Let Me Entertain You

It all started with me simply wanting to do something one summer back when I was 14. Makati Cinema Square had a dj's booth where someone played music that was piped-in throughout the mall, and it also served as a place for paging people. I had a classmate who knew someone who worked at said dj's booth in MCS. So I asked him if I could get a job there. It didn't pay much, but at least it served to keep me amused. Who would have thought that "playing dj" would become more than a hobby? As corny as it may sound, I discovered that it was such a joy getting to entertain people (playing their requests, greeting them -- people from the shops inside the mall would often call me to ask for a song, greet them...). I found myself buying records with my own money for the purpose of keeping my playlist up-to-date or fresh, to keep my listeners happy (to play them a song or two that I may not have had when they called, etc).
Fast forward a few years later... I got my first job being an actual (radio) dj, for Magic 89.9. I believe I spent six years working for that radio station. After that, it was at 103.5 K-Lite that I spent another ten years in radioland. Along with the good, came the bad (and very bad). And things got so bad, particularly/especially during my last few years with the latter station that it finally came to the point where I woke up to the truth. I was an idealist -- I was naive to think that I'd be growing old with just the one radio station (which I thought was going to be Magic), that loyalty would count for something (and I was loyal like you wouldn't believe). Unfortunately, the network that owned both stations didn't share that way of thinking. So, even though I loved radio and loved what I did for a living, there was only so much I can do and so far I can go -- I was very unhappy, and so the inevitable happened : in April of 2005, I resigned.
After a little time off, I decided to try again. I applied at a few other radio stations. Unfortunately, it was slim pickings. There aren't many decent radio stations in this country, particularly those that value talent and a dj who actually loves (all or most forms of) music. Now I'm not saying that I'm very talented and/or the best dj there is, but radio has drastically changed. These days, radio stations overlook the important qualities of what makes a dj and hire on-air "talents" because they're either a model, a (wannabe-)celebrity, and because they're some Fil-Am, etc, people who have no place in radio. Unless they're radio savvy, which most of them aren't.
I honestly was beginning to think that there would no longer be a place for me in radio. That was until a dubber (voice actor) I knew (who apparently worked for a radio station) told me that she spoke to her boss about me, and that they were interested to hire me. I couldn't believe it and jumped at the chance to go to the station when I was told that the station manager wanted to talk to me. The interview went well, but after not hearing from them for several months, I thought that it was just my imagination. Then came the call several days ago. I was informed that they were hiring me!
Truth be told, the radio station that I'm now going to be working for is not exactly my first choice, and if there was some place I could go, I probably would. First of all, it's not a radio station that fosters adlibbing (their jocks usually only talk, and in short bursts, once an hour and when there's a tag or aob to announce and when there's a news report to be done). I'm afraid that I'm going to get, uh, stupefied since I won't get to hone my ad libbing skills, and inadvertently become a glorified spinner. It's also not really a "happening" radio station - meaning, they don't have many events - so there's the fear of monotony (not that I crave for wild parties every night -- I just want to be able to get the chance to host events... then again, I do have many other hosting gigs outside of the station that will be enough to keep me busy and occupied, so I really shouldn't complain). The travel time will also prove to be a bit of a challenge as the station is located in Novaliches, which will take me about an hour and a half or two from where I live.
But there a few good things about this radio station. The most important one being that the boss(es) and people there seem to be good and nice people, and that's always a good thing in my book. The format isn't exactly one that I'm familiar with, as they play a lot of jazz (nothing so deep, but jazz, though I appreciate it, is something I'm not very knowledgeable with) - as well as other light stuff (they play a little bit of everything -- r n' b, pop, bossa nova, Motown, etc, nothing heavy) - and I see this as a challenge, something to widen my taste, love and knowledge for music even more.
I actually thought that I wouldn't be working for them because of the schedule that they were offering me. I volunteered for the graveyard shift -- I wanted a shift that would leave me free and clear to accept work (hostings, voice overs and dubbings) outside of the station. They were supposed to go on 24-hour broadcast, but it hasn't happened (yet). So I was left with the choice of either the 9pm to 1am shift, or to be the Pinch-Hitter. The latter was more favorable for me. But I still had a problem with the weekend sked. Fortunately, they were nice enough to give me the weekend schedule that I wanted. So now, I'm ready and raring to go on-board. Sort of. I was originally slated to go on on Monday, but they asked me to come in a day early instead. So I've been nervously typing away the past couple of hours, watching tv, to distract me, as I'll be getting ready to go to work in a few minutes (after I'm done posting this, I'm off to Novaliches). Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but I'm also nervous as hell, and kept looking at my clock, wishing that the time would slow down. Hehe. But the inevitable is here. Which means it's time for me to end this missive. Gulp.

'Nuff said.