Its Totally Banzai In The Philippines!

Hi, everybody! -

A few weeks ago as I type this.  I appreciate all of you who are posting on my Message Board, and I hope to see the rest of you joining in, now that my series is back in full swing.

I’m typing on a Mac Mini, visiting my famliy in Iloilo, Philippines; it’s my annual trip back to see my mother Judith, my father Pepito, my sister Michelle, my brothers Pejee and Jhopet, and so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  

(A musical thought:  Yes, the publisher of our CD is talking about getting us back into the recording studio while I’m here, and I’ll know as the month progresses whether it will happen.  Here’s a link to a song we’ve been working on:  SWAY)

Download the Mp3 of SWAY here

Yeah, it felt great to be back in the Philippines where I grew up.  You see, after much scrimping and saving, Michelle and I — with many many thanks to our agent, David Campiti of Glass House Graphics   — have bought and and built a brand-new California-style home for my family. 

With tile floors, high ceilings, a 42” lcd TV, and a gorgeous, intricately-cut front door, it’s three bedrooms, three baths, a huge living room/dining/room/kitchen area, a carport/porch area, even a dirty kitchen (Filipinos will know what I mean), storage shed, and even a room for my father’s electronics business. 

They are comfortable for the first time in our lives, and I couldn’t be happier.  I could be a little less exhausted, though.

Wow, what a year it’s been.  After I focussed many months of attention on my AVALON HIGH artwork collaboration with writer Meg Cabot at TokyoPop, the editors there immediately rolled me into a second AVALON HIGH book, with one nearly twice the number of pages!  It’s an relentless schedule, but I’m glad that people are finally seeing that I’m not just a “one-trick pony” with BANZAI GIRL.  (Someone the other day referred to me as just a “booth babe.” As if!)

Meg Cabot’s Avalon High!