First Celebrity Interview Published: “THE SUN ALSO SETS FOR THE DAWN”

Day 29 of the #NaNoPoblano2021 challenge, now a.k.a. “NaJanPoblano2022” (heee….) . Major Theme: “A Few of My Earliest Things”. New sub-theme: “First Published”. Related post: My Evolution as a Writer.

This was my first celebrity interview ever, which could be the only celebrity interview I’d have in this lifetime. (I lost my chance at interviewing Lea Salonga much, much later.) I have my first-ever editor in college to thank since she assigned this to me.

I did have a partner or co-writer. I didn’t mind since I was still new to the school paper and needed to learn the ropes. He knew more about the music, plus, he was much cooler than me. Honestly, I wouldn’t really know if I could do the interview without him. We were interviewing celebrities…! We were to interview THE DAWN, “pioneers of Post-Modern Rock” here. I’m not sure who came up with that one (“pioneers of…”), my co-writer Butch or me, or if we got that somewhere. But pioneers, they really were.

The concert ticket, front…

…and back

They were doing a concert at our university. So the paper got permission from the organizers for the interview, which they arranged and made happen. We were allowed since the band had an important album out so, you know, it’s still publicity, however small. It was actually maybe an hour or so before the concert. They let us go inside their parked bus to meet the members. Unfortunately, for some reason, Jett Pangan, the main vocalist, was kept busy outside the bus. Usually, it’s really the vocalist who’s the main face of the band, right? So it was a bit of a downer that we couldn’t talk to him. I only have three out of four autographs. No cellphone yet, no camera, so no photos 😦

Not that we didn’t enjoy the interview! Of course, we did! I didn’t particularly know all of them then. I really just knew them as The Dawn. I just hoped I was asking the right questions. So thank goodness, Butch was the enthusiast. It wasn’t me who described Jett’s voice as “nasal”, though. (It’s true, Butch, so please don’t come down from heaven and scare me.) I wrote the first draft, he did the final draft where he added everything else. I do disagree about the description. We went to the concert (for free!) after the interview and, despite my headache caused by being near large loudspeakers, Jett sounded fine to me. Many years later, I would watch Baby The Musical and hear Jett sing live on stage again — great voice and definitely not nasal!

Being a writer does have its perks sometimes.

First Short Story/Vignette Published: “DUGO, LAMAN…KALULUWA” (“Blood, Flesh…Soul”)

Day 18 of the #NaNoPoblano2021 challenge, now a.k.a. “NaDePoblano” (heee….) . Major Theme: “A Few of My Earliest Things”. New sub-theme: “My Firsts”. Related post: My Evolution as a Writer.

I have always loved storytelling. That’s really how I started writing in gradeschool. I love fiction. So it’s no wonder that I would someday have one published.

Well, there are actually two versions. The original was written when I was a senior in high school. It’s really more of a vignette with some poetry thrown in. Then when I joined the college paper years after, I decided to share it through one of the regular columns. If I’m not mistaken, that was also my first time to write for a column. I’m not sure, though. (Will have to check on it.) I ended up sharing a second version instead. It became longer and more profound, if not moralistic, to suit the standard.

Truthfully, I’ve noticed that when I write stories in my native language, they seem to be more dramatic and meaningful. I think my style of writing in Filipino relies heavily on my use of deeper/older words that do not suit light stories.

The story here is about a young, unwed mother trying to flee from the garbage dump where she left her baby. But as she tries to run away, she is not able to hide from her conscience and her natural, maternal instincts…Now, while I like both versions, I honestly feel more fondness for the original. I wrote it with more passion. The second is the edited version that relied more on the thinking rather than the feeling.

I decided not to post a pic of the handwritten original. You might not be able to see the words, anyway. Below is the published version. Again, it’s in Filipino. One day, when I really have a lot of time in my hands, I’ll retype and translate my Tagalog stories.

First Solo Article Published: “SIRUFUS”

Before we start. I KNOW it’s past November. But I still want to continue this challenge. The point is to try to keep blogging till I’ve posted 30. Anyway,…

Day 17 of the #NaNoPoblano2021 challenge. Major Theme: “A Few of My Earliest Things”. New sub-theme: “My Firsts”. Related post: My Evolution as a Writer.

This may not be my very first published article (that was last time), but it was my very first SOLO article. Granted that it was just one piece that was a part of one whole collaboration. We featured eateries and restaurants in and around campus back then and I was assigned this. I don’t know If the place is still there.

It is still one whole writeup, however short. Feel free to laugh at “Of course, the restaurant also has chairs.” I’M laughing!!!

First Ever Article Published “AWIT NG PAKIKIBAKA” (“PROTEST SONGS”)

Day 16 of the #NaNoPoblano2021 challenge. Major Theme: “A Few of My Earliest Things”. New sub-theme: “My Firsts”. Related post: My Evolution as a Writer.

I know I have been skipping days again. I have been trying to go through things and find writing-related stuff. I was looking for something else that I remembered but in doing so, I found THIS.

This was my very-first published article. I just joined the college paper and was put in the Culture (‘Kultura’) section. My very first editor, a friend whom I had known since childhood, assigned me the topic. (DISCLAIMER: There was no nepotism involved, okay?). I worked with someone else on the article but who cared? I was excited. I was happy to be part of the paper. I was happy to write about relevant things. I was happy doing research, enjoying my time at the library, and writing what I could about protest songs, their history, and their relevance to the Filipino people. I was tickled pink when it came out!

Here it is, titled “Awit ng Pakikibaka: Plakard, Tinig at Gitara” (“Protest Songs: Placard, Voice and Guitar”), my editor’s idea. Maybe for seasoned journalists who write and/or speak Tagalog, this looks amateurish. I understand. It was. I just wish I remembered it last November 30. That would have been a fitting tribute to one of our greatest national heroes, Andres Bonifacio, on his commemoration day. He wrote one of the best protest poems ever. It was turned into a song in the ’70s or ’80s (will check which exact era).

I am just sharing a photo of the article because I don’t have it on Word file. No time to re-type, and definitely no time to translate into English.

My first full article in the school paper

“ODE OF SOLITAIRE”

Yay! I finally found the classic editor!!! So happy! Will go back to my previous posts and edit using it. 🙂    

Anyway, we’re now on Day 4 of the #NaNoPoblano2021 challenge. Major Theme: “A Few of My Earliest Things”. Sub-theme: “10 of My Earliest Poems”.  While going through my stuff, I ran into a little problem. I realized that several of my earliest poems are in Filipino. Since I will have to provide good translations, I am not sure if I have the time to do that. I’ll try (weekend is coming, anyway). I do have other early stuff to post so no prob for NaNoPob 😉 Meanwhile, you can find more poems at the POETRY NOOK.

Today’s poem was written when I was in college. By then, I think I was already finding and getting comfortable with my style. Wrong grammar or not, I was starting to develop a deeper understanding of life. I wrote this poem primarily for our school paper’s literary portfolio.