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.