With birthday girl, my friend MJ

Those Children

Freight car was home.

We retreat here when the sickle shines                        

Our pinkies aren’t pink anymore

Our tugboat of coconut shells

and our threadbare paddles

made us experts in attaching fishhooks to

snells. A holler of herring, haddock,

trout or salmon gave us oxygen to our

lungs. We clamp the air into crates,

then we negotiate in the marketplace.

The only perils   we face are those

hammerheads and sea bass skulking

in high tide.

I also shuck oysters in exchange

for an apple cider.

Those green crabs come in swatches

yet we collect them in our zinc pails.

Those schooners dock in the quay

It is drowsy in the pier

We disengage our rusty treble hooks,

ungrip those sculls from our oars

positioning our shittah rudder plank,

trawler’s nets and our main catch

for the day

Tomorrow we will greet the sunkist

Our catgut lines are our shivs,

                                    our threadbare needles,

                                    our veins.

Now, we return home

In livid flashlights

We perked up our gas lanterns

savoring every flicker

as the outside grew glimmer

and fainter with the last sip of

black  coffee.

Note on "Mirrors" and "Eternity"

"Mirrors" and "Eternity " are experimental poetry I did in 2006. I just wrote these in white heat with simple split second images or words without filtering them in my mind.. They did earn a tuition discount to join summer literary seminar workshop in Lamu, Africa.. but i was not able to join...

Mirrors

we look

we discover

we search

we find

we conquer

we taste

we savor

we digest

we consume

we beget

we despise

we deny

                        ourselves…

                        the passion

                        the drive

                        the rush

                        the love

                        the money

                        the fame

                        the power

                        the joy

                        the sorrow

                        the happiness

                                                tabula rasa

                                                                        we dream

                                                                        facing the sun

                                                                        without wincing

                                                                        looking straight

                                                                        through the light

                                                                                                            

we disintegrate

                                                                                                            we forget

                                                                                                            we pray

                                                                                                            we learn

                                                                                                            we rise

                                                                                                            we believe      

                                                                                               

                                                                                                                        in ourselves again.

Eternity

Coconut milk

sugar and vinegar

snails and slugs

mix,  I  match

I let them roll

simmer in between

celery leaves

bittergourd skins

I seethe

I sweat

I open up

I extract

the essence of its taste

under its solemn fire

it brews

it bakes

it blooms

in every blow

in every breathe

in every palette

We touch

We imagine

every bite

of its meat

of its juice

trickle in

like passing

through

eternity.

My Garden Wedding

Roger and I walking towards the altar...

in his parents' garden in Milwaukee, Oregon

Slicing our home-made carrot wedding cake

baked by one of Roger's relatives

Our carrot cake was really delicious...

Our wedding invitation

More Memories of Writing Theatre Life at Repertory

In Baguio

With mom Adela in Baguio... I was eleven years.

Debut

My debut, at 18 years old with my parents Adela and Jose

With my Dolls: Childhood Photos

My first doll at age four years

I was seven years old with my doll that was battery-operated, 

can cry and pee.

Sap of the Heart

Love is never near,

To those who think it sounds queer,

To share oneself to someone out of fear,

Of being spurned into the valley of tears

To love is not to own,

To smother one with candy cones,

As if it’s read in a romantic tome.

Love is not learned, it’s ascribed

Its intrinsic impulse needs to be stroked,

Without which love becomes a savage swine,

Untamed, farouche, temerare and vulpine.

Love bourgeons from one’s psyche

It won’t thrive if padlocked inside,

For its pulchritude is interspersed with pins,

Pins that prick to let it squeal of its esoteric grief

Love manifests its sap,

Squeezed from the nectar of our hearts,

Lubricating the squeaky wheels of our carts,

Not to rust when exposed to sun, wind and dust.

The sap won’t run dry,

As long as there is love to make wilted leaves cry,

Its drop quenches the blistering root,

Capable of enriching the soil where it stood,

Only to bend when the wind blows in any mood,

To let the sap perspire

In everyone’s heart inflamed with desire.

Published in the Scholastican- Jan 1983 and then in “Hearts on Fire Anthology”, American Society of Poetry, Feb. 1984 Santa Cruz California.

Friends of Repertory (FOR) Newsletter Jan 1992

I did the special interview for the mother of Philippine 

Theatre, the late Zenaida Amador... 

Friends of Repertory (FOR) Newsletter March 1991

Editor Mr. Oding Reyes featured me on this issue March 1991. 
See my photo.. I was still single...  
also see my poetry "Perfect Strangers"...

Friends of Repertory (FOR) Newsletter Nov 1990

Started writing for the theatre since 1990-1992 nonstop.. 

I loved the theatre at the Shaw Repertory then.. 

We had a group photo on the front. 

 I featured Marilen Espiritu, a great theatre patronizer;

 and also wrote "After theatre places" on page 6... 

Friends of Repertory (FOR) Newsletter Aug 1990

We are at the front page of this Aug 1990 issue of

Friends of Repertory (FOR)  Newsletter

of the Repertory Philippines

Gary Valenciano wows Seattle

Here is the story about Gary Valenciano's visit to 

Seattle, Washington on Sept 2003 to celebrate his 20th music 

anniversary.. there were so many people in the University of Washington.

"The eye is a contradiction"

"The eye is a contradiction... " This is part of my 
Broadside published in 1983 by Gargoyle Press, Leeds, England...

Published by Hollow Press,Canton Ohio, May 1982 

"Gamin"

SurVerity by Nelson Schuld

Prologue

          Because that which is most efficient is simple, it follows that Nature, in Totality, is Simple.  The Universe must be Unified because the puzzle fits too perfectly.  If the Universe is Unified, then all of the pieces, in Totality, must be One Thing.  If the Universe is One Thing, then Time and Energy must be Constant upon which the space changes.

          When you’re deeply in love, Time stands Still.

          The speed of Light, is Constant.

                                

--------------

Read the synopsis of SurVerity, short novel  by Nelson Schuld, writer based in Portland.

Go to my Pages on the upper right side nav menu of this blog and click <SurVerity: A Stairway to Heaven by Nelson Schuld>

 To order a digital copy on PDF as email attachment; or print-on-demand copy or CD to be sent by postal mail, please email: 

Ysabel SanPedro-Schuld < ysabelschuld@yahoo.com >                                      

Career Tale

Pinay entrepreneur Maggie Mora and her adobo find place in
Oregon sun, published by Philippine Daily Inquirer
Career Tales section, Sept 17, 2003.

People at Work

Near-death-experience moves Pinoy, Pastor Dino 
Maciano of the Net Work Christian Ministries in
Washington to form own ministry in Seattle, published by
 Philippine Daily Inquirer Career Tales Section, Oct 8  2003

Pinatubo takes the heat off the tropics

An ash and gas cloud from the Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines will reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the tropics, for at least two years, slightly lowering temperatures, according to NASA scientists.

A team of scientists who recently measured solar radiation over the region said they expected the amount of sunlight reaching the lower atmosphere and the earth’s surface in the tropics to be 3-5%   lower than normal.

Francisco PJ Valero , one of the atmospheric scientists in the team from the Ames Research Centre, said sulphurous gases injected into the stratosphere will form sulphuric acid droplets that absorb thermal radiation,  raising temperatures near the volcanic cloud but slightly cooling lower altitudes.

“Effects on the ozone layer are also a possibility, “ he said.

Ready-Mix Pinatubo Ash

Material from the volcanic Mt. Pinatubo has been developed for a variety of uses by a group of Filipino inventors.

The Filipino Inventors Society (FIS) developed the new technology which makes the volcanic ash, pumice, and other debris into a pre-mixed pack and sold as raw materials for numerous commercial applications. Test show it can also be transported to remote areas before it can gel and harden.

  

One commercial variety is Pinatubo Blocks, a concrete block reported by the Industrial  Technology Development Institute to be stronger than the imported Portland Cement and cheaper than the load-bearing  hollow blocks, reports  International Environmental Update  correspondent  Ysabel San Pedro in Manila.

Other alternative uses include road fillers, industrial abrasives, concrete paint and raw mats  for industrial furnaces and ovens.

The mixture provides new livelihood opportunities for refugees of the Mt. Pinatubo disaster. According to FIS , construction of sinks, balustrades, toilet bowls, concrete figurines, decorative blocks and souvenir items are  being developed with the assistance of non-governmental institutions  and  foundations.

   

 Published  in September 1991 issue, International Environmental Update

 A Shandwick Group Publication in New South Wales, Australia

Pinatubo Danger Continues

The aftermath of Mount Pinatubo, a 1754 mile volcano located in  Zambales  province in the Philippines, erupting in June, is still being felt, reports International Environmental Update correspondent, Ysabel San Pedro.

While ash from the eruption is a non-threatening material , heavy ashfall can cause extensive abrasion and electrical short problems in all mechanical  and high-tech systems.

Science Secretary Ceferino Follosco said that ash can damage electronic systems like computers, air-conditioning systems, vehicles and power generators. Special filters, screens and seals must be fitted to such equipment and constant cleaning is vital to prevent accumulation of ash dust particles.

He added that ash can be made into cement materials as well as bricks for construction. With the appropriate technology, the Department of Science and Technology aims to put the knee-deep ashes to use in the near future.

  

Published  in August  1991 issue , International Environmental Update 

A Shandwick Group Publication in New South Wales, Australia

Philippines leads the way in Geothermal Technology

Recognized as the leading authority in wet steam geothermal technology worldwide, the Philippines is second only to the USA in power generation for a comparative geothermal resource.

Among the technical and scientific improvements being carried out by the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company – Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) are directional drilling and multi-well pad to minimize disturbance  to people and nature and a multiple sump system for improved waste water  treatment , reports  “International Environmental Update  correspondent in Manila, Ysabel San Pedro.

Closed pipeline networks are also used to transmit steam safely and reforestation and agro-forestry ensured upland settlers will not be profoundly affected.

Published July 1991 issue, International Environmental Update 

A Shandwick Group Publication in New South Wales, Australia