How to decide like a Judge

I met another policeman while studying at graduate school. He was a former Chief of Police (COP) in a municipality in Region 6. He was then re-assigned in Region 11 around January/February 2015. 

He shared me some tips on how to decisions. Some of these tips were gleaned from his experience when he handled his men during his COP days. He told me this was how Court Judges decide on the cases they're handling. 

I thought it would be something interesting to share. His tips have sat on my post-it note that I almost forgot about it!

 1. Think before you decide

Rule number one. I think it's common sense. Don't make rash decisions. Think it over. 

2.  Look for the three sides of the story 

      (Yours, theirs, and the truth)

Each person has their own version on what things happened. To make your decision making process complete, gather even the opposite party's version of truth... and ultimately, the truth itself. 

3. Weigh everything and then decide.

After gathering the three stories, thoroughly weigh each scenario. Try to form a clear picture of what really happened. Then decide.

   4. Always seek the truth

 

5. Always rely on reason

Logic. Because feelings are irrational. 

6.       Give the benefit of  doubt

A person is innocent unless proven otherwise. 

7.  Even the damned and the fool have their stories

Because the damned and the fool are humans. And to be human is to live your own personal story.

Submit that post anyway!

I had a productive (?) day today. I finally sent my proposal for a guest post. I have no idea whether it will be accepted or not.

In case if it won't, I can always use the material for this blog. I have a bunch of ideas I can always write about.

My job is to take care of the quantity. God will take care of the Quality.

Saying Yes to new experiences is hard

One of my commitments for 2016 is to open and explore new experiences which I know would allow me to grow. 

While I've been taking baby steps (such as maintaining two blogs, a 10 daily comic ritual, and writing 10 ideas a day ritual, posting a chapter for my fanfic on a weekly basis), I find ot diffuclt to say "Yes" to some actitvies which I know meets my commitment.

It's not that I don't want to, but I have been conditioned to always ask for approval from other people.

So I'm taking my baby steps to freedom. No one describes to you how hard it is, but I'd like to share mine.

Take this for example:

It was my good friend ate guil who tagged me this workshop. I was hesitant because I thought I still had graduate school classes for that day (thank God I don't). The one-day workshop costs Php 1,800.00, but I didn't mind shelling out some cash.

Watercolor isn't my favorite medium of choice. It's my weakness. But I won't let that stop me from learning, right? And besides, it's a perfect avenue to meet like-minded people!

Then came another workshop:

Last wednesday, Leanna and I went to Abreeza mall to shop and have a date. We purchased some pens and notebook when a rubber stamp set caught her eye. There was a lovely set with a travel theme. I knew it was perfect for her. She does love to travel and has a travel blog. But when we flipped the set, we were shocked at the price tag. Php 459 for a 3-piece set? No thanks.

So I told her that some people make their own stamps by carving erasers. Cool idea, huh? I don't know whether it was the universe conspiring for us, but as I checked I am Artisan's blog, she was planning to organize an Eraser carving workshop.

Naturally, I sent the link to Leanna and slept. She replied to me the next day and asked if we could go.

Immediately, I found myself hesitating. I planned to pay my school tuition that day. Plus, it was far. It's on another island (well, it's still near my city). What if my mom wouldn't agree? I could feel the conflict.

But I remembered my "new experiences for 2016" promise. I'd spent majority of my life stuck in my house. I needed to be like my japanese rpg heroes---they left their hometown to embark on a journey of self-discovery.

I still asked my mom for permission. To my immense relief, she said yes. I immediately texted Leanna, and 6 hours later, she paid for our slots! (Gotta pay her back on monday though)

So it looks like I'm going on another adventure this next weekend!

What to do when a Creative is an Approval Junkie

Sometimes I wonder whether a dream is worth fighting for. 

No, let me rephrase that. 

Sometimes, I wonder whether a dream is worth doing and living. 

I've increased my self-awareness throughout the years. It's not perfect. But I know I'm different than the girl I used to be. 

I realized that I'm an Approval Junkie. 

I used to post my works in various sites online to crave for feedback and approval. I admit that I was easily discouraged when I didn't get what I wanted. 

I had several webcomic projects which I discontinued because number of fans and reviews didn't meet my expectations. (shallow, huh?) After some time, I quit art and focused on my job. 

Yet that didn't really quenched the hunger in my soul-- to create. 

You can take the canvas away from the artist, but you can't take the artist away from the canvas.

A couple of weeks ago after I started my recap blog and my fiction, I had this dream which confirmed what I denied for some time:

I was browsing my twitter notifications. There was this one tweet that told me how brilliant I wrote  my characters and how engaging the story was. He ended it by saying he was awaiting the next update. Enthusiastically, I typed to respond and then I woke up. 

I tried to make sense of that dream with an ebook I bought online. Dreams are the unnconscious trying to tell us something for our benefit. Dreams use symbols to communicate with us. Every symbol is relative. What is the significance of the dream to my life? What is this dream trying to tell me? 

As I followed the step-by-step the exercises, this was the my interpretation:

I prioritize others' approval over my own approval. I value others' validation over my own validation. I prioritize others' appreciation over my appreciation. 

As usual, I reflected: well yes. I never did think highly of myself. I struggled with inferiority complex throughout my childhood. It's no surprise that it extended to how I treat my art. 

As suggested, I came with with this solution:

Before and After I publish my work, I will write my personal comment: congratulating myself and for the effort I made to create it. 

It's a weird ritual. But I feel how important it is to give my own cents before I allow others to tell theirs.To be honest, I've never praised or congratulated myself after making something. I always pinpoint its flaws and how awful it is. I would question whether "they" would like it.

I'm not writing to tell how weird I am,, I'm writing to tell the daily struggles of a person who wants to create something meaningful yet worries whether other people will declare it to have value or not. 

I can't speak for other creatives. But I can speak for myself. 

To conquer my issues, I choose to give myself the approval I seek first. then the rest follows. 

Day by day. 

========================================================================

Note: 

I've been obsessed with memes for the past few days. I've even incorporated it into my recap blog.

This was supposed to be a serious entry... but I couldn't resist and make fun of myself :)

Juggling Pains

1. It's hard to juggle a lot of stuff in your hands. 

2. But it's worth juggling, especially when it matters to you

Thoughts on a happy pomelo, Hugh MacLeod and Joseph Brodsky

1. I've drawn 50 stories in comic form already. Hurray!

2. Drew faces on a pomelo my boss gave me.  At least I have something to look at that makes me happy at work :)

3. I find it helpful to revolve my comics around a "theme". For today, I chose about becoming fit. It's easier to create a narratice about that.

4. I thought about what Joseph Brodsky wrote on "negativity" today. Choose to re-echo thoughts worth sharing.

5. It's tough to show up and sit down. Sometimes I want to sleep instead. But I remember the years I've told myself "i'll do this tomorrow"

6. Being anonymous is a blessing.

7. So my article.... was sent to more than 1,100,000 people. Oh great. Just great. Now it'll meet people who'll rip it to shreds  and tell me how immature it is ;D

8. I like reading Hugh MacLeod's books. Yep, gotta make my own Evil Plan.

9. "Some people will love or hate your Evil Plan. Some will love and be inspired by it. Some will hate and project their insecurities and inadequacies to it." ~ Evil Plan by Hugh MacLeod.

10. I've been sending fan letters, and it feels great to receive a reply! :)

Passion, success and creativity is subjective

1. Watched a couple of Ted talks today. Picked up some great insights!

2. While I was browsing 9gag, this thought entered my head: "it's easier mind others' business, to waste our time following the same routines, to hate and criticize rather doing something different and work that matters. "

3. So the sequel to Your Eyes on Me just flashed through my head while I was walking around the house. It was like watching a movie! 

4. It's a holiday on Thursday and Friday!

5. "Passion is not a plan or a job. It's a feeling. And feelings change."~Terri Trespicio

6. "Passion is the full force of the attention and energy you give to whatever is in fromt of you." ~ Terri Trespicio

7. Watched Terri Trespicio's Ted talk. It was all about passion. The topic was: stop searching for your passion. I just listened to her with an open mind. Had a couple of takeaways and realizations. Passion just got redefined. 

8. Passion is subjective. I guess a lot of things in life is subjective. Even success is subjective. One of our assistant regional director told us so. 

9. I'll adapt Trespicio's definition for Passion. It's the attention and energy I give to an activity. So right now, I can say that I'm passionate about making Ang Probinsyano recaps. I'm passionate about writing 10 ideas a day. I'm passionate about drawing comics. 

10. Let's redefine creativity too. I used to think it was this magical thingmajig that held the key to my problems. Turns out when you define something and stop focusing on it, things make sense. Since writing ideas for 8 months now, I've redefined creativity as an act of giving birth and nurturing ideas. It's also an act to solve problems with the ideas created and nurtured. Kinda sounds pragmatic, huh?

Analysis by Paralysis and my daily dispatch

1. Migraine knocked me out yesterday. I wasn't able to create my homework and my 10 daily comics. Goodbye to those lost panels... are they?

2. Today, I choose to show up. Why? Because it's one of my favorite mantras. "Show up!"

No matter how tiny or simple the project is, show up!

3. Today is my last day at graduate school. I actually finished second semester, despite wanting to give up 3 weeks earlier!

4. I crammed for a paper. Yep, I put if off for several weeks. I ignored it. Then the great day arrived when I woke up at 4am to do it. Still, I crammed from 4-6am. I was able to finish the paper from 6:45-7:40 am. Ohohoho!

5. I observed a couple of things while making the paper: I hesitated to encode anything because I was reading a lot of materials at the same time (8). I was confused. Didn't know where and how to extracr what I needed. That made me realize that I suck at multi-tasking. It's not my strength at all.

6. Number 5 is applicable to my side projects. I wasn't able to focus at class because I was bombarded with potential ideas for another story. It's an ff7 fiction (yep). "What if this happened, or what if the story went like this. Blah blah blah" . I wrote everything down on my jot down notebook. I'm working on one ff8 fiction, with a sequel to follow. While I did plan to write an ff7 fic, this second idea came like a storm. Whoooooa!

7. So I conducted my very first Idea Sex. Weird terminology. Learned it from James Altucher. But the essential idea is this : combine 2 different ideas to get new brand ideas. So I gave it a spin, and this was my output!

8. Since writing my morning pages, my penmanship has deteriorated. But I was able to get a neat idea! What if cats had a weapon attached to their tails?

So I drew it in while I was listening to my classmate's group report. It's... fugly. Ugly, I mean. Looks horrible, I know.

9. So I went viral. I knew my article was bound to meet someone who'd disagree with it. It finally did! And the person had the time and effort to write a lengthy piece on it, like wow!

10. "Nothing was going to change in my life unless I made it so" ~Nicolas Cole

Cole is one of the people I admire. I'm glad I discovered him and his life story. It's inspiring, especially the transformations he'd been through.

I like his writing style. I never get bored of it. Though some people think otherwise. When I learned he also dealt with people who outright told him he shouldn't write for "xxxx" reason, I felt some sort of camaraderie.

11. I discovered an enchanting webcomic at webtoons!

Siren's Lament and When Tangents Meet by instamiso

I love how music was incorporated into these webtoons. It makes the reading experience rich one!

But what particularly struck me when she revealed how she created When Tangents Meet, and what she had to deal with.

Another inspiration.

I suddenly felt a stir within me. To create a webtoon. Ah. Maybe. After I finish the fics. I promised myself I'd finish a project. YEOM is doing quite well.

No output for March 18

Had another migraine attack.

I chose sleeping over drawing and documenting what happened during Ang Probinsyano.

Then there's this review of literature that's due 3 hours from now.

Wow. Great! This is a real life example of what happens when you procrastinate and avoid homework---migraine attacks.

Seth Godin told me to SUSDA______

In his blog, Seth Godin writes about showing up, sitting down and (SUSDA) working or painting or *insert whatever activity".

In his book, "show your work!", Austin Kleon writes how its improtant to have a daily dispatch.

For Godin, the act of doing something is more important than the output.

For 2 days, I've drawn 22 single-panelled comics. It's the largest amount I've done since 2012. While I know it's very simple (bordering to ugly for some people), it's the very same reason why I keep the doing it.

It's too easy to make that it seems foolish not to do it.

Showing up everyday and sitting down on my chair to write and draw... it's a commitment, you know.

My endgame is to find my personal groove to create. And this commitment works for me! (Writing 10 ideas is a testament) i'm seeing results to meet my endgame.

My only challenge is whether I can make it sustainable... and the answer lies in the followimg days.

Tomorrow's another day. Another batch of comics and ideas about to be born.

Show up!

***

1. My fiction's getting some nice reviews. To be honest, I was really concerned about receiving those. I read somewhere in the net that when you take your focus off the reviews and focus on creating the product, the reviews will come to you.

2. Chapters 8, 9, 10 and 12 are already drafted! I have 11 and the epilogue waiting to be done! Whew!

3. Wrote 60 ideas on 6 different topics today. I had 2 great ideas to implement! Unfortunately, due to my limited attention span, I choose to focus on 2-3 projects at a time. My hands are full.

4. Cut and froze some bananas. I have plans to make a banana-based ice cream. Yummy!

5. Discovered an excellent webcomic in webtoons! (Siren's Lament). I never thought you could mix music comics together at the same time. The effect is devastating that it took my breathe away!

6. Made a voodoo doll and sealed it with Mod Podge. It looks great! Looks like I still have the skills. Took me 20-25 minutes to make one :D

7. Devoured/browsed through different art of local artists here in Davao. I'm blown away at their output. It's simply amazing. Nothing beats the feeling when you see amazing art!

8. Discovered a potential not-so time consuming past time thanks to number 7. While I do want to act on it now, I prefer to unload/finish a project before I embark on another one.

9. Projects projects projects. Side-projects? Life is fun when you're creating something.

10. Had a good home-workout! Committed to do 8 reps of negative pull-ups. I'm looking forward for the day i'll be able to pull myself over the bar!

Stickmen comics and other projects

I started to create comics with cute little stick guys.

This is the first comic I made since... 2012? I can't remember. It's been quite awhile.

Just wanted to go directly to its essence- to tell a story and have fun. 

I didn't resort to my manga style. I doubt if I can replicate what I did 4 years ago. I've changed.

But stick people's good. It's decent and easy to draw. I don't have to stress and demand from myself that it needs to be perfect.

I DID struggle on what scenario I'd draw for these guys. If I applied my 10 ideas a day thing, this would be equivalent to getting a good mental workout. I'm forced to churn ideas for thesw little guys to act.

One of my plans right now, is to fill a notebook with stick guy comics. I have a lot of pages to fill, but targetting 10 per day is a good start. I was able to fill 3 notepads with ideas since July 2015. Thought it would be a fun idea to do with comics :D

Today's a local holiday here. But I went to work because... I was one of the unfortunate ones  (kidding). That was a blessing in disguise though. Enrolled myself in a watercolor workshop with 20 other people. I think it's a perfect idea to get out of my hobbit hole. It was great meeting the owner of the shop too! I was like "whoa, I admire this person! I want to be like her one day".

Got a bunch of ideas while I had lunch too! Couldn't resist planning the initial steps for another project. I have one project that's about to end, and another that I think will last for another 2-3 months. The second one's difficult to maintain, but there are benefits to it!

 Overall, those two projects have surprised me, especially the first one.

I can actually commit and be consistent to a project once I see how it will end.

This new project isn't that time consuming. Once I've planned its contents, all I need to do is write it and I'm ready to ship it to the world! Hurrah!

I'm also thinking of what to do with this blog. I like posting here. Gives me a tangible body of work to show that "hey, I blog". It's just that... I'm not sure what the focus is. My other blog has a clear cut focus- a written documentation of a tv series.

This one's a repository of images, thoughts, essays and whatnot.

So while I finalize what to do with this one, I'd better take nap.

10 things I'm grateful for 3/15/16

1. Published the 7th chapter of an FF8 fanfiction;

2. Drafted 2/6 remaining chapters;

3. Wrote 80 ideas for today (this one not included);

4. Did almost 30 push ups yesterday;

5. Did negative pull-ups yesterday (arms feel sore);

6. Arrived early at work;

7. Published the 7th post in my episode recap blog;

8. Finished reading 2 Seth Godin's books;

9. Downloaded 3 more books to read; 

10. I have the cash enroll myself  for a watercolor workshop tomorrow :)

Status Unlocked: Idea Machine!

“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

― Maya Angelou

I used to think she was lying.

One day, I just grabbed my notebook and wrote 10 ideas. 

Eight months later, I'm continue to write. This time I average at 30-80 ideas a day. 

That's approximately 7,200 ideas to 19,200 ideas a day since I started.

I haven't stopped, nor do I have plans to stop. 

But the credit doesn't belong to Maya Angelou, she has only validated what James Altucher preached.

"Write 10 ideas a day until your head hurts. 

Do this daily. I guarantee you, you will become an Idea Machine"

The 10 ideas a day is part of the mental muscle of James Altucher's Daily Practice. 

To live holistically, you need to work on the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional parts in life. 

The purpose of writing 10 ideas is to strengthen your idea muscle. Think of it as bodybuilding.

A highly muscular body is capable of lifting heavier weights. 

A highly muscular idea muscle is capable of giving you ideas that could change your life. 

 10 life changes after using my Idea Muscle Daily

1. My head actually hurts with ideas. James wasn't kidding. 6 months into the practice, I thought nothing was going to happen. I persisted. On my 8th month, I can't sit still anymore. Ideas are sprouting like crazy!

2. I revived this blog. I abandoned this blog last year. I created another one but abandon it as well. I've abandoned a lot of blogs. One day, I had the idea to become a blogger, so I created a list of what 10 things I could do. One of the items that popped was to start posting again. 

3. I created another blog, an Episode Recap Blog. I was taking a bath when the idea of creating an episode recap blog for popular TV series in my country. I immediately turned to my list and wrote the first 10 steps to make it a reality. It's now live. I don't get paid for it. It's a labor of love. But it DID teach me what it takes to conceptualize and execute your ideas. Now THAT is valuable.

4. I've learned to embrace the bad ideas. I was a serial perfectionist. I still am. But it's not worst as it used to be. Writing 10 ideas a day gave me the opportunity to accept that I can create "bad ideas". I was allergic to them by the way. Eventually, I realized that we don't progress in life because we're stuck. We're stuck in that sea which rejects bad ideas. I've finally learned to befriend them. A million thanks to that.

5. When I'm stuck, I turn to my list. Corollary to Number 4, I've finally gained the confidence to trust in my ideas. Good or bad. I need to start somewhere, and the list is perfect for that. 

6. When I need solutions, I turn to my list. 10 ways to approach to this person. 10 things to say. 10 memes to create. I don't care if it sounds stupid, insane or bad. As long as I can generate and hit my quota, that's what counts.

7. When I don't know what to do, I turn to my list. 10 first steps. 10 things I've always been doing. 10 things I haven't done yet. I unintentionally killed my drawing habit when I started my Morning Pages routine. To rekindle it, I created a new routine: "10 illustrations ideas for ______". Writing is one thing. Drawing is another different thing. It's harder. Without the 10 ideas-a-day format, this wouldn't have been possible.

8. I cannot think properly unless I write my list. One of my morning rituals at work, aside from the Morning Pages, is to write "10 things I'm grateful for today". Before my evening ends, I create another list for that. Not only do I exercise my mental leg of the Daily Practice, but I also exercise the Spiritual one. 

9. I've started to create and execute what I write in my list. By this time, I've created the confidence to produce like crazy. In one writing gig, the other party asked for suggestions on articles to write. I gave him 10 ideas. He liked one and asked me to write it. The only problem was I didn't write it. I didn't like the topic he chose. Number 3 is the perfect example. It started with an idea and I wrote the steps to make it a reality.

10. I now evangelize people to this practice. In case you don't know, I discovered James Altucher in Quora. For every other question I answer, I introduce the Daily Practice, especially the 10 ideas concept. Because it actually works. I want them to experience the good things that happened to me as well.

Has the practice converted me to a millionaire? Has the practice allowed me to quit my job?

Not yet. But I'm hopeful.

Being an Idea Machine is just the beginning. 

Grab a sheet of paper and start your own 10 ideas a day! 

FPJ's Ang Probinsyano Recap Blog *bow*

I looked around and found none. 

So I decided to make a recap blog.

Even if my puppy bit my right forefinger, I continued to type. I listened, as if I was listening to the minutes of the meeting. I watched and listened, even if I wanted to throw my slipper every time I saw Joaquin with Carmen.

This is a big project. It's hard. Nobody tells you how difficult and time-consuming it is. But I tell you. I love to read. I want to watch. I'm an not contented with what I see on tv. I scourge the net for other reading materials about what interests me.

And this is why I started this side project.

I know that there are people out there... who love to seek products related to their beloved obsession series.

This is for you.

Until I can keep it up.

3 Reasons why Dreamscape is pushing Joaquin X Carmen in Ang Probinsyano

"Even typing Joaquin's name makes me sick." 

After watching half-way the infamous March 1, 2016 episode, "#FPJAPPagnanasa", I decided to take a break. I will watch this show after it has end (Iwantv, anyone?)

It is too much, that's all I can say.
My sanity cannot handle it-- I cannot handle what the writers are doing to Bela Padilla's character, "Carmen".

For the uninitiated, I'm talking about a popular ABS-CBN Telerserye titled, "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano". The main premise of the story is that the estranged twin "Cardo" assumes the role of his twin brother, Police Senior Inspector Dominador "Ador" De Leon who was killed in action. Coco Martin plays the role of both twins.

Ador was killed in cold blood by his fellow Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) "bok", Police Inspector Joaquin Tuazon, played by Arjo Atayde.

Ador is survived by his widow and young son, Carmen and Junior, respectively played by Bela Padilla and Lei Andrei Navarro.

To make the long story short, after a series of misunderstandings, fights and kidnappings, Carmen grows to love Cardo, but it is unrequited.

Unfortunately for her, her husband's killer falls in love and becomes obsessed with her.

While it is an interesting story event, not all CarCar "Cardo-Carmen" fans are pleased.

Here are some thoughts on why the writers are pushing Carmen away from Cardo.

1. It's an interesting plot device. 

The villain kills the hero...only to fall in love with the hero's wife. 

Ah, this is what makes bodice-ripper readers from the 70s-80s swoon. Some heroes from that time can be such anti-heroes, or villains who parade as heroes. But this is not that era anymore,  and this show is not a bodice-ripper. This is a story about a young policeman living his dream to serve his country, and search for his twin's killer.

The goal of this story is to have rightful justice for Ador's death.

Now that Diego is killed, what wonderful way to make the story go forward to reach its goal?

Let Joaquin fall in love with Carmen.

This plot device is a predictable one, but interesting. It was very obvious-- the moment Joaquin pestered Carmen to discover "Ador's Secret", I told myself: This man will fall in love with her: either he will redeem himself, or he will go to hell.

True enough, he does fall in love become obsessed with her.

I don't know about you, but for me, when the heroes discover that it was Joaquin who killed Ador, it's the start of "Game Over". The story will commence its last phase.

Now, I mentioned that this device is interesting. How so?

Because of the conflict it creates for Joaquin! 

Make the villain fall madly and deeply in love with the woman ,whose husband he killed in cold blood.

Now, watch what happens when this woman discovers the truth.

Watch how will this man try to placate the aggrieved woman. 

"Hell hath no fury for a woman scorned."

Say hello to Beast Mode Carmen, Joaquin!

2. It is the beginning of Joaquin's Road to redemption

Road to Hell.

In some romance novels, the villanous hero falls in love with the heroine, and through this love,  changes him.  Depending on how good the writer is, the reader will start to root for the anti-hero and to hope he gets his "happily ever after".

In this story, that isn't the case... is it?

Joaquin was created to be Cardo/Ador's antithesis. He was created to kill Ador, and Carmen was created to kill him as well. Kill him how, exactly?

In the most excruciating way, especially as how the story is unfolding now... it involves, Carmen's affections.

As of the last episode I watched, Joaquin's character development is now tied to Carmen. (Ugh!). It is the beginning of the road to his personal hell. Now that he has fallen in love with her and is vying for her affection, it will certainly affect his character once Carmen discovers the truth.

A. He dies and Carmen does not forgive him.

Either he is killed in action, or he sacrifices himself to protect Carmen from death. (This is a probable scenario). This is a sweet ending for those who hate his character. He dies without being forgiven by the woman he loves. 

B. He dies and Carmen forgives him. 

This is a half-hearted ending. Why does she have to forgive him anyway? Because it's the Christian thing to do?

C. He doesn't die and Carmen doesn't forgive him.

The Road to Joaquin's Personal Hell. How does one go on living, knowing that the person you loved knew what you did wrong, and will never forgive you for it? Not even his death could atone his guilt for it.

D. He doesn't die and Carmen forgives him.

No, just no. Don't do this, Dreamscape, please.

The big question is.... will he still end up with her? This is the multi-million question that CarCar fans (such as I) would vehemently answer answer NO.

Should the writers decide to redeem his character in the end (God know how the writers will pull this off. Maybe the option B choice?), this is still the first step for Joaquin to take.

Depending on them, Carmen will EVENTUALLY discover that he killed Ador in cold blood, and drugged her. This is an ending I anticipate, especially after that blasted March 1 episode.

And I'm excited for Beast Mode Carmen, whoo!

3. Make way, make way for CarGlen!

Before Ang Probinsyano was shown, I learned Angeline Quinto was pulled out, and Maja Salvador replaced her. Apparently, Maja was going to be his leading lady. Well, the Bela is the love team of the deceased twin. and it's all about Cardo-Glen, right?

I was "meh" about them. They were paired in "Minsan Lang kita Iibigin", and some people actually liked their tandem. I didn't, but hey, that's just my opinion.

I was ready to embrace Cocojam....until I saw Bela Padilla act with Coco Martin-- and it took my breath away!

 I remember telling myself, It's too bad they aren't the love team, they have wonderful chemistry!

After the March 1 episode, it's probable that Carmen will distance herself from Cardo, thinking and feeling she is unworthy of him after Joaquin date-raped her.

Now that the coast is clear, Glen finally has a shot a Cardo.. but does she?

You can feel the anger and hatred of the CarCar fans online after happened to Bela's character.

Fans shout that it was a bad way to write her off from having something wonderful with Cardo. Some fans claim it's bias and black propaganda, painting the one black to make the other white.

I'm not sure if this work, or if this is the plan. This is just the perspective of emotionally affected viewers who have grown to love Carmen.

Either way, the writers are pushing Carmen to Joaquin, and Joaquin to Carmen.
There's nothing we can do but watch.

And I choose to watch when Carmen will finally discover the truth.

I wonder when that will happen though. It's 115 episodes so far. This is a popular teleserye and ABS might milk it for all its worth.

I guess it will last from 150-200 episodes.

Let's see. Only time will tell.

****

*I made an episode recap blog for Ang Probinsyano

But kudos to Arjo Atayde! My disguist with him reflects his skill as an actor. He gives justice to his role!

Kudos to the writers, for making me care for Carmen (whom I believed they intended to be a side-character).

Kudos to ABS-CBN for producing a wonderful story.

Now, please,... just please, GIVE CARMEN BACK TO CARDO!

*pictures taken from test.entertainment.abs-cbn.com


                                  ********

Another note: 

Are you interested to grow and be nourished spiritually, AND financially? 

Then becoming a Truly Rich Club Member might be just the perfect solution for you! 

Click here to learn the blessings you'll receive once you're a member. 

10 illustration ideas: cactus

"Come up with 10 ideas, until you feel your brain sweat"

-James Altucher

I have no problems with writing 10 ideas a day. But I'm starting to feel my brain sweat when it comes to drawing 10 ideas of something.

Not only am I developing my ability to think of something, but I'm also developing my conceptualizing ability!

It's easy to write 10 ideas for a new cellphone design. But it's difficult to draw what those design looks like.

This is what James Altucher is advocating. Exercise the idea muscle until it hurts.
I call it exercising the visual idea muscle until it hurts.

...even if the idea sounds or looks bad.

10 illustration ideas: water bottles

Just had another migraine attack. Gotta sleep and recover!

10 illustration ideas: Chairs

"KEEP THOSE ILLUSTRATIONS COMING!"