Lifestyle

Scenes from this year's miniature Christmas Village. Jesse Narrazo photosThe COVID-19 pandemic is this year’s Grinch that stole Christmas at Bacolod’s iconic miniature village that will be closed to the public over the holidays, on what would have been its 24th year run.Artist Bamboo Tonogbanua said the “Christmas Village” at his ancestral home at San Juan Street in Bacolod City that has been open to the public every December since 1996 will be closed this year in observance of COVID-19 health protocols.He, however, hopes to make a grand comeback in December 2021 when the Christmas Village turns 25 and when the COVID-19 scare is hopefully over.But the village lockdown has not stopped Tonogbanua from putting in new additions to the village, that has grown bigger and bigger e...

Photos from San Carlos LGUThe San Carlos City Tourism Office, through the Pintaflores Foundation, held the 18th Pintaflores Body Painting Competition, with the theme “Cure of the Indigo Child,” Saturday evening, November 28, which was streamed live over its Facebook page.Out of the 10 entries, three were picked as winners.Ziff Calvin Marabillo emerged as the champion and received P10,000 cash followed by Bob Bartulin as the 1st runner-up with P5,000 cash prize and Gremar Castellano, 2nd runner-up with P3,000.Duds Caballes also bagged the "Best Model" award with a P5,000 cash prize.The body painting competition was open to all local artists and spearheaded by Eric "Nui" Cabales.*

Para sa isang ina, napakasakit na ikaw ay mawalan ng anak. Hindi importante kung siya ay nasa iyong sinapupunan pa lamang or nawala sha nung nailuwal mo na.Maraming babae ngayon ang nakakaranas ng infertility o recurrent miscarriage (sunod sunod na pagkalaglag ng pagbubuntis). Kung isa ka sa mga nakadanas neto, posible na meron kang repro-immune disorder or RID.And RID ay isang disorder kung saan nirereject ng iyong immune system ang sanggol na iyong dinadala. Maaari din etong dahilan ng di maintindihang pagkabaog or unexplained infertility.Eto ang mga categories ng RID:Category 1. Kulang ang katawan sa pagbuo ng blocking antibody para protektahan ang sanggol sa iyong sinapupunan. Ito ay natetest ng Leukocyte Antibody Test or LAT.Category 2. Blood clotting disorder...

If your people are undergoing lesser productivity, increased incidents of mistakes, tardiness, absenteeism, or low morale, these are all normal reactions to an abnormal situation we’re having right now.If your people are undergoing lesser productivity, increased incidents of mistakes, tardiness, absenteeism, or low morale, these are all normal reactions to an abnormal situation we’re having right now.This does not mean that all is lost.This crisis has provided opportunities for leaders to test not just their company’s resiliency to challenges but their ability to hold on to their core values despite some necessary pivoting in the team’s goals and objectives.This is where the Company Culture can be most visible.Company Culture, or sometimes called Organizational or Corp...

I recorded a video discussing my favorite aromatherapy books.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbnCXyvrECs&feature=emb_titleIf you don’t have time to watch it, I am giving you a rundown now. YAAAY!> The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, Valerie Ann WorwoodIncludes safety data, therapeutic actions, essential oil profiles and a wide compilation of recipes for different situations> Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child, Valerie Ann WorwoodIncludes more common ailments for children and essential oil recipes to address them> Aromatherapy for the Soul, Valerie Ann WorwoodTackles the role of aromatherapy in spiritual practices; no recipes> The Essential Oil Safety, Robert Tisserand and Rodney YoungIntensely comprehensive safety data and es...

VCon 1 ended successfully. The Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) 16 VCon 1 has concluded its virtual conference in the Futures Studies thinking.The Visayan art community went into five conference days using the lens of the future studies design and perspective to arrive at a possible, probable, and preferable future for the artist. The artist group found their voices in the virtual platform and created a discourse expressed in images which reassured them that they do have a say in how their future is going to be like.VIVA ExCon Chairperson Charlie Co envisioned a modern-day ‘dap-ay’ experience for the assembly of artists pre-covid so they can examine their own experiences and answer the question of the way these experiences helped or h...

Last week, I was able to share on how to “survive” the new normal. There are many ways to handle all our anxieties, worries, fears, and sadness. But there are some people who tried different means of managing stress but still could not cope.It is okay not to be okay. Help is available. It is okay to ask for help. There are people who will be there for you.When is the time when you or someone you know is not okay? Here are some signs and symptoms to watch for:> Sleep problems – the inability to sleep, cannot sleep, or early morning awakening> Weight or appetite changes> Excessive anxieties or worries> Social withdrawal> Emotional distant> Feeling depressed or unhappy> Can’t cope with the daily routine> Using alcohol or drugs to cope> Feeling unworthy or guilty> Significant ...

Three down, two more conference days to go. The Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition & Conference (VIVA ExCon) 16 is now in the middle of its virtual conference using the lens of Futures Studies thinking. The Visayan art community is excited about the platform chosen given the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic.Going into the future studies design and perspective, the main objective is to arrive at a possible, probable, and preferable future for the artist.  The artist group has always been peripheral at best but just tolerated and left alone most of the time.  They tend to feel that they don’t factor in most of society’s general blueprint and would like to create a discourse that shifts perspectives and reassures them that they do have a say in how their future is g...

We are in peculiar times, indeed.The world and how we do things have changed dramatically.While I do not mean to be apathetic to what is going on around us, I also had to ground myself and take care of my mental health more than ever. Stress and anxiety can affect your physical body and it is important to be mindful of the things we consume and how it affects us so that we know how we can address them and make it better, somehow.What resonated with me the most are posts from people who are trying to help in little ways as they can in their field of expertise. Homeschooling communities sharing to (now) work-at-home parents how to maximise their time and make this quarantine season work for the school kids who are now stuck at home; freelancers offering support on how to dig...

“King of the Skies” by Suklin Chang Peña*Self-taught artist Suklin Chang Peña*A sketch of her son swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu.*A friend’s house in Patag, Silay*Other watercolor paintings by Suklin Chang Peña*A watercolor painting by a self-taught artist and mother of five boys from Bacolod City was part of an exhibit in Japan, recently.The painting of a Philippine Eagle called “King of the Skies” by Suklin Chang Peña was featured in the Japan International Watercolor Institute for the Internet Exhibition of Excellent Paintings.It was also featured in a Philippine Fauna Art Society exhibit called “Sandaan para sa Kalikasan.”Peña, who is into sugar trading and farming, began watercolor painting in 2016.She was inspired by four female watercolor painters...