Ok here I go again.

I need to write these things so it sees the light of day.

Why does it need to see the light of day?

So that it will not plant seeds anymore,

and hopefully it will stop from happening again.

So, I get this call from out of the blue.

“Oh my God, Raymund.. It’s been ages since I last saw you,

and I have been using the last picture you did of me pa!

I have a new project and it requires another beautiful shot of me…

Can you please please, pretty please, say yes to my only open schedule??? (now sounding like a college student from an exclusive school)”

the socialite said.

“How can I say no to you?” I replied then

I penciled in the schedule which was two weeks in advance,

and asked her if she needed anything else from me,

like a make-up artist, stylist or props..

“No more na, I will take care of everything on my end.

And I will pay you the usual rate na lang if you don’t mind.”

I can sense her smile.

“I have no problem with the usual rate.

Matagal na kitang kaibigan. We have been doing this since early 2000.”

I responded and said our goodbyes.

(I put the phone down and went on with my life.)

A day before the scheduled shoot, my studio manager gets a phone call;

“Hello. This is Vanessa, I am the assistant of Ms. Socialite.

She was asking kung puwede daw half-half na lang?”

the voice on the other end said.

“What do you mean half-half?” my Studio Manager asks.

“Half cash payment and half credit sa event.” Said Vanessa

Studio manager consults me and I said that:

1. It’s too low for a half cash, half credit.
2. I don’t think I need credit or mention sa event.
3. Even if sponsorship, I am not interested.
4. And it’s a day before the shoot, why was I informed only now?
5. And lastly, I know she can afford my rates. My God, even a student can afford the rate I gave her..

“Sige po, I will relay the message po,” she was not affected.

On the day of the shoot, I prepare the studio for my socialite client.

Made sure the toilets are super clean, fresh coffee brewing

and I even bake something special for her..

An hour passed after her appointed time, I thought it must be traffic.

Two hours passed, and I got worried. Something must have happened.

She is never late for our pictorials. I asked my studio manager to call her to check if everything was ok.

My studio manager comes back to me, and he quotes the socialite verbatim in her sing song voice trying to sound like a college student in an exclusive girls school,

“Ay.. Didn’t I call you ba? Oh I am sooooooo sorry. Cancelled na ang shoot. I have second thoughts na. I don’t think I am prepared. I feel like I can’t face the camera now.” The socialite said.

I was irked. But then, as you get older you choose your battles, and this was not worth the anger or stress. So, I just decided to text her and tell her how I felt, nicely of course and hopefully I would get an apology reply. Sad to say, I merely projected my good manners. She never responded and I didn’t care.

The next day, at 4pm, which was the same call time as the socialite’s pictorial was scheduled. My people notified me that the glam team of the socialite was in my studio, setting up.. Huh?

I quickly went to the studio and asked why were they here and informed them that the pictorial was cancelled, and it was yesterday not today.

The glam team looked dazed and confused. They all checked their phone messages and text to see if they all got it wrong.

Nope.

They all got the message right. It was for today and my studio.

I told them to clear it again with the person that texted them.

They did and they all got the same response,

“Tuloy yon pictorial, pero hindi na kay sir Raymund.

Sorry, di ko ba kayo na-inform?” (Ganda di ba?) This was the message.

So, I texted the socialite and told her the story of the glam team showing up in my studio, and asked for a cancellation fee for not showing up yesterday. You think she responded? No.

So,

1. Why do we called them socialites when they have no social skills?
2. Why do they act well-mannered, when in reality, they act like uneducated mendicants?
3. Why does society even recognize them as someone important, when the don’t contribute to society?
4. And, why do they act rich, when they can’t afford to pay?

*DISCLAIMER: Of course not all socialites are like her, I am just venting.

 So you fools want a clue?

 I will not hint or give you a clue that she has involved herself with beauty all the time.