Of Scrapbooking and Teleserye Queen

I've dabbled with scrapbooking every now and then. It's one of those interests I've always had. I didn't take formal lessons on it nor do I consider myself the expert in that field, but I'm quite confident in my artistic and creative skills. I've made a few scrapbooks already, one of which was of my Bangkok tour with my friends. I sometimes just make use of whatever supplies I have on hand. Other times, I buy stickers or scrapbooking papers and stuff. So now perhaps you're wondering why I'm talking about scrapbooking and teleserye queen huh? Well, that's 'coz I recently made another scrapbook. The topic was none other than teleserye queen Claudine Barretto. Well, some people may not agree, but as far as I'm concerned, Ms. Barretto is my teleserye queen! :D 

I'm going to share a few pages from my 25-page scrapbook   of Claudine. That's the cover page right there on the left. I was rather amazed when she appreciated my work. She even hugged me tightly after signing my scrapbook. That kinda inspired me to share the fruit of my labor with the world. Personally, I find my scrapbook rather simple. I used mainly my artistic instinct to put together what I believe looks nice. Of course, when you're scrapbooking you also need to consider budgetary constraints. I made it simple and practical yet appealing and impressive. 

I simply used construction papers for each page. Then I added the pictures, magazine cut-outs, or articles. Lastly, I filled in the open spots with stickers or scrapbook design stuff. That's the inside cover page on the right. Since Claudine is not only a celebrity but also a mom, I thought it best to start the scrapbook with pictures of her with her family. Looks cool, huh? :) I actually had only a few days to put together the whole scrapbook so I did a lot of research in terms of Claudine's pictures, movie posters, articles. I'm so glad there's the Internet plus my mom's collection of showbiz magazines as resources.

The meet and greet with Claudine Barretto was actually her post-birthday celebration with her fans, the Claudinians. I came across the announcement on her fan page on facebook and signed my mom up since she's the original fan of Ms. Barretto. We were so happy that we were invited to join the group. Even happier when we got the chance to get close to Claudine and have some pictures taken. She's such a warm, kind, and sincere person that I got to like her even more after the event. How I wish more celebrities are like her -- lovely and beautiful inside and out! Well, the scrapbook wouldn't be complete without a few pages of her filmography.

It has been awhile since she starred on the big screen. Her last movie was the blockbuster hit, Sukob, which she co-starred with Kris Aquino. That was a scary movie! LOL :p It was slightly more difficult to search for Claudine's tv projects. But they needed to be included as well. I was able to come up with two pages of her former tv shows.

From her still ongoing show, Claudine, a weekly drama series on GMA7 to the earliest one that I could find. I'm missing some since they aren't that easy to find online. Claudine Barretto after all became well known from all these teleserye shows. My favorite parts of the scrapbook are her photos. These were taken at various pictorials for product endorsements or even promotional pictures. I just think it's peachy that we've got the Internet to find all these. I'm going to share five pages of her photos which are printed in wallet size. I designed the layout of each page as creatively as I could so they wouldn't look monotonous or repetitive. Claudine really has a lot of pretty pictures, but I just chose the ones I like best. Here they are...

                                          

I truly enjoyed this round of scrapbooking. I'm looking forward to more scrapbooking moments, whatever or whoever the topic may be. It would be great if I could also turn this hobby into income potential. But that's another story altogether. Anyway, I'm just happy to share my work. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! Till next time... ta-tah! T.G.I.FRIDAY!!!!! :D 

Tanaga, Haiku at Pantun

What I'm about to share here is an original composition by myself and my daughter. It's for an assignment for her Filipino class where they were asked to come up with their own poems. 

Tanaga

The Tanaga is a type of Filipino poem, consisting of four lines with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each line.

The modern Tanaga still uses the 7777 syllable count, but rhymes range from dual rhyme forms: AABB, ABAB, ABBA; to freestyle forms such as AAAB, BAAA, or ABCD. Tanagas do not have titles traditionally because the Tanaga should speak for itself. However, moderns can opt to give them titles.

"Ulan"

Ah tikatik ng ulan

Sa wakas ay dumating

Matagal dinasalan

Galak sa pagdating.

Haiku

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 moras (or on), in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 moras respectively.

"Basura"

Tinapon mo 'to;

Umulan at bumaha,

Bumalik sa 'yo.

Pantun

The pantun is a Malay poetic form. The pantun originated as a traditional oral form of expression. In its most basic form the pantun consists of a quatrain which employs an abab rhyme scheme. A pantun is traditionally recited according to a fixed rhythm and as a rule of thumb, in order not to deviate from the rhythm, every line should contain between eight and 12 syllables. The pantun is a four-lined verse consisting of alternating, roughly rhyming lines. The first and second lines sometimes appear completely disconnected in meaning from the third and fourth, but there is almost invariably a link of some sort. Whether it be a mere association of ideas, or of feeling, expressed through assonance or through the faintest nuance of a thought, it is nearly always traceable" (Sim, page 12). The pantun is highly allusive and in order to understand it readers generally need to know the traditional meaning of the symbols the poem employs.

"Pag-asa't Pagsinta"

Bakit ibig ilawan ang parol,

kung wala naman itong mitsa?

Bakit ibig mong magpahabol,

kung wala naman akong pag-asa?

Personally, I think this is a rather difficult assignment. At first we had difficulty searching for local materials even in the web. And so now, we're sharing what we've learned for others who may encounter the same difficulty in the future. Plus there are the three original examples here as bonus. ^_^

Backlog

The dictionary defines backlog as "An accumulation, especially of unfinished work or unfilled orders." 

Why am I writing about backlog after all this time? Nope. I won't say my desk at work looks anything like the picture featured here. But I guess you could say that in some ways, I seem to be experiencing backlog. It's been three months since I started working in an office again. It would really be a good time to stop and reflect on what I have achieved so far or whether I have at least done some of the stuff I had planned on doing before I even started working. I honestly feel a bit drained right now. I've been a bit uninspired so to speak that I took a bit of break from daily blogging. Sometimes one gets caught up in real world everyday drama. I kinda miss my bumming around days. LOL!!! :p The only difference is I'm slightly financially more mobile than before. Well, bottom line is I've a bit of reassessment and planning to make, if I want to achieve the goals I've set at all. I need more FOCUS and less distractions!!! I simply have to keep in mind that life is simple. It's us humans that make it more complicated :p On that note, I'm saying ta-tah for now! Till next time... 

Happiness is.......

The Psychology Wiki defines happiness as "an emotional or affective state that is characterized by feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction." To me, happiness is and always has been a state of mind. If you want to be truly happy, THINK happy and BE happy! ^_^

One of the first books I've read on the matter is Being Happy by Andrew Matthews. Although I couldn't say that I agree 100% with all his ideas, I couldn't deny that some of them are valid. Take, for example, some people whose lives seem to be full of dramas. Is it really true? Or are they the ones creating it in their lives? Following the principle of the Law of Attraction, these people may just simply be attracting what they're thinking. LOL!

But have you really thought about what happiness is? Is it fame or fortune that brings happiness? Is it family and loved ones? Is it wisdom and knowledge? Or power perhaps? Hmm, come to think of it, I don't have a ready answer for that one. Maybe it depends on who's looking. After all, your concept of happiness may be different from mine. Like when my fave brand of instant coffee can make me happy while yours has got to be Starbucks coffee. :p Based on that, I suppose happiness is what we make of it. It may mean that each of us has our own definition of the concept. I must admit that I got my inspiration from reading an article on The World's Happiest Countries. We as a nation and as a people may not be on the top list, but I personally believe that we are not less happy than any other people in the world. :D

To end this blog for today, I just thought of inserting a video from youtube of my favorite Happiness song from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!" Remember, THINK happy and BE happy! ^_^

Lost in Booklandia (Part 1)

Talking about Bea's collection actually reminded me that I have my own collection too. Lots, in fact! LOL!!! I'm talking about my book collection. As long as I can afford it, I have this thing for collecting books in a series, esp. if I find the book's character and author entertaining. Of course, due to the size of my collection, I need to write this in parts.

I've been into books since my mom actually introduced me to book reading and bought me Sweet Dreams books when I was eleven. From then on, I have loved reading fiction. Well in the course of time, my taste did change from liking teen romances to adult romances and later to my fave to this day -- mystery suspense genre. My faves are mostly female leads written by female authors. The reason is perhaps I can relate more to female characters.

Featured author: Nancy Pickard

I first encountered Nancy Pickard when I bought a book in her Jenny Cain series. This series is also one of the first series that I collected. It's been awhile since I last read a Jenny Cain book, but I do remember liking it so much that I bought all the titles within a span of a few weeks.

No Body (1986) was the first book I read. It wasn't the first in the series, but since it really got me so interested in the life of philanthropic foundation director Jenny Cain, I sought out all the books just to get more of Jenny, her life and work.

Book Summary:

Bright and beautiful Jenny Cain, director of the Port Frederick Civic Foundation, was dying of curiosity. A hapless visitor had slipped in the mud at the town's historic cemetery--and fallen right into an empty grave! When Jenny discovered that all the graves were vacant, it was the beginning of murder. Now Jenny has to dig up some answers, and fast--before the killer leaves her silent as a tomb!

Generous Death (1984)

Book Summary:

As director of the Port Frederick Civic Foundation, Jenny Cain is privy to the charitable intentions of the town's wealthiest citizens. And when some of these donors end up murdered, Jenny Cain must find the killer--especially since a rhyme placed at the crime scene states that Jenny will be the next victim.

Say No to Murder (1985)

Book Summary:

Someone is sabotaging the Liberty Harbor Restoration--first with fire, then with murder. As director of the town's Civic Foundation, Jenny Cain should have been glad when the police made an arrest. Unfortunately, it was the one person she believed innocent!

Marriage Is Murder (1987)

Book Summary:

Jenny Cain and police detective Geof Bushfield already had pre-nuptial jitters. Then a sudden wave of domestic violence puts their future together in jeopardy. The curious thing is that none of the wives are confessing--and none of the murder weapons can be found.

Dead Crazy (1988)

Book Summary:

Cain finds herself following the trail of a possible paranoid schizophrenic slasher--only to uncover clues that put her squarely in the sights of a cold-blooded murderer!

Bum Steer (1990)

Book Summary:

From witty, suspenseful, sexy mysteries featuring the charming and complex amateur sleuth, Jenny Cain. In Bum Steer, a mysterious murder and a strange bequest send Jenny to the wild, wild West.

I.O.U. (1991)

Book Summary:

When an anonymous voice among the crowd of mourners offering her their condolences at her mother's funeral whispers to Jenny, "Forgive me. It was an accident," the young woman must try to find the truth behind the death she had thought was an accident.

But I Wouldn't Want to Die There (1993)

Book Summary:

Jenny Cain is back to take a bite out of the Big Apple. When Jenny's friend Carol is killed while jogging in New York, the police write it off as another Manhattan mugging. But Jenny soon discovers that the story of Carol's life and death is full of dark and unexpected twists.

Confession (1994)

Book Summary:

Jenny Cain would never forget the hot Massachusetts summer day fate knocked at her door. Fate was a teenaged boy with rumpled clothes, a motorcycle, and a shocking but credible story: Jenny's husband, Geof, was his biological father. The boy, David Mayer, wasn't looking for an emotional reunion, but he did have an agenda. His parents -- and he was quick to make the point that Geof was nothing to him -- died earlier in the year, a murder/suicide according to the police. The cops were wrong, David said, and Geof was a cop, and he owed it to David to prove that Ron Mayer did not kill his invalid wife and then himself.

 

As David lured Jenny and Geof to carefully placed clues, including two bizarre videotaped confessions of "sin," another murder was committed. And Jenny knew that no matter what the truth was about David Mayer's parents, her own life and marriage would be altered forever....

Twilight (1995)

Book Summary:

Set amid the coziest of New England traditions, a festival on the town common, Twilight drives deep into the darkness of the loves, fears, and hatreds that motivate us all - sometimes even to murder. The fortunes of the Port Frederick, Massachusetts, community are riding on the upcoming Autumn Festival, sponsored by The Judy Foundation: founder and director, Jenny Cain. As if running a fair on Halloween weekend for almost 15,000 people isn't enough of a challenge, Jenny's life and her own fortunes become much more complicated when a newly widowed young woman, Melissa Barney, walks into her office.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For those mystery/suspense lovers, I would indeed recommend reading Nancy Pickard. To date, I have yet to complete her Marie Lightfoot series. Plus, I found her website and saw that she has written yet another award-winning novel that I hope I can get my hands on. Nancy Pickard remains to be one of my favorite female authors.

Well, that was fun to blog. I look forward to doing more of this Booklandia series. Come back for more next time around. For now, ta-tah! Have fun reading and enjoy your week ahead! ^_^

Bea's Original Collection (Part 2)

Wow! A lot has happened since my last blog. Indeed! Who would have known that the first typhoon that would hit the nation would create such frenzy?! It came Tuesday night and we lost electrical power around close to midnight then. I missed work the following day 'coz the trains are out and too many commuters are stranded on the streets trying to get a ride to work. What was worse was the blackout that affected the whole metro. We had to call friends to know what was happening in the outside world. We got our power back on early Thursday. Even at work we had Internet connection trouble! Boy, that wasn't fun at all!!!

Anyway, I didn't plan on carrying on about the week's happening since this is clearly the sequel to my previous blog about Bea's Barbie movies collection. She really has taken such a fancy to it. This year she is looking forward to adding two more to her collection, but that would be another matter already. Her Barbie movie collection didn't end with the previous list. She actually has eight more titles to her list:

Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus > released in 2005, is a variation of the princess rescuing the prince theme.

The Barbie Diaries > released in 2006, features Barbie as a teenager who starts a band with her best friends and comes into the possession of a seemingly magical diary.

Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses > released in 2006, is loosely based on the fairytale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."

Barbie as The Island Princess > released in 2007, places Barbie on an island in the make believe Southern Seas.

Barbie and the Diamond Castle > released in 2008, was marketed and promoted as "Barbie's first best friends movie."

Barbie in A Christmas Carol > released in November 2008, was promoted as "Barbie in her first Christmas movie."

                                                                                      

Barbie Thumbelina > was released in March 2009, is loosely based on the fairytale of Thumbelina.

Barbie and the Three Musketeers > was released in September 2009, is based on Alexandre Dumas's classic tale The Three Musketeers.

There! At least I believe I have all the titles in Bea's collection! I must admit I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of watching her Barbie movies collection. I can't even remember the latest that I watched. Perhaps one of these days I'll find enough energy and interest to do a marathon. Until then, I will just let Bea enjoy her collection. Ta-tah! Till next blog ^_^