What. A. Year.
I started the year with hopes and dreams that I can go to Iloilo or La Union, only to end up stuck in one place and working my ass off. This is definitely not the situation I wanted to be.
Imagine having time for friends and hobbies in person, or creating more projects – then all of a sudden, you have no place to go anymore. Can we go back in time to avoid COVID-19, the CCP Virus, altogether?
Setting that aside, here’s what I’ve done for keepsakes., as well as other activities, this year:
January
I enjoyed playing UNO with friends at Reiwa Anime Station. By this time I was already set for my next trip to Cebu for Otakufest 2021.
February
Otakufest 2020 was held once again at SM Seaside City Cebu. Here I was thinking that it will be held at UP Cebu – it was supposed to be my first time going there – but because of the pandemic, it had to go back to last year’s venue. If I recall correctly, this is the first time I used my gimbal to record footage, and I felt satisfied with the output.
Hypnosis Underground 2 elevated last year’s experience by having water. Lots of it. You know, the fandom’s good when you see an event dedicated to it and the fans are having a fantastic time. This one is for the books.
It was also in this month when I got to see the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale again – and finally, I was able to read a book I bought from the said event.
Just saying, Anime Idol Convention 2020 can be much more cooler when I’m present there – except when I had a work call at the same day. Damn. I’m lucky to have Josh on board while I try to sort out myself at work doing live voice-overs for a youth event.
March
Quite frankly, if I was not able to go back to Manila (I had to, work calls) , I’d be stuck for long – Cebu had a bad COVID-19 outbreak, which is definitely sad given that I would love to go back there. I made friends there, and now all of a sudden we’re only limited to our screens and cameras!
For more than 78 days, I microblogged my life as we get into lockdown mode. This was also the time when I had more time to create content, and so I was able to sort out my 2018 footage before I discard it into the void.
Just a day before the community quarantine (lockdown) was imposed, I went on a movie date of my own, given that I won’t be able to visit the movie theater for long (the next visit after that was when I watched Saekano the Movie: Finale).
April
Driven by my innate annoyance to some Tiktok users making fun of actual sign language interpreters who take turns on who will interpret next for the Deaf, I sought assistance from Hello, Mirai to get in touch with the Filipino Sign Language Access Team for COVID-19. I am happy they accepted my request for a brief interview despite holding it on a Sunday.
Following that, I got in touch with the Solid North’s Cosplay Community (Baguio, La Union) – I’m keeping in touch with them about their current situation, and they are also doing their own contests to keep the community spirit alive. I want to get back soon – I miss visiting the city’s cosplay events.
Speaking of the community spirit, the cosplay community held its own Online Cosplay Convention where cosplayers showed their cosplay trials-gone-real on Facebook. We even had guests from Malaysia joining us!
I also recorded another interview – this time on Discord, with Wonderland Hiraya who released their debut song on Spotify.
May
On my first major live stream on Twitch, I talked to Ai Natsumi in Manila as well as Mais Semblante and Diane Sabandeja in Cebu. Joining me is my Cebuano counterpart Gary Montejo.
We weathered through the whole discussion despite internet difficulties – and we followed it soon after. This time, we tapped into Cebu’s hobby event organizers for an insightful roundtable discussion hosted by Red Mendoza of Anime Pilipinas.
June
I released my Cebu 2020 Vlog on the date when I’m supposed to be back there – it’s a bit bittersweet. I was about to see a Bon Odori event there.
Aside from this, I also posted some videos about Virtual YouTubers, that one piece of entertainment that helped me survive 2020.
I started attending more online events by this time too, helping me keep in touch of what’s going on in the community. Fan panels are the best.
July
It was in June where we formally start pivoting to online events, and now I have to fill in more content to keep up with the schedule, which I apparently missed given that I have no content last month.
It was around this time that some cosplay drama popped up on Facebook, and as someone looking for trends, I jumped in and got my first Instagram “Emergency Meeting” Live.
It was also on this month where the Creators Super Stream in Indonesia was held, perhaps my first paid online event.
August
So after watching Lyrica’s Tetris competition streams – a proof that her community is a wild, active one – I decided to play Tetris too…. sometimes. I mostly dabble on beating my own records in the 10L Cheese Race.
September
I made my birth month special by doing a huge service to my Rotary Club as the one who edited its first virtual Induction and Handover Ceremonies.
Aside from that, I am accepted as a panelist for Kurotsuki Convention Online vol. 2, where I shed light on what’s happening in Southeast Asia’s anime streaming scene, specifically on the YouTube platform. I gave some pointers for future panelists afterwards.
October
Sadly, all thing have to stop for now as the -ber months have gone wild, leaving no space for me to produce my own content – except when I flex on. I had to schedule my upcoming videos accordingly, which leads to me producing the Deremoe Archive series of videos for the rest of the year.
Haachama read my superchat question, which sheds light on the food she ate at Jollibee when she was in the Philippines. Too bad she has not yet eaten a CHAMP during her time.
Following the successful panel discussion with Naruto Cosplayers Philippines last August, I got invited to join an online program called “Animazing Show.”
While I’m really hesitant to host the show full-time due to my work commitments, I am allowed to share snippets of my opinion in the “Animazing Community” segment. You can check the archives here.
November
Speaking of CHAMP, I’ve been eating Big Macs for so long that when I had my first CHAMP, I was amazed. Again, the CHAMP is bigger than the Big Mac. You have been lied and cheated to. Please try their Amazing Aloha CHAMP.
December
By this time, I went on to finish the rest of the content I have for 2020, and I’m set to sail for a new content schedule come 2021. While this happens, I’ve finally played a game of modified Among Us thanks to a tip I got from Cosplay Matsuri Online.
In line with my future goals, I am rekindling my presence in the anime community further as I formally join Anime Corner to assist them in their growth.
Lastly, I got invited to be part of Otaku Connection STORY MODE’s 12 Great Stories feature, coming this December 31. I’ve opened up one more time to my history – and how keepsakes. was built – so look forward to it.
What’s the plan in 2021?
I realized that I may be spreading myself too thin, and since I kind of accomplished the goal of scheduling content for a year, I decide not to pursue it any more. I’m contented in releasing content the way I want to, in the time I want to release it.
Gone are the days of scheduling content – sometimes, you get tired of it, and content gets stale fast most of the time. This is best reflected when I had too many retakes of a single podcast episode simply because a lot of things have happened throughout the course of just a few weeks.
In summary, I’ll still be producing segments for the Animazing Show and help Anime Corner grow while I keep myself busy at work and my sanity intact. For now, I greet you an advanced Happy New Year.