11.30.2011

the little team that could

Here be Monday night's Quill crew:
L-R: Sir Chito, Me, SPR, Ruth, Margie, Ta Nitz, Ms Miner, Bianca, Ate Ellen.
This photo taken from Ms Margie's Facebook post. Thank you!
Let me start by saying that this time last year, we were literally on our knees, packing boxes to be shipped to some 20 other venues outside Metro Manila in preparation for the 25 simultaneous sessions last Dec. 4.

Of course, last year, while dutifully checking lists and counting notebooks and cutting packaging tape and printing labels, we weren't even thinking about the Quill awards -- what we just wanted to do was, of course, just send out the 60 boxes to the 20 venues and just get this thing off the ground.

(But really, my choice moment, and I will never tire of retelling this: I found myself sitting in an Inquirer truck at 4 in the morning outside the domestic airport, waiting for a man I knew only by name, whose family was boarding a flight to Batanes. As we all know, that flight eventually got canceled -- I woke to a 9 am phone call telling me that, and I spent most of that day looking for another guy to take those boxes to Batanes, because, hey, it's From Batanes to Tawi-Tawi. Batanes was not an option, it was a requirement.)

It's been roughly a year since we pulled that off, with the help of hundreds of Inquirer employee-volunteers, partner organizations and of course the Inquirer bureaus. In last year's Post-Mortem, I wrote:
That said -- I wasn't kidding when I said many hands have kept us afloat -- what I've seen in the past few months while organizing this thing is something I'd never forget. I guess it's true what they say -- Build it and they will come.


They all did. And as they say, the rest is history.

At the time, I knew I was in the middle of something huge, and last Monday, when the team bagged an Award of Excellence at the Philippine Quill Awards, and was eventually named Overall Winner for Division 1 -- there are a few things that could rival the utter joy of that moment. More than the trophies and the photos and being on stage and all that -- it's the fact that the team was there to celebrate together that really got to me.

2011 Philippine Quill
OVERALL WINNER
Division 1 - Communication Management
25 Simultaneous Inquirer Read-Along:
Telling the Story to Empower,
To Inspire from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi
Philippine Daily Inquirer

You know how they say that you're the sum of the people you spend the most time with? Well, how about this: Since 2007, I have been spending a ridiculous amount of time with the most creative and hardworking group that I have ever had the pleasure of working with, and as with all things that end up to be surprisingly amazing, it all started with a small idea.

(Rest under cut, with Photos!)

11.19.2011

we interrupt this program: lost girl

I am in love with this doctor. Yep. I love how she wears her confusion on her proverbial sleeve. Fantastic, Zoie Palmer. Fantastic. I love your face. Also: In any given show, I always fall in love with the girl... who reminds me of me. #fact
And now for an even briefer news round-up, just to get my journalist-y feelings out of the way: This day has been insane I tell you -- in the morning the Commission on Elections voted to charge former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo with electoral sabotage in connection with the alleged rigging of the 2007 senatorial election results in Maguindanao. And then the Pasay RTC released an arrest warrant for her. ALL IN THE SAME DAY. I mean, this never happens in this country, really. By 6:30 p.m. we were watching the cops say they'd just served the warrant in a fucking hospital. Unbelievable. It's like Grey's Anatomy and Law & Order rolled into one. Just saying.

OKAY. Now we have that out of the way. Care for a little Doccubus action?

11.10.2011

midweek round-up, 11.09

Undas 2011. Requisite "Hi mom" photo. Hi mom.
This better be a quick one because I am up to here in plans: In the tradition of Outdoing Ourselves with Every Outing, the ever creative Read-Along team is putting up a two-day marathon of reading events (this, from last year's oh, let's do 25 of them nationwide AT THE SAME TIME.) by the end of the month, so until then I'll be, let's say, a bit all over the place. I can't wait for December. Seriously.

Just a rundown of things -- spent Undas 2011 with the family, watched the pseudo-MGB Halloween special (pseudo because it's not MGB, just something that Kabayan happened to host, hehe, but in all a good effort, that) then reported for work on Nov 1st, because it was a Tuesday.

On Nov. 1, my Research brethren and I did a bit of a Halloween photo shoot: (The rest under cut, for your own good hehe)

11.03.2011

dear lost girl 2x06,


This via http://fuckyeahbo-lauren.tumblr.com/
I officially have feelings.
(spoilers for Lost Girl 2x06 under cut, though I'm sorry that GIF has to stay out of it -- because, hello.)

WARNING: INCOHERENT FLAILING.