back issue

I just got a copy of People Asia's December 2006 - January 2007 issue, as well as the February and March issues for this year. No, the cover image you see on the left is not one of the covers of the issues mentioned; it's just an old image I got from the Internet. I have to post an image, right?

Right. Anyway, I remember doing a food slash restaurant review for the Dec-Jan issue, but I can never find a copy. Sam, who works for People Asia, and is a classmate in the MA Creative Writing program at UP Diliman, gave my wife these issues when she passed by Sam's office.

The photos inside the Dec-Jan issue were trademark portfolio shots. Neat. The article, mine, was, well, what it turned out to be. Whoever breathes over the shoulder of the layout artist gets to condense whatever articles any contributor turned in, because space is scarce and photos that visually define the page mood are priorities. And then there are other considerations. Ho-hum.

So, my main article, a food review, and three little sidebar stories, got mixed into one continuous piece. It lost the author's voice, as is expected. These things happen. I used to work for a publications office in UP Diliman, which used to condense my articles with space, image, and feature-worthiness in the editor's mind. That's a reality check for you. No blames being thrown here, just one big sigh. At least my reality (pay) check for that article has been snail-mailed. I wonder when the mailman will knock on my door. Meanwhile, I have these three glossy issues to browse through. So many pictures.