My friend, Brendel, recently asked me if there is any humility left in me. And I told her, I admit to not knowing things when I do not know anything and I rarely do things I am not good at. The very next day, I attended a meeting of the Davao Noontime Toastmasters Club. I though I was a good public speaker. I though wrong. Attending the meeting was a very humbling experience. I was scared out of my wits and stammered and stuttered the entire time. FAIL! For about two months, my uncle, Rene Lizada has been inviting me to join their Toastmasters meeting. But due to different events, illnesses, and other reasons, I was only able to attend last Friday. According to their site, Toastmasters is "a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations." Toastmasters clubs hold regular meetings in which the members are all tasked to speak in one way or another. There is a Toastmaster of the Day, Formal Speakers, a Table Topics Session, a Light Interlude, and Evaluation. When I attended last Friday, the featured Noonie (Noontime Toastmaster) was Advanced Toastmaster Rene Lizada. He's an…
Category: hobbies and interests
So, You’re Not a Professional Eh?
I have often been asked why I consider myself as a professional blogger. They think I've become a millionaire from my blogs. Errr... SO NOT TRUE! My earnings are just enough to keep my blogs running. So why do I call myself a professional blogger? I consider myself a professional blogger because of the discipline, level of dedication and commitment I have for blogging. And yes, because I oblige myself to blog well and properly. I believe you do not become a professional blogger by virtue of the amount of money you earn from blogging. Professionalism is in the way you conduct yourself and the amount of work you put into whatever it is you are doing. There is nothing wrong with not being a professional blogger. If you don't want to be or to be known as a "professional blogger," then by all means do as you please, blog as you want. A blog is what you make of it. That's the beauty of blogging. You are free to express yourself, blog about whatever you want to blog. And yes, even blog as recklessly as you want. And you probably won't get punished for it. I don't have any…
I’m Attending the Cebu Blog Camp 2010
I was in Cebu months ago but I was mostly confined to the hotel. Hence, the boring photo of me in the business attire. But I'm going back there next weekend and I am very, very, very much excited. Aside from the promise of good food and great company, I will be attending the Cebu Blog Camp 2010. The theme of the event is "Blogging, Expressions, and Opportunities." And not just that, I will be a speaker, too. My good friend, Winston Almendras is one of the organizers of the event and he has invited me to be part of the program. I will be talking about "Blogging in the Community, for the Community" with emphasis on the "essence of utilizing blogging for community building." Interesting. I will be speaking in behalf of and based on my experiences and insights with Davao Bloggers, Avatar Media, and as a Diyosa Blogger. LOL with me people! I expect to have a nerve-wracking but insightful good time as a speaker. I hope to impart my insights and gain inputs from the participants as well. Other speakers of the events are Mica Rodriguez, Aileen Apolo - de Jesus, Evanjohnn Mendoza, Janette Toral, Juned Sunido,…
Designing Beads Accessories
Making beads accessories, that's something a lot of people already know. Designing them? That's the hard part. That's probably the bulk of what you're paying for when you buy accessories. That's also what I learned during the FunDynamics Beads Accessories Design Workshop with Em Mariano last Sunday. It was very challenging for me, somebody who is not creative at all!!! I was conditioning myself for 9 hours of struggling with beads, pliers, and other materials. What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy it and how it would bring out my competitive side. Yes, I was getting competitive during a workshop where there wasn't any competition at all. And my short attention span really gave me tons of motivation to accomplish a lot. It yielded for me 2 extra earrings and a prize, a nice brown link chain bracelet. WOOHOO! That day I got to make 1 ID holder, 3 pairs of earrings, a bracelet with cord braided into chain links, and a cellphone charm. Very cute pieces, if I might say so. But more than the extra accessories, I gained new skills, mad skills, if I might say so... and got a bit creative. Thank you FunDynamics…
Rico Blanco’s Antukin
I love Rico Blanco. And I felt some sort of loss when he left his former band. He was the heart and soul of the band. But I got really excited when he got back on the music scene via this song... I like the song. And the line "kung ayaw may dahilan, kung gusto palaging mayroong paraan" is timeless. :)
Found Story: Bing Lao's Scriptwriting Workshop
For a film enthusiast with not-so-secret dreams of being a film actress or filmmaker, it is quite exasperating that there are very few local film workshops. I was ecstatic to be informed that award-winning scriptwriter and mentor to rising scripwriters, Armando "Bing" Lao, is coming to Davao City. Among Lao's former students are Jade Castro, Jim Libiran, and Mark Meily. Among Lao's works are Tuhog, La Vida Rosa, Bridal Shower, and Bikini Open, and the classic Saan Nagtago ang Pag-ibig? The last one, being one of my favorite Filipino films, even if I watched it when I was very young. According to Monchito Nocon, Workshop Tour Coordinator, through the workshop, Lao "will expound on what he calls the 'found story code,' a scriptwriting process that Bing says best tells the story of the Filipino reality for it is derived from objects or phenomena found in real life. The different modalities under this code is the real-time mode, dramatic time, poetic time. Bing Lao's Found Story Workshop is part of the ufo Workshop Regional Summer Tours. It will be held from April 12 - 16, 2010 here in Davao City. The workshop fee is PhP5,000. Yes, I am very much excited…