Tuesday, Tuesday

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.

Photo from Isamunangpatalastas.blogspot.com

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.

isamunangpatalastas.blogspot.com

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.

isamunangpatalastas.blogspot.com

Photo from isamunangpatalastas.blogspot.com

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.

Half-day

I was dead until 12 noon today. I just slept. I woke up because I was hungry and I forgot that today is the political rally of Leni Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan at Ortigas Center.

My sister and a lot of my friends are out there. I was thinking whether I should try to join but then we still have Covid.

According to friends, at least 140k people joined.

Ortigas Center was a sea of pink.

Drone shot.
Another drone shot.

In other videos you can feel the energy of the crowd, everybody was happy and this was not chaos.

I would have loved to be there but I’m scared of getting Covid again. I got Covid even I was fully vaccinated. But I’m happy that a lot of people are coming out supporting the opposition.

Marcos will make sure that there will be cheating on May 9.

Hmm I should contact PPCRV and see what I can do to help at HQ.


The reason I was asleep half of the day was because of this.

I really need a drafting table. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I was drawing until 3 am. First off, I cut the watrcolor drawing I did that is no longer working for me. I did that to recycle the 300 gsm watercolor paper.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com
The back is still useable. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I checked the proper perspective. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I applied what I’ve learned from Domestika. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
Did the initial coloring. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
Himeji Castle Gardens. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com

This sketch will go to my friend K as a get well present along with the food I’m gonna send tomorrow.

Since I didn’t go to the rally tonight, my girls and I just went to Ikea to buy their chairs because the ones I bought from Ofix are beyond help. The girls’ backs are suffering and the chairs are really falling apart.

Cart is full 😋 photo by CallMeCreation.com

I also bought bins to corral my sewing stuff and painting stuff, a floor lamp for the living room, and lots and lots of frames.

Then we went to SM Department Store to buy the girls their birthday T-shirt dresses. The clothes I bought them a few months ago can barely fit them now. 😩 They grow up really fast.

Got home at 10 pm. We had to take C5 because of the huge traffic jam caused by the Leni rally at Ortigas.

I’m tired. I don’t think I can draw tonight.

Disaster fatigue

I’m taking a break from disaster news. I know I’m very privileged to have this opportunity to tune out while millions of Filipinos are struggling without water, food, and shelter. During times like this, we miss ABS-CBN because they have the widest reach nationwide via their regional stations. They are the first in the field whenever we have calamities like this, bringing news nationwide. Now it’s like we have a news blackout and only we get live feed via FB live from VP Robredo since she has been on the ground after Typhoon Odette passed through Visayas and Mindanao. Duterte deprived the Filipinos of this link just because of his pettiness.

Chibi Rurouni Kenshin. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I received this chibi action figure for Christmas. I searched high and low in Akihabara for any Rurouni Kenshin items when I was there in 2017 but couldn’t find any. According to my colleague in our Tokyo office, stores in Akihabara sell merchandise from anime currently on air. They do have old stuff like Pokemon and Dragon Ball to cater to foreign tourists but Rurouni Kenshin is considered niche for vendors.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I grilled these for lunch today, part of my stash that I’ve been keeping in my new larger freezer. I have several kilos of wagyu beef that I will grill on New Year. The girls will be flying with their dad to his hometown on Wednesday so I’ll just save the grand cooking on New Year’s Eve.

After this we ran some errands and had late lunch/early dinner at Max’s.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Arroz caldo for me this rainy day.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

After the girls leave tomorrow night (their flight is 6 am Wed), I may consider volunteering for relief ops in Robredo’s campaign center along Katipunan. They really need help given the devastation that the typhoon wrought in Vis-Min area.

Central and Southern Philippines need us

This is reminiscent of Typhoon Haiyan, a Category 5 typhoon that ravaged central Philippines in 2013. I covered the disaster and drove down to ground zero where there was so much death and destruction. I had PTSD after that coverage and it is known in the journalism community that covering disasters is also like being in a war zone. It messes up your brain.

We did our grocery shopping tonight for our household and for the victims of Typhoon Odette (which became Cat 5 upon landfall in Siargao). I bought boxes of Century Tuna, boxes of instant cup noodles, boxes of rubbing alcohol, packs of 3-in-1 coffee, sachets of shampoo and toothpaste, bottles of mineral water.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Based on my experience covering disasters, victims in evacuation sites do not have the means to cook. At most all they may have are sources of hot water so ready-to-eat stuff like canned tuna and cup noodles are best during the first few days after a disaster. Hygiene kits are also important. Clean water is also a priority.

Then the girls and I went straight to Leni Robredo Volunteer Center to drop off our donations.

Some of our donations. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Sacks of rice. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Volunteer orientation. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
My girls. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I couldn’t volunteer because Ate C already left for Tacloban today and her grandpa’s house was destroyed by the typhoon so she needed to be there to help in rebuilding it. Although the girls could already fend for themselves, I fear accidents may happen like microwaving metallic objects 🤦🏻‍♀️

They wouldn’t push through with the trip to their paternal grandpa given the dire situation in Visayas. They don’t have power there because a lot of transmission lines are down. Many vehicles are stranded at the ports and the seas are still violent. Cebu and Siargao airports are destroyed. I fear for a friend in Cebu, I hope he and his family are ok.

Bohol is devastated. No clear idea how Panglao is now but that island is so flat that I expect that everything was washed out. My heart breaks for that little paradise.

Panglao island. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I will be donating again after my salary is deposited before Christmas.

https://www.instagram.com/therealangellocsin/p/CXlmz6QlFYf/?utm_medium=copy_link

Pink

#LabanLeni. Art by Karl Michael Domingo via Instagram

Today all my social media accounts turned pink as people, friends and strangers alike, have indicated their support for VP Leni Robredo‘s bid for the presidency. She made her announcement today at 11 am and filed her candidacy documents at 3 pm.

She’s smart; she didn’t adopt the yellow color of the Liberal Party and the color associated with the Aquinos. The color dilaw that the DDS destroyed by equating yellow with something very negative. By adopting an off-tangent color, Leni is showing that she is her own person, not riding on the legacy of the Aquinos and not alienating other people who have anything against the Aquinos. And those who have shifted allegiances from being DDS to opposition.

Even Sandara Park, who grew up here and became super popular here first as a pop idol before going back home to Korea to be part of the girl band 2N1, has posted an irrelevant throwback photo that only Filipinos will understand. She still considers Philippines home. She was nicknamed Krung-krung here because her popularity made people go crazy (“krung-krung”) and she still calls herself that. Look at her Twitter handle.

Artists, musicians, actors and other on- and offline influencers have also shown their support.

Leni does not have the money like the Marcoses. The Dutertes have amassed quite a sizeable amount from their decades of reign in Davao and the five years they have ruled the country. But Leni has the grassroots support. People all over Twitter have been asking for details where they can donate for Leni’s campaign–and I have never heard of such movement like this my entire adult life (i.e. voting age). And this is the only time I will donate to anybody’s political campaign. Ever.

Duterte had been shooting Leni down since Day 1 and Congress had granted her office the smallest budget there is among government agencies but she made it work. During the pandemic, she knew what to do. Her office was the only one that provided free testing for the masses and facilities for healthcare workers. PPEs and equipment to government facilities. She made medical care available to the poor. If those who availed of the free testing turned out to be positive, they received healthcare packs for Covid home care and some relief goods if the patient is the breadwinner. The Office of the Vice President (OVP) will also assist those who needed to get hospital slots and oxygen tanks. These were made possible by donations by private individuals and corporates who do not trust other government agencies.

She tapped into the private sector partnerships for the vaccination of workers like Grab, Angkas, and other third-party logistics providers. This is just during the pandemic. Years prior, the OVP had a lot of programs like natural disaster quick response. The Duterte administration was so slow in deploying help to victims of calamities, so the OVP is the first to be there, like in Cagayan and Isabella during last year’s typhoons that flattened Northern Luzon. She has her shit together.

The OVP was the only one or one of the very few that had star rating from the state auditor.

She is an economics graduate from UP and a lawyer but she used her knowledge to be the lawyer for the poor and human rights. When her husband was the Interior and Local Government Secretary, she just worked on the sidelines with her cause-oriented groups. I had interviewed her husband before and he’s a very kind, hardworking, and trustworthy public servant. When I covered the plane crash that killed Jesse Robredo in 2012, it was one of the most heartbreaking coverage that I did. There was a dark cloud hovering over our newsroom at that time. His body was found 800 meters from the shore when his light plane crashed off the coast of Masbate island.

I need to fix my voter’s registration. I think I had been delisted because I wasn’t able to cast my vote in 2019 and 2016.