I'm not a maarte person. Nagiinarte maybe, but not maarte. HeHe.
Today, I went down to the Bureau of Quarantine to check out the requirements for a Medical Certificate from them (one of the many requirements to get my Alien Certificate of Registration).
Have you guys been there? It doesn't look too sanitary...and that poses a problem for me. I can get the chest x-ray, stool exam, routine urinalysis, and blood serology done somewhere else, but the physical examination? It has to be done at Bureau of Quarantine. Trust me when I say that getting nekkid there doesn't sound too appealing to me. It sounds so horrible that I'd rather get dual citizenship than strip in that place.
Okay, maybe I am maarte. But it's all about not contracting any diseases at a place that is supposed to prevent a whole country from getting diseases from foreigners. How weird is that?! What I'm trying to tell myself right now? "Girl, this will be a one-time thing. Imagine that you're just going on a blind date. Scary, but you'll get over the trauma soon enough." HaHa!
What do they do anyway during physical examination? Do they touch and poke around your body? Eww. If you're my physician, hey, poke away. If you're my boyfriend, touch away. If you're some stranger employed by the government using some tools that may have been used on other people, step the hell away! My body is a temple! HaHa!
Be brave. Be very brave.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Torn Between Two Places
I sort of have figured out the U.S. versus Philippines issue already. I've come this far and this close (what?) that I don't want to throw everything away, you know? I want to make this work.
What's the dilemma to tackle now? I have to figure out Manila versus Cebu. I got a job offer from an ad agency in Cebu. They interviewed me here in Manila and I took a creative test via e-mail. Today, while twiddling my thumbs waiting for my birth certificate at NSO, I got the job offer via text.
When I was trying to decide the U.S. versus Philippines issue last month, I didn't bother listing the pros and cons because I knew that my efforts would be futile since things were not so "easy" to list as pros and cons. For this Manila versus Cebu issue, let me try.
Pros:
Working for an ad agency
Since my Advertising class in college, I've always wanted to know what it was like to work for an ad agency. I've always been told that I was creative and witty (feeling!) and I've wondered if my skills can hold up in the grueling world of advertising. This can be the opportunity that I've been waiting for.
The ad agency is small and the leader in the Visayas region
I can learn a lot. Since this will be my first ad agency experience, I need and want to learn. I can't get that if I'm working for a huge ad agency.
Dealing with business owners themselves
Since they're mostly small to mid-size companies, I will be dealing directly with the business owners and not some person in the marketing or PR department. I can increase my contacts and I can learn about entrepreneurship!
I get to travel
Their clients are all from the Visayas and Mindanao regions. What a great opportunity for my WOW Philippines agenda! Then, on the weekends, getting some R&R is very easy since Cebu is in the middle of the country. Yeah, baby!
I like promdi guys
And by that I mean, simple guys, okay? LoL. And as Kuya Heinz has pointed out to me before, "Mas gentlemen ata ang mga guys sa Cebu." Two words: crispy pata. HaHa!
No problems with Immigration
Tita Rosalyn: "The processing for a permanent resident visa is about two months. As a special accommodation, B says he can process it without your coming to Cebu provided you can submit all the requirements. You can come to Cebu only when it is for implementation already. May crush ata si B sa 'yo!" Tita, I think he already made that clear last month when I met him. LoL.
I can learn to drive in Cebu
Cebu traffic is much tolerable than Manila. I can finally learn how to drive stick if I want to!
Tops!
No, not Top Suzara. It's the only thinking spot I've ever found in this country and I could come back whenever I want to!
I will be away from family
This is a pro and a con. I really want try to live independently...on my own terms. I want to grow up and feel the pain of being responsible for food and shelter. I can't do that when the whole clan has their eyes on me. Besides, each day I'm in Manila, I just keep thinking that it's another day of my overstaying. Not fun.
New experience
New people to meet (*ahem), new places to discover, new things to learn, new me. Yes, it's all quite scary to me, but so was this Philippines trip in the beginning, but look what I've gained! I'm young and single, I can roam freeeeeely and I should take advantage of that.
Cons:
Bisaya is not one of my two languages/dialects
Though Cebuanos speak superb English, I'm sure they like to talk in their native dialect. I don't like not knowing what's going on! And I like speaking in Tagalog!
Public transportation
There is no LRT or MRT in Cebu. It's all about jeeps and taxis. Granted that riding the LRT/MRT is a curse and a blessing at the same time. Although, Cebu is also small enough that you'll never be stuck riding public transpo for long periods of time.
I haven't seen a super pogi Cebuano
HaHa!
Cebu is "late" on some things
Aldrino's Bibingka? None. Hotshots Burgers? None. Reyes Barbecue. None. They do have Bayo though...but only two branches! Unacceptable! Not like I could afford Bayo these days, but it's always nice to just look and lust at those clothes.
I will be away from Manila
Friends are here. Family is here. Though, I have been blessed to have found a family in Cebu. The initial goal was also finding work in Manila and not Cebu. And for crying out loud, I have finally figured out the Ortigas area (I don't think I'll ever figure out Makati) but now, I have to put that aside and figure out Cebu Citaaaaaaay (say it like a beauty pageant contestant).
I don't think I'll be independent enough
With Tita Rosalyn around, I know that I'll never feel like I'm living on an entry-level Philippine salary. LoL. That's good and bad! HaHa!
There you have it, folks. Hmm, after looking at the list, it looks like the careerlife is in Cebu...but the lovelife is in Manila. Nyahahaha! Priorities, dear, priorities! ;P
What's the dilemma to tackle now? I have to figure out Manila versus Cebu. I got a job offer from an ad agency in Cebu. They interviewed me here in Manila and I took a creative test via e-mail. Today, while twiddling my thumbs waiting for my birth certificate at NSO, I got the job offer via text.
When I was trying to decide the U.S. versus Philippines issue last month, I didn't bother listing the pros and cons because I knew that my efforts would be futile since things were not so "easy" to list as pros and cons. For this Manila versus Cebu issue, let me try.
Pros:
Working for an ad agency
Since my Advertising class in college, I've always wanted to know what it was like to work for an ad agency. I've always been told that I was creative and witty (feeling!) and I've wondered if my skills can hold up in the grueling world of advertising. This can be the opportunity that I've been waiting for.
The ad agency is small and the leader in the Visayas region
I can learn a lot. Since this will be my first ad agency experience, I need and want to learn. I can't get that if I'm working for a huge ad agency.
Dealing with business owners themselves
Since they're mostly small to mid-size companies, I will be dealing directly with the business owners and not some person in the marketing or PR department. I can increase my contacts and I can learn about entrepreneurship!
I get to travel
Their clients are all from the Visayas and Mindanao regions. What a great opportunity for my WOW Philippines agenda! Then, on the weekends, getting some R&R is very easy since Cebu is in the middle of the country. Yeah, baby!
I like promdi guys
And by that I mean, simple guys, okay? LoL. And as Kuya Heinz has pointed out to me before, "Mas gentlemen ata ang mga guys sa Cebu." Two words: crispy pata. HaHa!
No problems with Immigration
Tita Rosalyn: "The processing for a permanent resident visa is about two months. As a special accommodation, B says he can process it without your coming to Cebu provided you can submit all the requirements. You can come to Cebu only when it is for implementation already. May crush ata si B sa 'yo!" Tita, I think he already made that clear last month when I met him. LoL.
I can learn to drive in Cebu
Cebu traffic is much tolerable than Manila. I can finally learn how to drive stick if I want to!
Tops!
No, not Top Suzara. It's the only thinking spot I've ever found in this country and I could come back whenever I want to!
I will be away from family
This is a pro and a con. I really want try to live independently...on my own terms. I want to grow up and feel the pain of being responsible for food and shelter. I can't do that when the whole clan has their eyes on me. Besides, each day I'm in Manila, I just keep thinking that it's another day of my overstaying. Not fun.
New experience
New people to meet (*ahem), new places to discover, new things to learn, new me. Yes, it's all quite scary to me, but so was this Philippines trip in the beginning, but look what I've gained! I'm young and single, I can roam freeeeeely and I should take advantage of that.
Cons:
Bisaya is not one of my two languages/dialects
Though Cebuanos speak superb English, I'm sure they like to talk in their native dialect. I don't like not knowing what's going on! And I like speaking in Tagalog!
Public transportation
There is no LRT or MRT in Cebu. It's all about jeeps and taxis. Granted that riding the LRT/MRT is a curse and a blessing at the same time. Although, Cebu is also small enough that you'll never be stuck riding public transpo for long periods of time.
I haven't seen a super pogi Cebuano
HaHa!
Cebu is "late" on some things
Aldrino's Bibingka? None. Hotshots Burgers? None. Reyes Barbecue. None. They do have Bayo though...but only two branches! Unacceptable! Not like I could afford Bayo these days, but it's always nice to just look and lust at those clothes.
I will be away from Manila
Friends are here. Family is here. Though, I have been blessed to have found a family in Cebu. The initial goal was also finding work in Manila and not Cebu. And for crying out loud, I have finally figured out the Ortigas area (I don't think I'll ever figure out Makati) but now, I have to put that aside and figure out Cebu Citaaaaaaay (say it like a beauty pageant contestant).
I don't think I'll be independent enough
With Tita Rosalyn around, I know that I'll never feel like I'm living on an entry-level Philippine salary. LoL. That's good and bad! HaHa!
There you have it, folks. Hmm, after looking at the list, it looks like the careerlife is in Cebu...but the lovelife is in Manila. Nyahahaha! Priorities, dear, priorities! ;P
Monday, February 20, 2006
Life Worth Living
Through my job interviews, I have met two guys who have proven to me that I'm not crazy afterall. Okay, maybe the three of us are all crazy. LoL. Anyway, both had prominent jobs outside of the Philippines, holding top jobs at their respective companies. After sometime, they all found themselves wondering what they were doing with their lives. They ended up quitting their jobs and going back to the Philippines to pursue their respective passions. Sounds familiar, right? As Ninang puts it, "Mga ka-uri mo!" LoL.
Today, I was fortunate enough to catch Dylan Wilks on Straight Talk. He made a very good point regarding pleasure and happiness. We find pleasure in things we can buy with money. However, we end up getting bored with these acquisitions and seek to buy other things to find pleasure in. Happiness, on the other hand, cannot be bought.
In July, I thought about my life. It was nowhere near what I considered a fulfilling life. I had two jobs; I could buy anything I wanted, but I wasn't happy. As one of those two guys I mentioned earlier told me, "It's too easy to get rich. You put in the hours, and boom, you can have everything you want." After the interview, I thought about what he said. I thought how easy it really is to make money (in the Western world), but to make a difference in one's life, to make a difference in the world? Much harder.
If I were to read college entrance essays in the United States, I bet that none of those applicants ever answer the question "Describe a life-changing event" with something that involved having lots of money. I bet most answers will be about making a difference in one's life or realizing what life is really about.
What's up with all the introspection? I finally found a place that I want to work for here in Manila, like really, really want to work for. I believe in what they're doing here in the Philippines and around the world. I want to be part of that. I want my 8-9 hours/day to go to a worthy cause. I want it bad. What's standing in the way? The potential three-month-long processing of my alien certificate of registration/work permit. Crap. I can't believe that a piece of paper can have so much power! Grr!
God, I hope this all works out in my favor.
Today, I was fortunate enough to catch Dylan Wilks on Straight Talk. He made a very good point regarding pleasure and happiness. We find pleasure in things we can buy with money. However, we end up getting bored with these acquisitions and seek to buy other things to find pleasure in. Happiness, on the other hand, cannot be bought.
In July, I thought about my life. It was nowhere near what I considered a fulfilling life. I had two jobs; I could buy anything I wanted, but I wasn't happy. As one of those two guys I mentioned earlier told me, "It's too easy to get rich. You put in the hours, and boom, you can have everything you want." After the interview, I thought about what he said. I thought how easy it really is to make money (in the Western world), but to make a difference in one's life, to make a difference in the world? Much harder.
If I were to read college entrance essays in the United States, I bet that none of those applicants ever answer the question "Describe a life-changing event" with something that involved having lots of money. I bet most answers will be about making a difference in one's life or realizing what life is really about.
What's up with all the introspection? I finally found a place that I want to work for here in Manila, like really, really want to work for. I believe in what they're doing here in the Philippines and around the world. I want to be part of that. I want my 8-9 hours/day to go to a worthy cause. I want it bad. What's standing in the way? The potential three-month-long processing of my alien certificate of registration/work permit. Crap. I can't believe that a piece of paper can have so much power! Grr!
God, I hope this all works out in my favor.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Got It Going On
Interviews scheduled for next week: None.
Errands to do: Lots!
I've been ordered to get a work permit or an alien certificate of registration before I can get the job offer in my hands. Great. Just great.
I hate going to Makati because it's "far". Now, I have to haul my butt all the way to Manila to go to the Bureau of Immigration Office.
But wait, first I need to go to the National Statistics Office (NSO) on East Avenue to get a copy of my birth certificate. Ugh!
If this won't make me wish that I have a driver (or a boyfriend who is an ulirang driver), then I don't know what will.
(Keep praying, friends. It's still not over.)
Errands to do: Lots!
I've been ordered to get a work permit or an alien certificate of registration before I can get the job offer in my hands. Great. Just great.
I hate going to Makati because it's "far". Now, I have to haul my butt all the way to Manila to go to the Bureau of Immigration Office.
But wait, first I need to go to the National Statistics Office (NSO) on East Avenue to get a copy of my birth certificate. Ugh!
If this won't make me wish that I have a driver (or a boyfriend who is an ulirang driver), then I don't know what will.
(Keep praying, friends. It's still not over.)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Problema Lang Yan
"People are still basking in the afterglow of Valentine's Day." Yes indeed, Mr. DJ on Campus Radio this morning!
I was in Makati to take a multi-national company's Global Problem Solving Test today. Supposedly, it's a test that everyone in the world takes when applying to this MNC.
Well, I hate word problems. I hate them so much that I would just copy Rochelle's homework answers back in high school AND college. For tests, I would just try to do well in the other areas because I knew that I would bomb the word problems. It would look like I tried to do them (Ef for Effort!), but really, they were all scribble (Shh, don't tell my Calculus professor. She gave me a 4.0! This is while Rochelle got a 3.9. After five years, we still haven't figured out how that could've happened. HeHe!).
Seriously, I don't really care to know how long it would take to fill a 75-liter bucket when a faucet on top is filling the bucket with 5 liters of water an hour while a hole in the bucket is leaking 7 liters of water an hour. I don't care! Don't you all know that there are starving people in Africa?! LoL.
So, it was quite painful answering that test today where half of it was reading comprehension (very SAT-like!) and half of it consisted of mathematical word problems. Yes, I answered all the reading comprehension stuff first. Then, I tried to do the word problems...but in less than fifteen minutes, I just started filling out the bubbles randomly. I could've made pretty cool patterns had I been more imaginative. ;P
Result? I still passed the test! Miracles, they're everywhere in our daily lives! HaHa! (Last month, I also passed a TV station's Tagalog IQ Test. Tagalog! Imagine the SATs in Tagalog. That's pretty much what that was like. Crazy stuff!)
I was in Makati to take a multi-national company's Global Problem Solving Test today. Supposedly, it's a test that everyone in the world takes when applying to this MNC.
Well, I hate word problems. I hate them so much that I would just copy Rochelle's homework answers back in high school AND college. For tests, I would just try to do well in the other areas because I knew that I would bomb the word problems. It would look like I tried to do them (Ef for Effort!), but really, they were all scribble (Shh, don't tell my Calculus professor. She gave me a 4.0! This is while Rochelle got a 3.9. After five years, we still haven't figured out how that could've happened. HeHe!).
Seriously, I don't really care to know how long it would take to fill a 75-liter bucket when a faucet on top is filling the bucket with 5 liters of water an hour while a hole in the bucket is leaking 7 liters of water an hour. I don't care! Don't you all know that there are starving people in Africa?! LoL.
So, it was quite painful answering that test today where half of it was reading comprehension (very SAT-like!) and half of it consisted of mathematical word problems. Yes, I answered all the reading comprehension stuff first. Then, I tried to do the word problems...but in less than fifteen minutes, I just started filling out the bubbles randomly. I could've made pretty cool patterns had I been more imaginative. ;P
Result? I still passed the test! Miracles, they're everywhere in our daily lives! HaHa! (Last month, I also passed a TV station's Tagalog IQ Test. Tagalog! Imagine the SATs in Tagalog. That's pretty much what that was like. Crazy stuff!)
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