Punta Sa Saturn Pag Puno Na Sa Earth

Or: How Belle Changed The Ending of the Disney movie Up

One night a couple of days ago I saw Belle reading this illustrated Bible story book. I know for sure that Belle loves reading different storybooks but this time she called and asked me to turn the pages for her. Or rather, she asked me to turn a couple of pages she dreaded. When I asked her why, she looked uneasy and fearful. The pages in question featured drawings from the crucifixion scene, especially one of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, all bloodied and dead, forsaken and forlorn.

From the look in her face, I know Belle was a bit affected. When I asked her what the matter was, she started her litany by saying, “Is God really good, Papa?” When I asked her why she thought of that, she answered, “Ilang prayers ko na ang hindi niya sinasagot. I prayed that no one will die. Yet, namatay si Francis Magalona, namatay si Cory Aquino…” and a few other names I forgot to recall.

I looked at her and somewhat remembered an incident before while I was growing up in Kamuning, Quezon City. That time, I saw my father smoking his favorite Pall Mall cigarette. From out of the blue, I felt fearful. How can a seven year old kid feel fearful, and how should I suppose to know then that smoking was hazardous to one’s health? My father was standing there beside our gas range, shirtless, enjoying blowing the thin wisp of smoke that seemed to dance in emanating circles in the air. My father then, all of 30 or 31, looked like he was an old man; like the smoke he cradled on his lips would whisk him off to some faraway places only he knew. For some reason, that image stayed in my mind – and only recaptured now. I was transfixed, but the vision got me worried. Right there and then I decided I never want to lose a loved one.

“Bakit mo ba iniisip iyan? You don’t have to think about those things,” I said without thinking. And it made me more depressed, having realized it was not a satisfactory answer.

Belle started to cry. I just hugged and comforted her, encircling her with my right arm. It was late in the evening, and we were propping up for bed. This scene was happening while Ivan was playing with his little animal toys. I was immediately aware of my kids’ differences – Ivan was three, enjoying his fare, careless and free in spite of the little dramatics between his father and sister; and Belle was nine, and the questions are starting to queue in a different direction – a direction brimming with precocity, a direction I feared was forthcoming.

I had to admit this was one parenthood coffer that I still had to unearth. How do we answer questions without appearing distant and unaffected, or how do we say our take on things seemingly trivial for us but a big deal to our kids? To answer Belle’s flurry of questions on mortality, I started to look for the answers deep within myself. For a moment there I was stymied. Oh, how I hated knowing little. How I hated me for not having sufficient knowledge to give her my answers in pronto. I just felt I had to answer something in the affirmative, an answer that would somehow, I hope, appease her.

“That’s why we always have to pray to God to give us long life, di ba?”

“Ibig sabihin lahat tayo mamamatay?”the tears now freely flowing.

“Bakit mo ba iniisip iyan, honey? Matagal pa iyon. God will be with us, He will protect us. He will bless us with old age.”

I still wasn’t satisfied with my answer. I felt it was a cop out. The bottom line there was still, yes, we all will pass one day. But I hated myself more for being coy, for playing it safe, and for not answering “yes”.

In principle, I wished I could have told her, “Yes, anak, death naman is not the end. It is only the door that ushers us into eternity…” I tried my best to rephrase the words in my mind, but how do I put it all together so she could understand better? You never discuss death to little children, like you would never expose to them your feeble side.

What she answered back made me freak out, I almost guffawed but instantly checked my reaction so as not to belittle her serious mood:

“Puwede namang sa Saturn na lang lumipat yung ibang tao pag napuno na sa Earth.”

Even in the movies, Belle could not, or would not accept the issue of death in the face. When both of us were watching the animated Pixar movie, Up, she resented both the facts that the two young parents were childless and that later in the first part of the movie, that Ellie would leave Carl due to old age. Belle cried buckets, like I shed naman a few tears. Couldn’t help it, for I remembered both my Lolo Fred and Lola Juaning. Belle a few days after made a resolve to put a more happy face in that part of the story and came with her own version.

I will type the handwritten words in verbatim:

Up II! (At may sequel na!)

Rusle is feeding Kevin chocolate and can you belive it Ellie and Carl have a baby and their playing with him and dog is running from the squirl!

THE END!

Notice the exclamation points for emphasis!

I remember when I was in high school, we were given a writing exercise in Filipino where we had to re-write the ending of Benjamin Pascual’s harrowing story of Ang Kalupi. I figured the errant and judgmental Aling Marta deserves to be brought to her knees and face a firing squad, but what I came up with on paper was a version that presented Aling Marta as a deeply remorseful and apologetic woman who was serious in atoning for her grave mistake.

The point of this whole blog has something to do with us mortals and our earnest desire to see life only in sugar-coated terms. If possible, and we pray hard at that, we only want to see a Hollywood ending to all things. We abhor, or maybe fear death, much as we resent the times changing for the worst. Belle of course felt the same way I did when I saw my old man engulfed in the smokes of his cigarette. She has a valid point when she told me that if God is really good, why does He allow suffering and death to happen?

Of course, when she grows up, she will seek and find the answers herself. I’m confident of that. For now, the only thing I can offer maybe, especially when she would present to me questions that seemed to come from a planet as far away as Saturn, was an answer with a wink, “I don’t know, honey. But if you’re willing, I’ll take this ride with you and let’s both try to find out.”

Astrid

Astrid's book Bayong ng Kuting. Her autograph reads: Para Kay Don, Love your pets! Enjoy the book! -Astrid. The night before I went to her wake, binasa ko ang kuwentong ito at bedtime sa aking mga anak - in tribute to the book's author.

Her last picture during the NCBD. This picture appeared in the August issue of PTS. L-R: Augie Rivera, Rhandee Garlitos, Zarah Gagatiga, and Astrid.

Astrid with her winsome smile, sabi nga ni Zarah - "The Jack Nicholson Smile". She won honorable mention in this edition of the NCBD held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for her story, "Tatay's Photographs".

L-R: Astrid, Bong Oris, Raissa Falgui, Yas Ortiga, Mr. Sari Ortiga of Crucible Gallery and me.

***

I know this post is late, but sabi nga, better late than never. Mae Astrid Tobias, colleague and friend (kahit sa kaunting panahon lang) succumbed last August 23 from Lupus. 2006 pa lang ng Disyembre aware na akong may sakit siyang ganito dahil napag-usapan nila ni Tito Dok Gatmaitan habang nagkukuwentuhan kami during our Kuting Christmas party. That was the night when we first got introduced, kakarating lang niya from the Netherlands. Memorable din na ako ang nakakuha ng gift niya sa exchange gift – some delicious bars of Holland’s dark chocolates.

When Augie Rivera informed me na pumanaw na si Astrid that morning, can’t help but feel shocked and…depressed. Astrid’s talent and dedication to her craft was definitely formidable, and her achievements, enviable. Having churned out books after books and stories after stories in such a short span of time, she passed away na may ilan pang book projects na nakabinbin.

Nakakahinayang rin dahil nagsisimula pa lang talaga ang aming pagkakaibigan. I really felt that friendship started when she left a message in one of my blogs when it was my birthday:

Dear Don, I wish you all the best. Sana makamit mo ang iyong mga pangarap. Astrid.

The last time we met, magkatabi pa kaming nanood sa Cinemalaya 2009 ng Last Supper No.3 and Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe – kung saan napag-usapan namin more or less ang merits and weaknesses of the aforementioned films. Napag-usapan rin namin ang kanyang dream project, ang “Kuting Night” where I honestly told her na mapapag-coat and tie mo kaya kaming mga boys? Sabi lang niya, “Sige, just tell me what’s on your mind. Makikinig ako.”

Masuwerte na lang at during Kuting’s GA last July, dinala ko ang kopya ko ng Bayong ng Kuting para makapag-pa-autograph sa kanya. During the last National Children’s Book Day rin na ginanap sa Marikina, bumili at nagpa-autograph ako sa kopya ko ng kanyang latest children’s book, ang Bakawan. Naalala kong tinanong niya sa akin while we were seated, “Don, buti nakarating ka? Sa South ka pa, di ba?” Ang sabi ko na lang, “Ako pa? Red letter day sa akin ang NCBD.” Kaya nga kahit sa dulo ng earth pa ang Marikina ng Las Piñas, nag-leave ako sa opisina para makadalo.

Nag-kodakan moments kami afterwards nang lumapit na sa amin ang fellow Kuting member at PBBY Salanga Grand Prize Winner na si Rhandee Garlitos. Pinagkaguluhan namin ang medallion niya. Kinuha pa nga ni Augie ang kanyang laptop at pinahid ang medalya ni Rhandee duon. It was such a funny moment. Actually hindi ko agad pinost ang pictures dahil plano kong ipakita sa kanila pag lumabas na ang isyu ng Pinoy Tayo Sanman, ang magazine na hinahawakan ko bilang editor. Sadly, hindi na umabot. Ipinost ko lang sa yahoogroups ng Kuting when Liwa asked us for pictures of her. Habang tinitignan ko ang picture, sinong mag-aakalang in a few days time eh iiwanan niya na pala tayo?

I can only encapsulate best what Pepper’s mom (Pepper was Astrid’s boyfriend), told everyone present during the eulogies during Astrid’s wake. It goes something like this: For us, Astrid was like a shooting star – she was gone too soon.

Salamat sa buhay at sa mga kuwento, Astrid!

***

Mae Astrid Tobias was a multi-awarded writer who won honors, among others, from the Palanca (Bayong ng Kuting) and the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) awards (Ang Gulong ni Bong and Tatay’s Photographs). Her retellings of the Ifugao epic Hudhud, through her children’s books "Pumbakhayon" and "Halikpon" (published by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts), was a finalist in the 2006 National Book Awards for children’s literature and best book design. An expert in children and media, she obtained her training from the Radio Netherlands Training Center in the Netherlands. From 2003 to 2007, she served as Bureau Manager for the Kabataan News Network (KNN), a project of the Probe Foundation, Inc and UNICEF, training young children in developing and producing their own children’s news show. She also served as writer to the educational children’s show, Eskuwela ng Bayan, Sirit and Batang Bibbo.She also wrote and produced corporate communications and audio-visual presentations and develops web content. She also served as production assistant on Alak ng Bagong Tipan: Simbahan at Pagpapari, a documentary on Cardinal Sin’s contribution to the Church and priesthood.

From 2004 until 2006, she was President of the Kuwentista ng mga Tsikiting (KUTING), the Philippines’ premiere organization of Filipino professional writers for children.

Write-up based from http://www.creativeadvocacies.com/

Thank God for those little chicken soups.

Physically tired and mentally drained from finishing the first draft of a script at work (for a program I’m in charge of developing), I got home at around 8 p.m. feeling starved and aching to eat something ‘soupy’. Sabi ko nga, I’m the one person na parang hindi makakain nang masaya pag walang ‘sabaw’. Totoo. Even my two kids sa akin yata nagmana. Every time Joy would call us for lunch or dinner, you can almost always hear the question, either from me or Belle, or lately from Ivan, “May soup, Mama?”

But there was no soup, technically, the soup na hinihigop, on the table. Joy cooked pinakbet and an inadobong isda ( I forgot the name) con pruned kamias. I can’t complain. Nakadalawang plato ako sa sarap. But I’m getting a head of the story for this blog.

Naabutan ko si Joy helping Belle with her Geometry project. I was about to go straight to our room to change my clothes when Belle told me about a book she borrowed from the library earlier. “Papa, I will read to you something, naiyak ako.”

Belle just turned 9 last July 26, and since she started reading from the age of four if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time I hear her say na “naiyak ako.” Sure, Belle is “mababaw ang luha” when it comes to senti children’s movies, but “naiyak” because of a story she’d just read? I was curious to find out kung anong kuwento iyon.

While Joy was re-heating my dinner, I sat beside Belle while she read for me lines from the book called Chicken Soup for Little Souls: The Best Night Out With Dad. The story was adapted from “The Circus” by Dan Clark, and written by Lisa McCourt with illustrations by Bert Dodson. The story is about a young boy named Danny who just met a fellow young boy named Vincent at the entrance of the Circus gates. Both of the young boys were accompanied by their fathers, in what promises to be a wonderful night out. Danny is used to watching spectacles after spectacles from the circus show while this is going to be Vincent’s first. When it’s time to purchase the entrance tickets, Vincent’s dad was crestfallen because the coupon he presented to the ticket agent was no longer honored. In an instant, Vincent’s excitement evaporated into thin air. He was taken out of the line and he and his father started to walk away far from the gates. Danny was troubled. What would he do?

Belle read one of the first lines from page one and skipped to the last few pages, reading a bit fast but pausing for the dramatic lines to emphasize the crucial lines. I was half-paying attention as I smelled the food from the stove, their aroma almost intoxicating my starved stomach. But looking at Belle’s eyes as she read the lines with intensity and gusto, manghang-mangha ako. Yes, siguro nga I’m beginning to witness how advanced her reading comprehension is compared with mine when I was the same age. When I was nine, I only remember me still reading Aesop’s fables, a few Enid Blyton’s which I can’t hardly understand at all or the tales of Peter Rabbit. But here is my girl, immersing herself in a story ringing with paternal issues and social relevance.

Once I finished eating my dinner, agad kong binasa ang libro. Dahil sa pananaw ko, maaaring touching ang kuwento – pero nakakaiyak? But wait. Once I started reading the large-type book, it didn’t take ten minutes bago ako napasinghot at naiyak sa kuwento! Yeah, Belle’s vibe on the story was for real.

Kaya ako, hindi ko na inulit magbasa ng Chicken Soup series lalo na kapag nakapila ako sa may shuttle terminal sa labas ng village namin. Dahil one time, nakakatawa, habang nakatapat ako sa may Security Agency pa naman, dumaloy na lang basta ang luha ko. Siyempre hindi pinahalata, kunwari napuwing lang ako habang pasimpleng pinupunasan ang luha ko; at kunwari na rin, nililinis ko lang ang salamin ko. I just closed the book and stopped reading. Diyahe.

Nakakabilib din dahil itong Chicken Soup series ay ginawan na rin ng picture book version ng Scholastic. Ano kaya ang susunod, TV series?

Right now I’m really thankful dahil Belle is proving to be one of my staunchest critics when it comes to my first drafts. Siguro a few more months puwede ko nang ipabasa sa kanya ang mga ‘mushy’ children’s stories na nagawa ko noon – at hindi ko sasabihing ako ang nagsulat – at pag naiyak siya – I’ll be happy. J

One Day In Your Life

Something about this song from the late King of Pop always makes me lethargic and pretty sentimental. Up to now, it is a favorite selection in my music player. I'm not quite sure if this has something to do with my growing up as a kid in Kamuning, QC where it was always played on our old fashioned Hitachi stereo.

When my friends ask me, "Do you like Michael Jackson?" I always answer, "I'm not a fan. But I like his songs from his Jackson 5 years..." - and that includes Ben, I'll Be There, etc.

Here's the mushy and unapologetically sentimental piece that I love:

One day in your life you'll remember a place
Someone's touching your face
You'll come back and you'll look around you

One day in your life You'll remember the love you found here
You'll remember me somehow
Though you don't need me now I will stay in your heart

And when things fall apart
You'll remember one day...

One day in your life
When you find that you're always waiting
For the love we used to share
Just call my name
And I'll be there (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh...)

You'll remember me somehow
Though you don't need me now I will stay in your heart
And when things fall apart
You'll remember one day...
One day in your life
When you find that you're always longing for the love we used to share

Just call my name And I'll be there (Ohh...)

***

Thank you for the music, Michael J!

Thoughts on Father's Day

Our children are a heritage,A blessing from the Lord;They bring a richness to our lives—In each, a treasure stored. —Fasick

Years ago, before I settled down and became a father to two wonderful kids, I always had this sense of ambivalence whenever Father’s Day is celebrated.

The meaning of fatherhood has never presented itself on me as I reached puberty. When I was a teenager trying to grasp the meaning of so many things, Fatherhood is only a word that probably gazed at my being – it feigned to be there – only, it wasn’t there.

But I believe fatherhood was given to me, first and foremost, to dispel any negative notions I had about the term itself. It was a gift that I was blessed to receive. Even if fatherhood is sometimes a tightrope walk, I wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world. It was like God telling me, your earthly father might have abandoned you, but now is the time for you to make your mark on your kids’ lives…it is not easy, but it pays to traverse with them side by side, if not to be there with them in the end, at least see that they are walking in a direction different from what you’ve taken.

That is why maybe I cannot imagine myself working far away from my family for longer periods of time. I cannot grasp the meaning of two persons getting tied up together and then separating in the name of brighter cash, brighter work. That is why, maybe, I never picture myself working in a distant land in the guise of bringing them the quintessential honey and bread, in the promise of securing for them a brighter future.

Maybe that’s why I’m also ambivalent about so many things – like the things that caused my earthly father to fly and move so far away from us at the prospect of investing gold to secure our future – a prospect that didn’t take place, a move that compromised the very essence of family and responsibility.

Early on, I decided that if ever I will be a father, I would be there not just to be called father, but to play the role – and let me tell you, I’m enjoying every minute of it! I see that we will not always be there for our children, but the least that we could do for now maybe is to make memories with them – those memories they will hinge on and cling to in the coming days of their lives when they themselves would try to figure out for themselves the meaning of the word, ‘father’.

Father’s Day now is always anticipated. Just this morning upon waking up, after greeting me “Papa, happy father’s Day!”, Belle showed me a PowerPoint presentation she did with Mama Joy in lieu of the printed card I always expect to receive from her. Later on after church, we met with my sister Ate But (my only sibling living here in Manila) and her husband Kuya Benjie and nephew Matty and celebrated Father’s Day at the Mall of Asia Savory Chicken Restaurant.

Later on Belle and Ivan and I browsed at the children’s section of Powerbooks. Saw a set of new titles, including fellow Kuting Becky Bravo’s Fetch. We went home at past five, feeling sticky and tired, especially after walking up at the wrong car park. But you know what? I couldn’t forget the ‘treat’ my family gave me on this special day; in fact, the only day other than my birthday I can truly call my own.

Let me share this devotional I just read from inspirational writer David H. Roper:

A friend of mine wrote recently, “If we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family left behind would feel the loss for the rest of their lives. Why then do we invest so much in our work and so little in our children’s lives?”

Why do we sometimes exhaust ourselves rising up early and going late to rest, “eating the bread of anxious toil” (Ps. 127:1-2 esv), busying ourselves to make our mark on this world, and overlooking the one investment that matters beyond everything else—our children?
Solomon declared, “Children are a heritage from the Lord”—an invaluable legacy He has bequeathed us. “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth” (v.4) is his striking simile. Nothing is more worthy of our energy and time.

There is no need for “anxious toil,” working night and day, the wise man Solomon proclaimed, for the Lord does take care of us (Ps. 127:2). We can make time for our children and trust that the Lord will provide for all of our physical needs. Children, whether our own or those we disciple, are our lasting legacy—an investment we’ll never regret.


Happy Father’s Day to everyone!

A writer's note for kids who read rarely

A writer's note for kids who read rarely
by Kristine Servando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak 05/18/2009


In a generation when children opt to watch television or play computer games, it is sometimes hard to tempt youngsters to read an entire book for leisure. But for this country's first two-time Romeo Forbes Children's Storywriting Competition winner, getting children to read again is a lifetime labor of love.

A budding fictionist, illustrator, and producer at the ripe age of 39, Fernando Gonzalez said it is one of his passions to make children, including his own, love reading books.

"Gusto ko makatulong sa mga bata na maging reader. Kasi yung mga bata sa panahon ngayon, hindi sila ganun ka-avid na reader," he said. "I want them to learn the stuff that will make their imaginations work because the most fulfilling thing that you can do is to help them express their creative ideas."

In his latest grand prize-winning entry in one of the most prestigious children's writing competitions, Gonzalez's ideal childlike imagination comes alive in a character named Kikoy, a mischievous and playful young boy in the Spanish era.

He is tasked by a priest to guard several bamboo poles buried beneath the soil near the seashore. Every day, Kikoy hears music coming from beneath the ground, which seems at once curious and wonderful.

His story titled "Mga Huni sa Loob Ng Kawayan" (literally meaning chirping inside bamboo) is both a tribute to the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ, considered a national heritage, and a way to capture a child's interest in learning about nuggets of Philippine history.

"When I write, I see to it that my readers ay makakapulot ng kahit maliit na bagay lang, that legacy of giving something sensible or marangal. As a writer, you have a social responsibility to make this world a better place to live in," he said.

The story, which he considers his favorite work, was inspired by his own experience squeezing into the claustrophobic space behind the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ. He said the story was already written in his mind years prior to the Romeo Forbes contest.

After eight drafts and much research, the story was polished to match the contest's requirements. Contestants are asked to write stories based on the contest piece. For 2009, it was a painting by Juanito Torres of several young boys in Katipunero-esque gear with their swords raised in the air.

As Gonzalez's prize after winning in April 2009, he was given P35,000 and his story will be published next year into a full-color book (both in English and Filipino) by the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development or CANVAS, and the University of Santo Tomas press.

Big break

Prior to this, his first ever winning entry to the 2008 Romeo Forbes Children's Storywriting Competition, "Ang Batang Maraming Bawal," was written while he was at the hospital, awaiting the birth of his second child Ivan Zion.

"My wife was in labor for 22 hours. We were in a hospital room, waiting, and I saw a bunch of newspapers, mostly back issues. On one of them, I saw a call for entries for the Romeo Forbes competition. So that I wouldn't be bored, I started writing and walking around the hospital," he said.

"Then I saw a poster about Newborn Screening, showing a child who wasn't screened and grew up slightly retarded. Then I thought, what are their lives like, what can they do with their lives?" he recounted.

In his winning piece, Gonzalez wrote about a sickly boy, much like the author himself as a child, whose wild imagination took him all over the Philippines in his effort to transcend the confines of his bed. The main character is suffering from a blood disease and has to put up with many restrictions to ensure his safety, something he thinks diseased children can relate to.

"I have many friends with children who have leukemia or who got sick at a very young age. One of them, Gwen, my godfather's daughter, was one of my biggest inspirations. It's about coping and and teaching you how to rise above your difficulties. It's about the power of the mind," he said.

Although he had previously won some acclaim in other writing competitions, Gonzalez said he considers this victory as his "biggest break" into the children's storywriting world.

"I was a total unknown, and I was so surprised that I won. This is meaningful because this is my first children's story book. Although I've published children's stories before, they were not published as books, only in magazines," he said, proudly showing off a hard-cover copy of "Ang Batang Maraming Bawal," tastefully illustrated by Rodel Tapaya.

"My family bought a lot of copies to distribute to friends. Mahal kasi eh. Even I can't afford my book," he quipped.

Artistic roots

Being named after National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, born to a painter father (Serafin "Sergon" Gonzalez), and being part of a brood of 5 artistically-inclined siblings, perhaps this was a fitting start to what would be a voraciously artistic life. He grew up in Quezon City then later moved to Las Piñas, where he is based to this day.

From a very young age, it was clear that Gonzalez had a flair for story-telling. He recounts how, at the age of 6 or 7, he would already direct fantastical stage plays starring his friends. "We would make our aunts and uncles watch, and even sold them makeshift tickets for 10 cents. We would record our sounds on a cassette tape then read from a script," he said.

Gonzalez said he always liked stories with a whimsical aspect, a tendency heavily influenced by his frequent trips to the theater to watch Disney films in the mid-1970s. One of his earliest stage plays was about a magical umbrella, probably inspired by the hit musical "Mary Poppins."

An inkling of his potentials as a poet, meanwhile, was sparked when his 5th grade teacher accused him of plagiarizing a poem submission, thinking that it was far too advanced material for an 11-year-old boy. "She announced this in front of the whole class. For a 5th grader, this was very painful. But thinking about it now, I just say 'Ah! She was fooled,'" he said.

As a schoolboy, he would keep on joining writing contests, some of which he won. However, Gonzalez, confessed that when he was young, he had not always wanted to be a writer, but a painter like his father.

"I guess later on I thought, I wanted to be a story-teller. It didn't matter what field I was in, be it film, or something, because you're still telling stories," he said.

Dream projects

In his professional life, Gonzalez said he has had his fair share of wins and losses after joining literary contests countless times, from the Palanca Awards to the Salanga Prize, in a myriad of categories from screenplay writing to "text message poetry."

His road to becoming an acclaimed children's story writer was a long one. His first job was as a music teacher at the Yamaha School of Music in Las Piñas, after opting not to finish his piano degree at the University of the Philippines-Diliman Conservatory of Music. He finished his piano level at the Cathedral of Praise, where he would head musical productions and arrangements.

Later on, he delved into TV production and scriptwriting at a Makati-based multi-media company Beginnings at Twenty Plus Inc. where he handles programming of two channels. He had held positions as a subtitlist (putting in English subtitles to Filipino films and Filipino subtitles to American films) as well as a creative director.

He has also illustrated and produced several segments of the "Alamat Series" on "Pilipino Klasiks" aired on Destiny Cable. Gonzalez has also published several Filipino novelettes and is editor-in-chief of a magazine geared towards overseas Filipino workers.

It is only in his spare time, Gonzalez said, when he gets to unleash the children's story author in him to the fullest. "Every weekend, I make it a point to sit down and write at least one page because as a writer you have to be disciplined. But yung nakaka-stress kasi yung gabing-gabi na and may naiisip ka pa."

The story of a struggling writer working a day job--sometimes completely unrelated to their craft--is the story of many of Gonzalez's peers in the industry and from the country's premiere writer's group for children, Kwentista ng mga Tsikiting (KUTING), which he joined in 2006.

"It's a dream to be able to write full-time, to work from home and live off your royalties. But I think that's not possible in the Philippines. We all have day jobs, we're just doing this as a vocation or a hobby. But sometimes I think 'Ano ba talaga gusto mo gawin?' I want to create more books and leave a legacy for generations to come," he said.

Child at heart

A self-taught writer, Gonzalez said he has devoted much of his time in improving his craft by signing up for short writing courses online or applying for writing felllowships like the 2008 6th Barlaya Writing for Young Adults Workshop.

To encourage his writing, his mother and his wife had dedicated portions of their home as his writing nook, where he is reportedly often seen crying. "Umiiyak kasi ako talaga pag nakakaiyak yung story na sinusulat ko. My wife laughs at me but I don't mind. I have to convince myself first [about my story's capacity to stir emotions] before I can convince others," he said.

His wife, Josephine Añonuevo, also serves as his personal editor and critic, deftly providing advice on Filipino words to use in his stories.

To keep up with his fertile mind, Gonzalez has taken to scribbling hundreds of story ideas into notebooks or keeping a note of it on his cellular phone. To date, the author has come up with many piquing titles for children's stories including "Ssssh! Huwag Daw Kami Maingay" or "Nang Maubusan ng Kwento si Tatay," each yet to be written.

He said his children, 8-year-old Tiara Ysabelle and 3-year-old Ivan, provide him with constant inspiration (and pressure) to come up with more and more stories each day. Even the most mundane objects can inspire something in him, from the insistent prodding of his daughter, who orders him to tell her two unique bedtime stories a day.

"I told her story about an electric fan that wanted to become an airconditioner. One time, I saw my son coughing, then I saw that he wasn't wearing a 'bimpo' (a baby towel used to keep children's backs dry). I said, maybe his sweat dried on his shirt, and he caught a cold. Then I got inspired and made a story about the 'bimpo' which I am currently submitting to publishing houses," he said.

In his story titled "Bimpo," a young boy's well-worn towel starts feeling slighted after it notices that friends and family only complement the boy's clothes at parties. It also starts to feel inferior to cleaner and newer clothes on the clothesline. But after the boy forgets to bring it along with him on a field trip, the filthy towel then realizes its importance.

His eldest, Belle, has even started to show signs of taking after her father, writing and illustrating one-page stories of her own. In one case, she scribbled a story called "The Legent (sic) of the Sand" on bond paper, embellishing it with illustrations of her own using crayon and markers.

Late bloomer

With a writing record under his belt, Gonzalez is now setting his sights on what he calls his "dream project": to make a children's book or a film about Filipino values which can win international acclaim.

Pushing 40 years old, Gonzalez is quick to admit that although he has come so far already, he still has a long way to go on the road to fame and writing glory. "I feel like since I was in Grade 5 up to this time, ang tagal ko nagsimula. Then it is only now that my career in children's writing is taking off. I'm a later bloomer, so I still have to learn and unlearn a few things in writing and making stories," he said.

However, Gonzalez said he has no fear because the story of his life is to live on dreams. "I will write and write. What matters is, what I write can be read by children. What I only want is to offer a story to the world that my own children can be proud of," he said.

You can read the online article here.

(Special thanks to Kristine Servando and David Dizon of abs-cbn online.)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ivan!

Ring bearer at Tito Bryan and Tita Jaydee's wedding last April.

With Ate Belle at Amuyong.

Playing with Kuya Matty's cars galore at 1080.