sa tinagal-tagal ko nang hindi nagbablog, ayan, nakalimutan ko na tuloy password. haven't posted anything in two months!
wazzup with me? busy as usual. spent 3 weeks in surigao last sembreak for thesis (i don't know if 3 weeks is ever enough) only to leave the materials gathering dust for the next month or so. sobrang dami lang talagang ginagawa--from the council's cultural night to the lantern parade and other extracurricular activities...i thought they'd never end.
now, thesis jitters are coming in as we struggle to transcribe mounds of materials...buti na lang mas nagpapanic partner ko (at least i don't have to do the panicking waah)...sana matapos na to...abrakadabra...
come to think of it, when classes resume on jan 3, 3 months na lang before college ends (well, we all hope to graduate on time). it's been a pretty fast ride. di ko halos namalayan. i remember my emilio aguinaldo days in first year, plus the rotc adventure. nag-attempt pang magdebsoc. who'd forget abastillas and santillan?
then upjc came in. that was second year. di pa nakontento sa kangaragan na dala ni avecilla at carlos, nagtutorial center pa. then came kapuluan.
pamatay naman commres 101 ni sir sherwin nung third year, buti na lang andun si ma'am jane... to cap off the kahibangan, i took 5 journ subjects in the second sem. naweirdohan pa kay mam dela cruz ng socio, then aktib-aktiban pa sa cor. sumali pa ng greenminds. tumakbo pa! whee, mamatay-matay na halos ako after the sem.
pero pinakainteresting part? summer. internship + pi 100 ni sir atienza = walang tulugan. pero masaya. twas short but sweet. woke up every single morning looking forward to the day's work and actually enjoying each minute of it, kahit panay chowking ang kinakain.
then first sem of my last year (in college naman) came. puyatan sa tv journ class ni mam rara, gaguhan sa sts presentation, at kalituhan sa isa na namang socio class. tuloy-tuloy na til second sem, walang hingahan. one last stretch ika nga.
if only we could stretch it some more...not only to meet deadlines, but to spend more time with people.
come to think of it, what made all these things interesting aren't the events themselves; it's the people i've met. wished i'd gotten to know them better.
pagpasensyahan ang kasentihan. ala lang mapost dito. it's good to look back once in a while. saddens you a bit but pushes you on.
here's to the final stretch!
__________
para sa lahat ng taong di ko nakilala nang mabuti...see you somewhere, somehow, soon.
p.s. a friend of mine gave me "five people you meet in heaven" for christmas. very touching story. makes you think about the people you've met and yet you barely noticed. who knows? you might meet them in heaven.
to quote: "all endings are also beginnings. we just don't know it at the time..." tanx pam...
DRIVEN. ambitious. determined. strong-willed.
12.26.2004
10.03.2004
one more week...
classes officially ended friday. last day of exams and paper submissions this friday. one more week...one more. hang on tight.
whew! this sem's really tight. the second to the last sem hopefully. next sem, pano kaya? it'll go well.
anyway, i'm posting my yearbook write-up. here it is:
If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say. I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light…
-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
So many things to do, so little time…make the most out of it.
This has always been my guiding philosophy. It comes as no surprise that people usually see me as “ngarag, haggard, busy.” A friend would say: “ang goal niya sa buhay ay pahirapan ang sarili.” Hirit pa ng isang friend ko, “Teka lang. Hinga ka muna…o sige, tuloy na uli.”
Forever stereotyped as “the prof” since first year, “na nag-aaral na for NatSci next sem,” I usually find myself the butt of jokes for my corny punchlines and non-existent social and love life. A friend once wrote: “Jobert: The face. (?) The brain. All for the love of…books.” Buti na lang di ako pikon, or am I?
When people ask me to lighten up a bit (“ligawan mo na si…”), I’d say I enjoy what I’m doing and that things will just come. Ika nga, “Don’t look for the right person, wait to be the right person.”
College has changed my views on a lot of things. Yes you work hard, but for the right reasons…for the greater good. And you don’t stop just because you’re tired. You rest. Then go on…keep on dreaming.
..........
can't wait
whew! this sem's really tight. the second to the last sem hopefully. next sem, pano kaya? it'll go well.
anyway, i'm posting my yearbook write-up. here it is:
If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say. I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light…
-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
So many things to do, so little time…make the most out of it.
This has always been my guiding philosophy. It comes as no surprise that people usually see me as “ngarag, haggard, busy.” A friend would say: “ang goal niya sa buhay ay pahirapan ang sarili.” Hirit pa ng isang friend ko, “Teka lang. Hinga ka muna…o sige, tuloy na uli.”
Forever stereotyped as “the prof” since first year, “na nag-aaral na for NatSci next sem,” I usually find myself the butt of jokes for my corny punchlines and non-existent social and love life. A friend once wrote: “Jobert: The face. (?) The brain. All for the love of…books.” Buti na lang di ako pikon, or am I?
When people ask me to lighten up a bit (“ligawan mo na si…”), I’d say I enjoy what I’m doing and that things will just come. Ika nga, “Don’t look for the right person, wait to be the right person.”
College has changed my views on a lot of things. Yes you work hard, but for the right reasons…for the greater good. And you don’t stop just because you’re tired. You rest. Then go on…keep on dreaming.
..........
can't wait
8.17.2004
inaagnas
pat tagged na inaagnas na blog ko. hehe. don't have much time really nowadays. one of these days i will have to close this blog down. got more important things to do pa kac. tsaka tinatamad na rin ako, unlike nung summer.
ano nga ba meron nung summer? hmmm... yeah, i remember, internship chronicles, some of the more exciting ones. was in crame btw kahapon to join the picket of journalists. did get to see some old faces--my trainor and his fellow-reporters. need i mention ms mu was there too? and bernadette sembrano. to quote kate, "ang ganda ni bernadette." (i agree!)
so, ano napala ko sa pagpunta sa crame? sir arao informed me kanina nasa pic daw ako sa front page ng phil star (nasa inquirer naman si sir, nakahiga with one arm raised--panalo talaga hehe). sabay hirit din ni kuya tonton: pero mukha kang ten years older kasi nakasimangot ka. i checked--totoo nga. pambihira naman o. putol pa ulo hehe.
well, ok lang. no big deal. the real bonus of going there was nakapagset ako ng interview with ms mu and bernadette sembrano and a few others for the JC ACLE. instant lahat. kumpleto na line-up. d naman ako excited sa interview, nah. ok lang yan. (pero kinumusta ako ni ms mu, at namukhaan din ako ni ms bs hehe)
pero ano ang tunay na napala ko sa pagpunta dun? nagcram lang naman kami ni rhea sa framework. up to d last minute nagpiprint pa kami, just like last time, nung submission ng rrl. lagi na lang. nagkataon namang sona nung time na yun, and i needed to get some footage.
pero kanina, doble pahirap. i also crammed my socio paper. socio is really a nightmare. i don't know kung bakit pa ako kumuha ng isa pang socio after the horrible socio 101 experience last sem. masokista talaga. pero from now on, no more socio for me. sa inyo na emancipation, habitus at kung anu-ano pa. all that crap, ayoko na. will just figure out how to get through this one. group report and paper na lang, sana wag kaming ibagsak ni ma'am. this is really terrible.
sumabit pa tuloy ang council dahil alang nagpunta sa college assembly. nahiya naman kami sa admin. they were disappointed i could tell. hay...
ba't pa puro acads pinagsusulat ko dito? naalala ko rin tuloy ung sts exam. geesh, good luck na lang sa results. 2nd econ exams are coming up, at ala pa akong naiintindihan.
been through a lot this past month. to be honest though, i'm not complaining. i feel like i'm doing so much these days, although not necessarily in my acads but perhaps in much more important things (what could be more important than acads?) and it kinda feels good.
now i'm really saying goodbye to that *dream*. it's still possible, but pretty difficult. but i won't exchange what i'm doing now just for that dream. i'll just give it my best shot, and who knows? for now, a day at a time.
..........
do what you have to do
p.s. i just have to thank rhea for putting up with me and my hectic schedule. tnx for understanding...
ano nga ba meron nung summer? hmmm... yeah, i remember, internship chronicles, some of the more exciting ones. was in crame btw kahapon to join the picket of journalists. did get to see some old faces--my trainor and his fellow-reporters. need i mention ms mu was there too? and bernadette sembrano. to quote kate, "ang ganda ni bernadette." (i agree!)
so, ano napala ko sa pagpunta sa crame? sir arao informed me kanina nasa pic daw ako sa front page ng phil star (nasa inquirer naman si sir, nakahiga with one arm raised--panalo talaga hehe). sabay hirit din ni kuya tonton: pero mukha kang ten years older kasi nakasimangot ka. i checked--totoo nga. pambihira naman o. putol pa ulo hehe.
well, ok lang. no big deal. the real bonus of going there was nakapagset ako ng interview with ms mu and bernadette sembrano and a few others for the JC ACLE. instant lahat. kumpleto na line-up. d naman ako excited sa interview, nah. ok lang yan. (pero kinumusta ako ni ms mu, at namukhaan din ako ni ms bs hehe)
pero ano ang tunay na napala ko sa pagpunta dun? nagcram lang naman kami ni rhea sa framework. up to d last minute nagpiprint pa kami, just like last time, nung submission ng rrl. lagi na lang. nagkataon namang sona nung time na yun, and i needed to get some footage.
pero kanina, doble pahirap. i also crammed my socio paper. socio is really a nightmare. i don't know kung bakit pa ako kumuha ng isa pang socio after the horrible socio 101 experience last sem. masokista talaga. pero from now on, no more socio for me. sa inyo na emancipation, habitus at kung anu-ano pa. all that crap, ayoko na. will just figure out how to get through this one. group report and paper na lang, sana wag kaming ibagsak ni ma'am. this is really terrible.
sumabit pa tuloy ang council dahil alang nagpunta sa college assembly. nahiya naman kami sa admin. they were disappointed i could tell. hay...
ba't pa puro acads pinagsusulat ko dito? naalala ko rin tuloy ung sts exam. geesh, good luck na lang sa results. 2nd econ exams are coming up, at ala pa akong naiintindihan.
been through a lot this past month. to be honest though, i'm not complaining. i feel like i'm doing so much these days, although not necessarily in my acads but perhaps in much more important things (what could be more important than acads?) and it kinda feels good.
now i'm really saying goodbye to that *dream*. it's still possible, but pretty difficult. but i won't exchange what i'm doing now just for that dream. i'll just give it my best shot, and who knows? for now, a day at a time.
..........
do what you have to do
p.s. i just have to thank rhea for putting up with me and my hectic schedule. tnx for understanding...
7.18.2004
17 days
haven't blogged for 17 days. whew. antagal. para akong nawala sa sibilisasyon. not that i was away really. i've been checking my mail almost everyday, and i've been visiting this blog from time to time. tinatamad lang talagang magblog. m getting tired of trying to compose my thoughts in the dead of the night, lalo na if my eyelids are dropping.
what have i been up to lately? hmmm...a lot actually. gradcomm orientation in bulacan (sarap magnight swimming dun. impressive landscape. you wouldn't think you were right in the middle of a residential area.) gawad plaridel awards night at the hyatt (the night would've been wonderful if not for that ill-mannered canteen attendant. taray niya. pwes, tinarayan nga ng mga broad people.) roadpainting sa parking lot (daming pumunta but the sudden downpour washed off d paint...hay buhay.) faculty-student relations committee meeting (ba't ko ba binanggit to? ah, may food kasi). up diliman student summit (talk about sharing of problems with other student leaders in diliman.)
and to cap off the haggardness, j196 avp. grabe ung class na yan. got home around 6 a.m. na nung friday from an overnight editing session. three minutes lang ung avp na un ha, pero it took us that long because we had to capture audiovisual from 2 cameras, cut an 8-minute interview to 3 minutes, at kung anu-anong pang editing jobs. ang OC kasi ni rhea e hehe (ba, nagsalita). di ko pa nabanggit ung fieldwork mismo. kung sino-sino na nainterview namin, from tina langit, to kris ablan, to marco delos reyes, and, upon the insistence of rhea, pati si atom araullo na rin. but we ended up with kris ablan kasi pumalpak audio sa interview with marco. sayang, ganda pa naman sana ng setting sa nismed.
the ka-OChan did pay off. ma'am rara said, "speechless ako, parang pro." *pumapalakpak tenga.* there were glitches of course but i think we all agreed we went beyond what she was asking for so there, payback time. kim did have her moment. first clip pa lang, ma'am rara said, "you can make for a good reporter. may presence, at ok ang delivery." go kim! wag kaming kalimutan pag sikat ka na.
which reminds me--we were planning to put up our own production agency, ala probe. rhea will fit the mold of exec producer, darlene the writer/researcher, kim the talent, and me, well...cameraman, PA, bodyguard of some sorts hehe. well, pag kasama mo ba naman ung tatlo, solve ka na. (of course, d ako papayag no. i have to have a say din.)
but the best thing about the j196 experience: it's really fun! setting up an interview, setting up (the equipment) during the interview, and choosing which portions to include in the avp. whew, both an interesting and tiresome experience. ok ang fieldwork, makes you wanna shift course. pagdating sa editing, madugo. sabi ko pa, ayan, pangprint lang talaga ako. ayoko nito. but after presenting the avp in class...oh well, i changed my mind. masaya siya, and so we're excited for our next story. anong topic kaya? hmm...suggestion naman diyan...
ambagal kong magblog. isang oras na ata ako dito. neway, got to go now. kulang pa ko sa tulog and by the looks of it, marami pa kong uutangin na tulog. the next two weeks will surely be hell. what with the econ exam in a week's time (ala pa rin akong maintindihan sa mga c, x, i, X, C, I and the thought na bakit di na lang sila gumamit ng ibang letters), thesis objective and review of related lit, j122 report, socio 142 paper, sts term paper outline, and of course the j196 news feature. plus other activities pa. and tambak na readings.
haaaaaaaa *humihikab*
antok na. babu. gud morning!
..........
have i wasted my time? apparently so.
what have i been up to lately? hmmm...a lot actually. gradcomm orientation in bulacan (sarap magnight swimming dun. impressive landscape. you wouldn't think you were right in the middle of a residential area.) gawad plaridel awards night at the hyatt (the night would've been wonderful if not for that ill-mannered canteen attendant. taray niya. pwes, tinarayan nga ng mga broad people.) roadpainting sa parking lot (daming pumunta but the sudden downpour washed off d paint...hay buhay.) faculty-student relations committee meeting (ba't ko ba binanggit to? ah, may food kasi). up diliman student summit (talk about sharing of problems with other student leaders in diliman.)
and to cap off the haggardness, j196 avp. grabe ung class na yan. got home around 6 a.m. na nung friday from an overnight editing session. three minutes lang ung avp na un ha, pero it took us that long because we had to capture audiovisual from 2 cameras, cut an 8-minute interview to 3 minutes, at kung anu-anong pang editing jobs. ang OC kasi ni rhea e hehe (ba, nagsalita). di ko pa nabanggit ung fieldwork mismo. kung sino-sino na nainterview namin, from tina langit, to kris ablan, to marco delos reyes, and, upon the insistence of rhea, pati si atom araullo na rin. but we ended up with kris ablan kasi pumalpak audio sa interview with marco. sayang, ganda pa naman sana ng setting sa nismed.
the ka-OChan did pay off. ma'am rara said, "speechless ako, parang pro." *pumapalakpak tenga.* there were glitches of course but i think we all agreed we went beyond what she was asking for so there, payback time. kim did have her moment. first clip pa lang, ma'am rara said, "you can make for a good reporter. may presence, at ok ang delivery." go kim! wag kaming kalimutan pag sikat ka na.
which reminds me--we were planning to put up our own production agency, ala probe. rhea will fit the mold of exec producer, darlene the writer/researcher, kim the talent, and me, well...cameraman, PA, bodyguard of some sorts hehe. well, pag kasama mo ba naman ung tatlo, solve ka na. (of course, d ako papayag no. i have to have a say din.)
but the best thing about the j196 experience: it's really fun! setting up an interview, setting up (the equipment) during the interview, and choosing which portions to include in the avp. whew, both an interesting and tiresome experience. ok ang fieldwork, makes you wanna shift course. pagdating sa editing, madugo. sabi ko pa, ayan, pangprint lang talaga ako. ayoko nito. but after presenting the avp in class...oh well, i changed my mind. masaya siya, and so we're excited for our next story. anong topic kaya? hmm...suggestion naman diyan...
ambagal kong magblog. isang oras na ata ako dito. neway, got to go now. kulang pa ko sa tulog and by the looks of it, marami pa kong uutangin na tulog. the next two weeks will surely be hell. what with the econ exam in a week's time (ala pa rin akong maintindihan sa mga c, x, i, X, C, I and the thought na bakit di na lang sila gumamit ng ibang letters), thesis objective and review of related lit, j122 report, socio 142 paper, sts term paper outline, and of course the j196 news feature. plus other activities pa. and tambak na readings.
haaaaaaaa *humihikab*
antok na. babu. gud morning!
..........
have i wasted my time? apparently so.
6.30.2004
not meant to be
looks like some things aren't meant to be. d tuloy interview 2m with ms. evang. mukhang in two weeks' time pa. may sakit kasi siya. well, ok lang. sana may bago by that time, like, them winning another award for the philippines? huh, dapat exclusive na yan.
on a positive note, buti na rin pala di natuloy. JVO awards 2m and i don't wanna miss d lecture. plus d food of course.
on a positive note still, juz when i thot ala na kong mahahanap, meron pa pala. just in time.
keep smiling guys. everything will be fine.
..........
haec est voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra
on a positive note, buti na rin pala di natuloy. JVO awards 2m and i don't wanna miss d lecture. plus d food of course.
on a positive note still, juz when i thot ala na kong mahahanap, meron pa pala. just in time.
keep smiling guys. everything will be fine.
..........
haec est voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra
not meant to be
looks like some things aren't meant to be. d tuloy interview 2m with ms. evang. mukhang in two weeks' time pa. may sakit kasi siya. well, ok lang. sana may bago by that time, like, them winning another award for the philippines? huh, dapat exclusive na yan.
on a positive note, buti na rin pala di natuloy. JVO awards 2m and i don't wanna miss d lecture. plus d food of course.
on a positive note still, juz when i thot ala na kong mahahanap, meron pa pala. just in time.
keep smiling guys. everything will be fine.
..........
haec est voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra
on a positive note, buti na rin pala di natuloy. JVO awards 2m and i don't wanna miss d lecture. plus d food of course.
on a positive note still, juz when i thot ala na kong mahahanap, meron pa pala. just in time.
keep smiling guys. everything will be fine.
..........
haec est voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra
6.25.2004
blond & blue eyes
clinched an interview with patricia evangelista. just when i least expected it! finally, a chance to meet a world class pinoy.
not that i'm so impressed with her speech (not after we dissected it in our socio 142 class under ms. sarah raymundo), but come on, admit it, any pinoy would be proud of her. winning the english speaking union contest is no easy feat, especially if you compete with some of the best speakers from different countries the world over. if that's not talent, i don't know what to call it.
anyway, i heard she's leaving for australia next week so i hope everything turns out just fine. sana ok din ung photoshoot so we don't have to do it again.
and by the way, she goes to church. am impressed.
clear ko lang: this is purely professional. nothing more, nothing less.
..........
"a borderless world does not preclude the idea of home."
not that i'm so impressed with her speech (not after we dissected it in our socio 142 class under ms. sarah raymundo), but come on, admit it, any pinoy would be proud of her. winning the english speaking union contest is no easy feat, especially if you compete with some of the best speakers from different countries the world over. if that's not talent, i don't know what to call it.
anyway, i heard she's leaving for australia next week so i hope everything turns out just fine. sana ok din ung photoshoot so we don't have to do it again.
and by the way, she goes to church. am impressed.
clear ko lang: this is purely professional. nothing more, nothing less.
..........
"a borderless world does not preclude the idea of home."
6.22.2004
welcome assembly
freshie welcome assembly kanina. am just glad it went well. the audi was full most of d time, kala ko talaga di na mapupuno. and d orgs were eager enough to participate. may mga nagdonate pa ng food! sana ganito na forever para alang problema ang council.
some of d org presentations were really good so i'm assuming nag-enjoy ang mga freshies. benta rin ang mukhang fresh contest (yeah, we got to raise some funds there), thanks na rin sa kakwelahan ni ryan. for that, c ryan na ang host ng lahat ng activities ng council!
too bad i didn't see the yeba presentation (kate, pahiram cd). nag-iyakan daw sila. pero ang surprise of d day: pinalabas ng greenminds ung presentation namin sa induction. geesh, i didn't know they caught it on video. ang gago kaya namin dun! jerry+lawrence+jobert, song n dance number? pagpasensyahan niyo na, gutom lang talaga kami nung time na 'yun. wala kami sa aming mga sarili.
..........
go maskom!
some of d org presentations were really good so i'm assuming nag-enjoy ang mga freshies. benta rin ang mukhang fresh contest (yeah, we got to raise some funds there), thanks na rin sa kakwelahan ni ryan. for that, c ryan na ang host ng lahat ng activities ng council!
too bad i didn't see the yeba presentation (kate, pahiram cd). nag-iyakan daw sila. pero ang surprise of d day: pinalabas ng greenminds ung presentation namin sa induction. geesh, i didn't know they caught it on video. ang gago kaya namin dun! jerry+lawrence+jobert, song n dance number? pagpasensyahan niyo na, gutom lang talaga kami nung time na 'yun. wala kami sa aming mga sarili.
..........
go maskom!
6.15.2004
yahoo!
after five years of using yahoo mail, here comes redemption:
because you have been a loyal yahoo user, we're giving you 100MB storage and 10MB message size. Yahoo! what a blessing. galing, natuwa naman ako dun. when i checked my mail around lunchtime kanina, i was using 107% of 6.0MB limit. ngayon, 5% of 100.0MB limit. haha. keep it up yahoo.
..........
ang babaw ko
because you have been a loyal yahoo user, we're giving you 100MB storage and 10MB message size. Yahoo! what a blessing. galing, natuwa naman ako dun. when i checked my mail around lunchtime kanina, i was using 107% of 6.0MB limit. ngayon, 5% of 100.0MB limit. haha. keep it up yahoo.
..........
ang babaw ko
6.11.2004
chat
had a chat with mom today. finally, after some time. it's good to hear that she and dad are doing fine and that our cousins there couldn't be better off.
funny how chatting has made us even closer despite the physical distance. ironic, it would seem, that just when you're far apart, that's the only time you get to really talk things over and eat your heart out. maybe because chatting is non-confrontational, and you get to think twice before saying what you mean. (of course, there are some things i keep to myself...but i did promise them and i'm keeping my word.)
it's moments like these, right after bidding each other goodbye and closing that dialog box, that i realize i miss them. not that i didn't know that all along. it's just that when you get caught up in your acads and all your extracurricular stuffs, you barely have time to think about the people and the things you miss. suddenly, when i find myself doing nothing, that's when i remember, and it makes me sad. how i hate the feeling!
thank God i'm in up, where burying yourself to work is not an option--it is the only choice. and what are friends there for?
but i've learned another way to keep those sad thoughts at bay: smiling. yep, psych taught me that. when you're not feeling so good, smile and you'll feel better.
at least i did.
..........
smile, an everlasting smile... corny
funny how chatting has made us even closer despite the physical distance. ironic, it would seem, that just when you're far apart, that's the only time you get to really talk things over and eat your heart out. maybe because chatting is non-confrontational, and you get to think twice before saying what you mean. (of course, there are some things i keep to myself...but i did promise them and i'm keeping my word.)
it's moments like these, right after bidding each other goodbye and closing that dialog box, that i realize i miss them. not that i didn't know that all along. it's just that when you get caught up in your acads and all your extracurricular stuffs, you barely have time to think about the people and the things you miss. suddenly, when i find myself doing nothing, that's when i remember, and it makes me sad. how i hate the feeling!
thank God i'm in up, where burying yourself to work is not an option--it is the only choice. and what are friends there for?
but i've learned another way to keep those sad thoughts at bay: smiling. yep, psych taught me that. when you're not feeling so good, smile and you'll feel better.
at least i did.
..........
smile, an everlasting smile... corny
6.09.2004
whattaday
clean-up day today at the cmc student council office. for three hours or more, i and my councilmates were busy dusting dirt off the cabinets, re-arranging the files, scrubbing the walls and mopping the floor. went around maskom looking like a madungis na basahan carrying a pail of water and the mop. geesh, did i sweat a lot! by the time we were done, nangangati na ko. it ain't easy being a janitor pala.
can't forget the look on the faces of everyone who saw me. haha. they were like, jobert, ikaw yan? anong nangyari sa'yo? i didn't mind though. i don't mind doing menial things if it's for the sake of the council, or any org/club/society/whatever, for that matter.
*
after changing and freshening up, i sat in ma'am carlos' feature writing class. we went to the lagoon and she made us sit for 7 minutes doing nothing. we were told to watch and look around. just that. but i couldn't keep my mind from wandering. there's just so many things to think about.
pero astig talaga si ma'am carlos. i think i might need the activity when i'm about to write something. talk about stillness of the mind. and letting your creative juices flow. (pano kung tuyo na?)
*
ended d day with a mass. they sang that song again. after months of missing it, there it was, that melody so haunting, nakakatindig-balahibo. not that it was scary. it was...i don't know. it just hit me right through. it never fails to make me pause and just listen to it.
neway, pizzafest after. never thought i'd survive dinner without eating rice but as it turned out, nakakabusog din naman pala pizza. it's not as if i haven't done it before. la lang. gusto ko lang isulat.
..........
what a day indeed
can't forget the look on the faces of everyone who saw me. haha. they were like, jobert, ikaw yan? anong nangyari sa'yo? i didn't mind though. i don't mind doing menial things if it's for the sake of the council, or any org/club/society/whatever, for that matter.
*
after changing and freshening up, i sat in ma'am carlos' feature writing class. we went to the lagoon and she made us sit for 7 minutes doing nothing. we were told to watch and look around. just that. but i couldn't keep my mind from wandering. there's just so many things to think about.
pero astig talaga si ma'am carlos. i think i might need the activity when i'm about to write something. talk about stillness of the mind. and letting your creative juices flow. (pano kung tuyo na?)
*
ended d day with a mass. they sang that song again. after months of missing it, there it was, that melody so haunting, nakakatindig-balahibo. not that it was scary. it was...i don't know. it just hit me right through. it never fails to make me pause and just listen to it.
neway, pizzafest after. never thought i'd survive dinner without eating rice but as it turned out, nakakabusog din naman pala pizza. it's not as if i haven't done it before. la lang. gusto ko lang isulat.
..........
what a day indeed
6.08.2004
affection...
cuddle and a kiss on the forehead - you like to be
close to your special someone and feel warm,
comfortable, and needed
What Sign of Affection Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
..........
cuddle and kiss daw o
memory lane
my yahoo account's super full already. if i don't check it for, say, 2 days, it goes beyond the 6MB limit. i need not wonder though. 16 yahoo groups + another one i made just a while ago for sts class. 151 messages in my inbox, which, for some reason, i couldn't bring myself to delete.
i tried checking d really old ones. can't believe i haven't deleted plenty of forwarded messages, e-greeting cards, and a barrage of stupid mails such as one from cupidplanet.com which says: someone has a crush on you...
was surprised to see mushy stuffs too. lengthy letters from my ex, telling me about her day, with occasional parinig of tampo at selos na rin hehe. then there's one from d girl i met n baguio, really cheesy... and of course, messages from d one who got away. she hadn't been replying to my messages lately, tinamad na rin akong magsend. she might be busy there in tate u know.
browsing thru those old messages left me feeling nostalgic for some time. matagal-tagal na rin kasi ung mga un. m talking about mails sent to me 3-4 years ago. they somehow reminded me of the what-could-have-beens and the what-should-have-beens. (funny how of all the things you miss, the ones that didn't happen strike you the most.)
oh well, i have my own life now. can't afford to live in the past and miss the present. not again.
cheers guys to our last year in college!
..........
live for the moment.
i tried checking d really old ones. can't believe i haven't deleted plenty of forwarded messages, e-greeting cards, and a barrage of stupid mails such as one from cupidplanet.com which says: someone has a crush on you...
was surprised to see mushy stuffs too. lengthy letters from my ex, telling me about her day, with occasional parinig of tampo at selos na rin hehe. then there's one from d girl i met n baguio, really cheesy... and of course, messages from d one who got away. she hadn't been replying to my messages lately, tinamad na rin akong magsend. she might be busy there in tate u know.
browsing thru those old messages left me feeling nostalgic for some time. matagal-tagal na rin kasi ung mga un. m talking about mails sent to me 3-4 years ago. they somehow reminded me of the what-could-have-beens and the what-should-have-beens. (funny how of all the things you miss, the ones that didn't happen strike you the most.)
oh well, i have my own life now. can't afford to live in the past and miss the present. not again.
cheers guys to our last year in college!
..........
live for the moment.
6.06.2004
puyat
syensya na sa last post. am not supposed to vent out my anger over the blog pero i got carried away. m a-ok now, and i think i've forgotten about it. ngarag kasi, kagagaling lang sa council semplanning at hindi kami nakatulog nang maayos.
geesh, sabi ko pa naman ayos sched ko ngaun. 4 days alang pasok. guess what? mukhang kailangan ko pang pumasok for council activities. first week pa nga lang, punong-puno na. 6 units nga ang council.
oh well, i chose to be part of it. plus jc. plus gm. plus another one, and yet another one. tapos may bago na naman. plus raket pa. hay buhay...
..........
one day makakatulog din ako...nang mahimbing
geesh, sabi ko pa naman ayos sched ko ngaun. 4 days alang pasok. guess what? mukhang kailangan ko pang pumasok for council activities. first week pa nga lang, punong-puno na. 6 units nga ang council.
oh well, i chose to be part of it. plus jc. plus gm. plus another one, and yet another one. tapos may bago na naman. plus raket pa. hay buhay...
..........
one day makakatulog din ako...nang mahimbing
6.02.2004
grrr...
what's d worst thing that could happen to u as a reg asst? lokohin ka ng tinutulungan mong mag-enlist all for the sake of her bitchy, bratty self.
aba ang walangya, nagpalipat ba naman ng section kahit may nakuha na. sinabi pang aprubado na raw ng prof. guess what? when i checked, nde pala. and to think may conflict sa sched na lilipatan niya. so, being her scheming, calculating self, pinacancel niya ung conflict na sched, nagpaenlist ng another subject to fill up her old slot para di na siya makabalik. ayun nga, pinayagan rin sya.
unfair! e kung thesis partner ko nga di pinayagan lumipat kahit noong tues ko pa kinausap ung prof. and what? she'll have her way? ano yun?
importante pa naman ung 3-day weekend sked namin ng thesis partner ko, and this girl i'm talking about ruined my partner's chances of switching classes. pambihira. gusto kong sumbatan ung prof. gusto ko rin sumbatan ung girl na un.
pero anyway, i believe in the law of karma. what goes around, comes around. humanda na lang siya.
..........
forgive her. she has no idea what she's getting into.
aba ang walangya, nagpalipat ba naman ng section kahit may nakuha na. sinabi pang aprubado na raw ng prof. guess what? when i checked, nde pala. and to think may conflict sa sched na lilipatan niya. so, being her scheming, calculating self, pinacancel niya ung conflict na sched, nagpaenlist ng another subject to fill up her old slot para di na siya makabalik. ayun nga, pinayagan rin sya.
unfair! e kung thesis partner ko nga di pinayagan lumipat kahit noong tues ko pa kinausap ung prof. and what? she'll have her way? ano yun?
importante pa naman ung 3-day weekend sked namin ng thesis partner ko, and this girl i'm talking about ruined my partner's chances of switching classes. pambihira. gusto kong sumbatan ung prof. gusto ko rin sumbatan ung girl na un.
pero anyway, i believe in the law of karma. what goes around, comes around. humanda na lang siya.
..........
forgive her. she has no idea what she's getting into.
5.31.2004
ayos to!
Our Lives
The Calling
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Of a better life
In this world
Divided by fear
We've gotta believe that
There's a reason we're here
Yeah, there's a reason we're here
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
See the truth all around
Our faith can be broken
And our hands can be bound
But open our hearts and fill up the emptiness
With nothing to stop us
Is it not worth the risk?
Yeah, is it not worth the risk?
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
We can't go wrong
Thinking it's wrong
To speak our minds
I've gotta let out what's inside
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Can we get it right?
Yeah, well can we get it right?
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
These are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
..........
there's a reason we're here
The Calling
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Of a better life
In this world
Divided by fear
We've gotta believe that
There's a reason we're here
Yeah, there's a reason we're here
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
See the truth all around
Our faith can be broken
And our hands can be bound
But open our hearts and fill up the emptiness
With nothing to stop us
Is it not worth the risk?
Yeah, is it not worth the risk?
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
We can't go wrong
Thinking it's wrong
To speak our minds
I've gotta let out what's inside
Is it love tonight
When everyone's dreaming
Can we get it right?
Yeah, well can we get it right?
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
Even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
These are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
..........
there's a reason we're here
5.30.2004
laziness
it has to stop. now. got many things to do. can't afford to delay them all.
..........
this too shall pass
..........
this too shall pass
5.29.2004
vindication
well, not really. checked crs results and for the first time in my entire stay in up, got all 18 units. plus my desired sched. 4 days off a week including a three-day weekend. never mind if my tuesdays and fridays last from 9am-7pm. the days off will surely help now that thesis mode is here. have to push through with the plans. at all costs.
feeling much better today. thanks friend for listening. i know my worth. can't let anyone or anything put me down.
..........
guess who said this:"mamamatay akong hindi nakitang sumilay ang bukang-liwayway sa aking bayan! Kayong makakakita, salubungin siya...Huwang ninyong lilimutin ang mga nabuwal sa dilim ng gabi!"
feeling much better today. thanks friend for listening. i know my worth. can't let anyone or anything put me down.
..........
guess who said this:"mamamatay akong hindi nakitang sumilay ang bukang-liwayway sa aking bayan! Kayong makakakita, salubungin siya...Huwang ninyong lilimutin ang mga nabuwal sa dilim ng gabi!"
5.28.2004
injustice
things aren't always fair in life...but the choice is ours to be happy.
..........
i choose to be.
..........
i choose to be.
5.27.2004
for a friend
so long dear friend. thank you for bearing with me for more than a year. i wish u luck wherever the good Lord may lead you.
..........
the only thing constant is change...
..........
the only thing constant is change...
jammin
bangagan kagabi with the metro staff. saya. 4 hrs of videoke sa music 21 right after mr. y's lecture. 1 barrel of sanmig draft + nachos + 2 microphones + tarra, edson, leila, george a.k.a. margaux, tina, jo and me = 1 night of katatawanan and hibangan.
galing kumanta talaga ni tarra. walang sinabi si jasmine trias. lokoloko rin si edson. sa taxi pa lang, walang humpay kakatawa namin sa mga jokes niya. butt of jokes ata nila trainor ko, si sir luige, who's in palawan right now for his *honeymoon*... plus this editor, i'm not talking...
highlight of the night: she bangs. ang di sasayaw girlfriend daw ni sir ***** **** haha. kaya sumayaw silang lahat.
wala na atang gustong umuwi. until we checked d watch: past 1 na. we checked d bill, lampas 3 thousand na. hala, lagot.
twas fun anyway. never knew ganun pala sila magbangagan. kaya pala ayaw nilang sumama kay sir gerry magcoffee sa starbucks. we did have a better time though...sayang di sumama si trina. birthday daw kasi ng lola, este, mother nya. (joke lang trina)
sabi ko pa naman, ayoko nang maging journalist (habambuhay). well, kagabi, sabi ko, ok pala sa dito sa metro section a. all of them are ok, sobra. never felt OP the whole time. buti na lang konti lang age gap namin. ang babata talaga ng reporters ng pdi.
anyway, gotta eat now. bye.
..........
some FACTORS are at work
galing kumanta talaga ni tarra. walang sinabi si jasmine trias. lokoloko rin si edson. sa taxi pa lang, walang humpay kakatawa namin sa mga jokes niya. butt of jokes ata nila trainor ko, si sir luige, who's in palawan right now for his *honeymoon*... plus this editor, i'm not talking...
highlight of the night: she bangs. ang di sasayaw girlfriend daw ni sir ***** **** haha. kaya sumayaw silang lahat.
wala na atang gustong umuwi. until we checked d watch: past 1 na. we checked d bill, lampas 3 thousand na. hala, lagot.
twas fun anyway. never knew ganun pala sila magbangagan. kaya pala ayaw nilang sumama kay sir gerry magcoffee sa starbucks. we did have a better time though...sayang di sumama si trina. birthday daw kasi ng lola, este, mother nya. (joke lang trina)
sabi ko pa naman, ayoko nang maging journalist (habambuhay). well, kagabi, sabi ko, ok pala sa dito sa metro section a. all of them are ok, sobra. never felt OP the whole time. buti na lang konti lang age gap namin. ang babata talaga ng reporters ng pdi.
anyway, gotta eat now. bye.
..........
some FACTORS are at work
5.26.2004
nangungulit
d2 ako inquirer, nangungulit kina trina at sir gerry. nilapitan na ko ni mr. yambot, maglelecture na siya. gotta go. bye bye. kainan na!
..........
makikilala sa umaga ang isang magandang araw
..........
makikilala sa umaga ang isang magandang araw
5.25.2004
quizilla
took a quiz somewhere. eto raw ako:
You are Dr. Bunson Honeydew.
You love to analyse things and further the cause of
science, even if you do tend to blow things up
more often than not.
HOBBIES:
Scientific inquiry, Looking through microscopes,
Recombining DNA to create decorative art.
QUOTE:
"Now, Beakie, we'll just flip this switch and
60,000 refreshing volts of electricity will
surge through your body. Ready?"
FAVORITE MUSICAL ARTIST:
John Cougar Melonhead
LAST BOOK READ:
"Quantum Physics: 101 Easy Microwave
Recipes"
NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT:
An atom smasher and plenty of extra atoms.
What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
..........
verum est?
You are Dr. Bunson Honeydew.
You love to analyse things and further the cause of
science, even if you do tend to blow things up
more often than not.
HOBBIES:
Scientific inquiry, Looking through microscopes,
Recombining DNA to create decorative art.
QUOTE:
"Now, Beakie, we'll just flip this switch and
60,000 refreshing volts of electricity will
surge through your body. Ready?"
FAVORITE MUSICAL ARTIST:
John Cougar Melonhead
LAST BOOK READ:
"Quantum Physics: 101 Easy Microwave
Recipes"
NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT:
An atom smasher and plenty of extra atoms.
What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
..........
verum est?
5.24.2004
internship chronicles
5.8.2004
this day is the longest day in my internship so far. i started the day at 9 a.m. and came home at 2 a.m. the next day—that’s 17 hours of straight work!
i visited some of the schools in san juan early in the morning and i was surprised some of them weren’t prepared yet for monday’s elections. i went back to the office to report what i saw. i also started working on a feature story about teachers serving in the elections.
at 5 p.m., our team (sir luige, jamie, charlie and i) was set to eat dinner together at megamall just in time for the miting de avance scheduled at 7:30 p.m. by some twist of bad luck, a reporter from another paper reminded sir luige about the event, adding that other reporters who were still around will be covering the event. since san juan was my beat and i was set to cover the miting de avance anyway, i was told by my trainor that i should stay behind so i would be in the company of some reporters. i waited for almost two hours for the other reporters to proceed to san juan. i was hungry the whole time. i could not find any food stall anywhere.
on our way to san juan, the news broke out: comelec chair benjamin abalos was rushed to the hospital. one of the reporters was thinking of going to mandaluyong right after covering san juan because abalos’ son, benhur, was set to attend his party’s miting de avance. he could give us some updates on his father’s condition. i asked my trainor if i could join them and he gave me the go signal.
in san juan, we waited for more than an hour. while waiting, the reporters decided to cancel the visit to mandaluyong after they learned that benhur won’t be able to make it to the miting de avance. but another news broke out: ex-pasig mayor enteng eusebio was holding a press conference at 10 p.m. that night. this was obviously regarding the disqualification order handed down by comelec this afternoon. why that late at night? because he would no longer be allowed to speak to the media the day after lest he be accused of electioneering.
we arrived at the venue for the press con at almost 11. it looked like some warehouse of sorts, what with the dim lighting. outside, there were around a dozen men in plain clothing (i thought they looked like bodyguards). they searched our pockets, told us to wear our identification cards, and listed down our names—it was the weirdest press con i have ever attended.
on our way inside the building, we were met with a stack of high-powered firearms kept in an open box. that scared me a little. i hoped those men were not out to kill journalists, including a would-be journalist.
we were still alive when the press con ended. ex-mayor eusebio was denying reports that he got disqualified. he had not received a copy of the comelec resolution, or so he said. sir luige arrived in the middle of the press con and asked most of the questions.
it was almost midnight when the press con ended. i thought i was heading for home but sir luige was still planning to meet the other party—rep. henry lanot who was running for mayor. so we went to whistlestop (were we in libis? i had no idea) to get a copy of the resolution. and we did see it.
finally, after a long day (and night), i went home.
5.9.2004
it was sir luige’s day off today so we, the election volunteers (jamie, charlie and i), were left on our own. i started my day early at 8:30 a.m. i visited some of the schools and talked to the principals about their preparations for the elections. i saw firsthand how teachers were really involved in the election process—from cleaning the room to collecting the election materials. and they only get p3,000 for all their efforts.
i met jamie at the deped press con. i wrote a follow-up on the eusebio issue (a short one on comelec’s side since sir luige already wrote on it), a story about the jinggoy-jv rift, and a revision of the feature story on the teachers. jamie added something to the feature story and wrote her own stories in her beat, mandaluyong.
we finished submitting all our stories at past 5 p.m. and we decided to go home early to prepare for the elections the next day.
5.10.2004
election day.
i voted early in my precinct so i could make it to the xavier gym in san juan on time. i was only the second person to vote, having waited since 6:30 a.m. outside st. paul quezon city.
by the time i arrived in xavier gym, fernando poe jr. was on his way out. i grabbed my tape recorder and desperately tried to get a comment. i was overwhelmed by the sheer number of reporters, cameramen and photographers elbowing their way just to get a statement or a good shot of the actor.
i was on my toes the whole morning, trying to keep an eye on the personalities who would be voting. we were told in the briefing at the inquirer that we were supposed to describe what they did before and after voting and that’s exactly what i did. among the personalities i interviewed were: senate president franklin drilon, tv host/councilor candidate bobby yan, senatoriable jinggoy estrada, sen. loi ejercito estrada, and san juan mayor jv ejercito. i also talked to national citizens’ movement for free elections secretary general guillermo luz, who came to vote in xavier but who ended up trying to solve problems of missing names.
i also talked to the comelec election supervisor and some pollwatchers before i left for greenhills at lunchtime to write my stories. it was hardly a lunch for me since i was facing the monitor while putting some food in my mouth. i wrote about the activities this morning and a feature story about disabled and hardly-able people who came to vote.
i left at around 3 p.m. for pinaglabanan elementary school, the polling place with the largest number of voters in san juan. there, i saw on tv gma-7’s report regarding a brief commotion at the xavier gym this afternoon so i immediately went there. i found out there were some voters who were unable to vote because the gate was closed at exactly 3 p.m.
at 7 p.m., i headed for the san juan gym where the town level canvassing was to be held, only to find out that the board of canvassers was postponing it for the next day. there was a brief argument between the chair of the boc and the lawyer of mayoral bet erick san juan regarding the postponement. i talked to both of them, dictated the quote to sir luige over the phone, before heading for home at 9 p.m.
it was a tiring day. but a lucky one, still. yesterday i texted lawrence: “congrats! you’ve got two bylines.” early today while waiting for the voting to start, i received the same message from him with a sidebar: “(sounds familiar? ayan, dinagdagan ko na.)” he was referring to the jinggoy-jv and the teachers stories.
5.11.2004
since the canvassing was set to start at 1 p.m., i went to san juan at around 10 a.m. already. nothing unusual or newsworthy. i decided to wait, and wait. the canvassing started at 3 p.m. after some of the koalisyon ng nagkakaisang pilipino exchanged barbs with local comelec officials regarding the proper handling of election returns and ballot boxes.
when the canvassing finally started, erick san juan’s lawyer made a scene: he and the entire local lakas-cmd delegation staged a walk-out. i interviewed him right after the walk-out and he was saying his client could not take part in an election “patented with fraud.” yes, he was accusing jv ejercito of fraud. i thought he might have forgotten he was in an erap country.
i wrote a brief article about the walk-out and faxed it to sir luige. later, i interviewed mayor ejercito in his office. i faxed the quotes, with the pwersa ng masa’s quick count results, and waited for canvassing updates but they weren’t available yet. i went home at 8 p.m. with an exam early the next day, i was wishing myself luck. i’m not going to sleep tonight.
5.12.2004
with 30 minutes of sleep, i was groggy when i went to san juan at lunchtime. not much happened. i waited for canvassing updates while making a few phone calls.
i called up namfrel-white cross and, after several calls, the woman at the other end of the line gave me an unofficial tally as of 3 p.m. i faxed it to sir luige and the metro desk. i didn’t write a story, probably because i wasn’t in my 100% self. or maybe because there were no stories to write about.
i decided to go home around 7 p.m. just when i was barely a block from home, sir luige called me up. “congressional bet jojo alcovendaz’ supporters were reportedly massing up outside the san juan gym.” so i hailed a taxi, conscious of the fact that i have to give sir luige an update before 8 p.m.
when i arrived there, i saw no people massing up. instead, i saw a dozen policemen by the gate. they must have been expecting something, so i decided to stay for a while.
later, erick san juan’s lawyer, atty. bugaring, was there again to file a protest for his client. he invited me to join him in filing the case at the comelec main office. after consulting with my trainor, i declined and headed home. sir luige texted me twice: “umuwi ka na ngayon. bukas na yan.” i checked my mobile phone, it was 9 p.m.
5.13.2004
i went to san juan at lunchtime and talked to local comelec officials who, by now, have become nice to me (they even gave me packed meals). i was told they were set to proclaim the winners this afternoon.
while waiting, i called up atty. bugaring to find out what their protest was about. i also called up namfrel, only to find out that they could not release results until later tonight because they had problems retrieving election returns. looks like the official count is outpacing the quick count, i wrote in my lead. i faxed the story to sir luige and waited for the results.
there were still none by 8 p.m., the deadliest cut-off time. but for some strange reason, i had the feeling proclamation would happen sometime soon. so i waited, even way beyond 10 p.m., the time my trainor told me i should go home. i broke his order and it paid off. proclamation was held at 11 p.m. and i was able to talk to mayor ejercito and councilor bobby yan after. one comelec official promised to give me the results but she wasn’t able to do so, so i figured it would be wise to wait for the next day.
i went home shortly after midnight.
5.14.2004
i was expecting to get the official comelec results so i went to san juan at 10 a.m. tough luck, the chair of the boc wasn’t there yet. she had the sole copy of the results. so i decided to write the proclamation story, hoping to get the results when i get back.
there were still no results because the chair, as it turned out, almost fainted. she is pregnant so she must be having a hard time with the elections and the canvassing. but i decided to stay.
with no results still, i decided to leave at a little before 4 p.m. i called up sir luige to inform him that the results weren’t available yet but he was adamant. “they have to release the results now.” so i went back to the canvassing area and talked to some comelec employees. they were also at a loss.
as luck would have it, they opened the ballot box with the consolidated results of the canvassing and so i hurriedly copied it. no other reporters were around, it was a scoop. i checked thrice to make sure the figures were correct and i asked a comelec official if this was official. it was, they said.
with that confirmation, i raced out of the canvassing area, called up metro desk and sir luige to give them the figures. then, off to inquirer office to get our remaining allowance. there, sir gerry asked me to write an article about the appointment of five clergymen. one became archbishop, two became bishops while two bishops were reassigned.
finally, at 7 p.m., i headed for home.
5.15.2004
i didn’t know today was my last day. i asked sir luige yesterday if i could take a break today and tomorrow. he said it’s too early to take a break. he said monday would be fine. i agreed. i had no qualms about it.
so when he told me this afternoon that i didn’t have to report tomorrow, i was unprepared. i didn’t have my evaluation sheet ready. but that was fine with me. at least i could now focus on my pi 100 oral exams and report.
the day started at 10 a.m. i went to san juan and checked the canvassing area. they were empty. i was told canvassing for the national positions ended late last night. the people must have been tired because i didn’t see anyone at the comelec office this morning.
i talked to some vendors instead for my feature story. before i headed for the deped office, i decided to drop by the san juan police station. there were no big stories. but i did meet an inmate, my age. he was caught last wednesday for killing an out-of-school youth in august last year. he stabbed the guy 13 times, police investigation showed.
his was sad story. “he wanted to be a policeman. but his hopes vanished after his father was arrested for attempting to kill the man who killed his uncle. without a father to support him, he quit schooling. now, jonathan tatena, 19, is languishing in jail for killing a 20-year-old out-of-school youth he figured into a brawl with. tomorrow, he would join his father at the san juan municipal jail for an odd reunion.”
i was taken aback when i found out that he had a wife and a two-month-old child. he was married at the age of 17. he is the oldest in a brood of five. with him and his father in jail, i wonder what will happen to his family, especially his child and his younger siblings.
too bad i wasn’t able to confirm some of the details so i did not submit my story. but i was thankful to have known his story nonetheless. seeing jonathan’s plight made me appreciate my status right now. i’m not the most successful man in the world but at least i’m enjoying some blessings. i honestly hope he and his family will find a way out of this.
anyway, end of the road for me, at least when it comes to my internship. what can i say? it was the most fruitful, fun-filled, fulfilling summer i have ever had. i can’t wait to be a journalist.
..........
so much has changed in my lyf. bt u being a part of it remains d same. no matter where lyf takes me, il nvr 4gt dat in ds lyf, my world crashed n2 urs & it has been beautiful...TC--one of *her* last messages b4 she left, 7-June-2003. 16:38:38
this day is the longest day in my internship so far. i started the day at 9 a.m. and came home at 2 a.m. the next day—that’s 17 hours of straight work!
i visited some of the schools in san juan early in the morning and i was surprised some of them weren’t prepared yet for monday’s elections. i went back to the office to report what i saw. i also started working on a feature story about teachers serving in the elections.
at 5 p.m., our team (sir luige, jamie, charlie and i) was set to eat dinner together at megamall just in time for the miting de avance scheduled at 7:30 p.m. by some twist of bad luck, a reporter from another paper reminded sir luige about the event, adding that other reporters who were still around will be covering the event. since san juan was my beat and i was set to cover the miting de avance anyway, i was told by my trainor that i should stay behind so i would be in the company of some reporters. i waited for almost two hours for the other reporters to proceed to san juan. i was hungry the whole time. i could not find any food stall anywhere.
on our way to san juan, the news broke out: comelec chair benjamin abalos was rushed to the hospital. one of the reporters was thinking of going to mandaluyong right after covering san juan because abalos’ son, benhur, was set to attend his party’s miting de avance. he could give us some updates on his father’s condition. i asked my trainor if i could join them and he gave me the go signal.
in san juan, we waited for more than an hour. while waiting, the reporters decided to cancel the visit to mandaluyong after they learned that benhur won’t be able to make it to the miting de avance. but another news broke out: ex-pasig mayor enteng eusebio was holding a press conference at 10 p.m. that night. this was obviously regarding the disqualification order handed down by comelec this afternoon. why that late at night? because he would no longer be allowed to speak to the media the day after lest he be accused of electioneering.
we arrived at the venue for the press con at almost 11. it looked like some warehouse of sorts, what with the dim lighting. outside, there were around a dozen men in plain clothing (i thought they looked like bodyguards). they searched our pockets, told us to wear our identification cards, and listed down our names—it was the weirdest press con i have ever attended.
on our way inside the building, we were met with a stack of high-powered firearms kept in an open box. that scared me a little. i hoped those men were not out to kill journalists, including a would-be journalist.
we were still alive when the press con ended. ex-mayor eusebio was denying reports that he got disqualified. he had not received a copy of the comelec resolution, or so he said. sir luige arrived in the middle of the press con and asked most of the questions.
it was almost midnight when the press con ended. i thought i was heading for home but sir luige was still planning to meet the other party—rep. henry lanot who was running for mayor. so we went to whistlestop (were we in libis? i had no idea) to get a copy of the resolution. and we did see it.
finally, after a long day (and night), i went home.
5.9.2004
it was sir luige’s day off today so we, the election volunteers (jamie, charlie and i), were left on our own. i started my day early at 8:30 a.m. i visited some of the schools and talked to the principals about their preparations for the elections. i saw firsthand how teachers were really involved in the election process—from cleaning the room to collecting the election materials. and they only get p3,000 for all their efforts.
i met jamie at the deped press con. i wrote a follow-up on the eusebio issue (a short one on comelec’s side since sir luige already wrote on it), a story about the jinggoy-jv rift, and a revision of the feature story on the teachers. jamie added something to the feature story and wrote her own stories in her beat, mandaluyong.
we finished submitting all our stories at past 5 p.m. and we decided to go home early to prepare for the elections the next day.
5.10.2004
election day.
i voted early in my precinct so i could make it to the xavier gym in san juan on time. i was only the second person to vote, having waited since 6:30 a.m. outside st. paul quezon city.
by the time i arrived in xavier gym, fernando poe jr. was on his way out. i grabbed my tape recorder and desperately tried to get a comment. i was overwhelmed by the sheer number of reporters, cameramen and photographers elbowing their way just to get a statement or a good shot of the actor.
i was on my toes the whole morning, trying to keep an eye on the personalities who would be voting. we were told in the briefing at the inquirer that we were supposed to describe what they did before and after voting and that’s exactly what i did. among the personalities i interviewed were: senate president franklin drilon, tv host/councilor candidate bobby yan, senatoriable jinggoy estrada, sen. loi ejercito estrada, and san juan mayor jv ejercito. i also talked to national citizens’ movement for free elections secretary general guillermo luz, who came to vote in xavier but who ended up trying to solve problems of missing names.
i also talked to the comelec election supervisor and some pollwatchers before i left for greenhills at lunchtime to write my stories. it was hardly a lunch for me since i was facing the monitor while putting some food in my mouth. i wrote about the activities this morning and a feature story about disabled and hardly-able people who came to vote.
i left at around 3 p.m. for pinaglabanan elementary school, the polling place with the largest number of voters in san juan. there, i saw on tv gma-7’s report regarding a brief commotion at the xavier gym this afternoon so i immediately went there. i found out there were some voters who were unable to vote because the gate was closed at exactly 3 p.m.
at 7 p.m., i headed for the san juan gym where the town level canvassing was to be held, only to find out that the board of canvassers was postponing it for the next day. there was a brief argument between the chair of the boc and the lawyer of mayoral bet erick san juan regarding the postponement. i talked to both of them, dictated the quote to sir luige over the phone, before heading for home at 9 p.m.
it was a tiring day. but a lucky one, still. yesterday i texted lawrence: “congrats! you’ve got two bylines.” early today while waiting for the voting to start, i received the same message from him with a sidebar: “(sounds familiar? ayan, dinagdagan ko na.)” he was referring to the jinggoy-jv and the teachers stories.
5.11.2004
since the canvassing was set to start at 1 p.m., i went to san juan at around 10 a.m. already. nothing unusual or newsworthy. i decided to wait, and wait. the canvassing started at 3 p.m. after some of the koalisyon ng nagkakaisang pilipino exchanged barbs with local comelec officials regarding the proper handling of election returns and ballot boxes.
when the canvassing finally started, erick san juan’s lawyer made a scene: he and the entire local lakas-cmd delegation staged a walk-out. i interviewed him right after the walk-out and he was saying his client could not take part in an election “patented with fraud.” yes, he was accusing jv ejercito of fraud. i thought he might have forgotten he was in an erap country.
i wrote a brief article about the walk-out and faxed it to sir luige. later, i interviewed mayor ejercito in his office. i faxed the quotes, with the pwersa ng masa’s quick count results, and waited for canvassing updates but they weren’t available yet. i went home at 8 p.m. with an exam early the next day, i was wishing myself luck. i’m not going to sleep tonight.
5.12.2004
with 30 minutes of sleep, i was groggy when i went to san juan at lunchtime. not much happened. i waited for canvassing updates while making a few phone calls.
i called up namfrel-white cross and, after several calls, the woman at the other end of the line gave me an unofficial tally as of 3 p.m. i faxed it to sir luige and the metro desk. i didn’t write a story, probably because i wasn’t in my 100% self. or maybe because there were no stories to write about.
i decided to go home around 7 p.m. just when i was barely a block from home, sir luige called me up. “congressional bet jojo alcovendaz’ supporters were reportedly massing up outside the san juan gym.” so i hailed a taxi, conscious of the fact that i have to give sir luige an update before 8 p.m.
when i arrived there, i saw no people massing up. instead, i saw a dozen policemen by the gate. they must have been expecting something, so i decided to stay for a while.
later, erick san juan’s lawyer, atty. bugaring, was there again to file a protest for his client. he invited me to join him in filing the case at the comelec main office. after consulting with my trainor, i declined and headed home. sir luige texted me twice: “umuwi ka na ngayon. bukas na yan.” i checked my mobile phone, it was 9 p.m.
5.13.2004
i went to san juan at lunchtime and talked to local comelec officials who, by now, have become nice to me (they even gave me packed meals). i was told they were set to proclaim the winners this afternoon.
while waiting, i called up atty. bugaring to find out what their protest was about. i also called up namfrel, only to find out that they could not release results until later tonight because they had problems retrieving election returns. looks like the official count is outpacing the quick count, i wrote in my lead. i faxed the story to sir luige and waited for the results.
there were still none by 8 p.m., the deadliest cut-off time. but for some strange reason, i had the feeling proclamation would happen sometime soon. so i waited, even way beyond 10 p.m., the time my trainor told me i should go home. i broke his order and it paid off. proclamation was held at 11 p.m. and i was able to talk to mayor ejercito and councilor bobby yan after. one comelec official promised to give me the results but she wasn’t able to do so, so i figured it would be wise to wait for the next day.
i went home shortly after midnight.
5.14.2004
i was expecting to get the official comelec results so i went to san juan at 10 a.m. tough luck, the chair of the boc wasn’t there yet. she had the sole copy of the results. so i decided to write the proclamation story, hoping to get the results when i get back.
there were still no results because the chair, as it turned out, almost fainted. she is pregnant so she must be having a hard time with the elections and the canvassing. but i decided to stay.
with no results still, i decided to leave at a little before 4 p.m. i called up sir luige to inform him that the results weren’t available yet but he was adamant. “they have to release the results now.” so i went back to the canvassing area and talked to some comelec employees. they were also at a loss.
as luck would have it, they opened the ballot box with the consolidated results of the canvassing and so i hurriedly copied it. no other reporters were around, it was a scoop. i checked thrice to make sure the figures were correct and i asked a comelec official if this was official. it was, they said.
with that confirmation, i raced out of the canvassing area, called up metro desk and sir luige to give them the figures. then, off to inquirer office to get our remaining allowance. there, sir gerry asked me to write an article about the appointment of five clergymen. one became archbishop, two became bishops while two bishops were reassigned.
finally, at 7 p.m., i headed for home.
5.15.2004
i didn’t know today was my last day. i asked sir luige yesterday if i could take a break today and tomorrow. he said it’s too early to take a break. he said monday would be fine. i agreed. i had no qualms about it.
so when he told me this afternoon that i didn’t have to report tomorrow, i was unprepared. i didn’t have my evaluation sheet ready. but that was fine with me. at least i could now focus on my pi 100 oral exams and report.
the day started at 10 a.m. i went to san juan and checked the canvassing area. they were empty. i was told canvassing for the national positions ended late last night. the people must have been tired because i didn’t see anyone at the comelec office this morning.
i talked to some vendors instead for my feature story. before i headed for the deped office, i decided to drop by the san juan police station. there were no big stories. but i did meet an inmate, my age. he was caught last wednesday for killing an out-of-school youth in august last year. he stabbed the guy 13 times, police investigation showed.
his was sad story. “he wanted to be a policeman. but his hopes vanished after his father was arrested for attempting to kill the man who killed his uncle. without a father to support him, he quit schooling. now, jonathan tatena, 19, is languishing in jail for killing a 20-year-old out-of-school youth he figured into a brawl with. tomorrow, he would join his father at the san juan municipal jail for an odd reunion.”
i was taken aback when i found out that he had a wife and a two-month-old child. he was married at the age of 17. he is the oldest in a brood of five. with him and his father in jail, i wonder what will happen to his family, especially his child and his younger siblings.
too bad i wasn’t able to confirm some of the details so i did not submit my story. but i was thankful to have known his story nonetheless. seeing jonathan’s plight made me appreciate my status right now. i’m not the most successful man in the world but at least i’m enjoying some blessings. i honestly hope he and his family will find a way out of this.
anyway, end of the road for me, at least when it comes to my internship. what can i say? it was the most fruitful, fun-filled, fulfilling summer i have ever had. i can’t wait to be a journalist.
..........
so much has changed in my lyf. bt u being a part of it remains d same. no matter where lyf takes me, il nvr 4gt dat in ds lyf, my world crashed n2 urs & it has been beautiful...TC--one of *her* last messages b4 she left, 7-June-2003. 16:38:38
meg
weird. someone added me sa friendster because she saw my name on meg magazine. my name on MEG MAGAZINE? how did that happen?
i forgot. i did give florian a brief answer re: summer romance. does it really happen? i said i don't think so. i didn't think so, that is. oh well, i still don't. those stuffs never last, especially if one just happens to be on vacation. and it's babye after. long distance love? good luck.
anyway, tumambay lang ako sa inq office this am. with sir gerry and trina, and jo. did get some inside scoop though, haha. it's cold there, literally. geesh, i miss my internship days. kung pwede lang...
pwede naman talaga. it's just that i don't have the time anymore. reg na next week. council matters later this week. plus another commitment.
anyway, stay tuned for internship journal. will post them pretty soon. from may 8-15, the days i wasn't able to post entries. do read them, k? and tag along. that's more like it.
..........
love is only a feeling
i forgot. i did give florian a brief answer re: summer romance. does it really happen? i said i don't think so. i didn't think so, that is. oh well, i still don't. those stuffs never last, especially if one just happens to be on vacation. and it's babye after. long distance love? good luck.
anyway, tumambay lang ako sa inq office this am. with sir gerry and trina, and jo. did get some inside scoop though, haha. it's cold there, literally. geesh, i miss my internship days. kung pwede lang...
pwede naman talaga. it's just that i don't have the time anymore. reg na next week. council matters later this week. plus another commitment.
anyway, stay tuned for internship journal. will post them pretty soon. from may 8-15, the days i wasn't able to post entries. do read them, k? and tag along. that's more like it.
..........
love is only a feeling
5.23.2004
hmmm...
Love is only a Feeling
The Darkness
The first flush of youth was upon you when our eyes first met
And I knew that to you and into your life I had to get
I felt light-headed at the touch of this stranger's hand
An assault my defences systematically failed to withstand
'Cos you came at a time
When the pursuit of one true love in which to fall
Was the be all and end all
Love is only a feeling
(Drifting away)
When I'm in your arms I start believing
(It's here to stay)
But love is only a feeling
Anyway
The state of elation that this unison of hearts achieved
I had seen, I had touched, I had tasted and I truly believed
That the light of my life
Would tear a hole right through each cloud that scudded by
Just to beam on you and I
Love is only a feeling
(Drifting away)
When I'm in your arms I start believing
(It's here to stay)
But love is only a feeling
Anyway, anyway
Love is only a feeling
(Drifting away)
And we've got to stop ourselves believing
(It's here to stay)
'Cos love is only a feeling
Anyway.
..........
makikilala sa umaga ang isang magandang araw
The Darkness
The first flush of youth was upon you when our eyes first met
And I knew that to you and into your life I had to get
I felt light-headed at the touch of this stranger's hand
An assault my defences systematically failed to withstand
'Cos you came at a time
When the pursuit of one true love in which to fall
Was the be all and end all
Love is only a feeling
(Drifting away)
When I'm in your arms I start believing
(It's here to stay)
But love is only a feeling
Anyway
The state of elation that this unison of hearts achieved
I had seen, I had touched, I had tasted and I truly believed
That the light of my life
Would tear a hole right through each cloud that scudded by
Just to beam on you and I
Love is only a feeling
(Drifting away)
When I'm in your arms I start believing
(It's here to stay)
But love is only a feeling
Anyway, anyway
Love is only a feeling
(Drifting away)
And we've got to stop ourselves believing
(It's here to stay)
'Cos love is only a feeling
Anyway.
..........
makikilala sa umaga ang isang magandang araw
5.22.2004
dormant
geesh, this blog's dormant already. i've got tons to say but i'll leave that for later. still have a website to finish...
reg starts june 2. that means, vacation for only a week? what could be worse than that? hay...that's life. gotta enjoy it.
see yah around. i'll keep those posts coming. just keep on checking, and tagging too.
..........
makikilala sa umaga ang isang magandang araw
reg starts june 2. that means, vacation for only a week? what could be worse than that? hay...that's life. gotta enjoy it.
see yah around. i'll keep those posts coming. just keep on checking, and tagging too.
..........
makikilala sa umaga ang isang magandang araw
5.07.2004
blog finally
this is probably the longest time i haven’t posted an entry on my blog. been reviewing some of my entries for the past days and it occurred to me that they were really long…and quite boring too. so i’m out to outdo myself. will try to keep entries as short as possible. i hope i don’t miss out on the exciting stuff (if any).
just to give you an update: the congressman story got published in the metro section last wednesday. got a tagline for that. the following day, thursday, the sole story i wrote about on wednesday landed in the metrobriefs section. twas about this 17-year-old guy who was shot because he ran after two robbers who held-up the passengers of the jeepney he was riding (sorry if it sounds mind-boggling—i’m on a hurry so i can’t think of a better way to tell the story in one sentence). i didn’t get any story published today because i never got to write one yesterday. i covered this peace covenant in pasig city where only the “implementors” of the election participated—no politicians whatsoever. (you call that a covenant?)
yesterday was really a long day. woke up late at around 6 a.m. to get to my 7 a.m. class. then, i went to san juan to check out some of the polling places and then to comelec to pester (that’s what they thought i was doing anyway) some officials there who happen to hate the inquirer. then, on to deped before going to pasig to cover the peace covenant i was talking about.
by 5:30, we (sir luige, charlie and i) had to head for the inquirer office in makati for another meeting. forgive me if i’m not gonna share all the details but i must say it’s fun being in a room with around 30 of you sharing that same passion for journalism (at least i think ha), not to mention that most of you happen to be blockmates, and that, except for a few, most of you can rightfully be described as “the youth.” we haven’t even met the more senior reporters of pdi who had a meeting the previous night. would have been nice knowing and meeting them. are they nice or do they have ego problems? how patient are they? how do they deal with people? (you see, i’ve always had this impulse every time i visit the office to go to the newsroom and pester everyone with my set of kulit questions—huh, that would’ve ruined their day. i wonder what they’ll do…hmmm…feeling naughty, bratty boy si jobert.)
the meeting ended at almost 11, but as a bonus, we did get some “funds” though (oil to keep the engine running) and an inq shirt. and our press ids. too bad we can’t keep it. management is so paranoid about us using the id for other purposes.
anyway, i got home at around 12 mn. i was trying my best to read up on noli because i should’ve been finished reading by now but my eyes were hurting already so i gave up and set the alarm at 4:30. failed to wake up this morning though, and i almost got late again.
so there, didn’t get to read again. it’s a good thing sir atienza had other things in mind for this morning’s discussion so i was saved. but not totally. when we resume classes on wed next week, we’ll have our exam. i wonder how i’ll ever finish reading the book, not to mention the thought of how to study for it considering that i won’t be having a free day until next, next week. i’m keeping my fingers crossed. who knows, something alarming might happen? we have to be there all the time.
today was no better than yesterday. had to finish a pi project so i went to deped only after lunch. found no stories in san juan but the one thing i wrote about this afternoon was about bayani fernando’s campaign to vote for gloria in marikina. i don’t think it will come out tomorrow.
was already all set to cover lakas mayoralty bet erick san juan’s miting de avance tonight but at the last minute he cancelled it, crying sabotage. so tomorrow, i’m expecting to cover jv ejercito’s rally at night. will go around the town in the morning.
oh well, it’s only 9:30 but my eyelids are dropping again. gotta get some lost sleep…but not now…soon!
have a nice day/night folks! don’t forget to vote come may 10. this is our fight.
..........
ganyan naman kayong magmahal...masakit
just to give you an update: the congressman story got published in the metro section last wednesday. got a tagline for that. the following day, thursday, the sole story i wrote about on wednesday landed in the metrobriefs section. twas about this 17-year-old guy who was shot because he ran after two robbers who held-up the passengers of the jeepney he was riding (sorry if it sounds mind-boggling—i’m on a hurry so i can’t think of a better way to tell the story in one sentence). i didn’t get any story published today because i never got to write one yesterday. i covered this peace covenant in pasig city where only the “implementors” of the election participated—no politicians whatsoever. (you call that a covenant?)
yesterday was really a long day. woke up late at around 6 a.m. to get to my 7 a.m. class. then, i went to san juan to check out some of the polling places and then to comelec to pester (that’s what they thought i was doing anyway) some officials there who happen to hate the inquirer. then, on to deped before going to pasig to cover the peace covenant i was talking about.
by 5:30, we (sir luige, charlie and i) had to head for the inquirer office in makati for another meeting. forgive me if i’m not gonna share all the details but i must say it’s fun being in a room with around 30 of you sharing that same passion for journalism (at least i think ha), not to mention that most of you happen to be blockmates, and that, except for a few, most of you can rightfully be described as “the youth.” we haven’t even met the more senior reporters of pdi who had a meeting the previous night. would have been nice knowing and meeting them. are they nice or do they have ego problems? how patient are they? how do they deal with people? (you see, i’ve always had this impulse every time i visit the office to go to the newsroom and pester everyone with my set of kulit questions—huh, that would’ve ruined their day. i wonder what they’ll do…hmmm…feeling naughty, bratty boy si jobert.)
the meeting ended at almost 11, but as a bonus, we did get some “funds” though (oil to keep the engine running) and an inq shirt. and our press ids. too bad we can’t keep it. management is so paranoid about us using the id for other purposes.
anyway, i got home at around 12 mn. i was trying my best to read up on noli because i should’ve been finished reading by now but my eyes were hurting already so i gave up and set the alarm at 4:30. failed to wake up this morning though, and i almost got late again.
so there, didn’t get to read again. it’s a good thing sir atienza had other things in mind for this morning’s discussion so i was saved. but not totally. when we resume classes on wed next week, we’ll have our exam. i wonder how i’ll ever finish reading the book, not to mention the thought of how to study for it considering that i won’t be having a free day until next, next week. i’m keeping my fingers crossed. who knows, something alarming might happen? we have to be there all the time.
today was no better than yesterday. had to finish a pi project so i went to deped only after lunch. found no stories in san juan but the one thing i wrote about this afternoon was about bayani fernando’s campaign to vote for gloria in marikina. i don’t think it will come out tomorrow.
was already all set to cover lakas mayoralty bet erick san juan’s miting de avance tonight but at the last minute he cancelled it, crying sabotage. so tomorrow, i’m expecting to cover jv ejercito’s rally at night. will go around the town in the morning.
oh well, it’s only 9:30 but my eyelids are dropping again. gotta get some lost sleep…but not now…soon!
have a nice day/night folks! don’t forget to vote come may 10. this is our fight.
..........
ganyan naman kayong magmahal...masakit
5.04.2004
new beat
sorry for not blogging yesterday. i was just so tired that i didn’t fee like blogging. twas the first time i spent the whole day outside crame so i was adjusting to the new beat. really, you have to walk, run, commute and eat once you’re out there, lest you won’t survive.
the day started at almost 11. i was aimlessly wandering around the virra mall area, looking for the police precinct and for the gate to estrada’s subdivision (i was trying to develop a story on estrada’s visit you see). then i went to san juan police station but no one wanted to talk. so there, at almost 12 noon, i realized i still had no story. for the first time since my internship started, i felt like i didn’t have any direction.
luckily, sir luige called and asked me to cover a pro-fpj youth congress at 1 p.m. that day. he gave me the name of mayor jv ejercito’s public information officer and i was glad to have found her to be very accommodating.
sir luige and i later met up at the congress at the san juan gym. you should have seen those young people, more than a thousand of them from all over metro manila. some of them didn’t even know what they were doing there. someone just told them to ride the jeep or the bus to go to an fpj rally. since some of them were self-confessed diehard da king fans (never mind if they can’t remember even a title of his movies), they gladly came along. some were told richard gomez was gonna be there, niño muhlach and even the sexbomb dancers.
too bad you didn’t see how they reacted at the slightest hint of an artista coming. they literally stood on their chairs and screamed like hell. some were clever enough to bring a camera with them so they can pose with their idol.
the thing that struck me the most was the fact that i couldn’t believe i was covering an fpj rally, what with all my anti-fpj sentiments. but of course, being a journalist, you must put aside your personal views and not let them affect your craft. so i endured more than two hours, i suppose, of dealing with fpj supporters in the most professional way possible. i had no choice. i had to get jv ejercito’s comments so i had to wait. not that i have something against them, it’s the way they act man. of course, to be sure there are fpj supporters who don’t act that way.
sir luige’s story about the rally yesterday didn’t come out today in the inquirer. the event was apparently not newsworthy, not to mention the fact na binastos ni goma si sir luige. oh well, artistas with bloated egos. and poor brains. (pardon my prejudice)
after chitchatting with sir luige and the rest of the friendly reporters at the deped press office, we ended the day with dinner at edsa central mall—all five of us lining up for a long overdue meal. gutom ka na, pagod ka pa. hay…this is a reporter’s life. and so i’ve been warned.
today was no different.received a message from sir luige in the middle of pi class, informing me that he’s down with flu. that meant i was to be on my own, covering mandaluyong, pasig, san juan, rizal, marikina and other outlying areas. the prospect kinda scared me. i felt unprepared for the job. if yesterday i was groping for direction, what more now? luckily, the guys at the press office were kind enough to be of help and i survived the day.
i almost never made it when i got caught up in a traffic jam. on top of that, i can’t seem to find my way inside the deped headquarters. i was really lucky that i recognized two of the reporters who, as it turned out, were on the way to a press con. had i arrived later, i would have missed it.
and so off we went to a restaurant (hmmm…food na naman). there, we met the man who won as congressman three years ago but who never sat in congress because it was only last monday that the supreme court released the decision declaring him the winner. see, that’s how long it takes for the wheel of justice to turn in this country. poor guy. he was reportedly doing poor in the surveys for the present race. he may only get to sit in congress for less than a month in june.
on top of his woes, the incumbent mayor who is his ticket mate was reportedly supporting two other candidates for congressman. how could that be? di naman daw seloso si congressman. seloso my foot.
so i wrote about it. and another story regarding soldiers’ visit in antipolo. i wrote really slow. i finished past 6 when the stories were due at 4 p.m. i don’t know what they’ll make of them but i was told ok lang daw. ok.
just when i thought my day was over, i had to go to up cmc to meet up with some of the members of the council. got home at almost 9 p.m. but ironically, still with high energy. must be the full moon.
later tonight, i received one good advise from sir luige: speed is impt in newspapering. that only means kelangan mo pa mgpractice.
yeah, i agree. there’s always that tendency in me to stop after every sentence, review everything, edit, until i realized that i haven’t gone far enough in an hour of facing the monitor. i’m even trying to control my habit of checking and checking all over again otherwise i may never beat the deadline.
this blog is no exception actually of how i write. i could spend a good two hours coming up with three pages of blog a night. that’s really slow. now, i’m a little faster because i just type whatever comes to my head, even if they don’t make sense. i review what i wrote from time to time, to check on embarrassing “grammage” but since this is informal, it’s forgivable so the pressure is less. when it comes to news stories however, i could spend a good two hours writing less than a page of news. and that’s bad. terribly bad.
oh well, have a lot to learn. sir luige is right: 3rd year ka pa naman. u’ll learn.
learn, i will. you bet.
..........
starry starry night
the day started at almost 11. i was aimlessly wandering around the virra mall area, looking for the police precinct and for the gate to estrada’s subdivision (i was trying to develop a story on estrada’s visit you see). then i went to san juan police station but no one wanted to talk. so there, at almost 12 noon, i realized i still had no story. for the first time since my internship started, i felt like i didn’t have any direction.
luckily, sir luige called and asked me to cover a pro-fpj youth congress at 1 p.m. that day. he gave me the name of mayor jv ejercito’s public information officer and i was glad to have found her to be very accommodating.
sir luige and i later met up at the congress at the san juan gym. you should have seen those young people, more than a thousand of them from all over metro manila. some of them didn’t even know what they were doing there. someone just told them to ride the jeep or the bus to go to an fpj rally. since some of them were self-confessed diehard da king fans (never mind if they can’t remember even a title of his movies), they gladly came along. some were told richard gomez was gonna be there, niño muhlach and even the sexbomb dancers.
too bad you didn’t see how they reacted at the slightest hint of an artista coming. they literally stood on their chairs and screamed like hell. some were clever enough to bring a camera with them so they can pose with their idol.
the thing that struck me the most was the fact that i couldn’t believe i was covering an fpj rally, what with all my anti-fpj sentiments. but of course, being a journalist, you must put aside your personal views and not let them affect your craft. so i endured more than two hours, i suppose, of dealing with fpj supporters in the most professional way possible. i had no choice. i had to get jv ejercito’s comments so i had to wait. not that i have something against them, it’s the way they act man. of course, to be sure there are fpj supporters who don’t act that way.
sir luige’s story about the rally yesterday didn’t come out today in the inquirer. the event was apparently not newsworthy, not to mention the fact na binastos ni goma si sir luige. oh well, artistas with bloated egos. and poor brains. (pardon my prejudice)
after chitchatting with sir luige and the rest of the friendly reporters at the deped press office, we ended the day with dinner at edsa central mall—all five of us lining up for a long overdue meal. gutom ka na, pagod ka pa. hay…this is a reporter’s life. and so i’ve been warned.
today was no different.received a message from sir luige in the middle of pi class, informing me that he’s down with flu. that meant i was to be on my own, covering mandaluyong, pasig, san juan, rizal, marikina and other outlying areas. the prospect kinda scared me. i felt unprepared for the job. if yesterday i was groping for direction, what more now? luckily, the guys at the press office were kind enough to be of help and i survived the day.
i almost never made it when i got caught up in a traffic jam. on top of that, i can’t seem to find my way inside the deped headquarters. i was really lucky that i recognized two of the reporters who, as it turned out, were on the way to a press con. had i arrived later, i would have missed it.
and so off we went to a restaurant (hmmm…food na naman). there, we met the man who won as congressman three years ago but who never sat in congress because it was only last monday that the supreme court released the decision declaring him the winner. see, that’s how long it takes for the wheel of justice to turn in this country. poor guy. he was reportedly doing poor in the surveys for the present race. he may only get to sit in congress for less than a month in june.
on top of his woes, the incumbent mayor who is his ticket mate was reportedly supporting two other candidates for congressman. how could that be? di naman daw seloso si congressman. seloso my foot.
so i wrote about it. and another story regarding soldiers’ visit in antipolo. i wrote really slow. i finished past 6 when the stories were due at 4 p.m. i don’t know what they’ll make of them but i was told ok lang daw. ok.
just when i thought my day was over, i had to go to up cmc to meet up with some of the members of the council. got home at almost 9 p.m. but ironically, still with high energy. must be the full moon.
later tonight, i received one good advise from sir luige: speed is impt in newspapering. that only means kelangan mo pa mgpractice.
yeah, i agree. there’s always that tendency in me to stop after every sentence, review everything, edit, until i realized that i haven’t gone far enough in an hour of facing the monitor. i’m even trying to control my habit of checking and checking all over again otherwise i may never beat the deadline.
this blog is no exception actually of how i write. i could spend a good two hours coming up with three pages of blog a night. that’s really slow. now, i’m a little faster because i just type whatever comes to my head, even if they don’t make sense. i review what i wrote from time to time, to check on embarrassing “grammage” but since this is informal, it’s forgivable so the pressure is less. when it comes to news stories however, i could spend a good two hours writing less than a page of news. and that’s bad. terribly bad.
oh well, have a lot to learn. sir luige is right: 3rd year ka pa naman. u’ll learn.
learn, i will. you bet.
..........
starry starry night
4.30.2004
mga idol
another byline! yahoo!
pardon the kayabangan, if it may seem to you that way. like any other budding journalist, i just have to celebrate every little successes. it’s like being happy for what you receive each day because you’ll never know until when you’ll get to receive them—that’s if you’re given another chance. (malalim ba?)
sorry if i have to type the article’s title: culiat folk hit cop raid by christian esguerra and michael jobert i. navallo. can’t help it. i guess i’m just so lucky that i was assigned to a great trainor. (former varsitarian eic ba naman.) feeling ko nga salingpusa lang pangalan ko dun e.
really, i don’t think i’m good enough. sir christian is the best. idol talaga when it comes to writing and editing and contextualizing. compared to him, suddenly i am a lowly apprentice who have forgotten all the techniques i learned in class. have no qualms about it though. i’ll learn, and i’ll learn from the best.
speaking of idol, another one of my idols, nick joaquin, passed away yesterday. heard about it in crame yesterday and i was all agog about going to san juan, never mind if i don’t know the streets there. but i was told a special reporter will cover it and so i did read in today’s paper volt contreras and ruel de vera’s fitting tribute to a “master.” the artik is really good, you have to read it.
too bad i can’t meet him anymore. i was hoping i could meet the man who is both a journalist and a litterateur, combining what others would consider opposite worlds. he proved them wrong of course, being both using two different names and in both cases, showing mastery of the craft. how i wish i could be like him! but that’s a long way to go, if that’s even possible. literary works are my pitfall. i feel i’m not creative enough, with each piece i write always wanting, always lacking, and that it’s not good enough. (you know very well how i hate mediocrity.)
i’ve got other idols pa. jose rizal is certainly one of them (and no, it’s not because chickboy siya—debatable daw yun). i’m also open to meeting more idols, probably newer and younger ones. and did i say prof. x used to be my favorite cartoon character? (not sure now but i know i like peace better—kaya make peace not war, ok?)
anyway, on to internship-related matters. while on my way to san juan this morning, i decided to drop by vp candidate noli de castro’s headquarters in edsa, q. ave., to get a reaction on yesterday’s story. talked to some people but the conversations were off the record. kabayan’s spokesman also decided not to issue a statement so there blew my chance for another scoop.
what did i do in san juan? i asked some info from the comelec, checked out a police station and the eastern police district, familiarized myself with the place and well, ate at chowking (gutom na ko that time you know). got a few contacts too, so i can start calling them tomorrow for updates. one cop asked if i had a calling card. i said i have yet to make one so i scribbled contact info on a leaf i tore off from my notes. i was there on my own since my new boss sir luige was not available today.
i reported to crame at around 2. sa kabaitan na naman ni sir christian, he gave me the transcript of the press briefing which took place just before lunch. he told me to do the story, which i did, and so there, my sole article for the day. hope it’ll see print tomorrow.
timecheck: 10:30 but i’m really sleepy. perhaps it’s time to end this entry.
notable update? nothing. ms. mu was there this afternoon but left moments after i arrived. turns out she had chitchat with lawrence, cess and the other peeps at aguinaldo. sige, mang-inggit pa kayo. (what the hell am i writing? sorry, antok na talaga.)
i do have an explosive story to tell. but i’ll reserve it for the weekend, so that i have something journ-related to post. til then.
..........
tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you tomorrow, you’re always (as a star circle kid questor puts it) away a day!
pardon the kayabangan, if it may seem to you that way. like any other budding journalist, i just have to celebrate every little successes. it’s like being happy for what you receive each day because you’ll never know until when you’ll get to receive them—that’s if you’re given another chance. (malalim ba?)
sorry if i have to type the article’s title: culiat folk hit cop raid by christian esguerra and michael jobert i. navallo. can’t help it. i guess i’m just so lucky that i was assigned to a great trainor. (former varsitarian eic ba naman.) feeling ko nga salingpusa lang pangalan ko dun e.
really, i don’t think i’m good enough. sir christian is the best. idol talaga when it comes to writing and editing and contextualizing. compared to him, suddenly i am a lowly apprentice who have forgotten all the techniques i learned in class. have no qualms about it though. i’ll learn, and i’ll learn from the best.
speaking of idol, another one of my idols, nick joaquin, passed away yesterday. heard about it in crame yesterday and i was all agog about going to san juan, never mind if i don’t know the streets there. but i was told a special reporter will cover it and so i did read in today’s paper volt contreras and ruel de vera’s fitting tribute to a “master.” the artik is really good, you have to read it.
too bad i can’t meet him anymore. i was hoping i could meet the man who is both a journalist and a litterateur, combining what others would consider opposite worlds. he proved them wrong of course, being both using two different names and in both cases, showing mastery of the craft. how i wish i could be like him! but that’s a long way to go, if that’s even possible. literary works are my pitfall. i feel i’m not creative enough, with each piece i write always wanting, always lacking, and that it’s not good enough. (you know very well how i hate mediocrity.)
i’ve got other idols pa. jose rizal is certainly one of them (and no, it’s not because chickboy siya—debatable daw yun). i’m also open to meeting more idols, probably newer and younger ones. and did i say prof. x used to be my favorite cartoon character? (not sure now but i know i like peace better—kaya make peace not war, ok?)
anyway, on to internship-related matters. while on my way to san juan this morning, i decided to drop by vp candidate noli de castro’s headquarters in edsa, q. ave., to get a reaction on yesterday’s story. talked to some people but the conversations were off the record. kabayan’s spokesman also decided not to issue a statement so there blew my chance for another scoop.
what did i do in san juan? i asked some info from the comelec, checked out a police station and the eastern police district, familiarized myself with the place and well, ate at chowking (gutom na ko that time you know). got a few contacts too, so i can start calling them tomorrow for updates. one cop asked if i had a calling card. i said i have yet to make one so i scribbled contact info on a leaf i tore off from my notes. i was there on my own since my new boss sir luige was not available today.
i reported to crame at around 2. sa kabaitan na naman ni sir christian, he gave me the transcript of the press briefing which took place just before lunch. he told me to do the story, which i did, and so there, my sole article for the day. hope it’ll see print tomorrow.
timecheck: 10:30 but i’m really sleepy. perhaps it’s time to end this entry.
notable update? nothing. ms. mu was there this afternoon but left moments after i arrived. turns out she had chitchat with lawrence, cess and the other peeps at aguinaldo. sige, mang-inggit pa kayo. (what the hell am i writing? sorry, antok na talaga.)
i do have an explosive story to tell. but i’ll reserve it for the weekend, so that i have something journ-related to post. til then.
..........
tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you tomorrow, you’re always (as a star circle kid questor puts it) away a day!
4.29.2004
lucky day
three reasons why i’m lucky today:
reason #1: got my first byline in the metro section today. pnp nabs 3 asg suspects in raid by christian esguerra and michael jobert navallo…so it read. wow, it felt great! i actually learned it from lawrence who texted me while my pi class was about to end. he said: congrats! may byline ka today, or something to that effect. can’t remember exactly what i replied but am sure it consisted only of one word. (choose: talaga? what? or what!). i only got to see it when i visited journ dep’t. right after. that’s when i got ecstatic and excited.
when i got to crame later on, christina mendez of the philippine star asked me if i had today’s paper. i said i didn’t. she said, wala kang dyaryo? byline ka pa naman. later, jericho, another reporter remarked: byline si michael jobert navallo o. hehe, that was really sweet.
reason #2: by some twist of fate or luck, the same story came out as part of sir christian’s page 1 story on the yellow-red overseas organization, so i also earned a tagline. another first! first tagline for a page 1 story. now i’m really inspired. what a way to end my supposedly last day in crame.
reason #3: earned my first scoop today, thanks mostly to my good trainor. he gave me quotes from his interview with the partlylist representative of the suara bangsamoro regarding one of the alleged abu sayyaf members caught yesterday and a dossier from the same party. while writing a profile on dawabi ben albi maulana, i decided to clarify some info and that’s when i was able to set an exclusive interview with his daughter.
even the timing was just right. while i was writing maulana’s profile, sir christian was covering the peace talks conference in new manila. later, news broke out in the press office about a presscon at the pnp’s civil security group regarding 6 arrested document fraud syndicate members. i texted sir christian and he said i could come. and so i went alone, asking around how to get there. my boss was already there but the presscon was just about to start.
just about the same time the presscon ended, maulana’s daughter texted me that they were already at his father’s detention cell. upon my trainor’s advice, i met her there and got to ask a few questions. i also saw firsthand how maulana was being escorted out of crame to the quezon city prosecutor’s office. boy, was the security lax! no handcuffs. i was even standing next to the old man presented as one of the suspects yesterday.
when i came back to the office, my boss was away, interviewing pnp spokesman goltiao regarding the voter turn-out of local absentee voters in the police and military. i wrote my two stories until a little before 6, in the process almost committing a major crime against a reporter. i was trying to turn a computer on when i switched off the avr, unknowingly turning off ms. mendez’s computer. i really thought she was gonna be sore (to think i’ve seen her furious yesterday). but she did manage to control her temper and i was relieved the document was rescued. buti na lang!
anyway, i hope both stories get published tomorrow. or maybe even just one. if not, i’ll be happy at the thought that i got the story for myself, no matter how small it was, and the other reporters didn’t. haha. (pagbigyan niyo na.)
what a day it was indeed, considering that it almost didn’t start well. i almost got bullied today by that manila times reporter (who by the way is the butt of all jokes in our group—uhm, i could see two factions in the press office and i somehow belong to the more noisy but good-natured ones who value their integrity). i don’t know what was with him. i was trying to borrow the journal from a reporter, speaking in the most polite way possible. sir, pahiram po ng journal after. and he butted in (i wasn’t even talking to him). he said: di ba trainee ka pa? maghintay ka matapos ang mga reporters (in a really mean way). so i was like, hindi ko naman po kukunin kaagad, hihiramin ko pagkatapos. and he blurted something but i didn’t care to listen to him na. i just smiled and almost chuckled. to my mind, is he really that insecure? that was the same thing sir christian told me later on when i informed him of what happened. insecure lang yan. magaling pa english mo dyan. (maniniwala ba ako?) later, froilan from today, who used to be sir christian’s trainee, said, sabihin mo lang kapag inaway ka nun ha. haha. turns out protektado pala ako sa crame.
oh well (here’s that phrase again), the day somehow ended well. was in high spirits even though this was gonna be my last day. sir benjie liwanag of dzbb asked when was my last day. i told him, ngayon. he said: babay. later, ms. mu uttered words like, last day mo na pala ngayon. i replied with all smiles (as if happy pa), oo nga e. but after that, nothing. we didn’t talk, we didn’t almost notice each other later in the day. well, i think it’s for the better. i don’t want to be crame-sick when i get to san juan.
but i did have a discovery of the day. sir benjie introduced me to a free service from globe where, instead of the ring ring ring, the caller gets to hear either a song or a recorded message. he told me to choose aubrey miles. they had a kick listening to what she had to say. it went something like: hi this is aubrey miles…honey, telephone, blah blah blah. the caller is supposed to think you’re really with her huh.
there are other variations. there are songs and funny punchlines, even an abu sayyaf message. really cool. if you want to try it, or to listen to aubrey, call me ok? now, i wonder what my mother would do when she gets to hear this…hmmm…
anyway, before i left crame for today, i had an early supper with tahong and rice. huh! sarap! haven’t tasted it for a while. what a way to end my crame internship.
on second thought, it wasn’t really the end. i can still go back after elections. and i just found out this evening that sir luige, my new trainor, won’t be able to go with me tomorrow to san juan and that i only need to get the basic info he asked from me. that means, if i finish early, i can still report to crame. the question is, will i go there tomorrow? ah, that remains to be seen. we’ll see.
..........
tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you tomorrow, you’re always (as a star circle kid questor puts it) away a day!
reason #1: got my first byline in the metro section today. pnp nabs 3 asg suspects in raid by christian esguerra and michael jobert navallo…so it read. wow, it felt great! i actually learned it from lawrence who texted me while my pi class was about to end. he said: congrats! may byline ka today, or something to that effect. can’t remember exactly what i replied but am sure it consisted only of one word. (choose: talaga? what? or what!). i only got to see it when i visited journ dep’t. right after. that’s when i got ecstatic and excited.
when i got to crame later on, christina mendez of the philippine star asked me if i had today’s paper. i said i didn’t. she said, wala kang dyaryo? byline ka pa naman. later, jericho, another reporter remarked: byline si michael jobert navallo o. hehe, that was really sweet.
reason #2: by some twist of fate or luck, the same story came out as part of sir christian’s page 1 story on the yellow-red overseas organization, so i also earned a tagline. another first! first tagline for a page 1 story. now i’m really inspired. what a way to end my supposedly last day in crame.
reason #3: earned my first scoop today, thanks mostly to my good trainor. he gave me quotes from his interview with the partlylist representative of the suara bangsamoro regarding one of the alleged abu sayyaf members caught yesterday and a dossier from the same party. while writing a profile on dawabi ben albi maulana, i decided to clarify some info and that’s when i was able to set an exclusive interview with his daughter.
even the timing was just right. while i was writing maulana’s profile, sir christian was covering the peace talks conference in new manila. later, news broke out in the press office about a presscon at the pnp’s civil security group regarding 6 arrested document fraud syndicate members. i texted sir christian and he said i could come. and so i went alone, asking around how to get there. my boss was already there but the presscon was just about to start.
just about the same time the presscon ended, maulana’s daughter texted me that they were already at his father’s detention cell. upon my trainor’s advice, i met her there and got to ask a few questions. i also saw firsthand how maulana was being escorted out of crame to the quezon city prosecutor’s office. boy, was the security lax! no handcuffs. i was even standing next to the old man presented as one of the suspects yesterday.
when i came back to the office, my boss was away, interviewing pnp spokesman goltiao regarding the voter turn-out of local absentee voters in the police and military. i wrote my two stories until a little before 6, in the process almost committing a major crime against a reporter. i was trying to turn a computer on when i switched off the avr, unknowingly turning off ms. mendez’s computer. i really thought she was gonna be sore (to think i’ve seen her furious yesterday). but she did manage to control her temper and i was relieved the document was rescued. buti na lang!
anyway, i hope both stories get published tomorrow. or maybe even just one. if not, i’ll be happy at the thought that i got the story for myself, no matter how small it was, and the other reporters didn’t. haha. (pagbigyan niyo na.)
what a day it was indeed, considering that it almost didn’t start well. i almost got bullied today by that manila times reporter (who by the way is the butt of all jokes in our group—uhm, i could see two factions in the press office and i somehow belong to the more noisy but good-natured ones who value their integrity). i don’t know what was with him. i was trying to borrow the journal from a reporter, speaking in the most polite way possible. sir, pahiram po ng journal after. and he butted in (i wasn’t even talking to him). he said: di ba trainee ka pa? maghintay ka matapos ang mga reporters (in a really mean way). so i was like, hindi ko naman po kukunin kaagad, hihiramin ko pagkatapos. and he blurted something but i didn’t care to listen to him na. i just smiled and almost chuckled. to my mind, is he really that insecure? that was the same thing sir christian told me later on when i informed him of what happened. insecure lang yan. magaling pa english mo dyan. (maniniwala ba ako?) later, froilan from today, who used to be sir christian’s trainee, said, sabihin mo lang kapag inaway ka nun ha. haha. turns out protektado pala ako sa crame.
oh well (here’s that phrase again), the day somehow ended well. was in high spirits even though this was gonna be my last day. sir benjie liwanag of dzbb asked when was my last day. i told him, ngayon. he said: babay. later, ms. mu uttered words like, last day mo na pala ngayon. i replied with all smiles (as if happy pa), oo nga e. but after that, nothing. we didn’t talk, we didn’t almost notice each other later in the day. well, i think it’s for the better. i don’t want to be crame-sick when i get to san juan.
but i did have a discovery of the day. sir benjie introduced me to a free service from globe where, instead of the ring ring ring, the caller gets to hear either a song or a recorded message. he told me to choose aubrey miles. they had a kick listening to what she had to say. it went something like: hi this is aubrey miles…honey, telephone, blah blah blah. the caller is supposed to think you’re really with her huh.
there are other variations. there are songs and funny punchlines, even an abu sayyaf message. really cool. if you want to try it, or to listen to aubrey, call me ok? now, i wonder what my mother would do when she gets to hear this…hmmm…
anyway, before i left crame for today, i had an early supper with tahong and rice. huh! sarap! haven’t tasted it for a while. what a way to end my crame internship.
on second thought, it wasn’t really the end. i can still go back after elections. and i just found out this evening that sir luige, my new trainor, won’t be able to go with me tomorrow to san juan and that i only need to get the basic info he asked from me. that means, if i finish early, i can still report to crame. the question is, will i go there tomorrow? ah, that remains to be seen. we’ll see.
..........
tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you tomorrow, you’re always (as a star circle kid questor puts it) away a day!
4.28.2004
nagpapaalam sa crame....
missed out on blogging yesterday. was just too tired when i got home at around 11:30 p.m. last night from a meeting at the inquirer office (i was awake since 5:30 a.m.). then i had to read for pi so by the time i checked my mail, my eyes were half-closed. had to hit the sack at 1:30 a.m. then i had to wake up at 5:30 this morning. sigh. what a long day it was.
but it did pay off. got a tagline on the william martinez story, which was the main story for the metro section today. sir christian did wonders with the article i wrote; otherwise i don’t think it would have landed there. he did get the byline.
the day before, i wrote on the same topic but it ended yesterday in the metro briefs—4 sentences short. i did get a solo tagline though. i guess my interview with senior supt. bernardo bondoc of pdea yesterday afternoon helped a lot because for the most part, we did get some additional info.
will i get even a tagline tomorrow? hmmm… i don’t think so. wrote just one article today, the one on muslims arrested in a raid at 3 a.m. (imagine, 3 a.m.—do they ever sleep?). by the time i finished it, the news came: 3 of the 12 arrested were abu sayyaf members. big story. that meant sir christian was gonna do it, apart from alcuin papa from the other side of edsa.
with no other “newsworthy” story, i called up bondoc again desperate for an update. there was none. that was it. i just picked up the book on rizal and started reading. halfway through the second page, i stopped. made small talk with the rest of the press corps and found out a startling discovery.
actually i learned about it way earlier. we were eating lunch when two reporters were already shouting at each other. it turned out that the vice president of the press corps was questioning the president’s decision to accept money (payola she would call it) from pdea (there was even mention of lacson, and cidg but i don’t really know). she was grilling the treasurer in front of us. i thought they were going to grab each other’s hair and engage in a “bitchfight” (pardon the term) but the vp just left. she wrote a memo instead, accusing the prez, posting it on the bulletin board and faxing it to some news agencies. the latter replied, posting his answer beside the first letter, then faxing it to the same news agencies. this scene looked familiar hmmm…i think i’ve seen such exchange of memos before…now, if i could just remember.
anyway, the vp was fuming mad because if the payola stuff was true, it meant jeopardizing the integrity of the whole pnp press corps and the news agencies they represent. other reporters voiced their condemnation while the others simply had other things to do. there was a press con after all, scheduled at 1 p.m. but which started at 2. then, goltiao had something to say. another press con was set at camp aguinaldo.
covering the press con was somehow fun in that all the reporters were there, exchanging stories while waiting for that lousy aglipay (who never came anyway). but what saddened me was the seeming insensitivity of the media toward the arrested persons. they were smiling, less than serious, and were even the ones directing the show (sir, hawakan niyo muna m-14, photog muna, etc…) as if a bunch of persons were not getting humiliated in front of them (weird, the suspects didn’t look humiliated btw). oh well, maybe because they’ve covered events like these for the nth time.
tomorrow might be my last day in crame (sad). got our new assignments last night. i’m covering the whole of san juan under a new boss, sir luige del puerto of the metro section. will start friday. that way, i’ll have more time to familiarize myself with san juan so by the time election day comes next next week, i should know what i’m reporting about.
i don’t know if i’ll be going back to crame after the elections. it all depends on sir gerry. i don’t even know if, given a chance, i’ll still opt for crame. it’s difficult for a trainee like me to get fresh stories unless i have contacts so that means i have to depend on my trainor. sometimes, it’s even hard to confirm stories from sources unless you want to spend that load of yours talking to some police director from a distant province. your call really.
on the other hand, sir christian is really a good reporter so getting stories shouldn’t be a problem. and i think i have gotten used to the place and the people that, while on board the mrt on my way home this afternoon, i somehow felt sad realizing that tomorrow might be my last day there… (o nagdrama). so i might go back to crame after all.
speaking about people, hmm… she was kinda sad yesterday when i reported to work. i would find out later, while eating (bad news always falls during eating time), that she was being blamed for not getting the pdea story which aired on channel 2. how could she? she had another event to cover the day before. was it her fault that aglipay was just too lousy a source he’s not even sure bout what he’s saying? but pdea is her beat so maybe, it was. or maybe the desk was just trying to wash their hands off so they won’t take the blame.
anyway, she rose from her seat around the table and walked off toward her cameraman, then out of the press office she went. didn’t see her again that day but i did see her crew and sir christian trying to console her. (hmmm…my boss really knows how to earn brownie points…). today, she was in a good mood—yeah as in good mood—that she and sir christian were kinda sweeeet. they were walking really close to each other. they were talking the whole time while waiting for the press con to start. (aglipaaaay, where were you?) no wonder hyper si sir christian after.
but i did get my moments too, hehe. last night, while on the way to inquirer with lawrence for the meeting, i texted her:
hi ma’am! i know your day didn’t start ryt. hope it ends well. -jobert
she replied:
tnx jobert m touchd sa concern na ipinakita nyong lahat rili apreciate it (19:30:24)
what did i say?
wala. ubos na load ko e, hehe.
oh well, last day to see her tomorrow. so i sent her a message:
hi! last day ko n ata 2m sa crame. wud it b ok f i tx u n lng kng pano ko makukuha survey forms? tnx a lot. had a gr8 tym at crame.
1 minute…
2 minutes…
oh, i forgot to put my name! but maybe she’ll recognize it.
5 minutes…
12 minutes…
maybe i should put my name on the same message.
25 minutes… 1 message received
mariz u: ay sayang sure cge u can txt me anytym (21:40:10)
me: tnx. hope i can bargain my way back 2 crame. or even gma7 hehe. anyway, andun lang nman c sir christian e.
and then no reply. gud nyt folks!
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
p.s. enough of this kahibangan. really, after tomorrow, it’s all gonna be over. and this blog is gonna be boring. but teodoro-friendly i hope. san juan, here i come.
but it did pay off. got a tagline on the william martinez story, which was the main story for the metro section today. sir christian did wonders with the article i wrote; otherwise i don’t think it would have landed there. he did get the byline.
the day before, i wrote on the same topic but it ended yesterday in the metro briefs—4 sentences short. i did get a solo tagline though. i guess my interview with senior supt. bernardo bondoc of pdea yesterday afternoon helped a lot because for the most part, we did get some additional info.
will i get even a tagline tomorrow? hmmm… i don’t think so. wrote just one article today, the one on muslims arrested in a raid at 3 a.m. (imagine, 3 a.m.—do they ever sleep?). by the time i finished it, the news came: 3 of the 12 arrested were abu sayyaf members. big story. that meant sir christian was gonna do it, apart from alcuin papa from the other side of edsa.
with no other “newsworthy” story, i called up bondoc again desperate for an update. there was none. that was it. i just picked up the book on rizal and started reading. halfway through the second page, i stopped. made small talk with the rest of the press corps and found out a startling discovery.
actually i learned about it way earlier. we were eating lunch when two reporters were already shouting at each other. it turned out that the vice president of the press corps was questioning the president’s decision to accept money (payola she would call it) from pdea (there was even mention of lacson, and cidg but i don’t really know). she was grilling the treasurer in front of us. i thought they were going to grab each other’s hair and engage in a “bitchfight” (pardon the term) but the vp just left. she wrote a memo instead, accusing the prez, posting it on the bulletin board and faxing it to some news agencies. the latter replied, posting his answer beside the first letter, then faxing it to the same news agencies. this scene looked familiar hmmm…i think i’ve seen such exchange of memos before…now, if i could just remember.
anyway, the vp was fuming mad because if the payola stuff was true, it meant jeopardizing the integrity of the whole pnp press corps and the news agencies they represent. other reporters voiced their condemnation while the others simply had other things to do. there was a press con after all, scheduled at 1 p.m. but which started at 2. then, goltiao had something to say. another press con was set at camp aguinaldo.
covering the press con was somehow fun in that all the reporters were there, exchanging stories while waiting for that lousy aglipay (who never came anyway). but what saddened me was the seeming insensitivity of the media toward the arrested persons. they were smiling, less than serious, and were even the ones directing the show (sir, hawakan niyo muna m-14, photog muna, etc…) as if a bunch of persons were not getting humiliated in front of them (weird, the suspects didn’t look humiliated btw). oh well, maybe because they’ve covered events like these for the nth time.
tomorrow might be my last day in crame (sad). got our new assignments last night. i’m covering the whole of san juan under a new boss, sir luige del puerto of the metro section. will start friday. that way, i’ll have more time to familiarize myself with san juan so by the time election day comes next next week, i should know what i’m reporting about.
i don’t know if i’ll be going back to crame after the elections. it all depends on sir gerry. i don’t even know if, given a chance, i’ll still opt for crame. it’s difficult for a trainee like me to get fresh stories unless i have contacts so that means i have to depend on my trainor. sometimes, it’s even hard to confirm stories from sources unless you want to spend that load of yours talking to some police director from a distant province. your call really.
on the other hand, sir christian is really a good reporter so getting stories shouldn’t be a problem. and i think i have gotten used to the place and the people that, while on board the mrt on my way home this afternoon, i somehow felt sad realizing that tomorrow might be my last day there… (o nagdrama). so i might go back to crame after all.
speaking about people, hmm… she was kinda sad yesterday when i reported to work. i would find out later, while eating (bad news always falls during eating time), that she was being blamed for not getting the pdea story which aired on channel 2. how could she? she had another event to cover the day before. was it her fault that aglipay was just too lousy a source he’s not even sure bout what he’s saying? but pdea is her beat so maybe, it was. or maybe the desk was just trying to wash their hands off so they won’t take the blame.
anyway, she rose from her seat around the table and walked off toward her cameraman, then out of the press office she went. didn’t see her again that day but i did see her crew and sir christian trying to console her. (hmmm…my boss really knows how to earn brownie points…). today, she was in a good mood—yeah as in good mood—that she and sir christian were kinda sweeeet. they were walking really close to each other. they were talking the whole time while waiting for the press con to start. (aglipaaaay, where were you?) no wonder hyper si sir christian after.
but i did get my moments too, hehe. last night, while on the way to inquirer with lawrence for the meeting, i texted her:
hi ma’am! i know your day didn’t start ryt. hope it ends well. -jobert
she replied:
tnx jobert m touchd sa concern na ipinakita nyong lahat rili apreciate it (19:30:24)
what did i say?
wala. ubos na load ko e, hehe.
oh well, last day to see her tomorrow. so i sent her a message:
hi! last day ko n ata 2m sa crame. wud it b ok f i tx u n lng kng pano ko makukuha survey forms? tnx a lot. had a gr8 tym at crame.
1 minute…
2 minutes…
oh, i forgot to put my name! but maybe she’ll recognize it.
5 minutes…
12 minutes…
maybe i should put my name on the same message.
25 minutes… 1 message received
mariz u: ay sayang sure cge u can txt me anytym (21:40:10)
me: tnx. hope i can bargain my way back 2 crame. or even gma7 hehe. anyway, andun lang nman c sir christian e.
and then no reply. gud nyt folks!
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
p.s. enough of this kahibangan. really, after tomorrow, it’s all gonna be over. and this blog is gonna be boring. but teodoro-friendly i hope. san juan, here i come.
4.26.2004
love the adrenalin rush
after three days of being away from crame, going back to the office this morning was comforting. there’s always something about a new start, trying to look for another story for another day. (actually, the itch to look for stories started last night. at about 9:30 p.m., i heard sirens coming from cubao. since it never seemed to stop, i thought it might be a big one. was thinking of covering it that late at night. i texted sir gerry lirio and found out it was just another fire. it didn’t even come out in the papers so my efforts would have been in vain.)
anyway, went to crame with good friend lawrence, who was just starting his internship. he was assigned there for the meantime while waiting for the dreaded alcuin papa (if you only knew the stories we’ve heard about him. lawrence was trying to bargain with sir gerry yesterday: “sir, wala na po bang ibang reporter?” tough luck, alcuin was the only one left without an intern; the others even had two peeps with them. to appease him, sir gerry told lawrence, “apat na araw ka lang sa kanya and you’ll be assigned to another beat.” now, does that give you an idea?)
we arrived there a little before 11. sir christian was running after a story so we waited—scanning the journal (incident reports), reading the paper, watching tv and finally, having lunch. no sign of our trainor still, although he was texting us from time to time.
without a story, we waited for a miracle to come. ms. mu was there and, at one point, she offered to help. “wala pa kayong storya? may interview kami kay goltiao (pnp spokesman) mamaya.” (gee, she had this shy smile—ok, ok, i promise to keep this blog strictly for journalistic purposes, the way sir teodoro will appreciate). i asked sir christian and he agreed with the idea.
but before we could leave, the miracle came. an 18-year-old girl who claimed to have been raped, came to the office. suddenly, the whole press corps was around her. lawrence and i rushed to get our tape recorders, papers and pens ready. we decided to split: he talked to the girl’s mother, i took note of ms. mu’s interview with the girl. (see, we’ve got all bases covered that when sir christian arrived, he didn’t have to ask much. he did ask if lawrence and i were brothers. do we really look and act alike? it didn’t help we’ve got the same tape recorders too. “sabay niyo bang binili yan?” he asked. we just laughed. of course we didn’t.)
with her back on the camera, the girl said her employer, who presented himself as a relative, raped her for more than 5 times. not only that, she was handed over to a policeman who touched her sensitive parts, just so the cop won’t raid her employer’s videoke bar. she was saying all these with tears welling in her eyes to stern-faced reporters. how cruel can life get? i felt like she was reliving the trauma and she’ll break down anytime.
my and lawrence’s reactions were different, maybe because we were new. our faces must have looked so pained that sir christian warned us about getting carried away coz she might turn out to be a hoax after all. but how can i? you’re talking to a girl younger than you are who got raped? and you don’t feel anything?
anyway, lawrence’s temporary assignment for the day must have been a blessing in disguise. since we’ve got the rape story covered, sir christian went ahead to goltiao’s press con. buti na lang i knew the way there so we just followed.
next stop was the interview with edgar aglipay, who by the way, was really lousy today. he had to make us wait as his deputies were rousing him from sleep (sleep at 2pm?), only to give us wrong info during the interview. he was pretending to know the incident the whole time but he can’t even give us decent answers. had to call inq to correct info in the report i made about william martinez and the shabu tooter thing. (btw, what is a tooter and how does it look like? don’t worry, i won’t use it.)
the day turned out fine though. sir christian was away after the aglipay interview coz he had to cover an event in camp aguinaldo so we were left on our own to come up with the story summary to submit to sir gerry. we worked on our individual stories (lawrence did the rape story) and a collaborative story until past 6pm. what a long day indeed. but it did pay off. after the editing, sir christian allowed us to send our reports using our names in the byline for the first time (either he was busy with other stories or he was really glad with our teamwork or he was just being kind). gee, i hope they get published tomorrow.
finally felt fulfilled at work today. must be because of the adrenalin rush, of thinking on your toes and keeping yourself one step ahead. must be because of the good start at pi this morning. was just an open discussion but i did get to point out that the one article that appeared on the front page of the inquirer last sunday was garapalang pr. (look for the story on a different kind of beauty, the beauty supposedly found in inspiring stories of women but which was really a dove endorsement. come to think of it, one story wasn’t even inspiring. she just happened to be a politician’s daughter who looks up to her mother. how inspiring can you get!)
anyway (in that unmistakable teodoro accent), all’s well that ends well. looking forward to another day tomorrow. for some reason, i’m loving this job, and even the beat. too bad can’t stay there for long. heard the news this afternoon: we’re changing beats come elections. sir christian just had to drop a line: “buti naman para tantanan mo na si mariz.” huh? what did i do? (he’s joking.)
btw, i did receive a reply last fri, just when i turned the computer off. pardon me if i post it here just so i can delete it from my phone. it went:
hi jobert sori l8 nko respnd i alrdy gave d survey forms to am grace ok naman mukhang enuf na muna yon for nw (time: 1:38:47)
and, did i tell you, i did invite her sa friendster. what has she to say?
naku i havnt checkd my e-mail kse as in jan pa ata last log ko
ok, so this is showbiz na. i promise, i’m sticking to work from now on. (well, i hope.)
come on, a few days na lang naman e…hehe. gee, i really have to rewrite the whole stuff to be teodoro-friendly. and i could now see the great task before me.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
anyway, went to crame with good friend lawrence, who was just starting his internship. he was assigned there for the meantime while waiting for the dreaded alcuin papa (if you only knew the stories we’ve heard about him. lawrence was trying to bargain with sir gerry yesterday: “sir, wala na po bang ibang reporter?” tough luck, alcuin was the only one left without an intern; the others even had two peeps with them. to appease him, sir gerry told lawrence, “apat na araw ka lang sa kanya and you’ll be assigned to another beat.” now, does that give you an idea?)
we arrived there a little before 11. sir christian was running after a story so we waited—scanning the journal (incident reports), reading the paper, watching tv and finally, having lunch. no sign of our trainor still, although he was texting us from time to time.
without a story, we waited for a miracle to come. ms. mu was there and, at one point, she offered to help. “wala pa kayong storya? may interview kami kay goltiao (pnp spokesman) mamaya.” (gee, she had this shy smile—ok, ok, i promise to keep this blog strictly for journalistic purposes, the way sir teodoro will appreciate). i asked sir christian and he agreed with the idea.
but before we could leave, the miracle came. an 18-year-old girl who claimed to have been raped, came to the office. suddenly, the whole press corps was around her. lawrence and i rushed to get our tape recorders, papers and pens ready. we decided to split: he talked to the girl’s mother, i took note of ms. mu’s interview with the girl. (see, we’ve got all bases covered that when sir christian arrived, he didn’t have to ask much. he did ask if lawrence and i were brothers. do we really look and act alike? it didn’t help we’ve got the same tape recorders too. “sabay niyo bang binili yan?” he asked. we just laughed. of course we didn’t.)
with her back on the camera, the girl said her employer, who presented himself as a relative, raped her for more than 5 times. not only that, she was handed over to a policeman who touched her sensitive parts, just so the cop won’t raid her employer’s videoke bar. she was saying all these with tears welling in her eyes to stern-faced reporters. how cruel can life get? i felt like she was reliving the trauma and she’ll break down anytime.
my and lawrence’s reactions were different, maybe because we were new. our faces must have looked so pained that sir christian warned us about getting carried away coz she might turn out to be a hoax after all. but how can i? you’re talking to a girl younger than you are who got raped? and you don’t feel anything?
anyway, lawrence’s temporary assignment for the day must have been a blessing in disguise. since we’ve got the rape story covered, sir christian went ahead to goltiao’s press con. buti na lang i knew the way there so we just followed.
next stop was the interview with edgar aglipay, who by the way, was really lousy today. he had to make us wait as his deputies were rousing him from sleep (sleep at 2pm?), only to give us wrong info during the interview. he was pretending to know the incident the whole time but he can’t even give us decent answers. had to call inq to correct info in the report i made about william martinez and the shabu tooter thing. (btw, what is a tooter and how does it look like? don’t worry, i won’t use it.)
the day turned out fine though. sir christian was away after the aglipay interview coz he had to cover an event in camp aguinaldo so we were left on our own to come up with the story summary to submit to sir gerry. we worked on our individual stories (lawrence did the rape story) and a collaborative story until past 6pm. what a long day indeed. but it did pay off. after the editing, sir christian allowed us to send our reports using our names in the byline for the first time (either he was busy with other stories or he was really glad with our teamwork or he was just being kind). gee, i hope they get published tomorrow.
finally felt fulfilled at work today. must be because of the adrenalin rush, of thinking on your toes and keeping yourself one step ahead. must be because of the good start at pi this morning. was just an open discussion but i did get to point out that the one article that appeared on the front page of the inquirer last sunday was garapalang pr. (look for the story on a different kind of beauty, the beauty supposedly found in inspiring stories of women but which was really a dove endorsement. come to think of it, one story wasn’t even inspiring. she just happened to be a politician’s daughter who looks up to her mother. how inspiring can you get!)
anyway (in that unmistakable teodoro accent), all’s well that ends well. looking forward to another day tomorrow. for some reason, i’m loving this job, and even the beat. too bad can’t stay there for long. heard the news this afternoon: we’re changing beats come elections. sir christian just had to drop a line: “buti naman para tantanan mo na si mariz.” huh? what did i do? (he’s joking.)
btw, i did receive a reply last fri, just when i turned the computer off. pardon me if i post it here just so i can delete it from my phone. it went:
hi jobert sori l8 nko respnd i alrdy gave d survey forms to am grace ok naman mukhang enuf na muna yon for nw (time: 1:38:47)
and, did i tell you, i did invite her sa friendster. what has she to say?
naku i havnt checkd my e-mail kse as in jan pa ata last log ko
ok, so this is showbiz na. i promise, i’m sticking to work from now on. (well, i hope.)
come on, a few days na lang naman e…hehe. gee, i really have to rewrite the whole stuff to be teodoro-friendly. and i could now see the great task before me.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
4.23.2004
not my day
didn’t go to crame today, as i’ve told you before. kinda felt bad for some reason. i was raring to go but i had other commitments at hand so i just had to stay in up and attend to them.
as it turned out, sir christian did the abu sayyaf story, 5 suspected terrorists nabbed. of all days! darn. learned my lesson though: am not leaving my post anymore huhu.
on second thought, it might have been better that i wasn’t there. i might have messed things up. imagine the complication: a reporter having to guide his trainee while the rest of the pnp press corps are scrambling for the latest on the arrest of the alleged terrorists. yokong maging pabigat.
anyway, what was supposed to be a briefing for volunteer ushers ended up as a planning session for the processional and the seating arrangement. come to think of it, not everyone was around so i have to meet the rest tomorrow.
attended the fopc meeting for upjc at 4 before meeting up with the council for semplanning. we were sorta “hamlet-ish” this afternoon that we decided to call the whole thing off after pondering about it for about two hours in the darkness of the masscomm lobby. all the while we were singing. bonding moment, i suppose. gee, i wonder if we’ll ever get things done.
sorry if some sentences don’t sound right. am really tired and sleepy, but still have to text d ushers. and plan. oh well, this is life.
just to give you an update: finally got her number, thanks to my trainor. i texted her:
me: gud pm! ma’am, ds s jobert, sir ian’s trainee. got ur number from him, hope u don’t mind. follow up ko lang po ung survey forms kung kulang. sori 2 bother u.
after 48 years, no reply. sigh. not my day today.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
as it turned out, sir christian did the abu sayyaf story, 5 suspected terrorists nabbed. of all days! darn. learned my lesson though: am not leaving my post anymore huhu.
on second thought, it might have been better that i wasn’t there. i might have messed things up. imagine the complication: a reporter having to guide his trainee while the rest of the pnp press corps are scrambling for the latest on the arrest of the alleged terrorists. yokong maging pabigat.
anyway, what was supposed to be a briefing for volunteer ushers ended up as a planning session for the processional and the seating arrangement. come to think of it, not everyone was around so i have to meet the rest tomorrow.
attended the fopc meeting for upjc at 4 before meeting up with the council for semplanning. we were sorta “hamlet-ish” this afternoon that we decided to call the whole thing off after pondering about it for about two hours in the darkness of the masscomm lobby. all the while we were singing. bonding moment, i suppose. gee, i wonder if we’ll ever get things done.
sorry if some sentences don’t sound right. am really tired and sleepy, but still have to text d ushers. and plan. oh well, this is life.
just to give you an update: finally got her number, thanks to my trainor. i texted her:
me: gud pm! ma’am, ds s jobert, sir ian’s trainee. got ur number from him, hope u don’t mind. follow up ko lang po ung survey forms kung kulang. sori 2 bother u.
after 48 years, no reply. sigh. not my day today.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
4.18.2004
have you seen the light?
a page a day keeps the writer’s blues away, a friend told me once (although he worded it in a less corny way) and so here i am posting my second entry. the first one was no good really, was just testing the waters if i may say so. hope to make some sense here.
btw, i’m jobert, a journalism student at up diliman. just turned 19 this month, and of all the dates in the calendar, it fell on good friday (huh, no food fest this time!). i’m matakaw but for some reason, my head is still disproportionately larger compared to my body (i’m exaggerating, ok?) and so i’m now bent on buying antiox the next time i visit the pharmacy.
so why am i suddenly caught by the blog bug? i dunno. maybe after months of stalking some other people’s blog (including those i barely know), i’ve finally decided to take the plunge. not a bad idea after all. it’s like keeping a diary of sorts, although i don’t intend to end up sounding mushy, cheesy and all. (now i’m corny, and that’s a given.)
but it wasn’t after the other night, when i was stalking again, that i once and for all created my own account. i had second thoughts before (given my schedule, do i have the time?) but after reading some really nice entries, where i applied textual analysis to come up with the conclusion that blogging can be used to substitute for a bestfriend (subject to validity and reliability tests), i have seen the light and i am now, officially a blogger! congratulations to me haha.(do i sound like a mad scientist?)
blogging, i realized, is like putting into words all that transpired within a given day. it’s like writing your own historical account where you get to be the hero (oops, my narcissistic tendencies are showing—note: keyword is tendencies).
for a student-journalist like me, it makes sense too. my job is to record the most significant events that took place and what, i can’t even write about what’s happening in my life?
oh well, makes me think about the ironies in life. life is one big irony. we live to die one day. but at least, it’s up to us to get up and live each day and savor each moment. (naks, profound).
so why seeing the light? aside from seeing the positive side of blogging, i find it an apt title to characterize what else, my life. been through and still am in some soul searching these past few months, and mind you, i’m still lost in the dark. groping. feeling around. searching uncertainly. trying to find my way into the light. more like seeking the light actually. but the end of it all is to see the light and embrace it. sigh. still a long way to go.
so much for the philosophical crap. one point i have to make though is that i am happy and contented with my life right now. can’t be any better. have all that i could wish for. i still have my dreams and ambitions but i’m glad that i’m in the process of realizing them. what makes the whole picture brighter are the people i have around me.
i’m lucky. no, as my psych professor would correct me in one of my papers, i’m blessed. i truly am.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
p.s. ignore the signature. as i've said, i'm still groping in the dark...
btw, i’m jobert, a journalism student at up diliman. just turned 19 this month, and of all the dates in the calendar, it fell on good friday (huh, no food fest this time!). i’m matakaw but for some reason, my head is still disproportionately larger compared to my body (i’m exaggerating, ok?) and so i’m now bent on buying antiox the next time i visit the pharmacy.
so why am i suddenly caught by the blog bug? i dunno. maybe after months of stalking some other people’s blog (including those i barely know), i’ve finally decided to take the plunge. not a bad idea after all. it’s like keeping a diary of sorts, although i don’t intend to end up sounding mushy, cheesy and all. (now i’m corny, and that’s a given.)
but it wasn’t after the other night, when i was stalking again, that i once and for all created my own account. i had second thoughts before (given my schedule, do i have the time?) but after reading some really nice entries, where i applied textual analysis to come up with the conclusion that blogging can be used to substitute for a bestfriend (subject to validity and reliability tests), i have seen the light and i am now, officially a blogger! congratulations to me haha.(do i sound like a mad scientist?)
blogging, i realized, is like putting into words all that transpired within a given day. it’s like writing your own historical account where you get to be the hero (oops, my narcissistic tendencies are showing—note: keyword is tendencies).
for a student-journalist like me, it makes sense too. my job is to record the most significant events that took place and what, i can’t even write about what’s happening in my life?
oh well, makes me think about the ironies in life. life is one big irony. we live to die one day. but at least, it’s up to us to get up and live each day and savor each moment. (naks, profound).
so why seeing the light? aside from seeing the positive side of blogging, i find it an apt title to characterize what else, my life. been through and still am in some soul searching these past few months, and mind you, i’m still lost in the dark. groping. feeling around. searching uncertainly. trying to find my way into the light. more like seeking the light actually. but the end of it all is to see the light and embrace it. sigh. still a long way to go.
so much for the philosophical crap. one point i have to make though is that i am happy and contented with my life right now. can’t be any better. have all that i could wish for. i still have my dreams and ambitions but i’m glad that i’m in the process of realizing them. what makes the whole picture brighter are the people i have around me.
i’m lucky. no, as my psych professor would correct me in one of my papers, i’m blessed. i truly am.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
p.s. ignore the signature. as i've said, i'm still groping in the dark...
4.17.2004
first post
so this is blogging.
can't believe i'm into this. do i actually have the time? (blogging once ain't so bad at all, ayt? or maybe twice, thrice or for how long i can keep up with this). might as well try it--for the sake of...well, just trying it.
and so here goes my first post. rubbish really.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
can't believe i'm into this. do i actually have the time? (blogging once ain't so bad at all, ayt? or maybe twice, thrice or for how long i can keep up with this). might as well try it--for the sake of...well, just trying it.
and so here goes my first post. rubbish really.
..........
do i love you because you are beautiful? or are you beautiful because i love you?
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