stories from raine...

Being on the shoes of a journalist is quite intriguing. People seem to think that this kind of job is not that profitable, while others think that it is full of excitement and adventure. A journalist might interview the most prominent person or just simply explore the lives of ordinary people. But most of all, this profession dares people to ask.

But what if the journalist plays the role of the interviewee?

A known-writer, Rome Jorge finally gets the chance to turn the tables and answer questions. As a journalist, he had interviewed personalities like Phoemela Barranda, Iya Villania, Ruffa Gutierrez-Bektas and Pops Fernandez among others. He is a columnist and staff-writer of The Manila Times' Lifestyle Section and a contributor to Manual and Mega magazines.

Romano Cortes Jorge chose the life of being a journalist because for him, this kind of job enables him to learn something new. Aside from meeting famous personalities, he also got the chance to do some things that common people couldn't do. It's like he has to work but that piece of work gives him some privileges or access to some important events around the corner. An example was when he got the chance to dive on one of the most beautiful diving spots in the country. Fortunately, because of his work, he had it for free.

At the age of 35, this UP graduate had somewhat lived the life that he wanted. Actually, he had just transferred to a new apartment and lives on his own. However, he couldn't help but compare his self to others. He admitted that the hardest thing about his life was when he sees that his colleagues have became doctors, lawyers etc., while he was still stuck in his same old roach-infested office.

Rome was sometimes concluded to be a metrosexual, but he defended himself against that misconception with an idea that “men is as vain as women.” Others think that he's a playboy but the truth is, he consider himself as a “torpe.”

On his plans about having a family, it seems like he knows what reality might bring to him. Enjoying his single-life as much as he could is a gamble. He confessed that he had dated single mothers and other girls around the corner but for him, marriage and kids will not guarantee that a relationship will work. According to him, he wanted to have a child of his own, but it would be alright for him to have none.

As of now, Rome is also teaching at The Manila Times School of Journalism. He admitted that he loves teaching the same way he loves to write. Teaching also adds digits to his pay check aside from being a journalist. Being able to do so, he had informed many students about feature writing and enabled him to understand his self more.

With all of those answers from a person who dares to ask, Rome had revealed himself not only as a journalist but also as a real person. He became true to his answers and similar to his articles, he never wasted a word to describe his life. Indeed, Rome proved, that aside from news articles and features, a journalist's life is also worth to be published.