Davao Tourism Unveils Newest Branding: Life is Here

Davao city rises to the top of the almighty list of Philippine tourist attractions with their newest branding: Life is Here.

The idea behind this tagline is to show that Davao, with its lush greens, superior security, vast lands and unbelievable talent base, can be the best place to spend and celebrate life in.

Your New PR Girl will give a more detailed explanation of this brand new campaign. For the  meantime, cheers to Davao, my home! Visit www.davaotourism.com if you love Davao. :)

Career Advice: Get Rid of Burnout, Urbanity's Most Dangerous Trap

"Burnout happens, not because we’re trying to solve problems but because we’ve been trying to solve the same problems over and over and over." Susan Scott 

If the word burnout is familiar to you, I hope it’s just familiar because you heard it from others…not because you are experiencing it yourself. However, if you are, indeed, experiencing it yourself, that doesn’t surprise me either. I, too, fall into this urban trap.

According to studies, more than three-fourths of the Americans and more than half of Filipinos admit to suffering from burnout. The sources of this urban stress comes from work, family, romantic relationships (or lack thereof) and business. It also doesn’t help that modernization demands a lot from us, yuppies, nowadays. We are pressured AND EXPECTED to have a great career, a great relationship, great taste and great looks. When we fall short of these “great” stuff, we are deemed underachievers. Worse, stupid.

These demands can overwhelm even the most amazing achievers. Come on, there are only 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and our bodies have physical limitations. We must never forget what we usually hear from Nutrition month jingles: that we must drink 8 glasses of water a day, sleep at least 6-8 hours every night. Even these things get easily forgotten due to the pressures that engulf us lately.

Perhaps the first thing that we have to do is to admit to ourselves that we are not Superhuman. We must always keep realistic expectations and slowly let go of the unnecessary pressures that we bestow upon ourselves. This way, we banish one of the deepest sources of pressure: guilt. When we feel like we are not doing enough, we feel guilty and then we overcompensate. If we banish this guilt, we will slowly begin to accept that it is not our fault that we cannot do all the things that we want to do in a certain period of time. When we accept that it is not our fault, that is when we can move forward.

Moreover, it’s also helpful that we accept that yes, we can be stressed and pressured but there has to be a certain amount of stress and pressure that we can take. When we realize that we are stressed, we must hit the brakes and distract ourselves for a while. A little change of environment wouldn’t hurt. For example, if you are having a tough day in the office, you can simply switch your PC’s monitor for a while, close your eyes and listen to soothing music. Or you can take a short walk in your office block and take in a deep breath of fresh air. A movie a week is also helpful. And when your wallet gives its green light, take time to go on a short vacation.

Stay tuned for more Marketing, PR and career advice! :-)

Love, 

Your New PR Girl

Davao Cinemas: Showing from Today til Sept. 13, 2011

Abreeza Cinemas


Cinema 1 - Fright Night * Colin Farrel * Suspense * PG 13 (12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30)
Cinema 2 - One Day * Anne Hathaway * Drama/ Romance * R 13 (12:35, 2:45, 4:55, 7:05, 9:15)
Cinema 3 - Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi * Eugene Domingo/Toni Gonzaga * Comedy * G (11:40, 2:00, 4:20, 6:40, 9:00)
Cinema 4 - Bad Teacher * Cameron Diaz * Comedy * R13 (1:05, 3:00, 4:55, 6:50, 8:45)

Gaisano Citimall Ilustre

Cinema 1 - Final Destination 5 * Nicholas D Agosto * Suspense * R13
Cinema 2 - Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi * Eugene Domingo/ Toni Gonzaga * G
Cinema 3 - Fright Night * Colin Farrel * Suspense PG 13

Gaisano Mall Cinemas

Cinema 1 3D - Fright Night * Colin Farrel * Suspense PG 13 (12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30)
Cinema 2 - Thelma * Maja Salvador * Drama * G (11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30)
Cinema 3 - Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi * Eugene Domingo/ Toni Gonzaga * G (11:00, 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30)
Cinema 4 - Final Destination 5 * Nicholas D Agosto * Suspense * R13 (11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30)
Cinema 5 - Zombadings 1 * Comedy/ Horror * PG13 (11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30)
Cinema 6 (VIP) - Fright Night * Colin Farrel * Suspense * PG 13 (11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30)
Cinema 7 (VIP) - Colombiana * Zoe Saldana * Action * R13 (1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30)
Cinema 8 (RedCarpet) - One Day * Anne Hathaway * Romance * PG13 (1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30)

SM City Davao 

Cinema 1 - Fright Night * Colin Farrel * Suspense * PG 13 (12:00, 2:30, 4:40, 6:50, 8:35)
Cinema 2 - Thelma * Maja Salvador * Drama * G (12:30, 2:45, 4:50, 6:55, 8:35)
Cinema 3 -  One Day * Anne Hathaway * Romance * PG13 (12:20, 2:30, 4:40, 6:50, 8:40)
Cinema 4 - Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi * Eugene Domingo/ Toni Gonzaga * G (12:20, 2:30, 4:40, 6:50, 8:45)
Cinema 5 - Under renovation
Cinema 6 - Under renovation

Don't worry, this will be a weekly thing. *kiss*

You're welcome,

Your New PR Girl

Are You Addicted to Achievement?

(published @ Mindanao Times, Late 2010)

Whenever people ask me what I do, I tell them that I teach Marketing at the Ateneo de Davao University, and that I write online and in print. But really, that’s not even half of the real story.

The truth is, I organize weddings, debuts and corporate events, run an online gift shop, do marketing and PR consultancy, run a small food processing business, teach Marketing, write for a newspaper, write for magazines, write for websites and write for art’s sake.

Usually, when people really have this full list of all the stuff I do and do on the side, they usually say “What a workaholic!” Every time I hear it, I usually laugh because for me, they might sound a lot, but that’s already a summarized list. I don’t even take up a full time office work because usually I get bored and I felt a little unproductive if I physically stagnate in the office.

I recently came across an online quiz which was entitled “Are you addicted to achievement?” The title struck me but I didn’t dare take the quiz because I knew what it’s going to tell me. That I am a sucker for achievement. For quite sometime, I always felt the need to achieve something, to do something that I think I can do just to prove that I really can do it. However, whenever I ask myself about the fulfillment I feel everytime I finish a task well, deliver great results or simply a Facebook message from a class saying they missed me for the day, I knew all those hard work finally paid off.

But not all women think like me.

There are a lot of women who admit to being workaholics and then losing the “meaning” that they used to see in their professions. What used to be careers simply became jobs, and these situations kept women from self actualizing. I even have close friends who admit to being so burned out in their jobs but then they couldn’t let it go because these jobs were paying the bills. (Mostly, credit card bills. Bah.)

There was a recent study in the USA that showed some positive life fulfillment stats during the recession. It said that there were a lot of women who lost their jobs because of the economic downturn and it made them reconnect with their family again.

“I was always busy, I didn’t have time to think things over. The demands of my job kept me distracted.” This was a quote from Dominique Browning, a once-career woman who lost her job and then realized that she found a different form of fulfillment with spending time with her children. Before, she just used to spend extra time with her office mates because she needed to keep up with their office gossip and other worthless things like celebrity chitchat and fashion updates.

My tip for a lot of career women out there—don’t forget to nurture a great personal life. Go date, party, spend time with your family, read a good book, take vacations once in a while, maintain a healthy lifestyle and most of all, don’t be too dependent on your phones and laptops. Also, remember that the more time you spend with work, the higher your expectations will go. And if you’ve got a sky high expectation but then the reality just fares a little above your head, you’ll only end up frustrated.

It’s also best to take some time alone and just enjoy the company of yourself. Get a massage, curl up with your favorite magazine, watch a much-awaited romantic comedy movie or sci fi documentary…whatever floats your boat. Don’t be like those other women who burn themselves out at work and then when their paychecks arrive, they appease themselves with material things that are oftentimes useless. Be a smart spender—of time and money. Invest in the right things. Great investments also make you feel fulfilled.

So if you ever find yourself getting addicted to achievement again, simply reassess your goals. See if it’s worth all the pressure. Put your happiness and fulfillment at the top of the list.

How do you feel about achievements and achieving? Hope you're not burning yourself out there, woman.