I was in first grade when I started to get hooked on books and filled up several library cards every school year from constant borrowing. In high school, I once received an anonymous note (still tucked somewhere inside a box in my childhood home) that said, "You irritate me because you're always reading!" In my mind, I simply answered, "Whoever you are, I wouldn't expect ignorant people like you to understand why I love to read!"



Honestly, I was surprised to find out that famous author, Anna Quindlen, had a similar experience during her childhood. Somehow, it feels nice to know that I wasn't alone in being "persecuted" for having that insatiable urge to read. 

Although I have been a fan of her work for years, I only recently got my hands on "How Reading Changed My Life," which my son kindly borrowed for me from his school's library. Thankfully, their online catalog makes it easy to check what titles are available. 

Unfortunately, I had to leave all my books in the Philippines when we moved to California a few months ago and I am still unable to build my personal library here due to space constraints. In the meantime, I have to be content reading borrowed titles and writing down passages that deeply resonated with me instead of highlighting them on the pages of tomes that I own.



Here's preserving in this blog post the quotes I liked most in the book so I would be able to come back to them more easily any time I'd want to. I hope that fellow bookworms and writers reading this would also appreciate the following lovely thoughts and messages ...

"Experience, emotion, landscape. The world is as layered as the earth, life cumulative with books. The eyewitnesses die, the written word lives forever."

"We read in bed because reading is halfway between life and dreaming, our own consciousness in someone else's mind."

"All of reading is really only finding ways to name ourselves and, perhaps, to name the others around us so that they will no longer seem like strangers ... I am not alone. I am surrounded by words that tell me who I am, why I feel what I feel." 



my second son, who's now 22, already had numerous articles  published in newspapers and magazines since he was 13

"We are writers. We danced with the words, as children, in what became familiar patterns. The words became our friends and our companions, and without saying it aloud, a thought danced with them. I can do this. This is who I am."

"Perhaps it is true at base we readers are dissatisfied people, yearning to be elsewhere, to live vicariously through words in a way we cannot live directly through life. Perhaps we are the world's greatest nomads, if only in our minds."

"This is what I like about traveling: the time on airplanes spent reading, solitary, happy. It turns out that when my younger self thought of taking wing, she wanted only to let her spirit soar. Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home."

"In books I have traveled, not only to other worlds, but into my own. I learned who I was and who I wanted to be, what I might aspire to, and what I might dare to dream about my world and myself."

books as exchange gifts with fellow writers during our 2016 Christmas party

"There was waking, and there was sleeping. And then there were books, a kind of parallel universe in which anything might happen and frequently did, a universe in which I might be a newcomer but never really a stranger."

Deeply beautiful stuff, huh? What I love most about Anna Quindlen's writings is her ability to clearly express what she wants to say in finely crafted sentences that are a delight to read. If you like what you've read here, I suggest you look for "How Reading Changed My Life" and her other titles. Although I like her novels, I love her nonfiction works more -- "Loud and Clear," "Thinking Out Loud," "Living Out Loud," "A Short Guide to a Happy Life," and "Being Perfect" -- and miss my personal copies very much.

If you're also an Anna Quindlen fan, do share in the comments section which of her works touched your heart the most. I'd love to read your stories, too!

The millennial consumer market is a huge one. It's no wonder brands often align their marketing strategies to appeal to this younger generation of spenders. While it's good that young people nowadays seem to have better purchasing power, they also need to be educated on how to properly manage their hard-earned salaries. This is so they can also enjoy the fruits of their labor when they get much older.

FWD Life, the country's fastest growing insurance company (read about their Philippine launch in 2014, here), partnered with Wattpad, the global multiplatform entertainment company for original stories, to revolutionize financial education via the Piso Tales advocacy campaign.

Piso Tales, a one-of-a-kind initiative that aims to bring financial literacy closer to the Philippines' rapidly expanding millennial market, is geared towards changing the way people learn and share financial stories. FWD passionately worked with three Filipino Wattpad authors in coming up with stories showcasing how millennials can succeed financially in life.

Chris Stefanyk, Wattpad Business Operations and Strategy Lead, expressed, "FWD Life's Piso Tales Campaign will empower a new generation of Filipinos to take control of their finances to prepare for their and their loved ones' future."

During an intimate gathering for the media and several Wattpad fans held at Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street recently, Wattpad subscribers were encouraged to read the following stories:

Did you know? Every month, Filipinos spend 500 million minutes engaged in stories about the things they love! With a total monthly audience of six million, Wattpad is a good channel to spread and make financial literacy relevant and entertaining for millions of Filipino millennials. According to Adspark Business Director Miki Yuhiko, "Through this, I hope we make financial literacy easier and more digestible for our target market."

"At FWD, Piso Tales is truly close to our heart. As a company which aims to encourage Filipinos to live life without hesitation, we are delighted to breathe life to the Piso Tales campaign," illustrated Roche Vandenberghe, FWD Life Philippines' Head of Marketing. 

She said that they recognize the potential of the country's millennial market and that, "Through this advocacy, we are reaching out to a huge segment that has been, thus far, quite underserved in terms of financial education."

"Our partnership with Wattpad is premised on the idea that financial literacy need not be boring," added Vandenberghe who pointed out that Piso Tales is entirely aligned with their vision to change the way people feel about insurance.

Just a few hours after the upload of the last chapters on Wattpad last December 16, the stories already garnered 35,000 readers / views proving how effective this way is in reaching Piso Tales' intended audience. "Let this be a new way of sharing money talks!" concluded Vandenberghe. 

  

One of things I regret not learning early in life is proper personal finance management. I wish I knew more about wise budgeting, saving, and investing when I started working and receiving salaries. I believe that would have effectively guided me and my husband in handling our finances better when we got married and started a family 23 years ago.

we all want the best for our families the question is: what are we doing about it? photo credit: www.woodcome.com

Still, it's never too late to learn anything as long as you're willing to do so and we've pursued financial literacy (read my related blog posts, here) with a passion when we were finally introduced to it several years ago. As a parent, I am thankful that I can now to help steer my children towards making good financial decisions while they are still young. The learnings never stop though and I always welcome new opportunities to know more about eventually achieving financial freedom someday.

This coming first week of October, the Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA) is marking "Life Insurance Consciousness Week"with a string of activities aimed to further boost financial literacy in the country and help Filipinos understand how life insurance can help us fulfill all our life goals.

PLIA President Gregorio Mercado acknowledges that financial literacy among Filipinos remains low thus the need to constantly address this concern. "PLIA strives to contribute to the Insurance Commission's efforts to propagate the importance of financial literacy," he explained. "Moreover, it's a building block for nation-building, because teaching Filipinos how to manage their finances better with the help of different instruments, such as life insurance, will certainly boost our economy."

representatives of FALIA with Commissioner Dooc (second from left) and PLIA President Gregorio Mercado (third from left)

People love telling and hearing stories. Whether they are true-to-life experiences or tales from the imagination, interesting stories will always find an enthusiastic audience. That's exactly what happened at the De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde early this week when Pioneer Insurance's Virgin Labfest 11 Campus Tour was held there.

Students, teachers, and guests raptly watched Dalawang Gabi and Hintayan ng Langit. Both stories have engaging plots and excellent actors. We laughed at the witty lines but also felt emotional during the sad parts. 

As an avid theater fan, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the stories come to life. The playwrights, directors, and the rest of the crew likewise did an amazing job putting everything together. The many questions thrown during the Q and A session evidently showed how interested the students were about the creative processes of playwriting as well as acting. I am sure the answers they heard inspired those who have the passion to also pursue their dreams. 

Information is disseminated in various ways and one of these is through press releases (PRs).

PRs given during events

During media events, PRs are included in press kits so that attendees could have more details about whatever product or service was launched.

Ideally, bloggers should just use PRs as references to create their own write-ups. After all, they were there during the event so they should form their opinions and have their own thoughts about what they experienced. Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers opt to just cut and paste the PRs and post those verbatim on their blogs, without letting their readers know that it is a PR!

What’s the problem with that? Well, for starters, blogs were supposed to be, and started out as, a platform for personal writings. So it is very off-putting to see blogs that mostly contain PRs that were not disclosed as such. I’ve visited blogs where the first two entries seem to be written in perfect English and then, when I go further, I’ll read personal entries with dozens of grammatical errors that made my head spin.

My advice? Disclose PRs as PRs. Don’t claim them as your own. Somebody else wrote that. At least give credit to the company who provided you with it. Likewise, if you attended an event, make an effort to write a personalized post about it instead of just cutting and pasting the PR on your blog. A lot of readers visit blogs to know what the writer thought of a product or service, not to just read a bunch of specs.

PRs sent through emails

I am not saying it is bad to post PRs as is. I do that also BUT only when:

1. There was no actual event and the PR was just sent to announce something to the general public

2. I wasn’t able to attend the actual event (so I don’t have anything personal to say about the product/service launched) but want to help the company that invited me to spread the word

Of course, I make sure to indicate "Press Release" on top of the write-up! Check out examples in my other blog.

I’ve been blogging for years and have met many Public Relations Practitioners (PRPs). They often send out press releases to bloggers via email and there are days when I’d receive more than a dozen. I don’t post all of them for several reasons.

For those who don’t maintain a blog, know that the seemingly easy posting of PRs take time. Personally, I go over the write up and check if there are any typos or wrong information. Since I am a writer/editor by profession, I sometimes do catch mistakes that I correct before posting. In addition, I fix photos to minimize their sizes to make them easier to upload.

Here are some thoughts and tips that I am sure a large majority of bloggers wants Public Relations Practitioners to know:

1. Be considerate of your recipients. Don’t send out PRs without at least telling us what you want us to do with them especially if it is your first time to contact us. I’ve received dozens of PRs without any salutation, just the press release on the body of the email or as an attachment. One of the worst is receiving an email that only contains “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!” as salutation. Have the courtesy to at least send a short message asking bloggers to consider your PR for posting.

Personally, I deeply appreciate PRPs who take the time to personalize their emails before sending them individually to bloggers and start with, “Dear [name]. It makes us feel like valued partners and not word factory workers. As much as possible, I try to post PRs like those first.

borrowed from www.socialsearchmarketinggroup.com

2. Include and resize photos! Unlike magazines and newspapers, most websites don’t require big photo files that are sized in megabytes (MB). They considerably slow down the loading of webpages. So please take time to reduce the photos you send to manageable sizes. In my blog, I reduce pictures to around 100KB only. So it is really time-consuming to be resizing photos before I can post a single PR.

On the other hand, there are PRPs who send out PRs without any kind of photo. When I ask for some, I sometimes get the answer, “Sorry, we have none. But we hope you can still accommodate it.” Duh? It should be part of your job to provide bloggers with all materials especially if you are asking for free space. Don’t make the job hard for us and make us take time to research online just to find photos that would make your write-up more attractive. You see, I am averse to posting PRs without photos because I know readers won’t find it interesting. There is no point in posting an all text PR that nobody would read.

3. Keep track of who have been helping you out. I know of PRPs who indiscriminately send out PRs to hundreds of bloggers perhaps to ensure that a sizable percent would post their press release. And yet, when the PRPs finally hold an event, they also indiscriminately send out invites wherein, many times, they forget and leave out of the list the very bloggers who have been regularly posting PRs for them.

4. Make bloggers feel that the relationship is a two-way thing. Dear PRPs, we are here to help you but you should also remember to help us. It is disheartening to be asked to post PR after PR without hearing anything about being rewarded for our efforts. Yes, we blog because we like what we’re doing but we also get tired accommodating favors again and again for FREE.

We are not stupid. We know that PR firms are paid handsomely by brands. So getting bloggers to post PR after PR without any compensation may save you a lot of money. But, do you think those bloggers, who have started to feel they are just being used, would continue to maintain a working relationship with you?

That is why I am thankful for the very few PR firms I know that make efforts to show their gratitude. No, it is not about money, or tokens, or gifts. And I am not saying bloggers should be compensated EVERY TIME they post a PR. Rather, it is about give and take relationships. For goodness sakes, people in the public relations business should know that! Sadly, based on my experience, that seems not to be the case.

So, if you handle hotels or resorts and send out PRs of your promos, consider inviting loyal bloggers for a staycation so they can review your services.

If you handle food establishments and often send out announcements of your latest offerings, why not include a gift certificate to one of your restaurants so that bloggers, who have been posting about the menu again and again, could finally know what the food tastes like?

If you are pushing to promote gadgets, why not have reliable bloggers review one of your products? But please, if it’s not equivalent to the price of a car or house and lot, don't ask them to give it back. Do consider giving it to them as a thank you for their efforts of supporting you for months or years.

If you have accounts for clothing brands, offer small tokens in exchange for the publicity. I appreciate one PRP who always make sure she gives bloggers something (a shirt, a novelty item, etc.) in exchange for posting her PRs.

For the record, these are not demands. They are suggestions. I am not expecting everyone to understand where we, bloggers, are coming from. But I ask that you read this with an open mind. Perhaps then, you’ll realize I’ve made some good points.

Before, people only get information from what was called Tri-Media: television, radio, and print publications. Now, there's Quad-Media which includes online pages such as websites and blogs. Even businesses are taking notice that the internet does help today's tech savvy consumers decide where to go, what to buy, or how to do stuff. 

I have been writing professionally for print publications for almost a decade now but I have long since acknowledged that the World Wide Web can and do influence people's thoughts and actions. Thus, I blog because I want my own voice to be heard more. I want to change perspectives and perhaps contribute to making this world a better place.

If you look at the topmost part of this page, you'll read: "I write because I find humor in the absurdities of daily life. Sometimes I feel sadness too, and I find I can write my tears away. I write when I'm angry and feel I must right a wrong. I write when I'm touched and want others to see beauty and gentleness. I write, as many others do, because I must." And that's how I honestly and personally feel about writing down my thoughts on whatever medium is available.  

So, it was with interest that I signed up for Blogapalooza, an event created by bloggers and digital online specialists who recognize the rising clout and influence that members of the new online media have. The gathering aimed to connect online influencers with businesses who'd like to have their stuff tried, tested, and blogged about. 

I had fun during Blogapalooza last Sept. 17 at Fully Booked in Boni High Street because I got to be with some of my blogger friends, meet some very nice business owners, as well as get first dibs on some of the newest and not-yet-very-known products, services, and other stuff that's already out in the market today that more people still have to know about and which we can share with our individual online networks.

Please visit this blog in the coming weeks because I'll be reviewing a lot of the new things I learned about and found to be quite good :) To know who were the sponsors of Blogapalooza, check out the complete list here.

Thank you and congratulations Blogapalooza organizers for the very successful event!

I need to write about this now because it has been festering in my brain for months. I belong to a group called Book Exchange in Multiply. For so many times, I've been seeing a post repeatedly sent by a particular member who's looking for writers but she is offering such low rates that they are really, really insulting.

Earlier tonight, I once again received an email notification where the person has posted a new ad: "Looking for Medical Article Writers". As someone who has written articles for Health Today magazine, I know how hard it is to come up with credible writeups that would really be helpful to readers. One needs to interview valid resource persons and do extensive research to ensure that the information given are correct.

So I was really annoyed when I read her offer:

Qualification: Must have a medical background for easy understanding.

Rate: $1/500 words

Word Count - 1,000

Workload: Daily

This means that if you write at least 4 medical articles a day, you can earn as much as 420 pesos a day. I will prioritize applicants with medical background but if you're not, you can still apply as long as you testify that you can write medical articles. 

On her main page, she also wrote: "Though this is a rewarding part time job, I do not encourage everyone to apply out of dire need. This is not just a simple writing task. Every article we do is being posted to websites worldwide hence, a keen eye for "quality" is much needed. Patience and persistence in research is also required not to forget being creative.

If you want to venture in this job, you should accept the fact that you will loose patent to your originally written article the moment you submit it to the client."

Rewarding? Not a simple task? And lots of other requirements for the "very attractive" compensation of just one dollar per 500 words??? My goodness! That translates to just around P43.00! And for newbie writers, I doubt if they could come up with quality written work in an hour or less. But for the sake of argument, say you can finish a 500 or 1000 word article in an hour after much research and creativity. Are you willing to be paid P86.00 for that?!

This time around, I couldn't help myself. For the record, I don't know this person (she hasn't been indicating her real name in all her posts, just the pen name Pinaywebified) and this is not a personal attack. I am just criticizing her way of recruiting and paying people to write for her.

So I posted this reply under her post which I've been actually wanting to do for a long time:

My point is, clients who give these kinds of offers and "writers" who allow themselves to be used this way are DEGRADING the profession. It sends out the message that "It's okay to abuse us. Use our talents, remove our bylines and copyrights, and pay us peanuts."

Darn it!

In my eyes, black and/or white clothes look the most elegant. When I saw Freeway's newest National Artist Collectors' Series, I knew I'd love to own one. My fascination not just stemmed from the stylishly beautiful designs, but also from the wonderful prints that feature quotes from the writings of living Philippine National Artist Francisco Sionil Jose. As someone who has been writing essays since my elementary school days, I find that very cool, indeed.

Freeway's tribute was held last May 31 at The Row, Glorietta 5. The intimate gathering celebrated the life and works of F. Sionil Jose. It was attended by members of traditional and online media, other special guests, and friends and family of Mr. Jose. Prima Ballerina. Ballet Manila's Artistic Director, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde hosted the event.

We watched a video presentation of F. Sionil Jose's life then listened to excerpts from his works which were read by dramatic actress Cherie Gil and musician/poet/journalist/artist Lourd De Veyra. The readings were accompanied by live classical guitar played by Ferdie Medina, a UP College of Music instructor who happens to be a colleague and good friend of my brother, who's also a UP CMu faculty member.

Ms. Cherie read from "The Pretenders" and the famous "Ermita", while Lourd read from "Tree" and "The God Stealer". Both interpretations made the words come more alive from the printed pages of literature. The excerpts were carefully chosen by Philippine Inquirer Editor Lito Zulueta.

The whole collection was showcased for the first time that night and will be available in all stores by the first of June. Freeway features some of F. Sionil Jose's well-known works in graphic tees, modern tailored woven tops, dresses, and accessories. All items come with a printed seal, a bio-swing tag, and packaged in the signature National Artist Collectors Series envelope.

This Fall 2011 Collection is the 5th in the National Artists Collectors' Series. In the past, Freeway has also paid homage to National Artists Nick Joaquin (Literature), Ang Kiukok (Visual Arts), Jose Garcia Villa (Literature) and Ramon Valera (Fashion Design).

Each guest was given a personalized autographed copy of F. Sionil Jose's book To the Young Writer and Other Essays. I super appreciate this unexpected and very valuable gift. Thanks a bunch Freeway!

To know more about the collection, visit www.freeway.net.ph. Get fresher updates at their Facebook Fan Page and Twitter

Edit June 11: Dropped by Freeway Glorietta 5 earlier with the intention to buy one item from the collection.  I had such a hard time choosing, I came out of the store with three :p

Learn the basic skills of writing lifestyle stories from well-respected PR Communications and Special Events consultant Toots Tolentino.

Join “The Art of Writing Lifestyle Stories” Summer Workshop which is open to high school and college students, and to those who want to discover their own hidden talent for writing lifestyle stories.

The workshop shall cover the following subjects: Art and Culture, Health and Wellness, Home and Interiors, Food and Restaurants, Fashion and Beauty, Travel, Family, and Personalities. More about the activity lineup here.

Workshop session starts April 4, 2011.

For schedules and further details, call/text: 0917-8604205, email tolentino_toots@yahoo.com or click here.

A group of Filipinos believe that posting updates on social networking sites and writing blog entries could be made more meaningful through well-written messages. According to Matt Mullenweg who's the founding developer of WordPress, "there's still more that can be said in just 140 characters." I agree!

This weekend, those who want to write, or are already writing, online aand would like to improve their craft re invited to attend WWW - What to Write on the Web: A Writing Workshop that Works. The two-day event will feature a series of talks on how to effectively communicate through blogging as well as how online writing impacts today's generation and ways to profit from such activity.

The workshop is to be led by PinoyBida’s editor-in-chief Leineriza Villanueva-Divina along with food writer-blogger Chun Valencia and photo hobbyist-blogger Gerum Quiming.

Join them this coming March 19 and 20, 2:00 p.m. at TheROOM in Quezon City. Only 30 slots are allocated for participants. For more information, send an e-mail to judecartalabaonline@gmail.com or contact (63915) 910-9015.

 The MoneySense team with Daphne 

I had the privilege to be one of the contributing writers who wrote the profiles of several inspiring Filipinos including Ms. Rosa Rosal, Ms. Miriam Quiambao, Mr. Johnny Sy of House of Praise, Mr. Cecilio Pedro of Lamoiyan, Mr. Joe Lamigo of CRWRC, Ms. Karen Galarpe (former Smart Parenting Mag editor-in-chief), Atty. Alex Lacson (author of 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country), Pastor Peter Tanchi of CCF, Atty. Liwayway Vinzons-Chato, and several others. You may want to get your own copies and be encouraged by their stories :)

 

This coffee table book is now available at Philippine Bible Society Bookstores at United Nations Ave., Sta. Mesa and Cebu Biblehouse. Regular price is Php 1000.00, introductory price is PhP700.00 until December 15, 2009 only. It is about the lives of men and women who believed in God and in His Word--how their lives have never been the same. They have become influential in their respective fields, touching lives and making things happen.

You can view photos from the book launch, here.

I have had my share of crap of taking in as much abuse as I would like, in the name of peace, with regards to my work. Now, I've had it! I will answer back now ... and tell 'them' that I won't be pushed around anymore ... that they clean up the mess they've done in the first place.

Why can't some people admit their mistakes and be done with it?! Why hide behind long-winded litanies of explanations that don't even matter to the person they've wronged? Why not simply say "I'm sorry, we shouldn't have done that"? And why make me the bearer of apologies they should do in the first place? Why, why, why?!

*sigh* This is one of those times I feel like hating my job.

I got an unexpected but very, very pleasant surprise the other night. Hubby attended some company's Christmas party as representative of their organization, which was made beneficiary of the event's proceeds. There, he met Dr. Josette Biyo, the world-renowned and outstanding Filipino teacher who we both admire immensely. 

A few months ago, Dr. Biyo graciously agreed to be interviewed by email so I can feature her in an article I was writing. The writeup appeared in Good Housekeeping Magazine's October 2006 issue. Hubby texted me that she was a guest speaker at the party that night and I told him to ask her if she enjoyed reading the writeup I did about her. 

When hubby came home past 1 a.m. on Saturday morning, he had a huge smile on his face. A few moments later, he brought out Dr. Biyo's book A Trip To Planet Biyo which she personally signed with a short note for me! I think my mouth remained open for more than 10 seconds. It was definitely one of the "Wow!" moments in my life.

In moments like these, I once more give thanks to the Lord for letting me do something that I really love. The affirmations I get from people who appreciate what I do are truly precious gems that give me great encouragement and are simply priceless treasures I will forever keep in my heart.