Day 07 - Of Slow Days and New Skills

I was so tired last night that I wasn't able to write my journal entry for the day. Anyway, pardon this late entry, but here goes.

I met Marlon again at Kamuning Police Station at around 10am, but sadly we didn't find any stories there. So we headed straight to Camp Karingal to look for possible news stories.

When we arrived there, still, there were no good stories. Only minor reports here and there. We talked to the colonels and seargents present for follow-up information on cases we did last week, but still, no word. God, this is a tough day, I thought.

We headed to a different division of the QCPD this time: the District Tactical Operations Center. This is where all the dispatch goes through. We browsed through the journal and lifted a few reports here and there. We even found the report on Sir Marlon's co-beat reporter having her bag stolen but subsequently recovered somewhere in Cubao, Quezon City.

Stories in hand, we proceeded as usual to the NUJP Headquarters and wrote our stories. Sir Marlon assigned me to do this story on a robbing incident in QC, and guess what? Only minor editing! I think I'm getting the hang of this. Sir Marlon always gave me reminders about Inquirer's style and certain ways to write certain stories, so somehow I get an idea how to write different topics whenever I encounter them.

Too bad that story wasn't published. Hehe.

When I was about to go to the office, Sir Marlon informed me that a good story slipped under our watch, so he contacted several people here and there and pieced the story. It's a semi-scoop because only a few broadsheets graced the story in their pages. Sir Marlon's quick thinking can now be seen here.

The MRT ride to the office was surprisingly pleasant. I guess it's because we were able to finish at the Police Beat early. The train's weren't that packed, the aircon was full blast, I was sitting inside, and the cab I was in really smelled good, like newly-cleaned good. I also noticed that the interiors were newly-painted. Either I'm too happy a commuter or the lack of a companion during these rides (Claire!!!) is taking its toll on me. Hehe.

Upon reaching the office, I immediately started my work. Today is the day I learn new skills. I sent a fax message to some of the schools asking for official communication letters from our office regarding our Tuition story. So I asked Ate Cyril to teach me how to use the fax machine.

Funny thing is, I'm usually perceived as the techy guy, yet I don't know how to operate a freaking fax machine. Haha. I guess backwardtechnophobic, in a way. =P

After sending the fax messages, Ate Kate asked me to photocopy some papers to be sent to the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards Commission. At first I noticed her a bit apprehensive to give me clerical work, but when she asked, I said with whole zest that I'd be glad to the job. So she taught me how to handle the office photocopying machine and woop-dee-doo! I was photocopying by myself in no time. Aside from some minor mishaps, I guess I did well with that one.

So, two new skills developed today: Faxing (if there's such a word) and Photocopying. Hehe.

Several minutes after the photocopying task, Sir Gani Yambot came to our office and gave a sheet of paper to Ate Kate. She passed the paper to me and asked me to look for reviews, summaries and other important articles about the book written on the paper. Whew. So off to research I went.

The book is entitled "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read." I think this is an interesting book, because it says that reading a book is just as important as non-reading it. Meaning, the collective importance of a certain book in the world's history plays a significant role in the discourse about the book. Interesting, eh?

The next task that landed on my lap is to look for statistics about families consisting of six members who are taxpayers in the Philippines. Whew, this is a tough one, and unfortunately I wasn't able to find information from the archive. Good thing Ate Kate was able to find something on the net.

While working on some task, Ma'am Miner, my supervisor, asked what date the graduation would be. So I told her UP's graduation will be on Sunday. She then stared in space in bewilderment and asked, "Eh pano si Claire? Di sya aattend ng graduation?" I just had to laugh the thing off and told her we're not graduating yet this year.

Today was a bit slow, and not having a co-intern is dawning upon me. Somehow, there's this comfort in knowing that you're not alone in whatever taste of heaven or pile of shit you're in. With Claire gone, I'm practically on this thing alone. Sigh... I know it's not fun to mope but what the hey! Haha.

Hours covered today: 6 1/2 hours on the field, 4 1/2 hours in the office (total of 11 hours)