A socmed’s story: Seeing things in a different light in this time of crisis

“Pusa Gurl” Laarni Judilla (seated, 4th from left) is with the CDN Freshtalk team, her sister and friend in this photo taken after her CDN Freshtalk interview. | Immae Lachica

(As CDN Digital turns two this month, we give you, readers, a glimpse of the people behind the news, the graphics, the programs of one of Cebu’s leading online news portals.)

CEBU CITY, Philippines  — For someone who loves to go out and chase fun and adventure, the universe had a way of letting me stay at home for almost a year.

Corona did this. This virus drastically changed my life, our lives.

I used to wake up two hours before my shift starts daily. I wake up, say my prayers, sometimes fix my bed, pick an outfit then head to the bathroom.

It takes about an hour for me to do all those, yes, an hour. I seldom eat at home because I take the jeepney every morning and it takes me roughly 45 minutes to an hour to get me to the office.

At times I ride a motorcycle to the office on days I think I will be in deep water or in other words if I am already running late.

At work, I write I talk, I laugh, and I sometimes joke around with some of my officemates to get me through the day.

These things were nowhere to be found this month and the past year.

No talking, no hosting, no doing my makeup on a daily basis, no joking around, no laughing with my officemates.

I was confined to work for almost a year now in our home bar near the drinks. I cannot drink on duty but the drinks — there are many a times when I wish I was drinking with my officemates.

As a content creator/ host/ video producer, I was used to walking the streets to get good clips, to shoot people with my people, and get the hang of entertaining others online through the shows I host.

I miss my life. I miss the life then, but I am thankful for the life I have now.

As I shift from writing light stories to Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue stories to regularly writing police stories, I was drained.

I wanted to quit.

But where do I go? CDN Digital has been my home and has continued to show me support even during these trying times.

Editors pushed me to my limits knowing that I shouldn’t confine myself in frustrations.

There were times in roughly two months, that I wrote 10 to 12 stories in a day.

I am in awe of how I managed to do so, but, yoga helped me get through the changes.

Then, I became the lone social media specialist in the company.

For five months, I figured out the ins and the outs of how to get on top of our social media platforms.

I am happy with my work today, and I know I am fit to stay in this job as I know how to get good things from people by not being too demanding.

I enjoy being the socmed for CDN Digital as much as I enjoy writing feel-good stories about people, animals, and events in Cebu.

The pandemic took a lot from me — a lot of travel plans, and family plans, but  still I believe better things are yet to come.

To CDN Digital — my bosses, editors, and colleagues — the past year has been a challenging one, but we coped, survived and even kept up with the local leaders of the online digital news world.

For me, the pandemic has taught us to shine during the darkest moments of our lives and our jobs, and more importantly, it has let us see these things in a brighter and positive light.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CDN Digital.

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Immae Lachica is a general assignments reporter and social media specialist in CDN Digital. Pre-pandemic, she, together with Senior Editor Brian Ochoa, hosted CDN Digital’s live video programs such as Sportstalk and On Wheels. She also hosted CDND’s marketing shows among others.