New Makeup, Coz I'm Kikay Like Dat

Balmbini Volume 2 by theBalm. In the palette: Promiscuous Pearl (Highlighter), Jinxy Jasmyne (Shadow/Liner), Manic Maribel, Open to Offers Olwen, Lavish Latoya, Strawberry (Lip & Cheek cream), and Nude (lipgloss).

I like all the colors, can easily go from day to night. The highlighter is extremely glossy, so no need to put a lot unless you want to look like a disco ball. Tried out this palette along with my Pout Paints (minx), and I noticed that the colors are less intense than they look on the pan.

Balmbini Volume 2

What I used: Balmbini Volume 2 all eye colors, In-2-It turquoise liquid liner, Pout Paints in Minx, Body Shop loose powder

The next set is my (real) Physician's Formula mineral bronzer and (fake) Benefit Hey Girl! Eyeshadow. Tried these out, and they're pretty good, even if the Benefit palette is just a rip off. The colors look very natural, good for everyday errands.

Benefit counterfeit and Physician's Formula

And then for the holidays, I got me a real shiny nail polish, Revlon Top Speed in Sheer Pearl. That's all haha. :)

It's that time again! Call for Manuscripts to the 52nd Silliman National Writers Workshop

The Silliman University National Writers Workshop is now accepting applications for the 52nd National Writers Workshop to be held 6—24 May 2013 at the Silliman University Rose Lamb Sobrepeña Writers Village.



This Writers Workshop is offering twelve fellowships to promising writers in the Philippines who want to have a chance to hone their craft and refine their style. Fellows will be provided housing, a modest stipend, and a subsidy to partially defray costs of their transportation.

To be considered, applicants should submit manuscripts in English on or before 15 January 2013. All manuscripts should comply with the instructions stated below. (Failure to do so will automatically eliminate their entries).

Applicants for Fiction and Creative Nonfiction fellowships should submit three to four (3-4) entries. Applicants for Poetry fellowships should submit a suite of seven to ten (7-10) poems. Applicants for Drama fellowship should submit at least a One-Act Play. For plays beyond the one-act length, a scene accompanied by a synopsis of the entire work should be included.

Each fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama manuscript should not be more than 50 pages, double spaced. We encourage you to stay well below the 50 pages, since a submission half that length is more than sufficient as a critical gauge.

Manuscripts should be submitted in five (5) hard copies. They should be computerized in MS Word, double-spaced, on 8.5 x 11 inches bond paper, with approximately one-inch margin on all sides. The page number must be typed consecutively (e.g., 1 of 30, 2 of 30, and so on) at the center of the bottom margin of each page. The font should be Book Antiqua or Palatino, and the font size should be 12.

The applicant’s real name and address must appear only in the official application form and the certification of originality of works, and must not appear on the manuscripts.

Manuscripts should be accompanied by the official application form, a notarized certification of originality of works, and at least one letter of recommendation from a literature professor or an established writer.  All requirements must be complete at the time of submission.

Send all applications or requests for information to Department of English and Literature, attention Prof. Ian Rosales Casocot, Workshop Coordinator, 1/F Katipunan Hall, Silliman University, 6200 Dumaguete City. For inquiries, email us at silliman.cwc@gmail.com or call 035-422-6002 loc. 350.

In Other News: Published In Paper Wasp, Australia

Yahoo! Six of my haiku were selected for this issue :)

They're only available in print, so I'm posting them here:

drooping eyelids 
a last waft of burnt marshmallows

billboard space
where the house used to be
still available

searching for rainbows
in a cloudless sky
piles of slippers for sale

sweeping 
dust clouds swirl 
around my dustpan

sidewalk trees 
at road’s end 
a grasshopper green car

tangerine slice 
white tracks 
from a stolen bite

Thought I'd Never Write Fiction Again

Really. I dunno what happened. I used to dream of writing multiple novels, because back in 2010, that was all I wanted to do. I'd sit in a corner in the library and write away. I finished my 100K novel in less than a year, the revisions took a lot longer.

And then the frenzy stopped. The well was dry. No inspiration to write the sequels to the story. I tried, because I believed in discipline. But I just felt like I was bleeding every time I tried to write.

The bleeding ended when I tried out poetry. For some reason, the well had filled up again in reading and writing poems. I've been writing nothing but poems since then, and it's been more than a year since I last wrote fiction. I think maybe it's been 2 years? I can't remember.

But I woke up one morning with a strong idea that felt whole and ready to be fleshed out in the word. I wrote a new story this week, and it's ready to be revised. I hope it's good! :) I'll try to submit it somewhere once I'm done weeding out the unnecessaries.

Haiku Ha-ha

There's this running joke among writers about the haiku. Haiku are apparently so easy any good poet shouldn't be focusing on them if he wants to get anywhere in his career, or if he doesn't want to be the butt of jokes. Try to introduce yourself to a group of Filipino literati by saying something like: "Oh, I write haiku" and expect to be met with silent giggles or evasive looks.

This is just my observation. And honestly, I'm not sure if they make fun of the haiku form because they don't understand the Zen Moment required to write a good one... or if they simply don't have skill in the short forms. Of course, making fun of something you don't understand is the easiest way to get out of having to write it. It's easy to say "I don't write haiku because it doesn't make sense most of the time." "No one can or wants to make sense of haiku anyway."

Different strokes for different folks? I'd personally stop commenting on haiku and tanka writers and their work until I fully understand the intricacies of those short forms.

Hotel (Hygiene) Secrets

So you're staying at this 5-star hotel, huh? I bet the first thing you do in a nice hotel is plop down on the nice, soft, comforter-draped bed. I know I do. And I know I won't do that again.

Found this thread on Reddit baring all the filthy secrets of hotel cleaning (if they even really clean the rooms and draperies).

Did you know:

1. They don't really wash those glass cups in the bathroom? Especially if they look unused, the cleaners might wipe em a bit with a rag so they look clean, but you'd better wash yours before use.
2. That there fluffy looking comforter is also fluffy with dried jizz and bed bugs? You might not see em but they're there all right. One commenter said: 

   "I cleaned hotel rooms for two weeks. During my training, I once found an obvious jizz crust on the coverlet. I told the woman I was working with that it needed to be cleaned and she responded "Just wipe it with a damp cloth until you can't see it any more" like it was no big deal. Because, you know, blankets are just like hard surfaces and can be fixed with a wet rag.

   
   

   The sofa and couch you're sitting/lying on has been sat on by hundreds of naked people? Yeah, better be on the lookout for brown stains, if you know what I mean.

Check out the entire Reddit thread here and get enlightened!:D