Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa BCD!

I can't believe it's December....already! I'm not done with the work and errands i needed to finish in November! I still have so much to finish in terms of work, work, work... and wedding arrangements (Jennie's Dec 12 wedding date is just a week and so away!).

So forgive me again if I will miss some posts during the next few weeks (I will try my best to not miss a BCF post. TRY.). I am cramming three new project deadlines for different companies, as well as launching our new apparel line (vintage tees which we call Bubblewrap :-D).

Anyways, to get me into the Christmas spirit, i've decided to draw one of my son's favorite decor in the whole house -- our dancing Santa. This has to be the cutest thing we have here at home! By just pressing the tiny red button on his shoe, this miniature version of the jolly bearded fellow will do a boogie twist with his candy cane to the tune of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". I decided to post all three versions of the Santa -- the BCD with color which i put in using Photoshop CS, the raw BCD where i tried to experiment with pen types and tried using a black felt marker pen (to get good solid lines), and lastly, the actual photo of the main man himself. Looking at the BCDs, i noticed that I drew two rows of streaked lines for the candy cane's striped-effect. I couldn't figure out why, though. Looking back, i probably thought i had forgotten to draw it in, and ended up with two sets of stripes.

Ho ho ho! Hop over to Inkfinger to check out new blind contour drawings for the week!

Dog Tired

My friend Jennie treated me yesterday afternoon to a one-hour Thai massage at a quaint spa in Alabang (thanks again, Jen!). I didn't realize just how long I've gone without a spa treatment till I hit the massage bed and felt the familiar feeling of relief and relaxation as the kneading hands of the masseuse began working on my legs. I used to go to the spa almost every month, and even going as frequent as twice a month when the pressure at work became too much to bear. An average stay at the spa for me would be a little over two hours -- that including a shower, 15 minutes in the sauna, another 15 minutes in the jacuzzi, an hour and a half having my Swedish massage and aromatherapy facial and probably another 30 minutes for lounging around the poolside or the lounge, sipping iced tea and reading a magazine or watching a video. That was pure heaven. The ultimate escape from reality which didn't require me to drive far or spend a lot.

I am not the best person to talk to regarding de-stressing and relaxing. For somebody as high-strung as I am, the thought of just letting go and giving the mind and body a rest has been an eternal struggle for me. Being caught up with the busyness of daily living -- trying to be a mom, a wife, a business owner/slave to clients (well, not always...hehe) and a servant to the Lord's work -- more often than not, leaves me tired by the end of the day! A "worry-wart" for most of my life, it is only now that I am beginning to understand the importance of relaxation and all its benefits.

Recently, I chanced upon this site called Ilona's Reflecting Pool and found interesting and practical de-stressing tips that we could surely learn from man's best friend, the dog. If a dog had a human voice, here are probably some of the advises it would offer:

* Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

* Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

* When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

* When it's in your best interest, practice obedience. (oh dear, tough one....)

* Let others know when they've invaded your territory. (actually, learning to say no is the difficult first step...)

* Take naps and stretch before rising.

* Run, romp and play daily.

* Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

* Be loyal.

* Never pretend to be something you're not.

* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

* Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

* Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. (Bite your tongue instead, it's something I do A LOT lately)

* On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree.

* When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

* No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...Run right back and make friends.

* Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Of course, there's good ole' reading a book, taking a hot bath and catching up on sleep to recharge and wash away remnants of worries, stress and tiredness during the day. But I'm always open to new and creative ways to make each day more pleasant and bearable.

What about you? Are you anxious, way over your head with work, stressed-out or just plain dog tired? How do you, in your own personal way, cope with stress and invite relaxation into your life? Care to share them with me? :-)

Blind Contour Friday 16

I absolutely LOVE shoes. Or maybe love is an understated emotion to describe what i feel... I LUST over shoes.

I used to think when I was young and single that I could lose all my clothes and all my other possessions, but I will never let anyone take away my shoes. That's how much shoes meant to me then. That was, until I got married, had a child, and learned a new emotion that all mothers seem to meet along the way called "guilt".

Once again, i drew the shoes that i found in a fashion magazine to be my favorites (i've been attracted to really colorful pairs of shoes lately) first with a graphite pencil and colored them in using Photoshop. Then I did a blind contour sketch of my first drawing. I like how they turned out, and getting the colored straps on the bottom shoe drawn in the right places was a surprise to me. The middle shoe seemed to have grown a bad set of teeth, though...

To see more blind contour sketches, visit Inkfinger

We Interrupt This BC Post With A Quiz....

I am late again for my BC post, but hopefully i could scan my BCD today and post it by tonight when i get home...

In the meantime, i took one of Me-An's online quizzes, particularly the one on my love life state. Not that I need to know the answer through a quiz! It was actually a choice between this quiz and one that will tell me what kind of vampire I was. Tempting, since i was once a frustrated vampire (hence my vampiress name -- Chrixean), but being a beautiful, porcelain-looking blood-sucker no longer piqued my interest as it used to :-).

Anyway, here are my results:

True Love
Lucky you! You guys have a very mature and
down-to-earth view of love. You've been through
a lot together, so you realize that it isn't
all a bed of roses. You are very comfortable
around each other and confide in each other
about almost everything. You can't imagine life
without one another and are committed to seeing
this through. Go you!

What Kind of Love are You in? (Beautiful Romantic Pics!)
brought to you by

A Wicked Surprise

What a crazy, exciting and fun Saturday it was for me. Jen's sisters (Miren and Patty) and I have been conspiring for weeks to organize Jennie's wedding shower party. It took about 2 weeks to decide on the theme, the concept, the guest list... and another week to invite guests, assign potluck food, follow-up on attendance. It was actually fun planning and putting the whole thing together. What was difficult was trying to keep everything a secret, especially for me and Jen's sisters because we speak to Jennie almost everyday! So throughout all the sneaking around, textings and YMs in the middle of the night, email exchanges, and crazy runabouts getting lost looking for the venue (i was late for the shower, would you believe that? I got the villages mixed up -- Went to Merville instead of Marcelo green Village in Paranaque!! Smart! But i still got there ahead of Jennie -- Phew!), we finally managed to give Jennie her dream bridal shower (i hope...).

Anyway, here are pictures from the Wicked-themed party (Jennie and her family love the musical Wicked so it was only appropriate to make the show, along with other popular Broadway shows, the theme of the party).



Thanks to Me-An and Patty who helped me big-time by sending me broadway playbill photos for the look of the posters and invitations (see extreme top photo) and Me-an especially for putting together those super fun shower games (thank you even more for excluding me from them, haha!). Thanks to Miren and Patty for all the help, grabe! -- I wouldn't have a clue what to do with a Broadway-themed videoke session if not for their extensive collection of music, musical shows and minus-one CDs! Oh, Miren's souvenir broadway musical CD compilations were a perfect remembrance to all Jen's guests. Really nice... And of course, a big thank you to all the guests who confirmed, got to the venue on time (even when I was the one who arrived late -- kakahiya!), brought food, and just made Jen's special day even more super-duper extra special by simply being there and letting her know just what she means to them :-)

Lastly, to Jennie, my sweet soul sister and over-all best friend -- i hope this will be one of your best-remembered days in the video gallery of your mind... I'm really glad to have been a part of it :-)

Now off to the wedding day!

Blind Contour Friday 15 - CRAZY PORTRAITS

This is a drawing of my grandchild.

Well, actually, he is more like my grand"nephew", and I his grand"aunt". Ah, yes, I am 31 years old and I have a darling 1 year old, extremely handsome grandchild we call Enzo. He is such a bundle of joy to be around. He isn't a fuzzy baby, and often times he just laughs and bounces around in his bed whever he gets excited watching the people around him.

Once again, for this sketch, i missed the spots on the page and drew the eyes further down the head, which moved his mouth and his stuck-out tongue outside his chin. He was leaning back on his favorite teddy and birdie printed pillow that time, laughing at everyone around him, and probably wondering what the frig we were all fuzzing about.

I enjoy being his new lola (Filipino word for grandparent). But "uncle" Nicky doesn't seem too happy with his new family position...

To see more blind contour sketches, visit Inkfinger.

7-Up!

One of my favorite bloggers, dear MamaK, tagged me with the theme "Seven Things" and i found her own list quite interesting. So i'm posting my answers to her tag to feed my own curiosity about myself... Don't worry guys, I'm not tagging anyone. But you can feel free to make your own list on your blog if you feel like it :-)

Here goes...

7 celebrity crushes:
1. Brad Pitt - Er....uhm....drool.....
2. Mark Wahlberg - The Italian Job did it for me
3. Richard Gere - And so what if he's an oldie?
4. Orlando Bloom when he was Legolas - My oh my, what a hot blond he was......
5. Tom Cruise - ok, it's a bit cliche but it doesn't mean he's no longer handsome. And I can pretend Katie does not exist....
6. Hugh Jackman - love the accent, love the body, love the face
7. Jim Caviezel - Oh no! Is this sacrilege? But, but, his eyes are just so beautiful....

7 Things I'm good at:
1. Graphic Design and Digital Imaging
2. Drawing (depends on my mood)
3. Singing (it's the stage fright that kills it)

4. Cooking for my hubby - Chicken fajitas, Tuna pasta, Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce are my specialties :-)
5. Playing billiards (for a girl, at least)
6. Irritating my husband
7. Shopping (hehehe)

7 things I plan to do before I die:
1. Make sure i've set aside an inheritance for my children and grandchildren
2. See Nicky (and whoever other child will come after him) get married and become successful in his chosen career
3. Meet and get to enjoy being with my grandchildren
4. Travel to places I still have not seen
5. REALLY finish an oil painting and be proud enough to display it at an exhibit

6. Create a children's book with my friend Jennie
7. Make sure I let my husband know just how much I love him and how my life was made more meaningful because of him :-)

7 things I cannot do:
1. Write to save my life
2. Wrap gifts - I suck at it. I can't even cut tape properly!

3. Burp on command
4. Lying - I always get caught... so what's the point?
5. Add, subtract, multiply, divide and anything that has to do with Math and numbers!
6. Small talk. I hate small talk.
7. Interior Designing - i can't seem to automatically know how to match furniture pieces. It's sad....

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. Height
2. Smile (beautiful teeth is a bonus, but not a requirement)
3. Lean yet fit body
4. Eyes

5. Sense of humor
6. Thoughtfulness
7. Loyalty

7 things I say often:
"can i share?" - to all my close friends when i have to break a news bit...
"hello!" - said in astonishment over something that was said to me
"masaya ba?" (is it happy?) - in reference to almost everything when i want to know if a person likes something
"anyways"
"okidoks"
"whatever" - most often used when Allan and I argue and i get tired of making my point (men!)
"love you, baby" - to Nicky, because he'll always be a baby to me.... *sniff*

They Say It's Your Birthday!....

....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....... JENNIE!!
God bless you today, dear friend..... :-)

Blind Contour Friday 14

I'm late in my Blind Contour post. My drawing was done last Friday, but my computer conked out on me shortly after and i couldn't scan my picture till today. So i'm posting two BCDs this week....

Anyway, this is me doing a blind contour of me doing a blind contour.... haha!



I shifted around several times on my bed while holding onto my sketch pad, till i chanced upon my reflection on the full-length mirror beside my dresser. Thought i'd be an interesting subject that day because I had on a colorful beaded necklace with a matching beaded bracelet and a bright turquoise tank top. I thought I looked like E.T. in drag in this drawing though -- the shape of my head and the giant eyes skewed towards the lower part of my face was a clear reminder of the famous alien. Then again, it may actually be an accurate self portrait of how i feel on a daily basis.

The Halloween Dino Hunt

But of course.....Nicky went as a dinosaur this Halloween!


After all that talk on his Jurassic and Cretaceous creature obsessions, will it seem fair to our dear boy to have him don a Pirate or Spongebob costume? Of course the task, i thought, was almost impossible when we began our search. We went to every single mall we knew that carried Halloween costumes and the closest we found was a blue reptile-like creature which fit toddler sizes only. I was about to give in to a Ninja outfit when i decided to ask around for possible costume designer referrals, in hopes that 1) he or she makes dinosaur costumes and that 2) they can make it in less than a week! Thank goodness, Jennie (Thanks so much, Jen!!) had made some inquiries recently with a costume designer in Alabang and she forwarded the contact details to me. 'Lo and behold, they do make customized dinosaur costumes! And at a VERY reasonable price! And.... they only needed 2 days to make it! Fantastic!




So here are some pictures of how Nicky's costume turned out. One word when i saw the finished product -- WOW! It exceeded all our expectations, really! The costume makers were great in meeting all our little requests. The reward for this almost impossible costume-hunting task?





Nicky won the grand prize in Powerbook's Halloween Costume Contest! :-D

Blind Contour Friday 13

A blind attempt to make my Unicorn statuette come to life...

Sigh... been caught up all week with family stuff, last-minute errands and rush final artwork preparations. My head is now throbbing.... I think I badly need this one week vacation. I will be busy this whole weekend (tons of parties, family reunions and Halloween celebrations!) so i'm posting my illustrations early :-)

My favorite Unicorn (the real statuette actually doesn't have any color, i just added these in...)

So, in my "play hour" with Nicky the other night, i decided to include my beloved Unicorn statuette in the Jurassic play theme happening on his bedroom floor. After a few minutes of watching his T-Rex biting and clawing his Stegosaurus... I got bored and instead took out my sketchpad and did a quick sketch (using a ballpoint pen! I couldn't find a decent sharpened pencil in his bedroom....) of my Unicorn. Can't say it was a great sketch given i only a ballpen on hand, but i think it's pretty much what i'd imagine a horned horse would look like.

I also did a Blind Contour version of the statuette, but this time including the base because i found the flowery details on it challenging to draw. Didn't feel like coloring in the BC, though... just felt like it needed to be kept that way to give attention to all the little details going on inside and around it.


For more Blind Contour drawings, visit Inkfinger.

Blind Contour Friday 12

I recently joined Blind Contour Friday -- a series of fun drawing activities participated in by several illustrators, which will require members to post blind contour illustrations on a weekly basis. The last time I did something similar to this was back in college when my Compos1 (Art Composition) professor would make us draw subjects placed in front of us while our hands and sketchpad were hidden under a giant "bib" (read: Manila paper with our heads poked through). It was a fun art exercise which I looked forward to a lot, so being a part of this group seemed like a cool idea.

Anyway, my first "attempt" at Blind Contour is actually my breakfast this morning. I rarely eat breakfast, because I normally sleep really late the night before (due to work overtime) and end up waking up somewhere between breakfast and lunch. But today seemed to be a good day for breakfast, so I helped myself to some Vienna sausages, bread rolls and a cup of decaf coffee. My placemat had these cute yellow daisies and green stripe patterns on it, so i thought i'd include them in my sketch. I liked my coffee mug a lot because it had a really dainty ladybug on it and it seemed to add to the sunshiny mood of the morning. I struggled with finishing my bread rolls since I was on a low-carb diet, but it didn't seem natural for me to eat my sausages alone. By the time I ended my illustration, my coffee was cold....

Check out more Blind Contour drawings at Inkfinger.

What? Another Tag?

I know, i know... I am aware of just how busy I am these days. In fact, I have three projects i need to submit before Friday (duh, that leaves only today and tomorrow!). But when my head begins to cramp from so much visualizing and pretending to know what I'm doing (hehe), I just have to stop and leave it completely to do something else. So what do I decide to do instead? I answer Crazy Momcat's interesting tag!

I'm to list 20 random things about myself and I'm to tag as many people as it took minutes for me to write my list. Well, I won't tag anyone this time (seems like everyone I know is tag-tired already), but if anyone would like a quiet diversion from whatever he or she is doing, just feel free to swipe it off my post! :-)

20 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I am part Chinese (from my dad's side), part Japanese (my great grandma was from Okinawa), part British (my middle name when I was single was McCann) and part Filipino (from my mom's mom's side.

2. I have never been to any other country (apart from the Philippines) other than China and HongKong.

3. I married a man whom i had known for only 4 months. We've stayed married and recently celebrated our 7th year wedding anniversary.

4. I HATE spiders. As in frickin' scared-to-death of them!

5. I am an only child.

6. I love to paint but I can never seem to finish any of my pieces.

7. I was kidnapped by a crazy man when I was 9 years old. I was with my 8 year old cousin then. We managed to escape. He, on the other hand, was not so lucky. The police killed him.

8. I loved riding BMX bikes and doing all sort of stupid bike stunts when I was in 6th grade. And yes, I loved the movie "Rad".

9. I don't eat almost all kinds of fruits. The most I can take eating is a banana.

10. I had never had a major stitching in any part of my body until I gave birth normally to Nicky. Think about how horrified I was then!

11. I experienced post-partum depression for 2 weeks after giving birth to Nicky. Since I had NEVER ever held or seen a baby in my family all my life, I had no idea what to do with Nicky in those first weeks. Thank goodness it only lasted two weeks...

12. I sing. But I don't sing in front of a lot of people because I have stage fright. I can actually start a career as a ghost singer for someone else.

13. I adore the Beatles.

14. I don't like wearing perfume. It causes me allergies.

15. I don't carry around a handkerchief because I always end up losing them.

16. I am a worry-wart and I've been praying for a cure.

17. I miss my Grandpa Charlie a lot. He passed away 3 years ago. I've always seen him to be a cartoon character -- who'll never age and never die. Sigh...

18. Rainy days and Sunday afternoons really get me down.

19. I don't trust a lot of people because I've been hurt a lot in my life. I've learned that the only one you can trust in this life is God.

20. I hate bathrooms with wet floors and that don't carry toilet paper. As in big time!

I could go on and on with this list... but the tag says I should do 20. So maybe I'll save my 21 onwards list on another post :-)

And hey! If you decide you want to be tagged, let me know if you've posted your answers to your page so I can go read it.

What are the 20 Random Things I don't know about you?

No 7-Year Itch

Seven years ago yesterday, Allan and I were married at the St. James Cathedral in Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa City at 3pm. So much has changed since then -- aside from waistlines and scale numbers, Allan and I have grown stronger in our love and our commitment to one another, we have become more secure of our relationship, and God has played a bigger and more active role in keeping our family together.

I still can't believe just how good God has been to me. Allan and Nicky are the proof of His immense love.

Thank you. Sniff*...

Anyway, wondering how we celebrated our 7th year of wedded bliss (sans the itch)?
Allan and I at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel where we checked in last Saturday to celebrate the same place we first had our honeymoon. Instead of our original plan to dine at a fancy fine dining resto, cutting up our steaks and sipping wine with our pinky finggers turned upward -- we thought better and ditched the idea. So we ended up chowing down tons of shrimps, baby back ribs and barbecue chicken legs at Bubba Gump! Wisest decision we've ever made :-)
A new haircut and look to start off the beginning of a new year of marriage ahead, hehe.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HON!

On the 8th Day, God Made Lego

Now I've seen it all. Just when I thought I would no longer be amazed by the extent of what sculptures and life-sized objects these famous Lego bricks can create and just how patient these Lego "sculptors" can get with their masterpieces, I then stumble onto this website -- featuring the ENTIRE BIBLE (as in every single chapter and verse!) made out of Lego bricks! These amusing set of Lego dioramas are obviously the work of a Bible fanatic with way too much time on his hands! And crazy as it may seem to most of us, I must give credit to The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith for coming up with a truly unique and innovative way to get people to read and understand God's Book, from cover to cover.

Check out the entire Lego Bible at http://www.thebricktestament.com.

Old Obsessions

My son Nicky is a very passionate child. When he likes something... he absolutely pours his entire being into it and obssesses over it until you can no longer stand hearing about it any longer. For a six-year old, Nicky goes out of his way to not only fancy his object-of-the-moment by simply looking at its pictures or watching movies about it. He actually goes online to read about it further, learn its scientific name (if it had one), note down trivia, research on books that may be available in bookshops, and actually go to these bookshops and see if they had it on sale. That's how intense and passionate this kid is!

At a very young age of 2, Nicky was fascinated with cars. So fascinated was he with this four-wheeled invention, that we now have possibly five parking lots to fill with his tons of toy cars. He used to dismantle each one, look at all its parts, study how the wheels turn and analyze the differences between each model. It came to a point when he would buy Car Finder magazines and read about the cars being sold... and could even name the most reasonably priced car being sold that week! And this was at age 4!

Then the affinity evolved from cars to Thomas the Tank Engine toys (of course we just HAD TO get the entire train set and the Thomas Friends), to Bob The Builder (yes, yes, we have the talking Lofty, Muck, Dizzy and Travis toys too...), and now he is deeply passionate with DINOSAURS.

His love for this old timers go much deeper than any of his older obsessions. I am amazed at how knowledgeable he is on the subject! He can rival any paleontologist when discussing the subject matter -- pointing out the detailed differences of a Pterodactyl and a Pterodon, enumerate all the carnivorous dinosaurs and the herbivores, debate on claims that the Brachiosaurus appears to have lived in the Jurassic Era and when in some books it says it existed in the Cretacious era.... It's absolutely crazy to be listening to all these information all day, everyday, believe me!

But despite moments of protests ("Please, Nicky... can we talk about something else... like Pyramids or constellations...."), I am so proud of my little boy. Fighting any fears that my Nicky is turning into a little nerdy Ross (from Friends, duh!), I focus instead on the positive effects of having affinities at an early age. His love for dinosaurs may build on his interests of other subject matters like paleontology, archaeology, geology, and cosmology. I read in the Paideia School website that "an affinity provides us with the connection, the engagement of process and meaning. The inspired learner learns not only about the subject which is the source of inspiration, but also how to learn. This person can take these essential skills and apply them to other learning situations."

Coolness. Sounds so scientific... Makes my family sound like geniuses! Hehe. Now I'm wondering what I have a passion for.....

Clothes.....shoes.....bags......shopping........ Wow, I feel smarter already! :-)

A Day In The Life . . . of a Beatlemaniac

I love the Beatles.

I feel I need not expound much on that statement. People who know me well enough are no longer surprised. It amuses me though to still see people's expressions whenever they find out that I am actually a Beatle fanatic. Somehow they always tend to judge the way I look or dress or talk with my choice of music. Why they do that is beyond me. But the fact remains... I love all Beatles music.

So to respond to Jennie's "verbal" tag was a welcome invitation to leave my thoughts of work and deadlines, and to spend a few minutes to indulge in a fun question and answer thingy that involved my all-time favorite band. Here are my answers:


Pick a band/singer + Answer using only titles of their songs.

I choose you: THE BEATLES - Who else?

+ Are you male or female:
Girl (“She's the kind of girl / you want so much it makes you sorry / Still you don't regret a single day..”)

+ Describe yourself:
Glad All Over

+ How do some people feel about you:
Here, There and Everywhere

+ How do you feel about yourself:
Getting Better

+ Describe your Ex:
Bad Boy

+ Describe your views on your significant other:
Baby It’s You - NAKS!

+ Describe what you want:
Money (That’s What I Want) – (“The best things in life are free / But you can keep them for the birds and bees / Now give me money / That's what I want…”)

+ Describe how you live:
Hard Day’s Night

+ Share a few words of wisdom:
Here Comes The Sun - The only way to live life....

It Wasn't Me!

This is Nicky's publicity photo in the souvenir program of the Finding Jesus musical. It was recently emailed to me, and I posted it because I thought it was a really quirky shot. Everyone in the cast had the usual smiling, cutsie and bright shot for the program. Not my Nicky. He just had to be different. 'Atta boy! :-)

Showcase

Busy, busy, busy!

But I am not complaining! In fact, I more than welcome all the work that flows in and out of My Left Hand nowadays, despite the grueling schedules that we have to keep for us to meet our deadlines. Just this August and September, we have been blessed with wonderful work and great clients, and I give all the thanks and glory to God for keeping us busy and for blessing us with a talented team with whom we’ve had a chance to work with and who we will surely continue to enjoy the pleasure of working with in future My Left Hand projects.

So to make it all worthwhile, I am posting our recently accomplished work, which we are all very proud of, as my way also of thanking everyone who have put their time, thoughts, talents, and spirits into turning simple advertising projects into great works of art! (Plus of course, we haven’t updated our website yet, so this is the best I can do to showcase our recent portfolio of works, hehe.)


UPHS Billboard along South Super Hiway

Footloose Souvenir Program

Calayan Surgicenter Billboard along South Super Hiway and EDSA, Gualdalupe

National Statistics Office Online Service Print Ad
Thanks so much to the wonderful creative and production team from all these great work sprung forth – Allan Marasigan, Jennie Nuyda, Lita Lao, Emil Esguerra and Barbz Javier. I will continue to post more work later on ☺

If Tomorrow Never Comes

I received an email from my good friend Leah which forwarded a poem that kept alive the memory of all those who perished in 9/11. Reading the thoughts that went into the poem, I felt that we could all benefit from reading it as a reminder of what life really is -- fleeting, uncertain, temporary. Think about your life, the people who you've met -- acquantances, childhood friends, clients, suppliers, bosses, officemates, past and present relationships both good and bad -- and people you may meet still. We will never know when he, she or we will breathe our last breath. We take for granted a lot of things in our life thinking that there is always tomorrow to make up for it. Well, maybe there is no tomorrow. There even may not be a next hour or a next minute. Only God will tell us when time is up. And when He does, are we ready?

IF I KNEW

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.
(Anonymous)

Little Shop of Horrors

I walked into the mall I frequented. I picked a shop to visit. I liked what I saw. I ran my fingers through the rack. I picked up an item. I inspected. I looked. I felt.

Then, it happened.

She walked right up to me. She watched me. She gave me a wide grin. Then she opened her mouth and the words rolled off her tongue and sent chills down my spine.

“Ma’am, pwede niyo siya i-fit.”

The hair on my nape began to rise. My pupils dilated. My heart palpitated.

I stared at her with horror and disgust. I thought about the tens of thousands of sales ladies who have walked up to me in the store and flung those very lines at me. ME -- a helpless victim of fashion who mistakenly wandered into that very store and fell right into her trap.

I bit my tongue. I had to prevent myself from letting her know the truth. The truth… The truth that I have always known -- na pwede talaga siya i-fit! That it never once crossed my mind that this privilege will ever, EVER actually be withheld from me by her or anyone!

Why??? Why do they say these things? Why will I want to buy something I could wear and not think that I can try it on to fit? Do people actually get shocked at the thought that this store is so one-of-a-kind that they not only sell the clothes, they will actually let you fit them first! WOWOWEE, you lucky duck!!! I swear. Every friggin’ time they ruin it for me and make my shopping hour a living hell.

And just as I thought it couldn’t get any worst, she went on…

“May malalaki pa po kaming sizes.” (eyebrows shoot up now)

“Bagay sa inyo ho yan kasi maputi kayo” (this referring to a brightly colored rice sack of a blouse with what seemed to be kalachuchis and dama de noches hanging on cheap threads across the neckline)

And, like I didn’t catch it the first time…

“Lahat po ito pwede niyong i-fit.”

I took a deep breath. My eyes swept the rest of the remaining beauties on hangers, turned around, and walked out the store.

Just as I thought my nightmares couldn’t get any worst, I walked into another store and examined the nice display of shoes on a shelf. I picked up a shoe. Then he walked right up to my side. I asked if that was the smallest size they had.

“No, ma’am. May ibang sizes pa po kami.”

So I asked for a size smaller. Once again, it happened.

“Ay ma’am, yan po ang smallest na po.”

The hair on my nape began to rise. My pupils dilated. My heart palpitated.

I gripped the shoe tightly and warned myself to not pound the heel on his head. No. No. NO!

Instead I gave the same look of disgust and horror I have well practiced by now, put the merchandise down and walked out the door.

I began to get light-headed. My head started to spin. What is happening? Why are they out to get me? I grabbed onto the escalator railing for balance. I panicked. I quickly lit my Marlboro Lights stick and took a deep drag on it. I walked out the mall. Ah…… the nightmare is over.

The story above is a true story and may or may not happen to you at any time in your life. But it happened to me. And continues to happen on a regular basis. Because I love shopping. Horrors and all. So beware. Shudder…