ADN Christmas ID and ADNFest Outreach Program

According to the UN’s Children’s Rights and Emergency Relief Organization, the Philippines has around 1.8 million abandoned and neglected children. These are the children we see in the streets with their palms outstretched begging or holding a piece of cloth volunteering to clean your car windows for change or simply just aimlessly walking down the streets.

When we (OrgComm) first talked about having an outreach program for Christmas, we had so many ideas and contacted a couple of possible beneficiaries, but it seems we were meant to find an organization that is aligned with something that we all have a soft spot in our hearts for: children. Our search led us to Gentle Hands, Inc.,

a child and youth welfare agency meant to be on the front lines of rescue and rehabilitation of the medical, social and educational needs of at-risk children and youth, working towards improving human community life through the love of Jesus and family centered care.

Gentle Hands is not just an agency who takes in kids and puts them up for adoption. Gentle Hands is a home for kids who do not have anywhere to go to, no matter where they have been or who they are. Through the love of Jesus and family centered care, these kids are taught not just lessons they should learn in school, but also values that would help them have the most normal life they could get, amidst their circumstances.

But Gentle Hands can only do so much with what little resources they have.

This Christmas, how about we help them out and help get more kids out of the streets one gentle hand at a time? Let’s join together to help Gentle Hands give more babies and kids a chance to survive and have a better life.

Inspired by Maine and Alden, let’s bring forth the spirit of bayanihan which our fandom is known for so we can give more joy to street children this Christmas.

For a minimum donation of P100, you will be given a unique link where you can download the ADN Christmas song.

You have the following options to donate:

• Donate via www.gogetfunding.com/adnchristmasid
• Deposit your donation to the bank account indicated below:

CATHERINE D. SANGALANG

BDO S/A 007-410-058-207

One McKinley Branch BGC Taguig

or

CATHERINE D. SANGALANG
BPI S/A 1929-4178-16
Bonifacio Global City Branch

         

Note for BDO and BPI bank deposits: Please indicate your name in the Reference Number and Payor’s Name portion of the deposit slip. Email a copy of the deposit slip to aldubnationfest3@gmail.com

Thank you and Merry Christmas, ka-ALDUB!

Naranasan Mo Na Bang Ma-Oishi?

Isang makabagbag damdaming pagsasalaysay sa aking karanasan noong ADNFest 2016.

Ihanda ang panyo, sapagkat dadanak ang luha at uhog.

CHERET!

hahahaha

Hello mga beh! Kumusta naman kayo? Ako, heto, #GandaProbs pa rin. *flips shiny side bangs*

Ay wait, wrong number. ADNFest 2016 blog pala itetch. Hahaha

So hemingway, di ko na maalala kung kanino bang idea tong lahat kami sa OrgComm daw mag-share ng experience namin sa ADNFest. It’ll be fun, they said. Heto ako ngayon… 🎶basang basa sa ulaaaan🎶 hahaha heto ako ngayon at nahihirapan mag-isip what I want to share with you guys. Ano ba kasi ang isheshare eh naibigay ko na ang lahat… ang buong buhay ko, pati lablayp ko sa buong 2 months ng preparations for this epic event? Char! Pero naman, the struggle is real ha, kasi #TeamAbroadNgangaSaGanap ako. #Sadlayp

Sige ganito na lang. Simulan natin sa pinakasimula. 🎶Let’s start at the very beginning… a very good place to start...🎶 (umamin ka, kung alam mo ang Sound of Music, kinanta mo yan! 😂)

So ayun na nga, based on my birthday, I was conceived around mga mid June 1980 something… ay teka sobrang simula pala baka sa next ADNFest na ako matapos hahaha

Sige, simulan na lang natin kung paano ako napasabit dito.

Ganito kasi yan. Adik kasi ako sa twitter. If you follow me there, you’d know that I’m online 24/7.  Kaya nung new pa lang our GC ng Team Butchikik, isa ako sa pinaka-active. I remember one day, around June yata, nabanggit ni Mother MJ sa GC yung dream nya na yun nga one huge GT ng ADN, yung open for all, especially team no group. So nun pa lang, we got excited na. Like as in nag-isip na ng venue. I will never forget because I was with my bff then (na hindi pa rin yata alam how much of a MaiChard/AlDub fan I am), we were driving sa may downtown L.A. to meet up with another friend, then may kinukwento sya but obviously I wasn’t paying attention because I was replying sa GC LOL then she told me na itago ko daw muna phone ko. Hahahahah So anyway, so ayun venue ang pinapag-usapan and I couldn’t contribute because I know nothing na sa Manila. Pero natapos yung kwentuhan, natulog mga tao, nakalimutan.

Then come early August, na bring up ulit the topic and this time, nag-release na agad ng survey. I was not an OrgComm pa that time. So after the survey, shempre napag-usapan yung event sa GC na ganito ganyan ganire ganon, doon dito, 🎶sino bang dakila, sino ang tunay na baliw?🎶 Eh ako, bilang Team Abroad #SaklapLayp, lungkot-lungkutan diba. Dramarama ang peg ko because #PAANO ako makaka-join?

So because makapal naman my face and feeling close kay Mother, on August 14, I DM’d her: #ResiboPolicy

O diba, inabala ko pa her pag-plantsa. Take note, that’s 1:36 PM PDT, meaning 4:36 AM PH time yan na nagpaplantsa sha. Isang ulirang ina talaga.

So na-excite ako diba? I told myself na yay! may committee na agad akong nasalihan, kahit di ako maka-attend, I’ll be able to contribute! Sobrang proud ko sa sarili ko, bes! 😄

Then I opened yung GC where she added me.

They were already in the middle of discussing whether open field or basketball court yata or something yung venue. But the concern was the weather. Paano daw pag umulan, bumagyo, chorva chenes. Tahimik lang ako. Nag-pabebe hi lang ako. Kasi isip ko, oh wow! Ang seryoso ng committee na to!

Then nag-hi sila lahat sa’kin isa isa. Ang saya! Feel ko agad na I belong. Then I checked the participants list nung GC and counted 10 people, including me. I knew them all na kase sa TBK GC, so ang saya diba kasi hindi ako ma-aawkward because kilala na din nila ako. Then tuloy lang their discussion, ang bilis ng messages, bes, kase they were seriously discussing nga the venue.

Then it started to sink in.

I said, wait lang, ano ‘tong napasukan ko? Tama ba ‘to?

I was expecting a small committee na bibigyan ng assignment. I thought na ganun yun. Then I realized na oh shoot, OMG core pala to. Pinagpawisan ako ng malamig, bes. Pati kili-kili ko yata namawis. Muntik ako umatras kase again, #PAANO diba?

But I told myself (Oo na, I talk to myself a lot. Walang basagan ng trip!), kayanin mo self, andyan ka na. Nakakahiya sa kanila na nag-voluteer volunteer ka, tapos aatras ka. So after a huge lunok ng hiya, sumali ako sa usapan. Kapal ng mukha ko I swear. I started giving my inputs, they shared the folders and files with me, nag-volunteer pa ako ayusin the folders. Then yun, nagtanong sila kung anong committees ang hahawakan namin bawat isa. Ang tahimik ko na naman, bes. Kasi they asked kung san daw ako magaling. Hahahahaha tinawanan ko yata sila. Kase bes, huhubells I know nothing about organizing events! Naisip ko na lang, since ang line of work ko naman now is Accounting, napunta ako sa Finance. So yay! Ok sige, bffs naman kami ng excel and google sheets so gorabels! keribels! Keribam bam bam!

So dun nag-start yung totoong duties. Take note na never nag-turuan dito na ikaw dyan, ikaw dito. Lahat volunteer, tipong sige ako na dito, ako na don. Yun yung sobrang minahal ko sa small group na to. Huhubells mahal ko kayo OrgComm, sagad!

Okay, mamaya na ako iiyak. Tuloy ko muna kwento ko.

So sa finance shempre, ano pa ba ginagawa kundi magmanage ng finances diba. Kasama ko dito si Ate Shine and si Jill. So shempre sa committee namin yung paghanap ng sponsors kasi nga finances. Eh since makapal face ko, nag-volunteer ako na sige gow, ako na ang magsesend ng letters. But the problem was uhm I’ve never done that before. Bes, Political Science yung major ko, Bes. What do I know about Marketing? Waley. Zero. Nada. Kahit tuldok. So, shempre hanap kami ng help. If there’s really one thing to describe this fandom or to remember it by, aside from A&M, it’s really the bayanihan. Hindi ka mauubusan ng nag-ooffer maghelp. So we asked for help and help poured in. Shout out to Mama Ruthie for putting together the first draft of sponsorship packages!  It made our lives so much easier. Mother and Ate Shine just had to tweak them a bit, then write simple cover letter, so yay! I just transferred over sa letterhead ng adnfest and voila! Ready to go na the letters! Pero Bes, shempre may letter na pero haller, san namin isesend? Hahahah So I made a list ng lahat ng endorsements ni Maine and Alden individually and together. I scoured the interwebs to get contacts. That’s where I started. Pero yung mga nakuha kong contacts shempre mga tipong general customer service chorva lang nung mga companies. Pano kami mapapansin diba? So the Finance team and mga TBK and friends of friends and random people sa fandom to the rescue! As in we got random DMs pointing us to the right people. Ang galing and bilis ni God magbigay ng solution eh. Di ko na kayo iisa-isahin, you all know na who you are, but thank you sobra sa paghukay and sisid sa FB, google, IG, Twitter, sa mga kakilala, sa mga hindi kakilala, sa mga tao sa kanto, and sa mga kapatid ng pinsan ng lola ng tatay ng asawa ng uncle ng ninang ng kinakapatid ng ampon ng kapitbahay nyo for contacts! Ang galing lang talaga eh!

Pero here’s the disadvantage of being the one in charge of sending sponsorship letters: ikaw din ang magmomonitor ng replies. Ang hirap bes, kase after every send ko ng email, halos di ako nakakatulog kakahintay ng reply. Alam nyo yung feeling na nagsend ka ng secret letter sa crush mo confessing your feelings, tapos mega wait ka ng reaction from him/her? Yon. Yun ang feeling bes! Ang hirap diba?

It took days to even get one reply. And the very first one who replied, without any doubt, questions, or reservations on who we were was Ms. Mary. Goosebumps, Bes. You know why? Mamaya ko na explain, Bes. Basta remember her name. Pero yun nga, sobrang thank you to Ms. Mary of Neozep, dahil sila yung unang unang nagtiwala sa amin, kaya they will always have a special place in our hearts. Biruin nyo, ang unang sagot ni God sa prayers namin is pampaginhawa ng pakiramdam? Nakakalurky.

So sa kanila nag-start. From there, dumating na the other email responses. Ito na yung mga times na halos di na ako makatrabaho kakahintay ng emails. And like I mentioned, disadvantage ng email sender is ako din ang nag-aabang ng replies. Masaya naman because I got to be the first to get excited sa mga nag-yes.... but I was also always the first recipient of rejection. Masakit Bes. Ang sakit sakit.

Ang paghahanap ng sponsors, parang pag-ibig lang yan. So you put yourself out there, nagpaganda ka, you put the best version of yourself and offer everything you have-- puso at kaluluwa. Kailangan mo ng tibay ng loob, you have to know your worth, and you really have to be ready for rejection kasi, maraming nag-decline. We expected it na rin naman because hello, sino ba naman kasi kami diba? Pero pordalab and with unli prayers kay Papa God, nilakasan na rin namin loob namin. Pero alam mo yung paulit ulit kang umasa, pero paulit ulit kang nareject ng different people? Worse, yung iba, deadma talaga. Hanggang sa bandang huli, namanhid na lang ako. May mga times na umiyak talaga ako because ang sakit Bes, especially dun sa wala talaga kaming nakuhang response. I deserve an explanation! I deserve an acceptable reason! Ganern! Pero cheret lang shempre. Like I said, we expected the worst naman talaga. But just to give you an idea of what we went through, here.

Parang guys/love lang ang mga sponsors, bes:

1. Yung love at first sight/first love. Neozep to, I swear. Sila yung minahal na kami agad kahit wala pang details. Walang tanong or pagdadalawang isip, gusto nila magparticipate. Kaya sila ang first love namin and pag-uwi ko ng Philippines, forever loyal na ako sa Neozep.

2. Yung Paasa at Pahabol. Sila yung isusubmit daw sa supervisor or correct department pero never na sumagot ulit. Yun pala nag abroad na at may kinasama nang iba! Mga talipandas! Hahahah joke lang peace po.

3. Yung hindi sure. Sila yung papag-isipan, pero eventually mukang nakalimutan na. Parang guys na hindi alam kung mahal ka nya or naaaliw lang sha sayo. Yung urong sulong ang puso. Yung hindi na lang sabihin nang diretso na “sorry, ayoko talaga sayo, bye.” hmp!

4. Right love at the wrong time. Eto yung isa sa mga pinakamasaklap. Sila yung nag-decline kasi sayang, nabigay na nila sa iba their sponsorship budget for that period, but they really wanted to join. #sadlayp Sila yung isa sa mga iniyakan ko slight ng adobe. Nakakahinayang kasi sobrang short lang kasi ng notice.

5. It’s not you, it’s me. Yung sponsors na hindi lang kasi talaga sila bagay para dun sa event.

6. Protective. Sila yung tipong may walls around them at matinding protection sa sarili, takot masaktan bes. Hahaha joke. Sila yung may strict specifications sa lahat to protect the brand. And natuwa ako sa kanila, because I learned a lot about branding! O davah, bonggels! I didn’t know na lowercase or uppercase letters matter. Astig eh!

7. Date date muna. Sila yung gusto formal meeting muna, which I think was fun based sa kwentos of my fellow OrgComm who met up with them. Nakakatuwa madiscover na mga fangirls/fanboys din talaga sila.

8. May tulay. Sila yung hindi yung brand mismo yung kausap namin but a 3rd party na parang marketing/advertising company. Ang astig eh! I swear, it was super nakakaaliw yung mga natutunan ko dito.

9. Tahimik magmahal. Sila yung walang kibo, ni ayaw magpa-mention, pero yung naitulong nila sa amin, wagas! *ubo PLDT Home DSL and Puregold ubo* huhubells we love you po talaga and thank you!

10. Si Forever. I want to mention Coke because sila yung naging official partner namin. It’s still surreal for me until now. Sila ang forever namin I think. Pero like any real forever love, pinapaghirapan yan at dumadaan sa trials. Yung ligawan, pag-arrange ng dates na nagkakaaberya last minute, but in the end, sa altar este sa SMX din natuloy. heheheh

So yan, nilimit ko na lang sa 10 para bonggels.

But then, there’s Oishi. Okay, special mention ko ang Oishi because hari talaga siya ng hugot and twice ko siya iniyakan. Yes, siya ang iniyakan ko ng adobe nang bonggang bongga. Ito yung pag-ibig na niligawan mo, tapos naging MU kayo. Sobrang saya mo na for a few days. Araw araw kayo mag-usap, ganern, hanggang makatulog sa madaling araw hawak mo pa phone mo (literal. #TimezoneProbs). Tapos biglang isang araw, ayaw na nya. Nadurog ang puso ko Bes sa pakikipagbreak nya. I questioned everything that I believed in. I questioned my own feelings. (cheret! ang drama eh) Humagulgol ako na bonggang bongga, bes. Nagtanong ako sa Dyos kung may mali ba akong nagawa. Nagtanong ako kung anong pagkukulang ko. May mali ba akong sinabi? Ginawa ko naman lahat. Kinuskos ko naman. Pero wala pa rin. Nadurog pa rin ang puso ko. Wasak ako Bes. Madaling araw na nun. Umiiyak ako. Sabi ko, please, ako na lang… ako na lang ulit.

Nung una nag-hesitate pa ako sabihin sa OrgComm, kasi nahiya ako because I already told them about my relationship with Oishi. Masaya na silang lahat for me, tapos ganito? Pero shempre, as with how all pemilies should be, di ko na pinatagal and I told them. Umiyak ako sa kanila, as in hagulgol while typing sa GC. Shempre disappointed sila lahat, yung iba nga parang may galit pa sa nangyari eh. Pero alam nyo bakit mas lalo ako naiyak? Because when I showed the breakup letter (cheret) sa kanila, they cried with me (virtually and except Gab and Jill-- hindi umiiyak mga yan. hahaha peace lamyu). Nalungkot sila for me. Dinamayan nila ako. Hinayaan nila akong magmukmok at malungkot for myself. Natulog ako noon na umiiyak, Ate Charo. Hindi ko talaga kinaya. Tapos paggising ko, hindi ako agad sumilip sa GC. Heartbroken eh. Gusto ko lang maglasing sa tulog. Sakit pa ng ulo ko when I woke up and super swollen my eyes because of crying nga. Pero nag-viber sila sakin. Grabe lang yung pagmamahal ng OrgComm sa akin, I swear. So nag-viber sila to say na ok na ulit si Oishi. Nakikipagbalikan na daw. Umiyak ulit ako, Ate Charo. Hindi ko talaga kinaya. Hinintay nila ako gumising to ask if gusto kong makipagusap ulit. Pero naintindihan nila na wasak pa rin ang puso ko at di ganun kadali magmove on. So they replied for me. So yun. Nagkabalikan kami ng Oishi.... thus the title of this blog and Gab’s Oishi message for me:

Iba talaga yung naging experience ko sa part na to. Ang dami kong natutunan sa marketing, advertising, and basta yung ways ng bagay bagay in the Philippines. Nakakahanga talaga because everything was new to me and I am really thankful I got to experience this with the most patient and understanding people.

So yan ang kwento about Sponsorships. Heheh *pahid ng uhog*

Sa totoo lang, my journey to the ADNFest2016 was really like yung naranasan ko with Oishi-- yung roller coaster of emotions, yung puyat at pagod, yung both yes and no.

But aside from Sponsorships, sa committee din namin ang audit sheets and monitoring of payments and donations.

Literal na in one day, iyak tawa ako kasi tipong may magdedecline na sponsor, pero biglang may magpepledge or magdodonate sa gofundme. Not for the faint of heart ang magmonitor ng sponsor at pledge/donation emails. Nakakaloka sha Bes, but I regret nothing. And buti na lang na kahit papano nasaktan na ako enough to have a stronger heart for this. Hahahaha

Naenjoy ko yung pagsend ng emails. Naenjoy ko lalo yung audit sheets. Kaloka lang kapag di nagsubmit ng deposit receipt, bes! 😂 Naenjoy ko yung pagprint and cut ng IDs, especially Maine’s, Alden’s, and Matti’s. Nagsanay ako ng few Spanish sentences to bargain for the lanterns sa Mexican friend ng co-worker ko. And kinapalan ko fez ko na ipakipauwi kay Mel yung bigat na lanterns na yan to Pinas. So thank you again, Mel for taking them home! Hihihi

Nakakapagod because of the timezone yung puyat, but it was all worth it. Yung pakikipaglaban ko to okay yung pag-hire a last minute company for the livestream, jusko sa puyat ko nun, di na ako nakapasok sa work. Nakakamiss na actually (artista! hahaha), yung excitement, yung takot, yung kaba.

Yung tuwing may mag all caps ng GIRLS sa GC, nahuhulog puso ko because it meant something super duper major. We’re all mostly kalma naman kasi (thanks to Gab). So basta may nag all caps na, ay jusko, all eyes na kami sa messages. Here are some na naaalala ko na nahulog ako sa sahig because most of these happened while I was tulog. #TimezoneProbs

1. Accidental meeting with Alden at Concha’s. Ito yung kwento ni Tere. Pero please don’t judge me. Hindi dun sa pagconfirm ni Alden ako nahulog sa sahig eh. Dito talaga:

Hindi ko kinaya, Bes. My Tentenatics heart could not take it. Gumulong talaga ako sa floor sa sobrang saya ko.

2. Confirmation na dadating si Meng. Yung kilig at iyak ko nito umabot sa Saturn.

3. Dadating daw si Ms Annette. Nakakaloka, Bes! Alam mo yung feeling ng sinabihan ka ng sister mo na dadating yung Tita mong artista from Hollywood, yung kahit alam mong cool tita sha, nakaka intimidate pa rin? Yun ang feeling ko kay Ms. Anette. Hahaha

4. Yung may pasample ng performers’ rehearsals. Nung una ko nakita yung rehearsal ng Keep Holding On, hindi ako nakahold on Bes. Naglupasay ako sa floor. Huhubells!

5. Yung pagtawag ng Coke kay Ate Shine. We never expected it kase.

Mga good news lang yan. Ayoko na isa isahin yung mga bad because masakit alalahanin. Basta just a few days before ng fest, kulang na lang sumuko na lang kami but we didn’t. Kinaya namin. Tulong tulong.

Nakakabaliw talaga Bes. Kase ang smart ko din na sumali pa ako sa drabble challenge ng AMACon 3 kahit halos mamatay na sa pagod sa ADNFest preps. Tipong ilang beses ako na sit down meeting ng boss ko and was asked if may personal problem daw ba ako. I mean, #paano mo ieexplain sa boss mo na “uhm... sorry, I just didn’t get any sleep because I audited deposit receipts for a fandom event.” Jusmiyo marimar. Halos di kami nagkita ng roommate ko nung 2months na yan because lagi lang ako nasa room. Pinagpalit ko na rin ang lablayp at kinalimutan si kras para hindi ako madistract. I think the only thing that kept me sane was ClingyTitas and really, the OrgComm. Kakaibang support system to. Wala kaming sinukuan na kahit ano. Laging sagot was “kaya natin to” or “kayang brasuhin ni Candy yan” or “hinahon muna tayo, may diplomatic answer si Gab dyan” or “sige, ask tayo ng help” or “teka, kalma tayo, let’s talk about this then vote” or “God will provide” or “pagpray natin.”

I really believe that because walang nega samin and lahat kami believed in each other (kahit later on, like a few days before the event we found out na we all started organizing with no knowledge whatsoever of what we’re supposed to do or what organizers actually do! Nakakatawa bes!), kaya kami nag succeed sa whatever we wanted to accomplish. Hindi naman sa nagbubuhat ng own bangko, but I’ll buhat na rin, but I think kung hindi sakto yung mga ugali namin with each other’s, baka nagsabunutan na kami, albeit virtually, dahil sa lahat ng trials.

Pero alam nyo, I really believe din sa divine intervention and that Papa God was really with us the whole time kaya wala kaming naging major trials na hindi namin kinaya. Heto mga ghostpumps moments:

Our first sponsor was Neozep through Ms. Mary. Parang sinend sa amin ni God si Mama Mary para gumaan yung pakiramdam namin. Kakaloka diba? After that, nagsunod sunod na. Thank you Ms. Mary, Neozep, and to all our sponsors!

Then there’s Ms. Miracle of Instamug who was just all too happy to provide our souvenirs. Souvenirs na we already gave up on sa simula pa lang. We said kasi na wag na magsouvenir kasi hindi nga keri, because budget jusko. Pero dumating sa buhay namin si Ms. Miracle and we got everything we wanted and more. Huhubells! Pati yung special request kong umbrella, meron! Ang saya saya!

Madami pa yan. Pero I’ll let them kwento na the rest dahil uhm ang haba na nito jusko, nagbabasa ka pa ba? Kung nakarating ka na sa part na to, tweet mo ko ng “@pandita0314 huhubells! Achievement unlocked” hahaha seryoso, gawin mo yan with HT por da ecanami, bago mo ituloy! 😂

Ayun. Basta ang point ko was lahat ng bagay, nakuhanan or nabigyan ng sagot. Lahat nagawan ng paraan. Lahat napag-usapan at naayos na matiwasay.

Nung mismong event na, bilang #TeamAbroadNgangaSaGanap ako, halos all day ako umiiyak. Yung emothyon ko, di ko na talaga napigil. Fine, nasa top 3 ako ng iyakin sa OrgComm, pero #PAANO ka naman kasi hindi maeemothyonal makita yung pinaghirapan ng group that you were a part of? Never pa ako naging part ng ganito. Then makita mo how happy the people were at the event. Mula sa mga pila, hanggang sa dance party sa Shut Up and Dance. Nakakaiyak! Yung pagdating ni Alden and Maine, bonus na cupcake na lang yun eh. Yung nagpang-abot sila, icing na lang yun ng cupcake. Yung kumanta si Alden, jusko sprinkles na lang yun nung icing ng cupcake. Pero yung nag-ikot sila at nalapitan ng mas maraming tao at nakapasok pa sila sa Creatives’ Nook? Bes, yun yung dambuhalang lifesize cake na nilabas out of nowhere at topping lang pala yung unang bonus na cupcake. Ganun namin hindi inexpect ang mga ganap. Kaya nakakaiyak. Hindi ako natulog hanggang di natapos yung LS. Nung humiga ako, nakatulog ako na umiiyak pa rin. Sobrang maga ng eyes ko when I woke up.

As closing, gusto ko ulitin what Maine said sa ADNFest na forever na sigurong nakaukit sa puso at isip ko: Sana, yung mga relationships/friendships na nabuo natin because of Maine and Alden, sana hindi yun mawala kahit anong mangyari.

Lahat tayo nagkakilakilala because of our love for Alden and Maine. ADNFest, for me, was a testament and celebration of that love. A lot of people came together to make this happen, and we cannot thank you all enough sa tulong. But more than that, mas dumami pa yung nabuong friendships because of ADNFest (shoutout to Team Alone No More/ @adnfestbabies). Dun ako talaga super duper proud na because of this simple event, yung mga dating mag-isang nagfafangirl/boy, ngayon may barkada na. Mas dumami pa ang friends natin and mas tumibay pa tayo as friends, pemily, fandom, and  most especially as a nation.

Andami na nating pinagdaanan, bes, ngayon pa ba tayo susuko?

cue music: 🎶keep holding on… ‘cause you know we’ll make it through... 🎶

Pahabol na Shanaynay (P.S.)

See you sa ADN Summer Fest Cebu?

P.P.S.

See you din sa ADN Fest 2017?

*pabebe tawa and sukbit ng patilya sa tenga*

P.P.P.S.

Because of ADNFest, sinantabi ko ang lablayp ko. Nag-thrive ang pimples ko. Dumami ang gray hair ko. Lumaki eyebags ko at tumaas yung eyeglasses prescription ko bes! Hahahahaha But you know what? No regrets and I’d do this all over again with the OrgComm in a heartbeat. :)

- P (@pandita0314)

Usapang Budget

Kung nasusuka ka sa mga numbers, wag mo na ituloy ang pagbabasa nito. Ako pala si Jill, ang dakilang Accountant/Auditor ng ADNFest. At ito ang aking kwento… (Char! Docu? Lol)

So ayun, dati pa talaga naming naiisip ang mag get-together. Sa Team Butchikiks (TBK), GC lang po siya ng mga mahaharot dahil sa fanfic ni MJ na He Said She said. Nag kita kita na sila before, dinner ganun.

Konting kwento lang pano ako napunta sa OrgComm ha. Dati tahimik lang ako sa TBK GC. Lurker ba. Then nagkita sila Tere, Elaine, Candy, Shine basta, sila, eyeball sila sa SM Aura. Tapos napag usapan nila na gusto nila mag donate sa isang lapis isang papel, kahit daw 50 kits lang. De sige go. Ang ending, sa GC, ang dami gusto mag donate. Tapos, alam ko kagigising ko lang nun (team abroad) bigla nag announce si Shine, na
“Di ba may auditor sa GC na to? Sino ka nga?”
Sabi ko, ay teka, Ako yun! Charot. Nag DM sa akin si Shine, ayaw niya kasi talaga humawak ng pera. So kelangan may controls (nosebleed na at this point ano? Pwede wag mo na ituloy to. hahaha). Anyways, so ayun. Di hala, discuss agad ng controls, ganito ganyan. Sabi ni Shine, Hepppp! I add kita sa GC ng OrgComm. Hahaha. So ayun, discuss ulit ako ng controls over cash. Sabi ata ni MJ dati, Jill, please speak in English. Hahahahaha. ang tahimik nila, sabi ko, welcome ba ako dito? Di lang talaga sila relate. Sabi, basta, ikaw bahala sa funds. Nosebleed agad ang dala ko first day ko sa GC. Anyways, fast forward, we were able to deliver 200k++ worth of school supplies sa Eat Bulaga. Inaudit ko lahat yun!

Then ayun, nung Anniversary nung July 16, nag small get-together sila, mga mahaharot na TBKs, sa bahay nila Mommy Kim. Sabi namin, sana madami tayo na invite. Gusto naming ma meet mga tao sa fandom… Then the idea was shelved dahil… nagkaroon ng IYAM! Nag pa Block Screening muna kami sa Glorietta, ako din ulit accountant/auditor dun. Eh kasi ayaw namin natetengga. Naghahanap kami ng sakit ng ulo.

Then tadah! Isang hapon, sabi ni MJ, guys ituloy na talaga natin yung gathering na pangarap natin. So hanap-hanap kami venue. Yung sa Intramuros pa yung una naming choice, Puerta Real. You can check sa google, good for 1k pips, outdoor, 30k lang. Di sige, inquire tayo… Mejo nabubuo na siya. Gumawa na din ako ng costing per pax, magkano estimated na ticket price. Then sabay, pano kung iinvite natin si Alden at Maine? Security! Jeske! No no ang outdoor, tapos baka umulan. Di hanap ulit ng bagong venue, hanap kami… Acacia Estates… naalala ko, nakita naming yung Glass Garden ba yun? Correct me if I’m wrong, dun ata nag bday si Nadine (Jadine! Hahaha.) Nakita naming ang price, then sabi, ay wag. Hahaha. Mamumulubi tayo. Di pwede… hanap pa… hanap… then MJ released that blog, and we released the survey… para ma estimate namin ilan ang pupunta. At dahil ang dami nag respond, estimate namin more than 1500 nag respond in a few hours.

We looked for bigger venues, pero naman, full payment daw agad upon reservation. 2k lang pera namin. Hahahahaha. Di nga namin pera yun. Maintaining balance yun ng bank account na gamit namin since isang lapis isang papel. So wala kaming pera. Then, ang pinag pipilian namin, World Trade Center and SMX. Jeske yung presyo, sabi ko, teka lang… hahahaha. Ano na? Tapos nag pa quote kami. Mahima himatay ako. Binalikan ko yung costing per person, hindi enough ang 500/pax lang. Pero na announce na namin sa survey na 500 lang ang ticket price. More than 10x na tayo sa estimate. Hahaha. Halos kahalati ng ticket price mapupunta lang sa venue. Pero sabi namin, nananalig kami sa mga may mabubuting puso sa fandom. Mag scout tayo for donations and sponsorships. Then, aun, after maybe a week, sumugod si Candy, Elaine and Tere sa SMX, meeting meeting. Then boom, pirmahan na. Hahaha. I tell you guys, pumirma sila sa SMX, 2k pa din ang laman ng bank account namin. And in a matter of 10-15 days, we have to pay downpayment sa SMX worth ****** or else, mawawala ang venue. So ayun kami, release the registration form agad, and payment details.

Ang dami naming glitches nun kasi di talaga kami prepared. Kaya mejo natagalan ang pag release namin ng payment details. So ayun na, we started scouting for other suppliers… Stage, lights, lahat na. Then, people are sending DMs, and if we need any help. I allocated a budget for decors, pero unti unting nababawasan. May sumagot ng balloons, ng tarps, ng banners, ng photobooth. ANG DAMING GENEROUS PEOPLE FROM THE FANDOM – they do not even want to be named. Pag ka release namin ng pledge, the following day, may pledge agad worth *****. Grabe, sabi ko, sure ba siya na yan? Baka na sobrahan ng zero. Hahaha. pero yun daw talaga. Iyak agad… sila. Haha. (Sorry, just letting you know, di ako iyakin). Hahahaha. Tapos nung ni-release naming yung bank account details, aba, oo nga. Grabe. Ang laki ng donation niya Megahd!. Ni hindi niya binigay yung full name niya sa pledge form. Nickname niya lang ata yun. Huhu.

Tapos maliban diyan sa venue, madami pang kwento yan, 2 months ba naming trinabaho. Pero eto pa ang top 5 unforgettable Budget moments sa OrgComm GC:

1. Sponsorships kamo? – Ang hirap ang maghanap ng sponsors! Ang dami nag reject sa amin, yung unang “solicitation” letter namin, nag mamakaawa kami sa mga companies para ambunan nila kami ng konting grasya. Hahaha. It’s a big No No! Hahahaha. Kaya nagpatulong kami kay mommy Ruthie (Labyu Mommy!) para magpagawa ng sponsorship package, magkaiba sila. Basta. Hahaha. Eh di ready na ang package, sabi, kanino natin isesend? Hala siya! I asked around, para sa list nung endorsements ng MaiChard, and we said, send tayo ng sponsorship letters sa lahat. Eh, wala kaming contact, ayun minessage namin yan lahat ng SocMed accounts nila! FB, IG, Twitter, lahat na! Saksi ang Finance team dito! Shout out kay Ja na nag swimming sa FB, sa lahat ng official page ng mga endorsements nila Alden and Maine. Sabi namin, pati yung mga as Juan for All, malamang kilala nila Aldub! Hahaha. Pati LaPacita ni message namin! Ayun, ang ending, alam niyo na sino ang mga sponsors, sa tiyaga din naming makahanap ng mga contacts, referrals from some people, we were able to book 10 sponsors. Ang saya ko nung Um-oo yung Maynilad and Coke, kasi bes, tanggal sa budget na ang drinks! Sagot na nila!. 2,000 pieces ng Coke at Water din yun! You do the Math! *whew*.

2. Security – I remembered one day, ilag pa si Candy (siya in charge sa pakikipag usap sa mga suppliers, ang galing niya!) sa akin sa GC.

Sabi ba naman, “Jill, nakaupo ka ba?”

Nanlalamig ako pag mga ganyan, ang dami kong mini-heart attacks sa Fest! Eh di ayun, sabi, Jill kasi yung sa event permit *blah blah* wala na akong naririnig/nakikita. Naghihintay na lang ako ng punchline, sabi, kelangan natin ng K9! K9??? K9??? Huhuhu (Yan yung aso di ba? yung pag may bomb threat ganun?). Teka, ang gusto lang natin kumain ng fishball and ice cramble dati, ngayon sasabihin mo kelangan ng K9??? Sinong walang puso ang mag lalagay ng bomba sa isang fans day ng Aldub Nation? I mean? Sino??? Anyways, ayun, kelangan eh, so yeah, may K9 tayo mga bes! Di namin nakita, si Shine lang nakakita sa kanya. Lol! Eto pa! “Jill, sabi ng security natin, kelangan daw natin ng crash barricades” Hahahahaha. Ano daw? Jusko, facepalm-ngiwi moment. Siyempre, ang default question ko is “how much are we talking about?” (Wow, English!). Anyways, ayun, nairaos din naman, adjust adjust sa budget, tanggap tanggap ng late registrants, sige lang, tanggap pa! Ang usaping security and event permit talaga ang nagpapatunay na wala kaming ka alam alam sa pinasok namin! Hahahaha. But of course, God works in mysterious ways. He sent people, and madaming goosebumps moments kami, na mapapasabi kang, Wow! Thank you Papa God! You should hear the story how Candy was able to find our supplier for security! Grabe talaga yun sa coincidence! *goosebumps*.

3. “Benta tayo ng Coke!” – Hahaha, guys sorry, kelangan kong ikwento to. It was just a joke okay? Pero seriously, ganito, wala na talaga kaming budget, and malayo pa ang collections to go namin. Sabi ko, iiyak na lang tayo, chip-in chip-in tayong OrgComm para sa kulang ha. Kasi wala na talaga. Tapos sabi ko, aha! madami naman ang Coke, ibenta kaya natin yung iba? TAPOS MAY ISANG MEMBER NG ORGCOMM BIGLANG TUMAHIMIK. Yun pala, nag papadala na ng pera. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously guys, kung magkano yung hinahabol namin, yun ang padala niya (at hindi siya maliit!). I remember after ng padala niya, nag compute ako ng collections to go, may sobra na kaming Php48. Hahahahahaha. Tapos sabay sabi niya sa akin “Jill, mag promise ka sa akin na hinding hindi ka mag bebenta ng Coke, please. Magpromise ka.” hahahahaha. *peace out kung sino ka man, alam mong ikaw to. Hahaha!*

4. Livestreaming - Eto, na mis calculate talaga namin to. Mga maling akala na yan talaga, madami napahamak. Anyways, akala kasi namin, yung mga tools and paraphernalia ng livestreaming eh included na dun sa lights and sounds supplier namin. Sabi naman nila, may pang LS daw sila, so okay. Then nung nakuha na namin ang go-signal ng PLDT for internet connection for LS, ayan okay na wala nang problema. Guys, this is mga 3 days before the Fest ha! Sabay, nope, me kelangan pa palang bilhin, etc. etc. I personally believe, na nag usap na si Candy and MJ, may sarili silang GC dito. Hahaha. kasi naramdaman ko nung pumasok sila sa GC para sabihin sa akin na kelangan ng budget, isa din ito sa “Jill, nakakapit/nakaupo ka ba?” moment. Pero anyways, may nakausap na daw sila, so, lahat ng kelangan for LS, **k lahat. 3 days before the Fest! and wala na talaga, sagad na sagad na ang budget. Napabukas agad ako ng laptop, tingin sa budget, ano pa ang pwede kong ikaltas. bawas dito bawas doon, pakiusap dito, brasuhin doon. Alam mo how we made it work? The people in the Org Comm are the most selfless people you could ever work with.

“Magbibigay daw Pexers”, 
“Jill, aambag ako ng ___”, 
“Jill, may nag donate ulit sa gofundme dagdag mo ang **k”
“Jill, aambag ako ng ganito, saka mo na kami i reimburse, kung may sobra man” 
“Jill, nag promise ako dati mag bibigay ako, sagot ko na ang **k” 

 And then, after 5 mins, may budget na ulit ang LS! Sabi ko, okay na. Kalma na tayo. I-go na natin yan. Pero feeling ko, mga 5 mins din kaming hindi humihinga, and dala na din siguro ng dasal, nairaos namin ang LS. I even attempted to say, “FB live na lang natin”. There was an astounding “NO!!” sa GC. :P

It was our way of saying Thank you din kasi, sa mga Team Abroad, mga di makakapunta, who selflessly said na, “Eto, **k, donate na lang ako. Kahit hindi ako makapunta, enjoy kayo ha! Kaya kung kelangan igapang, and we even personally handed over the solicitation letter to PLDT (Thank you Tinay!!! Dabest ka!) and Tinay even clarified na wala po kami kelangan sa inyong pera, internet connection lang po kelangan namin. (Hahahaha!) Sa dami ng hanash and “mababaw ang kaligayahan” sa fandom, one would never think, that we have the most blessed, but most humble people you will ever meet in your lifetime. To team abroad, we hope we made you feel that you belong, that you were there during the Fest. Dalawa sa OrgComm ay team abroad din, but distance and timezones were never a hindrance for us to organize this event. Trivia: 3 po ang timezone ng OrgComm. Kaya sa isang araw, hindi natatahimik ang GC. hihi. Special shout-out sa Pexers na nag ambag! Madaming Madaming salamat! :)

5. “How far are we to breakeven?” - araw araw yan, walang palya, araw araw yan na tinatanong sa akin. May na collect ba tayo today? Sino-sino mga nag bayad? Wala?
First and foremost, yung pinaka first naming registration na nirelease, there were 2k registrants, 70% lang ang collection rate. So di ba, kami, anyare? Hindi pwede na 70% lang ang collection, ang mga bayarin!!! Eh di, registration ulit! Ulit pa, isa pang registration. Nung hindi na kami ng release ng registration form, may mga nag DM na. Sige tanggapin mo na. May nagpadala ng nobela, kung bakit kelangan daw andun siya sa Fest, may asong nag mamaka-awa pa sa dulo ng letter niya. Pero sige, tanggapin mo na. Meron dun, senior Citizen daw siya, mahihirapan daw siya sa Fest, so dadalhin niya daw anak niya, etong si Nanay, pano niyo po nalaman to in the first place? Hahaha. Anyways… Sige na nga Nay. Hindi lang yan iisa, madaming beses yan. “Hello po, may slot pa po ba, isasama ko sana Nanay ko, 80 yo na po siya, pero fan na fan siya ng Aldub. Matutuwa po yun kung makakasama siya sa akin”. Di ba? Hindi naman bato mga puso namin, so sige na nga, tanggapin na”. Kulang pa tayo sa pera eh. hahaha. I have to deal with these questions everyday,

Jill, malayo pa ba? 
Oo, malayong malayo pa. 
Magkano na collect today? 
O, how much na to break even? 
Wala pa, malayo pa.
Ayan, may na collect ulit today, ok na? 
Wala pa din, binawas ko na ma kukuha natin sa *** at sa *** wala pa din. haha. 

 Refer to discussion sa Coke above, sa sobrang layo pa namin para ma cover ang expenses, nag threaten ako mag benta ng Coke! Ayun nga ang ending. Lol. Ay mga nang-away pa sa amin, siyempre, naiintindihan naman namin, binigay nila yung 500 nila sa amin, baka nga naman scam kami di ba? Hindi naman namin sila masisisi kasi never heard of us naman di ba? Yung mga nag isang lapis and block screening lang sa amin ang nakaka kilala sa amin, and makakapag patunay hna hindi kami scam. Hehehe.

Anyways, ayun, congratulations at naka abot ka sa part na to, pasensiya na and hindi ako writer, feeling ko pag full english ang blog entry na to, mas lalong hindi ko to matatapos. I admit that we miscalculated the ticket price, pero we would like to be reasonable din, sa iba siguro wala lang yung 500, but we have a story of one walk-in registrant na 200 lang ang dala niyang pera at sumugod siya sa SMX. She really just want to see Alden and Maine. So yung mga nasa registration, ambag ambag sila para mabuo yung 500 ni Nanay.

These are the kind of people that made us different, that I think set us apart. Alden and Maine are very down-to-earth individuals. We can imagine them as our friends, our son, our daughter, kapitbahay mo ganun, and they are so real as real could be. And despite sa problem sa finances, we were able to push through with the event, kahit pa may banta ng bagyo. I know we have lapses during the event, kahit kami mismo nakita namin yun. But we were glad that despite these, everyone went home very happy, euphoric to a point. And Alden and Maine stayed, and bonded with all of us. And for some, na minsan lang magkaroon ng chance na makita sila, nagka tamang panahon din sila at last! That’s really just our target, that we were able to let Alden and Maine feel our love, kahit wala tayong fans club, or group, or kahit nasa probinsiya tayo and nasa abroad, madami tayong nagmamahal sa kanila.

And before I end this blog, below is a liquidation report of the Fest. Pasensiya na at ngayon lang to na release. Adulting beh, matagal na din naman tong natapos, pero kelangan may kasamang blog entry na hindi ko matapos tapos. Hahaha. Peace! You might say, reklamo ako nang reklamo sa taas walang pera, eh may sobra pala. If you check closely, these are almost from the walk-in sales. Yung mga hindi naka register, pero sumugod sa SMX, kasi narinig nila sa 24 oras nung October 15 na may event tayo. Hahaha. Pumayag na lang kami na papasukin sila, meron dun, isang van sila, may kasama pa silang 83 yo na matanda na naka wheelchair. So, who are we to turn them away. We gave in na lang din. Saka, I covered some of the digits sa report, as some of these prices are with special consideration (tawad, in short) and some gave special discounts dahil Aldub fans din sila. Hihi. To return the favor na din, di ko i disclose ang full amount in public, but if you feel you need full details, DM niyo lang ang twitter account natin @adnfest and we will give you a copy of the full report! :)

And because of that, the OrgComm is planning another activity, wherein we will donate the excess cash to a charity organization! Secret muna to, kasi under discussion pa. Uunahan ko na po kayo ha, intact pa po ang pera natin! Saka malapit na din ang Christmas, it’s our way din to give back, with so much blessings that we received sa fandom and kay Alden and Maine na din, maliit pa yan compared sa mga natanggap natin!

And.. I don’t how to end this. Hahaha. Eto na lang, thank you so much for everything guys. For the friendship and the memories. It was one epic moment. And yes, my parents didn’t know about this yet. Mag-out na ako pag-uwi ko as pinas! See yah! :)

For the full liquidation report, please click here.

- Jill (@frosty_spice)