Ending 2016 with family and new writing opportunities.
Friday, 12.30.2016 - 8:36 pm.

Well. It's been a good week. I enjoyed a few days having a room to myself. My parents, sister and Brother #3 arrived on the 27th. Brother #2 with wife and kids are arriving later tonight. It's all good.

I'm surprised at how many things I've written for my AF story show up in the interactions with my family. I'm not surprised because I was unconscious of the connection between my writing and my life, no. I am well aware of that. I'm surprised because I wrote some of those episodes months ago, before I experienced them (and without expecting to experience them) this week.

I brought small gifts for my family, which pale in comparison to the ones they've gotten me and one another. This is true especially regarding the gifts for my younger nephew and niece, who are nearly nine and three years old, respectively. I had the best intentions regarding presents but perhaps didn't make the best effort, and frankly, I don't care much. We're like a hundred people in this family and I didn't have the budget for bigger gifts for each. I really don't feel bad, and my history of being the youngest of five siblings explains that. They don't care that much, either. I can say it's the thought that counts and move on.

I really have fun being with my parents and siblings, they're all a hoot. We eat, drink, laugh. I've drank booze here nearly every day. My parents look much more frail since last time I saw them, though. I've also lost practice being around them and I'm prone to getting easily exasperated about things they do, but I've managed to keep myself in check. It's just stupid things that bother me, it's more my problem than theirs. I just look at my sister who is a saint to them and follow her lead.
Besides that, some good news:

- I'll be writing for a small UK magazine in Spanish. It's a 1200-word column every two weeks, which terrifies me. I was contacted three days ago and asked to submit a proposal on a tight deadline. I submitted it a few hours ago. The editor liked it a lot so I think I'm in. 1200 words is a lot, but the plus side is that it is aimed for Latin American people in the UK, and I can talk about my own experiences of living here. I like living here so there's that.

- My Simeon comic strip will be published in a small US magazine in Spanish. It's weird. This chance and the one above came to me one day after the other, both completely unrelated to one another. This one contact came from an acquaintance who lives in Texas and runs a small newspaper for the Latin American community in the state. I don't have to create new content, my acquaintance will take the strips already posted on my website. I looked at the newspaper and I'm not sure how well its audience would receive the comic, but it's worth a shot.

It's nice having my writing being noticed by people who are not close to me (those close to me don't notice it much either, but that's fine. I wouldn't like friends and family pretending they like something just because it's made by someone they know).

Also, I'm about to submit two very short stories to a digital publishing house that's looking for female Central American writers for an anthology. Wish me luck.

Anyway. I'll have to wait until things are less hectic around here to talk about other things. It is time to be with the family. I don't have much to say about 2016 that millions of people haven't said already. However, it was a good year for me, personally, and I'm grateful for it. I can only wish and hope for a wonderful 2017.

Happy New Year!

prev / next