Sleep is my new life goal.

WWW.KEEPCALM-O-MATIC.CO.UK

This year has been a wonderfully packed calendar of exciting news at work, and it's only March. I've been assigned to do many shifts, including news reading for a couple of stations and reporting live from different parts of the city. My schedule changed almost every day, and I had to go to bed and wake up at different times depending on what I had to work on for the day.

Yesterday I finally settled into a shift that I can stick to for the next couple of months. I now read the morning news at the top of the hour on the first and only Pinoy radio station in the country, and I couldn't be happier. I start my first bulletin at 5 in the morning, effectively kickstarting the day's programming.

But it also comes with a big challenge: adjusting my daily schedule. Every day I have to wake up at 3 in the morning, tiptoe to the bathroom, give myself about seven minutes to look decently dressed for work, grab my lunch bag and dash out. I'm at work at half past three, and I produce my very first news bulletin for the day, ready to go on air at 5AM.

I finish work at 12 or earlier, and by that time my body is at odds with my mind. It's tired and wants to go to sleep, but my mind - after a day of churning out fresh information and broadcasting it to potentially 645,000 listeners - still wants to keep going.

I have no idea when bedtime is and I seem to just zombie my way through the night, but other people on the morning shift say it'll get better. I just have to get used to a routine and stick to it, no matter what. So let's try that tonight shall we.

But despite my mild rant, I really enjoy being around my lovely colleagues and being part of something that has the power to keep people informed and entertained. It's worth sacrificing a few hours of Zzzz on the first few days.

In the very near future, perhaps knowing that I am on the right track and my efforts are appreciated will be enough reason to sleep at night.

Or a good brand of sleeping pills.

CORKS: My Current Things-piration

Weirdly, I've been feeling the need to create something out of garbage. I've been visiting a lot of craft websites and nodding excitedly when I see a great craft or DIY idea.

I'm a geeky crafts website lurker and I am sort of proud of it. Now if only I could get around to making something and displaying it in our front room for everyone to admire.

One thing I'm absolutely obsessed with is corks.

I'm collecting them and hope to eventually think of something beautiful to create with them.

Here are great cork crafts that I wish I came up with:

www.dumpaday.com

inspirationtreasures.blogspot.com

www.blisstree.com

dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com

Yup. This happened today.

Today's assignment? The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

I headed down to Intercontinental Festival City and got lost in the sea of authors and literary enthusiasts, but managed to find my way to Bobby Chinn.

A short interview and a low-res photo later, I came to the conclusion that he's the best.

9 THINGS PINOYS CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT - A REPOST FROM WWW.RAPPLER.COM

MANILA, Philippines - It doesn't matter how rich or poor Filipinos are. They cannot live without toiletries.

The Consumer Coping Behavior Survey of research firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that Filipinos consider toiletries a staple, or a product they cannot live without, or consider as absolutely necessary.

In a briefing on the survey results and insights, SWS director and marketing professor Ned Roberto revealed the top must-haves of Filipinos in different areas of the country:

	National Capital Region (NCR)	Balance Luzon	Visayas	Mindanao
1.	Bath soap	Detergent soap/powder	Toothpaste	Toothpaste
2.	Detergent soap/powder	Bath soap	Detergent soap/powder	Sugar
3.	Toothpaste	Toothpaste	Bath soap	Soy sauce
4.	Soy sauce	soy sauce	Soy sauce	Detergent soap/powder
5.	Shampoo	Shampoo	Shampoo	Shampoo
6.	Rice	Vinegar	Vinegar	Bath soap
7.	Vinegar	Rice	Toothbrush	Talcum powder
8.	Sugar	Sugar	Sugar	Rice
9.	Fresh eggs	Cooking oil	Cooking oil	Cooking oil

For NCR, the top brands for bath soap are Safeguard, Palmolive, and Dove. For detergent, it's Tide, Surf, and Champion.

Top brands for toothpaste are Colgate, Close Up, and Hapee.

Items Filipinos can do without
Roberto said the survey results listed a total of 159 products and classified them according to (a) staple (b) near-staple (c) nice to have (d) near-dispensable (e) definitely dispensable.
Products that are considered near-staple include those items that are necessary, but had some non-users. Roberto said there are around 10% or more that do not use products such as:

• Deodorant - 29%
• Prepaid cellphone - 19%
• Conditioner, Sanitary napkin, & Headache medicine - 18%
• Dried fish or Tuyo - 17%
• LPG - 10%

The nice-to-have products include those that more than 30% do not use.
For NCR, products that had high numbers of non-users were:

• Feminine wash & pantyliner - 41%
• Powdered fruit juice - 35%
• Cough/cold medicine & vitamins - 34
• Baby oil & butter - 32%
• Powdered chocolate drink - 30%

The presentation explained that near-dispensable items are those that people can do without. This means, there are more non-users than users.
For NCR, the items with the highest number of non-users are:

• Landline phone subscriptions & loans - 71%
• Internet subscriptions at home - 70%
• 5 gallon water & visits to specialist doctors - 63%
• Disposable baby diapers - 61%
• Ready to drink Iced Tea - 60%
• Powdered filled milk for kids, single ice cream, spaghetti sauce, & roasted chicken - 35%
• Tomato sauce - 33%

Roberto said the bulk of the 159 products that the SWS included in the survey were regarded as definitely dispensable or products that Filipinos consider they can live without.
For NCR, the highest number of non-users were for items such as:

• Disposable adult diapers - 93%
• Denture care products & paluwagan - 92%
• Therapeutic toothpaste for sensitive teeth & gum care - 91%
• Canned mixed fruits - 48%
• Canned pineapple tidbits/chunks - 47%
• Macaroni - 43%

Roberto explained that many of these definitely dispensable products relate to a small percentage of the population such as those who are old and senile who require adult diapers, as well as those with certain conditions, like those requiring dentures.

But, Roberto said, there are products that are considered definitely dispensable where companies can grow their brands or markets. These products include those that have 20% to a little over 30% who do not these products.

What this means to business
With these insights, Roberto addressed the entrepreneurs and marketing practitioners in the audience: "The ultimate source of growing your business is not new or innovative products, but market segments."

He spoke about the importance of market research, especially in looking for opportunities among "non-users located in Balance Luzon."

He urged them to search for opportunities for expansion by asking "What is MADI," referring to "Missing, Annoying, Disappointing, Irritating."

He also spoke about getting the company's internal processes atuned to the needs of the target markets. He said companies' marketing managers must focus on "customer retention" and "re-acquisition."

The respondents of the survey, conducted via interviews during the 3rd quarter of 2012, were household consumers. - Rappler.com

What I've Been Up To

The past few weeks haven't been easy, but they've been some of the most interesting ones I've had in my life as a grown up.

1. I had my first taste of the morning news shift. I actually got up at 330 am and was in the news room by 4:15 am. Waking up was painfully hard and being on the job half-asleep caused me to commit a few minor mistakes that I took very seriously and lost sleep over. But the big pay-off was being able to read the news and having people recognize my voice. A lot of people listen to the radio in the morning, so I consider the AM shift a great one.

2. I did my first live studio bit! It was nerve-wracking and a great cure to constipation, but I got through it and I sounded fine. I did it again the next day and I sounded more confident. It was awesome.

3. I made peace with the fact that the peso is getting stronger and it's not going to slow down any time soon. That means I just have to lose some money every time I deposit some to my Philippine bank account. It's just how things are at the moment, and I just have to look for a different strategy for saving and making my savings work for me.

4. I made two dishes that L actually ate. I made chicken breasts stuffed with a feta and herb mixture, and good ol' tacos. He ate both, and helped himself to seconds and thirds. Those were moments that cemented my place in the domesticated women's recipe club. I intend to stay in it, so I'll keep on cooking.

5. My mom and sister finally discovered Skype and we've been Skyping for two weekends now. They've been showing me pictures of me and Fifi when we  were in grade school and high school. Wow. We look a lot better. Thanks to threading, waxing, facials, workouts, makeup and the fear of growing old as spinster best friends.

All in all, it was a good February. I predict March will be even crazier, but nothing's too crazy for a person with a crazy name.