Favoritism

You're not seeing fairly. You're not even trying to see.

I never liked talking about what I do for you.

I'm a quiet person. I share only when I'm asked. But mind you, for the good, I always do more than what's expected of me. ... for you

It sucks that sometimes, I just find myself trying to keep up for you. 

And I don't like keeping up with the loud ones. It's not me. It comes out as fake because that's what it really is. 

#PHFasionWeek 2012 personal takeaway

Plains, prints, neons, maxis to minis, denim vests, leggings to jeggings, backless to braless, spikes, golds and heavy accessories... SMX became fashion heaven from May 25-May 27, 2012.

LBD

My faith in fashion humanity was restored when I saw a number of ladies wearing little black dresses (LBDs). Every girl must have an LBD and for those nights when you can't decide on what to wear - you can never go wrong with an LBD. Apparently, last night, almost everyone found the need to turn to this safe choice. (Thank you Coco Chanel)

Elegant, sophisticated and sexy was the vibe almost everyone was giving. Although, there were people who came in wearing inappropriately torn shirts and torn skirts, it felt like everyone respected each other's courage for taking on whatever they can (literally) take on.

Disclaimer: This is a late post. I didn't know that it did not publish the first time I tried to publish it.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3784589/?claim=hccffudmats">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Considerately pretentious

Everyone has issues. 
If each and everyone of us were inconsiderately cathartic all the time, earth would be hell. 
People who know how to keep their mouth shut about their issues (you may also call them Pretenders), I just figured, somehow make this world a more tolerable environment.

If only the internet came in earlier...

Everyone who is gifted with talents and believes in themselves deserves recognition - and this is now possible with today's technology. Even if you're not that famous of a blogger or a singer or a dancer, you can get a fair amount of likes (and if you're lucky, they turn to followers or even better, believers). 

While I was lurking around Facebook, I came across the Facebook profile of Nenita Canas and I found this public video of her singing to Yeng Constatino's Hawak Kamay. It was obvious she wasn't giving it her 100% but I instantly knew she can do better than that. I mean, listen to her falsetto. Her tone, voice, and melody was pleasing.

But in general, there isn't really anything extra special about this video. Compare it to all the good music videos or covers out there. Just average. Until I started to wonder... maybe if YouTube came in earlier, just in time for her younger days, she would be famous and even better by now? 

This piece goes out to the talents of the 70's an 80's who could have been rockstars or award-winning actresses or former heartthrobs. You may be living your life now happily as parents or as housewives or as corporate employees but just take comfort in knowing that someone out here believes on what you guys could have become with your other special talents.

My GMA Journey - then and now

It's been a week since my last day in GMA. Last night, my mind went back to the days when I was just starting in GMA.

I was hired by Josh Villanueva last May 3, 2010 - the day when the first Social Media team for GMA Network, Inc. came together.

I was only supposed to be a volunteer. He was supposed to only train us for #Eleksyon2010. But Josh is a 'Promil Kid.' It's hard for him to contain his talent. He just wanted to share with us his tricks right away. He trained us and trained us well.

We clicked the instant we met. He hired me 16 days before I graduated college.

It was my first job and it was the first time Josh was going to be handling anyone directly under him. We were virgins, figuring out how to handle each other. He would always ask me how was I doing and I would always answer with an 'I'm OK'. This cycle went on for quite some time.

But not anymore. I'm a ranting brat now. He spoiled me.

While ranting, I'd come up with ideas. 

Josh has his ways of getting ideas out of you. You'd be surprised you even had those ideas. 

"It's all you," he'd say. (But were they really?)

The @gmanews Twitter account only had 12k followers when I first handled it. Josh appointed me to be the project lead. 

Meh. It was just a Twitter account with 12K followers. At first I didn't know what to do. We were so behind @abscbnnews and @ancalerts by followers and that upset me sometimes. 
Why bother, I thought. 

Most people in the newsroom didn't really care about us then (oh except, Balitanghali who had Social Media polls). I was known just as the person tweeting for @gmanews. Sometimes, the person who downloads videos or the person who verifies YouScoop submissions.

Aside from this, people eat you alive there when you're not sure of what you're doing. 

This, I have the TOC boys to thank for. They'd always have our backs. They welcomed us. Made sure we get to eat at 'pakains' in the newsroom when Josh wasn't around because we knew no one then and no one knew who we were. I owe them and I appreciate them so much.

With the help of people like them, I got my way around things. After 2 months, I started seeing @gmanews for the medium that it really is - more than JUST a Twitter account.

There was Edmark, who joined the team for a month, and Jeff who joined the team for 2 or 3 months. After that, it was only me and @rodneilquiteles who handled it all - DNG, YouScoop and Twitter. Only Lord knows how we closed the lead for the Twitter account.

There were a lot of trials for the 3 of us - there were people who didn't believe in us and then there were people who didn't really care. But they only made us stronger.

Few months later, @liannami came in just in time to join us welcome the lead we were about to gain on Twitter.

Nami was a firework. Her enthusiasm was cute and we let her. It was her turn. Before she came in, we were all just work and no play. This, I thank her - for reminding me it shouldn't be all work.

Finally, Neil and I didn't have to work 12-17 hours a day. I can finally get out of the office-house-office-house cycle and have a little fun. Admittedly, I became lax.

Gain lead for @gmanews. Check!
Make YouScoop super famous. Check!
Support all DNG requirements and develop a more organized workflow. Check!

It was getting boring for me. When Nami came in, thank heavens it was time to expand. She moved for a Tumblr account. I volunteered to man the @gmanetwork Twitter account, which was then inactive and had less than 1k followers.

At this stage, the newsroom was already asking story pitches from us. They rely on us for everything social media. Suddenly, almost everyone needed us, so DNG was taken off of Neil's shoulder and they hired a whole new team for that - 3 people for what we usually did as 2, plus other things. For the Social Media and YouScoop team, @justinjoyas and @gaynakumar were hired. Justin for other platforms like Tumblr and G+, Gayna for community management, and the @gmanews Twitter account was given to Nami. Neil still leads YouScoop and DNG while the GMA News Facebook, which was then handled by GMA News Online team and had 250K+ (followers) fans/likes, was transferred to my accountability. 

We also offered our social media skills to the public affairs department. Josh entrusted me with this responsibility. This load was joyous! I got to meet and work with people outside the newsroom.

FAST FORWARD.

In less than a year, Jessica Soho already knew me on a first name basis. HAHA. I even got the chance to joke around with her at times. 

Imagine that! 

Josh not only trained me, but introduced me well to the bosses and other 'big' people in GMA, who I now have the pleasure of brushing elbows with. Some of them, I even call friends.

Pia, a manager for TV and Web Synergy, shared with me before I left GMA, "Alam mo, tatlong taon bago ako nakilala ni JS."

FAST FORWARD 2x.

Now, Josh is with Rappler and Neil is no longer with GMA. Now, there's already a separate social media team for @gmanetwork. 

@gmanews and GMA News Facebook is stable and keeps giving high referrals to GMA News Online. Now, the Social Media and YouScoop team is hiring over 15 people. 

I skipped a lot of things. There are people I have not mentioned. There's more to what happened than what I just shared with you, of course. But now, I'm just thinking, "That in just less than 2 years?" I'm excited to discover what else I can do or who else I can work with! 

Idealism goes on! :)

Sort of 23

So I'm sort of 23 now. The age puts me off a little bit but I hang on to the feeling I had 2 months before today - that 22 feels so young. (You see, turning 22 put me off a little bit too, last year.)

When I was 9, I wanted to be 12 right away, so badly. I even told people I was 12 when they asked me. When I woke up to my 12 birth day, I remember writing a happy entry in my flowery diary (since there were no blogs then). I said, "I was finally an adolescent! A teenager!"

I started realizing I did not want to be 15 anymore when I was 15. I wanted to turn back time again and be younger, so much younger.

But my continuous mental development made me realize, it's not the age I wanted to get back to. It was the status I was in when I was 8 or 9 or 10 that I wanted to go back to.

Aside from the fact that my family was so financially blessed during those times, I was always the 'It' girl of the campus. Then somehow, the charm went away when I was 15.

People adored me when I was a kid. And as you know, kids need not exert much effort to be adorable. They just are. Me being so beautiful and talented and smart was just a plus. (I mean, try and resist that!) #SeriouslyImNotKidding

At 15 to 22, I started to hide and deny my age.

Internally, I would always struggle so I ask myself, "Besides fame and money, what did you lose? What happened?"

Innocence? No. That's not it.

I realized, I don't love myself as much as I used to as a kid. I started caring for what other people think too much. I started listening to them.

I'd like to think that somehow, in someways, I am still a kid. I am still greedy and that I still love myself.

I'm a kid trapped in a 23-year-old body.

I still gallop. I still cry watching cartoons. I still find joy in 'alone time' and I still don't like the taste of coffee, beer or wine.

This year and so on, I'm just going to embrace the inner kid in me and enjoy living under this skin.

Grammy 2012 Best and Worst Dressed

Gwyneth Paltrow was stunning as usual. She rocked her Stella McCartney gown highlighted with what seems to be an in-season stiff, gold belt.

While it was hard not to stare at Carrie Underwood's shimmering splendid dress, the best dresser was Taylor Swift and worst dresser was Jamie Grace, methinks. Swift who wore a sexy, elegant, gold-rushed Zuhair Mermaid gown with her chic bun for a do hit spot on. Grace, on the other hand, with her obvious attempt to unite the east and the west just messed up with her black, shameful dress.

Minaj, came to the red carpet ready for her what seemed to be halloween-inspired performance. Perhaps, an attempt to copy Lady Gaga's previous 'egg' stunt? But what made Gaga better last year was that she didn't show her face. 

I have one word for you Sasha Gradiva. Seriously? And oh Fergie, you hurt my eye

Taylor Swift in a Zuhair Murad mermaid gown

Jamie Grace 

.

View other celebrities in their red carpet attires here.