isn't your thing don't be afraid to use the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the page.
 
Jerry's New Game
Living, working, playing, eating and sleeping in one-room small room is not without its challenges. Sleeping is really, really difficult. So for me Jerry’s latest game is just brilliant.

Every night I struggle to get him in bed, and if it’s not pouring rain outside I often take the laptop out and sit on the floor outside the front door until he goes to sleep. The next morning I get up around 4.15am-4.30am so I have some uninterrupted time to write before Jerry wakes up, because once he’s awake he’s a cute but annoying barrage of chatter, questions, demands and hugs.

So yes I’m loving the way he’s started making his bed like a little tent each night. It means I can stay in the room and keep working because he goes to sleep right away. Then in the morning I can put on a small desk lamp on the other side of the room without waking him up.
 
The Greek Goddesses at Plaza Molo

Oh the Goddesses of Molo
stand silent all the day
static, still and stationed
with not a thing to say.

The Goddesses of Molo
underneath our little Lord
six sultry sculpted women
without a single word.
 
How to Entertain Your 9 Year Old
By accident, (on Saturday night) Jerry and I stumbled across this old ten-pin bowling alley at the top of an ageing shopping centre in Iloilo City. Jerry was thrilled with his first experience ten-pin bowling but he was just as thrilled stomping his feet as we were leaving: filling an otherwise abandoned, dark and broken cinema and enterainment complex with his little boy noises. Little boy, NOT little sound. Read about it here on the blog.
 
She rises, she falls

long lines of palm frond
wind filled, every crease each pore
delineating

 
Old Man
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leaned to the stick
hand raised to the sun
“listen” he whispered
“your time here is done”

but they flouted his ‘wisdom’
hands clenched to their swords
refusing kind words
for shining rewards

 
Linkedin: reframing the questions you ask about social media
Reframing the questions you ask about social media
So often I see small business owners on networking sites asking desperate questions about social media. "I heard Pinterest is a great tool for making money online, how do I use it?" or "How do I get more followers on Instagram?" or "Who knows how to do Facebook ads?" or "What social media do I need?". Make sure the questions you ask are based on your unique products, services, industry and lifestyle.

#smallbusiness #socialmedia
 
Client Profile: Notch Above Bookkeeping
Notch Above Bookkeeping
Thrilled to feature the business of my dear friend Jac Gallagher: Notch Above Bookkeeping. Anyone out there needing a BAS Agent and Xero Bookkeeping service, absolutely get in touch with Jac. Jac is one of the most organised people I know and was recently a state finalist for the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Awards.

Not only is Jac my friend and client (yes I do her copywriting work and take care of her website) but she's a long supporter of my aid work here in the Philippines. Jac and her family have been sponsoring a little girl (Roseann pictured below) since Christmas 2014. In so many ways I would not be here in the Philippines taking care of Jerry if it weren't for the support of Jac and her family. 

Please keep Jac and Notch Above in mind for your Xero bookkeeping projects. Contact her on 07 3355 6427 or visit her website.

 #Xero #XeroBookkeeper
Roseann is the youngest sister of Rosemary (the girl you saw in neXtDRAFT Issue 9). Jac has been sponsoring this family since December 2014. Read more about it on the blog.
 
Work Health and Safety Compliance Writing
WHS writing and compliance
Many small business owners in Australian are overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork and WHS writing necessary to demonstrate compliance with Work Health and Safety (WHS) and Electrical Safety (ES) laws. Do you need help documenting your WHS compliance?
#smallbusiness #WHSCompliance

 
From the vault: April 2015
Late Afternoon Amigos

Too grown for children,
not yet men. Late afternoon
amigos, pretend.

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AWeber Email Marketing
Sincerely,
Melinda J. Irvine