Book Launch at Powerbooks Live! in Greenbelt

It's official! The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots was officially launched today at Powerbooks Live! in Greenbelt 4 together with other Adarna House titles.

There was a storytelling session of course (complete with a great paperclip costume!) and book signing (how cool to be in between Ompong Remigio, author of Papel de Liha and Augie Rivera, author of Alamat ng Ampalaya; both are best-selling Adarna books!).

THANK YOU to Mama, Alec, Tita Vicky, Yelley and Paulo (great photo of us!), Karina, Vanette and Rics, J-An, and Cris for dropping by and buying a book!

The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots is available in Powerbooks, National Bookstore, Books for Less and Fully Booked branches around the country for only P65.

The Yellow Paperclip Goes to Xavier School

Thanks to Teacher Raquel, the Yellow Paperclip went to Xavier School for a storytelling session. Armed with pillows and all comfy in their pajamas, third graders listened to The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots and responded well to Teacher Raquel's questions.

Teacher Raquel: Where do you think the paperclip came from?
Third grade kids: The paperclip factory! From outer space! A toolbox! In my mom's stuff! In the trash can! Church! My desk! From the airport!

Teacher Raquel: If you had a paperclip, what would you do with it?
Third grade kids: I'll put it in my book. I'll keep it in my secret files! I'll bury it in the sand in Boracay. I'll give it to the Lost and Found. I'll put it in the bank. I'll put it in my sock drawer. I'll give it to God!

When Raquel introduced me, the kids turned around, wide-eyed and smiling. It felt so surreal. The best part was when we gave out paperclips at the end. You'd think these kids have never seen a paperclip before. "Me! Me! I want a paperclip!" They said excitedly in their high-pitched third grade voices, eager to get a paperclip or two.

I'm Seeing Purple Spots

An email from our Director for Corporate Marketing in Pittsburgh:

I hope you don't mind... I've passed the book around to a couple of people in the marketing department. I loved it and they did, too. I can't wait to take it home to my husband tonight. It's so touching. You are a great writer. I think you should put writing another book on your wish list... maybe even before getting a gift wrapping room.

Thank you so much for sharing... of course, that's what the book is all about. My mother says I have a book or two in me. I should get on with it!

Warmest regards,
Nancy

A Family Affair

Thanks, Gab, for sharing my story with your family and friends. Here's a photo of me and the Narciso family at the Manila International Book Fair.

I was touched to get this SMS message from one of Gab's aunts: I am truly impressed with the yellow paperclip story. Simple, well-written and creative! I enjoy reading it, I've read it twice in fact and it's our bedtime-story read. Tell your friend it does deserve to be PBBY Grand Prize! Thanks for sharing it with us. WOW! Thank you so much, Gab!

Green and Red... in time for Christmas?!

I saw a bright green one under the car next to me in the carpark. I saw a bright red one stuck in a crack along the sidewalk. (Yes, the same one as the other day!)

There are Christmas lights in Eastwood. There are pre-Christmas sales at the mall and announcements for pre-Christmas bazaars. I've received Christmas card catalogs in the mail. September is the unofficial start of the Christmas season here in the Philippines. How crazy. Where did the entire year go?!

The Yellow Paperclip Goes to Roxas Boulevard

The 26th Manila International Book Fair
August 31 to September 4, 2005 (Thursday to Sunday)
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the World Trade Center, Roxas Boulevard




Highlights from the Book Fair: Alitaptap Storyteller Jay was great. It was fun to see lots of smiles from many kids. First time to sign books. Thank you to all those who dropped by: my folks, Alec, Lola Ludy, Tita Tonet, Camille, Syd, Carlo, Anna and Becca, Gab, Pau, Mig, Raquel, and Orange.

Bright Red yet Stuck in the Same Place

I've seen the same bright red paperclip stuck in a crack along the sidewalk for the last couple of days. It has been stuck for more than four days. No adventures for this paperclip. It has nowhere to go. It must look up at the world and wonder, There's got to be more than this?

If I pick it up and bring it places, what adventure can I start?

If I go places, what adventures can I start for myself? I shouldn't allow myself to get stuck. Life is Elsewhere, I've always said to myself in college. Where is Elsewhere and what adventures await me there?

Blue and Waiting to be Let In

In the shadows of the hallway, I saw a lonely blue paperclip by the front door of the office. It seemed sad, like it had been waiting to be let in. Like it was knocking and no one heard it. I wonder how long it has been there? Did it knock or was it just quietly waiting to be noticed and to be let in?

When we want something, should we knock loudly and announce to the world "I'm here!"? Or just quietly and patiently wait for the door to open when people notice we're there? We can knock but risk rejection if we're not wanted or welcome. We can also wait but risk lost opportunities. Choices, choices. The best thing to do is to trust one's gut and just go for it.

Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door shall be opened to you. I think I'll knock. Or better yet, maybe I ought to ring the doorbell. Or make a phone call first. Or send an email. At least I'll know if I'm wanted or welcome. I don't want to be blue with all that waiting and wondering. I want to go through a wide-open door.

Out-of-Place... like a Tourist

I saw an old dusty pink one in between the cobblestones of Intramuros as I walked to the entrance of the Ilustrado restaurant. Weird. Again, it was nice to see a paperclip in odd places. I tugged on Carlo's sleeve: "See?! I really see them everywhere!" (I show people the paperclips I see as much as possible just so I have witnesses.) It was really out-of-place.

Kind of like a tourist. Carlo and I were like tourists for the afternoon. I had to check out Intramuros for an upcoming visit of one of our big bosses. Ilustrado is a nice old restaurant in the middle of the Walled City of Manila. Old world charm. Cobblestones. Old staircases that creek. Musty hallways. Dark walls and floors and calesa wheel chandeliers. Sampaguita ice cream and kesong puti pandesal and hot chocolate.We walked to Barbara's (too bad it was closed) and Patio Victoria (perfect for those frilly/cheesy weddings and debuts!). A stone well. A stone fountain. Old houses with capiz windows. I also finally got to go inside the San Agustin Church. It was timely because it's St. Augustine's Feast Day today. It was good to be a tourist in my own country, even for an afternoon.

I passed by Fort Santiago, the National Museum, Luneta, the Manila Cathedral, Baywalk, the dungeon-turned-Starbucks, the streets of Malate. I'll need to schedule more time to be a tourist. Manila has a lot to offer... if only we take the time to appreciate what we have.

I know wherever I go, I'll see paperclips there. And maybe I won't feel so out-of-place.

One Red Paperclip from Montreal to Manila

Thanks to Kyle, red paperclips will never be the same again. I saw one red paperclip on the way to work this morning. Was it a coincidence? Was it the same red one I saw the other day?

But seeing a red one is now more significant after hearing Kyle's amazing adventure with One Red Paperclip. Could it be the same red paperclip he traded for a fish pen with his friends in Vancouver? Perhaps his friends Rawnie and Corinna visited the Philippines or are friends with Filipinos who came home to visit. Perhaps they traded it for something else which, in turn, got traded for something that ended up here in Manila. Whatever happened, one red paperclip has created a strange link between me and Kyle who is halfway across the world in Montreal.

Thanks to some friends, I've been hearing and thinking and dreaming about Montreal these last few months. In the bigger scheme of things, what is Montreal to my life? We'll see. Perhaps that's another adventure waiting to happen.

Yellow and Yellow

I saw two yellow paperclips today. I seem to be seeing more yellow ones than any other color. I love it! I seriously feel that they're following me around. I saw one by the automatic doors of the office building, and the other under the glass table at the reception area. Both bright yellow. Both screaming to be noticed.

Two yellow paperclips. Two good paperclip stories to share. One: I'll have a book signing at the 26th Manila International Book Fair on September 3 for The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots. Two: If I have Full Moon Friends, looks like I can have Paperclip Friends, such as Kyle who posted a comment. Check out his creatively crazy and amazing adventure with one red paperclip.

Looks like the adventures keep coming.

And the Next Day, I Saw... Red

A red one today. On the walkway from the parking lot to the street. A little bent out of shape but still shiney and new. It was a welcome sight after a day without a paperclip sighting (yes, I admit... there are some days when I actually don't see one).

At a time when I was so blindly infatuated, I once challenged the Universe (inspired by "A Very Long Engagement"): "If I see a paperclip today, he loves me." And I saw three that day. But he doesn't love me. I don't even know what he feels or thinks. So paperclips have nothing to do with love. But... that's another story.

So I saw one today and I stopped myself from linking it with anything. It was just nice to see. Just like it was nice to get a "good morning" message from him again.

Recycled Paperclips

A paperclip story sent by one of my favorite uncles based in California... Thanks, Tito Boboy!

Just to let you know that the first copy of The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots is now in circulation here in Milpitas - thanks to you. Let me share with you my own personal story about paperclips.

When I was still working, I would pick up paperclips laying around the office floors and work premises whenever I see them. My boss, the president of the company, saw me one day and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was saving him money and that if all these seemingly worthless, curled, silver wires would be connected together, it could go around the world twice (that's how much I was able to gather so far). He just looked at me thinking maybe that I might be going crazy picking up all these paperclips. He left without saying a word.

The following morning, when I opened my office computer, I found an inter-office email from the boss which read: "Effective immediately, everybody is enjoined to recycle the paperclips used for office memos and documents. If you need some more of these clips, just go to the office of Mr. Dy-Liacco and you will find tons of them."

Until the day I retired, they are still recycling paperclips and who knows, there might be a Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots lying around.

Orange and Hopeful

I saw an orange paperclip on the road in BF this morning. Considering I haven't been there in a long time and it's not part of my daily routine, I was pleasantly surprised to see an orange one today. (I actually also saw an orange one in Pasig yesterday too!) Meron din pala dito. Sinusundan pa rin ako. It made me hopeful and a little happy in a weird sort of way. I hope it's a small "glimmer of hope" to confirm how hopeful I've been feeling this last week. We'll see. I'll just keep strolling along the park.

Yellow and Purple Flowers

These beautiful yellow and purple flowers match my book so perfectly! My wonderful DDI Family gave me this after the National Children's Book Day awards ceremony. I'm so thankful that they are so very supportive, especially my boss, and that they allow me to pursue my other non-work related dreams.

I haven't received too many flowers in my lifetime... and these bright yellow lilies and purple I-don't-know-what-they're-called-but-they're-such-fun-flowers really touched my heart. Maraming salamat!

National Children's Book Day

Did you read a book today? The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) celebrates National Children's Book Day on the third Tuesday of July, in commemoration of the first published children's story of Dr. Jose Rizal of The Tale of the Tortoise and the Monkey in the July 1889 of Trubner's Record: A Journal Deveoted to the Literature of the East. National Children's Book Day is also the day that the Board awards the Grand Prize for the 2005 PBBY-Salanga and PBBY-Alcala awards.



Just wanted to share some of the highlights of this happy Dream-Come-True-Day. National Artist Virgilio Almario (a.k.a. Rio Alma) presented the award to May Ann and I. Alitaptap Storyteller Charlyn Chua, dressed up in yellow and purple spots, read my story and it was a hit with the kids! We were also interviewed by Art-is-Kool and Jr. Inquirer. To Papa and Mama, Cricket and Kevin, Jana, Cecile, Gang, and Glenn - THANK YOU so much for being there with me on this special day. Hope this is the start of a great adventure!

Click here for a short article featured in INQ7.net on National Children's Book Day.

A Paperclip in Pittsburgh

Will I see a paperclip in Pittsburgh? I asked myself as I packed and got ready for my trip. I need to see at least one anywhere in the U.S. Then I know they're really following me around.

Today is my second to the last day at the DDI office and I saw a shiny silver one on the walkway between the Technology Center and the Headquarters. I think it's the first silver one I've seen. Strange to find the first silver one all the way here in Pittsburgh.

It was a comfort to find one here though. It's a small world after all.

Does this count as a Pittsburgh Paperclip?

This was on the DDI cafeteria table. It holds the evaluation forms. Pretty cool, huh?

Rejected and Found

Poor paperclip. I wonder what you've been through? It was squeezed out of shape, with one of its ends sticking out sorely like a painful limb, caked in mud and dust. It must have been through a lot: where in the world has it been?

The more painful thing is, I'm sure I saw the same paperclip last week. But again, I chose to ignore it and refused to pick it up. Is it because of the way it looked? Is it because it was dirty? Perhaps. Yet it waited for me patiently. And I found it again.

Do we reject others on the basis of superficial characteristics or flaws too?

Happy to see Orange Again

I saw it yesterday but chose to ignore it. I felt bad that I did so I ended up looking for it this morning. And I saw the same orange paperclip! I actually felt happy to see it and so I decided to pick it up for my collection. I don't know why I ignored it in the first place. It was a nice bright orange. It was a little bent but still in one piece.

I know I've chosen to ignore things and people in my life when I know I shouldn't. Why do I do that? There are many reasons, I suppose: insecurities, fear of rejection, arrogance, pride. When we choose to ignore or hurt the people closest to us, I hope we can still "find" them tomorrow. Question is, will they still be there?