Depression

I presented a report on Depression yesterday.  While I was going through my research and materials, the whole thing was like a case study -- everything was all too familiar.

The symptoms are varied but the most common are those that show a marked delineation from the patient's normal routine.  The patient will go into extremes and abuse his or herself in the process.  For instance, he or she will eat either too much (then gain weight and get more dpressed) or too little (and be malnourished and get sicker).  He or she may also lose a lot of sleep (insomnia) or sleep too much.  He or she will lose interest in many things, even those that were his or her favorites.  On top of those, he or she will also withdraw from everybody and will only connect with someone if forced to.

If the depression gets worse, the patient will spiral into thoughts of death, seeing it as a quick relief from what's causing the depression. Sometimes, the patient may even attempt to commit suicide.

Familiar?  For your sake, I hope these symptoms do not sound familiar.  For those who do, here are some tips on what to do:

1. Reach out.  Sometimes, a short talk or a shoulder to cry on is all that's needed.
2. Be there.  This could be frustrating as the patient would want to be alone.  Some may even get angry at people who only want to help.  If you truly want to help, persevere.
3. If the patient won't talk, let his express in other ways -- drawing, dancing, singing, writing.  Physical activity has an added bonus:  endorphins -- those cute little things our body produces that makes us feel happy.  In sports, it's called an Athlete's Euphoria.
4. If there isn't a desire to express, give the person something he or she likes -- especially his or her favorites.  They may not be expressive in thanks but watch for that smile!
5. Let the patient know he or she is NOT ALONE.  The reason they become depressed may not be apparent but the patient usually sometimes believes he or she is alone in the problem.

Depression is real, yet it is not a sign of personal weakness.  If you see someone depressed do not dismiss him or her.  If you don't care enough to help, you can at least try not to do more damage.

Sigh...

=)K

58th Palanca Awards now accepting entries

Aspiring and established authors alike who wish to share their works toward the development of Philippine Literature may now submit their entries for the 2008 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.

Regarded as the country's most prestigious and longest-running literary contest, the Palanca Awards' search for promising Filipino writers has generated an impressive roster of literary luminaries.

Established in 1950 in honor of Don Carlos Palanca Sr., the competition aims to help develop Philippine Literature by providing incentives for writers to craft their most outstanding literary
works, as well as be a treasury of the Philippines' literary gems.

The literary contest is open to all Filipino (or former Filipino) citizens, except current officers and employees of the Carlos Palanca Foundation, Inc. Aspiring writers may submit works under the following eight (8) categories:
Short Story
Short Story for Children
Essay
Poetry
One-act Play
Full-length Play
Screenplay
and Novel.

Each author, however, may submit only one entry per category.

The awards have three divisions – English, Filipino and Regional Languages (Hiligaynon, Iluko and Cebuano). Works may be submitted in either English or Filipino for all categories except Screenplay, which is open only in the Filipino division, while the Regional Languages division is open only in the Short Story category.

This year's theme for the Kabataan Essay, Palanca Awards' special category for young writers below 18 years old, is "A foreign visitor has only one day to spend here in the Philippines. Where should this visitor go that day and why?" for the English division and "May isang dayuhan na isang araw lamang ang ipananatili sa Pilipinas. Saang lugar siya sa araw na iyon dapat pumunta at bakit?" for the Filipino division.

Contest Rules and Official Entry Forms are available at the Carlos Palanca Foundation, Inc., 6th Floor, One World Square Bldg., 10 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.  Deadline of submission of entries for this year's awards is midnight
of April 30, 2008. Winners will be announced on September 01, 2008.

For more information, you may email palancaawards@yahoo.com or call telephone number 856-0808.

Cebu Pacific Customer/Booking Service SUCKS

If you are going to fly anywhere,think twice before you take Cebu Pacific.  Sure, they have the cheapest fares... because they had to scrimp on their services.

For example, their Reservation Hotline is a huge joke.  If you call during the day, you will get nothing but "sorry, all systems are busy now..."  If you call at night, you can get lucky and get a line BUT you have to wait a very long time to get someone to answer your line.  How long is long?  Try an hour.  Yup, 60 full minutes.  You'll hear all their pre-recorded ads at least 5 times.

Oh, and they have a website too.. and it's also a joke.  Try booking and the "Continue" button after you've picked your flights won't work.  So much for online booking.  

If you do get it to work, you better use your ticket because they have fees plus their voucher system goes through that Reservation Hotline (see above) and their refund system takes 30-60 days (empahsis on the 60 days), if you're lucky.  People have complained that they don't get their refunds until at least 6 months later.  If you paid cash, then you can refund faster at the place where you paid for the ticket.  Just brace yourself for the long queue.

One more thing:  Their snacks in flight are NOT FREE.

So, let this be a lesson for the cheapskates out there.  

=)K

a post from Robert Alejandro: Caricature Sessions for Kids

Would you like to help out? Learn a thing or two?
Have your kids join in the fun?

My schedule:

18 April; Friday / 2pm
We'll have the caricature workshop at NORTH CEMETERY
Meeting place is at ATD office (see below).

24 April; Thursday / 2pm
We'll have the caricature workshop at "under the bridge"
Meeting place is at ATD office (see below).


15 May; Thursday / 2pm
We'll have the caricature workshop at Lozada St. Pandacan
Meeting place is at ATD office (see below).

Help us paint a mural!
22 May; Thursday / 2pm
ATD office (see below).

Have a memorable and enjoyable time this summer!

All Together in Dignity (ATD) Fourth World Philippines
http://www.atd-fourthworld.org/
,an international non-profit organization, invites you to join the Festival of Learning and help a child this summer!

What is the Festival of Learning? It is a series of educational activities conducted by ATD every April and May to children living in poor communities in Manila. These activities include storytelling, workshops on arts & crafts, music, dance, writing, and excursion trips to museums, zoos, and art galleries.

How can you help?

* Share your talent for arts & crafts, music, dance, or any skill you wish to teach the children;
* Be a facilitator by helping the children in the different workshops; and
* Sponsor a child. A donation of Two Hundred Pesos (P 200) will provide one child the art materials, transportation fare, snacks, and entrance fee to the museums and excursion trips. The more generous you are, the more children will learn and enjoy the festival.

1) Deposit your donation at any PNB branch under the account name ATD Fourth World Philippines CA 002528302303, PNB Pandacan Branch .

2) Fax the deposit slip at fax number 563.9312 or email it at atdmnl@skyinet.net

Please write your full name, address, email, and contact numbers in the deposit slip. ATD will send you an Official Receipt to acknowledge your donation.

The Festival will start on April 16 and end on May 18. Kindly refer to the schedule below.

For more information, call telephone numbers 563.9312 and +63.928.216.0829 or email atdmnl@skyinet.net. To learn more about ATD Fourth World Philippines, visit our website at http://www.atd-fourthworld.org/


Festival of Learning Schedule 2008

You can choose any date but please confirm by calling the ATD office or sending an email in case there is a change in schedule.


1. North Cemetery, Manila
April 16 -20 (Wednesday – Sunday)
2.30 -5.00 p.m.
Assembly time 2:00 p.m. at ATD office
Outing: National Museum
April 17 (Thursday)
8.30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

2. Ilalim ng Tulay, Quirino Avenue, Manila
April 23 -27 (Wednesday – Sunday)
2.30 -5.00 p.m.
Assembly time 2:00 p.m. at ATD office
Outing: The Philippine Science Centrum (Marikina)
April 25 (Friday)
9 a.m. – 12 noon

3. Hilum, Pandacan, Manila
May 7 - 11 (Wednesday – Sunday)
9.00 am – 12 noon
Assembly time 8:30 a.m. at ATD office
Outing: The Philippine Science Centrum (Marikina)
May 9 (Friday)
9 a.m. – 12 noon

4. Lozada, Pandacan, Manila
May 14 -18 (Wednesday – Sunday)
2.30 -5.00 p.m.
Assembly time 2:00 p.m. at ATD office
Outing: Manila Zoo
May 9 (Friday)
9 a.m. – 12 noon

Assembly place:
ATD Fourth World Philippines
1225 Labores Street
Pandacan, Manila
Tel. no.: 563.9312

Directions:
If you are commuting, there are two options, thru the LRT 1 and LRT 2:

I. Take the LRT 1
1) Go down at the Pedro Gil Station.
2) Walk along TaftAve.
3) Turn right at Josefa Llanes Escoda (1st street after the intersection of Pedro Gil and Taft Ave).
4) At Escoda St., go to the jeepney stop along Leon Guinto St. (1st street at Escoda).
5) Take the jeepney (Pandacan). Tell the driver you are going to the Bayan.
6) The jeepney will go to Labores Street.
7) The ATD office (1225 Labores St.) will be at the left side of Labores St. The gate has a painted sign, ATD Fourth Word Philippines.

II. Take the LRT 2
1) Go down at the Pureza Station.
2) At the station, take a jeepney (Rotonda Ilalim/Divisoria/Quiapo). This jeepney will cross the Nagtahan Bridge and turn left at Jesus St.
3) The final stop of the jeepney is right after Caritas along Jesus St. The terminal is a narrow street beside a creek.
4) Walk along Jesus St. until you see a 7-11 convenience store. Turn right at Labores Street.
5) The ATD office (1225 Labores St.) is at the right side of Labores St. coming from Jesus St. The gate has a painted sign, ATD Fourth Word Philippines.

robert a. alejandro art & design
www.raadesign.com

New Amsterdam Preview

This is new series. The stories are similar to your usual cop shows BUT the premise is definitely fantasy. I'm quite happy finding this.

Six epiusodes so far and the show hasn't let me down yet.

=)K

A Writer's Woes

It's quite amazing how some people try to get away with just about anything.

There was this company that got a couple of works of mine to see if I can fit into their organization as a contributor.  This company (in a way) publishes short stories, original works of creative writers.

Of course, I was excited about it.  I finally have a venue for my works and I would get paid for them.  Turns out, it was too good to be true.

When they sent me the contract, they want to own my works and would pay peanuts for them.  Plus, there is a non-compete clause too!

Having been a feature writer, I can understand how publications can own your works -- they did provide the raw material for it and they do pay good money for them  Besides, those features were usually meant for their market so, other than your portfolio, where else can you use them? 

But stories are different.  They're borne out of your creativity.  They have nothing to do with the creative process that gave it reality.  All they did was tell you they need a love story and you send them a draft, end of story. 

So it reall ticks me off that some publications can have the temerity to say they own your creativity and not give you the right to have it published after they have -- e.g. your own anthology, or as a contribution to another anthology.

I'm totally for granting a limited ownership of the pieces -- constrained by time, say a couple of years or something -- or shared ownership (though that could get messy); but definitely not their ownership of my work for eternity.

And that non-compete clause has to go.  If they say I cannot submit the stories I had given them to another publication BEFORE they publish it, I would totally agree.  Since they expressed interest in them, they get first dibs.  But to tell me that I cannot submit my own works to another publication at all -- that's infringing on my livelihood already.  Did they honesty expect me to live on the peanuts they pay for my works?

On top of it all, there is one sad fact:  some writers will still sign a contract like that.  Believe it or not.  Times are hard and we all feel it.  We need to make money out of our own effort and writers write.  For some, it is better than not having their stories paid for at all.

I don't know.  Maybe it's just me, but I think this kind of deal is a form of robbery, and quite the opposite of an equitable business arrangement.

--------- that's it.  rant's over.

=)K