January - Prayer for the New Year - I should have gone back to this every time I needed to. Reminder to self for 2020, pray more. Pray harder!
New Year’s Prayer for the Family
God, thank you for a new year. May everyone in our family be willing to begin anew with a clean slate. We know that you are always ready to forgive us. Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive one another.
As we begin a new year, remind us of our truest values and our deepest desires. Help us to live in the goodness that comes from doing what you want us to do. Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time.
Amen.
February - Teacher and Librarian Collaboration - My work always involves collaborating with faculty and academic coordinators.
I had a productive meeting with our Dean of Faculty last week.
March - A Hymn to Time - I can no longer remember the context of the post, but I should post more poetry, di ba?!
Time says “Let there be”
every moment and instantly
there is space and the radiance
of each bright galaxy.
April - Pilgrim's Pit Stop - Because I also write for the Magis Deo Newsletter.
Sometime in early February, I felt weighed down, irrelevant and vulnerable. Work made me listless and dissatisfied. Changes in family life left me confused, even lost. Under the circumstances, I would rather protect myself by staying in my comfort zone. I did recognize the invitation to be brave. Being brave, however, would mean taking risks, going the extra mile and stretching an arm and a leg. I found myself asking, “what for?” and at “what cost?” I was tired.
May - School Librarian in the 21st Century - This is part 1 of a three part post about my participation in the 2019 PASLI Conference in Manila. When you visit the post, do read the entire series as I have shared some insights and reflections too.
The last week of April is when most library organizations in the Philippines have their national conferences. The Philippine Association of School Librarians, Inc (PASLI) is one of them. Many school librarians are on summer break in April and PASLI sure knows where to go to offer its members a conference where learning and fun both happen. I have had participated in many summer conferences of PASLI in the past and I always felt welcomed.
June - Summer Writing Workshop - Something I do every summer. And yes, I will be doing this again in June and July 2020.
Points for discussion:
⁃ Story Grammar: formats and elements
⁃ Children’s Literature Today
⁃ The stories that shape our childhood
⁃ Why write for kids
⁃ Writing workshop: writing, critiquing and revising
⁃ Note: if you have stories for workshop and critiquing bring 4-5 copies
Since my summer began in early June, I have been to several round table discussions and meet-ups with friends in the education sector and in the book industry. Our topics of conversation range from reading, to books, the creation of information and knowledge, ways to communicate these resources to them and the behavior we apply as we consume them. I discovered and validated three things.
August - Library Skills Sessions at the Beginning of the Academic Year - What I do in the Academy
I am preparing for next week's library orientation and research session with our Griffins. The teacher in me is excited to go back to school, officially, and meet new and returning students. Another part of me is missing vacation already. Such is life.
September - Bookish Convo and Self Publishing - Meet up with Techie Lopez who was, at the time, starting out a book project.
Von Totanes, Director of the Rizal Library, introduced me to Techie Lopez via Messenger. Techie is an aspiring author who is at a crossroads. She has written a story but could not decide where to bring her manuscript. Finally, after chatting online, she decided to self publish.
October - Filipino Illustrations in Picture Books - A Q and A over SMS led to a post in the blog and lead to a talk on illustrations and picture books.
I am sharing this exchange I had with a dear fiend in the book industry on identity and book illustrations.
November - Game Changers in Philippine Librarianship - Thanks to John Hickock for this feature and study of librarians in the SEA region making a difference.
It is in October when the Rizal Library conducts its international conference. I have participated in this academic and scholarly endeavor countless times and I have always felt welcomed by the library community there. Each visit, be it for work, professional or personal matter, feels like a day of hanging out with my favorite cousin. On its 8th International Conference, I was there once again as a social guest by John Hickok of the American Library Association. He attended the conference as a paper presenter.
December - Room To Read Book Project - Yes. 2019 has been a good year. Everything is grace.
The news that our book, Masaya Maging Ako (Gagatiga and Bauza, Lampara Books) is included in this brochure and will soon be out for publication surprised me like a thunderstorm. On this day when typhoon Kammuri passed through CALABARZON, the Philippine Children’s Book Industry has something to smile about. And that is on top of all the gold medals that the FIlipino athletes are raking in the 2019 SEA Games.
