The BOOM BOX!

I’m sure you’ve already seen public utility vehicles sporting the yellow na yellow sticker of 91.5 Big Radio. And I bet, bawat bus, van, FX, jeepney and tricycle na nasakyan mo, more often than not, ay may 91.5 Big Radio sticker. Wanna know who’s the DJ behind all of these stickers parading all over the metro? I AM! 

Manong driver of this FX requested for his unit to be adorned with 3 stickers. Pampaangas talaga ng PUV ang sticker namin.

Well, as you can see, ang pagiging DJ ay hindi lang natatapos sa pagsuot mo ng headphones at pagdada mo sa microphone. What I want everyone to know is that being a DJ may be a cool, fun and glamorous job, but it’s not all that. Being DJ is also about working hard. Real hard. And having been assigned as the head of the field promotions committee, I should know. From scheduling sticker campaigns to going out under the hot sun or on cold nights to getting your hands dirty sa pagdidikit ng stickers to liquidating all the expenses, lahat ng iyan ginagawa ko.  

Nakaka-intimidate mang pakinggan ang tasks sa sticker campaigns, masaya rin naman siya actually kasi marami siyang napapa-realize sa akin. Doing sticker campaigns exposes me to a lot of things. It enables me to meet and interact with people - drivers, barkers, conductors, taxi personnel, vendors, etc. It helps me understand my audience more, thus, helping me formulate things to say that my audience can relate to. It makes the whole DJ experience real, knowing the fact that real people listen to you.

Clockwise from top left: 1) Yup, ako mismo ang nagdidikit ng stickers sa mga PUVs for more personal touch; 2) Posing with manong driver before I put the sticker sa taxi niya; 3) Ang daming FX! Lahat iyan dinikitan namin! 4) Presenting: The poging-poging 91.5 Big Radio visor; and 5) Presenting: The Big Baby (91.5 Big Radio small sticker)

Kaya sa tuwing nakakakita ako ng taxi o ‘di kaya FX na may 91.5 Big Radio sticker, I can’t help but smile. For it serves as a reminder na nagagawa ko nang maayos ang work ko as a DJ. The sweat and exhaustion are all sulit and worth it. Given that, who wouldn’t be sticker happy?

KABOOM!  

A BOOMbastic day to all of the readers of The BOOM BOX! Medyo matagal din akong hindi naka-blog kasi sobrang busy. Sorry. And to make up for my absence, I have a treat to you guys. Freebies! Yehey!

Before I reveal kung ano ‘yung freebies, let me thank Moonleaf Tea Shop first for giving me their full trust for this mini-collab. You guys are as nice as your delectable milk teas. LOL. Anyway, yes, you read it right. I’ll be giving away 9 Moonleaf 2012 planners! Yes, a little late, but it’s never too late to organize and plan your life naman eh. KABOOM!

Mechanics:

1. Like DJ Boom Bayona on Facebook

2. Like Moonleaf Tea Shop on Facebook

3. Tell me what’s your favorite Moonleaf drink and why

Comment your entry below with the ff. details:

1. Name (FB account name) & E-mail

2. Answer to my question

SAMPLE ENTRY:

Juan Dela Cruz, juandelacruz@yahoo.com / I like Moonleaf Wintermelon Milk Tea because it’s so refreshing!

The first 9 people who will comment their entries win the Moonleaf planners! 

Contest ends on March 02!

Claiming of prizes will be discussed in the next post.

Go, go, go! 

KABOOM!

IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES BECAUSE:

1. Pipila ka mula 5am till 1pm to claim your NBI clearance, maghihintay ka from 3pm-5pm for your passport to be processed in DFA, and more pila dahil pipilahan mo nang matagal lahat ng mga government-related papers na kukuhanin mo!

This week’s all about fixing my personal documents such as my NBI clearance and passport, hence, nag-absent ako in my radio program and the late post in my blog. Fixing personal documents is no easy feat. Nung matapos na ako sa pag-asikaso ng mga papeles ko, I suddenly realized, ang hirap palang maging Pilipino.

Currently, 90 million na tayong mga Pilipino. But that is too lame for an excuse para maging tedious at maging inefficient ang processing ng mga documents. Like in the NBI clearance for example. The “scheduling scheme” doesn’t make any sense at all. Tumatagal lang lalo ang paghihintay ng mga taong nakapila dahil may privileged few who can come in anytime, all the time. I know this since I experienced this, and it was really horrible. I hope the NBI changes their system to serve the people better.

A sample of an NBI Clearance (there are two NBI clearances that you can get). The orange one (for local employment) and the green one (for travelling abroad). You can claim it for P115. 

The same goes for processing your passport. Mahaba rin ang hintayan kasi super daming nag-a-abroad, but unlike NBI, DFA has to be commended for its efficient system. The guards and personnel are strict, you wouldn’t be attended to if you have incomplete requirements and they strictly implement rules in processing. Mabilis ito kaysa NBI clearance, however, you wouldn’t be able to grab a hold of your passport agad-agad. You have to wait for 15 working days (or 7 days if you want to have it rushed). And what’s nice is you have the choice to have your passport delivered to your house. Para wala nang hasel sa masel.

A sample of a Philippine passport. Getting one for yourself would cost you P950.00 (or P1,200 if you want it rushed).

These are only two of the many other documents that you have to secure to say that you are a full-fledged Filipino. So ilang pila pa kaya ang pipilahan ko at ilang oras pa ang ipaghihintay ko? Naiisip ko pa lang, naiinis na ako. LOL. But as they say, patience is a virtue. And to top all the cliches off, some things are really worth the wait. Now there goes the fun part! Ganito rin kaya sa ibang bansa? Well, I don’t know pero if not, it’s definitely more fun in the Philippines!

I like that BOOM BOOM pow, them chickens jackin’ my style! Yeah, baby. This week is all about style.

Sobrang busy ng week na ito. NBI clearance, passport, etc. (I’ll talk about them in another post). But nevertheless, being busy should not be an excuse to look ugly, dugyot and haggard. Swag under pressure dapat. And so this week, The Oplan Boom Japorms is on. 

Check out my pogi style! Ang pormahan ko this week (clockwise, from top left): Monday (action star); Tuesday (geeky); Wednesday (hip); Thursday (smart casual); Friday (rockstar)

All thanks to my stylist and friend Melai Entuna and Hangten Philippines, poging-pogi ang The BOOM BOX. As I always say, image is everything. Simply put, you are what you say, you are what you do, you are what you wear. Be yourself. Speak your mind. Amp up your usual routine, style or whatever. At iyan nga ang mangyayari sa akin at sa The BOOM BOX.

Anyway, here’s to more poging-poging The BOOM BOX in the next few days! Ang bangis! KABOOM! 

Saturday is my favorite day. Day off ko kasi (parang katulong lang ano ba, HEHE). Now, some of you might be wonderin’ kung anong ginagawa ng mga DJs when they’re not in the radio booth and they’re not doing their boardwork. Some do their rakets, some go out and have fun. Ako, I have a simple answer to that. I stay at home! 

Yes, I make it a point that every Saturdays, I stay at home. The ever old adage “Home is where the heart is” might sound too cliche or passe already but yes, it’s true. Aside from the fact that I’ll get the rest that I need, marami akong nagagawa tuwing day off ko na hindi ko nagagawa kapag may pasok ako. I get to spend more time with my family. I get to cook my favorite homecooked meals. I get to clean my stuff pati buong bahay. I get the chance to catch up on my favorite TV series and shows. And I can afford to laze around all day. O ‘di ba, ang sarap?

Saturday is all about the letter “S”: sinigang, sinop-sinop ng gamit, series and TV shows, sipag sa pagma-mop, swipe-swipe at games sa iPad and smiles (Pasok lahat ng S! Haha.)

Saturday is indeed, the new Sunday. At dahil naka-recharge na ako and nagawa ko ang mga bagay na gusto ko today, I’m now ready for tomorrow. Tara, let’s start a brand new week! Sunday boardwork, here I come! KABOOM!  

I dunno. It was Friday and I was not feelin’ it. Bakit kaya? Again, I dunno. Anyway, I guess, ganyan lang talaga. There will be days wherein wala ka sa mood and you don’t know why. Yeah, sa kaso ko, the day’s fine, everyone’s fine, I just dunno why I was not feelin’ it.

There goes the not so fun part of becoming a DJ. Just like a clown, even if you’re in the mood or you’re not feelin’ it, you have to be happy on the facade. You strip yourself off the things that bother you. You have to let your alter ego (your DJ self which is separate from the real you) to seize the moment and run the show like crazy. In my one year and a half stay here in the radio industry, masasabi kong mahirap siya. Because after all, DJs are also human beings who also get hurt, get mad, feel down, etc.

One thing na natutunan at pinag-aaralan ko pa rin sa radyo (and yes, this lesson and I met again yesterday), is that you have to put your feelings aside and think of the people out there who are listening to you. We’ve all got problems of our own. I’m a DJ. Problem or no problem, nandito ako para samahan ang mga tao. Magpasaya. To spread happiness in the airwaves. Every radio jock should always bear that in mind and ingrain that in his soul.

Oh well, another day. Tomorrow, another day uli. Positive outlook lang ang katapat niyan. Pasitib! KABOOM! 

In a DJ’s life, music and talk are really essential. Para iyang tubig at pagkain, very vital for survival. Simply put, kung walang music and if a DJ couldn’t talk, he would die a miserable death.

I don’t want a miserable death and since Friday naman (this took place February 03, by the way), I decided to take a break from work and spend the night away with good friends (Tricia, Bea and her cool mom), good food and good music. Homer’s is the name of the place, baby! What’s good with Homer’s (aside from their cheap yet yummy pica-pica such as nachos and popcorn and the chill vibe), is that they allow the guests to jam with the performers. And yes, hindi ko pinalampas ang chance. I jammed with Chloe and The Voz and I sang my heart out.

I enjoyed jamming with Chloe and The Voz. Sobrang astig ng acoustic band na ito! Great guitar rifts, mad percussion, and man, the harmonies! Napalaban tuloy ako.

Well, what else can I say? I ended the day on a happy note. Musically and figuratively. Bonding kasama ang friends tapos singing and the much needed music fix. Ayus! Alive na alive! KABOOM!