Boo, year.

It’s the new year, and it’s my first post of 2013. It’s been a busy three weeks for me, what with the holidays, and the shoot, and post, and the whole business with me turning 31 and all that.

I wrote this post moments before something incredibly bad and complicated happened, so it’s a bit out of date. The cheery tone in this post might not be present in the next one, so might as well drink this all in now.

No quasi-humorous rants either. Not this time.

The Goddamned Holidays.

God, I fucking hate the holidays. I really do. And it’s annoying how everyone kinda expects that you play along.

Seriously though, I would have wanted to do the movie thing at Jo F’n Regis’ place again, since that started off a really awesome year for me, but things came up. It’s cool, but I really need to move out again. This whole “we are family” shit, despite the seemingly good intentions presented when I was first asked to come home, is really not me. The year or so I’ve spent there hammered that point further. 

The Shoot.

On the upside of things, and yes, it has been nearly a decade since I had a December that had an upside, the time for shooting the music video finally came. Despite my feelings about the song where interpreting, the artist performing that song or even the entire industry itself, I always love production time, especially when I’m heading it. It’s not a power thing, as anyone who knows me knows I’d rather do things myself than having a entire team of people to do it for me. Creative, psychological, mental and other possible reasons aside, I like shooting videos because I like bringing people together and getting the job done On the two days of the shoot, that’s what we all did.

The Big Man, who I noticed has been distracted in the past few weeks, surprised me by rising above those distractions and delivering, something I thought he wasn’t completely able to do back when he was managing. Now, I see that he’s ready for it. The Producer set aside his own craziness and did his work admirable, surprising me and definitely surprising the Big Man. The cast was energetic, talented, and looked fucking great on camera. All of them pretty much drove me to up my own game, ignoring the hypertension that nagged me after Hong Kong and the bum knee I was still nursing.

I think the revelation here is how well me and the Big Man worked together. We’ve done so several times before, but never to such results. I guess it’s the maturity and the respect that’s been cultivated over the years, and yeah that fight from last year helped, in my opinion. It was a two day homerun that makes me look forward tot he next project, regardless of what that is.

The Wrap Party.

Right after the shoot, the cast, the Big Man and myself went out and had ourselves a nice session of singing and drinking. I’ve always made it a point to drink with the people I’ve selected after the project. I think it’s important that these people bond over something other than work, particularly since a lot of them might not see each other again. Plus, the chemistry was incredible, particularly considering how nearly all of them are just connected through me. You have people hitting it off like they’ve known each other for years... and if extended relationships are formed, then that makes the project a success in my book, no matter if the video is actually good or not.

Of course, I didn’t stay for long, as I had to visit the Tiny Dancer at her job. She’s part of the cast, and if she can’t come to the party, might as well bring the party, albeit a small portion of it, to her.

After a night of drinks, and breakfast, with her, it was then I realized that I’ve been awake for a solid 48 hours or so. Heh. Just like the old days.

Lost.

After being in a one day state state of hibernation, and as the year came to a close, the Big Man and I embarked on a journey that was... well, really stupid. We drove around and got lost in Cavite, a place I was born, raised, and would probably die in.

Still, it was a ton of fun in ym book, and after three straight days of work, it was a welcome thing. Plus, the night in the club that came afterwards was fun too.

Starting the Year Right.

First day of the year, after being visited at home by the Tiny Dancer, I headed to the Big Man’s household to handle some technical issues (Issues wthat were later resolved by Marvi’s husband, natch.).

When the second morning of the year came, their house was filled with vomit, everyone was speaking in a slurred fashioned, either passed out or about to pass out, and the neighbors were probably kept up all night by all the singing.

Yup. That happened.

Business as Usual.

In the midst of post production, I still managed to snag a couple of nights out with certain people from the Think Tank. And those nights were adorable. (And they also involved a lot drinking and eating.) Problems seem to loom for the immediate future of my emotional state, but that’s a story for another, less cheery post.

Turning 31.

I never planned on celebrating my 31^st, but then again, I guess even I can’t schedule everything. The Tiny Dancer showed up with a couple of surprises, both of which I was overjoyed to receive. (Yeah, she’s my girlfriend now.) Then, a couple of people from the Think Tank surprised me with alcohol and juvenile acts, two things that always seem to go great together. Lastly, the annual celebration with the Scoobies, which is always a delight.

If the first week of the year, as well as the last week of the previous year, are any indication, my 31^st year might even be as good as my 30^th. (Then again, optimism has never really paid off for me, so I’ll still be expecting the worst.)