2017 December One More Thing

Christmas Homestretch

We’re almost on the home stretch.  Most articles we were committed to writing have been punctuated swimmingly with a period.  And a few that we thought we could deliver within the given timeline hit a snag.  We were able to pull some magic out of our hat and replaced undelivered ones without compromise.  We honestly think that this issue has balanced content that deserves the precious time of our reading audience.  A couple that was missed out due to inadequate details will always take the next issue.  Hours away from going live with our December issue, we learn on the fly how to deal with a near botch.  And creativity sometimes emerges under moments of pressure.

We can always attribute lack of response from our contributing writers to a season’s busy time.  And that’s a legitimate reason.  Christmas indeed puts us on our toes.  It may be September when Filipinos claim they begin to sense the spirit of Christmas.  But bonuses and the perennial thirteenth-month-pay do not get paid out until mid-December, at which time everybody is in the rush to get their shopping errands done, and vacation and travel plans finalized.

These circumstances have compelled the editorial triumvirate to seriously consider a bi-monthly issue of our newsletter.  Two months are definitely ample time for our contributing writers to gather their thoughts and pour them out into writing.

Our next issue will include a few items that we have identified to be appropriate for the timing:

  • Quiapo religious procession of the Black Nazarene
  • Sinulog, Dinagyang or Ati-Atihan festival
  • Groundhog tradition
  • Mardi Gras and its raucous nature
  • Superbowl kick-off
  • Valentines for both the heartful and heartless
Ted Fullona
“Fray Ted” entered the Dominican seminary in 1973 at Peñafort Hall in Aquinas University of Legaspi (now UST-Aquinas). After completing the novitiate at Villa Lizares in Jaro, Iloilo, Ted majored in English at Letran (and cross-enrolled for journalism in Lyceum), where he served as reporter for The Lance, vice-president of the Letran Chorale, and president of the Humanities Literary Circle, up to the time of his departure from College and the seminary in 1978. Ted briefly worked for a stock brokerage firm in Manila before joining Saudi Aramco in 1981. While there, he managed the publication of the weekly Oasis Times. He married Mayette in 1982 and two years later was blessed with an unico hijo, Thomas John. The family immigrated to Canada in 1988 where he landed a job at Cadbury. The computer knowledge he acquired from Aramco made Ted indispensable as Technical Support Coordinator. In 1990, he augmented his credentials in the field of Computer Systems at Sheridan College. In 1993 he founded Cadbury’s in-house graphics department where he catalyzed and transformed several in-house graphics systems. As graphics manager, he led his team in developing and designing advertising and marketing collateral for a variety of Cadbury iconic brands. Ted’s tenure with Cadbury, and later became Mondelez Canada Inc., was capped at 27 years when he took advantage of an early retirement offer in 2017. Not wanting to be sidelined, he attended George Brown College for a Copywriting course. Ted is now managing his own design company, Artyoom Inc., contracting product catalogs design projects and writing brand style books for a number of brands.

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