MANILA, Philippines--THE BEST JOBS IN THE WORLD ARE those that don?t feel like work.

Being a VJ makes the grade, as Janine Marie Ramirez and Nel Gomez, the newest video jocks hired by music channel Myx, illustrated during a recent visit to the Inquirer.

Although Janine, 24, and Nel, 19, regularly watched Myx and were aware of the show?s past VJ searches, it was just this year that they both decided to try out.

Only a few months on the job, Janine admitted she had a lot more to learn, while Nel said he still felt awkward reading from a teleprompter. They couldn?t deny, however, that ?it?s so much fun to play ourselves on camera, talk about bands, music ? and get paid for it.?

Did you expect to win?
Janine: No (giggles).

Nel: It was hard to determine who would win among the guys. But among the girls, we were unanimous in thinking that it would be Janine. She has a unique personality. She?s crazy.

Janine: Crazy, not wild ha. Just wacky.

Like how wacky?

Janine: When I was asked what I liked doing, I brought out a huge bone and pretended the camera was my dog; to demonstrate my love of horror movies I brought a cape and acted like a creepy creature; I also like solving puzzles, so I had a Sudoku book and wore huge glasses. It was very mababaw

Do you have any acting experience?
Janine: Just school plays... But I?ve done some TV commercials. It was fun, that kind of acting, you?re just expressing.

Nel, can you talk about your theater experience?
I was 16 when I made it to the cast of [the local production of] ?High School Musical? which starred Sam Concepcion. I auditioned just for the heck of it. That?s when I realized that I like singing and dancing.

Myx is known for giving more exposure to Pinoy artists. Do you have any favorites?

Janine: I started liking Sugarfree, especially when the ?Hari ng Sablay? video came out. Growing up, there was always music in the house because my dad [Louie Ramirez] had a band [Overdrive]. I got to know about Razorback, Wolfgang, of course Rivermaya, Eraserheads. Now it?s Bamboo, Urbandub, Up Dharma Down.

Nel: I like Slapshock because it?s the first that I?ve seen mixing rock and hip hop.

What?s the difference between Myx and MTV?
Nel: Myx plays music that people want to hear. MTV plays whatever is new.

Janine: The voting factor. We have charts and countdowns on Myx where the audience gets to vote.

What can you offer the Myx audience? How do you see your roles as VJs?

Janine: Eye candy. No, just kidding!

Nel: We?re like friends, gang mates, who are very close to the TV audience.

Janine: Our main goal is really to introduce videos well, to speak well, be knowledgeable about the music. But people are watching this so they also want to be entertained.

Are you allowed to improvise in your spiels?
Janine: If I or Nel get to read something new about a certain band, we can say it, so there?s a lot of freedom. We?re just given a guide, just in case [so we won?t get lost].

How long are your contracts?
Nel: Six months, with option to renew.

Janine: If we meet the standards, then we stay. That keeps us on our toes.

Is the pay good enough?
Janine: It?s enough. I?m very kuripot so I can live off very little, actually.

Nel: It?s my first job technically, so like, OK, I?ll take whatever I can get.

Becoming a VJ is only a dream for some people. Do you dream about other things?
Janine: I want to try living in another country. My grandmother is French so I was thinking of studying French and history.

Nel: I want to record an album when I?m 21, because Michael Jackson was that age when he did ?Off the Wall.?