This is my last article for 2025. I’d use it as an excuse to sidestep my usual music reviews and instead take stock of the year that was and try to manifest the year that will be.

And what a year! We’ve lost some family, relatives, friends, and even a beloved pet. It was particularly hard for my wife, who had to say goodbye to her dear old mum. Harder was not even there when it happened. But props to her for staying strong. She was like a music conductor, orchestrating her mother’s wake from afar. Keeping up with the metaphor, she was fluid with her baton and kept a steady time. She knew the minutiae of this very personal event as if she were there. She’s a rock! As the stoic Marcus Aurelius wrote: “Nothing happens to any (wo)man which (s)he is not formed by nature to bear.” Life is not promised to be easy, but having the right mindset helps navigate it. It also helps that she’s got the best set of friends back home to act as veritable ‘musicians of her orchestra’ to see this piece through.

Also, my cousins, Kuya Albert Florentin, who had a penchant for poems and life story-telling, and Ate Fay Alvarez-Olympia, who was beautiful inside and out, passed from this world just a few months ago. Both are remembered fondly. Our friend Mark Bernabe, with whom we played countless gigs in bars, from QC to Olongapo to Cebu and back, departed unexpectedly. He was the best co-guitarist, exclusively played rhythm, tickled the groove, and could easily remember how a tune went off the top of his close-cropped head. I don't need to worry about audience requests when we’re doing our set, because he’ll know their songs most of the time. I’d ask, “Anong key yan, Mark?” and he’d tell, and I’d jam with guitar-fills alongside his steady playing. Fun times! So, until we play that big gig in the sky, Mark! Lastly, my dog Shiro, who is the goodest boy. Rest in peace, with love!

Of course, we’ve gained as well. The thing in a new place is you meet new people. And I’m fortunate that I’ve met some really cool ones. The bonus is that I get to work with most of them. It’s only been a few months, but the prospects in the friendship department are, as they say, promising. Also grateful for the people whom we’re fortunate to call friends. Over the years, they slip in and out, but the special ones remain close. We refer to them as ‘friends-as-families’ and the more you have, the richer your life will be. So savor and accumulate these kinds of people in life.

Finally, whatever your 2026 wishes are, one bit of advice: be specific! When I quit my 28-year career in the music industry, I thought, “I hope the next job I get is still music-related and I get to play a lot of guitar.” That’s it. Didn’t say, “I want to be a guitar hero or songwriter.” So what happened? I became a guitar technician at the Guitar Center. Didn’t expect that. Which is to say, cool. Love it!

The universe listens. Be specific. We have the whole of 2026 to do it. Let’s go!

Happy New Year!

PS. As far as the Led Zeppelin pic goes, I haven’t listened to “The Song Remains The Same” album in decades. I was listening to it while writing this article. Ergo.