Happy New Year, Steemians! Let us all welcome this new year with open arms and hearts. I pray that the Good Lord Will Bless us and our families with the things that matter most in life: Gift of good health, happy home, prosperity, and peace of mind.

And may we all have the strength, determination, and courage to face all the new challenges that life will throw at us in this new year. My thoughts right now are with some friends and relatives from my father's home province. It was flooded recently by a typhoon that hit our country just right after Christmas.

A friend of mine, and fellow artist, lost a lot of his artworks, materials, works that he had been commissioned to restore, and other possessions, when his studio was flooded. Imagine having to face the new year with almost nothing, and having to start all over again from scratch. But he is a man of strong faith and determination. I know he will prevail.

So, what will this New Year be like for me? This year will see the return of my old aggressive and competitive self. As a professional animation artist, I see myself doing more challenging things outside of my comfort zone. As a Steemian, it means I will be posting more, and not just artworks, but also everything else I can write about. There's more to me than just my creative side.

Lose the Old Year, Not Your Fingers!

My New Year's greet in Facebook may sound humorous to my non-Filipino readers, but unbeknownst to them, a lot of Filipino males of all ages begin the new year minus some fingers, or even an entire hand. Worse, some of them even end up in the morgue, and it's all because of firecracker-related injuries.

With a firecracker ban in place, you'd think that during the few days leading up to New Year's eve, and right after, would see less hospital admissions for such injuries.

And while the news reports have reported less numbers so far, an 80% drop over the past 5 years, some dimwits will stop using whatever brain cells they have left, and manage to blow off some of their digits.

Good thing my family gave up the practice of lighting up explosive firecrackers more than twenty years ago. So, if you're a foreigner visiting the Philippines, and you see some boys or grown men who are missing some fingers, chances are they were blown off by firecrackers.

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A New Year, A New Opportunity

In October of last year, I was informed of an opportunity to become involved with a homegrown animated movie project, which I mentioned in a previous blog entry here. It took me a while to to prepare new stuff to show them and send in my application due to my busy work schedule. And finally, after weeks of preparation, I got everything together, and sent them an email on Dec. 3.

I didn't get a reply from them right away, so I assumed that they were dealing with many applications, or that I had been too slow to react and they had already chosen the applicants to reel in, and I wasn't one of them.

In my previous applications my prospective employers were always quick to respond. This one was different. After two weeks of waiting, I decided to give it up and just assume that they would either reply to me after the holidays, or not at all. Christmas break came, and the festivities distracted me from all my concerns about anything work-related, especially about the prospect of moving to a new job. It was party time.

Then, last week, I checked my email and saw their reply to my application. I learned that it had just been read and processed. I was probably even put on a short list, as is usual whenever I apply for a new job. So, what makes me think I've been shortlisted? Simple. None of my friends who had applied right away after the job ad was posted, received a reply. I asked them again a while ago, and still nothing.

So, it looks like I'll be looking for someone to replace me in my current job, in case I get hired for the new one. This new year may have only just begun, but it's already beginning to look promising and exciting.

So...

I can't wait for it to happen. My current job is beginning to bore me. Besides, I'm tired of creating content for outsourced projects from foreign producers, and would like to contribute my talent and skills to even just one or two homegrown animated movies, before I try my hand at working outside of the country. And here's my chance to do just that.

Oh, and I am thinking about resuming my Muay Thai training this summer, if my work schedule allows. The girl I dated previously is an MMA practitioner, with currently 7 years of Muay Thai, Boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training under her belt. Another ex (the abusive one) was a martial artist too. She has a black belt in Taekwondo, while I was only in the lower half of the TKD belt range, back in the mid-90s. And it's something she ribbed me mercilessly about sometimes. Evil woman.

But this doesn't mean I prefer to date women with martial arts skills, it's just purely coincidental that they were into it. It's archery that actually tops the sexiness scale in my list of physical activities of a woman I want to be with.

Getting back into shape is a good way for me to get psyched for the challenge of that new job. But I need to be careful, because, like in any other contact sport, it's so easy to injure my hand. And as an artist, a wrist injury would certainly sideline me for a few months.

But before I head off to the nearby gyms (Elorde), it's best for me to get checked up first and make sure I have a clean bill of health before engaging in any physical activity that is guaranteed to bring me some pain and suffering.

So, 2019, bring it on! I'm ready for your challenges, and nothing can deter me from accomplishing my goals.

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A Sneak Peek of My First Art Post for 2019

I know a lot of people are waiting for me to finish this portrait, and I can gladly say now that it is done! However, as this girl is special to me, I want to top my previous post about another girl's portrait, and present this in a more grandiose fashion than the previous one.

Anyway, looking at the amount of material I have to prepare, it is going to be one big post. And that's not counting the graphical elements that have yet to be created for it. I am also thinking of debuting my personal branding with that blog, and I best get started on it right now, before I receive my new animation work tasks for 2019.

I thought of showing a process picture with completed hair, but, I decided it would be too much of a spoiler. Anyway, just wait for the post. I also have other compositions I wrote before my Christmas break, and I'd like to get them all out soon so I can cross them out of my to-do list.

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Ok, that's it for now. It's time to get back to work on that blog post that will be a combined belated birthday and Christmas gift for someone. And there is a mountain of post-holiday chores to deal with too. Taking down the tree is one of them, and it's always the saddest thing for me to do, after the holidays.

Time for another selfie again, and channeling Aragorn this time, before I close. People like to tell me that I rock the medieval/Viking look with ease, and they're right. And again, I remind everyone not to pollute. We've only got this planet to live in, and there's no escaping it for now. All we're doing here in Steemit isn't going to matter anymore, if we don't save our dying world first.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you were entertained, and found this post informative, or even helpful in some way. God Bless you all, Happy New Year, and have a nice day.

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This blog was created with eSteem Surfer and GIMP.