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Win P90,000 worth of furniture and accessories from Our Home!

The cover of Real Living's December issue features all the items up for grabs. If any of you want to find out how to win stuff for your living and dining areas, check out our latest issue, out in newsstands now.

Also for the December issue, each of us got the chance to do our own table settings--choose a design theme, souce for products, and put them all together. It's a great creative exercise and showcased the design sensibilities of everyone involved. Anyone interested in finding out the different themes that can be possibly done in table settings should check out the issue--we've got seven in all.

The items I used for my "bold traditional" look were from Rustans, Diretso and SM Homeworld. At first I wanted something more whimsical, using comics as a theme, but I couldn't settle on the details of the design. So I went for the other end of the spectrum and went on auto-mode. My co-workers didn't think I had it in me to go "prim and proper."

What I really like about my job, apart from getting some education in magazine planning and production as well as fundamentals in home design and decor, is the delightful bunch of people in the Real Living team. It's one of the more solid and fun teams I've worked with since I started the corporate grind in 1990. When all of us are present at the office, there's always a good laugh brewing plus loads of interaction. Even during times of deadline stress, expect a tension-busting chuckle or guffaw. Sure, we aren't without our internal problems, but overall I can't complain.

Just got back from Tagaytay, where we spent a day and a half for Real Living's planning session. We ironed out some of the editorial concerns as well as outlined the changes we needed to make to improve the publication. Based on a reader survey, the magazine has improved in quality and content over the last year. (This includes the lay-out design, which I must pat myself on the back for. *pat pat*) I've laid-out a total of 17 issues so far. How time flies.

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