Blue Pencil Chronicles

I had two girlfriends in tow. And yes, amazingly, they weren’t out to slap each other to death to see who gets to take me home as a prize. We boarded the MRT together, ate together, rode the cab together, and went through our afternoon schedule together.

Then again, they were just my girlfriends for the afternoon. They asked to tag along with me for they weren’t familiar with the urban jungle that is Makati. One was Marj, who asked me never to leave her (because she’d get lost in the wilderness), the other was Gelene, who happily tagged along with us.

And no, they’re not really my girl friends. Haha. It just so happened that they went with me because they weren’t familiar with Makati.

We toured Inquirer.net this afternoon, a field trip organized by Ma’am Khan for our Online Journalism class. The moment we set foot in the office, I got this eerie feeling, like a chill in the spine, but not from the full-blown air conditioning. Something crisp was in the air, like a ripening of a desire long forgotten.

It was to be a fateful day. Because I had found my dream at last.

Gelene, who is a total camwhore. =P

I fancy offices. I like the feel of an air-conditioned room with my special desk and chair with armrest in the center. Or even just a humble desk in a cubicled office. I don’t know, but somehow the corporate design of things appeals to me that much. My mother used to bring me to her office when I was a kid, and I would just savor the moment, the smell of the air, the feel of air conditioning on my skin. It felt like heaven. No, not just heaven. It was… bliss… utopia… perfection.

So somehow I fancied a secretarial job. But then again I wasn’t cut out for that at all. But I still long to work in an office somewhere in Makati, where all the things are hip and happening.

But when I decided to pursue journalism, the hope of working on the 29th floor of a tall building somewhere in Makati faded into grey. Most newspaper reporters spend their day on the field and not in the office. But still, that elusive dream only got tucked away in a little space on my mind, hoping to be found again in some other future and time.

But this afternoon I found it again, and it’s at the very heart of the Inquirer.net office.

It was a small unit in Rufino Tower, just adjacent to Ayala Avenue. Just by walking through the carpeted halls, I fell in love with the place. Like a fairy tale character finally ending up with her Prince Charming, I longed to get married at once. I told myself I belonged to that place.

Sir JV Rufino, Inquirer na Inquirer in Blue

Inquirer.net’s editor in chief JV Rufino (who, for some weird reason, looks and acts like Sir Ganns during his, uh, heavy days. LOL. Peace tayo Sir Ganns!) toured us to their office. We saw their newsroom which, unlike the Inquirer print newsroom, is very quiet (Sir JV said they do the screaming and the shouting over YM. Haha! Talk about being an all-around online job). There really wasn’t much to see, because the place is quite small, even though the world they work around in is quite big.

Did you know that Inquirer.net reporters get to have a notebook (to the uninitiated: not a reporter’s notebook, but a laptop), a digicam, a videocam and a blackberry? Yes, and, being total gadget sluts that we really are, that made Nikki and I (no, she’s not my girlfriend) both drool oceans of saliva. Immediately, we resolved: fight tooth and nail, we go for Inquirer.net! Haha.

Being from UP Masscomm, naturally, we rocked the whole newsroom.

I had a small talk with Sir JV over merienda, and, seeing as to how enthusiastic I was asking questions about the operations of Inquirer.net, he asked me if I wanted to intern. I said, of course! And told me to send my application early. Kamownst, this is the total fulfillment of my dream: corporate setup, journalism work. And it doesn’t hurt that they pay quite a respectable income *wink wink*. Nothing comes closer than that.

Future Boss? Haha. I hope. Now let’s work fast to graduate, quick, quick!

Problem is, I don’t know if I’m tied to Inquirer print because I have a contract with them (I’m their scholar). Hopefully they allow me to intern with Inquirer.net. That’d be a totally spectacular summer! =)

Sir JV said that future employers look through their applicants’ blogs to help them size up their prospective employees. So with all smiles, party poppers and confetti, hello Inquirer.net people! Come on, hire me, hire me! Hahahaha talk about desperate. I do hope they have an opening by the time I graduate.

But, I mean, that’s just Inquirer.net. Kuya Ederic, care to take me on a tour of GMANews.tv? Hahahaha. =P

I’m serious.

*More pictures of the Inquirer.net field trip in my Photo Gallery. =)