Job Status: Employed

When I picture God in my head, the image I get is Him standing on a cloud, looking down on me and laughing His butt off. I really think He's just having a ball watching me react to things He throws at me.

Remember on July 2 when I wrote about a job that I didn't get? No? Go ahead, check the archives to refresh your memory. After I wrote that, I spent the next three weeks wallowing in my misery. I took the rejection pretty hard.

Well, two days ago, I got a call. I was asked what my employment status was and if I was still interested in that job. It turned out that the person they chose on July 2 did not work out for them. Quit playing games with my heart, God. Quit playing games with my heart! HaHa!

Today, I signed all the papers that made me the Marketing Coordinator. Exactly two years ago today, I left for Manila and it now seems like I put my life on hold for those two years and now I'm back to where I left off. Whatever I left behind then, I got it all back today plus more: a Marketing job, my own office (no Dilbert cubicles!), my own desktop computer with a printer, my own laptop, and my own phone extension.

This is yet another great example of God teaching me about patience and trust in Him. It's either that or He's trying to be the Last Comic Standing in my life.

Got Mugged

The moment that you've all been waiting for is here! No, not that moment. No, not that moment either. My Starbucks City Mugs site is up and running!

I have been struggling with how to display these babies since I don't have a kitchen of my own yet, so I decided to put them up on the web instead. What I realized about my mugs is that each one has a story behind it (how I got it, who gave it to me, etc.) and that's enough good stuff for a blog. Whoo hoo!

August 15 Wishlist

Every year on my birthday, I never get gifts because people always think that I can afford to get myself whatever I want (enter Gwen St3fani's "Rich Girl" here). Well, this year is different: I am unemployed, had gone around S.E. Asia, and well, that generous boyfriend is still non-existent in my life. Hence, this year's wishlist is truly made out of wishful thinking (and happy thoughts!). Drumroll, please:

1. World peace

2. My Girl DVD Boxset, US version
I gave my pirated copy to Lilian before I left Manila so I need a replacement because a home without Lee D0ng W00k is not a happy home. HaHa!

3. Se7en's Concert DVD

4. Wonderful Life DVD Boxset
A home without Lee Ji H00n is not a happy home either. ;P

5. Starbucks City Mugs that I don't have (*ahem *ahem)

By the Decades

Pen suggested that I vent on my blog (she probably didn't want to hear any of it via YM, HaHa!) so...

...to my *ahem "more mature" site visitors, was your 20s painful to get through? Like looking back, would you say that your 20s was the worst decade of your life to date? Or am I the only one who's suffering at this age? It's horrible! This decade is kicking my tush pretty darn hard. And let me tell you, I don't have much padding back there. Baby don't got back...and it's hurtin'.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not wanting to turn 30 right now. I can wait a few more years for that, but holy cow, can I get a break, please? Maybe an easy job hunt for once, or a free trip to Japan; just something that can make me say, "Phew! My 20s wasn't that bad afterall!"

*SIGH. I'm glad the weather is going to be in the 90s this week: I have a great excuse to buy a pint of ice cream...or a gallon. Oh the pain, the pain of being a twenty-something!

Huwag Maging Dayuhan Sa Sariling Bansa

My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

I have a few "issues" with this test, but the biggest one of them all is that I got a C on it (Blasphemy! I've never gotten a C on a test in my whole entire life! HaHa!)...and if I got a C on it, then what's the average score for most Filipinos who live in the Philippines?! My cousins always looked at me funny whenever I told them my Wow Philippines adventures in the last two years because they had no clue where those places are on a map.

Since I have reached the northernmost part of mainland Luzon and the southernmost part of mainland Mindanao already, I only have a few places left that I want to go to someday: Palawan, Batanes, Sagada/Batad, and Legaspi. Oh travel buddies, I'll need you all then.

The Agony of Defeat

It used to be so easy: you grab an application, fill it out, turn it in, and get hired on the spot. No heartbreaks, only instant gratification.

These days, you go through "phases" all drawn out to select the "best" candidate. You turn in a resume with a cover letter, go to numerous interviews, take an aptitude test, and maybe, just maybe, they will pick you because you did your best and you want the job bad, really bad.

I didn't get the job. The job that I had been salivating over since the end of May. The job that made me study Excel for two days just to make sure I remember how to do everything on a spreadsheet (I still don't get Pivot Tables). The job that would've allowed me to get a graphic design certificate for pennies. *SIGH.

Well, one of the things I learned how to do in the last two years is to live by the motto, "If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be." The hiring manager also told me that it was a hard decision and it was so close that you could just flip a coin. I knew I did well on every single aspect and there were no regrets on my part. I take comfort in all of those, but it just stings a little since I had my heart set on this job.

Chin up, dear self, and move on. Go, fight, win on the next one.

(Is it just me or my career life is suddenly mirroring my love life? This is soooo not good. HaHa!)