Plugging: My second screenplay

But the first one to be produced. Co-written with Dindo Perez (co-writer, Till There was You) and Temi Abad (co-writer, Tanging Ina), this screenplay was the source of my stress and anxiety from August-October. Whew, I never imagined it would be that exhausting and draining. Afterall. I did my first screenplay in a breeze (I Love You... Goodbye, to star Aga Muhlach, Regine Velasquez and Judy Ann Santos; co-written with Mitchiko Yamamoto [Magnifico, Maximo Oliveros]). Sadly, Joyce (Bernal, director for both movies, whom I met many many moons ago when she was assistant editor and I was trailer copywriter) is still negotiating with a producer to make it real. Discussing both experiences with her at the set of Don't Give Up On Us, she said the two were extremes, one painful and the other painless. And neither one is the norm.

Anyway, Don't Give Up On Us is from a story by Enrico Santos and marks the return of the Piolo-Juday loveteam to the big screen. Shot in the majestic mountains of Banaue and Sagada, it opens January 8 in theaters in Metro Manila.

This low-res poster is the only image I have and I guess only I can discern my name on it (middle portion, fifth line, between Dindo's & Temi's.)

I hope you can spare less than two hours of your precious time to watch it :-)

Tree Trinkets

Since I fell in love with beads, I tried to find ways to incorporate them into diferent elements in the house. Not all of them were successful but one of the better effects was on the Christmas tree. I thought, instead of just hanging the balls on the thin gold string that came with the box of balls, why not use nylon string and add some beads? That way, the string is not just functional but decorative as well.

Code Red Issue 6

Check out Code Red's October-December issue, now on sale at National Bookstore and Powerbooks. This quarter's theme: FOCUS. You'll find inspiring articles by Pia Gutierrz, Claire Lopez, Ella Carlos, Rex Dalistan, Amb. Jesus Tambunting, Conrad Virina, Fr. Armand Robleza, Miriam Quiambao-Rondinelli, Josh San Pedro, Myke Celis and more.

Code Red, consistently a labor of love, blood, sweat and tears :-) is a family values magazine and is published by Salesiana.

m-o-v-i-n-g

beginning today, all beadmama posts are moving to its own blog!!!

beadmama.blogspot.com

watch out for new announcements here about what's happening out there.

meanwhile, carolcreates.blogspot.com stays open for other creations.

thanks for visiting and come back soon :-)

Coming soon

From pretty simple to pretty beaded! Coming soon to BEADmama's Christmas Collection!

Pretty as a postcard

The third edition BEADmama catalog. Watch out for new stocks by Sept. 15.

Tropical punch

Walk the talk, skip classes, jump the gun and run into friends in these yummy beads the color of old-fashioned Charms candies, in cherry, berry, orange, lime, grape and lemon flavors.

Available to candy lovers of all feet sizes.

Best FEET forward

My days are much longer... and happier since I started beading rubber flip flops.

And it all began when a friend casually mentioned that this time next year (it was the height of summer then) I'd probably be beading flip flops. Hmmm, I thought, why wait till next summer?

I bought a couple of pairs of rubber slippers, brought out my bead boxes, dug out a Japanese beading mag and in less than an hour, I had made my very first piece (not pair yet) of 'art to be stepped on.' BUT I had a major problem attaching the beads. You see, I first made a bracelet pattern, intending to 'mighty bond' it on the strap of the flip flops later on. But the stubborn glass beads won't stick to the rubber!!!

And so my first experiment was a beautiful failure that I sheepishly showed off to the same friend the very next day. Happily she (and a few others) saw the silver lining behind it. That same night, I shoved the glue away and harnessed the rusty sewing skills that had more that once gave me the highest grades in Word Education.

In no time, my flip flops were selling like fishballs :-) and I had a 2-week backlog on orders!

And I 've said many times, I'd rather be doing this but it is the writing that feeds the passion. So friends when your orders are taking some time, there must be a script, a concept, or a magazine article getting in the way.

My wish is to one day meet a total stranger walking proudly (stylishly and comfortably as well) while wearing a pair BEADmama flip flops.

yahoooooo!!!

A new post! Without downloading Hello!

I'm ecstatic to discover Blogger Images! Now all I need to do is upload photos from my iBook!

Speaking of iBook, I (and the rest of my family) are so in love with it. Only two months old, I take my baby everywhere with me, even to the foot spa today.

But what's been keeping me sooooo super busy? BEADmama, that's what! I'm mama to more babies--- funky flip flops in various colors that send everyone oohing in delight. I love it that they love it!

More photos when I've uploaded my other babies!

April

The April issue of Code Red has been out since mid-March, our 4th issue for the year. (Sorry no snapshot of the cover... I still need to reinstall my Canon & Hello programs.)

Seems only a year ago when I got a call exactly at the same place where I've been spending the last couple of months (CD-ing at an ad agency). Yes I've had long, not-so-secretly wished to be part of a magazine, and I took to Code Red not exactly like duck to water but more like duck to frying pan :-)

Four issues and three art directors later, we're sort of finding our groove. Yes the typo errors are still there (hu hu) but we're starting to get noticed by getting emails and text messages acknowledging our existence. Oh what joy to receive them!

Please help us spread the word about Code Red, and allow us into homes and schools so we can touch more families. Code Red is available at major National Bookstore Branches, Powerbooks Megamall and Page One, and is also available for browsing at many branches of Starbucks.

Reality Bites

It's been hell... my PC crashed again... for like the 5th time in 2 months!!! I felt like I lost a limb, and half of my brain as well. Which made me realize what was non-existent 15 years ago: I need a computer for my sanity! And my job of course. Gone are the days when I can write all my ideas by hand (I did write a radio script the other night but I still need to type it so I can print it out.

Hmmm... maybe my 5-year old PC has been smelling that I've been eyeing an iBook, hehe... nagtatampo???

The Wedding Sun

Photogenic Sunset  This sunset actually looks better in this photo than it did yesterday. Taken during the wedding cocktails, I was disappointed that the sky didn't turn robust orange and magenta, two colors from the bride's palette. I guess this was one detail she neglected to color-coordinate :-)

Wedding bounty

Flowers at the wedding 

Yesterday, we attended a wedding that lasted for more than 8 hours!!! The newlyweds were so grateful for the time their friends and family shared with them, and showered us with little gifts: fans and bottled water in church, CDs, cabbage rose brooches, sugared gum candies, a miniature cake, and floral centerpieces to take home! This was part of my bounty!

Bugged!

pastel butterfly

Nope this winged beauty did not hatch from a caterpillar... just from two "kalyos" on my fingers caused by all the wire twisting and turning...

beauty and the bee

These two bugs, along with some friends, are flying to LA tomorrow to have a "go see!"
A friend's cousin is taking them to a debutante who is scouting for favors for her party next month. I hope she gets bitten by the bug bug!

Pinoy 'to!

Check out my son's article in the January-March issue of Code Red,
now available in National Bookstore branches.

Full Moon, Cloudy Skies

The only photo that came out fine was, of course, this panoramic shot of the full moon, taken by my son who's more fascinated with crescents.

Boo hoo bad photos

Two weeks ago, I took pains to shoot the yummy pots of lip gloss that I made as gifts for my daughter's friends. Yuckk, the photos were bad. But I was not alarmed. I'll do it another time, I said.

Last week, I took photos of some bracelets during a jewelry-making class I joined. Yuckk, bad photos again.

Last weekend, I took a dramatic shot of my daughter, sunlight streaming in from the window blinds, casting rows of stripes on her face. The photo looked good in the LCD.

The other night, the family went off to dinner and we took photos of each other after a hearty Japanese meal.

Yesterday I uploaded them and they were just about the ugliest, badly-focused shots I've ever taken in my entire like. Geez, something might be wrong with my camera, 11 months old and so terribly loved.

Last night, while waiting for my son in school, it came to me like a bolt of lightning: THE SETTINGS! Someone must have changed the settings! (Tamad me has always used the Auto mode.) True enough, when I checked, it was on panoramic mode. No wonder our faces looked like the Sierra Madre, hehe.

Trust

January issue

Finally, after a few glitches, Code Red's Jan-March (issue 3) is off the press!
Check it out at all National Bookstore branches.

Lamp charm

in use
Last night, friend R who received a lamp charm from friend P sent me a text message saying she loved the lamp charm she received but she had no idea how to use it!

Haha, the lamp charm was actually friend P's bright idea, after seeing the bag charm postcards I sent out. I just made the chain longer and added more beads. It can be hung from the base of the shade of on the neck or stand of the lamp.

The charm is actually very versatile and can accessorize many other things. Your imagination is the limit...

Turn to page 87

The Vow

Over a month ago, I was requested to write about a widowed friend. This is a story about how one commitment can last beyond a lifetime...
“Pag laki natin, tayo pa rin ha?” This is the first vow Marvin Monteagudo and Cynthia Suazo took in Grade One. They grew up, and after finishing college, Marvin and Chat honored their childhood pact.

To have and to hold
The vow was made official in 1990. Marvin then had a regular office job at a huge corporation, while Chat’s job as a broadcast producer took her away from home often.

Yet Chat and Marvin were not unlike any other couple with big dreams for their family. They were blessed with a son, Gio. They built a home in 1992. Chat moved to a new job and got her first car. Then the fights began. Marvin resented being at the mercy of her unpredictable schedule. But despite the growing tension between them, they were blessed with two girls, Gianna and Jari.

When Marvin became an IT Manager at a shipping and forwarding company, the job gave him a new car, took him to regional hubs abroad. He had a brand new status. Chat, meanwhile was lured back to the advertising firm she once worked for and earned a promotion. The children attended exclusive schools and wore expensive clothes. They family had a new lifestyle.
By then they realized that the more they had, the less they saw of each other. By 1999, Chat and Marvin had decided to live separate lives. Yet the children, who had gotten so used to their parents’ absence, had no inkling of what was going on.

In sickness and in health
A year later, Chat arrived home to find Marvin in bed, in tears. He embraced her and said, “I’m sick, very, very sick.” He had collapsed at work the day before. A colonoscopy revealed a huge tumor in his colon. A biopsy of the mass told them he had Stage 3 cancer.

Chat decided to become a wife again. She asked for a lighter workload, drove him to chemo sessions and nursed Marvin day and night. The hardest part was maintaining a façade for the children. Marvin did not want the kids to see him in his helpless state. His biggest fear was depriving them of the comforts they were accustomed to.

By 2001, Marvin’s cancer had metastasized to his lungs and other organs. After he was taken to the hospital, the children were finally allowed to visit their sick father. One afternoon Marvin slipped into a coma, and passed away the next day.
Till Death Do Us Part A week after his remains were interred in their hometown, Chat took the children for an enjoyable vacation in Hong Kong. In their minds, Marvin was just far away, busy at work. Chat coped by going full-blast at her work. Her friends held her hand, and took her for pampering sessions.
While Gianna and Jari seemed to cope well, continuing to excel in school and active in extra-curricular activities, Gio who was far from okay. From being in the Top Three in his class, he slipped out of the Top Ten. He complained of headaches, stomachaches, every possible ache. The doctors could find nothing wrong, and it seemed Gio was disturbed and begging for attention. One day some months after his father’s death, on the long drive from home to school, Gio began to ask questions. “Matagal na bang maysakit si Papa? Ano’ng sakit niya?” It was like a knife slicing through Chat’s heart. She knew that Gio wanted to know why he was left in the dark about his own father’s condition; why he wasn’t allowed to spend his father’s last days with him.

To love and to cherish Chat has since become more involved with her children. Work has taken a back seat, and Chat opted to work freelance giving her the freedom to decline projects that might take her away from her children too long. Looking back, Chat shares the three biggest lessons she learned from her ordeal.
Money is not everything. Time spent together is much, much more important.
Don’t keep your grief bottled up inside. Seek comfort in the love of your family, your children. No hand is too small to provide warmth.
Show your love more. Because you will meet many men but there will never be another man as smart, as funny, as true to your heart as him.

Today, the Monteagudos are moving on. They live their lives one day at a time and continue to welcome changes in their lives. Chat, Gio, Gianna and Jari sleep well at night, knowing that Marvin is happily watching over them, saying, “Tayo pa rin, ha?”

Whatta season!

I think I have never done and not done as many stuff as I have these past two months. Like?
Attended two reunions (work and high school).
Made hundreds of bag charms and tens of bracelets (I have kalyo on my fingers!)
Filled hundred of pots of yummy lip balm (post coming soon!)
Filled up my Beauty Bar card for a planner (yey!)
Half-reviewed not-so-little girl for her exams (she got a perfect score in Reading (double yey!)
Edited over 10 articles.
Wrote 2 Christmas party scripts, 5 concepts, 1 brochure, 2 AVPs, 2 magazine articles.
Delivered almost a hundred kilos of steak.
Attended 1 Simbang Gabi.
Watched 1 movie on the big screen, 2 movies on DVD.
Stocked up on Toscana Caesar's Salad Dressing.
Lost my Bloom lip, cheek & eye tint (hu hu hu)
Attended 2 parent-teacher conferences, 1 Reading of Honors, 3 parties and 1 wake.
Helped sell 1 lot.
Experimented with wire jewelry.
Hang Christmas balls on beaded strings (and took no photo at all!)
Texted tons of messages.
Played badminton once.
Wrapped many gifts.
Opened not so many gifts.
Took hundreds of pictures.
Chopped countless tomatoes, onions and wansoy for salsa.
Cooked pasta twice.
Ate too much :-(
Spent too much :-(

Made no seven treasures chocolates.
Made no trip to the rubber stamp maker.

Happy New Year! 

I'm back!

beaded drape detail
The next entries will justify my absence for an entire month!!!
One very much appreciated creation was this beaded drape around the not-so-little girl's elevated bed. It was fairly simple to do: about 5 yards of meant-for-giftwrap tulle, four hooks, a stretch of thin silver chain and lots of beads leftover from the bag charms project.

Now she feels like a princess!

how she loves it 

her kingdom