Carmina between work and home

As a butcher, as a window glass cleaner and as a member of a cheering squad. These were among the tough jobs Carmina Villarroel had done a few years back, Yet to this day, she still remembers how she almost fainted, really cried hard and shrieked in fear as she took the challenge of slipping into somebody else’s shoes as one of the two hosts of Dayoff.

The weekly show, which airs Saturday nights at 6:10 on GMA News TV Channel 11, gives one deserving Pinoy laborer a chance to relax and spend a day with his family in a vacation spot without having to worry about his duties. Carmina and Mike “Pekto” Nacua (the other host) serve as “replacements” for the job, that ranges from simple to most complex.

Carmina felt her stomach turn upside down when she was assigned to slaughter a cow — either by gunning it down or hitting it hard on the head — as a butcher.

“That was during our first year. But still, I can’t forget how pathetic it was to see a dying cow. Even after its stomach had been cut open, nangingisay pa rin,” Carmina shares. “And imagine how I almost passed out when they asked me to get its kidney from its stomach with my bare hands.”

It struck her hard to learn how risky a window glass cleaner ‘s job can be when she went on top a swinging crane outside the GMA building without any protective gear.

“My screams probably reached EDSA that time because I really can’t stand wiping glass windows three floors above the ground with just a seatbelt around my waist.”

 She also realized it wasn’t easy to be a cheer dancer. The warm-up exercises alone “made me feel inefficient as a host.”

With co-host Mike ‘Pekto’ Nacua

With all the difficult tasks laid out before her, there were several times Carmina threatened to resign from the show. Even real-life partner Zoren Legaspi would sometimes freak out and prohibit her from attending tapings.

“All I want to hear from Zoren are encouraging words but no, parang sinasabi pa n’ya, ‘Sige ‘wag ka na mag-taping.’ Ganun kadali mag-decide ang mga lalaki but for me, madaldal lang ako pero gagawin ko pa rin as long as my life won’t be in danger.”

And in the almost six years she’s been with the show, Carmina cannot deny a sense of fulfillment in every job well done. Doing things that veer away from her being a celebrity has improved her as a person.

Her stint as Red Cross volunteer is one example. “I learned how to give first aid. It’s a different feeling when you know you have helped save a life. It’s so fulfilling that I myself want to be part of the Red Cross because its vision and goal to help reflect in every volunteer.”

Now she knows what to do or who to call whenever an emergency arises.

Does she still find time for her own dayoff?

“I’m not the outgoing type. I’m okay staying home with my family. On Sundays, we either watch TV together at home or go malling, eat out and watch movies. Now that the twins (Mavy and Cassy) are 10 years old, our bonding is getting different. Most often, Zoren and Mavy play tennis while I accompany Cass to her ballet class. Then, we just meet for dinner.”

If time permits, she and her family go on vacation either here or abroad. Last year, Carmina shares, they went to Singapore and visited Universal Studios.

“Usually, we go to Subic kung dito lang kami sa medyo malapit.”

Find out how Carmina juggles motherhood and career:

6 a.m. – With or without work, I wake up early because I have to wake the kids up and prepare them for school. The night before I have already checked their bags, their assignments and prepared their baon.

Before 7:30 a.m. – I ask Mavy and Cass to be sent to school then I I go back to sleep whenever I don’t have any commitment. Sometimes, Zoren and I go to a derma (clinic) while they’re in school.

1 p.m. – We wait for the kids and eat lunch together at home. Then, the twins take a rest. After that, Zoren and Mavy play tennis while Cassy and I just play together with her dolls, or board games. Bonding lang.

7 or 8 p.m. – Have dinner then prepare the twins for sleep.

Then Zoren and I spend time together in our dining area, bedroom or garden. Wala lang kwentuhan lang.  We enjoy each other’s company that way, simple lang. We also text each other even if we’re both at home lang.

My schedule is different whenever there’s taping or I need to check on my shoe business.

On taping days for Dayoff:

7 or 8 a.m. – We usually start around that time because it depends if I do the switch (her term for temporarily replacing somebody on the job) or the spiels. If I leave the house that early, I drop my kids to school before heading to work.

8:30 a.m. – Breakfast on the set.

9 a.m. – Put on my makeup then start work which lasts until noon.

1 p.m. – We go to the location if I do the switch or package. I also call the kids and check on them.

5 p.m. or 6 p.m. – Taping ends and I go straight home.

(Viewers may send in their Dayoff nominees who they feel deserve to take a break to [email protected])