Dianne

interview

2008-08-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

Days Before the interview:

I had sleepless nights after Levon told me about the interview. There were tons of reasons for that:

1. I don’t know how to impress people or even endorse myself to corporate people.

2. I always have this terrible speech defect everytime I needed to speak in straight English or even just when I needed to speak that badly. And when I say terrible speech defect, it means to say:

a. having bad grammars

b. senseless sentence or not properly structured statements (which is really not understandable)

c. it seems that my mouth can’t read my mind, or most probably my mind cant read my mind. (I wish that makes sense)

d. annoying gestures (im quite popular on that)

e. the famous repeatedly said uhmms

f. lock jaws

g. and the list goes on..

3. I haven’t reviewed my java nor any computer related courses.

In short, I just wasn’t prepared. Whew!

And that causes me to have a huge added eye bags aside from my naturally big eye bags.

Few hours before the interview:

It’s the scariest day probably because I wanted this so badly that I just couldn’t give my second best. But anyways, that morning, as usual, ate Anne tried to, I mean, insisted me to do make-over. newly bought black slacks, my mom’s heels, her off-shoulder three-fourth black-and-white bayo top, guess bag, victoria’s secret, hair iron, and oh! my worst enemy, make-ups! And that again, I was in no position to argue with her.

During Interview:

So! The interview! Oh well, before that, Levon told me that his team leader already knew that I was coming. And yes, I came. And I was scared. Really really scared! Extremely scared! Not showing in that job fair was the best option that I could think of. It gave me millions of annoying heart pumps. But I thought of it again, It was my chance. I just can’t let go of it. So I decided to throw myself to that interview blindfolded. Yep! That’s the only best thing I could think of. Going to that interview without even thinking what would happen next. I have already conditioned myself that I wouldn’t get in. So, I showed up, just for the sake of showing up. Sorry if I couldn’t story-tell on how my interview goes. You might not understand it… It’s way too technical. But then…

Bullseye! I hit luck more than you could imagine. Lucky me, I passed the first interview.

Days after the Interview:

I had chat conversation with my friends who had connections with those corporate people who interviewed. And here are some facts which helped me to come up with a conclusion:

Icing, a close friend, is friends with those two corporate guys who interviewed me. She’s the one who did the follow-up for my job-offer interview.
Bert, one of my barkada, is friends with those two corporate guys who interviewed me. He had some conversations with them after my interview.
Levon, a close friend, told me that I was the only one who applied as a software development engineer.

Job-offer Interview:

Sir Ryan, the Manager, called me. And then I got in! I’m officially hired.

And here my conclusion:

Icing is this one sweet and friendly girl. I probably get in because of her.
Probably, bert is one of the reason why I get in since he’s friends with those two.
There were about 10 NCR corporate guys who handled the job fair (meaning 10 times the plane tickets). They paid VIP hotel for two days (One conference room for two days). And then, I was the only one who applied as a software development engineer. So, that’s one reason why I get in.

So I guess that was it. I wasn’t given a chance to prove that I was somehow capable of doing analytical stuffs. Or perhaps, I wasn’t capable at all… That I don’t know. I’m not really a dumbo. I was always useful in group projects. But then, I haven’t prove something yet.

Preparations for the First Day:

Urrrrgggghh… the papers! police clearance, nbi clearance, sss, barangay clearance, ctc, philhealth, pagibiig, tin. whew! what’s with these papers. I had to complete all of them before my first day. I still even need to go to cebu for a couple of days and be back again.

Well, aside from the papers, I also needed to buy some personal stuff, specifically my clothes. I tried to view Icings profile in friendster to check out NCR’s dress code. And then, I found out that they’re just wearing the casual. As if every day’s a wash day. But then, Levon told me that every new hires needs to dress up in skirts and formal wear. Lucky me, I wasn’t fooled. ;) It was a long argument that I had to agree with his unofficial contract. Lucky me, it was unofficial. ^_~

My 2 days Visit:

…

6-weeks saving strategy training

2007-08-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

a couple of months ago, i was supposed to be saving. yup! that is, supposed to be. yet, unfortunately, i have saved none. so every payday, i have always promised myself that i'm only allowed to spend this amount. but then again, it was unsuccessful. you see, there were several situations wherein i needed to spend on things that weren't supposedly labeled as needs.

so i came up with a plan. and that is my newly invented 6-weeks saving strategy training. this means that i need to spend only 50 pesos each day. i'm also allowed to spend 100 each week for some miscellaneous stuff or for social reasons. and i'm only allowed to spend 300 for my every-2weeks-grocercy.

so within that 6 weeks.
P2100 - 42 days * P50 (lunch and fair)
P600 - 6 weeks * P100 (misc or social reasons)
P900 - 3 * 300 (every-2week-grocercy)
-------------------------------------------------------
P3600

yep! P3600 for 6 weeks! :D but for rare situations, i have also considered that that were unexpected thing i need to pay for. but, i don't really need to set a fix budget for that.

i know! its quite hard for me, but i'm going to push myself with this training. i have already considered that there is a 99% possibilty that i'm going to break my rule. but i'm going to bet on that 1%. so little, yet possible! that is, IF! i'm that determined to save. but even if i failed to follow the rules for a day, at least, i have saved something from the previous days.

i already have my 6-weeks saving strategy training checklist and i had, with pride, successfully completed 2 days in my checklist.. :D

actually, this is also a continutation to my previous selfcontrol test. if you have remembered, i have successfully completed my 60-days no friendster rule. and this time, i'm going to be on my so called 6-weeks saving strategy training. * wink wink *

so... wish me luck!

January 4th - Muscle Pains

2006-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

yawch!!! oh well!!! it's expected...

January 3rd - Rappelling, Caving and River Rafting with Friends

2006-01-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

Candy told me last night that we’re going rafting again. I thought it was her belated Innocent’s Day Joke since the news was really unbelievable. The rafting experience cost too much and there’s no way I could produce that certain amount of money. So I thought of taking a rest the whole day since we had island hopping yesterday and I only had 3 hours of sleep on the boat. I was really tired then. So, she texted me to call her on the phone. So when I got home, I called her immediately. She told me that it's really true. It’s not only river rafting, they also planned to go rappelling and caving. It’s a one-day activity. However, my mom told me to rest the whole day since we’re going to the cemetery to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. She knows that I was really tired yesterday and I didn’t have enough sleep last night.

1 hour later, my mom went out for work. So I thought of going out without asking permission. So my friends and I met at Dunkin. Shark brought with him his other friend and Yagi’s older sister. Goodness!!! These people are Rafting Addicts!!! But whatever!!! I’m also an addict (if only it would cost 20 pesos, I’ll do that everyday) :D Levon and Bert weren’t able to come. They still have work in Cebu. And also Cyrus, he needs to go to Manila. Same thing for Yagi, he’s in Davao at that time. Oh well!! Ishii and Ian were with us. Same with Candy, Shark, Alvie and Joseph, they were there. And of course me! I was there too.

So, nine of us went trekking together with our guides. It was 20 minutes far. The Guide took us to Cave de Oro. Then, then they gave us some instruction on how to rappel. The cave was 90 feet high. And we need to go down in the cave only with a rope. Grrrr… I haven’t tried rappelling. You see… I have fear on heights. I always thought of quitting and go back to where the jeepney took us. So what I did, I was observing what my friends did while they were rappelling... And I also keep on asking the Guide on how to rappel. I also asked her what was the worst case that happened in rappelling. She said it was totally safe. But, I wasn’t convinced at all. Oh no!!! It’s my turn now. Candy keeps on telling me on what to do, same with the Guide. While I was rappelling, I was enjoying it. I never thought it was easy. Physics explains everything. I wasn’t that scared because I was not looking down. I was facing the wall. So, it feels like I’m almost finished but actually I wasn’t. Then weeeee!!! It was a Success!!! I made it!

When everyone did his turn, we went inside the cave. We had these helmets with flashlights in it. We really looked cool with that headgear. The Cave was totally dark. It was really amazing. Though, that was not the first cave that I’ve been to but that was the biggest cave I’ve ever seen. Afterwards, there’s this part on the cave that we need to jump. It was 10 feet deep. I was worried since I don’t know how to swim. Though there were lots of guides, but the cave was totally dark. We only had few flashlights. We didn’t even wear life jackets with us. But thank goodness!!! The guide put a rope on the ladder so that we can hold on the rope and go to the safer place. The last part of the cave was to go inside a short tunnel-like under the water. It was scary. I don’t know what to do. But then I did it well (I think). Weeeeeheeeeee!!! Mission Accomplished!!!

After Caving, we went trekking again then ate lunch near the AirPort. After we ate lunch, we went to the RIVER AGAIN!!!! Wohoooo!!! OK. Same thing before, NOT JUMPING from the bridge was the BEST OPTION for me!!! However, Shark paid the whole adventure. He will be disappointed if I wouldn’t do it. Soo… I was really worried again… Ian, Ishiii and ate Lot2x (Shark’s friend) were the first Batch to jump. Same with me, they were also scared. Particularly, ate Lot. She feels like quitting. After the guide counted from 1-3, everyone jumped!!! Weeeheee!!! They really had fun!!! Oh no! It’s my turn to jump. Sh*t!!! The second batch was Candy, Ate Anne (Yagi’s Sister) and Me. Shark was teasing the three of us. He even told me that my knees were shaking. Grrrr… Then the Guide counted up to 3, then I jumped. After I stepped out from the railing, I wasn’t scared. I was having fun!!! The scariest part was when you look down from the bridge. As I’ve said before, it was two floors tall. And whenever you look down, you feel like the river is eating you. But whatever!! I did it! And the funniest part was, I was the only one who jumped among the three of us. Woohoooo!!! I made it!!! So all of us jumped. Uhmmm… wait… Joseph didn’t jumped!!! Waaaaaaaaa!!! Sooo Gay!!! Lols! Yeah! Whatever!!! But I understand… some people just can’t face their fears. And I’m so proud that I made it!

OK! Here we go!! the Actual rafting starts!!! Me, Ian and Candy were in the same raft. Shark, Ate Lot and Joseph were in the same Raft. Ate Anne, Ishii and Alvie were also in the same raft. The first raft to flip was Shark’s group. It did flip in the 2nd rapid. As usual!!! Lols! And as Usuall! He got two scratches in his left feet. So overall, he got a total of 4 scratches. I wasn’t able to see how they flipped. I only saw their Guide taking Shark back to the raft. (hihihihihi) The guide really had a hard time pulling him in. Our raft didn’t flipped but our guide fell down from our raft because he was wearing this yellow paddle in his two hands that he can’t hold on the raft. I didn’t even notice that he fell down. So, that’s it. I already told the guide, Manong Loloy, that we want to flip in the 7th rapid. I was really expecting to flip. And Guess what! We did flip! It was really fun. Candy didn’t expect that! But I was expecting it. And I did swear that if the raft wouldn’t flip, I’d be the one to flip. LOL. I really need to flip the raft to make the whole adventure complete! The last time, I really regret that it didn’t flip. And I’ll make sure that it wont happen again. After the 7th rapid, Candy and Ian took the yellow body board. I was alone in the raft with the guide. But, I was enjoying watching them going to the rapids with the yellow body board. Then ate Anne and Joseph attempted to jump from the big Rock. Ate Anne did already jumped! And were waiting for Joseph to jump also. But, he didn’t! Goodness!!! He’s really Gay!!! (Peace seph!) So the two rafts (including ours) didn’t wait for Joseph. I also tried the yellow body board. I was really having fun specially when we went through the rapids. The guide assured the other guides that he could take care of me since I’m lightweight. Hayyy… I’m on my way to the finish line. Same as before, I always get to the finish line first. So, I did wait for them. Try to go back to our raft so we could get pictures. However, ate Lot’s camera was already memory full.

It’s almost 6. Then, I need to go to my Dad’s place. So I asked the guide to take me to Oro Garden’s. Then, they took me there. So, when I got there, good thing that my family was still there. Then after I ate a piece of pizza, we had our prayers. Then went home. Before that, my mom asked me where I came from. So I told her that I went rappelling and caving with my friends. And she scolded me because I didn’t ask for permission. But whatever!!! I had fun! It was extremely FUN!!

Dec. 29th to Jan. 2nd - Cebu Trip!

2006-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

My Vacation in Cebu was a lot more fun than what I expected it to be. Goodness! We really got bonding session with my dear cousins. And, I was having extreme fun. (Sorry if I may not be mentioning names here. It would be too long.)

First Day: Though I didn’t have enough sleep last night and went rafting last day, I was still feeling fine, as if I was fully rested. We went to SM with ate Anne and kuya Earl that day. I also need to meet Ean there since I promised her that we would go malling that day. We went to Bo’s with her friend. Got some drinks then started our oh-I-miss-you-how-was-everyone talks. A couple of hours after, we went to a Salon. Uncle Pabs and his family were there having beauty sessions preparing for kuya earl’s big day tomorrow. After that, we ate dinner together then went home.

Second Stay: It’s kuya Earl’s big day!!! And ate Zephie’s too… goodness! I just couldn’t imagine them… They still look cute together… They don’t look like they’re married… particularly kuya earl… He’s too babyish… I mean not babyish… uhmmm how do you say this… well… He acts like a little kid when he’s with his cousins and everyone adored him for that. Oh well! Everyone looks pretty that day. Ate Anne insisted me to wear that pink backless halter dress she brought with her and I was in no position to start a fight with her. So, I thought of wearing that dress since that was not a friend’s wedding. No one would tease me from wearing those. And besides, it’s Cebu! No one knows me in there! So yup! I did wear that dress. I think it looks good on me although I don’t have this flawless back skin. Ok! So much for that dress! As I’ve said, everyone looked good that time and everyone was ready to say cheese on the cameras. During the pictorials in the church, the Duray clan, as usual, dominated the whole crowd. Even in Grand Majestic, where the reception was held, the whole clan was dominating. There were about 7 digital cameras excluding camera phones and several different pose to take. If you would get the total number of all the pictures that were taken that wedding, I bet it would more than a thousand. I’m not exaggerating. It’s for real.

After the wedding reception, we dressed in our party clothes on our way to Ratsky. Oooooh! Ratsky again! I remembered the last time we went there. We were like the only group that was in there. We don’t actually care what other people would say about us. We’re just having fun! Extreme fun! However, the place was full. So, we were force to occupy the second floor. Even if we were in the second floor, we still like dominating the whole place again. Lols. We dance as if we were dancing in the shower room; as if nobody’s watching us. My little cousins were dancing too, crashing into the dance floor though they were 2 feet shorter than most of the people there. My Titos and Titas were also dancing even if they were in their 60s. I was also dancing * wink wink. Whew! What a day! What a day! ^___^

to be updated...

December 27th - White River Rafting with the GUiLD!!

2005-12-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

I told my mom we were having a “surprise party for Yagi” since he will be leaving for Japan. And, I also told her that he will be celebrating his birthday on January. Then we somewhat surprise him since we will miss him. Blah blah blah.. yadah yadah yadah….

So, my friends took me at my house at 4am. Yagi was driving the van when they took me. Thank goodness! My mom didn’t watch me entering the van. She might know that I’m lying. (sssssssh… this will be our little secret..)

Anyways, the group will be having a party! (Not the typical party). We’ll have a party on an online game. So we reserved 8 PCs in a Net Café so that we can Boss hunt! After that, we ordered breakfast at Dunkin. Then we’re on our way to our River Rafting Guides.

Rafting!!! The most awaited event of the year!!! Goodness!!! Everyone was excited. Everyone was excited to jump from the bridge to the river!!! Oh yeah!! Kidding! Actually, everyone was so curios what is it like when you jump to the river. Some were excited to jump. Most of us were scared to jump. Some wants not to jump. I don’t want to jump. I have fear on heights. No matter how I keep on deceiving myself that im not scared of it, it still wouldn’t help me. The more I look down from the bridge, the more im scared. Oh men!! I did already swear that I wouldn’t jump from that bridge anymore. It was about two floors tall. And God knows what I felt the first time I jumped from that same bridge. At that time, I was preparing myself to die. It was like “oh no! mamatay nako mamatay nako!” Yeah Really! I keep on repeating that phrase over and over again. Then until I floated, I said “hay! Buhi pa ko!” LOLs! Trust me! It was really great! Then it’s my second time to jump again. And no! I wouldn’t jump again. But then I think of it again. The rafting experience wouldn’t be complete without the bridge jumping. And I would be regretting for the rest of my life if I wouldn’t do it. So I did jump! And I cant remember what I felt while I was on the air. Probably, my brain was not working well at that certain moment. Then Bam!! I was still alive! Oh yeah!!! Success baby!!! Some of my friends did jump twice. (alvie, levon and yagi) and yeah!!! It was fun!! Extremely fun!

Then after that bridge jumping, the actual rafting starts. Me, Levon and Joseph were in the same raft. Alvie, Yagi and Shark were in the other raft. And, Candy, Cyrus and Bert were on the 3rd raft. The first raft to flip was shark’s group. It did flip on the second rapid. They were in front of me when they flipped out. It was like… oh sh*t! Where’s Alvie?? I was really worried when she was far from the group. She was the only girl on the group. Then, the guides took her and she’s safe. Whew! All of them were OK. Thank Goodness! Though, shark did have two scratches on his left feet.

Our group didn’t want to flip. For us, rafting is like a race. Balancing is our game here. We don’t want to flip. If you flip, then you will lose the race.

The second group to flip was Candy’s group. It did flip on the 7th rapid. The 7th rapid was the most terrible rapid. It’s like a washing machine. The water is like eating you. And bumping to sharp rocks will be the most horrible thing that will happen to you. The instruction was to let go the raft when it did flip, but candy didn’t let go on it. She even attempted to shout. So what happened, she swallowed two bags full of water (mixed with berts urine). LoLs. Cyrus was smiling. He was happy that their raft flipped. Then the guide took them to the raft and they’re all safe.

Our group was like regretting that we didn’t flipped. We already went through the most terrible rapids. And there’s no other way that our raft will flip on the following rapids.

Grrrr… So what we did, Levon and I tried the yellow body board that the guides were using. It’s was fun particularly when we went to different rapids using the yellow body board.

Oh well! We’re already on the finish line… the 900 pesos is over.

So we ate lunch together. Goodness!!! Everyone was talking about flipping. Levon and I regretted that our raft didn’t flip. Joseph was satisfied that our raft didn’t flip. Oh well! I already experienced being flipped. So maybe I was ok.

After that, we slept at Levon’s room (ooooh! what we’re you thinking). (Levon, Cyrus, Candy and Me) They were really tired. They were like snoring. I wasn’t tired. I still want to have fun because after this, I will be leaving for Cebu. Maybe, my body was fully prepared for that event. I also had enough sleep so I wasn’t tired. But the whole experience?? It was unexplainable!!! It was extremely fun!!!

But before I end this post, let me thank shark (Dan) for paying all the expenses. Thank you kaayo. We really had fun!