heller, stranger

Submitted by: untamedphoenix
Posted at: 2011-09-29 13:08:58
See full post and comment: http://9gag.com/gag/300402

FEBRUARY 2012
The Love Month!

2 FEAST OF NUESTRA SENORA DE LA CANDELARIA or "OUR LADY OF CANDLES." | Tuesday (Every 2nd of Feb) | Jaro, Iloilo
Western Visayas celebrates the Patroness of their region.

9-12 HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA | Thursday to Sunday  | Clark, Angeles, Pampanga
Watch the awesome hot air balloons fly out as the sun rises in the horizon.

11 FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES |  Saturday (Every 11th of February) 
Celebration of the Our Lady of Lourdes' Apparitions to  Saint Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France 

14 HAPPY VALENTINES' DAY! | Tuesday (Every 14th of Feb) | Philippines
Filipino lover's most romantic event of the year!

22 ASH WEDNESDAY | Philippines
The First Day of Lenten Season in the Philippines

25 EDSA REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY | Saturday (Every 25th of February) | Philippines
School Holiday. Commemorates the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that Filipinos came to known for.

26 PANAGBENGA - BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL 2012 |Sunday | Baguio City
Also known as the Baguio Flower Festival which showcases the City of Baguio as a City of Flowers.

29 LEAP DAY | Wednesday (every 4 years) | Philippines
2012 is a leap year and February 29 occurs every four years.  

MARCH 2012
Best Time to go watch and shoot the awesome Manila sunset!
Start of the Donsol Season in Bicol!

31 EARTH HOUR 2012 | Saturday 8.30pm-9.30pm | Philippines
Cities and towns all over the world will switch off their lights for one hour—EARTH HOUR—sending a powerful global message that it is possible to take action on global warming. 

25 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION | Sunday (Every 25th of March)
Feast commemorating the announcement of Angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God.  This is celebrated 9 full months before Christmas. 

APRIL 2012
The Peak Time in Boracay.

*** April 5-9 | 5 Days Long Weekend! *** 

1-8 HOLY WEEK! | Philippines
Philippines' most sacred week!

5 MAUNDY THURSDAY | Thursday | Philippines
Regular Holiday. Commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.

6 GOOD FRIDAY | Friday | Philippines
Regular Holiday. Commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus at Calvary.

6 MORIONES FESTIVAL | Friday | Marinduque
Re-enact the story of Longinus, a Roman centurion who speared the crucified body of Jesus Christ.

6 CUTUD CRUXIFIXIONS | Friday | Pampanga
The old tradition of dramatizing the passion and death of Jesus Christ (called Via Crusis) was played out on the streets leading to the crucifixion site before the 1pm Crucifixion. 

7 FEAST DAY OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE | Saturday (Every 7th of April) 
Celebration of the feast day of the Patron Saint of Teachers and Founder of Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. 

8 EASTER SUNDAY | Sunday | Philippines
Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

9 BATAAN DAY (ARAW NG KAGITINGAN) | Monday (Every 9th of April)
Regular Holiday. Araw ng Kagitingan

15 FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY | Sunday | Plenary Indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday
The soul that will go to confession and receive holy communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment!

22 EARTH DAY 2012 | Sunday (Every 22nd of April) | Philippines 
A day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment

MAY 2012
National-wide celebration of Flores de Mayo / Santacruzan.

*** April 28 - May 1 | Possible 3-4 Days Long Weekend! *** 

1 LABOR DAY | Tuesday (Every 1st of May) | Philippines 
Regular Holiday. National Labor Day!

13 HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! | 2nd Sunday of May | Philippines
An annual celebration to pay tribute to all the awesome mothers!

15 PAHIYAS 2012 | Tuesday (Every 15th of May) | Lucban, Quezon
An annual celebration held to usher in a bountiful harvest and smashing good times.

17-19 OBANDO FERTILITY RITES 2012 | Thursday-Saturday (Every 17th for St. Paschal, 18th for St. Clare, 19th of May for the Our Lady of Salambao) | Obando, Bulacan
Massive numbers of men and women dance towards the town church praying for a wife, husband or a child. 

28 NATIONAL FLAG DAY | Monday (Every 28th of May) | Manila
Start of the designated flag days where all government offices, business establishments, and private homes are also encouraged to display the flag.

JUNE 2012
Time to show your love for the Philippines by putting a flag on your home, car, and shirts.

*** June 9-12 | Possible 4 Days Long Weekend! *** 

12 PHILIPPINE'S INDEPENDENCE DAY | Tuesday (Every 12th of June) | Philippines
Regular Holiday. Commemorates the Independence Day of the Philippines from the Spaniards

17 HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! | 3rd Sunday of June | Philippines
An annual celebration to pay tribute to all the awesome fathers! 

19 BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. JOSE RIZAL | Tuesday (Every 19th of June) | Philippines
(proposed legislation to declare a working holiday)

24 FEAST DAY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST | Sunday (Every 24th of June) | San Juan
Feast of St. John the Baptist where it is celebrated with showering people with water

24 PARADA NG LECHON FESTIVAL  | Sunday (Every 24th of June) | Balayan, Batangas
A Lechon Parade celebrating the Feast of St. John the Baptist in Balayan Batangas

29 PINTADOS/ KASADYAAN FESTIVAL 2012 | Friday (Every 29th of June) |Tacloban
Feast of the Señor Santo Niño de Leyte 

JULY 2012
Start of the Rainy Season in the Philippines.

11 FEAST DAY OF ST. BENEDICT | Wednesday (Every 11th day of July) 
Celebration of the feast day of the Patron Saint of Europe and the Students, and the Father of Western Monasticism. 

22 BOHOL SANDUGO FESTIVAL 2012 | Tagbilaran, Bohol
This festival commemorates the treaty of friendship between Datu Sikatuna, a native chieftain and the Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi, representing the king of Spain.

26 FEAST DAY OF SAINT ANNE | Thursday (Every 26th of July) 
Celebration of the feast day of the Mother of Mama Mary

31 FEAST DAY OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA | Friday (Every 31st of July) 
Celebration of the feast day of the Father General of the Jesuits. A 30-day retreat follows the celebration. 
 
 

AUGUST 2012
The Best Time to go on a wild river ride.

14 UGU BIGYAN's BIRTHDAY SALE | Tuesday (Every 14th of August) |  Tiaong, Quezon
49% Discount on Ugu Bigyan's Pottery (discount is equivalent to his age)

15 ASCENCION OF MOTHER MARY INTO HEAVEN | Wednesday (Every 15th of August)

19 KADAYAWAN SA DABAW 2012 | Sunday | Davao City
This festival gives thanks to the bounty of fruits and flowers as the waling-waling orchid blooms.

*** August 18-21 | Possible 3-4 Days Long Weekend! *** 

19 EID'L FITR | Sunday
A Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan.
(Calculated date for 2012 pending proclamation).

21 NINOY AQUINO DAY | Tuesday (Every 21st of August)
Regular Holiday. Commemorating the Death of Ninoy Aquino

*** August 25-27 | 3 Days Long Weekend! *** 

27 NATIONAL HEROES' DAY | Last Monday of August
Regular Holiday. Commemorates the "Cry of Pugad Lawin" by Filipino revolutionaries called the Katipunan

29 KAGAY-AN FESTIVAL - FEAST DAY OF ST. AUGUSTINE | Saturday (Every 28th of August) | Cagayan de Oro City
Feast of St. Augustine in Cagayan de Oro City 

SEPTEMBER 2012
The Best Time to go to Divisoria for Christmas shopping and preparations.

8 MOTHER MARY'S BIRTHDAY | Saturday (Every 8th of September) 

9 HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY! | Sunday (Every 2nd Sunday of September)
An annual celebration to pay tribute to all the awesome grandparents!  

14 FEAST OF THE TRIUMPH OF THE HOLY CROSS | Friday (Every 14th of September) 
Public exposition and Veneration of the RELIC OF THE TRUE CROSS OF CHRIST at the Servants of the Risen Christ Monastery in Tarlac.

15 PENAFRANCIA VIVA LA VIRGEN 2012 | Saturday (Every 3rd Saturday of September) | Naga City
Bicol Region's biggest celebration is highlighted by a fluvial parade of Lady of Penafrancia carried through the river aglow with floating candles.

23 FEAST DAY OF PADRE PIO | Sunday (Every 23th of September) 
Feast of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

29 ILIGAN FIESTA - FEAST DAY OF ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL |  Saturday (Every 29th of September) | Iligan City
Feast of St. Michael the Archangel Celebration in Iligan City

OCTOBER 2012
Surfing Season in the Philippines.

1 THE FEAST OF ST. THERESE OF CHILD JESUS | Monday (Every 1st of October) 
Feast of Saint Therese of the Little Flower.

4 THE FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI | Thursday (Every 4th of October) 
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Animals. Pet blessings are held to celebrate his feast. 

5 WORLD'S TEACHERS DAY | Friday (Every 5th of October) 
Happy Teachers Day to honor the noble profession of teaching. 

20-21 MASKARA FESTIVAL 2012 | Saturday - Sunday (3rd Weekend of October) |  Bacolod
The festival that made Bacolod famous began as an event to inspire the locals to face the hard times with a smiling face, thus masks with smiling faces are worn by revelers who join the parade. 

*** October 26-28 | Possible 3 Days Long Weekend! *** 

26 EIDUL ADHA | Friday
Muslim Holiday celebrating Abraham's obedience when he was willing to sacrifice his son Ishmael. (calculated date for 2012 pending proclamation) 

27-28 LANSONES FESTIVAL 2012 | Saturday - Sunday (Last Weekend of October) | Camiguin
A grand celebration of the lanzones fruit in the island of Camiguin. 

NOVEMBER 2012
Halloween!

*** November 1 - 4 | Possible 3-4 Days Long Weekend! *** 

1 ALL SAINT'S DAY | Thursday | Regular Holiday

2 ALL SOUL'S DAY | Friday

13 DIWALI FESTIVAL | Tuesday
Indian New Year Festival of Lights

23 HIGANTES FESTIVAL 2012 | Friday (Every 23rd of November)  | Angono, Rizal
Male devotees carry the image of San Clemente in a procession that features parehadoras, clad in colorful garb and wooden shoes, and carrying boat paddles and higantes (giants) 10 feet tall papier mache puppets.

23-25 MAHARLIKA SUNRISE FESTIVAL | Friday-Sunday | Roving Festival
The Sunrise Festival is a celebration of arts for service and blessedness held annually in the different regions of Maharlika (Philippines).

28 HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY! | Thursday (Every last Thursday of November)

23-25 KERYGMA CONFERENCE 2012 | Manila | Kerygma Conference
The Biggest Catholic Charismatic Event in the Country

*** November 30-December 2 | 3 Days Long Weekend! *** 

30 BONIFACIO DAY | Friday (Every 30th of November) | Philippines
Regular Holiday. Birth Anniversary of Andres Bonifacio 

DECEMBER 2012
Christmas Season in the Philippines.

1 ANNUAL CULTURAL TOUR OF NEGROS | Saturday | Bacolod
Longest running cultural tour in the country by Ramon H. Hofileña.

8 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION | Tuesday (Every 8th of December) | HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION

8 ANNUAL CULTURAL TOUR OF NEGROS | Saturday | Bacolod
Longest running cultural tour in the country by Ramon H. Hofileña.

15 GIANT LANTERN FESTIVAL 2012 | San Fernando, Pampanga
A Show-Off of Kapampangan Pride culminated with a display of Giant Lanterns measuring 18 feet in diameter.

16 SIMBANG GABI | Sunday (9 days before Christmas)
Start of early morning vigil 9 days before Christmas

16 OBLATION RUN | Sunday (Every 16th of December) | University of the Philippines
The annual naked run of the full-pledge members of Alpha Phi Omega society is a tradition that started in 1977 to protest the banning of the movie, “Hubad na Bayani,” which depicted human rights abuses in the martial law era. The date honors their international founding day on December 16th, 1925. 

21 END OF THE WORLD (Mayans) | Friday 
Dec 21, 2012 is the day predicted by the Mayans to be the end of the world.

*** December 22-25 | Possible 3-4 Days Long Weekend! *** 

25 CHRISTMAS DAY | Tuesday (Every 25th of December) | Philippines
Regular Holiday. Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ. Holy Day of Obligation

*** December 29-January 1 | 4 Days Long Weekend! *** 

30 RIZAL DAY | Sunday | 
Commemorating the Death of Jose Rizal

31 LAST DAY OF THE YEAR  | Monday  

Live an Awesome Life, 

 
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Call or Text Me: +63917 5683-627 (LOVE-OAP)
Follow Me FacebookTwitterFlickrYoutube

P.S. Let me know if you want to put a festival schedule or a milestone event in the 2012 Awesome Calendar which will be published in the Awesome Life Planner 2012, Thanks!

You messed up. You really, really messed up.

It was all your fault. You weren’t trying to be malicious and you’re not a bad person. You were drunk or maybe you were sober. You didn’t know it would hurt them — or maybe you knew and for a moment, long enough to just do it, you did not care.

You screwed up like everyone does. But this time, you really stepped in some shit. And that shit went flying. And it hit another person in the face.

Someone you care about is mad at you.

Because you’re a good person, you apologize. They rightfully tell you to fuck off. Okay. You apologize again. It takes courage after the first less-than-ideal reaction, but you do it. You really want to work this out. They come back at you with even more deserved vitriol — harsh words, additional accusations, tearful yelling. “I was wrong,” you say again and again. It’s your new mantra: “I am sorry. I was wrong.”

You think back to something you heard in Sunday school as a kid. According to the Jewish faith, if someone is angry with you, you are required to apologize three times. If they reject your apology each time, then God will absolve you in their place. Heaven forgives you. It’s religion’s way of saying, “You’ve done all you can do.”

If that’s supposed to make you feel better, it doesn’t.

God wasn’t a friend you spent Friday nights splitting cheese fries with at the bowling alley. God didn’t get you Weezer tickets on your birthday. God didn’t kiss your forehead while you cried.

Someone you care about is mad at you.

It’s been days, weeks, months. There’s a tightening in your chest that won’t go away. Just thinking about that person makes you anxious.

Because when someone is mad at you, it’s like they’ve seen the ugliest part of you that you know exists, but no one else was ever meant to see. It’s your darkness and your capacity to hurt that you take such care to hide. And now someone knows that you’re ugly. They know that terrible, small part of you that makes you hate yourself in your most alone moments. It’s humiliating.

You spend countless hours wondering how you can make this better. You long for time-travel. You wonder if it’s really possible to cry a river of Justin Timberlake proportions. You design a tattoo for your forehead in Comic Sans font reading, “I am stupid and careless.” You want to buy the person donuts and a speedboat and a ruby necklace and a year’s supply of Oreo cookies and a signed Indiana Jones fedora on which Harrison Ford has written, “Please forgive the person giving you this fedora. They are so, so sorry! Xoxo, Han Solo.”

The pain of this lost relationship will dull but it will never go away. It was your fault. You apologize one last time, the third time, the time before God can supposedly swoop in and absolve you.

Maybe the person you wronged will actually forgive you and your relationship can evolve past the underlying damage, like when scar tissue grows over a bloody wound. Maybe the person you wronged will never forgive you and the hole in your chest will stay gaping and howling. It’ll be a big neon arrow directing traffic right to your internal ugliness. Come one, come all: see the self-sabotaging jerk in the flesh!

Someone you care about is mad at you.

And you’ll each keep on living. Days will go by. You’ll be miserable and helpless as they harden the part of themselves that once loved you. You’ll be depressed whenever you see their name in your phone. You won’t delete it, but they will delete you.

You don’t like feeling this way, you realize. It’s horrible. In the time you spend apart, you learn to be less like the person you were when you hurt them. You grow up. You change how you interact with new friends who don’t know each and every time you’ve screwed up in the past. You understand what you did wrong.

And more importantly, you evolve and you never do it again.

You should follow Thought Catalog on Twitter here.

If you’ve been able to take anything away from my writing thus far it should be that twentysomethings are insane. We’re a neurotic bunch of commitmentphobes who are plugged into technology but often feel alienated from real life.

Nothing seems to exemplify this more than our strange dating habits. With the taboo of online dating quickly dissipating, more people are meeting each other online on a site like OKCupid, which has become the unofficial space for twentysomethings who aren’t typically into online dating but are tired of being single. Their profiles constantly make mention of the awkwardness and shame that comes with selling yourself online: “I don’t really know what to say here….I never do online dating but…”. Online dating can be great and I have no doubt in its ability to create long-term relationships. However, the people I know who use it are treating it like it’s the fast food of dating. They go up to the drive thru in secret, order something off the menu, experience moments of bliss while eating it and then are left with a 12 hour stomachache and feelings of regret. By meeting someone online, you’re given no context and therefore owe them nothing. You’re in, you’re out. You don’t know their friends. Don’t Facebook me. See ya later.

A new kind of relationship seems to have sprung from online dating and technology, which is The Two Week Relationship. It’s when you date someone from anywhere to two weeks to a month and then decide to drop off the face of the planet. You go from being in constant communication (G-Chatting while at work, texting, dinner dates followed by an amazing make out session and maybe even sex) to being gone, baby, gone.

I’ve had friends who have been that guy who just disappeared and stopped texting you back. Yeah, you hate him. He knows. It’s cool. And I’ve had friends who’ve been on the receiving end, the person who’s like, “We were texting every day and then it just stopped. No warning. Just over.” Dating’s hard. Dating in today’s culture is especially painful. There’s a multitude of ways we can experience rejection at any given moment. Every time you open your email, Facebook or Twitter, or turn on your phone, a truth bomb could be awaiting you. It’s enough to make you throw every piece of technology you own out the window.

Like my friends, I’ve been on both sides of The Two Week Relationship. When I’m the one who’s been rejected, I’m always racking my brain for reasons it went sour. It’s like I’m suffering from amnesia because I forget that I too have done the same thing and felt the same way. I’ve been really into a guy before (or liked the idea of him), been all fast and furious because crushing is cute and then I come to my senses and realize, “Oh, just kidding. This dude really isn’t my flavor.” Why do we do this? Why do we lead people on and then just cruelly leave them behind? It’s because of the texting and constant contact that the rejection feels so harsh. Someone is all up in your grill 24/7 and you start to expect that text from them around lunchtime. So when it all stops, we’re devastated but we have to put it in perspective. This is what dating is. You court someone for a few weeks rather intensely and then bounce if you discover it’s not for you. In 2011, however, we have virtual track records of every relationship we have, no matter how big or small, and this gives us the illusion that something meant more than it actually did.

Regardless, it still sucks. And when you get unexpectedly ditched by someone, it’s going to come as a shock. People are more insensitive it seems. It goes back to the whole idea of not owing anyone anything. Since it’s so easy to be connected to someone, they become more disposable in a way. The next time you find yourself wondering why someone has lost interest though, just try to remember that you probably have dating ADD too. And that everyone is insane.

You should follow Thought Catalog on Twitter here.

“My Klout score is an 83, which makes me a Thought Leader. There’s a lot of pressure to stay relevant and forward thinking, when you’re that influential. A few sub-par tweets and I could be downgraded to Specialist. I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with being a Specialist… you’re not a Specialist, are you?”

“I know you’re a complete stranger, but I’d gladly waste one of my Spotify invitations on you. Give me your number and I’ll throw in a Google+ invite. I’d put you in my ‘Babe’ Circle.”

“That gorgeous woman over there keeps looking this way, like she recognizes me or something. I do maintain a mildly successful YouTube account with over sixty subscribers, so I’m used to this sort of unwelcome attention. Are you an actress?”

“You’ve been published by The Atlantic? That’s cool. My name is frequently used as a tag on Tumblr. We have all the makings of a modern power couple.”

“My U.S. Alexa ranking is 22K, which is fairly impressive for a blog about soft cheeses. It’s not always smooth sailing, though. It can be difficult coming up with compelling content. Brie sort of loses its luster after a few years, you know? How many times can one reinvent mascarpone? I feel optimistic, though – I’ve received great feedback from prospective advertisers and I really think things are about to take off. What I’m saying is, I’d love to take a look at your website and give you a few pointers. If you want.”

“According to this app, only four people in the past sixteen hours have found me so tedious that they’ve found it necessary to unfollow me on Twitter. Just saying.”

“As of now, my mother doesn’t have a Facebook account so, if we were to take this thing to the next level, you wouldn’t have to worry about rejecting her inappropriate Family Request.”

“I’d dance to Cher, if it got you that much closer to affording a new Turntable.fm outfit. You deserve the best.”

“Do you come here often? I do. I’m the Foursquare mayor, actually, which means I come here more than anyone else. That reminds me, I need to check-in. Can I have your Twitter handle? You’re so attractive, I want to Shout it from multiple applications. Simultaneously.”

When I graduated from college, I bummed around for a year before actually looking for a job.
My first job was at Daily Globe where I wrote my first column in 1990. For the next ten years I worked, studied again, and tried to set up all kinds of small businesses before I got married in 2000.
When my son was born a year later, my dad told me to stop working for the sake of the baby. It was hard at first, but soon I got used to staying home.
During my pregnancy I discovered blogs and became fascinated with publishing my own stuff at home.
I started thinking of ways to make money without having to leave the house. Ten years later I got lucky with this blog. I never dreamed that what I loved doing would eventually pay off.
This is why Samantha Sotto’s story inspires me.

Like many Filipina moms, Samantha loves writing in her spare time and has a vivid imagination. But unlike most of us, she has just published her first novel under Random House in New York.
Samantha Sotto was featured this Sunday in the Philippine Star‘s On The Radar, interviewed by Christine Dychiao.
I was deeply moved while editing this piece, so I just have to share.
Read why Samantha’s story will inspire stay-at-home moms everywhere.

A new author’s happy ending
By Christine Dychiao

Once upon a time, there was a young mom who decided to kill time by writing a novel. She had just read The Time Traveler’s Wife and was so bothered by the ending, she felt like she needed to dream up a different love story to get it out of her system.
Because her son went to prep in Ateneo, and they lived all the way in Parañaque, she would drive him to campus, and then park herself at the same table every day for a year in Starbucks Katipunan while waiting for his dismissal.
“To save on gas and e-pass,” she thought. Which also proved to be the perfect place and time to bring her characters to life, between sips of non-fat green tea latte.
When she was finally satisfied with her tale of true love, she decided to get in touch with literary agents abroad, well, because, why not dream of being published?
As fate would have it, a literary agent from Levine Greenberg took notice, read her manuscript, and eventually sold her book to Random House Publishing in New York.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Her book is due for release in the US this Aug. 2. There will be a Philippine launch and book signing party at National Bookstore on July 27 before she flies off to New York for her press launch.
This is a true story. It really happened to first-time author, Samantha Sotto who is now On the Radar.
Read and be inspired by her narrative that is equal parts guts and genius.
And don’t forget to pick up her novel Before Ever After. It is proof that fairy tales do come true.

ON THE RADAR: Sam, you spent some time living in the Netherlands in your teens, backpacking through Europe in your 20s and going there for business trips when you started working for a multinational. What was it about the continent that inspired you to set your novel there?

SAMANTHA SOTTO: Maps and I don’t get along — which is extremely fortunate. I don’t think I would have been able to write Before Ever After if I had a better sense of direction. Getting lost in Europe’s crooked cobblestone alleys and tucked-away corners was how I found the inspiration for the novel. These forgotten nooks whispered stories that history books have left out. The “gaps” I found between my travel scrapbooks and formal research became the places and times that Max, my main character, filled in with his secrets.
The trip that really inspired the book was my backpacking trip to Europe in my early 20s. I sold my car to pay for it.

You mentioned to me that the novel came about because you didn’t like the ending of The Time Traveler’s Wife. What else inspired your writing?

I had a really bad “hangover” from reading The Time Traveller’s Wife. I loved the book and I suppose it couldn’t have ended any other way, but I still found it depressing. Watching tons of Dr. Who and writing the book was my therapy.
Dr. Who is my favorite show. It’s quirky and campy, but it also takes some dark turns. It was a huge influence on my writing.

I can only wish that other moms killing time at Starbucks, while waiting for their kids to get out of school, are as productive as you are! Any tips on what made you decide to take a stab at writing a novel?

Ha ha! I don’t know if I’m in a position to give tips. I honestly don’t think of myself as a “real” writer. I just thought that it was something fun to do. I didn’t write the book to get published. I wrote it because I enjoyed the process of writing.
I suppose the only “tip” I can give is to pour yourself some coffee, sit down and write—even if it’s just five words a day. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s still five words more than you had the day before. Everyone has time to write down five words.

Were you into writing short stories before that?

I’ve never attempted to write a short story. I imagine that it would be a lot more difficult than writing a book. I have a huge respect for writers for who are able to make you care about their characters and take you through an entire journey in such a short amount of time.

This is your first novel, and Random House, New York picked it up! Can you share with us how you got published? The highlights and even the lowlights, if any?

I only started researching about publishing when I finished the book. I knew absolutely nothing about the process so when I saw a second-hand copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published on sale, I bought it. That’s where I learned that I needed to find a literary agent.
The thing about literary agents, though, is that they pick you and not the other way around. You need to send them a “query letter” which summarizes what your book is about and why you think it will be marketable. If they like your letter, they will request you to send them a few pages of your book. If they like what you sent them, they will ask to see the full manuscript. After they read your book, three things can happen: they will reject you, they will ask you to revise and resubmit, or they will make an offer to represent you.
Google became my best friend during the agent hunt. I scoured the web for agents whom I thought would be a good fit for my book. I made a shortlist, sent out my query letter and crossed my fingers and all appropriate appendages. But I didn’t send out my letter to everyone on my list.
There was an agent that I particularly liked and so I decided to “save” her until I got feedback from the other agents. I was rejected a number of times, but luckily, I also received requests.
When about four or five agents had my full manuscript, I found the courage to send my letter to my top pick. She read my query, requested the full manuscript the next day, read the book overnight and made me an offer before the other agents had finished reading what I had sent them.
She asked me to make a few revisions and when the book was ready, she pitched it to publishers. After about a month, she sold the book.

Were you expecting to get published so quickly?

Not at all! I didn’t even think I was going to be published. I was just happy that I finished writing the novel. Everything after that was gravy. I was extremely lucky.

How did you feel when you got a call from your agent?

I was on vacation in Hong Kong at that time. She called my hotel at about four in the morning. I nearly screamed with joy. Luckily, I didn’t. Otherwise, my family wouldn’t have been too happy to be kicked out of the hotel at dawn. We celebrated by ordering champagne and omelets for breakfast from room service.

How did your husband and your family react when you shared the good news?

I think they were even happier than me. I suppose they were relieved that I was no longer going to be the nervous wreck that I had turned into while I was waiting to hear back from publishers.

Any big plans for the launch?

Yes! National Book Store will be distributing the paperback edition in the Philippines. We will be dong a launch and book signing party on July 27 at 6 p.m. at the National Book Store branch in Glorietta 5.
I’ll be flying to New York after that for a press event. My publisher has also arranged a fun blog tour for me so I’ll be doing a lot of hopping around the Internet when the book is released in the US.

The author—with her agent Stephanie Rostan and editor Kate Kennedy—sat down with Crown Publishing’s associate marketing director, Julie Cepler, to discuss the marketing and publicity plan for Before Ever After.

Are you dreaming up your next book already?

I’m 80% done with my second novel. I hope to finish it in a couple of months.

What advice can you give to aspiring writers who are dreaming of being published by a big NY publishing firm?

Stop dreaming and pursue what you want. The amount of creative talent in this country is huge and there is absolutely nothing that is stopping us from showing the world what the Filipino can do.

You went through such a huge career shift from marketing to being an entrepreneur to becoming a published writer. What advice can you give to women who find themselves having to go on a completely new trajectory?

I don’t want to say that you shouldn’t be scared about trying out new things — because you should be. Big life changes are, by their nature, terrifying. Being scared means that you’ve really thought about what you’re leaving and what you are planning to get into. Fear isn’t a sign that you shouldn’t be pursuing something — it’s a test of whether you want it enough to risk failing at it.

Look for Samantha Sotto’s Before Ever After at National Bookstore.
To know more, go to http:/www.samanthasotto.com.

Originally published at Chuvaness.com. You can comment here or there.

I can’t believe no one thought of this sooner.

Angelo Musco, 1973, Italy, makes larger than life photographs that consist of an uncountable number of bodies. As the photographs are made up of numerous images they are very sharp and invite the viewer to go on a quest of discovery. In his series Tehom, which in Hebrew means; the deep, and in Greek means Abyss, he created an unseen and mysterious underwater world in which he plays with reality. One of the photographs is called Hadal after the Hadopelagic Zone meaning the deepest trenches of the ocean. In reality this zone is found at 6000 meters depth, but there is still life in these harsh regions. As the people in his image, the life at this depth lack any pigmentation as coloration is useless in an environment with no light. His website shows details images of his work. The following works are Tehom, Tehom: Hadal and Aranea.

The Tadpole (by Passion Pictures)

I love everything about this — the textures, the character designs, the deceptively simple animation…

life as a wookie (by nate beaty)