Of pebbles and diamonds
 
I have always loved writing. It is my life I should say. And I couldn’t imagine myself in any other professions that do not have love affairs with the written words.
 
I took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas because it was the only course that I was attracted to. I longed to be a journalist. But it was a dream seen through the eyes of a probinsyano, who was fresh out of high school.

My Lola and my Mom were Vilmanians and therefore, it was not surprising when I became an admirer of Vilma Santos too. Seeing her on TV interviewed by movie reporters, it became a goal to someday meet her in person… and perhaps, do the interview myself! (Well, I’ve met Gov. Vi numerous times since then and in fact “ambush” interviewed her for an assignment in my feature writing class back in the late 80s at the Metropolitan Museum/MET where her weekly musical variety show was staged.)
 
Yes, the movie reporters— Inday Badiday, Joe Quirino, Ike Lozada, Babette Villaruel (May they all rest in peace! Wow, am I that old now?) became my inspiration to pursue journalism. I remember cutting classes just to go to the MET to watch Ate Vi and mingle with the reporters backstage.
 
All I wanted then was to be a showbiz writer. So when I graduated, I applied in one of the movie magazines and oh, how my heart broke when my application was rejected! Bruised, I decided to just go back to my hometown to practice my profession. “Perhaps, that’s where I belong. I am a promdi and I must have aimed too high,” I told myself.
 
But the universe had a different game plan. A week before I was about to go back to the province, a classmate asked me to accompany him to a job fair in Malacanang organized by the Presidential Action Center (PACE) under then Executive Secretary Oscar Orbos. To make the long story short, I was hired. My friend was not.
 
Thus began my writing career—not in showbiz, but in politics. I was devastated when I got rejected by the showbiz mag, only to find out in the end that the alternative the universe offered was better than what I originally wanted.
 
For three months, I was part of Orbos’s media handlers. When he resigned, then Press Undersecretary Deedee Siytangco needed a junior in-house reporter for President Cory Aquino. I was at the right place, at the right time so to speak. My adventure was further heightened (it was as if I was soaring!) when I became President Fidel Ramos’s close-in reporter. At 21, I was the “baby” in FVR’s coverage team. From then on, the adventure never stopped.
 
When I left the palace in mid-2001, I was the head of the Office of the Press Secretary’s Substantive Group. For close to eight years now, I am enjoying the corporate world (exploring corporate communications). And as a bonus, I am moonlighting as a columnist! Ah, life is good!
 
I have my love affair with the written words to thank for. My passion for writing has led me to places literally (40 countries most of which I traveled with FVR) and figuratively—far beyond what I originally dreamed of.
 
To fight stress, I’ve been maintaining an online journal for over a year now to freely express my thoughts, ideas, and feelings in words. It feels good to write about anything simply because I just love to write about it. Never have I imagined that this blogging thing would lead me to the fulfillment of one of my  “To Do” lists  before I die—write a column in a national newspaper.
 
That’s why when I got words from sir Cecil Arillo, the editor-in chief, that they would like me to be part of the roster of columnists for Philippine Gazette, I got very excited! Though I am a journalist, I was never part of any media institution. I was a presidential reporter. Hence, the thought of being associated with a media outlet thrills me.
 
I’ve toyed with several titles for this column and ended up with Looking Glass, which simply means mirror. Hence, my column hopes to give my readers a glimpse of my being. Looking Glass will be all about the adventure, the musings, the hopes, the joys, the travails, and dreams of a thirty-something singleton trying to survive in this urban jungle that is mega Manila.
 
But since this is a mirror, what the readers may actually find here will be reflections of their own selves. Exciting, isn’t it?
 
I was asked once to describe my life so far and I replied, “I asked God for pebbles… instead, He gave me diamonds.” This column, certainly, is another diamond that God has generously given. For that, I am grateful.

Email: Looking.Glass.Gazette@gmail.com