kuwentuhan lang.

(Source: thecommonsenseconservative)

No, I’m not even going to talk about the movie per se, though I have to admit, Alice Eve’s quite the hot one. But one major “conflict” (if you will) in the movie struck me really hard:

I’m a 5, she’s a 10.

Honestly, that’s just the way I’m feeling right now. Well, sorta. Basta, sapul.

And I hate it. Yikes.

It was January 16, 2008 when most of my friends-cum-former mentors at the old WLS-FM back home in Manila, by then already reformatted into a “masa” station, were given the boot without even having a chance to say a formal “goodbye”. In April that same year (to be exact, on Easter Sunday), some of these ousted DJs resurfaced at a reformatted DWRT-FM (which became “99.5 Campus FM”, then “Campus 99.5”), only to be given the boot again four months later as that station reverted to their former, more recognizable “99.5RT” branding.

Fast forward to January 19, 2010. First thing when I got up, I, along with many other people here in the Great White North, found out that something similar happened to what was already my favorite local television station in this city, Citytv. Last Monday, a massive layoff was under way over at that station, as well as its four sister stations in the other Canadian provinces, involving both on-camera and off-camera personnel. One of them was 6:00pm weeknight anchor/reporter Anne Mroczkowski, who was with the station for more than 30 years. I once talked about her briefly here. What made it even sadder was, the previous night, she anchored the supper-hour newscast solo (minus longtime co-anchor Gord Martineau who was off that night), and ended it the way she had always done for the last handful of months: signing off with the words, “We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Good night!” Who would’ve thought that she wasn’t going to be back the next evening?

I never really knew these people the same way I knew the guys at LS. But one thing I’ve realized from my almost three years in this country is that local television personalities that you watch everyday become like friends or a part of the family. And with Anne and several other fellow reporters gone, it was just like losing friends or family. That’s when I thought of the sort-of “deja vu”—and incidentally, just like at LS, it had to happen on a January.

And then, another realization: perhaps, no one is really that indispensable in the broadcast industry—an industry that could either thrive or wilt amid changing viewer preferences and audience types. And this same industry, like any other business, is not totally immune to the effects of these economic times. It’s a bitter pill anyone, perhaps, has to swallow. And for both viewers and broadcast workers alike, it’s a fact that we should accept, even if it means breaking habits or breaking relationships.

Don’t get me wrong, though. It will be hard to get used to the after-effects of an event like this. But…gano’n talaga, eh.

I can’t believe I’m a quarter-century old today.

I think, here’s another testament to how fast time flies. Here I am, chalking up another year, and sometimes asking myself if I can really feel it.

I’m thankful—I always am—for yet another digit added to my age. For simply being here, being safe and healthy and well taken care of. For everything I have been given, even if I do fail to appreciate them sometimes. And, most of all, for every person I hold very important in this life.

But still, realizing how fast all these years have passed makes me scared of the future sometimes. I mean, sure, we are often reminded to live life one day at a time and all that, pero minsan, hindi mo rin talaga maiiwasang isipin ang mga “what-ifs” na nasa hinaharap.

Then again, there is that Bible passage, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow”, which I have always kept in my brain and in my heart since early this year. Each day is different amidst whatever personal routines we have. And each day leaves us with different experiences and lessons that we can choose to bring with us or not as we chalk up one day after another.

Meanwhile, on with the show. On with life. TGI25 (Thank God, I’m 25). :)

I didn’t really go for the excessive chatter on the FM band that moment, so I popped in one of my CDs, not knowing what songs were in it. After a few seconds, I heard an eerily familiar intro, and finally realized what I had just put in the player—my collection of love songs.

​“Oh, shit!” I uttered quite loudly, “Not this one!”

​“Wait, wait…” Melissa said, and then paused to listen intently.

​“Today, I heard our favorite song on the radio/I closed my eyes and saw our first hello/And then, I saw the time we fell in love in each other’s arms/I opened my eyes and you were gone…”

​“Uhh, yeah…alam mo…I don’t…know…how my sister’s CD….found its way….here!” I stammered, while fumbling for the “eject” button on the car radio and, at the same time, attempting an excuse for having that CD in my car.

​“No, ‘wag mong tanggalin!” she interrupted. “I like this song.”

​“You do?!” I asked, with a slight tone of disbelief. She just nodded.

​“Wow…’di ko alam…mahilig ka rin pala sa…medyo…” I stammered further.

​“Luma?” she volunteered, trying to finish my sentence.

​“Err, parang gano’n na nga!” I quipped.

This is part of a love story I’ve been working on for the past two years.

Yes, two years. That would be, practically, since we moved here. I just hope I could get a lot more inspiration to finish this (at last). I don’t think I’m even in the middle of it yet. :(

Well, good luck to me. :D