I was awakened by the sound of my alarm clock. It was already 6 am in the morning, so I hurriedly went to the shower and prepared myself for work.
On my way to Times Square, I turned on the built-in TV inside my car and switched the channel to CNN Asia. When I saw the newscaster, her name appeared to be familiar – Grace Palpalatoc. She was my group mate in thesis back in college.
CNN televised the upcoming senatorial election in the Philippines. One of the candidates of KAISA KA caught my eyes. It was Gilbert Monge – another batch mate of mine in UE. A certain reporter interviewed him about his plans, and I could say that he didn’t change. He’s still the eloquent Gilbert I once knew.
After his interview, I decided to turn off the TV and listened to the radio instead. I was entertained by a band named Dylan. They’re the hottest band in the US. “There you have it, the song write it down by Dylan from their debut album Journ.” The DJ said.
The DJ who happened to be Pike Revita introduced Migz Velasco, the drummer of Dylan. Migz announced that they would be having a concert in Madison Square Garden on October.
By 8 am, I arrived at MTV’s Time Square Studios where TRL (Total Request Live) airs. Every afternoon, fans gather there to catch a glimpse of the latest pop culture superstars in town. Britney Spears would be at the studio by Friday to promote her world tour. Since I am her publicist, I had to make sure that everything would run smoothly, and my client would receive positive acclaim from the media. In fact, I already finished writing the press releases about her said tour.
I went to Jive Records after to get the press packets I made. I was about to leave, when I saw Chris Brown entered the building with his publicist, Jovie Guerrero. We greeted each other and agreed to have coffee some other time since we’re both busy generating publicity for our high-profile clients.
When I was in the car, I scoured my bag and reached for my Black Berry PDA phone to know the other things I had to do. I called Britney to inform her that she would be having a lunch meeting tomorrow with the executives of Toyota Motors at the New York Palace Hotel. Toyota decided to renew her contract as an endorser of Soluna Vios because her first ad with them was a huge success. One of the executives she would be meeting was Claude Bonares.
It was lunchtime, and I’m craving for burgers so I went to “Little Owl” in the west village. I sat on the stool in the tiny packed bar and ordered a burger, a glass of syrage, and a refreshingly tart cherry sorbet for dessert. “Man this was good.” I thought.
While I was munching the burger, I saw a familiar couple heading towards my destination. The girl said hi to me, and I smiled in return. It was Precious Francisco. She was with her husband Ian and their daughter Francine. Precious told me that they now reside in Brooklyn and that she was pregnant with twins. Upon hearing the good news, I congratulated them and they said thank you. It’s time for them to leave so they bid goodbye.
I was still in the restaurant. I brought out my Mac laptop and began sending press releases in New York Times Newsroom. Speaking of New York Times, Nico Wangag was now the senior vice president of corporate communications, while Cams Makayan was the executive director of community affairs. Yes, they already reached that far. I remember back in college, they were among the best writers in class. Now, they’re big time.
After I finished sending those press releases, I preferred to Google search and found out that the novel, “On Eagle’s Nest” written by Kit Perez was a New York Times Best Seller. On the other hand, her first novel “The Black Box” has gained immense popularity and commercial success worldwide since its first release. “That’s my girl.” I happily said to myself.
I went out from the restaurant and decided to walk for a while. While walking, I saw a huge billboard of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 19 Winner Lien Javier. At first glance, I thought it was Megan Fox, but it was actually Neil, one of my friends in college. Yes, his real name was Neil Darius, he’s the first transsexual top model, and he admitted it. He’s booked many jobs and appeared on quite a few covers after he won. Tyra Banks even commented on her talk show that Lien was by far her favorite winner.
I reached the parking lot and drove back to Jive Records to meet Britney. When I arrived there, I saw MJ Lacson recording her second studio album under Jive. MJ was one of the fastest rising stars in the US. Her first single, “Living the Dream” won a Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. MJ would be touring with Britney next month.
While I was in the studio waiting for Britney, I received a call from New Orleans. The call was from Em Castalla, editor-in-chief of Chicago Sun Times. I actually worked there as a sports writer for two years until Britney took me in as her publicist. Ate Em told me that she’s now engaged with Elmer Espiritu, Captain Ball of Chicago Bulls. “Wow that was great. I’m so happy for you.” I told her.
Britney finally arrived. I discussed with her some business matters. And after that, she went on to her dance studio for rehearsals. Since all my work was done, I decided to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony of “Kitkatgirls.” It was a clothing brand established in the Philippines by Kath Velasco and Heidz Landrito. Kath also works in Admerasia Inc. – an advertising agency in New York City, while Heidz owned a restaurant in Manila as well.
Fitz Teretit was also there. She told me that she’s part of Pixar’s Creative Team and was the chief animator of “Ratatouille with friends” and “101 cars”. Fitz said that she would be in Tokyo next month to work with some popular animators in Japan like JM Javier.
After the ceremony, I bid goodbye to my friends and drove back home. I opened the fridge to get some water, jadedly went upstairs, changed into my Pajamas, and turned on the TV. As I switched the channel, I saw Emmanuel Timajo in American Idol. Em made it to the top two. After the show, I switched the channel to ETC and watched Project Runway. Jeka Dela Rosa was one of the show’s resident judges. She’s currently the fashion editor of Elle Magazine. I turned off the TV after the show ended.
I made it a habit to read reader’s digest Asia before I go to sleep. As I looked at the cover, the couple seemed to be familiar. It was Luisa with her husband Lam. They were featured, as inspiring couple of the year. Luisa and Lam owned a cozy hotel in Boracay Islands.
It’s been a while since we parted ways and now we’re all successful. It was indeed a day to remember. I’m really happy for all of us. Glad we’ve made it.