Glorious
Yesterday. Slept around two in the morning. Woke up six
thirty. Panic mode. Calm down. Went to school. One hour late. Thesis partner
called. Respondents backed out. Eyes were brimming with tears. “Stop that, MM. Do
something!” Called thesis adviser. Met up with thesis partner and two
respondents. At a lost. No venue for discussion. Respondents were not complete.
Uh-oh. “No. Do something. There’s a way.” Called some of the respondents and
used convincing power. Some agreed to come. Good. Went to CDC. Talked to kuya
guard, kuya Marlon and Mang Joe. Allowed to stay there and use the electric
outlet. Good. Moderated focus group discussion. Great. Respondents were
responsive. End. No snack for respondents. “Eat outside.” Went to Sweet
Inspiration and treat respondents. Done. Went to Jollibee and bought snacks for
the second group. Went to CDC. Two respondents who were supposed to be there
were absent. The other respondent waited for one hour. Chatted with her. Time
check: 12:15. Respondents were complete. Moderated focus group discussion. Some
of the respondents had a hard time expressing verbally their thoughts and
feelings. Probe. More probe. No change. Gave out cue answers and asked for word
precision. It worked. Great. End. Male group. Waited for one respondent who was
45 minutes late. Time check: 1:45. Moderated focus group discussion. Lower back
and lower abdomen’s painful. Continued to moderate. Smiled to cover up the pain
and tried so hard to concentrate on what the respondents were saying. Males were
verbally expressive. Very detailed explanation. Great! End. Ordered snacks. Pizza
hut. Mang Joe told us to transfer to Alon. Fogging in CDC. Went to Alon. Chatted
with some of the male respondents about other things. Last group arrived.
Started focus group discussion. Kuya guard told us to transfer at CHEAc. Problem:
no electricity. Uh-oh. Pizza hut delivery. Snacks. Talked with male respondents
about other things. Decided with thesis partner: where? Respondent volunteered
to buy batteries. Can’t say no. Wasn’t feeling well. He rode Ikot going there
and ran all the way from SC to our place. He was sweating when he arrived.
Uh-oh: CDC is already available. Transferred to CDC. Moderated focus group
discussion. Pain level elevated. Tried so hard to control face expression and
concentrated on what the respondent was saying. Time check: seven o’clock in
the evening. First male group stayed and waited for the second male group to finish. End
of focus group discussion. Two male groups stayed. They asked me about girls
and about the study. They even suggested some things. They consulted me about
things. We spent one hour discussing things, making them understand girls and explaining
some ironies. Went home together. One male respondent talked to me. “I thought
it was just a focus group discussion. I never thought that I would learn a lot
from it, my co-respondents and from our discussion after. Now, I know that I am not
alone. May mga kasama pala ako na ganito. Magaling. Magaling. Congrats! Salamat!” Was
very tired and sick. Wanted to go home immediately, shower and sleep. But when I heard
that, wow! This is fulfillment. Went home. Dinner. Take meds. Showered. Slept for twelve
hours. Ain’t that glorious?
