It's been a long time since I posted something here. I planned a lot of posts already but had no time to write them up. I'll be putting up some late posts here whenever I can.
Had an awesome time at training today. We had so many activities and I had so much fun with my group mates Eric, Erik, and Radz.
Excited for tomorrow! :)
xoxo,
Boom
Light Painting
Good morning Philippines! :) Woke up just an hour ago. Arrggghh! Today I have to complete my medical examination. So before I leave I'd like to show you the output of my boyfriend's boredom: Light painting.
There. It ain't perfect but I appreciate his effort (well, I don't know if it's called effort cause he told me he was about to sleep when he took those shots). Still, I feel loved. <3
There. It ain't perfect but I appreciate his effort (well, I don't know if it's called effort cause he told me he was about to sleep when he took those shots). Still, I feel loved. <3
Red Tape
I had a pretty rough afternoon today. Not as hard as the previous day, but still, it exhausted me. Good thing I was with my mom and my little sister so it wasn't really that tiring at all.
The first transaction for the afternoon was to secure a barangay clearance. I didn't know where the barangay hall was so again, mom had to go with me.
We got there and asked the guy in charge if we could get the barangay clearance and he asked me to write down my name in the paper he provided and return after 30 minutes. Since our house is near the barangay hall, we decided to go home for a bit.
On our way home, Mamang (that's how I call my mom) bought some banana covered in lumpia wrapper (I don't really know how that's called).
After resting for a bit, we went back to the barangay hall to claim the clearance that I needed. We then proceeded to the next goal: NBI clearance. So we rode the LRT to reach Monumento where Victory Mall (the site to get NBI clearance) is.
This is the view from the LRT Station in Blumentritt. It's amazing how dirty and filthy a place can get. Too many offensive odors that make my head hurt. I was thankful that I have colds *sniff sniff* because I have a very sensitive nose. There are so many people and cars cause this place is a wet market. The dead fishies and meat explain the foul odors that you can smell in this area.
I wasn't able to take pictures about the process of getting the NBI clearance because I was too preoccupied and upset about the system. There are too many lines and a lot of stalls (which should contain employees paid by the government through the people's money) are empty. The most irritating part was when it was my turn to pay to the cashier and this guy walks in front of me and hands the cashier some money along with the clearance and the cashier took it without hesitation and made that transaction first before doing mine. Arrrgghhh! FIXERS!
Because of this really bad experience, I had a very bad picture in my NBI clearance. I look like a member of the mafia or something haha! Makes me laugh everytime I look at it. Here's the picture:
I'm actually laughing again hahaha! I look like a psychopath ready to have a spree killing. I told my mom that I learned a very valuable lesson for today: Even if you're really pissed off, always remember to smile, or else -- you'd look like a mafia psycho like that girl on the picture. And no, that's not good.
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| Mom. On our way to the barangay hall. |
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| Passed by this scary looking house along Simoun St. |
On our way home, Mamang (that's how I call my mom) bought some banana covered in lumpia wrapper (I don't really know how that's called).
After resting for a bit, we went back to the barangay hall to claim the clearance that I needed. We then proceeded to the next goal: NBI clearance. So we rode the LRT to reach Monumento where Victory Mall (the site to get NBI clearance) is.
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| View from the LRT Station |
I wasn't able to take pictures about the process of getting the NBI clearance because I was too preoccupied and upset about the system. There are too many lines and a lot of stalls (which should contain employees paid by the government through the people's money) are empty. The most irritating part was when it was my turn to pay to the cashier and this guy walks in front of me and hands the cashier some money along with the clearance and the cashier took it without hesitation and made that transaction first before doing mine. Arrrgghhh! FIXERS!
Because of this really bad experience, I had a very bad picture in my NBI clearance. I look like a member of the mafia or something haha! Makes me laugh everytime I look at it. Here's the picture:
I'm actually laughing again hahaha! I look like a psychopath ready to have a spree killing. I told my mom that I learned a very valuable lesson for today: Even if you're really pissed off, always remember to smile, or else -- you'd look like a mafia psycho like that girl on the picture. And no, that's not good.
13 Hours
Oh no! I actually fell asleep for like, 3 hours after my first post. Yes, I was really, really, realllllyyy tired. I had to go through a lot of tedious stuff just to get the requirements needed for my FIRST JOB EVER. So that's what I'm gonna talk about now.
Last Saturday (April 02, 2011) I didn't have anything better to do so I was looking for call center jobs on Jobstreet and I bumped myself into a manpower agency called People Solutions. Well, at that particular moment, I thought PS was a call center, like, seriously. Cause I'm the type o person who doesn't really want middlemen or whatever in my transactions (and I consider manpower agencies to be middlemen--of course, between the employer and the employee). I called them up and they told me to send my resume as soon as possible. I told them I'd be able to provide that in 2 hours. I seriously didn't know how to make a resume at that moment and I had to make a lot of researches to find a great format and apply it on my own resume.
Before my 2 hours was up, I sent PS an SMS and told them that I already sent my resume to the e-mail address they gave me. They texted me back saying they got the resume and told me to wait for their call. Imagine this: I sent the resume around 2 in the afternoon, and they called at around 8 in the evening! So I was really shocked when I got their call telling me to go to their office and provided me the address too.
So April 4, 2011 came, I went there with my mom (I had to! I don't know Manila that well yet, namean?), and just went inside the room full of anxious people waiting to be interviewed by this awesome recruiter named Richard.
Richard was a very nice guy, he wasn't intimidating (as what one would expect specially if you're applying for a career in the call center industry), and he made us laugh so that we'd feel at ease. He talked to us in a manner that we won't be afraid to answer his inquiries. It was pretty interesting cause he asked me to invent a 5-sentence story involving a glass half-filled with water with a leaf on top. I told him I'd be on top of it (well, the miniature version of me), together with my sister and we'd camp out on that leaf. Well, I had to elaborate cause I needed five sentences but you get the idea. Pretty funny when I think about it now. lol
So there, after a small talk with Richard, there was this very kind, soft-spoken, elegant lady waiting on the other room and Richard instructed us (me and two other women) to go inside the room for our initial interview and. Her name is Easter by the way. After our initial interview, she told the other two that they may leave and that she needed to talk to me. I didn't know that was the final interview and I was offered a CSR position for the Collections Department.
Oh btw, I learned that the company searching for call center agents was Convergys. So there after my final interview, I had a recommendation from Easter and told me to take the exam at Convergys Makati (Glorietta 5). Actually, we (my mom and I) took a shuttle provided by the company so there wasn't any hassle on our part.
There I was, amazed with how huge and elegant their office was. I imagined how I would look like working there with all those amazing people! So I immediately took the exams (a total of 6) and waited for my results. After I got my results I gave it to a gorgeous guy named Gari. He was really soft-spoken and not intimidating at all. Also, the people from the testing department were really kind enough to answer my questions (yes, I had a lot of them, lol). I thought that I really was irritating already hahaha!
So there, I gave my results to Gari and he told me I passed the position required for TSR and told me to have my Berlitz/Rag assessment at Interview Room No. 3. Funny thing is that I met a fellow Sillimanian there. What a small world! :)
After taking my Berlitz exam, I went back to Gari and told me that they're offering me a position for a TSR Account in Uverse. I had this blooper moment wherein I said 'Userve' and everybody in the room was amused and laughed. It was embarrassing but they understood (cause I had no clue what I was getting into, hahaha!).
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| My contract. I had to blur out the other parts for privacy reasons. :) |
After 12 hours of crazy interviews and exams, I was given the contract and the requirements needed for me to be able to get the job. I signed it and went to the lobby where my amazing mom waited. Yes, she waited that long and I was really sorry that she had to because I would've been lost without her.
We chilled at the canteen area (she wasn't really supposed to go there, but I didn't know what magic she had to work to get inside) and drank coffee (for free!). We then went home exhausted, but with happy faces. Thirteen hours of travelling and talking and exams was worth it! FIRST JOB!
Yes to Blogger!
So yesterday, something interesting happened to me and I really wanted to put it in writing so that I would never forget about it. Sadly, I didn't have a blogger account and I was too tired and exhausted that I immediately closed my eyes after washing up, so yea, I never got the chance to make a blogger account. I do have a Tumblr account but it's different cause I like to reblog a lot of cute things there so it's not really my idea that I'm putting into words, nor my pictures or graphics that I'm creating from my imaginative mind. So, because of that, I finally decided to create my own account here on Blogger.
By the way, I'm Boom. I'm twenty years old (turning 21 on the 21st of April, how cool is that? 21 on the 21st!) and I love singing! Music is basically my life. I'd die without music. I can't seem to find meaning in life if music didn't exist. I know, you must think I'm exaggerating but seriously, I love it so much and I can't imagine how life would be without music. It would be like Bruno without Mars (Haha! Just remembered this funny quote from a very funny vlogger from Youtube, Mikey Bustos). What else? Oh! I really like watching television series such as Criminal Minds (I love Matthew Gray Gubler - btw, he has a tumblr account too. I knowww! He's cool like that!), Grey's Anatomy, House, Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, etc. (the list goes on and on); and I thank uttorent for making it possible for me to catch up with all the television series that I'm watching.
Well, that's all for now. With regards to my experience yesterday, I'll be making another post for that so that this introduction wouldn't be too long, lol. Ciao!
P.S.
To those who have Tumblr accounts, follow me here. :)