Missing my Startalk co-hosts

For many years, reporting for my TV work felt like I was being led to the gas chamber. That was the feeling I had all throughout the time I did Showbiz Lingo and during the early part of my Startalk stint.

The work in itself wasn’t difficult (the hard work about working for TV or in the movies is the waiting and giving up your privacy). But I refused to enjoy it and get accustomed to it. And why so? Because I’ve always been such a fool – and I didn’t want to get used to it since I knew very well that this is really just so temporary. (You’re as good as your last show, sweetie.)

In time, however, I decided to stop torturing myself and began to embrace the profession like I was born to it. Never mind if my US immigration status is hanging over my head and one day I may have to leave for good. But while I’m here, heck, I might as well enjoy it.

And what a ball I’m having now. Toward week’s end, I get excited and call the office to find out what stories we have lined up. Usually there’s none yet because there are times when showbiz events move really slow. But I check anyway. At least that gives me an excuse to say hello to the Startalk staff (who are also the same people behind the top-rating Showbiz Stripped and even the phenomenal StarStruck).

Saturdays I now look forward to because I get to be with my friends – Startalk co-hosts Joey de Leon, Lorna Tolentino and Lolit Solis.

With Lolit, we swap pasalubong. With Joey, we swap stories. With Lorna T., we swap referrals. Oh, my knee injury is still bothering me – I would tell her and she’d refer me to a therapist. How do I get in touch with this and that professor – she’d ask me and I’d promptly send her the business card of the person she’d want to contact through modern convenience of the cell phone.

Two Saturdays ago, however, Joey de Leon left for the US to visit two of his kids. He actually missed Eat, Bulaga!’s grand thank-you party for the press at Le Pavilion that time and that absence sparked speculations that there’s trouble a-brewing on their side of noontime paradise. The truth is there was no problem at all with Joey and Eat, Bulaga! or Joey with anyone else. That trip had been planned long ago and he told me that way back in February. He was just being a good father to his kids and they are his priority.

Then last Saturday, Lorna had an emergency (she had to play dutiful wife and nurse to husband Rudy Fernandez, who had to undergo an operation early this week) and couldn’t come to work – leaving just Lolit and myself to do the show. That had happened before. In fact, at least thrice in the past, I was left behind to do the show by myself. (On two occasions during happier days, Lolit and Rosanna Roces went abroad together – and the last time was when they quarreled and they didn’t show up for work.)

But last Saturday was different. It was a major episode because that was the reunion of the StarStruck winners, survivors and avengers and we were doing it in that huge and cavernous Studio 3 of GMA 7 – where they regularly hold big productions like SOP every Sunday.

There was a time in the past when we were going to be moved there on a permanent basis, but Lolit was the first to say no. Although the lighting there is better (therefore we would look better), it was too big and we’d have difficulty looking for each other.

But last Saturday, there were too many guests and there was no way we’d be able to fit them all in our old and small studio. And so to Studio 3 we went.

I knew it was going to be a special show so I came to work at 2:10 p.m. – 10 minutes earlier than my usual arrival for our 2:30 p.m. program. (I always clock in at 2:20.)

Like I always do, I looked first for Lolit to give her my pasalubong of burong mangga. I also had another bottle to give Lorna (I can’t give her cakes and pastries because Dr. Vicki Belo would not approve of that – bad for the skin and bad for the figure), but I found out that she wasn’t coming to work and I began to panic. In Joey’s case, I had already psyched myself up that he wasn’t going to be there. But it was different with Lorna. Unfortunately, an emergency is an emergency and there was nothing anyone of us could do about that.

At the dressing room, I sat down for two minutes, which is the amount of time makeup artist Ernal Forte spends to slap powder on my face to remove the shine and put gel on my hair. Then it was on with the show.

Walking into that huge Studio 3, I realized it was going to be one tough afternoon. Studio 3 is practically the size of one football field (okay a bit smaller) and we had to turn from end to end during the entire length of the show. (Usually I come to work in a pair of rubber shoes and I wanted to kick myself that afternoon because I came in leather.)

That place was also new territory and we weren’t familiar with the terrain and we had difficulty finding our markers on the floor – unlike in the old studio where we could locate our spots with our eyes closed.

Another problem we had was with the idiot board because the air-conditioning system was working full blast and it made the manila paper on which the spiels were written twirl. Midway through my spiels, I found myself guessing (and this was already being telecast nationwide – and even abroad) what was indicated on the idiot board because it was swaying in various directions. To solve the problem, I went through the idiot board during every break and memorized those that I knew would no longer have to be revised and altered.

There was just so much work to be done and halfway through the program I realized that I had to change shirts because my new clothes sponsor – Jewels – wanted me to go through at least two changes that afternoon. But how would I do that when our director Floy Quintos didn’t want to let me out of his sight that time? Well, I just made up an excuse that I needed to go to the little boys’ room and when I came back – voila! – I was sporting another shirt.

I just feel bad now that I wasn’t able to spend much time with my godson, Troy Kua (he finished nursery first honors – I’m so proud of him), who was brought to the studio that afternoon by his parents, Irvin and Vangie (Dr. Vicki Belo’s ever-reliable assistant).

At around 4:30, we were going way overtime and our executive producer Reylie Manalo decided to take out segments – especially since a boss from upstairs, Darling de Jesus, was there to supervise us in lieu of production unit manager Janine Nacar, who was also absent that day. Ms. De Jesus was there to see that we didn’t go overtime and that we behaved (we run the most notorious program in the whole of GMA 7).

When Floy Quintos said we were done, we heaved a sigh of relief. We made it and off to the pantry we went to have our lunch of meatballs and gourd (ginisang upo in local culinary terms).

This Saturday, I hope all hosts come back to work because we need all the help we could get.

Well, it’s not really all about work, actually. Please come back because – sniff! – I miss you na.