DJ Regina Sosing And How Our Path Had Crossed

The call to attend the first Golden Balangay Awards last year by one of the Organizers may have been dictated by destiny. Sometimes in some invites, I'd lay in bed thinking what goodness it will bring me if I will attend. I am that horrible when laziness to drive around Toronto chained me in my bed and then I will fire up several excuses. But that call made me get up and drove all the way to the flashy BMO venue where elegance was obviously blending with the occasion. One more thing, my access was VIP.

At the end of the event, a delicious buffet awaits at the after party. The roast beef cuts were thick cooked in medium rare. When I forked one, two slices came along and somebody stab it to help me out. A familiar face, the  Filipino child actor turned Toronto Police was beaming on me, Don Laurel, trying to hold the other cut of the juicy beef roasts.  Although I loved the abundance of all those goodies, I still am not comfortable drowned in a sea of people where I don't know anyone. Especially sitting on a chair where I do not know who will be sitting next to me.

Away from the mic

Most often, I will have a not so good encounter with strangers. Either they thought I don't belong there or I will slip my hands into their pockets. Either way, A lady sat on my left and a lady wearing gown sat on my right. It was obvious the two knew each other. At times they spoke a familiar language. My foods were mounting on my plate and I meant to finish them off before the lady on my right got a chance to sit and noticed my plate.

I can tell she was articulate because she was having a conversation with the other Nominees and awardees on the table next to us. I don't like formal and too elegant surroundings. Really, really not my type.

I can't remember what happened next or how the conversation started but I think I was talking more to the woman on my left than the elegant one on my right which turned out to be Regina Sosing, a radio host from Ottawa. I was eavesdropping and I heard she was hosting an event at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. I thought, "Oh shoot, this lady must be loaded." And I felt the more smaller on my chair. The good thing I noticed was her smile across her face which radiates friendliness.  She was occasionally looking at me with her peripheral vision. You know the kind of, "Who's this sitting next to me?"

I think we finally talk and get to know each other briefly. A bird's eye view of who we are. That was it, our first and only encounter. But it didn't end there as slowly we connect through her radio show in Ottawa. From then on, I got hooked on her Saturday show when she does her live streaming and I watched from home.

"DJ REGINA" of Tinig Pinoy Radio Ottawa is a radio personality with so much magnet and power. She's connecting to her audience and listeners. I am one person who cannot easily be persuaded by anything. But me and my roommate admired her multi-tasking ability, responding to her audience at the same time manning her show. She's not there to work. She's there to connect people from across the globe.

Tinig Pinoy Radio host, Regina Sosing from Ottawa

As months passed by, we slowly became friends and we chatted more often, exchanging views and opinions. We talked about community issues, although briefly, I suddenly realized we breathed the same passion for community service. She was actually one of the Nominees on that first Golden Balangay Awards that intertwined our path in the media world.

Every Saturday, as DJ Regina goes live, it's time for me to sit and have coffee and interact with her show. She is a down to earth individual. A very perspective person. As a radio host she does not just speak on a microphone, she also exudes intelligence and warmth. And she is a Mentor of high degree.

Last week, as she learned of my attempt to venture on the world of radio hosting, DJ Regina, even if she was only in Ottawa, coaches me and send me tips on how to be a host. I can feel her sincerity across the mile. The gentleness of someone who has done the same job and a seasoned Broadcaster in her life. I can feel the worry and the concern and as the show was over, the forgiving heart of a pro embraces me.

Regina Sosing with the late Senator Enverga Jr.

DJ Regina Sosing was watching me from afar ensuring that a beginner's bruises becomes minimal. That is so unselfish of her. The encouragement from a professional Broadcaster interviewing political figures in the Parliament of Canada, getting down to an Eaglet learning the craft and patting my head to keep going. How many unselfish people like DJ Regina do we have in our midst? Surely a lot....

But this Broadcaster's mentoring skills surpasses a dozen folds.. A genuine heart of pure understanding of how it is to begin a journey I never had. "Keep going..." I heard it from  this radio host, louder and extremely audible with forgiving spirit.

It blends perfectly to the many other voices of encouragement for me to defy challenges. And yes, let's roll the dice for a collective desire to succeed.

Remember to visit my timeline on Saturdays for DJ Redg. We are connecting for a fun Saturday morning from an internet radio, Tinig Pinoy Radio in Ottawa. It's a date...come on board too.