I'm Pregnant Again! :D

Baby number three... here we go!

'Been chatting with Marky these days. I keep telling him that he should take care of my tummy because his baby is here. I tell him about when he was in my tummy himself. I refuse to let my tummy be bumped by anyone or anything. I challenge duels when that happens. And, he tumbled so much whenever he's hungry. When he's out into the world, he would get his milk from Mommy's breasts. So I told him to expect the baby sucking from my breasts too after nine months.

I also told Kuya Marky to please understand that I will have to carry the baby more often, because it's gonna be weak and helpless. I told him to help me dress the baby up. He's gonna give me the clothes, the nappy, and the oil. He's gonna put the oil on the baby's chest. Then, he's gonna slide the nappy under the baby's butt. There are times when he feels jealous of the stories. But I assured him we will remain bestfriends, and that he's gonna have an additional bestfriend. :)

For now, here's my ideal meal plan: For breakfast, it's eggs encrusted with basil and rice. For snacks, it's processed fruit. Lunch would call for chicken ceasar salad and mashed potatoes with orange juice. And dinner would ideally be pasta. Healthy, huh? I noticed also that I was kinda giving up on rice. I cannot finish even just a cup of rice now. 0_o But I kinda force myself to because I know I'll be hungry if I didn't.

I'm seeing financial challenges ahead. The office will be farther away from home after the May elections. We'll be building a new home. Daddy wants Marky to go to school next year. And my Mom... she's asking for help for my dad's medicines!

Happy News :D

I got a segment at TV5's primetime newscast, Aksyon, which airs weekdays, 6 to 6:45pm... it's called Happy News. I can't actually call it MY segment because I'm not even a segment producer... I'm just a story supervisor editing scripts and checking the output, and the reporters cover the story... but anyway, it's basically about stuff that's gonna make our viewers smile. :) Here are the stories we already aired in that segment:

* ROMANTIC PHILIPPINES (by Kaye Imson) - Philippines was awarded the Most Romantic Destination by a Chinese publication. They based this on a survey. Kaye scouted the country for stories of tourists and Pinoys who fell in love in our tourist attractions. :)

* PUPPIES SAVED (by France Noguera) - a woman saves 7 puppies in the middle of a huge fire in San Juan. Her mom-in-law got mad at her because they almost didn't save any clothes. But for the heroine, the puppies were more important because they also have lives.

* FOLDABOTS (from Pilipinas News, voiced by Laila Chikadora) - a really brilliant Pinoy artist invented robots that can be cut out of paper. Just don't let Marky play them, and they'll stay good as new. ;p

* KAWAYAN FOOD (by Laila Chikadora) - it's about food that's made of labong that's not just gata or sauteed or whatever. Filbamboo makes interesting concoctions out of the bamboo shoot... and gives livelihood options, too.

* BELLY GOOD PROGRAM (by France Noguera) - by far my favorite story. DOH has this Belly Good Program, which rewards people for losing weight. Now, the officials will take the challenge (imagine Sec. Enrique Ona and Asec. Eric Tayag with waistlines ranging from 80 to 90 inches in 6 months! Now that's cool!)

* BIRDS OF PREY KINGDOM (by MJ Marfori) - kids used to think of the brahminy kite eagle or lawin as dangerous, man-eating creatures. But here, the lawin can be a friend and a playmate.

* PINOYS INVITED TO OBAMA'S INAUGURATION (by Jun Loyola) - I don't even know if Pnoy's invited to Obama's inauguration after being reelected U.S. President. But four kids from Reedley Int'l School are, and they're making the country proud.

* PINOY AMONG 22 TO FLY TO OUTER SPACE IN 2014 (by Paolo Bediones) - next year, 22 ordinary people will be given the chance to fly to outer space. One Pinoy is already assured of a ticket. Who can that be? ;p

Supervising these kinds of stories can be "brain-freezing" at times. The writing requirement in TV5 isn't so "news-y" like that of the other networks. Our rule is write to video, make it "jologs," make it sound as if it came from a tabloid. And when it's a feature story, it has to be FUN and not sound so PR. As in! And the bosses expect so much from Happy News. 0_o But I admit, the first week I spent handling Happy News has been... fun. :) When I was in high school, my journalism teacher told me I'm gonna flourish in features. I thought I was kind of "demoted." But now, I understand that it's actually the feature stories that SHOULD bring in ratings.

Tomorrow I'm gonna post stuff that I want covered for Happy News. :) Hihi.

God bless and Happy Friday!

(Geese, I just realized that it's already Friday!)

Pity? Or Maybe I Can Just Relate 0_o

I couldn't even start by counting the days when this person has been away, 'cause I've lost track. I kinda know how desperate he already is, what with the spate of exclusives from the other networks, which they got through lots of support from their superiors and other divisions... and he's got... nothing. Just the basics. It could've been the make or break in his career. And right now, it's like veering on the worse part. And I couldn't even help but notice that he seems as if he's on the verge of tears whenever we talk. Or, maybe, he was actually already weeping. It's so hard being out there, technically not knowing anybody, being far away from the people who meant a lot and care for you.

Brings me back to the time when I was on the field myself, though my case is different. Middle of a big story, then someone calls that you need to pull out because no one's writing at base. 'Twas an act that's a bit hard to pull off for two reasons: the story and all the people looking at you while you exit.

And yeah, when I was a student, when interviews get approved but at the appointed time, the subject suddenly plays hide and seek. The feeling when you wanted to rain all hell on the person, only to be sidetracked by the fact that you're doing it for the church....

Sighs. I wanted to help, but for now, it's just all encouragement that I can do. And yeah, prayers. The stories are in the neighboring provinces. But he's stuck in this one place because of... what, indecision? I dunno. I may not understand, or not have basis. But I can't help but think that it's kinda a demolition thing against him, 'cause he's been getting lots of praises lately.

But that's life. You get ups, and then you get a heavy "down" moment. But there's a God. He's bigger than all these downs. These are challenges to bring people even closer to Him, right? :)

God bless you, brother. You know who you are. Your "ate" will always be here to listen to you. :)

God speed.

January 8 -- First Day of Work at 2013

Aksyon Breaking shift was very calm yesterday. I let my EP do her job: lineup stories and demand from the desk. 'Guess what? She got the same response that I always get. ;p Just then, our boss arrived and gave us chocolates (hihi). We aired our side. He aired his. That's when I learned Aksyon had quite a beating yesterday because of the meager stories. Darn. No matter how hard you try to prettify the storytelling, it all really still boils down to whether you have THE story or not.

Aksyon made me say, "Wow." Intro Bidyo, showbiz VOs, and the new Happy News segment. Entertainment and features. My usual assignments. I initially said, "Cool," then went on to take my 15-min. power nap. But when I started hitting the keyboards, it dawned on me. It's like my job's never gonna end! Four VOs only, but they felt like a lot yesterday! Blame it perhaps on my absences. Or maybe the pressure to come up with a better newscast. Or both. Then I had to do the ticker for T3. And then, just when I thought it's all never gonna end, I looked up and saw that, geese, 5pm palang pala. One hour to spare reviewing my work. :)

Prior to going to work, I had felt scared. Butterflies were making weird circles in my tummy. I thought I was never gonna make it. But I did. Hurrah! Though admittedly, I hadn't done my best. I was feeling too self-conscious! Later, I hope I do better. It's a big news day. We've got hourly on TV5. 'Hope the phone signals don't go down today. 0_o So help us, God.

BY THE WAY: 'Been trying, little by little, to incorporate some sort of diet in my lifestyle. ;p It's called portion control. Haha. Making sure I only have one cup of rice per meal, meat that's the size of my palm, and vegetables and fruits. It's only been a day since I tried but I'm already feeling the difference. I don't feel as bloated. And I excrete the dung from inside more easily, hehe. ;p

NEXT THING I WANNA DO: I really wanna go back to working out. But Daddy said I can't go back to my previous workout sched, which is a few minutes before going to work, because we found that it sabotages my back. 0_o Will explain later. ;p But for now, my plan (hopefully) is to just do it on weekends, in the gym out there that's just a few blocks away. I wanna start on Friday. Then I'll do it on Saturday and Sunday as well... at least there's something more to look forward to on weekends. ;p

IF GIVEN THE CHANCE: Inspired by Trish Roque's new hair color. Hehe. The hairdresser told me before that colored hair's gonna suit me. But we need to allot extra for that. For now, I need to scrimp a little on expenses 'cause I had a lot of absences. That'd surely reflect on my paycheck. 0_o

That's it for now. :) God speed. :)

First Week of 2013: Sick :(

Just as I was about to ponder on my 2013 resolutions when it hit me, really hard: I had a relapse.

I was sick during Christmas. Started from simple colds and a cough that became worse because of the freakin' cold inside the newsroom where I work. I had a full body warming massage, then I went to work the day after. Wrong move, I realized. My colds and cough didn't go away, and I had a few body aches, so they got worse. And now, here I am, facing the brunt of complete bed rest and, albeit partial, exclusion to my husband and my son, the people I love most. :(

But well, I guess some people are happy that I wasn't in the newsroom. These were the people who're insecure because one person got recognized allegedly because of me. Well, maybe they don't think they were insecure, but at least that's how they show themselves to other people. All I can say is that, I actually didn't do anything other than my job description to put that person to where he is now. He already has it, the talent, the eye for news, the skill to gather news. It's just how he tells it, which, I believe they already know so fully well, is my job as a story supervisor/producer.

Another thing: I absolutely don't favor him more than the other reporters when I do my lineup. You know me, guys. I'm easy to talk to. You tell me this person's got a report, go ahead, I'll give you a slug. But often, you don't have anything to give me. You even tell me to just go call the reporters straight. So that's what I do. And it always turns out that this reporter always has a story. What else could I do?

And by the way, I thought they should be the ones who should be happier that this guy's career is soaring....

Just really frustrates me to know that some people could be so insecure, they just can't deny it.

Gotta hit the sack again. :) Really wish I'd get well soon. Marky was asking for a hug, but his Daddy pulled him away, saying, "No, Mommy is sick." Gosh. This is getting so depressing.

Prayers really appreciated. So help me, God.