Greetings Earthlings

I'd like to announce to the whole wide world that I am on my way to becoming an alien: the Bureau of Immigration now has my application for my ACR (insert cheers here). I know it's called a bureau, but I hope we can limit the bureaucracy. Two weeks sounds reasonable (more like wishful thinking), don't you think? Say nay to 2-3 months, please!

The ad agency in Cebu has also asked me to produce a work permit of some sort before they can let me work. Crap. If only all the companies in this country are as strict about paying their taxes as much as they are about employing aliens, then this country can go places. Yes, I'm bitter. HeHe!

I never regret the things that I've done, but I do learn from my mistakes. If I had been a little wiser in the beginning, this is how I would've done things differently:

Gone to Manila during January not July
Trying to find work during the latter half of a year is a waste of time. Though I had no choice since I wanted to be here for Zara's wedding. That was actually what propelled me to "take the plunge." Zara, should my parents blame you? LoL.

Processed my ACR right when I got here
Since processing such a thing required lots of money, I thought I should find a job first. Well, money cannot buy time. I should've made processing time more of a priority than the expense. This mistake is currently biting my butt big time.

Moved out of San Mateo right when I got here
You've all told me that. The boys have told me that. Even my cousins have told me that. Hey, for what it's worth, you've all helped Caltex, Petron, and Shell keep their businesses alive. You go! LoL.

Focused more on where I really want to work
I sorta did, I sorta didn't. It was only in January did I start targeting the places that I really want to work for. So now, it's not a matter of being rejected, it's now a matter of being legally able to work here. HeHe. Oh ACR, come hither!

After seven months, what can I say? It has been a wild ride. You cannot doubt that I've shed blood (a requirement for my ACR), sweat (riding the MRT), and tears (lots of it!) in the process. But you know what I've learned most about this experience? The meaning of true friendship. Super cheese, I know. But when the going got tough in the last two months, people proved to me that they will be there through the good and bad times. When I was desperate to find a job before the "end of January," Belle and Nonette stepped up and created a Gmail account for me and sent out my resumes on my behalf. When I needed a roof over my head, Tet and Ale tried to find an apartment for me. When I needed to cry, Zara went to the house to see me. When self-pitying went overboard, Raissa and Kats did their share of cheerleading through YM (or what I like to call the "Mina, you're in a better position than we are" talks. HeHe). When I needed light, Lisa threw words of wisdom and a job referral at me (all the way from Seattle, too!). When immigration became the issue, Tita Rosalyn came to the rescue (yeah, that rhymed!).

All I could ask for now is a happy ending. Not just for me, but for all these people.

The Shape of My Heart

Sometime last month...

Jimbo: "Oh Min, so much love to give..."
Me: "...but no one to give it to."

Physical proof? I got back my chest x-ray. One of the radiologic findings was "Heart is mildly enlarged" (Mild Cardiomegaly in medical terms). I have so much love inside my heart that my heart has changed its size! Aww! LoL. Must...find...a...boyfriend! HaHa!

(I'm going to be okay. It's not a serious medical condition.)

Sanity for Sanitary

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.

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

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.