From the monthly archives: July 2006
After that call I got yesterday for a job interview, another call came, this time from Sun Cellular. They called me last Monday but since I was out then, I told them I couldn’t go. I thought they gave up on me already, but they called about 30 minutes from my first call and got me an interview earlier today.
Needless to say, I was all nerves after that. I have no idea what to with interviews because I’ve never been interviewed for a job yet. I didn’t even volunteer for that mock interview during ORIENT2. I have to admit that I was mentally complaining about how things suddenly pick up from nothing to something, and I was wishing for some sort of “transition” from this. And then I stopped short, because I happened to read one of my recent posts…and to quote myself: “This is an uprooting and I should be thankful for it…because it would make me grow. So…bring it on, Lord!“
And then I was like…Tina, you’re so fickle minded. Which is true. I was just telling Him to bring it on and after a few days of inactivity, I gave up on i already and when things picked up, I suddenly balked. I’m so hardheaded sometimes and I really find it amazing how God still sticks with me all throughout this. :) Amazing.
One of my favorite stories about you is the first time I got to talk to you. It was during your camp, and I was asking you if you were okay because you seem pissed off or something. Your reply totally left me a big impression, and I didn’t talk to you as much after that. :P I think it went something like this: Okay lang ako…bakit mo tinatanong? Ayoko nang tinatanong ako kung okay ako. =))
It’s one of my favorite stories because I don’t think people would believe that about you anymore. You’ve changed so much from the first time I met you, and I know you know that. Sometimes I really can’t believe that you used to be that quiet guy who I’d often find at the tambayan studying quietly (and truth be told, I don’t really talk to you that much because of that impression back in camp :p). I’m sure a lot of people agree with me on this. :D And when you were placed in my household, I have no idea how I’m going to talk to you.
But you know what? I believe that everything was in God’s plan. Two reasons. First is because He wanted me to learn how to take care of people who didn’t leave a nice impression on me at first, to teach me that first impressions don’t last, and two, He wanted me to see how He works in other people besides me. You were (and still is) a proof of how God can bring out the best in people. You never fail to make us “oldies” smile because we know that you allowed God to mold you and continue to mold you into a person that you are and you will become. It was a big blessing for me to be able to witness you grow up in your faith, because when everything seemed like a failure, God used you to remind me that it’s never a failure. :)
I could go on and on and on, but this might end up being the longest birthday greeting I’ve ever made here (so far this greeting holds the record for the largest image :p) and I might run out of space. :P So I’ll cut this short now, by saying…HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCE DARHYL ANTHONY RYAN! =) I thank God for making our paths cross and I pray that this God-centered friendship/sisterhood-brotherhood we share will last for many many more years. May God fill your twentieth (Haha, you’re as old as I am na! :P) year with even more blessings than the past year. :) You will always be the Prince in my life (haha, kung sino man yung para sakin, si Prince Charming, so iba ka pa rin). May you grow more in love with God (haha, boldfaced for emphasis) and may He grant you your heart’s desires…may you grow to be the man of God we all pray you become…and may you never lose that smile and cheerfulness that I have seen you put on since the day I met you. :)
Okay, I’ve talked long enough. See you on Friday, I think. I’ll always be here for you, Princester. :) God bless! Waboo! ♥
I was just scheduled for a job interview on Friday morning. And I’m scared.
Just the other day I was thinking of how my life is going to be in the future. I have to admit that I am seriously starting to enjoy staying at home and being with my family and being available to help anyone to needs help. Being free to visit DLSU and attend some prayer meetings, and all that. I’m not minding being a “bum” anymore, at least for now. Besides I still have some freelance work to finish, and I’m quite content with this.
Plus the fact that I feel like I’m looking for a job just because I want to say that I have a job and I’m earning a living and all that…I asked myself: why are you searching that way? Shouldn’t you be searching and aiming for the thing that you want to do for the rest of your life? And so I decided to do just so…because life’s too short for me to not start doing something I want to do for my life (and when I say what I want to do, I really mean what God wants me to do in my life — I believe that God’s will is indeed the deepest desires of my heart).
And then I get this call…and I’m all bothered again. I have to admit that having a job is a lovely idea, and at least I get to do something…but what if this job is not what I want to do for my life? To be honest, I have no idea with what the job being offered to me is. And I’m doing this because…well, the HR person who’s contacting us sounds really nice, and it’s kind of hard to say no to her. Okay, let’s not forget the experience of being interviewed and all is there too.
Argh. I feel really shaken because of this. I’ve already said yes, and I guess I’ll be going, but I’m just afraid. With the interview and the entire idea of actually having a job already. If I get accepted here, I might start working by August because I put that in my application (unless they say otherwise). And August is what, next week already? I’m not ready!!! Well, not yet.
BUT…who says I’m accepted already? I think I’m afraid because I’m basing it on the thoughts that I will get this job. And I haven’t yet. I’m thinking of the future all over again; I really should stop that. ONE DAY AT A TIME, TINA!
Whew. I just needed to rant that out. Back to freelance work. I’ll think of this AFTER I finish this module.
I’m doing something I never thought I’d be doing again (until I get a new and faster laptop that is): I’m downloading the latest Java SE Development Kit (JDK 5.0). And when this is done (hopefully within the day before I run out of Internet), I’ll be downloading the latest NetBeans too.
Now to those who know me since college, you know that if there’s a programming language that I don’t like, it’s Java. It’s been almost two years since I last touched Java, and the last time I did that, I was crying my eyes out because of darn frustration (Hello WEBDEVE and JSF days). Though I did kind of liked JSP (which reminds me, I’ll also get Resin installed here), I still disliked the entire Java thing. It made my computer slow, and there’s so much that you have to know to be able to make a program that would run okay on a normal computer (like mine). Ever since then, I swore off Java and I told myself that I’d stick to PHP and whatever other language there is, as long as it’s not Java.
But here I am, eating my words. As I was thinking about it yesterday, most companies today are in search for people who know Java. I know a bit of it, but I won’t choose it over other languages that I know of. However, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt me (as much) if I go and re-learn Java all over again. I have two choices with this: I could go on and hate everything about Java, or at least try to make friends with it again (after swearing it as an enemy around junior year in college). The latter would be a better choice, and I have nothing to lose anyway. And, you know. It’s more productive than just surfing around everyday and looking at websites like www.bestwaytoloseweight.org or something.
My first project: I shall revive my OBJECTP days and try to remake my old Battle City Machine Project. :) (FYI: Yes, we had to make our own version of Battle City, that Family Computer game, back in freshmen year. I finished it halfway, but it’s not working well. Haha. I can shoot the enemies but they don’t disappear. :D Oops. ^^; ) And since I don’t have a copy of the old one, I’ll be doing it from scratch, I think. :P
Even if I’m done studying and I’m still unemployed, who says I should stop learning too? So with God’s grace, I will learn Java and eventually, I will learn to like it as well (no love first, that’s too soon :p). Yeahbah. :)
Yesterday was a busy day for me and my feet are paying for all the walking I did. Late last Tuesday night, I got a call from Isla Lipana & Co, asking me to go to their office for an exam because they were considering me for a position. And because I have nothing better to do, I decided to go ahead. In the same night, I also submitted my application to other companies I’ve been meaning to apply to. Talon lang! :)
So Wednesday morning, I headed over to the shuttle service at our village’s gate to ride to Makati. It’s been a long time since I last rode there — more than a year ago. As I rode the FX, I felt kind of shaken because I realize that once I really do start working, I’d have to wake up this early to get to my office always. If it’s in Makati; I’ll be riding there, if it’s in Ortigas or somewhere else it’s a different route…but I’d be waking up that early again. I’d be going out 5 days a week to work…and you know what I really thought of? I’ll be missing most of my Disney shows in the morning. Haha, shallow, I know.
But I think it’s a good thing too…I just have to get used to it, you know? This is an uprooting and I should be thankful for it…because it would make me grow. So…bring it on, Lord!
L-R: Jasper, Chris, Toni the birthday boy, Jeka, Pauleen and me, @ Figaro, Brick Road
After a good lunch and long chat with some good friends, I headed home for Toni’s surprise at Figaro. I got to see some of my old high school friends again like Jessa and Jasper, who I haven’t seen for a long time. Toni had absolutely no idea with the surprise and it was nice to see his expression. I think the Figaro people were annoyed at our noise though. :P After finishing the cake, we went to Tiendesitas to eat again. I looked at the animals there and was sooooo in love with the big dogs they have there. ♥ And then we ate again, had some chats and then went home. It was tiring, but it was fun, and it proved that high school friends are indeed good friends…people who would be with you for a long time. We’ve changed, and but there is still a common bond there that makes us stick together, you know?
If I try to list all the things that we’ve been through, this space would not be enough. So I won’t. In fact, I’ll keep this birthday message short and sweet because I wrote what I have to say in the scrapbook. Okay, maybe I’ll add a bit more here. Haha.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TONI! We’ve been friends for so long, and things have changed and are still changing…we’ve been through a lot, and right now we’re still going through some things, but through it all, we’re still friends. :) Remember that you’ll always be my friend whatever happens — don’t believe the way I act. Haha. But seriously. I thank you for being the friend you’ve been all these years. And I look forward to more years of friendship between us. :) I’m always here for you…if I don’t make paramdam, I probably don’t have load in Globe. Haha. BUT, rest assured, I’m always praying for you. :) Got that?
And you’re the only one who can understand the meaning of this title. HAHAHA. :P More birthdays and blessings to come! :) And again, here’s to more years of friendship together! *clink* Waboo! God loves you! ♥
Okay, I think I’m done with my share of work for today. I’ve finished one module in our freelance project in Flash a while earlier, and now I’m about to send it to my workmate/former thesismate Micko to do the debugging. This is what happens when your groupmate gets a job and you don’t and you have a pending freelance project with them: you get stuck with putting it together and they get to do the debugging. Then again, debugging is bloodier, so I’m okay with this. :P Haha.
But believe it or not, I’m actually enjoying programming. I know that I sometimes complain about these things and how they make my brain feel like mush, but I actually do like to program. Call me geeky and all, but I like the challenge. :) I just realized that I actually like being able to solve complicated programming problems and finding ways on how to make a long string of code shorter and faster. :-B I guess all the four years being in Computer Science paid off, eh? Now if only I could learn to love Java, I bet I’d be able to work in any company I want. Haha, right. ;)
And speaking of things I love doing, I finished my second NaNoWriMo novel last weekend. :) I don’t know why I forgot to blog about it, but apparently, I did. ^^; The novel’s title is A Page is Turned, which talks about the life of two best friends, Isaac and Rebekah, who are seemingly destined to be with each other — or are they? It’s actually more of a friendship story than a love story, but I really love the twist I put at the ending. :P It’s probably my most creative story yet. It still has to undergo some editing, and I’ll post a preview of it in my Writings page.
I have my next novel in mind already, and I’m having fun imagining the main character her quirks. My genre for this year would be chicklit, much thanks to all Christian chicklit I just finished reading. :) I still have to figure out my character’s main conflict but I have time. I don’t want it to be a typical story, you know, like weight loss and if the character needs to take metabolism booster pills — I want something deeper. I think I’m going to really enjoy writing this one. :) Haha, bring it on, NaNo 2006! Hopefully this time I could get it published at Lulu. :D
I bet everyone still says this when they first meet you: you look like a drug addict. Haha. But seriously, the first time I met you, you looked like one too. :P And what surprised me then was you weren’t smoking that time. Aha, contradiction! :)
We started to get to know each other during RELSTWO class, when we’d end up laughing at whatever Dr. Gaerlan would be saying in class. Then it’s FYI CD Days and then ISTECH2 days. I have never seen such a mess like your place, but we had some good memories in your house, with Micko and Marfel and all other people who also stayed there. :P
You’re the person who created issues with me just for the heck of it, and fed on the issues until we laughed ourselves silly. You’re the one who gave me my worst nickname ever — Fetus. Haha. You were also my “editor”, who makes my stories cheesier and then twists them into something morbid for your taste. :P
And how could I forget the dorm days, when you became the semi-permanent extension and roommate in our dorm? Haha. That sure made my dorm stay interesting. :P
But seriously, you are one of my dearest friends in college. I knew that I’d always hear an honest comment from you, and that even if you say you’re all bad, you still have good blood inside of you. :) Don’t you dare deny it! And that you’d always stick to a friend’s side no matter what (except siguro kung ninakawan ka ng pera. :P).
Kaya halika na at tumawa! Labo, pero tawa tayo..yung tawa na walang tigil! Hahaha. :P HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MITO!!! Hoy manlibre ka naman na! :P Haha, joke. :) Sana pag sikat na sikat ka na hindi mo pa rin ako makalimutan. :P
Perhaps a good gift for you now are some natural cigars? :P
Today I spent the day being creative. :P I’m not the most creative person around, and I know a lot more people who can make something really good out of spare scraps of papers and other random art materials and I’m not really one of them. My scrapbooking skills always end up looking the same, and whenever I try to add a lot of elements, it always ends looking messy, not artistic.
But much thanks to my dear friend Bea, I learned a lot more things on scrapbooking and being creative. :P Haha. Today, my high school friends came over to make a scrapbook for someone, and I suddenly became the head of the creative team. Haha, so I pretended to be “creative” and with a lot of paper, glue, cutting, and old magazines, we actually got a pretty nice thing in the end. :P I forgot to take pictures, but I’ll take them on Wednesday when we meet each other again. I think I might just have a career in layouting. :)
And speaking of new layouts…I should make one for this site soon.
I’m feeling mighty unhealthy; maybe it’s because I haven’t been doing physical activity for almost two weeks. :-s That’s what happens when you get stuck inside the house all day. I need physical activity. I wish I could go and enroll myself in the gym so that at least I have something to do everyday, but I feel like going to a gym is one big unnecessary luxury…but it beats doing nothing. Maybe I should seriously consider that, while I’m still unemployed and all. I need to start thinking healthy.
Anyway, I had a great time with my high school friends. It was nice talking to them again and it always reminds me that what we got here is for real. I’ve known those people for more than eight years already…our friendship is bound to last, right? I wonder what would happen when one of us gets married and then starts having kids. Haha. Too early to think about that, Tina. ;)
Reflecting on the past week made me realize that there seems to be a “flavor of the moment” for whatever God is teaching me. Let’s make a list to see what they were:
- Having faith and claiming what God has promised. Thesis times! Around January to March, it’s all about believing that God will bring you through whatever difficult time you’ve been experiencing. Pretty simple, but quite hard when you’re right in the middle of it.
- The journey is more important than the outcome. This is hard to digest, but hearing this knocked a lot of sense into me. God has promised victory, and because of that, He cares more about what happens to you during the journey than the result itself. If I confused you, leave a comment and I’ll discuss this more with you. :)
- God doesn’t like mediocrity. I’d like to say that I learned this a bit too late, but I also think that God timed it right. I offered the last part of my term to Him and asked Him to take mediocrity away from me. I’m still a work in progress over this and it’s not easy. But I’ve learned that God always deserves the best because He always reserves the best for us. :)
- God reveals His will to those who seek it. I’ve always thought that God likes to play hide-and-seek with His children with regards to His will, and that we have to pray extra hard if we want to know His plans. But lately I’ve been learning that God really does reveal His will to those who truly seek it with their heart. I realized that He won’t withhold something from us if it’s for our good, and that includes His plans. The praying part is still a must, of course. :)
