By Dave Albarado

It was a Thursday. A decade ago when my career made a 180-degree turn. A colleague of mine texted me that somebody from Bohol wanted to see me. I knew no one from Bohol back then, save for a few. My mind was racing a thousand miles per hour as I went back to Dumaguete's downtown. I was intrigued who wanted to meet me. I was just a small-town journalist and still I am. Wading through smoking chicken barbecue, I saw my colleague in the company of people who were strangers to me. That was the first time I met Boy Guingguing. He showed me his newspaper. I have a background not only in newspapering, but also in printing and I was impressed about the quality of his newspaper. That was the watershed moment when my career got some steroids.

It was in The Bohol Sunday Post that I learned how to do newspapering in a completely different way. It was light years compared to the kind of newspapering that I was brought up and the ones that I learned from journalism school. I completely re-learned my journalism at Sunday Post. I thought I knew everything there is to know. I felt I was the LeBron James of community newspapering. I felt I was Luke Skywalker who was going to save the newspapering world from the Dark Side. The fact is that I learned that I was about to learn from Yoda. Sunday Post opened my mind. I became more creative and I was given a free rein. I have to admit, a part of me had been shaped by the guidance of BG. To that I am thankful. I am thankful for the opportunity. The decision to go back to downtown to meet a person from Bohol may not be as groundbreaking as LeBron's decision to go to South Beach or his recent one to go back to Ohio. It was life-altering to me and for that I have to say thanks to BG, a legend in his own right. (Editor's Note): Dave earned his journalism degree from the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila. For a year he became BG's go-to man in editing and reporting. He is now based in Dumaguete City.