32, 321 sq. m.
Brgy. Mayabas, Taysan, Batangas

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(A huge mug of coffee and waiting for a call that never came caused this blog entry to be as long as it is. Bear with me. Minsan lang naman mangyari ‘to. ^.^)

I was a PR slave for about three months. It was all good… at first.

If there’s one thing I’m proud of about the course I took in college, it would be the fact that it made me a well-rounded communications practitioner. I can pursue a career in broadcasting, marketing and sales, PR and advertising, etc. I could become a teacher, a journalist, a writer, a production assistant, and so on.

When the time came that I had to decide which path I’m going to take to establish a career, I had a myriad of options to consider. I wanted a career either in Production, PR or Education. Aside from these three fields, I also had other things to consider:

First, the job had to be something which I liked. I know I would not do something well if it’s something I’m not passionate about. It’s like making out with someone you don’t have feelings for. I wouldn’t like to wake up in the morning and drag myself to work. I don’t like forcing myself to do something which I detest. I’d rather sleep and get fat and not earn money than stress myself out over something I don’t even like.

Second, it had to be something I can be proud of. What would make me proud is a job that’s related to the course I took. I want to be able to say that it’s a” ComArtsy” job. I want to be able to say that I’m able to apply the stuff I learned from at least one major subject I took in UPLB.

Third, I wanted to be involved in a reputable company. When I say reputable, I mean there would be a website or an article about the company that I would come up when I Google it. Hahaha, oo na, ang arte. But hey, that’s “reputable” in my dictionary.

Lastly, the salary should not be below Php10,000. When I was starting, I felt that I had nothing to offer. I was hardworking, yes, but talent-wise, I felt that there was really nothing much I could do. Maybe this was due to the fact that I lived the bum life to the fullest for four months abroad after graduation. I just thought that 10k was all I’m worth. Or so I thought.

So this is where my story begins. After four months of being bum abroad, I finally went home to the Philippines and started applying for jobs online. Thanks to JobStreet, BestJobs and JobsDB, I only had to wait for a week until the calls and text messages came – I was scheduled for five interviews the following week. Taray!

:: The Headhunter Agencies ::

I had no idea what headhunters were until a friend explained to me that it was a recruitment agency of some sort. I’ve always felt afraid of recruitment agencies because I have this notion that these kinds of organizations are involved with something illegal, haha. But I went anyway. It was for a Marketing Assistant position for an advertising firm. I’m not really into Advertising because I feel I’m not creative enough. I went so I know what it would be like to go through a recruitment agency.

The thing about these headhunters is that the recruitment process here is really long. In my job-hunting history, I went through about four different headhunters. It’s hard to follow up on applications with these agencies because they still have to get the approval of their clients. And you won’t even know the company you’re applying for because the headhunters are not allowed to disclose it yet until you’re the one chosen to be hired for the post. A good three to four weeks is the processing period. If you’re looking for a job ASAP, I suggest you apply directly to the company you want rather than apply in a headhunter agency.

:: The Production Firm ::

I was very unlucky to stumble upon a job advertisement for this Production firm in Makati. Unlucky because the people working in that firm were really antipatiko. I felt I wasted my time going to that place because they really rubbed in my face the fact that I had no experience in production. It’s a good thing I wasn’t hormonal that day, otherwise I would have shouted at them, “Hindi ba kayo nagbabasa ng resume?!” Or else they would have seen that I’ve had experience in theatrical productions, not commercial productions. Bwiset. And I hate being asked, “Sakitin ka ba? Kaya mo ba na walang tulog for 48 hours straight?” Sheesh.

:: The PR Firm ::

Ah, the PR Firm. When I got the call from a certain GMN telling me that I was scheduled for an interview for a PR firm, I was thrilled. It was one of those “Only shortlisted applicants will be notified” advertisements. Plus, it was a PR firm I was really aiming for. It’s the website, honey. Ang taray ng website nila. Type “Public Relations – Philippines” in your Google search toolbar and their website is one of those who would come up.

And so I got the job in the PR Firm. I had my initial and final interview, took the exam and got hired that same day. It was a Thursday and I had to forego my Friday interview to attend to my SSS and TIN requirements. I had my Yaya with me when I went to BIR and the SSS office. Oha.

I started work the next week. I was super proud of myself because I got sent to an event the next day. I got to stay in a hotel (!!!) for three (!!!) days for the said event. The day after that, I attended a press conference with the VP of the country (!!!). I was pleased with myself during that first week in the said PR firm. It really was all good at first.

Being in PR would really make you feel that it’s a ComArtsy job. You get to write (press releases, reports, letters, case studies, speeches, and so on), you get to talk to different people (from CEOs, to the Media, to Manong Security Guard and Kuya Projector) and you get to read and do research. Some biatches even get to perform, quite dramatically, to get what they want. (Ahihi, sorry meh galit pa din ako kay “Last Straw”).

And the events, oh, the events. Events here and there – press conferences, product launches and seminars were the events I attended. There are good times in PR, but there are more bad times than good times. In order for these events to push through, there would be a tremendous amount of legwork to be done, things to set up, people to coordinate with, presentations to be prepared, media to be invited, headaches to endure, coffee to drink and sleep to be deprived of. It doesn’t matter how you get things done as long as it gets friggin’ done. It’s not a glamorous job. When you’re starting in PR and you’re way down the PR career ladder, you’re no Samantha Jones. Even our PR Director was no Samantha Jones. She was that bitchy, yes, but the prestige Samantha Jones has was something that the way-up-there PR people may have. It all depends on your connections and reputation.

In PR you have to make sipsip to the Media. You want your events covered and you want stories about your events to be published. You want publicity for your clients, be good to the Media. Be good to the journalists who attend your events. Know them by their names. Joke with them. Eat beside them. Don’t make them feel left out. Entertain all their needs – attend to them before you attend to yours.

The day before an event is hell day. It would be a miracle if you get to go home at 8pm. And miracles seldom happen in PR. There were countless that I went home late (that we were the ones who closed the office) and had to come in really early the next day.

If you’re no good in handling stress, a lot of revisions, no bylines, difficult bosses and clients, late hours and hard-to-beat deadlines, then you’re not for PR. I know I’m not. I thought I was up for the challenge. I knew there were long hours. But I didn’t know there would be a difficult boss and a crazy (Shocks ang bait ko maglarawan about HER!) colleague. I didn’t know there would be demanding so-called clients (so-called because it was for a pro bono project). I didn’t know there would be super-pressure when they see you had lots of potential.

Consequently, I resigned from the said job. I wasn’t even after the Christmas bonus. A person could only put up with so much. There was no work-life balance, and for a mere salary like that?!

:: Lessons Learned ::

As people always say, everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t want to say that accepting that job was a mistake, for I definitely learned a lot.

I learned that I’m not for PR. The things you need to do in order for an event to push through were just too much for a mere starter like me. I get discouraged easily. (One time a well-known sculptor thrashed my work and called it “Soulless”). I get tired easily when I don’t get enough sleep and when I don’t get to eat on time (I friggin’ hated Mondays, ‘coz that’s when the work’s too much).

I learned that I should pick the company I’m gonna work for. I think it would be best if you did not work for a family-owned business. There’s something about keeping all the wealth within the family that bugs me.

Make sure you’re well-compensated. I thought that money would never be an issue, but if you’re a taxpayer already and you have to pay for things like SSS, Pag-Ibig and PhilHealth, well, that’s a different story. If what I’m working my ass off for is only for my shopping and gimik money then it would be okay sana.

:: Second time around ::

Job hunting began a week after I resigned from that PR Firm. I applied for jobs like Preschool Teacher, Online English Teacher, Events Associate, Marketing Assistant, Management Trainee, Corporate Affairs Assistant – anything that accepts ComArts grads and is located in the Makati, Ortigas, QC area I would apply to.

:: “Teacher Jamie” ::

Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. It’s either that or a cashier in a supermarket. I would always, always play teacher-teacheran when I was a kid. I had a blackboard in my room and a Mongol pencil-shaped pillow. And so I saw this job post for a Preschool Teacher in QC. It didn’t require that I should be a LET passer or an Educ graduate. I had an initial interview with the school directress (who was from UPLB too and immediately liked me). The school was… cute. It was the kind of school that I would want my kids to enroll in. the kids were… cute. I was in awe because of their cuteness. But then there was the issue of the sipon. The school was a super sosyal school and only rich kids go there. But whether the kid is rich or not, there will always be sipon – shining, shimmering sipon in the kid’s face. Argh. What a nightmare. I thought siphoned-face kids are only seen in the slums, but no.

On a more serious note, I didn’t pursue the said position because I was uncertain of what my future will be in this field. I didn’t want to be a Preschool Teacher forever. I wanted to move up the ladder, wanted to be a Principal and then Directress. But since I’m no LET passer and I’ve never taught professionally, I figured there would be no future for me in Education. No, I didn’t want to teach elementary, high school, especially college students. Gusto ko yung gullible, eh. *evil laugh*

:: Online English Teacher ::

Ah, this one was for a Korean-owned company. Any online job, or English-teaching job was something I didn’t really prioritize but I was especially attracted to this one ad that said I could earn 18k in a month. Coming from a low-paying job, it was really something I had to try. Dressed up in my usual business attire for interviews, I headed to Ortigas where the said company was located. I was expecting a sophisticated-looking office with sophisticated-looking people because of the high-paying job that it was. Much to my surprise, everyone who was working there was wearing jeans. Some felt at home, had their sneakers off and was sitting Indian style on their chairs. It looked like I was in a call center, they had their headsets on and was typing while talking in English, in an American-kuno accent. I had no chance to escape because the HR girl already saw me. She had me take a 50-item grammar exam and I was done in 15 minutes. She asked me to record my voice, and I had to speak in the American-kuno accent.Gahd! No offense meant to call center agents and CSRs, but speaking like that was something I could not possibly do. And so, using my best Filipino accent, I read the passages I had to read and recorded my voice. I never heard from the HR girl again.

:: Naman! ::

I learned from my bout of job hunting that not all companies who advertise in JobStreet even bother to indicate that the position has been filled. I applied for this certain job for a certain company via JobStreet and when I called to follow up my application, the position was filled na daw! Nag-indicate pa kayo ng deadline of application, hindi niyo rin pala susundin mga bwiset.

:: A better job ::

Since I already knew what I did not want in a job, I was very picky when I applied for companies during my job hunting, the second time around. And after almost three months of meticulous job-hunting, after numerous interviews and examinations I didn’t even bother following-up what the results were, I finally got a great job.

At last, my mom would stop saying that I’m in her pay roll, my dad would stop bugging me that I’d only get fat at home and my sister would stop asking me “Bored much?”

I plan to stay more than three months in this job. So help me God.

Okay, so it’s a lame title for a blog entry. Haha! But can you blame me? It takes about 9 hours to get to Dubai. We were in Dubai for about 5 hours and then it took us about another 9 hours to get to Lagos. From Lagos, it was another 2 hours by land to Ibadan, where my parents and younger sister lives. So sabaw pa utak ko. Haha. So gaano na ‘ko ka-panget pagdating ko sa bahay namen dito? Hehehe… Kapagod ang byahe, huhu… At ngayon ay hindi ako mapakali. WALA AKONG SIGNAL DITO SA BAHAY!!! Ang tae ng Globe, huhuhu… Buti pa sa Dubai may signal ako… Hai. Bago mag fly-fly away… Tumambay muna kami sa lounge sa airport… Sa pagtambay sa lounge ako natutuwa pag naga-abroad eh. Hindi ako masyadong naliligayahan sa ibang aspeto…. Tulad ng: AMOY NG MGA NIGERIANS. Habang nasa Dubai kami at magbo-board na ng plane pa-Lagos, that’s when it hit me. Naiyak talaga ‘ko. Ang babaho nila. Huhuhuhu. Nagka-migraine pa ‘ko. Sabi ng kapatid ko, nabigla daw ilong ko. Dahan-dahan lang daw ang hinga. Eh ano pa nga ba? Ayako nga lumabas ng bahay eh. Ayako maka-encounter ng Nigerian. Bwiset. Ambaho! I should have brought Advil or Biogesic sa carry on ko. PAGHIHINTAY NG LUGGAGE. Mahigit isang oras ata kami naghintay para lumabas yung bagahe namen sa airport sa Lagos!!! Isipin mo yun ah, ang haba haba ng byahe, ang baho ng mga tao tas antagal-tagal mo pa maghihintay para sa maleta niyo. Grrr… Sa ngayon ay maid mode ako. Nasa school si AB (sister ko) at nasa work nanay ko. Tapos na ‘ko mag-saing at magwalis. Hinihintay ko na lang yung mga damit sa dryer para matiklop na. Hahaha… Ayos lang, kailangan magpa-payat! Hahaha… This afternoon we’ll go back to Lagos. My sister has her SATs tomorrow. We have to accompany her. So goodbye Multiply and Friendster for the weekend. We’ll be back home on Sunday, I think. My dad is still in Paris. He’ll be there for 4-6 weeks. I hope he would get better soon. Gusto ko pa i-discuss with him ang magiging career ko. Hahaha! Ilang pabati sa mga sumusunod na nilalang: keh Ryan at keh Junior - tama ba yung in-assume ko na ginawa mo pag sakay ko sa eroplano? di ka na nag-reply eh. haha… syet, mami-miss mo ‘ko. three months without our discussions?! lagot ka. hahahaha keh Maria Lourdes (Gaston) Moreno - omg. nag-message nga SIYA keh AB! grabe talaga. natatawa na lang ako. sana manahimik na siya… sa Eprhot Act - album mode ah? good luck, guys!!! Bhez, bonding pag-uwi ko ha. keh DayDay - uuuy, close na tayo. haha. balita na lang, ha? uhm. yun lang for now. sa mga nagte-text sa globe ko, salamat. pero hindi ko siya nababasa, hehe, amazingly, yung smart sim ko na hindi ko naman in-apply ng roaming ay may signal paminsan-minsan. so maybe you guys can try texting my smart number…

NEVER in my whole life have I met anyone whose mind is as narrow as yours. GRABE.

I can’t blame you for choosing what you want to believe. But I tell you, everything that has happened happened because of YOU.

I don’t want to defend myself anymore. I’m done arguing.

Labing siyam na minuto makalagpas ng ala-una ng umaga.

Ima ichiji jukyufun sugi desu.

TANG. Bakit kailangan ko pa Makita yung draft ng mini cards mo sa notebook ko habang nag-aaral ako??

TANG. Pagod na ‘ko umiyak.

TANG. Ang sakit.

TANG. Grabe ako magmahal. I hate it.

TANG. Hindi ako makahinga ng maayos.

TANG. Bitter pa rin ako kay Sergio at Marimar.

(Bored lang ako mag-aral ng Jap).

BITTER ako kay Sergio at Marimar. Mga paksyet sila. *roar* hehe. Kaasar. Kainggit. Friends, PALOS na lang panoorin natin. Hahaha!

Gusto ko na mag FebFair. Pagod na ‘ko mag-aral. Ayako na maging estudyante. Gusto ko na maging bum. Gusto ko na magkaron ng time para matuto magdrive, mag hiphop abs at mag-aral magluto. Wahaha! Ka-career-in ko ang pagiging nanay sa mga kapatid ko. (mga KAPATIDko.) Hehe…

Gusto ko na mag FebFair para makapagliwaliw na ‘ko. Last ko na ‘to - that’s right - naka-post na yung pangalan ko sa mga gagraduate na. Weeee!

JAP11 na lang ang hadlang. Diyos ko, kahit tres tatanggapin ko. Kahit allergic ako sa tres, go lang. Magma-martsa ako sa April 26, 2008. Itaga natin sa kamatis yan. Wag na "bato" - masyadong cliche eh. Hahaha! Chos.

In fairness, ang saya ko. Pero dahil lang yan sa kape. Nasobrahan kasi ‘ko. (At bawal mag-assume ang kung sino man. Haha!)

By the way, I’m so proud to say na may laman nang kanta yung i-pod ko. Haha! (Ang babaw.) Haiz. Kung may i-tunes lang sana ang Magdamag ng Ephrot Act ay madadagdagan ang kaligayahan ko. But then again…. hehe.

Damn! Ubos na second mug na kape ko. Roar. Grumpy Jamo na ‘ko. Hehe…

Ang panget naman ng blog entry na ‘to! Puro "Hehe…" Tsk, tsk, tsk. Napakamapagpanggap.

Nami-miss ko na ang dating Avril Lavigne. Yung tibong Avril. Kadiri yung baklang Avril. Literal na nakakasuka ang pagsasayaw niya. Parang si Dina Bonnevie sa Anlene commercial. Anlene nga ba? Haha, whatever. Weh.

Watashi wa heya o atataraku shimasu. *sizzles*

Girls, don’t fall for guys who cry in front of you. They’re just showing you how you would cry after you learn that they cheated.

And yes, those who say that they’re not like your ex is EXACTLY like your ex.

How they treat their mom would indicate how they would treat you. (Super ehem!)

Mas madali mag-upload ng photos sa friendster kaysa mag-delete ng mga ito. So wag nalang mag-upload. Or better yet, give your camera phone away. Hehe…

Long distance relationships don’t work. WAG NA MAGPANGGAP.

Mahirap din magtanggal ng comments at testi kaysa i-approve ang mga ito…

Kapag feeling niya hindi ka dapat pagkatiwalaan, it should be the other way around, IKAW ang dapat WALANG TIWALA sa KANYA. Praning siya so binabaliktad ka niya.

Masaya lang ang may ka-text. Pero yun na yun. Hanggang text lang dapat.

If you FEEL that he’s cheating, you’re probably right. TRUST YOUR INTUITION.

Don’t fall for Psych students. They’re the worst kind.

*** abangan ang mga susunod na "Lessons Learned" from Jae MO D Mangga…***

Gosh, I’m SO good at this. Pwede na ‘ko magsulat sa COSMO. Wahahahaha!

bago matapos ang 2007, sinabi ko sa sarili ko na come 2008, magbabalik ang pagba-blog ko. gusto ko na maging hobby ulet ang pagsusulat tulad ng pagsusulat ko nung estudyante pa ako ni dennis aguinaldo. sabe ko sa sarili ko na ang unang blog entry ko ay tungkol sa nagdaang taon ng 2007 - kung gaano ito kakulay, kalungkot, kasaya, at kung ano pa man.

SUBALIT, dahil sa ka-busyhan ko noong nagdaang linggo sa spcm105, hindi ako nagkaron ng pagkakataon na sariwain ang nagdaang taon. ngayon, nakikinig ako sa 2 trick pony ng sandwich at nagulat ako sa first few lines ng kanta:

I want to move on
Not realizing I was moving too slow
Tried to hang on
But there was nothing left for me to hold

whoa. super OUCH ha. i just radomly selected that song from tristancafe.com dahil gusto ko lang na may pinapakinggan ako habang nagta-type.

that’s right. i’m single again. but this time, naging single ako hindi dahil walang kwenta yung guy dahil wala siyang alam sa pagiging boyfriend. single na ko ulit kasi i don’t tolerate cheating. kung mapapansin niyo sa who i want to meet sa friendster profile ko, nakalagay yung mga natutunan ko sa naging "relationship" namin. i bet madadagdagan yun as the days go by.

for the first time in my life, ayoko muna maging produktibong tao. ayoko gumawa ng to-do list. ayoko ayusin sched ko para marami akong magawa sa isang araw. gusto ko ng magulong buhay ngayong araw na ‘to. gusto ko umiyak kahit saan at wala akong pakialam kahit sino ang makakita - tindera man yan sa kanto store o pulubing palakad-lakad sa lopez ave.

katext ko kapatid kong lalake ngayon. pinag-promise ko siya na wag mambababae.

ang maganda lang sa sitwasyon na ‘to, nakikita mo talaga kung sino yung may pakialam sayo. yung mga kahit malayo, eh concerned pa rin. hindi yung kahit malayo eh makakalimot na. at worse, mambababae pa.

ni minsan hindi ko ginawang magcheat kahit andali dali lang nun gawin para sakin. malayo bf mo, andaming umaaligid diyan, andali lang pumatol. pero hindi ko yun ginawa kasi i’m such a good girl. and now i ask "why do bad things happen to good people?" ha? ha? ha?

i felt it. i felt that something was wrong. i felt that something was amiss. but i know i can’t trust my feelings. after all, they’re just "feelings". it sucks to be the good one. because the bad ones always get away with the bad things that they do. alam ko may mail, kaya nga gusto ko mag-iba na tayo ng usual na ginagawa natin eh. alam kong sawa ka na. ako din eh. kaya nga gusto ko ng iba. i was doing something para maging iba. apparently, you beat me to it. ikaw ang may naunang gawing iba. maraming salamat.

is this goodbye and farewell? it’s a romantic tragedy
all is fair in love and war and I’m the lonely casualty

your forked tongue has lost it’s sharpness
it doesn't have the luster it used to before
sure it takes a lot of soul to forgive
so let me show you your way out of that door

you are a beautiful walking mistake and from you I have learned
how could someone so true be so fake? Now you’re none of my concern

let go- you are nothing I deserve
- your acting’s all but superb
- a romance for the deaf and blind
- with such poor taste and design

these calloused hands are shaking and I’m breathing heavily
soon all of this will be over shadows reaching out to me

sweet nothings in my ears now they disgust
those letters you’ve sent now gather dust
sure it takes a lot of soul to forgive
I’m dead with you and now I want to live

and now this is the time and I cannot pretend
the day I live again is when our story ends

dramatic lies and severed ties in bloodstained cradles lay
despite the loss that bridge I’ll cross come calm or storm what may
we drank the wine the undivine process of suicide
let it be known apart we’ve grown I gave you everything I own
and as you make your final exit I let our story slip away
I bury you with the memories of a forgotten yesterday

gosh kung papakinggan niyo tong kanta, kairita sa tenga. but i so can-relate to the lyrics so what the heck di ba?

nung naliligo ako kanina, mas malamig pa sa tubig sa baguio at majayjay falls yung binuhos ko sa katawan ko, pero amazingly hindi ako nanginig. hindi nangisay yung bakal ko. ganun ako na-manhid. fineel ko yung lameg. ang lameg lameg. hindi masarap sa katawan pero hindi ko alam kung bakit dinadama ko siya.

kanina naglakad ako papuntang mcdo. bumili ako ng pancake. alam kong putik-putik na yung legs ko pero wala akong pakialam. alam ko nagtataka yung kahera kung bakit namamaga yung mata ko. tinry ko ngumiti nung nagsabi siya ng isang perky na "hi!" pero hindi ko magawa. ayokong magpaka plastic sa nararamdaman ko eh. masakit eh ano gusto niya humalakhak ako?

gano ba kasakit? masakit na kahit alam mong antok na antok ka na hindi ka pa rin makatulog. masakit na magigising ka ng alas tres ng umaga na umiiyak.

syet, ano ba naman ang four months? it was a mistake. maling-mali. you’re one BIG mistake. ano ba naman ang isang malaking paper bag ng pasalubong mula sa states? ano ba naman yun? may significance ba yun?

apparently wala.