THE EDUCATED AND THE SCHOOLED

Not all who are IN SCHOOL are educated, and not all EDUCATED are in school. There's a big difference between the two: it takes financial capability to be in school, but it takes more than money to be educated. To be schooled is a privilege, but to be educated is a choice.

A FEAST, REALLY

More than just being a death or birth day celebration of saints in my country, feasts are celebrated to acknowledge a bountiful year, may it be for business, harvest or for personal reasons.

After my short stint in the media world last year, a low-cost housing developer hired me to be their Events Officer (someone who handles corporate and community events). I like this job, but honestly, it has also been my escape boat from a burning castle. I need to find a replacement for the job I resigned to.

A feast requires preparation for it to live by its name. The way local folks in my town prepare for such an occasion is by cooking the best kept family recipes with all the finest ingredients and spices.

I thought my 2-year experience as marketing assistant in a company (Events Officer post is part of the Marketing) is a sufficient preparation for the feast I chose to celebrate. But unfortunately, it’s not. The nature of the products I’m trying to market this time are miles different from the product I’ve been trying to sell for more than two years.

 With a different environment and work load, I tried my best to pull out the rabbit on the magic hat. Surprisingly, or better if I say, with lots of effort, I did managed to execute minor and large events.

When the time came my partner, which is the Public Relations Officer, resigned, I have to fill her post and handle two position but getting paid for one. Yes, please take me to Luneta and kill me for this martyrdom.

The preparation for this feast was hell, I may had my hand cut, burned my fingers, or went broke, but will all due fairness to my audience, it was all worth it. Actually I consider this Feast to be my I-learned-a-lot job yet.

The tradition is kept; the finest ingredients were smoked out, and many people are full—so what’s left to do? Call the party off, but this time around, there will no feast for the next year anymore.

Yes, I chose to end my 8-month Marketing career to give way to an old but at the same time new career, yes, I’m so back in the media world.

The feast, including its preparation, actual execution, and its rituals, almost drove me crazy. But nevertheless, it’s still something that when I look back at it, I’ll smile. Because whatever the outcome is, feasts will always be something to celebrate, personally, and in this case, professionally. 

 Memories from the FEAST 

Goofing around with the dancer's costume for an event :) Just my 3rd day, and just got a 30-minute sleep for the whole day :( :)

the POWER TEAM, as many will agree upon :)

TKO SALES RALLY, my first major event :)

Still at TKO SALES RALLY :)

Team Building :)

Team Building :)

Virtual birthday greeting for our ex-officemate that time :)

My frienemy, my twin, my Supervisor :)

with my Supervisor in one of our sister company's major event :)

Birthday surprise for Kuya Nerwin :)

Our themed-saturday, this time, it's TRAVEL SHIRT :)

Best wishes Mr. and Mrs. Lacson :)

still at Mr and Mrs. Lacson's wedding :)

My birthday gift from colleagues, and my first ever birthday cake from office mates :)

IN DEPENDENCE

Independence is a big word, most especially from a former captive that has still a lot to deal with, internally—even after its sovereignty of more than a century. Happy Philippine Independence Day!

Inspiration, Testified!

The failure in education like teachers failing to educate is not on their end. The curriculum is good, the teacher also is, but the memory of a student can only contain particular space like one in a flash drive. The tendency, the knowledge stays deep in the recessive part of the student’s mind.

The point is that the best teachers are those who can’t only teach well, but are those who can hammer the lessons in their students’ minds and lives for possibly a lifetime.

Ms Virginia Bautista, or Ma’am Virgie as we call her, is one example of those teachers who really nailed most, if not all, lessons she taught. I remember reading in her blog that a good teacher need not to be a walking dictionary, but one who teaches the lesson the easiest way a student can get it, and that’s the way she teach.

In our Communication Theory class, every time she let us do advance reading of the theory to be discussed for the next meeting, I instantly refer to my online sources but I only end up being confused about the topic. But when she explains it in her “give example first, before explaining theory” strategy the complicated becomes simple, it makes me, together with my classmates, think at the end of the class “Ah, ganoon pala yun”.

For example, she talked to our classmates Kring ang Rj to sit beside those students whom they are not well-acquainted with before the class starts. The whole class wondered why Kring didn’t sit beside Pam (her best friend and usual seatmate in the class) and the same with Rj not sitting beside Handra. After that, she revealed the lesson for that day which was Expectancy Violation Theory that explains proxemics.

In that sense, up to now, I am still knowledgeable about every theory she taught us back then and the strategies she used for us to understand the lesson better. In fact, I’ve applied the same strategies when I’m still teaching General Sociology a year ago and it was also effective in my class back then.

Ma’am Virgie is also stimulating as a teacher, she presents innovative activities where we learn, and enjoy at the same time. Also, I read in her blog that learning will always be personal, the teacher’s task is to give the students a reason to learn, it’s called motivation.

She cultivated me to be a responsible student leader when I served as the secretary of our course organization. She bravely delegates tasks to me and my co-officers which gave us the opportunity to work as a team and deliver-out the tasks on our own.

My dreams and aspirations as of the moment, to become a teacher that hammers every lesson to my future students, my urge to change lives like what she did to mine—I owe most of it to her.

SO WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE LIKE ME?

Last year, my previous supervisor gave us a link about a cognitive examination that examines my cognitive profile. I got 3 results but I agreed the most in this one:

INFJs -
From Conversations with Foreseer Developers

The quest for more knowledge, the meaning of life, the philosophical questions-my mind is always occupied, and what's exciting is when I get to follow through with an insight and do something. I am an abstract future thinker, looking at things from different perspectives. I'm about the relationships and possibilities and enjoy anything with deeper meaning that leaves me wondering, with more questions to ask and things to untangle. Connecting for me means being able to intuitively ask questions of people to get them to go deeper into the things they are talking about.

Inspiring others, helping them find their purpose or meaning, being a different kind of leader from what's traditional-that's really gratifying. I just do that naturally. The challenge is opening up people's minds to have their own original thoughts. I'm a listener and guide.
I think I am a mystery to people. They never really understand me and part of me enjoys that. More often though, I long to be understood.

I tend to approach my day with a structured way of getting things accomplished. People see me as organized, thorough, and easy to get along with, pulling my own weight and eager to help out when called upon. But I'm not as outgoing or as critical as I may sometimes appear. I need a balance between people contact and working on creative projects and will break away from interactions when I get tired out. If I don't have some long-term goals, then what's the point?

I tend to intuitively read people very quickly, but I have to be cautious not to make assumptions. I'm an observer. I get a feeling when people are interesting, and I watch from a distance, make some assessments about the situation, and then approach them and engage in conversation. I put a little bit out and a little more and see how that goes. Do I trust and like them, are they who they say? I have a few deep friendships. A friendship comes best when it is worked to develop that investment. I quickly pick up on sincerity and withdraw if the person is superficial or obviously doesn't care. When I see people who abuse their power or won't stand behind what they say, that ticks me off. It's about integrity. I feel other people's feelings, and taking on that burden can make me too intense and serious, where I can't be spontaneous and fun loving...

Everything revolves around growth. Caring is about the ability to help others grow. What I bring is caring about people, not things. If we spent more time trying to understand each other's point of view, to communicate more effectively, we would grow. In an honest, open, sincere relationship, I can accomplish anything. My challenge is to create those kinds of relationships. I respect most the person who is willing to come forth and be an individual-to make the world a better place, or make a difference in a person's life, where we reach each other's hearts.

(source: http://www.bestfittype.com)

Now I ask, is it so?

LEARNING FROM THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

In my short stay in the Media Industry, I've learned some of these media experiences:

1. DO IT YOURSELF. As a writer and a producer in the creative team, I am tasked to write and produce different kinds of plugs. In the production proper, where I'm supposed to gather the materials for my production, I sought help from staffs of other departments. Since the nature of the business is quite busy, the help that I've asked usually gets delayed that results to a delayed project. That's why on my recent projects, I only depended on one person alone: me. There was a time that I wrote, produced, and even starred on the same plug. It's was tiring, but at least, I got to beat my deadline.

2. ACCURACY, ACCURACY, AND ACCURACY. Some of the plugs I made entailed research work that needs verification and accurate analysis. Since my projects are aired for television, there must be no room for mistakes. My sources need to be updated so that it can be more significant to the viewers. It must also be consistent, wherein cross-referencing from other equally credible sources is needed. Lastly, it should be accurate. The facts presented must be precise and correct. Not only it would be beneficial to the viewers, accuracy can also help build a credible name for the station.

3. INNOVATION AND MIND IN MOTION. “You're only good as your last project”, this is what I always keep in mind after I finish a project. When a project is about to end, another one, or sometimes, even several are already on queue. It means that I must have a dynamic mind to finish my projects with originality and distinction from one another. I must be innovative and must be updated with the latest trends so that my projects keeps on improving and can suite what the viewers would probably like.

4. EAT DEADLINES FOR SNACK. When deadlines are being fed to you everyday, your time management skills must keep up with your daily tasks to produce quality projects. There are instances that the request for a plug is given in the morning and should be aired on the afternoon. In those cases, you must think very fast and still deliver a good output at the same time.

5. LEMONS, SALT, AND TEQUILA. Media is quite demanding. If they gave you lemons, it means that you have to produce tequila and salt. Since the company is just starting, it still lacks some equipment, man power, and budget for a certain production. As a producer, I need to outsource and make deals that are only limited to my budget. Instead of paying my talents or buying my materials, most of the time, I just set a deal where my talents or materials can be paid by the company's most abundant resource: air time.

MEDIA WORLD: A SHORT STORY

I in one of my info plug shooting

Does the length really matters for a story? Is a novel better than a short story because it is longer?

As I remember a year ago, I was still at the marketing field then, that when I get bored in my routinized marketing activities, I always think of venturing in my scholarly discipline, which is the Media world. When my students (I used to teach general education subjects too) ask me, if I was not hired by my previous company, where will I go? I immediately answer them, “Bisa kung mag media(I want to be a media practitioner)”.

Months passed and my previous company I am working for, closed. I and my previous workmates have to part ways. Then that familiar question rang again in my mind. “Where will I go now?”.

I always have this Manila dream. It is having a job in the country's capital and experiencing the lifestyle in the metro. That's why I decided on applying a job there. Unfortunately, I did not met the qualification in one of my applications.

One day I sent a message over the internet to one of my friends working in a regional TV station, luckily, the station is in need of a creative writer. I applied and got the post.

THE START

Beginnings has been always infamous for me. I hate it, and I don't even like a single bit of it.

My first week was 4 out of 10 I guess. I feel like a lion in the north pole, or a polar bear in the safari. I don't feel that I belong. Everything seems so familiar, yet so strange--new faces, new tasks, everything new. The excitement I felt before turned to another thing, fear.

My start was really rough. I never thought of transferring into another career would be this emotionally burdening. It's like throwing away my 2-year experience investment as marketing personnel and going back to square one.

There are times that I felt like quitting. If securing a job is just easy these days, I probably resigned on my first two weeks.

THE EARLY END

On my first month, still in the media world, a job opportunity re-opened its door for me. The post offered was for an Events and Presentation officer. At first, I ignored it because of the low salary offer. I tried to negotiate and fortunately, they agreed upon my request.

My stay in the media world lasted for 2 months and 5 days. Honestly, it was hard for me to leave the field that I've studied and dreamed for when I was in college, plus the fact that I have adjusted to the work schedule and travel. Also, in a short span of time, I and my colleagues had the chance to bond.

A short story as I describe it, my stop over in the media world is indeed swift, but it doesn't mean that it was less-filled with fun and learning.