LAST POST? :D

All in all, this internship program has taught me various things which I would not experience inside the classroom. I have new friends and my bond with my other friends became stronger. This would probably my last post in this blog. :)

Day 33: Last day frustration.

Today, Mia, Nikka and I went to Amianan to get our signed requirements. But when we got there, Ma'am EJ said that Sir Lito was not yet there and was not able to sign it the day on Wednesday because he did not come to the office. And so...we waited for him.

Thirty minutes passed, yet still he hasn't arrived yet. It was already 2:30 and the deadline for all the requirements was at 3PM. I was worried since I know how strict UP professors are in terms of deadlines.

At exactly 3PM, Sir Lito arrived. He hasn't signed the papers yet so we waited for him to finish signing all the requirements. At 3:20PM or so, he finished signing all our papers. By that time, I was becoming more and more frustrated since we're late already and the rain hasn't stop yet.

After signing, we hurriedly went outside to find for a taxi. But not a single taxi stopped for us. So we were forced to ride a jeepney.

By the time we arrived at school, it was already 3:38 or so. Kuya Brian said that we are late and that our requirements will be graded as 5.

And seriously, I don't even want to imagine all my efforts to be wasted like that just because Amianan didn't sign our papers which we passed two days ago.

LAST.DAY.FRUSTRATION.

Day 32: Extra post. :D

As I was browsing through the articles I submitted to Amianan, I noticed that the other articles which were not published were marked as "unpublished" with the date of the supposed to be publication of the articles. I just hope these articles would qualify as a good-as-published articles. :D

Day 32: Come what may.

Last day of summer classes? Apparently not. I don't know what else to do since tomorrow would be the last day of our internship program and I still haven't published six articles required for this program. After all the efforts and time I gave in covering and gathering news, still it wasn't enough.

I already stopped crying. Yes, I cried. I think I was only the one who hasn't reach the required published articles. I was the only one who was left behind. And I only have myself to blame for that.

Yesterday, Ma'am EJ said that they would consider my articles as "good-as-published". I was so happy. I thought I could make it. And then, just this afternoon, that hope vanished. Although I've been searching for news this morning until this afternoon, still I wasn't able to get newsworthy events.

Now I feel so low. I feel like I'm the dumbest person in our class. If I fail this course, that will leave a huge impact in my life. And maybe, I will now start to think if Journalism really is suitable for me.

Come what may. -___-"

Day 31: Last Kapihan

Today, I went to Kapihan sa Baguio at Rose Bowl. This would probably be the last kapihan I would cover. The forum was about promoting the tourism of Baguio and various provinces surrounding CAR. Also, Logos Hope would be at San Fernando, La Union  next week or the week after next for the book fair. And I wish I could be there also. :)

Day 30: Hurts like hell

Today, I have to go to Amianan for the submission of our previous articles. The truth is, I really don't want to go there today. I don't know what's wrong with me but last night and up until now, my head still hurts like hell. I still haven't taken any medication because I thought the pain would just subside. But it hasn't. Also, the weather was very unfavorable. :/

Day 29: First time voter :D

I went with my parents to the elementary school near our house for the election before lunch time. When we got there, the line was already loooong. We fall in line and waited. I got bored so I brought out my phone and played games. While playing, a man approached my father. I did not bother to look at first since I was too caught up with what I was playing. And then they started talking. The reason that made me look up at the man was that he smelled like a drunken old man. And he was like shaking hands with my father the whole time while saying "Ammo mon a Engineer no sinno" ("Alam mo na ah Engineer kung sino.") That was when I realized that the man who was shaking hands with my father was a supporter of a candidate running for the position of Mayor in our town. My father just nodded but I knew that my father has already gotten the message which this supporter was saying. And then the people in front of us moved forward. Soon, it was our turn to vote. After voting, I greeted my high school teachers who were there.

And as I am typing this blog entry now, I realize that I am really that old now. I may look like a 15 year old high school girl (as what everybody seems to see me), I already have this sense of maturity. Also, it was my first time to vote for the local and national elections. :D

Day 27 & 28: Still hoping...

Yesterday, I went to school to get my supervisor's evaluation letter. Kuya Brian let me get my co-interns' letters. After that, I went to Amianan to submit my articles and photos. I met Mia near Bayanihan and we decided to submit our articles together. When we arrived at there office, there were no staff members to be found because they were having there lunch break. So we decided to wait.

After that, two staff members arrived and asked us if we're gonna submit our articles. We said yes and they said that we should just wait for Ma'am EJ to arrive. After several minutes, Ma'am EJ arrived. We then gave our articles.

Today, I'm hoping that ALL the articles I submitted would be published so I could still do all my requirements in this course. *fingers crossed*

Day 26: PCOS testing.

Today, I woke up at 8AM since I stayed up late last night. When I checked my phone, I've already received 2-3 messages from my co-interns saying which events would be held today. I texted JA if she is covering any event today and she replied that there would be a final testing of the PCOS machines at Baguio Central School. She said that the final testing would start at 8:30! And I just woke up!

In order to arrive there just in time, I had to beg my housemates whose classes would start at 9AM to let me take a bath first. Since they were also running late, they said that they would just take a bath quickly. But I doubted that since I've known them for quite long now. So I texted JA and said that I would go there but I would be late. After 15 minutes or so, she texted me again and said that the final testing would start at 9AM. Haha. :D

When I arrive there, we went to the polling centers where the PCOS machines would be tested. We entered one classroom and observed the procedures of the final testing of the PCOS machine. The teachers checked the machine carefully. After that, they asked us to participate in the testing by voting. It's good since I don't really know how it works and I'll be voting on Monday. Since it was just a test, I shaded the first 12 senators I saw, same with the other parts. And then we tried putting our ballots in the PCOS machine. Hehehehe.

After that, the teachers printed something which looked like a receipt. It was in fact, a tally of the ones we voted. Ameyyyziing. lol The teachers were busy tallying the results and doing some other stuff yet managed to ask them several questions regarding the final testing. After that, we looked for the COMELEC personnel and interviewed him too. :)

I also took pictures which I hope would be publish on Sunday. Now I'll write my articles which I covered this week. I hope my efforts will not be wasted (again). :D

FIGHTIIIIIING!!!!!! XDDD

Day 25: Cover cover cover...Fighting! xD

Okay, so I think I've finally overcome the sadness I felt last night and now I'll definitely do my best.

This morning, I received a text message from my J198 friends that there would be a forum/talk on the upcoming 2013 election that would happen at Gat Bonifacio Resto and Cafe at Kisad Road. Kisad Road is near to our house so I went there and cover it. I thought I knew the place but then when I was already at Kisad Road, I didn't know where Gat Bonifacio is specifically located. I knew that it was at the back of Crown Legacy Hotel but when I got there, I couldn't locate it. Good thing JA was there and she was able to call me when she saw me walking in the wrong direction.

We arrived at the place early. As usual, the media people I always see covering events were there. We got a good seat where we could jot down our notes and hear the speakers of the forum clearly. Many interns from different newspaper outfit were there also.

From this day forward, I\ll do my best. Last night will be the last time I\ll be thinking of giving up.

The race is still on.

Fighting!!!!

XD

Day 24: On the verge of losing hope

Everyday, I'm getting more and more anxious in this internship program. I'm worried about not getting the required six published articles. It seems like I am the only one who's not progressing in this internship and to be honest, I feel sad. What's wrong? Maybe I am not that good enough. Maybe my taste is different than what they're looking for. Maybe my style is a problematic.

Last sem, I got a lot of critiques like not having my own style in writing, not having the tone that should be reflected on my writings, which always boils up to not being good enough. But what I don't get is that why every single time I try to be better, it always ends up to me feeling a lot worse. I don't take it personally when someone critiques my writing but sometimes, I just feel like I am being judged.

It's not like my articles were criticize by my supervisor but I'm just really worried since it's just days away before this summer class ends and I still need to publish 4 articles. Every night, I keep on telling myself that I can do it but sometimes, there just these times (like now) that I can't help but think of not making it. I know that our adviser told us to be positive on all things but.... I'm on the verge of losing hope.

P.S. Today has been a very emotional day so pardon my negative thoughts included in this blog entry. Also, this day is a very memorable one. The 7th of May last year was the last time I saw my dearest friend before she passed away after suffering in the hospital for five days. :(

Day 23: City Hall Adventures

Today, I went to Baguio City Hall to cover today's session meeting. When I arrived there, Ate Mela and Rachel were already there. But I did not approach them since the session was already starting.

While the Baguio's hymn was playing, more of my co-interns arrived. After the "rituals" were done (includes singing of the national anthem, opening prayer, Baguio hymn, etc. etc.), the meeting finally started. There were three to four items that were approved and then........the session was done. Seriously. I think the rituals were longer than the discussion of these items. Then they explained that there was no serious matter to discuss which explained why the meeting was adjourned early. And I was like "what am I gonna cover now? O.O".

That was when my Nordis friends said that there would be a forum at the multi-purpose hall. So I went with them and covered this forum which turned out to be an orientation for those who would be volunteering as poll watchers for the coming election. These volunteers were mostly Christians. After the orientation, there were politicians who were invited to talk about their platforms in front. Go, Molintas, Domogan, Tabanda, Tenefrancia, and Ortega were there to speak.

After that, they shook hands with us and the forum/orientation/political campaign ended. :)

Day 22: Idle

Today, I did not do any Journ related stuff. Tomorrow, I'll surely cover events. So tonight, I'll just sleep early and go to where these events are. :)

Day 21: Will I make it on time?

Today, I did not cover any event. But....something keeps on bugging me this past few days. The issue of "making it on time".

See, we were required to publish 6 articles for our J198 internship. Our summer classes would end on the 17th and still, I still have 5 more articles to publish. I'm getting more and more worried as days pass by. Will I make it on time?

Still...I'm not losing hope. I do not want to disappoint my parents. I do not want to be left behind. I should make it on time, even if it kills me.

Day 20: Short entry. -___-"

Today, I just submitted my articles to Ma'am EJ. I did not cover any event today because I had to go home early here in Pangasinan. This entry would be the shortest entry I'd be posting in my blog. The end.

Day 19: Where all media people go.

Today, Ker, Ricel and I covered a "presscon" at Luisa's Cafe. At first, we thought that the presscon would be camcelled because it did not start on the time it was supposed to start. So they just ordered food and ate.

While eating their food, we were talking about random things. Ker mentioned that Luisa's was one of the few cafes in Baguio where media people go. We were talking about cellular phones when a journalist from their newspaper outfit arrived. We followed him upstairs and waited for the people involved in the presscon.

One by one, journalists from Baguio arrived. Some of them I could recall because I already met them in some events. And then Mrs. Olga Dangwa arrived. Soon after his son who's running for the position of Vice Governor in Benguet and Mr. Selmo who's running for Governor. Ker and Ricel interviewed them while I recorded their conversation. After the interview, the "media handler" let us have our lunch.

After we ate, we had small talks about school, places we've come from, etc. Ricel and Ker had to go to some places also so we said goodbye and thanked them for the interview. :)

P.S. I am blogging early today because I still have articles to finish.

Day 18: Labor Day

I covered today’s event at Baguio Convention Center. Well, I was not supposed to be the one who should be covering this event. Mia, Nikka and I had already decided who would be covering events for the week and today, Nikka should be the one to cover the job’s fair that would happen at Conve. But since Nikka texted me that she couldn’t make it this morning because she was feeling ill, I had to go there and cover the event. The problem was I only read her text message 30 minutes before the start of the opening program of the event because I stayed up late last night and woke up late this morning.

So I hurriedly did my morning rituals and went straight to Baguio Convention Center. When I arrived there, there were already many job seekers everywhere. At the entrance of the Conve, a looooooong line of job seekers stood. I had to call Ker to confirm if I need not to fall in line anymore. She said yes but still…I brought out my intern’s ID just to be sure. I approached the man who was guarding the entrance and introduced myself as an intern from Amianan while showing my intern’s ID. He looked at it and said “sige po, pasok lang po kayo.” And I marched inside…like a boss. Lol

The number of people inside was incomparable compared to the people outside the Convention Center. Over 30 booths of employers were also there and in each booth, a loooooooooooooong line of job seekers were there, patiently waiting for their turn to be interviewed. People of different walks of life were there. On stage, Bong Bastic of 103.1 MOR Baguio was speaking. I am thankful enough that the opening program hasn’t finished yet when I arrived there. I saw Ker and paired up  (again) with her. Seriously, it’s more fun to do legworks with a buddy. Hehe.

The program then proceeded to the awarding of livelihood projects then the awarding of scholarships to OWWA graduates. One of the OWWA graduates was Celine Matundan. She graduated as a Cum Laude from UP Baguio and I happened to have the same class with her in PI 100. I always admired her back then. She’s very simple yet she has everything a girl could’ve wished for (beauty and brains). After the awarding ceremony, we interviewed her. That was when I learned that his Dad has been in Saudi for thirty years now and she even shared that even though her father was far away from her family, they did not fail to communicate with each other. And I thought, at that moment, that his father might be really proud of her achievements. After our interview with her, we also interviewed the Director of Owwa, Manuela Peña regarding the OWWA scholarship program.

After that, Ker and I went with Erica and Riza in searching for job seekers to be interviewed. We interviewed a man regarding the job fair. The interview went well except that he went blank when Riza asked about his opinion of the success rate of the said job fair.  Haha. After that, we went outside the Conve to interview more job seekers. But then, we got distracted by the different stalls set outside the Convention Center. And then we forgot about interviewing more people and just took photos of the people looking at bulletin boards of the different employers. After that, we decided to head home contented with the information we gathered. :D

Day 17: Leeeeegwoooork.

Today, Ker and I went to Baguio City Hall to cover the meeting that would happen at the session hall. As what I have said on my past entry, this meeting was about the issue on the dumping of garbage of the city to the Urdaneta Sanitary Landfill.

I arrived there just in time to hear the different sides of the councilors regarding the issue. I noticed that some of them were just bringing up the same argument that was already discussed yesterday so the issue was just going in circles the whole time. Good thing the Mayor was there to explain the different aspects of the issue which were not discussed yesterday. Although it sounded like he was just "defending the other party" (I will not say what or who), still today's "emergency" session ended up better than yesterday.

After the session, I went to UP to meet my co-interns in BC198. They said that we had to cover the event that would happen at the Convention Center at 1PM. But we would have our last meet with our adviser so I decided to meet with them after our class.

After the last meeting, Nikka, Erica, Riza, and I went to the Convention Center. I let Nikka cover this event but the problem was....there seemed to be nothing to write about the event. The event was supposed to be a coronation event of the "Ginang ng Tahanan" or whatever was it called, but what actually happened was (according to what I have observed) a political campaign by those candidates (the other candidates I've seen this morning in the session) who were invited in the said event. There was also this one candidate who started his speech like this, "Hindi po ito isang pangangampanya....bla bla bla.." but most of the topics of his speech was pertaining to all the good deeds he has done to Baguio. What the eff..

So I lost interest in the whole event. I don't know how Nikka would write this event but I hope that she could find a good angle. My co-interns in BC198 got bored also so after 4 hours or so, we decided to call it a day. :)

Tonight, I will arrange (more like "decipher") my notes and find a good angle to my story. :)

Day 14, 15, & 16: Three in One Post (Part II)

Day 14 (April 27) & Day 15 (April 28):

I did not blog for two days because I have nothing to blog about my Journ internship. But then, I learned from Ker that even if we didn't do any Journ-related stuff during weekends, we should always write something here because our adviser always checks our blog. So to make up with the four blog entries I missed (two when I was in Dagupan, and two this weekend), I decided to add an extra 4 blog entries to the required 30 blog entries. But I don't if that would be okay. :)

Day 16 (April 29):

So today, I have just arrived here in Baguio this morning. While I was on the way to Baguio, I received a text message from Ker asking if I would like to accompany her in interviewing the DPWH Director regarding the issue of road repavement here in Baguio. I said that I was still on my way to Baguio and if she could wait for me so that we could do the interview. She said okay but then, after that message, my co-interns in BC198 texted me and said that we would be having a meeting. What to do?

When I arrived here in Baguio, I dumped all my belongings at our room and went to school where our meeting would be held. When I arrived there, I quickly said to them that Ker and I would interview someone from the DPWH and invited them to come too. But then they said that it was okay, and that we would no longer gather news for the day. So it was a great advantage on my part.

At 1:00PM or so, Ker and I went to DPWH. We asked a personnel at the assistance desk if we could have an interview with the Director. He said that the Director was out and that we should have our request letters with us even if we said that we were interns from our respective newspaper outfits. He said that it was necessary for them to have our request letters for record purposes. That was when Ker remembered that their supervisor gave them request letters for this matter, but the problem was she left it at their boarding house.

Ker decided to get first her letter while I wait at the UP guard house. While waiting for Ker, I decided to play games on my phone. When I got bored, I got my notebook and scribbled interview questions even if Ker had already prepared an interview guide. While formulating interview questions, I received a text message from Nikka.

{Text Convo:}

     1:29 PM, 29 Apr
     Nikka: Maaaaaarj.
     Nikka: Nakapag-publish tayo haha


And then my heart stopped..... Hahaha. I couldn't believe it at first. I got to publish my article! Hahaha. I was so happy! I was just starting to fear that I wouldn't be able to publish my articles. Haha. :D

Then Ker arrived and we went to DPWH. The personnel got Ker's request and photocopied it. After that he said that we should just come back tomorrow. :/ So we decided to go to the City Hall for today's session. We arrived there just in time to hear the issue of disposing Baguio's waste to Urdaneta City Sanitary Landfill. I must admit that the session was pretty boring but then I thought that it was all just part of the job and that I should pay attention so that I could write something that could be published.

After several minutes, the session ended but they said that a meeting with the Mayor would be held tomorrow. The problem was Ker and I don't know if we would be allowed to cover that since we thought that it was something "private".

All in all, today has been quite productive. I hope it would continue until Friday. :)

Day 13: :D

Today, I went to Amianan to submit my news. I came earlier than my deadline and submitted my article to Ms. EJ. When I gave it to her, I was nervous because I thought she would read and point out all the mistakes I did in my article. But she only scanned my paper and said that it was okay. I also gave her the soft copy of my article and the photos I took.

I just hope that my article would be published. :)

P.S. I attended this year's grad ceremony and the feeling is very overwhelming. :)

Day 10, 11, & 12: Three in One Post

Day 11 -12: (April 23-24, 2013)

My apologies for not posting here for 2 days. I've been in Dagupan for the Bangus Festival coverage and being in the media, I've been exhausting myself for the past 48 hours...and I still haven't had a good sleep. The coverage was fun yet exhausting. But it made me realize that being a media practitioner required a lot of effort and time. :)

Day 13 (April 25, 2013)

Today, I went to Baguio City Hall to cover the awarding of the Top Ten Most Outstanding Students of the Cordillera Administrative Region (OSCAR). I was still sleepy when I got there at 1:00PM since I just arrived here in Baguio early this morning.

On my way to the City Hall, I passed by several people who were wearing barongs, Maria Clara outfit, and IP clothing. I ignored the, thinking that that was just a political gathering of the many politicians here in Baguio. I went inside the City Hall and searched for J.A. instead. We then went to the multi-purpose hall. We were very early because no guests of participants were there when we got there. The emcees were just rehearsing there lines.

After a few minutes, the emcees and the event organizers went out. It was then that we realized that there was a wreath-laying event that would take place at the Rizal monument before the main event which was the awarding. We rushed to the Rizal monument park and made it just in time before the wreath-laying ceremony started.

After that, we went back to the multi-purpose hall and waited until the other guests and participants arrived. When they arrived, the awarding ceremony took place. There were 20 finalists/nominees for the the event but only 10 individuals would be included in the OSCAR. There was one UPB nominee but sadly, she did not make it. After the awarding, we interviewed some of the OSCAR winners.

The coverage was fun. I got the chance to meet one UPB alumni who is now working as an anchor/reporter at ABS-CBN. She was also very helpful to us interns since she gave us information that we failed to get when we entered the hall. Also, there were interns from the different news outfit it seemed like we were all fired up to gather information about the event.

All in all, this day's legwork was a great experience. :)

Day 9: Amianan Briefing

Today, we finally had our much awaited briefing. We met Sir Thom, the EIC of Amianan. He discussed several things regarding our internship program. He said that he would require us to at least publish 10 news articles during our internship and to stay until May 15 because he said that 50 hours is very short for us to learn in this field. I had no objections regarding that matter since I think that it would be a great experience and training for us. He also gave us places where we could gather news so that it would be easy for us. And yes, he also understood our (Mia and me) "problem" of having two internships this summer so he said that we could just give him our outputs every Friday. :D

This is now the start of the "real thing". I'll do my best! :D

Day 8: What to blog about?

Today, I just had my waiver signed by my parents. I'm not sure if we should be blogging on Sundays so this entry is very short. Hehe. I'll be going to Baguio tomorrow at 5AM and I hope tomorrow will turn out to be fine.

P.S. Am sooooo excited for tomorrow's briefing. Hehe. ^^

Day 7: Realization I

Today, I haven't done anything that would make my Journalism life productive. I went home yesterday here in Pangasinan and I am currently enjoying my life as a glutton while I can since the "real thing" will finally start next week.

This week has been a week of ups and downs. I got accepted in Baguio's City Tourism Office as writer but did not push through since it did not fit our requirement for our internship program. We went to Baguio Chronicle twice but it didn't turn out to be good since a) the first time we went there was on a weekend so the office was closed and b) there were no newspaper staff to be found for internship inquiry on the second try. I also got depressed because there seemed to be no newspaper outfit that was accepting interns because either they were already handling too many interns or they were not accepting interns this summer. On top of that, I still have to worry about my BC internship while getting depressed about my Journ internship. Feel my misery.

But still, I managed to land on a newspaper outfit that would take me as an intern. Thanks to my friends, you know who you are, who were always with me through these hardships that I went through this week. I hope that we continue to look after each other this coming weeks! :)

Also, I realized that Journalism is not as easy at it may seem. I remember when I was choosing my major during my Sophomore year. I chose Journalism because I thought that it would only involve me writing news and stuff since Speech Communication seemed to be too much for me (you know, public speaking, oral comm, and stuff makes me jittery and faint). What I did not know is that my writing already speaks for me; what I don't say in front of other people is reflected through my writing.

Am I regretting my decision in choosing Journ as my major? No. Because if I did, I would not have taken this internship program this summer. I would have stayed home and continued to be a glutton instead of going all over Baguio searching newspaper outfits that would take me as an intern this summer. I would have shifted to Math right, this one's a joke while I can.

Journalism is not an easy field. It takes a great deal of perseverance and hard work to finish this race. And I'm gonna need this "great deal of perseverance and hard work" this coming weeks. The race will finally begin on Monday, and I'll make sure that I will cross the finish no matter what. :)

Positivity all the wayyyyyyyyy!! :DD

P.S. Am lovin' my banner. Haha. 'Kay.

Day 6: Rainyy Fridayy

Today, I went to school to get my Hogwarts letter Journ press kit. I was already there at 1PM but our adviser wasn't at their office. I waited until 1:30PM (I think) and still, our adviser hasn't arrived yet. Then I remembered to check our Facebook group page. The thing was, I didn't have an Internet connection. So I texted my friend to go check my Facebook account. He texted me back saying that our adviser would meet us at 2PM-3PM instead. I still have about 20 minutes to kill so I went to Danielle Dolom's class on BC105.

When their class ended, our adviser hasn't arrived yet. I waited in front of our adviser's office with my other Journ classmates. There, we shared our hardships on searching for newspaper outfits that would take us in as interns, and different press cons and beats that we've been to. I also learned from them that Nordis (Northern Dispatch) is in fact existing here in Baguio. Its location is not in a wardrobe like Narnia (as Nikka assumed); nor it is unplottable like Hogwarts (as what I've hypothesized). It is, according to them, in Naguillian Road! Yes, in Naguillian Road. xD

I was about to go to my scheduled interview at 3PM in UB for my BC internship when finally, our adviser arrived.He called us according to the first letter of our surnames and yes, I was called second to the last. :| He gave me my press kit while saying "Leg work ha, hindi puro McDo". I swore I would've laugh hard if I hadn't been inside our adviser's office. XD Before I wrote this entry, I was reading my past blog entries and true enough, I have been blabbing about our McDo escapades. lol 'Kay.

On Monday, Nikka, Mia, and I will have our briefing. I am so excited I can't think of a better end to this blog entry. Hahaha. 'Kay.

P.S. This entry is entitled Rainyy Fridayy because it has been raining hard since this morning. If I remember it right, it also rained last Friday. I'm starting to wonder if God made all Fridays this month to be like this. I hope not. Rain will only make me sluggish and want to crawl under my blanket and sleep like there's no tomorrow. Nyaha.

Day 5: Meet with the EIC

Today, I went to school to get my endorsement letter. I arrived on time so that I could be sure that our adviser would be there. When I got my letter, Nikka, Kim, and I went to SM to print her picture. But instead of printing her picture, we ended up eating at McDo. :D

After eating, Nikka and I went to Amianan's office. We met Sir Thom, the EIC of the newspaper outfit. We handed him our endorsement letters and our Form 5 for our class schedules. After that, he said that we will have our briefing when we start our work on Monday.

That was all for today. :D I'm looking forward to work with them on Monday and to experience the "real thing". Hehe. :D

Day 4: [Insert Appropriate Title Here]

Nothing much has happened today. I did not go to Amianan's office for the orientation because I still don't have my endorsement letter. Also, it was my fault for not getting my endorsement letter because I did not go on the scheduled time which was at 1PM because I had to cover a beat for our BC. /sobs

I was hoping to get it by 3PM but then my friends and I who were taken in as interns at the City Tourism Office had to formally say our reasons as to why we were quitting their internship program. We were expecting some serious talk about it but then our boss just said "Okay, no problem." And just like that, we said goodbye to our 1-day intern experience at City Tourism Office. /sad

Anyway, I'll just go to school tomorrow and hope that our adviser will be there so that I can get my endorsement letter and have my orientation already. I am really excited to work in a newspaper outfit and experience the "real thing". :D /excited :DD

Day 3: Finally........

It was a long and tiring BUT productive day. Finally, we were taken in as interns in a newspaper outfit here in Baguio. But before that, let me just narrate my adventure this morning.

First off, my group mates and I went to the Supreme Court Compound to cover a rally regarding the Mining Act of 1995 for our BC internship. There were many media people from various media outfits. Also, it was my first time to be in a rally as a part of the media. 

The Mining Act of 1995 protest.

As we were covering the rally, I couldn't help but worry about my internship in Journalism. At that time, I was still not taken as an intern in any newspaper outfit here in Baguio City. Yesterday, my Journ friends and I decided to meet up at Convention Center for the City Tourism Office internship orientation. So while we were covering the rally, I was really really hoping that the internship program would fit the requirements needed for our Journ internship.

At 1PM, Nikka and I met up at Zap Zone to edit our cover letters. While we were editing our cover letters,  we received a text message saying that the officer-in-charge for our internship program was already there so we finished our cover letters quickly and rushed to the Baguio Convention Center.

Erica and Riza were already going to their assigned beats when we got there. When they left, Sir Gab Dispo, the Tourism Operations Officer of the City Tourism Office, told us what we would be doing as interns and the assignments scheduled for the week. The assignments were great, though the schedules were a little bit in conflict with my BC internship.

After the orientation, Nikka and I went to cover our first assignment - to cover the 17th Sheriff's Convention of the Philippines Seminar happening inside the Baguio Convention Center. We sat there and listened to the guest lecturers from the Supreme Court. And oh BTW, Hon. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was the guest speaker of the event so I was hoping to see her personally.

The 17th Sheriff 's Covention of the Philippines Seminar

The lectures were very looooooooong. It included several pointers on the moral ethics of being a judiciary person, canons of justice, and stuff like that. While the speaker was speaking on the stage, a man approached me asking where I was from. I said, "Ah intern po kami sa City Tourism Office". After hearing that hee said, "Akala ko sheriff din kayo". Taking the opportunity given, I asked him several questions regarding the seminar. I learned from him that this seminar was being held every three years in different places within the country and that the delegates that were there were sheriffs from all over the country.

When it was already break time for the seminar, Sir Gab approached us and toured us inside the Convention Center. He pointed specific rooms for different departments that were in the Convention Center.

After covering the seminar, Nikka and I could finally go home. We went first to school because Nikka would meet with Kim to get her laptop. As we were waiting for Kim, we met Mia. She said that they were taken as interns at Amianan: Balita Ngayon and that they were still looking for interns. We said that we were taken as interns at the City Tourism Office. When Nikka got her laptop, we went to SM to buy stuff. After that, we decided to walk on Session Road as we were now going to the jeepney terminal. On the way to the jeepney terminal, we met Erica and Riza. They told us that the internship we got from the City Tourism Office was not yet final because the requirements seemed to not fit in our requirements in Journ internship. When they said that I was thinking like "Ermergheeerd.. Not final. We have to go look for one again." And yes, negative thoughts clouded my mind again.

That was when we remember what Mia said about Amianan looking for interns. Not wasting any more minute of our precious intern time, we went there. When we got there, we asked a staff ther if we could be interns for their newspaper outfit. She said, "Kailangan ng resumes at endorsement letters 'pag briefing".  Good thing we had our resumes with us so the only thing that we are bringing tomorrow are our endorsement letter. And finally, we were accepted in Amianan: Balita Ngayon. Hurray for that!! :D

This is where I will work. Happy intern here. :D 

P.S. Mia, if you're reading my blog, thank you very much for the info!! See you at the office! Yeyy! :D

Day 2: Not the right decision?

Today, we went to Baguio Chronicle to ask if they still accept interns for their newspaper outfit. When we got there, the security guard said that the staff went out for a bit and would be back at 10AM. So we waited and waited...and waited...and waited.. When we couldn't wait any longer, we decided to just go back later this afternoon. But the thing here was that I was supposed to be at Skycable for my BC198 intermship program.

While I was at Skycable, I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing because my mind was still stuck on Journ198. What if I couldn't get in to a newspaper outfit? What if I fail? What if I just drop either one of this internship program? Would my parents be angry at me? What about the tuition fee? These questions kept on going through my mind. These thoughts got even worse when I talked to my friend on the phone and she said that SunStar, Zigzag Weekly, and Baguio Chronicle were not accepting interns because the slots were all taken. And I swore, it really broke my heart to hear that. But she also said that they also went to Cordillera Today and the publisher/editor-in-chief said that we should cover first a political rally that would take place in Pacdal gym and submit a write-up tomorrow. She said that they would be waiting for me at the school's gate so that we could all cover the news. Upon arriving at the said place, we discovered that the publisher/editor-in-chief was a candidate for this coming election. That said, we didn't cover the news.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will go to the City Tourism Office for an orientation. At the same time, my BC198 friends and I are supposed to cover a news here in Baguio. Can I really do this? Will I survive? Have I made the biggest mistake of taking Journ198 and BC198 at the same time? One thing is for sure, I will really really do my best...even if it's really hard.

Day 1: No office hours during weekends.

Yesterday, Nikka and I went to Baguio Chronicle to inquire about their intership program. When we got there at around 10:30AM, the security guard told us that the staff were not at their office yet, so we had our early lunch at McDo instead. We stayed there for at least half an hour or so. After that, we went back to their office. When we got there, the security guard said that we better check them ourselves so we could be sure. True enough, the door of their office was locked. We asked the security guard if they are operating on Saturdays and Sundays. That was when the security guard realized that it was Saturday yesterday and told us that there were no office hours during weekends.

Tomorrow, Nikka and I will gonna go there again. I hope that we can find a newspaper outfit that will take us as an intern so that we can start already. Best of luck to the both of us.