REAL TALK: What time is the Right Time?

"In the right time"

"When the time is right"

“In His time”

However you choose to say it, we all kind of end up impatiently groaning at the taking-forever act of waiting—from grumbling through the traffic lights, complaining in MRT lines (or should it still be called a line?) to praying for the end of sorrow or the fulfillment of success.  Especially now that we have come to a point in society or time where almost any information we want, can be acquired or Google-d in just a matter of seconds (probably depending on how strong your Wi-Fi is), also where communicating is as quick as real time, no matter how far the distance is from one point to another, thanks to FB or Twitter or texting or WeChat or Viber or Line or Email and the list goes on and on and on…and on—unlike the snail mail era where it takes almost a month for the letters to be sent!

We also even live in a credit card philosophy that says: "Get it now. Pay later."—that is pretty much like "Go for it now. And let’s see the consequences later." Not such a good value.

In a world full of ‘instant,’ it feels as though

REAL TALK: Fear Not, Worrywart

You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.

Isaiah 26:3

As a self-confessed worrier, I’ve always been in a quest of understanding on how to attain God’s peace. I have this unexplainable tendency to overthink that I create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. I overthink in one aspect that could affect the whole other parts of my life. Am I not the only one?

There have been just so many worries and doubts haunting my mind lately.  It seems that in real life, everywhere you look there is always something to worry about, you go to the office and you see people you don’t get along with that you cringe in fear, you stare helplessly at the overflowing pile of tasks beside your desk and you feel overwhelmed and discouraged, then on the other note you start to deal with trust issues  with the people around you, and things get so complicated as you live on—and if you had one wish to be granted, it would be God’s peace in you and in your life.

But what does it mean to permanently have God’s peace? Does it mean you’ll never grieve? Does it mean you’ll never worry? Does it mean you would never feel bad again? Because I do hate those feelings, I hate

REAL TALK: De-cluttering My Life: My art of letting go and moving on

It’s about time to say good bye to those messy-dirty gray areas in your life that hinder you from better things that await you. Let me quote a very famous quote by all our beautiful (and angry) mothers—“CLEAN UP!!!!!!”

By the time this article is published, it has already been almost a year since I became a working girl. And boy, it does mean I am getting more and more MOOLAH-OH-LA-LA—thus, my love for fashion and shopping has gone to a much higher level, from tianggian to Forever 21! (Hihihi!)

Every month, I would make it a point to reward myself with two or three new dresses. But whenever I would come home to my closet to hang my precious newly-bought possessions, it seems that I just can’t find space for it. 

For some stressful reasons, my closet looks like a DANGER-DANGER-DO-NOT-ENTER zone with all the mess—old clothes, balled-up childhood dresses, rejected t-shirts, and stuff that I haven’t even worn for years all piled and overflowing that I can’t seem to ever close my closet door again. A total nightmare.

I've been told that excessive clutter is often a symptom/cause of stress that can affect every aspect of your life. It could reach a point where it distracts you, weighs you down, and invites more chaos. Then it all boils down to you getting stuck in a decision where the only right answer is to start cleaning up, getting rid of old stuff, and finally creating more room for new blessings.

So I hit it where the magic begins—de-cluttering my closet!

Are there monsters in your closet?

LEARN THE ART OF LETTING GO

While I was in the process of cleaning up my closet, I suddenly realized

REAL TALK: Got Bullied? Me too.

The ugly truth is that I have been the butt of people’s jokes when I was younger—I had my hair pulled until I was forced to crawl in the floor, I ate lunch alone, and I've been called the most hurtful names that my flaws were all out, feasted and made fun of by people. Yes, I've been bullied.

I was once a target and I think I know firsthand what it is to feel alone and to completely hate myself. I knew how it is to wake up every single day and dread the thought of having to deal with hurtful words and rejection. I hated the feeling of having to walk home miserable and I just couldn't tell my parents how bad my day went because I didn't want them to get involved in it. I cried myself to sleep every night. I faced this battle alone.

If you ask me why I was bullied, I never really knew why. Girls would call me fat and ugly. They would call me stupid. They didn't think I was cool or pretty enough, so they stopped talking to me.

I was such a loner to the point that

How to Choose the RIGHT College Course

I almost took up NURSING. And oh,thank Heavens I didn’t!

Admit it. High school years aren't an easy-breezy season of your life where you have all the time for a series of guidance counseling or even a soul searching trip to Europe. With all the demands of studies, extracurricular activities,competitions, reviews, responsibilities, matched with fixing application forms for colleges and universities, most seniors try to quickly make up their mind on which course to apply for because of a very limited small amount of time.

College course is not just an eenie-meenie-mini-moe decision and definitely not a matter of one size fits all. Each and every individual has a purpose that God tailor-made to fit them perfectly, and that is why it is really important that

BE the Princess in Shining Armor: NOT the Damsel in Distress

I am in love with anything that is fairy-tale inspired. I am captivated by the idea of someday being able to experience that most beautiful, magical,painful, terrifying, maddening, and joyous feeling that is meticulously described in every fantasy-princess storybooks. I would love to someday live my own ‘happily ever after’—but somehow,in the present, it seems as though I decided that I would NEVER EVER EVER aspire to follow HOW these fictional princesses got themselves into their so-called “happy endings.”

Growing up with Disney princesses affected my way to perceiving a girl’s life and a girl’s role in society. These stories subtly instilled to me messages about the thought of every girl needing that “perfect prince charming” to bring change into their lives, to save them from the rut they’re living, to reach their dreams, and finally to live that happily ever after. It was prince charming who changed Cinderella’s life from rags to riches. It was prince charming who brought back life to Snow White with a true love’s kiss. It was prince charming who killed the dragon and saved a patiently-waiting Rapunzel in the tower. It was prince charming who woke Aurora up from her deep sleep. Ariel changed the way she is (mermaid),into something she is definitely not (human), just for the sake of prince charming. Is that right? Women solely relying her hopes, dreams, and future in the hands of men?

A woman of God is bound to live an abundant life in their own right and with that she must submit all her hopes, goals, aspirations, and plans solely in God’s handsand not in any man. Real women are not "Rapunzels" who idly sit on the tower waiting for a prince to come and bring her out. Real women strive to try and try and try to get herself out of her limitations. Real women are not "Cinderellas" whose way to riches is by easily making a prince fall in love with her and marry her, but rather she finds her passion and works hard enough to live a good life out of her own sweat and efforts. Real women are not "Ariels" who would change their whole identity just to be accepted in their man's world. Of course, it is okay to have someone special help you out, but my point is that it is not good and healthy to depend everything on "prince charming"—real women depend on GOD and persevere with her God-given talents.

Let me just make it clear that I have nothing against having the love of your life bring you closer to your dreams; in fact, I am admittedly a hopeless romantic who seems to be blindly optimistic and easily swayed—BUT! Growing up is inevitable and so is growing wiser (hopefully, in my case)...and these are few

On Getting Hired right after Graduating

I haven't been writing in this blog for so long since my graduation...why?

Because I got hired just days after getting my diploma and things are really getting crazy busy in the office! (GOOD CRAZY at that.) In fact, during my graduation rehearsal week, I was going in and out (and in and out) of my school, going back and forth for my scheduled interviews in One MEGA Group Inc.

It seems as though I was living two lives during that week---one moment I'm in school practicing for our grad ceremonies and the next thing I know, I'm sitting in the office lobby waiting for someone from the HR to call me for my interviews. Yes, interviews. There was like 6 sets of interviews! It actually drove me crazy, like...So I passed this interview, do I get the job now?...Oh, I have another interview. Okay so I think I did great in this next interview, I get the job now? Oh not yet, there's another.

And I stare at the ceiling every night thinking, Will this ever end?

On the serious note, I think I was one of the few fresh grads who immediately got a job in only a week's time right after graduating. Others wanted to experience summer, others wanted to take a break for a year, others are looking for a job but are still in the process of waiting, and they ask me how I got hired so swiftly.

I have five things in mind:

1. I APPLIED EARLY - I was aware that March was the season that resumes will pile up buckets and buckets in every company's Human Resources Department. I, of course, did not want to have my resume buried 10 feet under thousand other resumes. So, January, I started applying.

2. I DECIDED WHERE I WANTED TO BE AND TO GO - I have always been the kind of person who sets goals and makes sure she accomplishes it. When I was in the middle of my college life, I made a timeline of how I wanted my career to go. I decided I wanted to be an author of a novel someday, but it doesn't mean I'm gonna be one right immediately after graduation. It is a PROOOOOOOOCESSSS, a looooong loooooong process.

So since I wanted to be an author, I thought I needed to take the editorial career path, where I can grow more as an established writer. I applied in several magazine publishing companies, but I chose to be in One MEGA Group Inc. (and I'll be writing in the next blog why!)

It is vital that one knows what she wants in life and there always has to be an ultimate goal. Without a clear goal in mind, there wouldn't be a clear and bright path ahead. You can't just throw yourself out there and see where the ocean takes you. Have a main focus.

3. I ENJOYED INTERVIEWS - Some people sweat nervously like mad whenever they're about to be interviewed, but somehow I get super excited for it rather than be all nervous. Aside from the fact that I love talking, I find comfort in the fact that the questions they are going to ask me, will be questions about me anyway. So why be nervous? You have all the answers with you!

I also love interacting. I make sure that the interview wouldn't be all about me and that the interviewer would also enjoy talking to me. I do ask questions about the company as well. It actually helps eliminate some quiz-y questions. Get ahead and ask them, for example "What are the core values of the company," instead of them asking you first about what you know about the company's core values and you sit there like a statue saying the magic "uhmmm...uhmmm..uhmmm?" Asking first is a BIG help =D it will even make them see how eager you are to know more about them and how passionate you are to get in.

4. I WAS CONFIDENT WITH WHO I AM - Cliche as it may sound, confidence is the key! Don't just think that you need the company, also keep in mind that the company needs you. Be that ideal applicant they are looking for. Reflect on what your strengths are and acknowledge your weaknesses. I knew so much to myself that my school, Miriam College, has given me not only quality education, but it has also shaped up the passion in me to strive for excellence as a woman. Miriam College has empowered me and has programmed me to get out there and shine.

Graduating with honors was only a bonus, but I mostly get my confidence from my involvement in various extracurricular organizations where I learned a lot about professionalism, teamwork, and self-improvement. I really do recommend students to be active in extracurriculars. There is so much more than the four walls of the classroom. It is a big confidence booster knowing that you can do so much more than just going to school, attending classes, and going home. But it's a big challenge though, like I had to balance my studies with dance rehearsals, theater rehearsals, newsletter writing, film production, and a lot lot more.

5. EYES ON THE ULTIMATE GOAL - Just focus. I want to be a novel author. That is why I strive hard now, even just as an Editorial Assistant, to learn about meeting people, interviewing them, making connections with them, and writing. Patience. Again, it's a PROOOOOOOOOOOCESS.


I can't wait to tell you guys about my work in One MEGA Group Inc. The opportunities they are giving me are very overwhelming. I get to interview famous people and I get to write about it and have my MAGAZINE articles published every month. Will be writing about it in my next blogs!

But for now, here's my glam and lovely ID from One MEGA Group Inc.

Tassel, Cap & Latin Honors

Just last two weeks, I graduated from Miriam College with a degree in Bachelor of Arts major in Communication.....and the best part was, I graduated with honors, Cum Laude at that!

Back then, during my first days in Miriam College, I was this lost and innocent freshie and I never imagined that this is how I was going to finish my college education. I always thought I would just get grades enough for me to pass and graduate as an average student, being Cum Laude was not part of my plan and not even my ambitions. It was a dream, but it everybody's dream. To me, graduating with Latin Honors was a dream as if it was an unreachable beautiful star up in the heavens.

Somehow, God made a way to bring that star closer to me..or rather fly me up to sky to reach it.

I try to connect the dots back to how it ever happened, how did I ever make it up here?

And I realized that it was my dad who pushed me to excellence. When I started in Miriam College, the thing that excited me was being part of the theater organization. I was then so passionate about being onstage and backstage. I was on an emotional high when it comes to doing what I love..acting. Then I wanted to start writing for newsletters, then being part of a television production organization, a film-making org, not to mention, I even joined a street dance troupe!

So Dad just got so paranoid, thinking I might forget about my academics. He made a deal with me, saying that I can only continue my journey with all these extracurricular activities  IF I give him high grades. He was talking about really high grades, like NERD GRADES. It was so challenging. It seemed so impossible, but I had to say yes.

DEAL!

Fair enough, aside from seeing my growth in professionalism and talent in extracurricular orgs, I also excelled in my academics, being a consistent Dean's Lister and finally.....a Cum Laude.

Because TOMORROW is the FIRST DAY 

of the REST OF MY LIFE.

My ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. Internship Experience

APRIL - MAY 2012

TV Production Orientation for Interns

“Hi this is Paul Busalpa, ABS-CBN Corporation. HR Recruitment. Please be reminded of your OJT TV Production Entertainment Orientation on March 19 & 20, 2012, 9:00am at ELJ Bldg 13 flr Training room B. Look for Ms. Dhana Dizon. Please do not be late and bring 1 valid ID. Thank you!”

During the two-day orientation, we were taught how to organize a script into four different breakdowns: sequence breakdown, location breakdown, continuity breakdown, and character/profile breakdown. These breakdowns all included props, costume, day or night effect, same day/another day, same night/ another day, title per sequence, characters per sequence, locations, etc. And we were trained to do all these three breakdowns in one seating in only about one hour! Not only that, but we were also required to know how to calculate running time of different shows: taped and live shows.

Two days of the internship orientation was honestly brain-draining and each activity brought us, trainees, so much body-aches, but at the same time, the orientation was as if we were taking up a more advanced TV Production classes good for one semester in only two days! It was an information overload experience but definitely we have absorbed everything slowly but surely. It was a great two-day training with my MC classmates Arnie Gallo, Maria Estipona, Ita Anisco, and Mheii Aguirre and the other trainees from different schools. In that orientation, we were all segregated to different shows. I was introduced to my assigned show, one of my local favourites, GANDANG GABI VICE! 

Office Work at ABS-CBN TV Prod Department

Ms. Yasmin Palanca, the HR accounts officer of the TV Prod Department, endorsed me to Ms. Kaye Majabague, the Production Assistant of Gandang Gabi Vice, and Mr. Allan Sunga, the Associate Producer or Gandang Gabi Vice.   From then on, I was lead to the conference room of Gandang Gabi Vice staff wherein I learned more about the show and how it works. I also met the researchers and writers, as well as the Executive Producer, Mrs. Lani Gutierrez.

Unlike Araneta Center’s marketing department wherein we usually have our routinary office work, ABSCBN production’s office work was a lot lot different. It was more informal and irregular. What we do in the office are just to prepare tapes, labels for tapes, print out dressing room assignments, reading magazines to research about guests, routing memos, listening to youtube for more options for GGV’s songlists. The real work all comes from the production proper itself (pre-prod meeting, production, and post-prod).

What is Gandang Gabi Vice or GGV?

Gandang Gabi, Vice!  is a Philippine comedy musical talk show hosted by stand-up comedian Vice Ganda, that airs every Sunday night on ABS-CBN and focuses on humorous interviews with celebrities, athletes, and famous people and also features live acts from various performers. Gandang Gabi Vice takes pride by having their show trend on twitter locally and globally consistently every week.

 

First Taping Experience with Vice Ganda

Since this was my first GGV taping ever and my first time to watch an ABS-CBN talk show production live, I couldn’t help but feel awestruck, starstruck, and enthusiastic! Seeing that famous studio with my two bare eyes was just so rewarding, and just imagine my childlike excitement when I escorted Vice Ganda to the studio for her..his..(?) rehearsal for the opening number, Katy Perry’s new song, “Part of Me”.

The taping of the show is always on a Thursday and its airing would be on a Sunday night. During that Thursday night of taping, I helped with the scriptwriting and headed the preparations for the needed props. Apparently, my mom’s favorite red shawl became the most needed props in the productions. My mom never thought her red shawl was going to get famous for a while and I never thought that it was going to be my celebrity crushes who was about to use that shawl! Wanna know who?....next page!

 





















Guests at First Taping: the Younghusbands

The first guests were my celebrity crushes and I couldn’t help but feel weak in the knees when I saw them both with my eyes. I get easily distracted by them (especially during the moments they played football and danced in the studio), but I immediately shake my head off and go back to monitoring the script, the time recording, and the line up of the props. My mom’s red shawl was used for the Titanic gimik, wherein Phil and James will act as Jack and there would be audience participation for the role of Rose. I can’t help but blush hearing Phil speak Tagalog with full effort, despite his thick and lovely British accent!

Of course, after taping the segment, I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass...”Excuse me, Mr. Younghusband, would you let me have a picture with you????!” 





                                       Guests at First Taping: Ms. Ruffa Gutierrez

Seeing ‘the Ruffa Gutierrez’ was a treat to the eye, she looked so gorgeous and she looked a lot like my favourite Hollywood personality, Kim Kardashian! She was a very funny woman and she was such a good sport. It is safe to say that she has brought more life and laughter in the studio with her low sosyal speaking voice and her ultra funny singing voice! 

Post-Production - Digitizing and Editing at the I-Post Bay

The taping started 6pm and ended at 10pm, at usual companies, one’s time out of work is 6pm, but for us in ABS-CBN there is no such word as ‘uwian’ in our vocabulary. We were all needed to stay for the next 36 hours without sleeping and without going home to digitize the taped show and edit it into the show that will be aired on Sunday. Now, this is where coffee overdoses are much needed!

In this post production process, we all worked in the I-Post section of the ABS-CBN building wherein the place was full of machines, equipments, wires, buttons, tapes, and tech people. It was overwhelming to see those things you think you’d never understand, but then you would get to know more about this process the longer you stay and work with it. 

The next thing I know, I was already heading the digitizing process from being supervised to not being supervised anymore and I was doing the shouting “Kuya, pacapture po”, “Patched to Edit room 13, ready to capture”, “Rolling!”, and the dreaded “Kuya, nakain po yung tape ng DVCam2!!! (which is normal)” 

After digitizing, the next step is to do the editing. It is the associate producer’s job and the editor’s job and usually interns are needed there to give assistance to emergencies like lyrics, graphic designs, etc. Editing usually takes 24 hours and more, never less. And after editing, the next step is to do the dubout wherein we record the edited video file into the tape for airing..on Sunday!

Pre-Production Meeting for Next Taping

The Researcher’s Task

For the next episode, from being the Production Assistant’s assistant, I am now moved to wark as a researcher’s assistant. In this job, I am tasked to interview our next guests in any way I can, personally, through phone calls, through reading magazines, through interviewing the people close to them, etc. So I was given the guests’ cellphone numbers and to my surprise, I realize I had Daniel Padilla’s number on my phone, same with Enrique Gil, Khalil Ramos, and Ms. Janice de Belen. I was able to interview Enrique and Daniel face-to-face professionally as a writer, leaving my inner fangirl outside the door and coming back to it after the interview. It was just such a weird surprising experience!

I was also able to interview Nikki Gil and Empress through sneaking around in the dressing room during the ASAP show. According to my researcher boss, Lyndon Dizon, interviewing artists are not as easy as making appointments with them, most of the time, you have to sneak around, get real lucky for a chance to interview. Good thing, both girls were nice and I could easily relate to them since Nikki Gil and I came from the same school institution and both of us were of the same faith. It felt nice having to talk with the stars!



Second Taping Experience with GGV

Guests: Janice de Belen, Daniel Padilla, Khalil Ramos, Enrique

Gil, Nikki Gil and Empress

Third Taping Experience with GGV

The Researcher and Writer’s Task: Kiray and Igiboy

After being the PA’s assistant during the first taping and being the researcher’s assistant during the second taping, I was now assigned to the writer’s assistant in this third taping. It was still research work. I was able to talk to Kiray Celis on the phone for two straight hours to interview and I got a lot of funny and juicy information that the show, Gandang Gabi Vice, looked for. And with that, I came up with my very own and first segment script! My writer boss, Dianne, gave me the opportunity to write a segment for Gandang Gabi Vice. I really felt honoured that she trusted my humor and writing talent so much. And fair enough, the Kiray and Igiboy segment top-trended in Twitter and the viewers loved it!

THE GANDANG GABI VICE FAMILY

Reward for the Hard Work: