After the first satisfied customer agreed to be filmed, three more customers also allowed me to post their haircuts online.
Some still rejected the idea because they felt embarrassed about showing their faces on social media. I even tried my best to improve their looks first before asking them again, but they still refused in the end.
I sighed.
"I think that's enough for today," I muttered while stretching my body and tightly closing my tired eyes.
I had just finished my tenth customer for the day.
My vision was already starting to blur from exhaustion, so I decided to finally call it a day.
I gathered all the tools and equipment I had used and stored them in the small storage area near the kitchen at the back of the house.
When I looked outside, I saw my mother cleaning the yard.
She noticed me and smiled.
"Tired? You should eat something first. I'll cook you some snacks."
By snacks, she meant merienda—the light meal Filipinos usually eat between lunch and dinner.
I immediately went inside to check what she had prepared.
Lucky Me Pancit Canton, bread, and eggs.
A legendary Filipino combination loved by multiple generations.
I instantly devoured the food and somehow managed to finish three packs by myself.
A few minutes later, my mother entered the house and looked completely bewildered after seeing the empty plates.
Only around five minutes had passed since I entered the kitchen.
The food had disappeared that quickly.
"Hey! Next time, chew your food properly! You already have a weak stomach, but your eating habits are terrible. Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" she scolded worriedly while handing me a glass of water.
"That food is salty, so drink plenty of water," she reminded me.
I silently obeyed because I was too full to even respond properly.
After resting for a few minutes, I stood up again.
"Mom! I'm leaving! I'm going to the internet café to edit videos!" I shouted while grabbing my memory card before leaving the house.
"Take care! Don't forget to come home before dinner!"
I looked at the time.
It was only 6 PM, so I still had around two hours left to work.
That was more than enough since I only planned to edit one video today.
---
At the internet café, I immediately uploaded the footage and started editing using the same software as before.
Then—
"Oh shit!"
The moment I checked the audio, I realized something terrible.
My voice could barely be heard.
Only the loud electric fan and random background noises were clear enough to understand.
"I think I placed the camera too far away…"
The microphone simply couldn't pick up my voice from that distance.
"Arghhh… this is hopeless."
I stared at the footage in disappointment.
It was such a waste because I had spent the entire recording explaining things properly while cutting hair.
Now all that effort was useless.
"Great. Now I'm even more tired because of this."
I was already about to stand up and leave when I suddenly noticed a small button below the editing software.
Microphone Recording.
"Hmmm…"
I slowly sat back down.
"I think this might actually work. Maybe I can just record my voice separately and add it later."
I looked back at the footage and suddenly got an idea.
Instead of treating it like a normal vlog…
Why not make it feel like an animal documentary?
I immediately downloaded some peaceful background music to make the atmosphere more immersive.
Soft narration plus relaxing music…
Yeah.
That combination actually sounded good.
I quickly cut unnecessary parts of the footage and edited the video into a clean before-and-after transformation style.
Compared to my previous uploads, this one was much easier to edit.
Soon, all that remained was the voice-over.
I adjusted the microphone before speaking.
"Check. Check."
I replayed the recording.
Clear.
Soft.
Surprisingly suitable for documentary narration.
"Nice…"
I drank some water and straightened my posture.
I wanted to finish this in one take.
I pressed the record.
"In this footage, you guys shall see a never seen transformation of my costumer"
"PSSSSST! BOY!"
I immediately stopped recording and looked behind me.
A customer from another computer was waving.
"Do you know the cheat code for GTA San Andreas?"
I stared at him silently. My fist crumpled as I am already tired of work and mishap in this video.
"…No." I still control my temper and remind myself to be patient.
I pressed record again.
"I slowly began trimming the my costumer hair while maintaining focus and precisi-"
"KUYA! COMPUTER NUMBER 12 HANGED AGAIN!"
"JUST RESTART IT!" Mang Vin shouted from the front desk.
I close my eyes and start meditating. For I might sin if I lost my patience today.
"Patience, Patience, Patie—--
The sound of aggressive keyboard smashing echoed throughout the shop.
"TANGINA WHY IS DOTA LAGGING?!"
(Tangina shorten for Putang Ina = Motherfucker)
I closed my eyes again.
Deep breaths.
Very deep breaths.
Then I pressed record again.
"I carefully uses my scissors to remove excess weight from the top in order to avoid creating what experts commonly refer to a-"
"BROTHER!!!" A child suddenly appeared beside me out of nowhere. I jumped up on my seat.
"Patience - - - -" I said as I take a deeper breath
"What?!"
"Can I watch?"
"…No."
The child slowly walked away in disappointment.
Five seconds later.
"KUYA! HE'S WATCHING PORN AGAIN!"
"THAT'S JUST FACEBOOK!!" someone shouted back defensively.
The entire shop exploded into chaos.
People started laughing loudly.
One kid was screaming.
Someone was cursing at CrossFire.
Another was banging the mouse repeatedly like it owed him money.
Meanwhile, I sat there silently while staring at the recording button.
"…Maybe documentary narrators deserve more respect."
I rubbed my face with both hands before leaning back against the chair. The peaceful documentary atmosphere I imagined had already died a horrible death.
This wasn't a recording studio.
This was a battlefield.
I looked around the internet café.
Children were screaming at each other while playing CrossFire.
Someone near the entrance was loudly singing a broken-hearted song completely offbeat. (Referenced to the boy singing OPM at the shop in a viral video in the PH.)
A group of teenagers crowded around one computer while shouting every five seconds.
"PLANT THE BOMB!"
"HE'S BEHIND YOU!"
"BOBO AIM!"
Seeing that he is being distracted the kid jumps up and shouts back.
"FUCK! IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY JUST LEAVE THE SHOP!" he shouted. If only I had my camera right now then maybe this scene will become more viral than my current video. Such a shame
Then somewhere in the distance
"KUYA! COMPUTER NUMBER 8 HAS NO INTERNET!"
"I JUST FIXED THAT FIVE MINUTES AGO!" Mang Vin screamed back in pain.
I slowly turned toward my monitor.
"…How do people even work in this environment?"
I suddenly missed noise-canceling headphones from the future.
Unfortunately, those things didn't exist for broke students like me in 2013. If only I can take my old savings back in this time then. This won't become an issue.
Still, I refused to give up.
I inhaled deeply before pressing the record button again.
"In this part, you can observe that I skillfully create texture in order to complement the customer's facial structure"
Many problems occur and I stop multiple times but I persevere and do my best to finish recording.
After a while. I did a light stretch and I checked the time.
7:48 PM.
"…Huh?"
My eyes widened.
No wonder my body was already hurting.
Almost two hours had passed, yet I still hadn't finished the voice-over.
"This place is cursed."
I immediately saved the unfinished project onto my memory card before standing up from my chair.