The Emancipation of Jun-jun

Allow me to express my gratitude to all the people who have been a vital part of my life for the past 26 years… (This is how my speech would look like, if ever I receive my first ever Oscar or Grammy award)

1. To my papa and mama - words will never be enough to compensate all the love and support you’ve given us. We are truly grateful to have parents like you. We love you so much!

2. To my siblings (my bros esp. to my sistas Leda and Lerma)

3. Sy Family - (To the late Papa Alex, Mama Lita, Doreen, Daisy, Ate Neneng) - I’ve always considered you as my second family. TNX for everything.

4.To our relatives (Duhaylungsod & Sevillo Families) - most specially to my beautiful cousins and to Ate Sheryl.

5.My cute nieces and nephews - Tito is a little irritated with you sometimes coz ur so kulit, but he loves you still!

6.To our neighbors at Villamor - I’ve had fond memories of my childhood becoz of you guys! Shout outs to Ate Ging ging and Kuya Allan (thanks for treating me like your own lil bro!)

7. To my yayee’s over the years - obviously I could no longer remember you, but I salute you all! for babysitting is indeed a tough job esp. if your taking care of a baby named Ely.

8. K91/Smooth FM Peeps - (April, Wanda, Keesha, Ate, Carlo, Pikoy, JC, Mark, Paul, Alex et al) The wackiest, craziest, most sexually pre-occupied people I’ve ever known! Thanks for opening the doors of radio to me (Sir JC tnx!) I’ll never forget u all and Jackie too yaiikkksss!

9. To my Mellow Touch family (Maam Malou, Rex, Maricar, April, Ate, Jane, Neneng, Ryan, Ren2, Sir Jerome, everyone!) I’ve been praying that life would be kinder and easier for everyone after all that we’ve been thru…I know in time things will all be fine…miss you all! TY.

10. To all the fans of Iran Iñigo - Sorry but he doesn’t want to go back on air anymore. Anyways, thanks for listening, for calling, for visiting and for the food!

11. To my music idols! thanks for making me sane!

12. My classmates at JLPES ( Dexter, Alberto, Arnie, Alreich, Philip, Rolando, everyone at Section 1 class) missed our walk along NHA Subd., I still walk along that road every other time,with you in mind, alone!

13. Class & School mates at St. Anne - HS will never be the same without you guys!Whenever I think of HS I think about our trips to the Principals office fighting out what we think is right! We broke the rules several times and it’s all good!

14. Classmates at AdDU - (Kaka, Roze, Caryll, Philip, JJ, Cheryl, Marnisa, Chea, Honey, Karen, Aubrey, Oneth, T2 Class, everyone at CA Batch 2001!) missed you all guys and thanks for the great time!

15. To all my teachers, esp. to Mrs. Ferraren & Mrs. Mallari, ur such an inspiration!

16. My friends at MDFG!

17. BG Family (Weirdos on the loose) TY! As always!

18. Those I met at WYD’95 and NSPC’96 and all the other conferences I’ve been to!

19. Team Massachusetts at L2S (The band of Cracks!) GO GO GO!

20. Co-bloggers and everyone at my friendster! you rock my online world! thanks for being so pathetic and for keeping up with all my dramas!

21. To those I’ve shared some whirlwind intimate moments with. I’ve learned a lot. Thanks. Heheheh…

22. To all my dissers, pissers and simply to all those who didn’t believe! You’ve made me stronger yo!

23. X - I’ve learned from the best!, All the best!

24. Best & Closest Friends - Rob, Vito, Daisy, Alma, Jane, April, Ate- ur one of the most beautiful human beings I’ve ever known, thanks for coming into my life!

25. To the love of my life. Thanks and Love Yah!

26. Dear Lord for all the blessings I’ve received for 26 long years, for all the love and blessings, for the gift of life….THANK YOU!

What usually happens in 4 days?

Well nothing much. In my case for instance, I usually just go through my daily routine– Wake up, take a bath, eat, watch TV, mingle with my siblings and friends, bum around, do think of things to accomplish (since there’s nothing that I really have to do, really!), then hop to bed and….sleep again. That’s the daily rituals that I’ve been doing for 4 months since I left my work on radio, and believe me, it was really tiring too. I got like half a day thinking, daydreaming and sleeping like a pig.

But last week was quite different. For 4 straight days, eight hours daily, I was in a room (actually it was more of a storage room to some), with 25 other beautiful and talented peeps and one great teacher of American English. Yep! I was on training to become a full-pledge Call Center Agent, and it was kinda tough!

I was often sleepy during the course of the training and my throat had dried and my jaws were aching because we had to talk over and over again…The first three days were like hell for me since it was all lectures and theories about Communication and the likes….I really hate school so it was really a torture…thank GOD I have a bunch of wacky and crazy co-trainees and of course a motivating & cool teacher who made all the experience much easy and fun.

The fourth day was regarded as the "Final Showdown", the "Grand Finale" for some and the most nerve-wracking part for most of us. It was our practical exams and we were made to have a presentation for about 10-15 minutes blabbing, reading and talking about anything, and were graded accordingly. For one whole day, we had to see everyone….one by one being grilled and tested, as to how excellent we are in our communication skills.

Okay, so I made the cut. I was not eliminated, though, over-all I didn’t really like my performance because I stuttered especially at the last part of my presentation. But nevertheless, I’m very happy that I was able to surpass that terrifying day and get through with the training.

I’m just sad that some had to go and was given their working papers. I just hope that they”ll be alright and that they’ll find a better opportunity, after what had transpired.

I sure did learn so much during that 4 days, but that was just the beginning….the much tougher and harder courses are just about to start. It’s gonna start on Monday and I sure will continue the fight.

These past few months, I’ve learned something about my friends and the other people I deal with everyday. I learned that we live in a world where we have to deal with people who would either use us or someone whom we would use.

At some degree, it’s but natural for someone to use someone to fulfill a task or a job at hand. No man is an island indeed, and we really have to work together, hand in hand to attain all of our goals and aspirations in life. I appreciate those who ask a favor from someone, and openly gives them their gratitude and make an extra effort to pay back what that someone has done for them.

Sad to say, I’ve been dealing with so many people who only think of themselves. Although there are exceptions, still the number of those who belong to the user-friendly group stand out and their numbers are increasing everyday.

I guess it’s the sign of the times. Maybe the economics has something to do with it.

But to me, the hard times still is not an excuse to abuse the resources, potentials, skills and the being of a person. I’m done with people who only think of themselves and their worth.

Fortunately, there are still some who stand out. They are those who give and appreciate the things that you did to them. They are the ones who doesn’t only take, take and take, but they also value the essence of giving, especially to those who have helped them in so many ways.

These past few months, I’ve come to resolved that I should be surrounded only by those who value the things that I do for them. I’ve come to realize that wasting time with people who only think of themselves will never help me get through things in life….Time’s up for all those whose motivations are gains and profits for one’s self. It’s time for give and take, for me to get my share and for me to enjoy what’s truly mine.

The month of September doesn’t have any meaning to me…except that it has "BER" in it, which is the signal of the coming Christmas– one of my most favorite times of the year!

But this year’s September is really different, I have to say that it exceeded my expectations and I had so much fun. Although along the way there were really great troubles (which I just wanna forget), there were great surprises too! The biggest was when I passed the final interview at a call center, which is about to start operating in the city by December.

However, September really became a big fuss on me this year because of the fact that I have attended so many celebrations for this month. I have like attended 8 birthdays and 3 other occasions in just a nick of time. Celebrations like this means overflowing food and drinks which really made this whole thing memorable….It was also the time to belt out in the videoke or dance the whole night away as these parties allow you to go crazy without being reprimanded.

I have been living in this world for 25 years and it’s the first time that I have enjoyed September this much. Now I can always dance and sing along with Earth, Wind and FIre’s "September" for it was truly something to remember.