Miakka Lim Makes All the Right Moves

“They wouldn’t stop us from running laps until I started to sweat. I don’t know why, but I could never sweat, even if my teammates were begging me to. Sige na Please!’

Okay, Stop. Just–stop.

Hold the phone.

Do you realize what this means? Miakka Lim will always be a girl. In any given situation she will always retain her girl-ness, as it were. Even in the story she relates about her high school volleyball team. I’m serious. I’m also not trying to be sexist here; I’m well aware of the myth that says girls don’t fart, go number 2 or sweat. But she’s living proof. Unnatural? Maybe. Endearing? Definitely.

But 100 odd words probably aren’t enough to convince you. Heck, I haven’t told you how she looks like yet (you probably know already, but you want me to tell you how she looks just for kicks). Fair enough.

As I wait for her outside a coffee shop, a girl with short cropped hair comes into my periphery. She’s wearing heels, a white blouse and what appears to be an office skirt. Cute enough, but she doesn’t fit the bill of whom I’m interviewing. She goes in to order coffee. I linger in her direction for a bit.

When she tells you that, “Yeah I’d like to be knee deep in a violent situation reporting things first hand,” you’ll believe her. When she stares straight at you with a half-smile, half-smirk and gently parts her hair as she tells you this, you’ll believe her.

The girl I’m waiting for is a courtside reporter, coming from a reporting gig. To my non-sportswatching mind, that means she’ll be running from one end of the court to another in some sort of track suit, breaking into circles of players trying to find any news to report. She will be haggard, she will be tired, she will be sweat-my phone rings. She asks where I am and I look around. The girl who just walked in is holding the phone. Stupidly, it takes and embarrasing amount of time for me to make the connection. My synapses resume their normal firing speed and besides answering her question all I can think of is ‘No way that’s a courtside reporter.’

Convinced yet? Damn. Didn’t think so. Was it the lack of sports knowledge?

Talking to Miakka for an extended period of time will reveal (besides the ‘will always be a girl’ postulate) is that her cheek muscles have comfortable developed themselves into a state where she always smiles. And this is not always a smile smile mind you. It can be a half smile, a one cheeked grin or possibly even a smirk. This is interesting to note, because she’s smiling as she says she’d be game to cover a violent situation for the sake of news. Like a war or something.

Even with the off-putting nature of her answer, you know she’s serious. ‘In high school, I was always at home. I wouldn’t dream of cutting a class. When I got to college it was like. “Cut Class? Go Lang!” She tells me that during her college years she became a lot more outgoing. She just wants to get out there and try and experience new things. That’s why she wants to transition from courstide to field reporter in the near future. When she tells you that, “Yeah I’d like to be knee deep in a violent situation reporting things first hand,” you’ll believe her. When she stares straight at you with a half-smile, half-smirk and gently parts her hair as she tells you this, you’ll believe her.

Okay, Stop.

Sorry for the interruption again, but bear with me here.

The girl just said she’d report from a place with civil strife, likely going on as she gives her spiel. We know for sure that she won’t be sweating. Even if (and believe me I asked) her cameraman gets shot and has to seek medical attention, she’ll continue reporting as she stares straight at you with a half smile half smirk and gently parts her hair. And guess what? Despite all that she’ll retain her girl-ness.

You believe me now, right? Crap. Figures.

Miakka shares anecdotes where she gets restless just being at home and has to go out just to be less restless. One such anecdote involves her going to Bonifacio High Street on a Friday night, sticking out like a sore thumb because she didn’t dress up just to hang out. This is a girl who can’t sit still. During games, she recounts that she’s the one, with no script, who has to go out and dig for dirt to report to the commentators. When it’s game four and you’re digging dirt on the same team you’ve been reporting on for the past few days, this is an admirable thing. Or at least, I think it is because I have no idea what she meant by that. (Non-sports fan remember?) All I know is that it’s testament to her, dare I say it, adventurous nature, for a girl who looks none too adventurous at all.

You’re probably still not convinced. That’s okay. When you watch her on TV, mute the picture, and look real hard. Go ahead. She’s not sweating is she? Even if all signs are saying she is. Unnatural? Maybe. Endearing? Definitely.

Words by Mihk Vergara
Photos by J.A. Tadena for Fotomojo
Makeup by Ria Gamboa
Hair by Marie Tan