Week 2 of my Sketch-A-Day didn't go as planned as work caught up with me at the office. And Week 3 isn't turning out productive as well. I tried doing some sketching ysterday but I ended
up erasing more than actually drawing. Rather than tear up the page, I decided to stop trying to sketch. Today, I didn't have time to even hold my pencil and sketch pad as meetings and coverages and little to-do's needed prioritizing.
Here's hoping to accomplish something for S.A.D. this week.
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I did come out with three sketches last week, two of which I hope to post one of these days. But I'm posting this:

Here's my tribute to the recently deceased Captain Phil Harris. When I read the news online that he had died due to complications of a stroke he suffered last January, I felt inclined to do a portrait. This sketch was based on the portrait that appeared on the Discovery website.
For those wondering who the heck this Cap'n Phil is -- he was one of the more popular captains of several crab-fishing boats that are featured on the Discovery show "Deadliest Catch". Rough, and gruff, Cap'n Phil was probably the most entertaining of the skippers on the show, guiding the Cornelia Marie (their crab boat) and its crew as they fish for crab in the Bering Sea. He is my favorite cast on the show and his absence in next season's series will be sorely missed.
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I am once again over the 200-pounds.
Got carried away again over the holidays and in a short span of weeks, my girth was back to 40". I am now finding it hard to fit into XL clothes I bought when my weight went below 200 lbs. I'm now back to wearing my XXL clothing.
I am now once again trying to win (or more aptly, lose) back the pounds but it's so, so, so difficult. But that needs to be done as this is quite a dangerous situation for me with possible complications because of the D.
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Our second daughter, Issa (Rissa Kristelle), turned two months last Saturday and she is a big girl :) Imagine this -- Ikai, our eldest was about 6 kg when she was four months ... Issa is 5.7 kg at two months!
And what's in a name? Why Rissa Kristelle?

Elvie and I actually did some research when it came to naming our second. But while the nickname came first in Ikai's case (Ikai is Rika Antoinette), the opposite was for Issa in that the full name came first.
Rissa Kristelle is a variation of Risa Kristine. Risa according to BabyCenter and BabyNames means "laughter" or "happiness". On the other hand, Kristine means "follower of Christ". She was initially expected to arrive about Christmas Day and thus giving her a name that was relevant to Jesus Christ. So, combining both meanings, Issa's full name means "laughing or happy follower of Christ".
Picture above is of Issa in a state of merriment taken a few days ago.
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If you look at the right column, you'll see that there's a section called Writing Needing Caffeine. It's a listing of writing contests and markets that are open to submissions and I've put it up there not only for my readers to see and hopefully be of interest but also as a personal reminder to myself (I'm probably my own number one fan of this blog).
So far, my venture into writing hasn't produced anything yet for 2010 but with paying markets and contests aplenty, for sure I'll be churning a spec-fic story or three soon enough.
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And fans of the "rock star" of fiction will be celebrating.
Neil Gaiman, the globally-popular author of such works as Stardust, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, and Coraline is dropping by the country this March for REVELATIONS: Stories of Light and Darkness - The 3rd Philippine Graphic / Fiction Awards (in coordination with Fully Booked bookstore).

The event, to be held on March 17th at the Rockwell Tent at the Power Plant Mall in Makati City, will see Neil and Fully Booked award the winners of the prose fiction, comics and short film contest. An anthology of winning and selected entries of the contest and its earlier incarnations entitled Philippine Graphic / Fiction Anthology will also be launched.
Read the news about it here.
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Wish I could update this blog more frequently ... wish, wish, wish. Ta ta, folks!