PROJECT BACKSPACE: FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR (October 2006)

Sunday, October 29, 2006

FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR (October 2006)

“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it.” - William Feather

Dear readers,

The Guild had a most interesting September. We went through a little imbroglio from which we thought it would be difficult to extricate ourselves. Good thing we have been taught well in the art of diplomacy or else you wouldn't be seeing us here today with our October issue. We all have our little foibles. Believe it or not, we all go through that stage when we want to push the envelope a little further. Please know that in the Guild, there is more than enough room for dissenting voices.

Enough. I'm talking gibberish.

Towards the end of September, during which Typhoon Milenyo was ravaging the capital, I had the chance of escaping to Western Visayas to attend a wedding, as well as to visit Iloilo City and Guimaras Island. Nothing prepared me for the charms of Bacolod, my first stop. The first problem I encountered was what to eat first, the city being Region VI's food capital. If there's anything I really miss most, it is seeing the sunrise that comes with an early morning flight, and indulging in local culture. Lucky that I got to do both, and more. A lovely wedding, local crafts, chicken inasal, and many other surprises after, I came home to Manila - humbled and forlorn from all that wind and rain - fully convinced that we are missing so much.

On a related note, our writers will talk about the things they miss most in this month's issue. I am sure you can relate to these things: Voltes V, Shaider, Butterball, Haw Flakes, a certain bubble gum whose name escapes me at the moment (wait, was it Bazooka? The one that comes with a cartoon strip?), Scott's Emulsion (cod liver oil, remember?), Hi-Ro cookies, Pinoy-made chocolates and a whole lot more. People, food, places, events - the things we miss vary greatly.

Share with us what you miss most! Join us in this exercise ("pagbabalik tanaw") as we try to make life in SPi more exciting and meaningful for you, our readers.

Text or email us your thoughts (Globe Mobile Number 0926.622.3359 or at spiwritersguild@yahoo.com.ph and we'll publish them here.

Welcome to our October issue. Mabuhay!

Best regards,

Dylan Yap Gozum / Editorial Director, BACKSPACE

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Welcome to PROJECT BACKSPACE

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This is the Writers Guild's online literary journal. Articles here were contributed by employees from SPi, a BPO company based in Parañaque City, Metro Manila. Visit us here.

We welcome all forms of creative writing - poetry, essays, short stories, one-act plays (preferably lasting 10 minutes or thereabouts), reviews of music, film, books and restaurants. We also accept comic strips and photographs for exhibition.

Here in PROJECT BACKSPACE, you can write about almost everything under the sun. This is your space. Be part of it. Know more about us here. E-mail us your works at spiwritersguild@yahoo.com.ph. We will be waiting...

Our hiSTORY

The Writers Guild was born in 2003, probably under the most azure of skies and the windiest of mornings which normally signal the birth of great people or ideas, but we're getting ahead of the story.

Upon the initiative of then Employee Relations Manager Marybeth Monis, the Guild was established with Aries Saquilayan as its first President. He was followed by Palanca-winner Allan Palileo, under whose leadership poetry became a hallmark of the Guild. In 2005, Gigs Garcia took over and introduced newer ways to appreciate poetry (through poetry reading) and expanded the Guild's coverage to include the first ever Word Factory Competition, participation in the English Festival of SPi's Learning Academy (SPILA), and held two quiz shows (both were literary in nature).

Today, the Guild builds on its noble past and takes on newer challenges to meet the ever-evolving requirements of the company and its employees. Poetry remains to be the Guild's soul, but with the establishment of BACKSPACE, creative writing - in all its forms - is now encouraged. Using the tagline "We need writers more than we need members", the current Guild has launched itself into territories it hasn't explored fully before. One of the most precious among its crown jewels is the series of workshops designed to bring out the writer in the participants. The workshops include introduction to creative writing, development of short stories and measured poetry, as well as holding an actual workshop on book-based storytelling. It has also launched an aggressive campaign on encouraging reading within SPi by making available books and e-books for lending to employees under Project R.E.A.D.

The Guild is also currently into Teacher Education in coordination with SPi's Office of Corporate Social Responsibility. Teachers from public schools being supported by our CSR office are invited on a regular basis to join SPi employees in participating in our series of workshops which, fortuitously enough, is dubbed A Series of Fortunate Events.

The Guild invites all SPi employees - writers and would-be-writers both here in Manila and those in Cebu, Laguna, and Dumaguete - to take advantage of the opportunities to be creative by being part of our activities.

We'd love to hear from you and receive your contributions for publication! Please e-mail us at spiwritersguild@yahoo.com.ph

Maraming Salamat po! Daghang salamat kaninyong tanan! Dacal a salamat! Thank you for visiting BACKSPACE. Mabuhay!