Holy Shit.
By some sick twist of fate, I'm keeping my current job and I did not have to kiss anyone's ass or whatever other part of the human anatomy to keep myself from getting laid off. ^_^ Whew!
Digesting a Heartbreak
6 years ago
First | Freeze | Fun
Today I got my first and last salary from BPI for the fifteen glorious days I spent trying to be what I apparently am not meant to be.
The figure looks HUGE because they threw in a couple of bonuses and allowances, but since those bonuses and allowances are for the months of June to December, I have to return 5/6 of them. By my calculations, which my Accounting Exam has proven yet again to be inaccurate 90% of the time, I’m gonna be left with only around 16K net. Still, not bad for three weeks.
This experience has made me realize one thing. It feels good to have your own money. You don’t even have to be able to spend it, just seeing the figures and knowing that you earned it and it’s all yours makes you feel good. I went back to the ATM like eight times today just to see my balance, that’s how great it feels.
I like having money. And I promise that when I have my next job, I’ll do my best to always have a lot of it. All the time. ^_^
***
It takes a lot to make me look away
And that’s what you do when you look back at me.
It takes a lot to make me fumble
And that’s what you do when you chat me up about NBA.
It takes a lot to make me mumble
And that’s what you do when you ask me about MMA.
It takes a lot to make me nervous
And that’s what you do when you sit beside me.
It takes a lot to make me keep quiet
And that’s what you do when you walk next to me.
You can’t make me freeze.
But that’s what you did when you put your arm around my shoulders.
***
So far, I’ve taken losing my first and probably most promising job ever, in stride. I laugh about it, joke about it, even look like I know things are going to be fine, but the truth is I am so disgusted with myself that a lot of times I feel like throwing up. Sometimes I even do.
And you know what I do to make myself feel better when my life sucks so bad? I take every inch of consolation that I can from this.
GSP is not impressed
To the Birthday Boy
I didn’t have time to scribble down a note before I gave you your gift bilang kayo nina Lawi and Archer ang sumalubong sakin kalabas ko sa Blue Magic. :P So I decided to blog this nalang. ^_^
Happy Birthday. Thank you for being a good friend to me even when I have not always been a good one to you. I have many quirks that make me difficult to deal with, not to mention the fact that I have this habit of pushing people away, but you are one of those friends who never left even when I tried to shove them out. Even after all the not-so-good things I said and did to you, you were still the one who always invited me to dinners and dota games and EBS’s and everything else. I will always be here for you the same way you have always been there for me.
I gave you a pillow for symbolic reasons that no longer need discussing. O yan ha, quits na tayo. But all kidding aside, I know that despite everything that happened, we’re in a better place right now, and things can only get better from here.
P.S. The pillow’s name is Chokey. I named him after Lebron. ^_^
Bye Bye
I did not expect it to be over so soon, but my stint as a management trainee at BPI has come to an end. Thank you to the wonderful people who have made the last month so special. This job may not be for me but I will always have you guys in mind and at heart. :(
According to KD35
"He approaches his game as all about business, all about trying to win, all about playing well. That’s what I try to do. I just want to play well for my team and for myself and just try to get better. That’s what type of player Dirk is. He’s never the type of guy that’s flashy with it. He just goes out there and plays, gets it done. That’s the type of player I try to be.”
And that's why even though he will likely never get to hold a championship trophy, he's still my favorite player. ^_^
Medical Exam Fails and More
Today I had my medical exam. It was one of the worst days of my life.
1. The lab needed to draw my blood for testing. I hate being injected with needles, and worse, I have ridiculously deep seated veins. The nurses couldn’t find my veins in either arms and had to call on a doctor to do it. Now the area where blood was drawn out is bruising and hurts like hell.
2. The lab also needed a ‘fresh’ stool sample but my digestive system wouldn’t hear of it. I sat down on the toilet for nearly five hours but got zilch. Can you imagine how horrible an unfruitful five-hour wait for poop is? Now I have to go back to the lab tomorrow TO POO. Hooray for me.
3. The lab also needed a ‘secure’ urine sample for drug testing. When I got into the room where I was supposed to pee, the waterless urinal had creamy/foamy whitish icky stuff all over it! You have got to be kidding me. I had maintenance clean it up before I used it but it still felt yucky.
4. On the X-ray waiting area, I had a really annoying seat mate. He wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing he said he was because – get this – he got hired at a call center the same day he applied. He didn’t shut up until he got called for his X-ray. Oh, the agony.
***
Well, since we’re talking about fails, a lot of my ‘friends’ are surely happy that the Mavs lost today. The first quarter was good but after that everything just went downhill. As I said in my last entry, this is what happens when the Mavs’ offense don’t work – they have such pathetic defense that they’re easily overwhelmed. And seriously, someone needs to teach Tyson Chandler how to alley-oop and Peja Stojakovic how to fucking guard somebody. Watching them made me so miserable.
Not to take anything away from KD3 and his team, of course, because they did play a lot better at Game 2. In you face to all those writers who after game 1 said Dirk was unguardable. Well, now we know he totally is. You just need two big guys to double-team him so he passes the ball to the perimeter shooters who didn’t happen to exist today. JJ and Jet, where the hell are you?
Honestly, I’m not gonna be surprised if the Mavs lose this series. Wins on the road are crucial because teams generally win at home during play-offs. Oh well. They’ve had a good run, but all good things are bound to end.
***
My sister is a lot like my friends. Meaning, she always pokes fun at Dirk simply because he’s my favourite player. This morning we watched Game 2 together, and at one part a commentator remarked that the Mavericks “is basically playing for Dirk Nowitzki. They’re just helping him get the championship he’s worked so hard for.”
I was at the verge of tears. In all fairness, this Mavs team has really been supportive of Dirk, who has spent 13 years in the NBA and has yet to claim a championship title. As Sekou Smith said, Dirk could have followed KG and King James’ footsteps and left Dallas to join a ‘championship’ team, but he stayed when he had every reason to leave. :’( I just love that guy to death.
My sister, however, did not share my sentiments. She just shook her head while saying “Hmf, playing for Dirk. Mga bading!”
Ipahintulot mong ako'y mapahandusay
…sa sumasaibayong kaginhawaan.
***
Until two weeks ago, I had never imagined myself becoming a banker. I dunno, finance isn’t really among my interests given how badly I suck at numerical stuff. But a banking job is supposed to be one of the most reliable careers out there and my parents cannot be less vocal about how they want me to pursue it. So here I am, eighteen hours away from signing the job offer to become a member of BPI’s Officership Training Program for 2011.
OTP is basically a management trainee program – you undergo eight months of training, after which you become at least a bank officer if not an assistant manager. Each year more than a hundred applicants go through four interviews and two exams to qualify for the program, but only a handful make the cut. BPI’s OTP is supposed to be one of the best management trainee programs in the banking industry, and the salary is competitive as well; while it’s nowhere near HSBC’s 35K, it’s higher than the 21K salary from my first job offer made by another local bank.
All in all, OTP is a great opportunity. It’s just that deep inside, I’m not sure if this is the life I want for myself. My mouth wrote so many checks during my interviews, and even though I have no doubt that my head and my hands can cash them, I don’t know if this is where my heart truly is. I have never liked numbers. I can deal with them by being industrious, but I don’t enjoy them at all. Haha, to put it simply, I am not Gboi. ^_^
I ask myself where my heart really is, and whenever I answer ‘writing’ or ‘NBA’, ‘MMA’, ‘DotA’ or ‘big cat conservation’, I have to swallow. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t born an Ayala or a Sy. I can’t be a professional blogger, sports fan or wildlife conservationist. I have to think of my own financial stability first. When I have enough of my own money to not care about money, maybe that’s when I can start chasing my real dreams.
For now, I have to keep in mind the words that have kept me going for the last three years. I can’t always do what makes me happy, but I should always do what is rational. I didn’t like Econ but I managed to graduate with honors, and that’s what I am going to do with my banking career.
***
On a lighter note, the Mavs won Game 1 against OKC this morning. Dirk was even more terrific than usual, setting a new record for most consecutive free throws during a playoff game (23, formerly 21 by Paul Pierce). JJ Barea showed how hard he can drive to the basket (that little guy is fearless!) and Jason Terry crowned himself king of downtown.
However, it was alarming to see how bad the Mavs’ defense was, and how the team actually doesn’t have a player to legitimately match with Russell Westbrook. The Mavs only did great this game because their offense was working, but if they hit a rough offensive patch, Westbrook can destroy them single-handedly like Wade did. Er, I actually have a bad feeling about this.
