SCBWI-CCP Conference

Hear ye! Hear ye! All Children's book authors, illustrators, librarians, children's literature advocates, educators, readers, publishers,fans, professional stalkers of published authors and/or illustrators, budding writers and illustrators! Your attendance in the event below is required by the request of this blogger.

To those published authors and/or illustrators,please inform me beforehand if you can come, so I know which books I need to bring/buy. Hooray! See you there!

For more info about the conference, do visit this site.

What Weh Means

Tatay na ako. Technically, ako na ang kuya/tatay / guardian / (insert default roles) ng isang 21-year old bachelor, 15-year old na dalagita at ng 2-year old naming si Rokia na nagluluksa pa rin yata sa pagkamatay ng dalawa niyang tuta.

Hindi naman bago sa akin ang ideya ng pagiging parent. Sa dalawang taon ng pagiging class adviser ng mga fourth graders, makailang ulit na rin akong tinawag na second parent, uncle, Daddy, Lolo( dahil sa patse ng puting buhok) at kung minsan Kuya ( na tawag nila sa mga janitorial staff). So I guess that's God's way of preparing me for this more arduous task.

At nasa'n ang tatay at nanay namin?

Nasa Misamis Oriental na sila kasama ang bunso namin. Sa isang liblib na baryo sa Barangay Cabalawan kung saan may 8,987 na nagtatayugang puno ng niyog, 740 ektaryang taniman ng mais, mani, talong,okra at 5,053 na alagaing manok,baboy, baka,kambing,kabayo at sigben. In short, nasa totoong Farmville sila. At kagaya ng Farmville, fictional lang ang mga numbers na sinabi ko.

Pero ang fact! Sanay na akong ma[hi]walay (Uy! Pagbabagong morpoponemiko) sa mga mahal sa buhay. Two years din akong nag-dorm/dumorm sa Narra Residence Hall--the only all-male dormitory in UP Diliman. Sige na i-qualify natin. Narra--the only all-biologically-male dorm in UPD. Fact, may Gumamela wing sa Narra in contrast to the wing Selda Tres. Pero, every weekend naman umuuwi ako sa aking San Jose del Monte, mahal kong bayan, 'di kailanman kita malilimutan primarily para mag-uwi ng labada at makasama ang pamilya ko.

Ngayon, kami na ang sagot sa labada namin. Pero in reality, ang dalagita namin ang magiging head laundry girl. Mapapraktis na namin ang lahat ng naituro sa amin ng mga titser, mga kaibigan at ng mga magulang. Ito na ang reality show na huhubog sa amin upang mas maging matatag, mas madiskarte at mas nagtitiwala sa Panginoon. It's a big leap of faith for our parents to leave us behind. (Pero sa US nga 'di ba, 18 years old pa lang, tini-train na to be independent. At ang mga witch sa Japan, like Kiki, pagtungtong ng trese kailangang umalis for a year at i-train ang sarili somewhere.)

It's a great responsibility. And it's also a proof that they trust and believe in us. That we have the power to be responsible individuals. So, with great power comes great responsibility. Wala na akong maisip e.

Anyway, sabi ng Nanay ko bago siya umalis--magpakabait daw ako. Pressure. Ang nasabi ko lang,

"Weh?"

Ang bait ko 'di ba?

But seriously, "weh" means Yes, I'll be a good brother, father, guardian rolled into one. May mga hang-ups pa din pero I promise that I won't let them down. Magsisimba na rin ako at sasali sa Praise and Worship team para 'di kunin ni Lord ang aking talent for hmmmm...singing. Ipa-practice ko rin ang authority vested upon me para mag-advise sa mga magpapasaway na kapatid o aso. "Weh" also means, Oo, ayaw mo kabalaka magpada ko ug kwarta para sa atong gipanday na balay ( don't worry, I'll be sending you some money for our house construction).

Weh = taking turns in doing the dishes and laundry + feeding the dog (and the neighbour's dogs); preparing meals--half-cooked, cooked, overcooked -laziness and the dreaded "mamaya na" habit.

The coolest of all wehs is this. I'll be blogging about our whereabouts every once in a while. Parang report lang.

And lastly, "weh" means Yes, we will miss you ,kahit luluwas kayo sa kabihasnan twice a month para mag-ym o FB chat tayo, and "weh" sana December na para magpa-Pasko tayo diyan sa Cabalawan.

P.S.

Ate and David, i-enjoy n'yo ang Washington.
Mama, Papa and Aaron, iligo n'yo kami sa Cabalawan River.
Jez at Apple, ano na?
Rokia, bantayan mo ang bahay.
Jerson,magpakabait ka. I-enjoy ang single life at ang multiple labels.

P.S. 2

Lord, take over.

The Joy of Power-reading

I've never read or heard of the term power-reading before. I have googled it to no avail. So I guess it's safe to say that I'm the one who coined this word. Linguistic intelligence, com'on.
Di ko naman talaga alam ang legalities ng pag-ko-coin ng word.

Power-reading. I got the idea from it's relative power-tripping which means a self-aggrandizing action undertaken simply for the pleasure of exercising control over other people.

What I mean by power-reading (hyphenated ah), is simply the act of reading way beyond

a. the no. of pages that you read in a day, say double or triple or n times the no. of pages that you usually peruse.

b. the usual no. of words you read per minute. When I'm not power-reading, I utter every word as if the character has possessed me. The emotions. The accent. The oozing passion. But when I power-read, I read with my eyes, sometimes mumbling the words as if I'm cursing someone under my breath. Pero dapat f na f (feel na feel) pa rin ang bawat eksena sa kwento.

You are power-reading if you have experienced any of the following:

a. you skip meal/s once, twice because you're so engrossed with the book/character/plot/idea of reading

b. you deprive yourself of sleep (who cares if the story is worth the nausea the next day, yung tipong 2-3 hours lang ang tulog mo :)

c.related to point B: you sleep with the author beside you. I mean the author of the book you are reading. and you brag about it in your fb status. and you even call it one-night stand with __________. regardless of the gender of the author. Wag nang magdeny.

d. you crave for more of the story/author's other stories once the last chapter is over.


When do people power-read?

a. When they have very limited time for pleasure reading. Restricted by the amount of time spent in the office. Kahit nasa bus/jeep/fx ay nagbabasa. Dim light or broad day light.

b. when they need to return the book to their friend. when the overdue penalty is beyond a hundred bucks.

c when they really, really,really,really,really,really,really,really,really,really,really like the story. At egzoited na for the climax or the resolution.

Who should power-read?

You.

So get up, pick a book, read and live.

Happy power-reading!

P.S. This post is inspired by The Hunger Games trilogy and Bette Bao Lord's In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Both are present power-reading subjects.

The Luneta Experience

The Luneta Experience

April 7, 2011

I was on my way to Bayview Park Hotel for the Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP)'s annual convention. The venue happens to be adjacent to our very own Rizal Park (formerly called Bagumbayan), so it was an opportune time to revisit this historical landmark.

The pictures are the concrete evidence of my inclination to (photography, haha!) our Filipino heritage. (I think we should all have that inclination.)

Read this.

A couple in their 50s dating by the bay.

The grand fountain show in the morning.

JRC and JPR.



The park is a blend of beauty, history and (grim)social reality. There were lots of homeless kababayan all over the place. Maybe there are pimps (sorry for the language) who are in the look out for possible customers. Beggars of all ages plague the place.

What does this say about us? What will the foreigners who frequent this place tell about our tourism bureau? Are we giving them a good impression of our country?

I'm not saying that we put on a mask and pretend that everything in our country is fine. What do you think can we do about this?