sweet triumph

I started telling stories when I was in Grade Six. One of my best friends and I had a "running" scary story about our batchmates. We made some of them into monsters (like an aswang), some were victims, one of them was a doctor (Dr. Chingchong). Whenever we were together we'd just talk and add parts to it, develop characters and relationships, act out scenes. It's like gossiping about other people except doing it more creatively haha. We never wrote it down, but my friend made a comic strip for one of the characters. Good times.

I think that was where it all started. When I got to college, I started writing short stories. I did it secretly. I pressed Alt+Tab whenever someone was coming. I wrote and printed all of them and had them bound. I have three hardbound books, two collection of short stories and one novel. Aside from that, I have a collection of 50 poems that I never got to print. The books are in one of the cabinets in my bedroom, hidden away.

I tried joining all sorts of things. Contests, workshops, organizations, publications. Nothing happened-- for almost a decade.  It was a long exhausting fight to make myself better and to prove to myself that I can write. I bought and read books and internet articles on the basics of writing. Two years ago, I joined a year long poetry clinic held by LIRA. It was open for everyone. We had lectures and workshops during weekends and I got to know a lot of people with the same interest. At the end of it, I was accepted as a probationary member of the organization, which means I still need to improve a lot. I also subscribed to the internet writing workshop to improve my writing skills in English. Then, of course, I started this blog.

I remember one night, I was thinking about everything I was doing and where my life was going. I felt so tired of my life.  I began crying. I muffled my wails with a pillow. I was so worn out and hopeless, I got rejected every time I tried.  My life was a big failure.  Sooner or later I will have to give this up and I didn't know what to do.

They say that the darkest hour is right before dawn. I was ready to throw in the towel when I received a text message saying that one of my entries to a nationwide storywriting contest won. They were going to publish it into a children's book.  They assigned an artist to illustrate my story and they need me to meet with them within the next few weeks to discuss the production.  Best of all, the stories that won will serve as a way to educate children about health.

I attended the awarding ceremony last week. I got a medal and some more prizes. One of the organizers said that people cried when they read my story. I thanked her and she thanked me for joining. I felt so overwhelmed, I cried in front of her. This is it. I'm in heaven.

I remembered Steve Jobs' speech about the dots connecting. It was amazing. I never thought my volunteer and writing efforts would one day be connected. The story that I wrote was based on a girl that I took care of in a summer camp for special children. Thank you, Kaye.

I'm glad that I kept going and I never gave up. I almost did though. It's very hard to dedicate yourself to something that doesn't guarantee any returns. It drained me emotionally, mentally and physically. But I'm happy that I took the risk and it paid off big. I'm grateful that my prayers were answered and I had one sister that believed in me. Thank you, Sherl. Thank you very much for encouraging me and critiquing my work and just being there for me.

For those other writers out there, please don't give up. Just keep working on your craft and keep improving yourself. Continue studying and being committed to the work.  Be open to criticism and never stop learning.  Get out and experience life, soon you'll see the dots connecting.  Most of all, pray and be sure to share your blessings, believe in others as well :).

@ the awarding ceremony

loofah

Before writing this entry, I had always associated the word "loofah" with the scrubber used for cleaning the body.  I never thought it's the actual english name of a vegetable, and it's a vegetable I'm very familiar with.  We call it "patola" here in the Philippines. I always associate it with the yummy dish, "patola with miswa".

In Paraguay, the loofah is improving lives. In a project headed by social activist, Elsa Zaldívar, local women in Caaguazú started planting and processing the vegetable. They made products like mats, slippers and insoles out of dried loofahs. It was a successful venture and they were even able to export it to Europe. It gave the women a steady source of income.

However, a lot of raw material were still wasted, so Elsa got the help of industrial engineer, Pedro Padrós, to see if they can use it to build houses for the people.

“We want to find sustainable housing alternatives for the poor, while also discovering new markets for their agricultural products, particularly the loofah. This is a perfect combination,” she says.

Pedro was able to create a machine that melts plastic, and he mixed the result with loofah and other vegetable fibres. After lots of experimentation, they produced a sturdy material that's lightweight, safe and recyclable. They also received a grant from Inter-American Development Bank for the development of another machine that can produce the housing panels.

“Because we’re using fibres that are completely renewable, we can stop using lumber for construction. That’s very important in Paraguay because we’ve already reduced our original forest to less than ten per cent of Paraguay’s territory,” Elsa said. “We’re running out of trees.”

As a result of her work, Elsa was awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise last 2008. They will be using the money to fund the creation of a promotion centre, three model houses that showcases the loofah panels and a video that details the project for other interested groups.

Sources:
http://rolexawards.com/en/the-laureates/elsazaldivar-the-project.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa
http://keetsa.com/blog/recycle/paraguay-homes-built-out-of-loofah-and-corn-husks/
http://earthfirst.com/low-cost-housing-made-from-loofahs/
http://www.resnicowschroeder.com

armchair discoveries

A long time ago, explorers made great voyages across the seas to discover the world. They spent a lot of money on massive ships, tons of supplies and crew members. They searched for unknown lands to conquer, traded products with other countries, made maps and sailed by the stars. It was a tough, expensive and dangerous adventure. It took them a long time to travel and some of them never even returned to their homeland.

Today, we can be an explorer and never leave our favorite couch. We can even multitask, navigating the Earth while watching our favorite TV show.  There's still a lot of ground to cover, and everyday, people see something cool and exciting.  Thanks to Google Earth, a lot of people have uncovered armchair discoveries. Here are two of the great ones found:

The Badlands Guardian
Alberta, Canada
50° 0'38.20"N 110° 6'48.32"W

You don't even have to squint to see a person wearing earphones and a native American headdress. It was found by Lynn Hickox, a 53 year old lady who lives in Canada.

"I was just looking around - I hadn't been on for long - and I just saw it. It jumped out at me," she said. "You had all those explorers who had to traipse miles and miles and here I am just sitting here at the computer with a mouse."

Soil erosion formed the face, while the earphone is a road and an oil well.  I'd like to believe that this was not a coincidence at all, but that it came from the spirit of an ancient Indian warrior and he's really here to guard the land.  Maybe this was his land before.  Then, maybe, a native elder somewhere will see this and recognize the face.  Oooh..

Anyway, after Lynn found it, she logged in on Google Earth forum as "Supergranny" to post her discovery. She became a bit of a celebrity in her hometown when a radio program held a contest to name her find. Some of the entries were Space Face, Chief Bleeding Ear, The Listening Rock, Jolly Rocker, Pod God, iChief, Chief M-P-Three and Az-tech.

An Ancient Roman Villa
near Parma, Italy
44.8819,10.4224

I'm having a hard time seeing it too

Luca Mori, a computer programmer from Italy, stumbled upon this one. He was going through the map of Sorbolo, Parma when he noticed strange shapes in their area-- an oval form about 500 meters long and rectangular shadows.

"At first I thought it was a stain on the photograph but when I zoomed in I saw that there was something under the earth," he said.

The National Archaeological Museum of Parma sent archeologists to investigate.

"At first they thought the site might be Bronze Age but a closer inspection turned up ceramic and stone pieces that showed it was a Roman villa built some time just before the birth of Christ", he said.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Another fascinating place armchair explorers can go is deep into the ocean. They can visit shipwrecks, track the migration of whales and even see the underwater mountains and valleys in high resolution. It's amazing to see just how much technology can do today.

I found a great site that gathers all cool things found in Google Maps: http://www.mapofstrange.com/. Here's my favorite, elephants in Africa!

Sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/grans-canyon-sensation/2006/11/13/1163266420400.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1498865/How-Google-unearthed-Roman-remains.html
http://www.travel-advocate.com/2009/02/05/armchair-explorers-venture-to-depths-of-oceans/

while walking

It's a 10 minute jeepney ride from the building where I work to the shuttle terminal where I get my ride home. Sometimes, if I want to get some exercise, I skip the jeep and brisk walk. It takes me about 30 minutes, walking with my headset on, listening to the radio or happy songs on my phone. If the song is really good, I sing softly. I try different routes, I go through the malls or I just walk along the road. Instead of using escalators, I use the stairs. If there's a good movie showing I detour, I do my grocery, window shop, try on clothes and shoes, buy impulsively, do errands, run into old friends, people watch, get ideas, clear my head.

One time, I saw somebody's shoe sole stuck in the metal thing on the floor of the mall. I just had to take a picture of it, I wonder what happened.

Actually, I see a lot of soles on the way, where did people get these shoes??

Another time, I saw a poster for the most ridiculous price for a meal. Well, for me it's ridiculous. What kind of meat are they serving anyway? Hmmm..

There would even be times when I just had to walk out even if the day isn't over. I just had to get out of that office, get away from all the stress and work and expectations, everything. Then my feet would lead me to something delightful.

I didn't know there was a book shop near our office. Now, I go there if things are really crazy at work. Just smelling the books relaxes me.

6 or 7 years before I was also walking along Ayala. Fresh out of college, working at a call center and walking with my friends. We get out around 6 am and everyone's sleepy and tired from the night shift. Then, we'll see working stiffs who are just coming to work. Fresh and full of energy, wearing their suits and skirts and high heels. Now, years later, I'm one of THOSE people. Funny how your journey works out. Every morning I rush to work and then I see these young people, wearing jeans and shirt and I just smile and kind of envy them a little. I hate office clothes. It's hard to brisk walk wearing them.

When I get to the shuttle terminal, I'm happy that the walking is finally done. I was able to accomplish my little exercise routine for the day. I'd get rid of my sweaty blouse, change into a shirt and ride the shuttle. Then when I'm far enough, I'll see the city's evening skyline. It's beautiful.

on ignorance

Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWF-wWV06jI

hapag ng pag-asa (table of hope)

The models were real life pinoy street children, except for one. The child at the bottom was taken after a famous photograph by Kevin Carter, but it was a vulture waiting instead of a cat. This was just one of the stories behind it.

The painter, Joey Velasco, didn't have any formal education in the arts. He started out as a seminarian, but it didn't work out. Then he studied law but dropped out later. He then took on his family's upholstery business and there, it seemed, he found his calling. He became a successful entrepreneur, made tons of money, bought a lot of things, played golf everyday. Life was good for him, until he was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2005.

Doctors found a tumor in his kidney. He had to undergo an operation where his left kidney was removed. He sank into a deep depression and refused to come out of their guest room. In an interview with Probe Profiles, he said that he felt his life at a standstill and the world is moving on without him. He did not know what to do with himself.

As the saying goes, the darkest hour is just before dawn. Alone (and bored) in the room, he began sketching. He documented his emotions and ideas on paper. It sparked a new kind of interest. He started to paint. He researched and tried to learn more about the arts, and it was at this time that he conceptualized "Hapag ng Pag-asa".

His basic goal was to teach his children the value of food. He set out and gave pansit (noodles) to street children and photographed them eating it. They thought he was a politician because he was giving out food.  Once he had his twelve, he began the work. It took him about a month and a half to finish.

The painting was a hit. People were surprised that it was done by someone who was just starting to learn the discipline. A lot of them were moved and wanted to donate. Joey approached Gawad Kalinga to ask for help on building houses for his models. He provided them with shelter and even gave money for school supplies. He visited them often, and through them he found his meaning.

"There's something beyond this flat canvas.", he said.

When the houses were built, he did another painting of them called "Hapag ng Pag-ibig" (Table of Love).

A rich philanthropist once approached him to buy the painting. Joey agreed and they planned on putting it in a museum. He told this to his family and they gave their consent. But later in the day, Joey received a letter from his eldest son, asking him if he could buy the painting instead, and his payment? The promise that he will grow up to be a good man. It was a done deal.

Joey passed away last July 20.  He was once asked if he ever thought of death and he said, "everyday, every stroke, every time I paint, I always think of death".  His thoughts of dying led him to live, and because of it he saved other lives and inspired many of us.  Hapag ng Pag-asa was his most well-known piece, an incredible painting done by a man, but beyond the flat canvas is a more complex masterpiece that only God can create.

Sources:
http://www.joeyvelasco.net/
http://www.probetv.com/

a bundle of joy

Doctors told her she would never give birth.  She only had one ovary and it was possibly polycystic, but life proved once again that we should never say never.

Last June 6, Lisa Witchalls was admitted at Queen's Hospital in Romford, Essex.   She had severe stomach pains and a watery discharge, which she thought came from an ulcer that ruptured. It did not. Medics performed two pregnancy tests on her and both resulted positive.  Her water just broke and she was having contractions. They immediately transferred her to the maternity ward.

"I didn't have any morning sickness, any cravings, any swollen ankles or heartburn and I didn't feel anything.", Lisa says. "I thought that it could not happen because if a doctor tells you that you cannot have kids you do not question it."

She was on labor for 27 hours until doctors decided to give her a Caesarean section. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz. They named him Reece.

"I was just in shock and I just could not believe that he was mine. To go into hospital thinking it was an ulcer and to come out a week later with a baby is really crazy.", she says.

Sources:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/17/infertile-woman-went-to-hosiptal-with-stomach-ulcer-and-left-with-baby-115875-22419029/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1295254/Woman-told-children-rushed-hospital-suspected-ulcer--baby-boy-hours-later.html?ITO=1490
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,596926,00.html