Why I'll never be able to cover the war in Afghanistan and win a Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism

Found out yesterday that Entrep is sending me to Mindanao in June and July this year. Region XII (North and South Cotabato, Sarangani Province, and Sultan Kudarat) and Region XIII (North and South Agusan and North and South Surigao). Just for a few days each. "Oh shit," I immediately thought when I found out. "Eric and my parents are going to freak."

Well, my parents didn't "freak out." But I could tell they were worried. I tried to assure them that I would be with a Summit photographer (whom I've worked with for ages) and that the Department of Trade and Industry people from the respective regions would escort us to wherever we had to go. They hardly looked assuaged. "Who do we know in General Santos City?" my mom immediately asked my dad.

Eric... well, he didn't freak out as well, as he knew there was nothing he could do. But Eric being Eric, he already started envisioning every possible negative scenario that may occur. "Does your office have an insurance policy against kidnap for ransom? May signal ba ang Globe or Sun diyan? You and your photographer will be sleeping in separate quarters, right? Wag kang tatapak kung saan-saan, probinsya yan, baka may magalit na engkanto."

This morning, my dad told me that my mom is actually thinking of going along on the trip. And when I checked my email this morning, I saw that Eric had already sent me links he had researched on the Internet about Region XIII.

I don't blame them for feeling this way. After all, we're not talking about an afternoon at Enchanted Kingdom here.

But still...I wonder if Christiane Amanpour's parents and husband are the same way everytime she goes away?