Lifestyle

Pre-pandemic, I would have already received about three to five yearly organizers/planners by the time the holidays are over.This year though, not even the banks gave out their usual logo-embossed organizers and very few establishments rolled out their yearly calendar give-away.Really, who can blame them? Why should they spend so much on these items when they know that these days, masks, face shields, sanitizers, and grocery packs would be better appreciated?We used to be so excited upon seeing the schedule for the incoming year’s no-work holidays, immediately checking out flight promos and travel destinations. Now our inbox is flooded with piso-fares and other attractive deals, but no one’s biting the bait. We used to get hyped by the start of the year crossing out dates ...

Peque and Madie Gallaga*The wife of the late Negrense director Peque Gallaga thanked the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) for the Special Jury Prize it awarded her husband for Magikland.The action-adventure movie also won the FPJ Memorial Award, and awards for best visual effects, production design, musical score, and virtual float at the 46th MMFF Gabi ng Parangal Sunday night, December 27.Madie Gallaga, in a statement today, December 29, said she would like to clarify her stand regarding the MMFF awarding ceremony, stressing that she is grateful to the jurors for awarding her husband the Special Jury Prize.“I am humbled by the outpouring of support and recognition that he is getting by such an august body. I am also thankful to the MMFF for giving us a medium to be able ...

Yes, we need to think before we act. Thinking is a human skill we use and develop to move us into educated decisions, creativity, and productivity. It is also essential in building communities and fostering progress.But when thinking goes into hyperdrive and blows up into overthinking, that’s when it causes extreme stress and multiple problems.When we overthink, our judgments become a murky pool of what-ifs and speculations. Most of the time, our overthinking takes us out of the present and into the darkness of our past and the horrors of our fears. Our stress levels become elevated. Our logical thoughts seem to freeze or go into panic mode.We find it difficult to make the right decisions. Because of overthinking, we sometimes do things we regret or fail to take necessary ...

"Caught by the Lockdown: Artists’ Struggles and Strategies" is a webinar describing the personal situation of foreign visual artists as they were caught by the global pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.It was an insightful sharing on how the global pandemic and lockdown affected their art practice and projects and the strategies they employed to cope and thrive. The insights and realizations shared with fellow artists who are struggling during this time elicited relevant discourse.Inagaki Tatsuo of Japan shared that after doing many art projects since 1992, the roots of his ideas took shape. His artistic concept of realizing communication that transcends cultural backgrounds seems to have originated in experiences over several days at VIVA.He said that last February, he had...

Bacolod artist Bamboo Tunogbanua, Councilors Simplicia Distrito and Wilson Gamboa, Jr., and artist Jeck Alano (l-r) at the opening of "Paskua" art exhibit at Uyso Restaurant, San Juan Street, Bacolod City Saturday, December 12.*Twenty-five visual artists are currently holding a group exhibit titled “Paskua” at the Uyso Restaurant at San Juan-San Sebastian streets, Bacolod City that opened Saturday, December 12, and will run until January 12, 2021.Bacolod Councilors Wilson Gamboa Jr. and Simplicia Distrito together with artist Bamboo Tunogbanua were guests of honor at the opening.Gamboa, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Culture and Arts, encouraged the artists to continue their vision through their artworks which serves as a refuge in times of desperation or c...

The Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) 16 opens VCon 2 this December 12 with “Curators Converse Node 1: What Happens In/To/With Through the World” and Vincent Rose Sarnate’s take on the event is that ‘for the sun to rise in every place on earth, the world must spin 360 degrees.For the dawn to break in Visayan arts, initiatives must spin away from the norm. In its 30th year, the VIVA ExCon world rotated to receive its first ray of light amid the shadows of the 2020 pandemic.VIVA ExCon is a Visayas-wide biennale that celebrates, promotes, and strengthens art, and brings visual art groups, related stakeholders, and art communities close together. Initially bounded by the pandemic, this initiative has recently been recalibrated in online and interac...

BY MADIA MA. KATRINA DAJAO-SUPLICOImage by pixabayPrepare your device, internet, and power backup.Since you are applying for an online job, it is imperative that you have a good internet connection. By good internet connection, we mean stable and reliable.For most online jobs, especially jobs that require you to call/chat with a client or customer, you will need higher internet speed.Although most accept 10 Mbps download/upload speed, a candidate with faster internet is always chosen from the bunch. (But of course, there is also ping, latency, and bandwidth testing that we do from our end).As for the device, you cannot have a stable online job just with your tablet or smartphone. Most companies/clients require a PC or laptop that has a good memory and processor to s...

BY MADIA MA. KATRINA DAJAO-SUPLICOImage by pixabayI have been working homebased for the last months and every day, I screen and evaluate job applications for my client.Here is what I have learned so far:Prepare a good resume.Make your format simple, concise, and make it polished and professional. Highlight your experiences that are "relevant" to the position you are applying for.Personal information such as height, weight, religion, mother, and father's name are not as important unless you are applying for a position where it is relevant. These can be found in the application forms, anyways.If you wish to include your picture, have a decent photo taken in a studio or at least a photo of you looking snappy and professional. Avoid the selfies, cropped photos (whic...

‘Hut;k’ Poetry Folio is an initiative of local poets from the Art District. It is a collective of different art groups in Negros aimed to publish a collection of poetry from poets based in Bacolod.It was initiated by a core group of five to include Ryn Paul Gonzales (RPG) as the main organizer, J-rik Villa of Rekindle PH and Jak Bobby of Terrapinta who took care of widening the reach since they did poetry session pre-covid, Valerie Durias of Bacolod Collective who is in charge of the technical requirements and screenings, and Revo Yanson of AAB who conceptualized and produced the logo and poster layout. This is in cooperation with Orange Project.RPG explained that basically, "Hut;k’ is a response to the pandemic. The idea started in Orange when the visual artists first respond...

Knowing you have Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (APAS) can be devastating.For women who are recently diagnosed, it could be nerve-racking. Many are confused about how they are suffering from this condition and what could have caused it.For so many years, I have been thinking about how do we acquire this disease disorder (because yes, it is acquired). In one survey I did in the past, there were really no significant co-relation with how people get it – some were healthy-eaters, some were not; some smoked, most did not; it really is mind-boggling.But upon consulting with my doctors, these were the small things that (I think) helped me a lot in managing my disorder and I am sharing them with you in the hopes that you might benefit from them, too.Move.Ahhhh… moveme...