A dose of my own medicine

Secretary Mike Defensor asked me which among the four shows I host is my favorite. Tough question. It’s like what part of my body I’m willing to dispense with. Every show I do becomes part of my body like, the Buzz becomes my eyes, Kontrobersyal my ears, PCBA my mouth while Homeboy becomes my nose. Dismember one, I go berserk like a stray dog in heat. Not that my world will stop if one show goes, but while I’m still doing it, I give my all ‘till it bleeds.

Mike asked the question as he sat on my chair as host of Private Conversations. The reversal of roles is part of a month long birthday celebration on Private Conversations with Boy Abunda (PCBA). Aside from Mike, friends who have been invited to "host" are Many Gina de Venecia, Maria Ressa and Kris Aquino.

It was the first time that I sat on the guest’s chair. I haven’t had the chance to do one-on-one with Mike on Private Conversations. He is a good friend and we could have talked about so many things but one hour was just so short.

It is not easy to be a first-time host. I know how it is. I remember when I had my first stint before the cameras on Show and Tell on GMA 7, words would not come out of my mouth. I was catatonic. My mouth was dry. Perhaps, I was overwhelmed by Gretchen Barretto’s presence. She was like a goddess: beautiful, mysterious and a friend of the cameras while I was a trying hard third-rate host. Towards the end of the show, I had to ask the viewing public to give me another chance- to give me four shows and I promised I would work darn hard to learn the basic tricks of hosting. Today, my journey continues. And Gretchen remains a goddess whose beauty still overwhelms me.

As a host, Mike was good. We did not rehearse. In fact, my staff forgot to brief him on the gapping of the show- when to wind-up and how to wait for the floor director’s signal- before cueing to commercial. Segueing to gap is one of the hardest parts of hosting. It looks simple but it’s difficult. It has a certain rhythm and timing is hard.

You have to get the cue from your floor director who signals that it’s "two minutes" to gap, then you have to time yourself for two minutes, look for a nice line or word that your guest would say or come up with an interesting question to punctuate the gap- then say something like "the answer to that question, when we come back."

Mike was not camera conscious. He asked the questions tongue-in-check although at times he would blush especially on the Fast Talk questions. These are short, personal, naughty and edgy questions that should be answered fast with the first thing that comes to mind.

During a break, Mike told me, "Boy, buti na lang, hindi mo ako natatanong ng mga ganito." They were questions on sex and relationships. They were slum-book questions. I have guests who have blushed, looked wan and pale following a series of Fast Talk questions. But as Fast Talk is part of my game, I answered Mike’s Fast Talk as honestly and as gamely as I could. I had a ball!

As an interviewee in my own show, it felt good to be seated on my guest’s chair- that long red sofa that has seated a number of personalities-politicos, actors, singers, government officials and other people of consequence. Towards the end of the show as I sat waiting for the floor director’s cue to wrap up the show, I figured it’s good to know how a guest feels while sitting on that red sofa. And the learning process continues.

T5, the new techie toy

Have you heard of the newest techie-toy? Or the newest status bauble? If you haven’t, you risk being called "Jurassic." It’s the Sony Cyber-shot T5 - that incredibly slim, stylish and "super" camera every fashionista, young and trendy executive and celebrity swoon with delight to.

The T5 has just officially been made the perfect pocket companion of the Ford Models’ Supermodel of the World Philippines finals of which Sony Philippines is a major sponsor on Nov. 11 at the Rockwell Tent. The T5 is even called the "Supermodel of Cameras"–it has a slim figure, good looks, a stunning attitude and adaptable talents. Sony executives correlate the all-important and indefinable "X" factor that anoints the Supermodel with the "T" factor that differentiates Cyber-shot from all other cameras. It also comes in four fashionable colors to suit different personalities–silver, gold, black and red. Actually, you can start a conversation with it while it’s hanging on your neck as an accessory!

This year’s Ford Supermodel of the World Philippines has as its finalists Charo Ronquillo, Danielle Go, Dominique Dabao, Erika Pangan, Hazel Ann Rono, Jennifer Rausch, Lady Joanne Bungay, Maria Angela Kuo, Maria Sabina Lopez, and Stephanie Stefanowitz, all future supermodels ready for their close-ups on the Sony Cyber-shot T5.