Letters to Gracielle: The Journalist as a Family Man

the 19th of June 2010

Dear Gracielle,

Thank you for letting me drive the truck this morning—that maroon pick-up we always used to navigate the mountains when we lived in Baguio. I remember you asked me a poignant question: “Do journalists usually have happy families? They often seem to be on the rush and do not seem to have time for themselves and probably their families.”
Remember how I told you with that blank, I-dunno, not-quite-sure look, that I don’t know; maybe not. See I never really met a journalist who openly told me that what matters most to him is his family. They do not seem to openly talk about it.
But finally, I am in a class with a caliber editor (he is he country editor of Yahoo Philippines) who openly told me his main goal in life is to make his family happy. Most journalism professors just talk about how journalism should be revolutionized, or about how bad the corruption in the profession is. At least that is my impression from those that I am privileged to meet.
Wearing jeans and a shirt, he looked just like any other journalist I knew. With a black frame for his glasses, he looked just like a rock star and a geek at the same time. Well, he must have been a geek—I mean, he is very techy. He said he loves to write about technologies and innovations.
He has achieved much in his career. Imagine being the country editor of Yahoo Philippines. You must know how big “country editor” means. He is big time.
But it is not his achievements that matter most to him. He told me it was seeing his family happy.
Now that is good, sound advice for the two of us. Since we were in the adolescent stage of our wonderful life, we have always been talking about marriage. It seems that as I talked to him I get the affirmation of what we have been taught since we were young—No other success can compensate for the failure in the home. Maybe he can join our club. Do you think I should ask him?
He has sound advice for us, I mean for marriage. Just do it, he said. Now that is really strange, isn’t it cousin? Remember how we often get discouragement from intellectuals whenever we tell them we want to be married?
He also gave me a glimpse of how it is to be a father. By the way he has two daughters, one’s 8 and the other’s 9. While I was talking with him, I saw him breathe an air of responsibility and an air of cool-headed gentlemanliness. I am led to believe that commitment, responsibility and fun make a good dad.
I’ve learned more things he did not intend to teach the class. I went there to learn how to write for popular audiences but I learned something more valuable than a writing skill to peddle in the market someday. I learned and had a glimpse of how it is to be a journalist and a father at the same time—and to excel in both and to never compromise.
I bet his wife, Myra, is very happy with his achievements and how he seeks for the happiness of their family. He has other plans and goals—like be a rock star, yes cousin, he is the lead guitarist of his band. But then all of those do not matter. What matters most to him is what matters most to us: family happiness.
Well, it is time for me to travel home now. I will write you more about what happens in our class. And maybe he will teach me more about marriage and journalism next time.

Till next mail cousin,
Royce Jr.

PS: He is Erwin Oliva. Just check facebook. He is bound to have one. :)

NBA Finals Fuss

It started when I was on a bus bound to UP: happy to come back to the university after a five semester break and volunteer work. The man peddling bottled water and C2 suddenly erupted with excitement and told everybody what the score was. "Lamang na! Lamang na! Yessss!"

I was enjoying the flickering images of yellow and green jerseys jumping up and down the TV screen, running after a ball. I recognized it was the Lakers (I love them just because Kobe Bryant happens to endorse Nike) and the Celtics (I only know they like green; I don't even know what thier name means). Then another yell: "Lamang na naman! Ayos! Wala na to!"

Now for a working student who has only time for school and my 5 to 6 hour shift Mondays to Saturdays, I really have no luxury, as the water peddler had, to put my mind on the NBA. Thanks to the bus TV I had a chance to watch something that my co-teachers were talking about when it's breaktime at work.

So much for the social lubricant it served, it also helped me get a glimpse of who's who in the NBA nowadays.

See, the last time I devoutly watched NBA was in the late 90's when John Stockton of the Jazz always showcased his short shorts and went with lay-up shots againts the Bulls. Well, it was the glory days of Michael Jordan, too. I remember him making a billion jumpshots and slams, while sticking his tongue out just like a bull thirsty for a trophy.

So far, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry seems to be of some importance that my uncle's factory watched it religiously, even to the point of him as the president ordering everybody in the workforce to stop work and man the TV sets instead. Now that was something my aunt never understood--so did I.

I ended up asking my friends what made this NBA finals so special. They told me it was the first time after a very very long time that the finals reached to game 7. Now the last time I ever remember that happening was when the Jazz went against the Bulls.

Whew! No wonder my uncle had everyone in his factory stop and watch the game. Now that leaves me wondering as to what people are willing to pay for a basketball game.
I guess that just tells me how Filipinos really love the orange ball going through the hoop.

Well, the Lakers won. Hurrah for Kobe! Hurrah! People lost money in bets, some gained some, some lost some. Some gained extra weight by sitting too much in front of the TV; some gained new hoop tricks to practice; some lost precious hours at work; some gained more hours at work. Some gained some; some lose some.

As for me, I take the safe side: school and work, school and work. I still have papers to write, lesson plans to prepare, books to read and homework to complete.

But I am happy Kobe's team won. I really like his Nike posters.

A Monday to Remember

Finally, a time for TV.

I told myself after I got back in the country from a two-year stay in Taiwan that I will not watch TV anymore. Blame the bus I was stuck in this time: yes, the ever-hungry-for-passengers bus in the metro. The TV screen was flickering with images of Mike Enriquez with that nasal "Ghoo...goood ibning poh!"

I ended up watching the TV anyway, rationalizing I need news bits at least to be sane in my journalism classes this semester. I actually love the classes I have this semester.

I was really wondering whatever happened to our prime time TV news. It was full of crime reports. Mr. Business and Mr. Government were benched three quaters of game time, while MVP Crime News gets all the cheers and the time to make hoops and win advertising contracts for the news program. Hurrah! Here comes Crime News delivering a killer jumper and it went in! Folks we have a champ--blood and suspense, blood and more blood.

Disgusting.

It was really a great time watching the news: blood and blood and more blood; crime, crime and more crime. No wonder kids learn how to play with toy guns and toy knives faster than they can red or write. Yes, the TV is infecting the public with what it says and portrays. But hey, TV needs food. And apparently, crime news--an overdose of it--puts more food on TV's plate.