Here’s my evening routine, what’s yours? - Blogging, Doodles, Painting, Drawing People, ...

Discussing about evening routine is a doodle prompt from Helen of TheCoffeeMonsterzco.com The main response is by doodles, but I’m including some writing because people can’t just understand the long process by single frame doodles.

Today is Saturday and my evening routine is different and special, from my other days.

Question: What’s my usual, weekday evening routine?

Answer: Every other day’s evening is the same. I cook my dinner, eat it, then go online to continue my day’s work. What’s special about my Saturday evening routine?

I have Saturday sunset Mass service in my church. I get ready to attend evening Mass. It starts at 6 pm, which means I leave home just after 5 pm. I walk to my nearest bus stop, catch a bus that takes me almost right outside my church’s door-step. I only need to walk a short distance up a slope, then I’m at my church.

Some people may be curious about why I go to church on Saturday and not Sunday, the Lord’s day of rest assigned to mankind? I like to walk out in the early evening, at 5 pm. It is not as hot as going out on Sunday morning, for Mass. Even then, my family does not feel comfortable walking all the way to church, as the climate is still warm and too warm for walking. Our clothing usually gets drenched with sweat, by the time we reach church.

The scheduled Mass timings in the morning are when the sun is already up and shining. I can’t walk out at 6 am for the 7 am Mass because the rest of my family can’t wake up one hour earlier to prepare. That would be 5 am and it is very early. Its dark at 5 and even at 6 am.

The weekend Mass’ duration is usually one hour long. For the 6 pm service, it ends at 7 pm. We usually walk home and omit taking the bus, as it is cool enough to walk home. We might take a detour and drop by the gas station, to pick up any emergency, urgent items, before heading home.

I have eaten my dinner, but the rest of my family have not. They like to eat late, after Mass, and after they shower and change their clothes. So I get to change clothes and slowly do whatever remaining work, before a light supper and bed.

it is quiet on my street, nestled in a residential neighborhood. My neighbors said they can hear speaking voices, and louder noises inside houses. They said they want quiet and silence at night, in fact, by nightfall. They have people on early morning shift and those folks go to bed really early, having to rise at 2 am.

My household maintains the lights out rule at 10 pm, on the ground level. That’s because the living/ sitting room, dining room and kitchen are connected and this area has a high ceiling, which means there are echoes. Neighbors in their houses can hear us talking and other loud sounds. By 10 pm, we retreat into bedrooms, shut the doors and minimize sounds and noises leaking out.

Houses, apartments and living quarters are not insulated against noise. Individual units have to pay for their own audio soundproofing or sound absorption insulation to reduce echoes being conducted out. This type of renovation is expensive. Usually, we use customized thick curtains to absorb sound but these are not 100% effective.