Jan

1

First 2009 Post

Filed Under My Art, My Comics | 9 Comments

Happy New Year everybody! It’s 1 in the morning of January 1, 2009, and everything’s quiet. The passing of an old year into a new one has changed considerably for me in the last 20 years. I used to look forward to it with wild enthusiasm, preparing my fireworks as early as 8 in the morning. I used to be so creative with them, having invented one or two firecracker gimmicks of my own.

But sometime in the in the mid 80’s I started to lose interest in it. I grew to dislike fireworks. No, I didn’t have one go off in my hand and take off my fingers or anything like that. It’s the THOUGHT of it that scared me. I saw a friend of mine injure himself when a whistle bomb blew up in his hand. He kept his fingers but his hand was in a bandage for a week. What if that happened to me, I thought? It was unthinkable. If I lost my hands I better just jump off a building.

Ok, I won’t. If I lost my hands I’ll probably learn to use my feet or my mouth to draw. But who really wants to have to learn doing that? I don’t want to have to learn to do that. I’d like to keep my hands and fingers, thank you.

So there it is. My dislike for fireworks grew much more in the 90’s when I started to see videos of kids and adults with their hands mangled and destroyed with nerves and tendons sticking out in the aftermath of the New Year celebrations. I saw these on primetime local TV. No censorship at all. It’s as if they really wanted you to see it. And beware. Noli De Castro did it best on his show Magandang Gabi Bayan. He unflinchingly showed video after video of kids and adults with frayed bloody flesh in place of hands screaming and crying in emergency rooms. No matter what, you really felt sorry for these people. They weren’t bad, they just wanted to have some fun. None of them deserved it. And yet there’s this news reporter asking questions like, “So, are you going to do it again?” Idiot. Moron. Like they’re going to learn their lesson being scolded by you. They already learned it when they lost their fingers, dumbass.

My greatest fear on New Years is getting hit by a stray bullet. It happens a lot here in the Philippines where there are a lot of stupid people in possession of firearms. People who have zero knowledge about the simple principles of gravity and Newton’s Law. Firing guns into into the air won’t send the bullet into space, dumbass. It WILL fall down. Somewhere. I hope it’s on THEIR heads but no, it falls on innocent unsuspecting people.

It bothered me so much that a story grew out of it. It was published in 2000 on the pages of the first issue of PULP Magazine. It told the story of a guy who tried to commit suicide but survives. Finding a new lease on life, he resolves to truly live and live life to the fullest. At that moment, he’s cut down by a stray bullet. Sad, but that’s a fate that I always contemplate during this time of year. And I’m always thankful of having survived. I’m thankful I’m able to sit down right here and now and write this blog post.

Looking back, 2008 wasn’t very good for me. It had gems here and there that made it worth living through, but all in all, its not a particularly brilliant year. 2009 could be better, or it could be worse. I really can’t say. But I will certainly work to make it better. if 2009 turns out to be bad, I would like to be able to say a year from now that I did my best and I’ve got nothing to be sorry for.

I went on an Honesty Rampage on Plurk and Twitter yesterday, more so on Plurk than Twitter as it turns out. I wanted to let all my frustrations of 2008 out so that by 2009 I’ll be free. It was tremendously gratifying to be able to go and say those things, and not a single one a lie.

Here’s to a better 2009 for everyone!

Comments

9 Responses to “First 2009 Post”

  1. Jonas Diego on January 1st, 2009 8:05 am

    Happy New Year, man! :D

  2. ROMIWORKS® on January 1st, 2009 9:37 am

    HAPPY NEW YEAR KA Gerry at sa bumubuo ng KOMIKERO Group! Wish you more many many komiks works to come!!!

  3. kc cordero on January 1st, 2009 10:25 am

    Happy New Year, Gerry. Sana’y maging maganda nga ang 2009 para sa ating lahat!

  4. Azrael on January 1st, 2009 2:08 pm

    happy new year!

  5. Sylvaene on January 1st, 2009 7:48 pm

    Hello Mr. Gerry! ^^

    Have a happy new year! I like your art and stories a lot. ^_^

  6. Pope on January 1st, 2009 8:05 pm

    happy new year!

  7. Alex Cipriano on January 2nd, 2009 12:11 pm

    Happy New Year!

  8. Gerry Alanguilan on January 2nd, 2009 2:02 pm

    HAAAAY.

    Police said Renato Petilona of Road 10, Barangay North Bay Boulevard in Navotas died from injuries sustained after a powerful firecracker exploded in his face.

    On the other hand, Alberto Perez, of Barangay Isla Sulok, Valenzuela City was hit by a stray bullet while watching a fireworks display.

    http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/20090101/tph-dead-injured-new-year-revelry-doh-541dfb4_1.html

  9. Cathy on January 8th, 2009 8:41 am

    Ang cute nung mga aso!