Groomer Has It!

By: Pauli Arielle Roa, student-producer
Episode aired last September 3, 2014
Guest: Mr. Ronnie Infante, Resident Pet Groomer,
           Pet House Pet Clinic and Grooming Center

I have an awful voice; I have a very awful voice. Most people, even those I call my friends, almost always tell me that. Although I have had already a short experience in radio production and I have passed a radio class last semester, it still didn't stop me from dreading to have my voice heard over the radio, because again, I have a very awful voice.

I have also a lot of insecurities when it comes to talking. I do not know tact. I do not know when to stop talking, even when what I say doesn't already make sense and is not so relevant to any topic under discussion. I have a tendency to use a lot of words and even create run-on sentences that are too far from being concise but have very little point or none at all. I am a wordy person, and I interject and segue to different thoughts that may be already too far-out from the original thought. I also interject upon other people's thoughts. I interrupt when others talk. That's why being a co-host with my professor proved to be a very difficult feat on discipline and self-control.

However, despite being unsure of myself and unsure of what I could share about myself and unsure when to talk during the whole production, I love animals very much! I enjoyed the radio production because I myself am very interested in pet grooming. I have always looked forward to finding somebody I could talk to about pet grooming. My favorite show in Animal Planet is about pet grooming. At first, there were difficulties that I encountered in getting speakers for the show, but every sweat (from walking along the streets of Maginhawa and Katipunan) and puyat (because I only write after midnight) was worth it. I got to know Kuya Ronnie and his team better. In general, I got to know pet groomers better. I would say that the episode helped me also acquire a greater love for animals, and a greater appreciation for "pet-carers".

The radio production was also sort of an eye opener for me. My professor, Ma'am Rara, shared her opinion about animals wearing decorations, and about animals being killed for products. I realized that I sympathized with her sentiment, and it opened me to another aspect of being an animal lover. We always have to consider what the animals might feel, and sometimes, even though it is no main intention of ours, in a way, we are objectifying them, especially when we treat them like trophies and circus animals through the use of colors and decorations. We strut, pamper and splurge on our pets, sometimes with unintentional disregard for their nature.

During the episode, I also learned a lot. One particular key learning experience was about the Aspins which I used to refer to as Askals. Everytime I look at the Aspins now on the street, I always go back to the radio production episode, and I can't help but well up with emotion for these lovable creatures. I hope someone could take care of them. Being in a dorm practically half my life (where it's not allowed to bring pets, even fish), I have always craved to give my love to a pet I can call my own.

I would gladly repeat the whole radio production. My only regret is I didn't feel more confident about myself and I was cramming the whole thing because of other production requirements from my TV production class. Maybe, if I'm not so busy anymore with my other classes, I might practically beg Ma'am Rara to get me as her co-host once more.

So did you miss the episode? Check out the recording and transcription on the following links!

Episode:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mRVxlBs_LnTjVjU0c5NkVkUEE/view?usp=sharing

Transcription:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mRVxlBs_LnRktqLUc1Nlk4LUk/view?usp=sharing