Monday, January 28, 2008

Rewind

OJT Day 27 [January 20]

A slow Sunday. Large gaps in between proofreading. It was unusual that there were very people in the office that day. Mam Vilma and Sir Roel, the proofreaders that I usually talk with,were absent.The other interns were all absent. So it was quiet. Uncomfortable silence. Left the office a bit earlier than usual. I just felt bored and the my energy level were at its lowest that day.

OJT Day 28 [January 21]

If the previous day was boring, this day is different. Did a lot of work today, and the other interns are absent because they have classes. I have to admit that I'm more comfortable without them around. But tomorrow they will be back.

OJT Day 29 [January 22]

The other interns are back. So for the first three hours of my OJT I did nothing but "supervise" them. I was a bit annoyed today since I lend my two pens and highlighter for them to use but I heard no "thank you" at all. Hindi sa nanunumbat but I believe it is just polite right to do that lalo na't they even used my highlighter and pens for some non work-related stuff[for word search problems, lettering names on their school handout]. Sorry for ranting, but I just felt they were insensitive. Also, at one time I asked someone where is the cap of my highlighter --no reaction-! They are still noisy. But there is one who is polite and he really shows the proper behavior. When they left, it was really a sigh of relief for me.

January 23

Absent for OJT. Went to school for HF stuff. The start of Lasallian Festival [previously called as Lasallian Days]. But I did not feel it because I was busy and my mind was pre occupied with another dilemma. Haaayyyy.

January 24

Lasallian Festival Day 2 but still not active. Went on to take care of HF stuff then met BOUNCE magazine editors [ate Upper and ate Jen] who visited DLSU-D that day, we discussed some stuff.
We had a class later that afternoon for Cross Cultural Communication under sir Ramirez but we just had film viewing. We watched "NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER". Nakaka-stress na pelikula but very insightful.

January 25

No classes on Ethics today so went to school around 1pm in time for the HF staff meeting 1:30pm. Ate Lhen, EIC last year and my mentor, visited the office and I even invited her to talk the staff meeting. It felt good seeing her.
The meeting went fine. Announced adjustments on the HF 4 release, we did not meet our original plan. My editors and staff were all swamped with academic requirements. Also announced the promoted staffers. Five were promoted to Junior staff status. and one for Senior Staff status. I also had a meeting with the CJA delegates and the News section. The News section is under a challenging period because my news editor,Pat, filed for Leave of Absence due to health reasons. So for now I'm the one monitoring her staff.

Today was also Gary V's concert in DLSU-D. I wanted to come but I have to go home early because I have to meet the deadline for this online writing gig I have. Well, sacrifices.

January 26

The results of the Prelim Exams of my Advertising Management class were released. I got a higher than expected grade, that's good since half of the class got low scores. Our final requirement was also discussed. We will bid for an advertising account. It will be challenging since we have limited time to work that on [the finals period for the graduating students is so short]. But I believe we [my group, The Viewpoint] could pull this off.
We had a fast paced class on Broadcast Management because our department required us to watch a play later that afternoon at SM Bacoor.
The play is best for grade school kids but I was entertained nevertheless since the actors were really good and the script is witty.

January 27

I was supposed to report for OJT but I opted not too since everyone in the family went out. Bantay Bahay muna ako. Plus, it was an opportunity for a rest after another jam packed week.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Congratulations!

I'm so proud to announce that DLSU-D bagged seven medals in the 19th Campus Journalism Awards held at DLSU-Manila today. We grabbed four golds, one silver and two bronzes. Six from Heraldo Filipino and the other one from Viccissitude, DLSU-D's yearbook. Here are the winners:

Andrew Tadalan (HF)- 1st place, Photojournalism
Julianne Maverick Juan (HF)-1st place, News Reporting
Luis Olitoquit (HF)- 1st place, Sports Writing
Rizza Mendoza (HF)- 1st place, News Writing
Regilin Hernandez (HF)- 2nd place, News Writing
Jinky Pascua (Viccissitude)- 3rd place, News Writing
Vicbert Maceda (HF)- 3rd place, Editorial Cartooning

Congratulations!

I'm so proud to all of you especially that most of the winners are in their first year with HF. And to my classmate Jinky, astig ka talaga! "Shocking!" hehe I'm proud of you too!
Kudos to all DLSU-D participants as well I know you all did your best and I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot from the experience.
Thanks to the organizers,DLSU-M's Green and White, for the invitation and accomodation.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Five Numbers

Time flies so fast.

29
-days that I spend with Journal Group of Publications for OJT
50
- the remaining hours for my OJT
4
-days to go before Midterm Exams
23
-days to go before Final Exams
7
-weeks to go before the HF Team 23 Editorial Board exams

Monday, January 21, 2008

Twenty Tunes

Current Favorite Songs [In Order]:

1. Whatever It Takes-Lifehouse
2. Cat and Mouse-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
3. With You-Chris Brown
4. Love Song-Sara Bareilles
5. Guillotine-Urban Dub
6. Crush,Crush,Crush-Paramore
7. Wont Go Home Without You-Maroon Five
8. One Word-Elliott Yamin
9. Happy Birthday-The Click Five
10. Simula-Mojofly
11. Saan Na Nga Bang Barkada Ngayon-Spongecola
12. Hero/Heroine-Boys Like Girls
13. Your Guardian Angel-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
14. Nangangawit-Sugarfree
15. Don't Stop The Music-Rihanna
16. Shadow of The Day-Linkin Park
17. Tatoo-Jordin Sparks
18. Home-Westlife
19. What About Love-Lala
20. Heto Na-Concrete Sam

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Buy Bounce



Please check out the newest magazine in town BOUNCE. This magazine is one of its kind in the Philippines as it is the only college culture oriented magazine in the market right now. This magazine is not just about fashion or campus crushes. It is about college life as a whole.

Anyways, the managing editor of this magazine is my former chief photographer at Heraldo Filipino, Ate Upper Viceo. I actually contributed a short article in this issue [page 24, haha! but it is just a news feature about the seminars HF conducted] so as my associate editor, Hanna [environment] , chief photographer Sherwin and features staffer Paul [interview with DLSU-D alumnus and Cinemalaya best director Jeck Cogama].

Other notable topics are fraternities, cyber education and interviews with Iya Villania,Matteo Guidicelli, and Mike Enriquez.

BOUNCE also invites students to submit their works [articles,photos and artworks] and be part of their team, for more info e mail bounce@octobereighty.com or better yet buy the mag [for only 90 pesos] for full details. Visit them at http://bouncemag.multiply.com

Friday, January 18, 2008

What JECOUP Means

Well, I jumped the bandwagon seeing this item being blog by a lot of blogger friends. I tried it and IT REALLY REFLECTED how I see myself. Freaky but very insightful,it makes you reassess yourself. I posted this on my Friendster account too. Here it is:

What Jecoup Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.
You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.
You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily.
You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind.
A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.
And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.
You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are influential and persuasive. You tend to have a lot of power over people.
Generally, you use your powers for good. You excel at solving other people's problems.
Occasionally, you do get a little selfish and persuade people to do things that are only in your interest.

Changes

I changed my featured song from Love Song by Sara Bareilles to Whatever It Takes by Lifehouse today. I love this song. I have been a fan of Lifehouse since their breakout hit Hanging By A Moment almost 7 years ago [tagal na pala!]. If you will ask me what are my top 10 favorite songs of all time, 5 out of 10 will be songs by Lifehouse. I plan to buy their CD, I will just save money. I have their first two albums on cassette. COLLECTOR'S ITEMS, since cassette tapes are phased out already [excluding blank tapes of course]. I kinda feel sad about that. I promise myself that if I ever have the extra money I will buy CDs. The sales of CDs are down because of the Internet, and well this is my way to support people in the recording industry and the employees of the record bars [naks!]. I started last Christmas I bought myself albums of Sugarfree, Elliott Yamin and the Best of Almost Kinda Acoustic. Well I had the money to buy those [I did not buy all of them at the same time btw] because of the Christmas Bonus of my siblings.
So I must find a good job in the future to support my "luxuries": books,magazines and CDs.

Check out the Whatever It Takes' music video [don't say MTV!] here

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Six

OJT Day 26 [January 16]

Well, it was a very challenging day "handling" my new co-interns. Today, they were complete, all six of them were stationed at the proofreaders section. Their personalities are various and they are chatty. I like some of them, some just okay. And one staff sort of scolded to us and said "INTERNS LOWER YOUR VOICES!". Well. I do not want to brag but we [me and my classmates] never experienced that. But I guess they already learned their lessons. I believe I was helpful because I assisted them in all their questions. They left again around 4pm. And some staff told some comments about them, I defended them with my very best. They are new and they will learn I believe.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Old and New

OJT Day 24 [January 14]

I'm back at Journal! Feels good to be back after 4 days of absence. It was the usual work load but I'm used to it anyway. Mam Vangie, the one who was bitten by the dog, is still absent. But she is okay according to his husband Sir Ernie, the chief photographer. Before I reported for duty I notice there was a commotion at Gallardo Street,where Journal's office is near. It turns out that a portion of the old PAL [Philippine Airlines] building collapsed. It caused a slight panic among the nearby offices including Journal. According to the employees it felt like an earthquake. The building was scheduled to be demolished but it was postponed because of the incident.
***
A realization: One thing good about my OJT as a proofreader is that I read a lot [proofreader nga eh duh haha] and it is beneficial for me since I am now well informed on national news plus sports and showbiz [haha]. I realized it was when I watched the news and a lot of the news there I already know. After all,I read tomorrow's news today.

OJT Day 25 [January 15]

I was listening to the FM radio on my phone as I wait for pages to proofread when someone tapped me in the back and it was Sir Mike [The HR] with a couple of people with him and he began saying "Well this is Jec, he is your senior OJT, he is a fast learner and I will leave you to him" WHAT THE! Okay, I felt flattered being praised for me being a quick learner but I was surprised when he said to me to "take care" of the people he was with, which were the new interns from University of Rizal, FIVE NEW INTERNS!
Later on I found out that they are actually six but the other one was assigned to the advertising department then a few minutes after the other two joined their classmate in that department, so three were left for me "to take care of". Oh well, I told them some stuff I know about Journal and some basic stuff for proofreading [feeling empleyado hehe]. They are nice naman, we had conversations about our respective schools but later on someone complained a bit how she was bored. Well, I know the feeling since there are times that there are large gaps that you don't have anything to proofread yet... it is really boring. But the way she said was kinda bratty for me. They left early around 4pm. Sir Roel told me that they were noisy and asked me to tell them next time to tone down their voices when talking.
It looks like I have a new task. But I'm glad for the trust and confidence they have on me.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Closer

I talked with my "favorite" editor haha just a few minutes ago. It was an emotional talk caused by the stress of the problem we have. But what's good, we were able to settle some things. I was able to comfort her in this challenging times and understand some of the things she is going. It was good that she informed me of her concerns. Also she helped me to lessen my worries, well she aimed to put an end to my worries, but knowing me I could not really be 100% confident but still she was able to help since I'm no longer that paranoid about this crisis. Well, I feel better now.

***

I may or may not report for OJT. It depends on the weather. It was raining cats and dogs today.

***

It was funny in class earlier when I answered our professor's query when our last meeting will be and I said Feb.16. I could see in my classmates' faces that it already started sinking in that we are close to the end. I even made a boo-boo when I stressed that fact even more "Oo sa 16 na last meeting, kasi sa feb 18, graduation na..........este finals". Everybody laughed, excited daw ako.
Well, I really am.
But sad as well.
But will dwell on that topic on future posts, it is premature as of now to talk about it.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Officially Alone and More Flashbacks

OJT Day 21 [January 7]

Today, Sir Mike [The HR] approached me and asked if my classmates would like to be transferred to another company connected with Journal which is MediaCom, and he said there will be an allowance. I texted them and they agreed. When I told it to Sir Mike he gave me the contact details of the company and instructed me that they [classmates] should contact them immediately. And that's the official start of me being the lone intern at Journal as my classmates were asked to report at MediaCom the next day. Mam Vilma said "Paano yan, mag isa ka na lang", I said to her that I'm used to being alone anyway since they are absent usually. She laughed.
Sir Mike told me too if I'm interested to join my classmates there but I declined. I'm happy with Journal already.

OJT Day 22 [January 8]

I had a nice chat with Mam Vilma today, she is really nice and friendly. She is young at heart that is why I enjoy talking with her. We talked about her kids, her failed marriage, how she wants to retire already but can't [she has been with Journal for 28 years], my family, Jennylyn Mercado's pregnancy, Mariel's behavior at PBB, and a bit of Journal's history [Gus Abelgus used to work there!]. Well, we talked a lot of topics because we had slow start at work since the production of the three papers were delayed.
But when pages started pouring in we were so busy since two proofreaders were absent and once again I feel useful hehe. Plus, they really trust my proofreading skills since there are no more 2nd reading after I've proofread a page. I felt like a real employee.
Anyways, I discovered another interesting stuff at Journal. I'm amazed at the Sports section of Journal, they work so fast. I observed this in the "Racing Holiday" issue wherein a writer interviewed a key person through phone and wrote immediately. It was fast yet they still manage to write a substantial article.

OJT Day 23 [January 9]

A senior writer celebrated his birthday and celebrated it by treating the whole office. Thank You Sir [stupid me, I forgot his name]. A sad story though, Mam Vangie was bitten by a dog earlier so she could not report for work, I hope she will be fine soon. Another discovery, I found she is married to the Journal's chief photographer. I discovered it when he hurriedly left the office after finding out what happened to Mam Vangie. They met and fell in love at Journal, sweet.
It was a stressful day because of a problem in school and Mam Vilma commented that she saw in my face how stressed I was. I felt guilty because it took me a little longer proofreading because I would pause time to time to text people in school. I was not reprimanded though but still, I will never do that again.
When I left the office I told them that classes would resume the next day. Sir Roel said to me that they have gotten used to seeing me frequently already.

I'm excited to report,more than ever, again on Sunday. I need a new atmosphere, something to divert my attention from school stress.

Test

We had our Preliminary exams in our Media Ethics class under Sir RS [Dr.Ricardo Santiago]. And it was unforgettable. There were three questions, done by group and open notes. Weird isn't it? But the exam was not the usual academic exam, it was a PHILOSOPHICAL TEST. Yes, the exam was very enlightening and inspiring. I want to elaborate it but I don't know how to start. It was just a different experience.The Best exam I ever had.

***

I still feel uneasy. I shared my pent up emotions to some friends today, it was something that come off naturally and I even got teary eyed. I'm ashame I'm feeling this way.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Crisis

The problem now I am facing has a hope of being solved. It was not directly my fault, but I should have known better. I was afraid...afraid of not pleasing people. And that is my biggest mistake. I should have trusted my instinct. I'm praying hard this problem will be solved. I will never be at peace if this problem is still bothering me. But the good things about this crisis is that I am learning, 'yun nga lang the hard and painful way. If only I could turn back time and acted according to my instinct then this would not happen. I feel so guilty. Ang bigat sa loob. But I have to be tough. I accept my mistakes and I hope things will turn out fine in the end. I really hope.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Christian Bautista

Because now I know what he felt when he forgot the lyrics when he sang the Philippine National Anthem.

Waiting

Classes started already in DLSU-D but I will my have classes on Thursday pa, so I'm still at my OJT. I am bad. I feel so lazy to go to school. This is the effect of my OJT, I enjoyed my OJT so much that thinking of school felt bad haha. Come Thursday, stress ,tensions, challenges,pressures from both acads and HF will welcome me. So I better get ready.

Lord, please guide me.

Monday, January 07, 2008

OJT shorts

OJT Day 17 [January 2]

First OJT for the year. And a lot of the proofreaders [and my co-interns as well] were absent. So I worked double time and I felt like a real employee. Great feeling.

OJT Day 18 [January 3]

Well another day of where more than half of the proofreaders were absent so I was really useful and busy. No dull moments. The receptionist joked that I was "the hero" for the day haha. Yes, kinilig ako sa comment na 'yun haha.
I realized that I like proofreading Filipino more than English. It is challenging. I even bought Vicassan's Pilipino-English dictionary today to aid me.Grace, HF's Literary editor, recommended me that dictionary because it is really helpful and she is right. A good reference indeed because it does not just translate the meanings of a Filipino word but its part of speech,variants and with sample phrases and sentences to make clear of their uses.

OJT Day 19 [January 4]

Back to normal as the proofreaders are back [from an extended vacation?]. So we went to normal work load and my classmate Christian showed up [my other classmate Ghie is sick]. Well I'm kinda getting used being alone but it was nice to have a classmate there with you especially during the idle times when there is no page to be proofread. During one of our conversations we realize how soon graduation is. Oh well.
Oh and one senior Sports writer chatted with us about writing, he shared to us that he was business management graduate but it did not stop him from pursuing his passion for sports writing. Reminded me of Kuya Jonas, our senior sports writer at HF who is also a Business Management student but is so good in sports writing [he won 3rd place in the PBA sports writing contest two years ago]. It was nice of him to have a chat with us since it was the first time we talked to a Journal staff aside from the proofreaders, the receptionist, the resident go-to guy Kuya Buddy and EIC Sir Gus.

January 5

Absent because of a lame reason. Nagsisi din ako sana nag-OJT na lang din ako.


OJT Day 20 [January 6]

Ghie is present and she came early but Christian is absent. All proofreaders were there [except for the one who had a day off] so usual work load. But it was an entertaining day because they were all talking about PBB Big Night hehe.
Well, I added my duty hours today and I accumulated 103 hours already! 97 hours to go. But I will also have some "bonus hours" because of the published articles I had last month. So in my computation, I will be finish by second week of February. Geezz, time flies.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

The Late Yearender Post

It has been almost a week since 2007 so I should have done this earlier but I got lazy lol. Anyways, here are the significant events that happened in my life in 2007:

1. My maternal grandmother died.
-She died three days before my birthday. The saddest birthday I ever had. It was a sudden and shocking death. I have many regrets because I have not seen her for six years. I still get teary eyed everytime I think of her especially at night when I could not sleep. Three days ago, four months after her death, my mother dreamed about her, they were hugging each other and she was smiling is. It was the first time since she died that my mother had a dream about her. With that dream, I felt happy because she is at peace up there.

2. Editorship
-The biggest achievement I ever had was being chosen as the Editor-in-chief of Heraldo Filipino Team 22. I never though it would happen, that it is possible. I failed the first time when I applied to become a news editor or office and circulations manager. I was confident that I will be an editor for Team 22 but I knew being EIC was a long shot, but it happened. A dream come true. But it was not easy, especially the fact that I jumped from Senior Staff status to EIC. I face a lot of problems during my first two months [the summer of 2007], some problems were inherited. But I survived and learned so much. My term is now on its last stretch. I know I will still face a lot of challenges but I know I could handle it.

3. Thesis
- I have heard a lot about how tough thesis is ever since I was a freshman and when I was already there it was true. It will test your patience and commitment. Me and my partner Jasmin survived and it made us better persons. We learned a lot life's lessons during the whole thesis writing process. I'm proud of our study. And getting raves during our defense felt like heaven. I never expected it because of the simple nature of our study compared to our classmates who had more challenging topics. But what I learned that it is not just how "deep" your study is, you have to love your study. It may be simple but as long as you know what you want to find out and what's the purpose of it, your study will deliver.

4. On-the-job training at Journal Group of Publications
- My goal on having my internship on print came true. I am enjoying my stay here and learning stuff not just about journalism per se but about people and the environment. And for me that is great wisdom.
And I had the chance to have my work published by a national paper because on December 20, two articles I wrote were published at People's Journal. I was very overwhelmed and consider this a big achievement in my life.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Stuff I need to do

  • Study, especially Media Ethics[I love the professor but his pointers for review could be compared to the study load of a Law student]. We did not have preliminary exams on all of subjects last December because our professors moved it to this month. Bummer. Oh well, kunting tiis na lang.
  • Schedule bidding for the HF mags and folios. Also set a schedule for deadlines, lay out and release. We were able to release HF3 on time last Month, we could do this. HF 4 schedule is already okay and I need to plan for the other publications.
  • Read the newspapers everyday and start to have clippings. Thanks to my OJT as a proofreader I became updated with the news. And I will have news clippings, I believe this is a good activity to do and will be beneficial in the long run. I was inspired to do this because of one employee in Journal is doing this.
  • Read. I bought a lot of books when I started my OJT, well blame it to the location of Journal's office which is near the Makati malls and my siblings who shared to me their Christmas bonuses. I bought Twisted 8 and Pinoy Elections: A Guide for the Dismayado both by Jessica Zafra, Tongues of Fire by Conrado De Quiros, Kiko Machine Volume 3 by Manix Abrera and two books of flash fictions [in Filipino and in English] . So far I finished two only [Pinoy Elections and KikoMachine] and 1/4 of Twisted 8. Plus I have not continue reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows which I bought late November [pinag ipunan ko yan ah haha], I was swamped with school stuff so reading it was put on hold. I thought I could start reading it again this Christmas break but then there was OJT. I'm sure I could not read it the succeeding months because I will be again busy with school and HF. So therefore I plan to read it on summer haha because reading Harry Potter needs my undivided attention. No spoilers please. Oh I also have not started reading Nicholas Sparks' A Bend in the Road which I bought in a second hand bookstore several weeks ago. Summer na rin siguro haha
  • Speaking of books, I need to organize my books, magazines and HF publications.
  • Go to the bank and deposit, this has been a monthly thing for me since I started banking in June 2006. I want to be like my parents, especially my mother, who is very good in handling our finances. I'm off to a good start.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Awaken

The latest episode of Probe on ABS CBN is very moving. The topic is about Victor, a batang lansangan whom Che Che Lazaro interviewed him in 1988. His interview back then left a great impact, like when he was asked what's the job of her mother, he replied "Puta nanay ko". The way he said it was so raw and so real. After 20 years, Probe located Victor to find out what happened to him. He is still poor. But what is good at least was that he did not really went astray, he is not in the prison after all despite the environment he grew up. I also like his smile, it did not change after all this years, it was a smile that shows a glimmer of hope. It was amazing how Probe was able to pull this story. Great episode but what's sad is that only a few people have seen this because of its very late time slot.
I hope Probe puts their episodes on DVD. I have always been a big fan of Probe shows especially 5 & Up, I wanted to become a 5 & Up kid back then. When the show was canceled I was really upset. Although Probe now has Kabataan News Network [joint effort with UNICEF] over at UniversiTV but unfortunately I have not watch an episode yet when the show was moved there. It was aired previously at ABC 5 [2 years but the last year in ABC 5 was full of replays. Also, during its stint in that station I won a KNN t-shirt when my e-mail was read on air] then they moved to ABS CBN [for a very short time only like two months before they canceled it]. I hope I could catch up but their time slot is not feasible for me since it is early evening [6:30pm] weeknights and these days during that time I'm outside because of OJT. I hope they could have a DVD too. And old 5 & Up episodes too. But that is a far fetch idea I know.
Anyways, speaking of TV shows on DVD, I was at Powerbooks yesterday and I saw the I Witness and Philippine Agenda DVDs and made a mental note to buy one the next time I visit the bookstore. They are a bit expensive but I am sure it is worth it.
I hope Probe will follow suit. Maybe I should e-mail them? Hmmmm...
I know this post is so random and anything goes, I was about to post something else but that Probe episode just left a big impact that it rekindled something inside me that was dormant the last few months. A good way to start the year I believe.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

New Year, New Look

Today, I decided to "renovate" this blog. Well, last month I actually started renovating sort of by changing the template to Christmas theme. But of course I could only afford to have that theme for a short period only. I picked a new template that is simple. I changed the music [Home by Michael Bubble'] and added, finally, a CBOX. I also did some re arranging and renaming with my links and other features of this blog. Hope you like the new look.
I had my best month in blogging here last December where I had 17 entries. Sinipag ako. I hope to continue blogging continuously this year.

I realized that I did not have a personal year ender post since my December 31st post tackled OJT stories. Well, maybe I will write one this week although it is late already. 2007 was a very eventful year for me so I don't know how to start.

Oh well, Everyone Have a HAPPY 2008!

#1s

To start 2008, I will post the list of songs that topped the different yearend charts for 2007. Well, as I've said in my earlier post I'M A CHART GEEK since 1998. Every December 31 unlike most people who are outside firing up fire crackers, I stay indoors, glued to radio with a notebook in hand listing down the various yearend countdowns. This year was different because instead of a notebook, I used the PC to type in the charts in a thread I made at Pinoyexchange [for full lists of the charts visit this]. Anyways here are the chartoppers for 2007:

International:

United World Chart: Umbrella-Rihanna feat. Jay Z
Billboard Hot 100: Irreplaceable-Beyonce
UK Charts: Bleeding Love-Leona Lewis*
MTV Asia: Umbrella-Rihanna feat. Jay Z
MTV TRL: Girlfriend-Avril Lavigne

The Philippines:

MYX Hitchart: Magbalik-Calla Lily
MYX International Top 20: Jenny- The Click 5
RX 93.1: Makes Me Wonder-Maroon Five
Magic 89.9: Wait For You-Elliott Yamin
99.5 HiT FM: Teenagers-My Chemical Romance
103.5 Max FM: Umbrella-Rihanna feat. Jay Z
NU 107: Probinsyana-Bamboo
Wave 89.1: Because of You-Ne-yo
101.9 For Life: Don't Matter-Akon
102.7 Star FM: Beautiful Girls-Sean Kingston
97.1 Brgy. LS: Beautiful Girls-Sean Kingston
91.5 Energy FM: Beautiful Girls-Sean Kingston

* Leona Lewis is the winner of UK's X-Factor, a show similar to American Idol

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Recap

OJT Day 14[December 27]: There was a shocking news at the Journal office that day, one of the guards of Universal-re building [where Journal's office is located] died the other night. He fainted in the building and was DOA in the hospital, what a sad news before the year ends.
We also had another nice chat with Mam Vilma, what a cool mom, I must say. She has been part of Journal since 1980. Wow. She told us that Sir Gus, the EIC,used to be a terror editor. It was surprising because Sir Gus today is very nice and approachable. I could not imagine how he was like during the early years of Journal.

OJT Day 15 [December 28]: My classmate Ghie was given an assignment to interview someone in Sta. Mesa. I actually encourage to accept the assignment because at first she was hesitant but I told her that it will be a great experience plus she needs the "extra points" because she lagging behind with the duty hours. I'm glad she enjoyed the assignment somehow although she said it was tiring. I helped her write the lead of her story, that is actually my forte writing leads hehe.
I hope next time, I will get a field assignment too, but I'm not rushing since I'm enjoying the proofreading. And I'm glad because the resident artist and one writer there commended for being so hardworking.They are actually amazed because I live in Cavite and is still very visible in the office. It was nice to see my efforts appreciated.
Anyways, the journey back home is frustrating because of the worst traffic I ever experienced. It took me four hours just to get home.

OJT Day 16 [December 30]: There were only two proofreaders who reported for work today so we had extra work today and I like it. I proofread like 6 pages continuously. And it felt good that the proofreaders showed confidence to us because previously after we proofread a page we will pass it to them for rechecking what we have done. Yesterday, for some pages, they told us to forward the page to the lay out artist already. Woohoo!

Well I will not have my OJT today, I'll be back next year[which is like a few hours from now haha]. Out of the 31 days of December, I was on duty for 16 days. This month is definitely a memorable one for me.