My phone rang and woke me up around 0:30. „you volunteered to host refugees, here is a mother with two kids and a cat. Cn you host?“ … „ok, when?“ … „now.“ 15 min later, they arrived with a volunteer. 🧵🧶 1/n
2/n I went down to welcome. We could communicate with google translate. The driver said he would like to help them carry up the luggage 🎒into the flat, the single bag they had was smaller than my laptop bag and the cat cage. I sensed he wanted to check inside.
3/n I showed him sleeping kids and id to ensure him. He smiled, gave me a phone number and left. The family have been on the road for 4 days. „How long can we stay?“ „let’s sleep and talk tomorrow“ a conversation in silence. The three and 15 y/o were nervous.
4/n I could not sleep. Now the war came home, I thought. Can we handle? The next morning, they woke up early and asked again „how long can we stay? I need health insurance for my son. He is sick. We need to be registered.” I sensed a mom in max. functioning mode.
5/n before my work started we rushed to get some urgent shopping to supply cat and kids. Then We gave her internet access and room to calm down after this journey. Once they realized being in security, they all slept, all day and all night.
How devastating it is for innocent families to flee their homes for an uncertain future because of one man’s greed.
In my own little way I’m helping a refugee family remotely by helping the dad with his work as he is now under my wing as they escaped to one of the markets I’m in charge of. I gave him all the leads I was working on and in the following days I will be introducing him to some of my sources.
We don’t know how long this war will last. I hope not long.
So i tried the initial wash and the washing itself is challenging because the colors just stay in place. So no, gansai colors aren’t meant for washes. They should be for layering only.
Second layering. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
This sketch is done on an A5 sketchbook and you could only imagine how small those kois are. It’s difficult coloring them without messing them up.
Third and fourth layering. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
I’m just letting this completely dry and I’ll pencil over some grass and bushes and make an outline of the azaleas.
UPDATE
With pencil-over. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
All I can say is, gansai colors are very hard to control.
I know now what this is best for: flowers.
While I was drawing, Breaking Benjamin was playing and it was the song “I will Not Bow”. It was the song that strengthened my resolve to keep fighting everyday when my girls were on life support when they were born. I played it everyday while driving to the hospital for a month.
It’s now my anthem; I will keep fighting and I will survive this. I will no longer break. He will no longer break me.
Fall
Now the dark begins to rise Save your breath, it’s far from over Leave the lost and dead behind Now’s your chance to run for cover
I don’t wanna change the world I just wanna leave it colder Light the fuse and burn it up Take the path that leads to nowhere
All is lost again But I’m not giving in
I will not bow I will not break I will shut the world away I will not fall I will not fade I will take your breath away
Fall
Watch the end through dying eyes Now the dark is taking over Show me where forever dies Take the fall and run to Heaven
All is lost again But I’m not giving in
I will not bow I will not break I will shut the world away I will not fall I will not fade I will take your breath away
And I’ll survive, paranoid I have lost the will to change And I’m not proud, cold-blooded fake I will shut the world away
I will not bow I will not break I will shut the world away I will not fall I will not fade I will take your breath away
And I’ll survive; paranoid I have lost the will to change And I’m not proud, cold-blooded fake I will shut the world away
I added this lamp to illuminate the living area because the overhead light is too bright for the girls who are just confined at their tables and for Ate C when she watches TV.
My initial watercolor efforts. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I had hung that other flower too high; I’ll just adjust it one of these days. I decided to display them to document the difficult journey I had for the month of Feb until this month. This art therapy reminds me of the struggles I’m having to get better, to move on.
My landscapes below my sister’s depressing city scapes. Photo by CallMeCreation.comContrasting seascapes: my sister’s violent sea vs my dreamy Panglao beach side drawing. Photo by CallMe Creation.com
It’s like a documentation of the emotions I went through while I was doing my art therapy and rediscovering my love for watercoloring that I abandoned for 25 years.
I’m more of a charcoal/pencil and watercolor girl. I tried oils before but I only produced one oil painting and I was very angry at that time that’s why the resulting painting was very dark. My cousin loved it though. It’s still in my mom’s house and it’s like a foreshadowing of my married life. I gave away my oil paints, linseed oil and thinner, brushes, and knives to my sister who paints more using acrylic. She’s more likely use oil than me who never touched the oil paints for years.
Floating koi. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
My girls kept on laughing because the kois looked like they were floating. Well yeah, they do float in the sense the real photo captured how clean the ponds of the Himeji Castle Gardens looked like. When I was there, a worker was vacuuming the pond. I also have to learn how to do watercolors of water, glass and reflections.
I’m still relearning how to control the behavior of different brands of watercolors and there’s a big difference between Asian watercolors meant for Asian techniques and western watercolors. For example, this Kuretake Gansai Tambi is mostly opaque so it’s sort of difficult to do washes and wet-in-wet techniques when doing trees and bodies of water. No wonder this brand has so many greens…You cannot just dive in and easily create gradation using wet-in-wet because I find that the colors get muddy if I do that, hence, the weird tree reflections of the sketch above. The colors don’t flow so it’s a bit difficult. I learned that gansai were formulated for Japanese paintings that are usually done on rice paper so they don’t bleed as much like western watercolors do.
I have to explore what this kind of watercolor/gouache-like medium can do and what it’s good for.
Attempt at wash first before sketching. Let’s see if this method would be better. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
My FB post about Radiowealth is now shared 2,400 times and liked 3,100 times. I’ve seen a lot of comments that they didn’t know about this and were shocked to learn that Marcos really hampered the progress of Philippines then. Imagine, Radiowealth could have been the Sony or Samsung of today. The company was also manufacturing Volkswagen cars, turntables, aircons–all things industrial. We had a thriving steel industry then, ahead of Taiwan and South Korea but the companies were taken over by Marcos as well. I have all the books documenting these in my personal library.
Philippine Airlines was Asia’s first commercial airline that was taken over by Marcos and eventually given to one of his cronies, Lucio Tan. San Miguel was once under the Spanish families (Sorianos/Ayalas) that was taken over by Eduardo Cojuangco, another very close Marcos crony, via anomalous transactions involving coconut levies taken from the backs of coconut farmers. It is still owned by him/his estate today. RPN-9 and IBC-13 were taken over by the Benedictos. The Campos family of Unilab and Greenfield (also now Del Monte and Nutri Asia) also benefited from Marcos. This is probably the reason why they don’t really do media interviews, just like the Salims of Indonesia, whose patriarch was a close associate of Suharto.
But so far I’m loving this. It has some characteristics of gouache but it’s watercolor l. Doesn’t need much water to activate it so I don’t have to be heavy-handed when doing washes.
It’s still Himeji Castle Gardens. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
I shared on FB the piece I wrote here yesterday and made it public. One of the family members thanked me for putting his family’s story to light and as of this moment this is being shared (now more than 450 likes and 390 shares).
Thank you, CallMeCreation.com, for sharing my family’s story. To add to this, we used to MANUFACTURE VolksWagen as well, long before China did. Take note: MANUFACTURE, not IMPORT. Sinira rin nina Marcos and his cronies yun. Not many are aware how much more damage Marcos caused while he was in power. Let us not let any of his children try to regain that. #MarcosNeverAgain#MarcosMagnanakaw
I knew about his family’s story because of one of my broadcasting courses. My father was also telling me about Radiowealth before. I remembered it when we retired that TV and replaced it with a Samsung, which was then a cheap copycat of Sony. But look at how South Korea grew into what it is now. Take note, we were very much ahead of S. Korea then. We could have been S. Korea now if not for Marcos’ greed.
As I mentioned here before, Manila was more modern than its neighbors before, with tranvias snaking Manila and neighboring towns. Escolta and other areas of Manila could be mistaken for any other cosmopolitan cities of Asia in the early late 19th to early 20th century.
It pains me that it’s only now that people learned about what I wrote about the Guevaras. Theirs is just one of the many devastating stories that the Marcoses produced.
But as Tricia Robredo–Leni’s medical doctor daughter–said, we should get out of our comfort zones and talk to communities, to those in the C,D, and E markets and tell them why this election is important. That they are just being misled to believe the lies by the Marcoses’ propaganda machinery. We shouldn’t be elitist and call those who are supporting BongBong Marcos as bobo (stupid); it was just their misfortune that the truth doesn’t reach them because we are confined to our echo chambers. As I said during my TV interview a few weeks ago, we are employing the wrong communication tactics to reach these low-income segments. Focused engagement at the grassroots level is the key and fact-checking shouldn’t be confined to online media because accessing information requires money. These low-income groups do not read newspapers because our periodicos are in English. It should reach TV and radio–the most accessible form of mass media that speak the poor’s language.
This is the role of journalists like me, put to light the truth that has long been buried by history revisionists. So people will learn and not commit the same mistakes. For people to take action.
YEY! My Kuratake Gansai Tambi finally arrived!
It comes in this green box. Photo by CallMeCreation.comLook at the lovely colors. Photo by CallMeCreation.comColor swatch. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I enjoyed making the color swatches here as I was able to test the brilliance/opaqueness/translucence of each color. The colors are easy to activate by minimal water. I can see why this is preferred by some manga artists. I’m looking forward to using this tonight. I feel giddy.
I can confine now the portable palette to urban sketching and use this for more serious coloring. I’m trying to do a Chinese botanical tonight but it’s kind of hard to finish the sketch.
Looking at metrics with lighted lavender candle. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I had been looking at our metrics for two days now and something is wrong with our database. I contacted the person in charge but he hasn’t responded. I need to elevate this to HQ IT. It seems like I’m the only person in our bureau doing this 😤
So many hurdles that we/I are/am facing for changes to be implemented. I told my APAC boss if things don’t change, people will be resigning. Including me. Competition is actively hiring.
It was so hot today that whenever I go downstairs, I get knocked out by the heat. Later in the afternoon I didn’t realize I fell asleep while reading on my bed after finishing an edit. I felt I was being woken up by one of the girls but I couldn’t understand what that was about.
Then a Lazada package was on my table.
Sketchbook arrived! Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I bought this for less than PHP 200. I can have a hardbound sketchbook for less than PHP 1,000 via Lazada! Thank goodness for that. Moleskines are like PHP 1,500- PHP 2,000. I can’t keep forking out that much money for practice sketches.
I quickly put it to test.
Initial inking. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
I was determining here how to show depth since I took the photo directly on top of the food bowls so there’s no way I can show the depth of the bowls. That stumped me so much.
Light coloring. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
It’s really posing a problem. It’s a puzzle that I still have to solve because the ramen bowl is white. I’m trying to color a bit with ecru. I also added shadows under the bowls but another issue with the original image was that there were many sources of light there. The restaurant had multiple lights overhead so my light source is confused.
Still haven’t solved it. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
I need to give up for now to let the paper dry. The 150 gsm paper of this sketchbook is holding up and is not bleeding. Not bad for a hardbound sketchbook for less the PHP 200. I’ll solve this conundrum tomorrow.
Today I battled my way into reserving hotel rooms in Makati for the April 30 rally. And OMG the other Leni supporters are really fighting with me for the rooms! Everytime I clicked, Agoda told me that somebody else beat me into it. I even tried booking 3 bedroom suites but to no avail. Manila Peninsula was already fully booked yesterday. I tried the ones in Valero St. and Salcedo Village. I was able to book rooms in serviced apartments but on the first night it was in Valero and the second night is along Salcedo Village, a block away from Paseo de Roxas. I had to cut the reservation dates because there was no way I could book two nights in a row.
My mom is excited. Her friends have been having a difficult time booking rooms, too, and she’s happy I was able to snag rooms.
I’m also ordering pink shirts online. Will put click “buy” on Friday once I get clearer idea about the dates exact dates.
The girls are coming with me, too. I want them to see how people are gathering to push for change.
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, we were manufacturing radios and televisions even before Japan started doing it.
The brand is Radiowealth and we had a unit of that huge TV at home when I was a kid.
We were a manufacturing hub before. Japan was devastated after the war. Korea was the same. China was deep into Maoism. We used to make watches during the later years of the Spanish colonial period. We had a thriving economy that was the envy of our neighbors.
But then Ferdinand Marcos Sr. came. And grabbed power.
When Martial Law was declared, Guevara’s business plan was jeopardized, especially since he was one of 7 delegates who voted against martial law. Because of this, he was pressured by the Marcos government which wanted to take over his successful business. Knowing it was futile to fight Marcos, Guevara—whose health has been affected by the turn of events—together with his wife, fled to the United States.
RADIOWEALTH eventually closed, signaling an end of a shining era of industrial revolution. But Guevara’s legacy remains in Mandaluyong, where a busy, bustling street on where his manufacturing plants stood-Libertad St.–has been renamed after him—Domingo M. Guevara St. the self-made industrialist died in the 1990s.
This is the reason why the economic powerhouse that was the Philippines fell and crumbled. Because of one man’s greed. We became the laggard of Asia as we continued to be dragged down by dollar debts that were stashed into Swiss bank accounts. We never recovered.
That is why this show of support to the opposition—Leni and Kiko—is not only a petty knee-jerk reaction against Duterte-Marcos. This is a fight for my children’s future. We must not let the Marcoses be back in Malacanang.
This is why we are sparing no expense in showing to the world that we are ready for change. For cleaner government, for public servants in the truest sense like Leni and Chel Diokno. And there are stories of people being converted during and after the Pasig rally because they saw how people are there on their own volition, without being bribed, without being forced by their LGUs.
We might never get back that economic status before Marcos Sr came. But at least we are trying to change our course to a better one.
Hearing this many people sing the national anthem in unison made my skin crawl. A lot of my friends and even my sister said that being there was surreal, something that you would only experience in extraordinary times.
That’s why when they said (social media is abuzz) that the next grand rally will be in Makati, along Ayala Avenue on 30 April, I told my sister we should book a room in Manila Peninsula for two nights to have a good view and at the same time my mom can also experience this.
I was asking my friend from my old TV network if the Makati venue and date is confirmed (he’s covering all campaign sorties/rallies of Leni nationwide), he said we can only know a week before the event because this is only arranged by the volunteers.
So let’s see if I can book with free cancellation, just in case they change.
Today was so hot that my Twin A bought me an ice cream cone ❤️ while I was working this noon.
Selecta ice cream. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
And it’s still March. It would be a lot hotter in the coming weeks. I’m already melting.
I don’t know how I spent the rest of my day but the time flew fast and I didn’t even do much. I just edited one story and for the life of me I could not figure out what else I did. Mostly admin tasks that really eat up my Mondays.
I just cooked egg drop soup with mishua and leeks for K and sent it with the Himeji Castle Gardens gate sketch tonight. He said he gets bloated with certain foods after his surgery but he can slowly take in rice in the form of rice porridge.
Tomorrow I think I’ll do bulalo since I bought beef shanks. I will make a clean soup out of this and lots and lots of veggies. I’ll cook it for 4 hrs on high or 8 hrs on low on the slow cooker.
The board under my desk’s drawer became loose so I had to repair it. I had to take out a lot of stuff and among the found stuff lurking in there were plastic pictures of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro I bought from Donguri Republic in Taipei in 2016. It’s only now that I was able to frame it after hoarding frames from Ikea yesterday.
Chihiro no Sen. Photo by CallMeCreation.comMy Neighbor Totoro. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
It took me 6 years to have this framed and see it up. 😂 At least it would be there to lift my spirits when I am having a basura day.
I created a sanctuary here. When the world throws shit at you, you can retreat to your sanctuary and be surrounded by things that you love. That is the essence of home. Home is a place where your heart can rest, soothe your ruffled feathers, and feel protected. This is the first real home I had since I left my hometown. I never felt safe and really comfortable in all the houses that I lived when I got married. I never considered those houses mine because I never had a say in those houses. This apartment was truly a sanctuary for me, even if it’s just a rental. I created this home with my own hands.
I found my Sony Walkman mp3 player and I got to hear my playlist that had so much history for me on my Edifier speaker. 8 GB worth of songs. At this moment I’m listening to Porter Robinson‘s Shelter and before that was Yoko Kanno x Aoi Teshima’s Because. These songs brought me back to the a time and space I thought things were just right. When I was happy.
These songs also tugged at my heartstrings when I was broken.
When we transfer to our new home, I will have the freedom to play music as loud as I want. I don’t have to deal with neighbors. Especially when I play Soundgarden 😄
It’s that time of the month that I have to deal with finances. This is the amount of receipts that I have to tally and check where my money went.
Too many receipts. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I don’t throw away receipts quickly because I need to check them and record them on my daily diary to track spending. I have an Excel file of my monthly budget and I have to adhere to it. That’s how I get to have room for spending for frivolous things because I have earmarked xx amount for “fun money”. Sometimes I go overboard (like this month) but I have enough wiggle room as not to destroy my monthly spending.
When I was growing up, I often saw my mom hunched over the tocador (Spanish – dressing table) with a calculator and a little notebook, balancing the household budget. She’s very careful with money, which I think I and my older sister inherited. Whatever I spent for the month, it has to come from somewhere i had budgeted. This is the reason why I have many bank accounts—I treat them like my wallets where I distribute my income, including investments.
I’m teaching my children self-control and they are somewhat successful with it. They hold off spending the money they received from aunts/uncles (they just received advanced birthday money from their paternal aunt and uncle) when they are saving for something bigger, like the rollerblades that Twin I wants. For the little things they want like milktea via Food Panda/Grab or stationery from Shopee, they use their chore money (money they earned for doing chores). At least they know the value of the money they’re spending. When they pick up an item from the grocery store or mall, they equate it to how many hours they will spending on doing chores just buying that thing. That’s time value.
You got to start them young. That’s how my mom taught me while I was growing up.
