Mom Violy told me she wanted to order the Paella Negra from Dean & Deluca. Carmina suggested we dine in since we’d never really tried their main courses, always just getting takeout with the cream puffs . Mom Violy agreed, and we arrived about thirty minutes before the lunch rush began. The service was very slow, even though we had ordered ahead of time. They mistakenly brought out the Paella Valenciana , despite Mom Violy repeating the order three times to the person who took it. It turned out the cook on duty made the error, even though it was written down clearly. We know Paella Negra takes a long time to prepare, which is why Mom Violy had requested it to be cooked beforehand. She wanted it as her main meal, but because of the mix-up and feeling hungry, she took a piece of Carmina’s Turkey Club Sandwich and asked for the bacon on the side. I didn’t expect the turkey to be just one piece, and the bread was toasted so hard that it removed one layer of the sandwich. Since ...
Carmina became serious about her YouTube channel in 2023 and realized she needed to understand how everything worked behind the scenes. Over time, she learned in many ways, exploring both the inside and outside of the platform. She often joined random live streams without knowing the host, just to see if they had anything in common. Watching their videos sparked curiosity about how they were during live streaming, encouraging her to explore more. Her channel started small, and in the Filipino community, a small channel is often referred to as being in grade school or having a small “Bahay” that needs more visitors—or subscribers. She appreciated those who helped grow her channel but learned the hard way that not everyone who subscribes genuinely watches her content. Reaching 1,000 subscribers was a roller coaster, with numbers going up and down, which could be discouraging, but she kept posting long videos, improving her expression, and finding ways to move forward. She avoided live streaming because speaking for two hours straight strained her voice and made her sick, preferring instead to create longer videos with purpose. A subscriber once pointed out that her viewers didn’t see her face, so she occasionally began showing it in her long videos to connect more personally. Having grown up in California and now living in the Philippines, she faced language barriers, but she saw no excuse not to watch someone’s video—especially since YouTube offers international captions. She often acted as a translator, explaining English content in Tagalog and vice versa, seeing it as an advantage to speak both languages.
Carmina was on vacation in California, jet-lagged, and watching her friend’s livestream, leaving her confused about why I was awake during their hours. I explained that I was currently visiting the United States. During my trip, I made videos without realizing they needed to be at least sixteen minutes long to count toward public watch hours. I should have made them longer, but I learned not to delete any posted videos, as that would cause a loss of those hours. While on vacation, I helped my family, relatives, and friends—many of whom didn’t know how—to use the YouTube app on their phones, subscribe to my channel, watch videos, like them, comment, and share. This included people of all ages, even seniors unfamiliar with the concept, not realizing it works like any other social media platform. There are also silent viewers who subscribe but don’t interact, often keeping their settings private so others can’t see who they are, which I understand. I’m happy if people watch my long videos from start to finish, especially since views from the United States are said to generate twice the revenue per watch hour. Carmina eventually returned to the Philippines, still jet-lagged but able to catch up and post more vacation videos. By the time I fully understood how everything worked, my one-year deadline—October, my channel’s anniversary—had passed. It’s fine, though; learning from experience is important, and I didn’t want to rush. No one is perfect, and we figure things out as life guides us. Carmina turned her videos into daily vlogs to give people a better glimpse of what I really do.
Carmina’s take on my 2025 recap from YouTube.
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