Singing "Pretty Good Year" in my head

2004 was a very busy but fulfilling year for me. It started quite slowly, as I had to adjust to certain transitions, work-wise. But it gradually became a nice balancing act between writing press releases for a real estate developer and writing entertainment articles and reviews. Brief periods between coverage assignments for either of the two were spent illustrating my self-published project.

It was a distinctly memorable revolution around good old Sol: Last year encapsulates a time for personal victories and creativity. It was definitely better than 2003, which was virtually a daily emotional rollercoaster. 2004 had its ups and downs, but the disappointments were, thankfully, more manageable.

2004 introduced me to a bunch of really nice and talented people, some of whom have become friends. As a freelancer-mercenary, doing different but somewhat related jobs has exposed me to a host of diverse and artistically inspiring people. I have been given opportunities that some people may find cool; I consider them work challenges that keep me on my toes. It’s great that I’m able to do stuff that I never saw myself doing years ago.

Like interviewing celebrities and creative people behind the scenes. I was able to do phoners (and articles) with people like actors Ethan Hawke, George Eads and Julie Delpy, jazz-meister Jamie Cullum, and songwriting genius Diane Warren. I also personally talked to, and wrote about visiting artists such as Pixar animator Gini Cruz Santos and foreign pop musicians like the Russian duo Smash!!, Aussie boyband North, The Brazilian girl group T-Rio, and Yankee troubadour Joshua Payne. Of course, there’s the lively and ever-evolving local music industry: I had exclusives and round-table interviews with emerging or established artists like the Akafellas, Isha, Kitchie Nadal, Paolo Santos, Nina, King, Bituin Escalante, Dimsum, Jay-R, and 8th of March. Directors Joey Reyes, Lauren Dyogi, Cris Pablo and Andoy Ranay also imparted riveting insights about the local film and television industry and other, more personal matters. And yup, artistas Piolo Pascual, Heart Evangelista, and Rica Peralejo were interesting interviewees, too.

The year was largely defined by meeting or talking to these people and a number of fellow writers and artists. I have often declared to friends that I have no hero worship (which makes the job easier—I treat my subjects and colleagues as equals, as much as I can), but interacting with a lot of people last year, whether they be in the limelight or not, has definitely inspired my artistic side. I’m always thankful for that.

Releasing my own comic book two days before Christmas was a nice and fitting way to end a very productive year. It’s a crash course on the rudiments of printing, distribution, and marketing, and it’s a continuous learning experience that I’m grateful for.

2005, good karma and the gods willing, will be my year again.