A Look Back to 20@'10!

I can't help describe how exactly 2010 fared for me. A lot of stuff happened, both good and bad, interesting twists and life-sized developments I never expect would happen to me. I'll see if I could run all down the events that made marked my 20th year of life so awesome @'10.

JANUARY
-The then seemingly-unending second term of the previous school year (2009-10) finally concluded. The students of CSB got to move on from a term that was marked by natural disasters, term extensions, wrongful decisions from the higher-ups, and a lot more than we could imagine.
-I discovered someone's true colors and I was pretty disappointed to what he/she has become.
-The long-awaited Montessorian reunion 8 years in the making finally materialized in the form of RECONNECTIONS.

FEBRUARY
-I applied to be a part of the RT30 Countdown (99.5RT's weekly chart show) as an intern which I got in eventually (On the same day I was applying for a similar job at their next door neighbor, Mellow 94.7).
-On the day of hearts, Jeco posted a very awesome pic showing me, MR, Dianne, Chamy, Yoko and him taken exactly a year ago. It was really sweet and awesome which inspired me to write a blog about it the same day.
-Knowing I won't be in school long, I tried for the third time applying to be a part of the school's frosh orientation program.

MARCH
-I went to a retreat with a bunch load of my friends and would be friends in Tagaytay. No tear-jerky sessions occurred throughout the whole ordeal but we forged new friendships and reinforced new ones (in memory of Dims). LOL
-It's not everyday you're friends with almost the whole batch of the SDA Chef's station. I owe that to Nikko and for his introduction of their signature dish: COFFEE JELLY. Piaya times baby!

APRIL
-This one's a shocker: I was let go from my internship in RT30. But my relationship with RT didn't end there because...
-I applied to be a part of RT's The Farm, a radio-training program. I got to meet some really awesome people indeed.


MAY
-The seemingly unending school year finally drew to a close and just when we thought we're only going to get 2 weeks of vacation, we finally had a whole month off!
-Something for a change, I took up the courage to meet my idol. It paid off.
-It's time for yearbook pictures and when I got to see my pictures, I wasn't satisfied with the results so I asked for a retake a month later.
-FOP time! I was shuffling between FARM training and orienting froshes for almost 2 weeks straight, it was nerve-wracking hehehe.
-The launch of The CSB Experience 4: The Final Experience.

JUNE
-Jenny from the Block passed away. :(
-I attended my last Mediamax orientation.
-The trip to Singapore finally pushed through and it was 5 days of pure awesomeness!
-I had my Frosh Nite experience re-lived when me and the rest of the Sessionistas reunited to welcome the new batch of Benildeans. (Mga di pa nagbabayad, bayaran niyo na ako :D)
-OMG, the pet project of The Farm was a huge success.
-Hours before heading off for OMG, I decided to pay a visit to Max FM, where I got to be DJ for an hour with Johnny Chase/Mondo while waiting for Quich Lorraine/Raine.
-I started The Pursuit.

JULY
-Graphika Manila, FINALLY! After three years of trying, fourth time was certainly a charm.
-Extra-ordinary did I manage myself into hopping for my class' Malarayat field trip due to extra-ordinary circumstances.
-I got word from an industry insider online about Max FM's pending format switch and I wasted no time visiting the booth for one last time.
-Kadugo!

AUGUST
-Me and a load of callers kept Raine company on her unexpectedly final day on the air and I got it on tape! YESSH!
-My ears turned red on the biggest mess I made but managed to clean it up.
-I bid my Teenage Dream goodbye as I turned 20 @ '10. Unfortunately, the planned 20@'10 reunion among my GS friends did not materialize. Too bad :(

SEPTEMBER
-September marked the day I officially marked my one term extension in school and at the same time, a critical period for me to pass every single subject I have for the second trimester.
-I was an orientor again for the 2nd term's FOP. But due to some misunderstandings, me and a few others ended up orienting not so-frosh students, but it was still fun because I really had a good time talking with members of the school's Deaf community.
-Got my wish into visiting the U92 booth in Silver City and met The Brewrats!
-I started to understand more and more about trade secrets that aren't secrets to everyone else.

OCTOBER
-I had a strong reaction with Studio 23's recent scheduling changes as of late when they had their signature US programs pushed to late night in favor of a daily nightime movie block on primetime. I ended up having a "creative argument" with 23's Program Manager Vince Rodriguez (who we share an unknown connection with Cheenee in more ways than one). Up til now, I still disprove of what they did in favor of airing two daily movie blocks. It's a betrayal to long-time viewers like me.
-I never thought I get to be heard on the air again but Oct. 28 proved me wrong. A reunion with my fellow Farmers, a concert happening at the Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill, and meeting famous faces front and center....What more can I ask for?

NOVEMBER
-I started production for the pilot "episode" of my thesis film, An Almost Affair starring Demy Cruz, Shiena Labay, Sam San Jose and also starring Paw Castillo.

DECEMBER
-The cousins came home after living in the US for 9 long years thus the yearly Christmas celebration of the Sibucao clan was more than the usual this year.
-I got myself a sorta-new Nikon D40x which was owned originally by my sister's college friend. Only problem is that it doesn't have a USB cable for me to upload my pictures to a PC.
-I started another creative argument with another guy from ABS...This time with the channel head of MYX, Andre Allan Alvarez. LOL, bigtime na nga!

That's all folks!

The CSB Experience 4: Crash and Burn

Right now, I'm at this point where I am truly bummed. Stressed out as I keep on thinking I still have to give my all to whatever is left for this term while at the same time, I'm thinking of what will happen come the next trimester.

I'm at this point in my academic life na talagang nakakaramdam ako ng burn-out. Excited na rin kasi na mabigyang tuldok ang buhay eskuwela ko. For my journey has an end date, July 2011 but it could still change if for some reason I did something that will held me back for at least another term.

I don't want that to happen. The first time I failed a subject, I immediately retook it the following term while carrying over the one I'm supposed to take to the summer, my first Benildean summer to be specific. I want to finish in time, that's a goal I want to reach but things didn't turned out the way I hoped so I as forced to extended one more term.

Jeco and Ericson are about to end their respective journeys on February 2011. It made think of what will happen if I actually get to finish my run on time. Then again, I realized that these two took double, if not triple, the effort of completing the requirements to finish in time. If that means having the need to overload, they will do it. At least it paid off for them.

I could always have that option open but I don't want to rush things too much. I don't want to force myself on doing too much in less time. I could multitask but not to the point of selling my soul to the Smoke Monster (hahaha, LOST reference. Miss ko na sina Kate, Locke at Jaaack).

If I could ace my other remaining units this term, I'll be left with 10 more units to finish. Imagine back then, I have to take as much as 21 units for ever term and fast forward to now, it has all come down to this remaining 10.

I'm already feeling the pressure of finishing school as soon as I can. But I know I have friends and family who will always have my back. It pays off everything I worked hard for these past 3 and a half years.

I can assure to myself, and to you that I will not CRASH and BURN.

The CSB Experience 4: Internal Defense, Internal Struggles (The Conclusion)

Feeling so much of a haggard today brought by last night's internal defense. I got home late and I slept late. It's a good thing I only had 1 class today. At least I was able to find ample free time to make up for lost sleep.

Last night was just simply awesome for the fact that Proj1 is no longer gonna keep me from reaching the end of my life as a student (I'm hoping it'd be the same with BIZ1). Since I started The CSB Experience, I have always stated that I am fearful of any little thing that could hold me back from fully be done with school. Although there is still one trimester left for me to complete, I can't help but think that the end is near.

What happened at panel opened my eyes to stuff I thought I could never do. It made me wonder of the things I could possibly do as a profession once I venture off to the real world.

My video-hypernarrative thesis project, entitled "An Almost Affair" which focus on marital issues (fronted primarily by the issue of infidelity) which I sought to give a different take on the typical love story so as not to reinforce stereotypes typically seen on television dramas. In addition, I want my film to possess the look and feel of a soap opera to make it appealing to my intended target market.

After presenting my contents to my panelists, they commented that I seem to have a tendency on making stories that are too depressing and somehow, tragic. It's something I can't blame them for actually.

 Other than that, they suggest recasting all but one of my actors, replacing them with ones who looks and acts like my 20-something year old characters. One of them said that I'd be better off not marketing my project as a "mini-soap opera". I could still stick with the "look and feel part" but the format itself, I need to ditch altogether. They think it won't work, seeing the risks that I might face once I undergo my external defense several months from now.

I try to defend my stand on the matter but they keep on talking and commenting that I really didn't have much of a chance to explain further. It didn't help that my mind's psyched out but at least i was able to compose myself. They mentioned I have a liking towards using big words so they were discouraging me from using such as it might lead to complications.

In the end, I passed with flying colors but I have to keep in mind the things that I must change for the next few months. It's shame though that I won't be able to ultimately use the existing footage, especially the ones I shot in Vatel Restaurant. Me and my cast have put a lot of effort, energy, sweat and all that shiz so i could produce the footage I need to present for defense and I was hoping I could still use them beside continuing production next year.

This poses as a challenge for me to step up the plate as this is a project that will, as I mentioned time and again, make or break me and will prove crucial on the decision factor if I am going to end the school with a bang!

GO LANG NG GO!

The CSB Experience 4: Internal Defense, Internal Struggles (Gotta Pass 'Em All!)

Huhuhu, I feel like crying a bucket of tears today. In less than a few hours from now, I'll be defending my thesis project in front of panel and I really hope that the feedback would be positive.

I have heard of stories about people who failed there internal defense because they  weren't able to present all of their requirements to their panelists, others because they were late, while there those who simply failed to defend their projects effectively.

One by one, every student from my batch are being interrogated, spliced up and ripped open by these cruel panelists hoping that the days, the months and the hours spent on completing at least half of their respective projects have all paid off. I have to make sure that I was able to check on every end and every corner to make sure that I didn't leave anything unnoticed.

Right now, I still have to photocopy a couple of documents for panel, and provide a soft copy of all my raw files to them. I hope it all pays off.

If I get rejected by them (Sir Rene, Ms. Lai, and Ms. Karen), I swear I'm going to kill somebody! (LOLz)

I just have to remember what I always tell myself for motivation: Go lang ng go!

The CSB Experience 4: Almost There!!!!

Can I just say how freakin' happy I am right now? As in seriously, I never thought the day would finally come when I FINALLY have the opportunity to pre-enroll online for the very last time! Alas, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I have to put my excitement on hold til tomorrow.

Grrr...I just couldn't wait any more longer!

Parang kailan lang, pumasok ako sa CSB bilang isang freshman, isang frosh...At ngayon, bilang na ang mga araw ko bago ako lumabas dito bilang isang graduate. 1 term na lang ang natitira, out of 12.5 terms na kailangan kong tapusin. 10 units na kailangang kunin at matapos sa lalong madaling panahon.

I'm also worried because there's still no guarantee if the third trimester of the school year will be my last. There is still the question of whether I'm going to pass the classes I'm taking right now, especially my MMPROJ1. I fear I might not succeed on passing them all especially that I highly regard every term I've been in as a critical point, where one simple action could make-or-break my entire future.

I know I'm making a big deal out of it but it's true. I just want to finish college so badly so I could find myself a job and start make a living for myself. Lalo pa naman na nasa isip ko na malapit nang matapos ang paglalakbay na aking sinimulan. Isang deretsahan na lang at mararating ko na ang katapusan.

Kung hindi lang dahil may pending clearance pa ako sa Accounting Office, ma-eencode ko na sana iyung mga magagandang slots na puwede ko pa makuha. Ayoko nang tumagal, gusto ko na wakasin ito.

I'm almost there at the end of the road.

J.I.A.: Overnight

As much as I was homesick back then during my year-long stay in a foreign country, adjusting to new surroundings was a really difficult task. There are things that I have to get used to like speaking English all the time (at least we could still speak Filipino within the household), getting used to the colder-than-cold climate and unseasonably unpredictable weather, and yes...overcoming culture shock.

Eventually, somehow it all paid off. I was able to gain new friends and learned a lot of stuff along the way. There were a lot of firsts: My first Thanksgiving, my first Halloween, my first Kwanzaa, and among so many is my first sleepover at a friend's house.

It was a little around March or April 2002, spring was at its full blossom, the temperatures hovering between 44 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a new student in our class, Koji. He's been in with us for a good number of weeks already, it didn't really took long before all of us in the class got really close with him.

One time, I was having this idea of having a friend sleep-over at my apartment for some "getting-to-know-you" bondings. It was actually hard, asking someone about it, because I don't know how I could blurt it out. By some unexpected twist and I don't remember exactly now how it happened, I was able to get Koji convinced of having one of us sleep-over at the other's house. Although I was hoping he could sleep at my place, turns out I was the one who's going to his place for the overnight. Both our moms agreed to what the two of us cooked up and set the day of the sleepover at Friday.

On the day itself, I couldn't help myself feeling all excited. Maybe because then I was thinking "Yeah finally, I'd be able to do those things kids do on TV...SLEEPOVER!". My stuff were already prepped up and packed. I just need to get back home right away from school so I could get them and wait til Koji and his mom arrives to pick me up.

I was able to meet his mom, and she's a really nice and cool person. I thinking though that like Jonathan (our other classmate who lives just a couple blocks from my apartment), the Takagi's are just the two of them. Turns out Koji has siblings who weren't around at the time and his dad is out working.

They live in a quiet neighborhood near Hutchinson..seemingly a secluded and peaceful place, except for the occasional noise coming from the main thoroughfare. for the rest of the day, we played soccer at the front yard and we were joined by a neighbor's kid.

We had dinner that night where Mrs. Takagi cooked up some rice meals (note though I may not be a hundred percent accurate of what I'm writing here. I'm trying to dig up as much dirt in my mind as I can). As they were telling me stuff about themselves, I also share to them mine. It's a quite the cultural exchange I must say. I learned a lot of new stuff about Japanese culture and hopefully they learned a few stuff from mine.

Curiously, later when we were watching baseball (a game I will never seem to understand except for my bunso), Koji asked me this very odd question: Why do I act like an adult?. I was actually surprised he said that. He even expounded that the way I speak the way I see things, the way I know current event, it's something not typical for a kid my age.

Trying to be open-minded about it, I kinda explained to him it's something not uncommon considering that it all falls down with the way kids are raised in different countries. Back home, I don't engaged much on after-school extra-curricular activities (except for Fridays) and in addition, kids back home are always, in one way or another, in the know of current events.

It's very complicated, I pointed him out and the discussion ended on that note.

The following morning, I was pleasantly surprised what Mrs. Takagi prepared for breakfast. MILO: The Olympic Energy Drink! Turns out, Milo or the way they pronounce it, "Mi-roh" is also sold in Japan. They, in turn, were surprised as well on how I prep my own Milo drink. I poured a tablespoonful of Milo powder into my glass and poured water in it before stirring it.

That gave me an idea.

I showed them what my mom taught me on consuming Milo a different way. On a small plate of rice, I poured several teaspoonfuls of Milo powder on it and mixed them all up. The result: MILO RICE.

The sleepover was a big success and in effect, it became a learning experience not just for me but for Koji I guess as well. I don't know how he thought about it but I'm sure it made his day.

Such a highlight of my stay in the US is something I won't ever forget.

The Kabarkada Presence ("Studio 23 PRIMETIME!")

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If you guys already noticed, TV today is so different to what it used to be back then. English language-programming have mostly retreated to cable, evening newscast are now very tabloid-ish (matching irritating "broadcaster" voices), movie blocks are fast becoming a presence, children's programming and talk shows are now endangered genres on TV and I could go on and on with this.

Now this leads me to the purpose of writing this entry: TV has become a different person to many of us. Many TV programs today cater to a mass-majority of viewers or more popularly known as the "masa". Not that it's a bad thing but what is so negative about is the way TV is behaving nowadays in order to maintain its hold to viewers and to an extent, the advertisers whose money is the primary source of revenue to these industry bigwigs.

Sa madaling-salita, marami nagsasabi na "binobobo" ngayon ng mga TV networks ang mga manonood dahil sa kanilang mga pinapalabas. Instead of fulfilling the responsibility of developing an informed and educated society, they are doing the exact opposite. This is most especially true to the two major networks who, because of this ridiculous network war, have changed people's viewing patterns for the past 2 decades. A domino effect occurred with the smaller players becoming the victims of this "effect".

Among those affected by all of this is what I regarded as my "best TV friend", Studio 23.

I remember watching 23 as early as my grade 3 days when me and my family used to watch "Murphy Brown", "The Nanny", "Charmed", "Angel", and "Spin City" among others. Many foreign shows that used to air on ABS were carried over to that channel like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place". I was fascinated with network promos and ID's they used to air then, like the "Couch Potato Guy" which gave me the impression that it's a cable channel that was imported stateside. Eventually, I've come to learn that it is somehow related to my family's choice of station, ABS-CBN.

Growing up, our choices of viewing TV have become varied especially when started having cable in the house. But despite my childhood leanings to watch only cartoons, I found myself getting fascinated with the programs aired on 23. It's the station that introduced me to News Central, which used to air at 10pm which comes after a preceding US program. Napapanood ko siya lagi because of their slick theme music and graphics but it’s the on-air presence of Mari Kaimo that helped me become a viewer of the program throughout its years in existence (kahit di ko siya lagi napapanood consistently).

The local programs that were introduced midway gave the network a sense of identity as a Filipino station. They were able to fill up a void left vacant by GMA and ABS where the need to watching something other than the usual stuff they air become apparent. Shows like "F", "D-Tour", "Team Explorer", "Breakfast", "Sports TV", "Wazzup-Wazzup", and "Strangebrew" were just among the many that made their mark on many of us loyal 23 viewers.

I always hope that 23 would find a way to make that certain"oomph" to become more competitive as a network and not just be seen as a sister station to ABS because I don't think the bigger net is interested on giving support to its little sister.

Me and a lot of people have always been there for Studio 23 despite the changes it has faced throughout the years from the "Watch-U-Want" to the "Kabarkada Mo" eras, from  the time when many local shows were canceled back in 2007 to the time they introduced FUSE that same year to the introduction of Catch-Up TV last year.

Now came the biggest shocker ever in the history of the station: 23 started pushing away a lot of their signature US programs to graveyard timeslots while they extended the once-enjoyable and formerly weekly Barkada Nights as a 5-day local movie block. LBO returned to airing local movies but what's frustrating is they're airing just the same content of movies as to what BN have now been airing every night. Even the on-air announcer was starting to speak in Filipino instead of just English which makes him sound very awkward (although he used to adlib in Tagalog before when promoting several local shows in the past).

At first I thought it was a good idea, but then I started to worry a lot about the FUSE shows when they started to be placed on those late timeslots (9:30 to 12:30). I realized it's causing an inconvenience to existing viewers like me to catch them. People may not even be able to watch them on such late a time because of the need to wake up early the next day and whatnot.

23 issued a press statement on their FB fanpage citing their reason for the sudden changes in programming. Basically they need to grow as a network thus the justification of what they have done.

It painfully disappoints me that they have to resort to nearly dismantling the very core of what 23 has long been known for in order to "grow as a network". 23 unlike the other remaining English-speaking networks on free TV have the capability to help promote the use of English to their core audience (the youth demo), even to audiences they don't normally target. I've seen a lot of comments back then on their FB and Multiply accounts from people who claimed they learned the country's second language from the station but now, all I'm reading are people fond of typing "jejemonic" text who all like KO One. Viewer maturity is also something that 23 was able to achieve with their core audience so I'm hoping that they do same to the new viewers who just discovered the channel.

Last Saturday October 9 2010, Studio 23's program manager Vince Rodriguez, arranged a meeting with me on ABS to talk about the network when I made him known about my issues about the changes I made vocal on Twitter. I was lcuky that my childhood friend, Cheenee, was an intern for the station thus she knows who Sir Vince is.

The meeting was meaningful on my part because I was able to see the perspective of people like Sir Vince who relies on their blood, sweat and tears to run a television network every day. I do understand that with the penetration of cable among other things, it's becoming difficult for nets like 23 to capture the niche market. With the emergence of TV5 as a major network, the TV landscape continues to shake up, for better and for worse. Then there's the question of advertisers as well. He explained to me that 23 has long been on the bubble so it was really a tough call on how they could keep the station up and running on the long-term.

In return, I also shared with him my perspective and frustration as a viewer and as a member of 23's long-time core audience. I do favor the development of local programming in the channel but I'm still not sold of their moves of many of their shows to late night because of Barkada Nights. I also told him the need to promote English to their viewers especially to their younger viewers who are watching animated shows aired in the morning (pati na iyung mga Nick shows na isinawika na sa wikang pambansa). It's not something that they should be doing but it is something that they must (because TV is a powerful medium especially to the younger folk). Even on their sole newscast, it needs not to be tabloid-ish but they should deliver news that DO matter to us.

Sir Vince told me of their long-term plans for 23, many of which are strictly confidential so I could not really share them with you. But what I can say that they are coming up with ways to have the newer viewers be exposed to English among others (and here's to hoping they DO air the Nick shows in their original English audio for the sake of their younger viewers). I also hope that they do what they can to bring back the shows that defined them for 15 years and bring them back on the timeslots that they deserve to be placed at, especially now that they are due to air the final seasons of Smallville and Lost. Both deserve to be given a proper send-off.

 The good thing about 23 is that they do listen to our feedback as viewers, thanks to the likes of one Leo Katigbak who made it possible for him to communicate with us viewers and exchange our views and opinions that would contribute for the over-all improvement of the network in general.

Even though we've been talking over iced tea and apple fritter in Starbucks for nearly 2 hours, I still have a lot to ask about 23 with Sir Vince although by then he had to leave to attend some urgent matters. It was really nice knowing him, a part of an industry that I've been dreaming to be a part of.

I'll continue to be a supporter and a loyal viewer of Studio 23 even if because of those horrific scheduling changes they did to my favorite shows I may not be able to catch them. I'm crossing my fingers that they will prove to those who stayed with them that they never forgot who they are to us, our kabarkadas