I Blog, Therefore I Am.

Here are some updates before we go into the merry month of May.

JOBHUNT

~ Pardon if this is the first on the agenda. I am just too edgy about this since I love toooo much my top job choice and not getting it will surely disappoint me. I made my follow-up this morning with the HR Officer who first interviewed me and the Executive Assistant of the Head of the department who interviewed me last Wednesday. They both told me that my future boss is already making several follow-ups on MY application with their Human Resources. The HR Officer said that she's just waiting for my papers and will call me within the week. She thinks that I'm already in "favorable" status and the next process is the Medical Exam checklist issuance from their department. She told me to wait since she have to speak with her Supervisor first. So near yet so far. I am getting too impatient and it's not very good. :( I just want to settle things so I can already plan and move forward - whatever the result may be. Ugh, the agony and pain of waiting.

~ I received another call last Saturday for an initial interview for a Brand Manager position at a certain huge pharmaceutical company somewhere in Shaw/Pasig on Wednesday. I am grateful for it and it will be a nice fallback position and company if ever my top choice will not hire me. I love Brand Management and its many fascinating components. I love focused marketing and enhancing the image of a certain brand and its consumer life cycle.

FRIENDS

~ My Forces Girlfriends and I went to Enchanted Kingdom last April 21 to celebrate Aileen's Birthday. Our park tickets and lotsa wizard money were from Aileen in celebration of Kodak's Summer Outing. I arrived later than the girls since I rested that day. I am still recuperating and there were still shooting pains every now and then from my recent surgery. I love EK and almost all of its rides. But since my operation is barely a month old, I was able to ride only the "safe rides" like Jungle Log Jam, the 4D Pirates of the Caribbean, and the sure-you'll-get-wet Rio Grande Rapids. It was such an enjoyable night nonetheless.

~ Since I've been serving my Goodyear resignation grace period since February, I am now less stressed and pressured than usual. This paved the way for having more time to meet with my old dear friends. My bestest girlfriend from Honda, Olen, and I spent so many afternoons and evenings in the past month. Since she's now eight months pregnant with their second baby and moving around is becoming quite uneasy for her, I became her designated driver in a couple of occassions when hubby Bim is out. They also dedicated their wonderful new home in Cittadela recently. Too bad I wasn't able to take some pictures.

~ I also met and dined with Aimee two Fridays ago at SM Megamall after Goodyear's Transportshow event at the Megatrade Hall. Aimee was my sparring partner in my bittersweet days at Carrier. We sure did a lot of catching up. It's been years since we last sat down and really really really talk. It's truly funny to answer her questions about events in my life that transpired over a year ago.

~ As for my Goodyear friends...well...parting is such a sweet sorrow. I know that I will surely miss them. Our days of togetherness are now numbered. I plan to blog this topic at length but if ever that I wouldn't be able to; I would like to say that I am really blessed and lucky to have met John, Marge, Ros, Binchy and Eric. I will surely miss them and our unusual gimmicks and boring Friday worknights.

~ I recently watched Music & Lyrics since I truly like the "Way Back Into Love" song by Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. I have four versions of the song in my iPod and it's my default cellphone ringtone as of the moment. It truly has very nice lyrics. TRIVIA: Tin, Aileen and I were set to watch Music & Lyrics last February when it was still in theaters but we decided impulsively to just drink and pour our dramas and troubles again and again to each other.

~ iPod Update: Grey's Anatomy Season 3 new episodes (as usual), John Mayer's old album - Room For Squares, Maroon 5's Songs For Jane, Way Back Into Love (4 versions), Barbie Almalbis' Barbie/Singles, Ally McBeal soundtrack and The Best of Bukas Palad. Thanks for the CDs, Aileen. I've been ripping 90's to early 2000s CDs lately. : )

~ Grey's Anatomy is still my numero uno favorito and I am still up to date with all the fresh episodes save for the last one (Episode 21 - Desire). Thanks to Mitzi for the regular video streaming. GA is becoming more and more complicated than usual and the current plot is centered on Izzie and George. My favorite Cristina will have her moment next month when she goes tan-tan-tanan with Dr. Preston Burke. I can't wait!

~ Aside from Grey's Anatomy, my TV nights are occupied by Ugly Betty, Pinoy Big Brother (still an addiction) and Brothers & Sisters. I also started watching Heroes and The Nine. Let's see what they have to offer.

~ I am a SIMS2 addict once again. I recently bought an all-original SIMS2 Seasons Expansion Pack at Datablitz! Such coolness! : )

ON LOVE

~ None. None YET. Yeah, yeah, there are some guys who are texting, e-mailing and calling...but well...let's leave it at THAT for the meantime...

~ I have a crush though! : ) And it's such a girly highschool crush kind of thing! He's one of the sons of one of our Goodyear dealers who I see on a regular basis because of our monthly karting event. But that's it. We are just friends. Nothing will come out of it. Period.

Have a merry May!

It's actually waiting for the FOUR hams (and the two butters).

The numerous hams and butters are just some of the fringe benefits for Christmas that I will get if this certain "amazing" company decides to hire me as one of their key people to further build their already strong brand and provide excellent service for their 25M consumers nationwide. But that is getting ahead of the story. Let’s start from the beginning.

It was the 3rd Saturday of February when I updated once again my aging resume. I seriously got weary revising it since my used-to-be 2-pager bio turned into a 4-page strong. My Goodyear milestones alone occupied a whole page! Whew, I really accomplished a lot (this is MY blog and this is ME speaking). I immediately uploaded it to my Jobstreet and JobsDB accounts and sent it to all the headhunters I know (Binch helped a lot by giving me a lengthy list of contacts!). The result was seven (7) wonderful calls from prospective employers to date. They are all good companies which I can choose from.

Here I am...two months after! : )
I already got an offer out of the seven but I declined it despite the fact of the tempting "choose whatever car" car plan it offered. I am now down to two of my top choices. I'm almost grasping the other one when the other company called again after a month's hiatus.

The first company is a multinational Chinese-owned specializing in "some" home fixtures. It's great, good and wonderful. I checked their website and I immediately saw myself working there. I envisioned myself in my corner office with the creativity of the department all around me. I am very much recommended by the headhunter and the HR guy who interviewed me and immediately referred me to the VP of Marketing after the initial assessment. Unfortunately, the honchos in the company are undergoing some training and I was advised to wait until May for the next batch of interviews.

The second company - the one with the Christmas hams and butters - is THE ultimate top choice. It's one of the most coveted companies in the Philippines today. It's the "new" P&G and Unilever of this day and age. Being considered for a position is quite an honor already. I actually don't want to blog about this yet for fear of jinxing my chances of getting in. But I believe that I'm already blessed for reaching the final interview.

I've always wanted to work in the industry where the second company belongs. It's fast-paced, very "now", challenging and competitive. I was surprised when I got the initial call for an interview almost two months ago. I was interviewed by one of the HR Officers and she told me that my application might take at least a month to process since the hiring bosses are quite choosy on their candidates. I think I did well in that first interview but there were no replies when I made my follow-up weeks after. I forgot about the application and moved on. So I was really surprised when they called again two Fridays ago for another interview with the hiring manager (my future boss if ever). I came in very "armed" and FIGHT for that interview. I had with me my portfolio and sample works from Honda and Goodyear. I even did some research about the company and the position being offered. It was such a very nice and lengthy interview. It gave me a chance to discuss the things that I've been doing in the last eight years in marketing, communications and advertising. The interview lasted for almost an hour and we even made initial discussions on salary, benefits and how soon I can start. It was definitely a good interview. I even got the call for the third and final interview 24 hours after that interview. I was accompanying our dealers in getting their Adidas-Goodyear shoes at SM Megamall when I got the call and it made me very very happy. This is IT. I'm almost there. The final interview was scheduled this morning.

So....I had the interview this morning. The interviewer was no less than the Head of the Department. I was told by my "future officemates" that I am really blessed and lucky to reach this far. I think I did well. I think I answered correctly all of the questions. We discussed a bit about the moolah and she asked how soon I can join them. We even had a conversation about Assumption and my Internet Service Provider (I recently subscribed to their newest broadband wireless). She did not give any assurance that I am in but there were no indications that I am out either. I think my foot is already inside the door but I cannot assume and presume YET at this point. I really want this. I am uber-passionate about it and its products and services. I think its a FIT. I can be happy - as in really happy - with all of its 33 floors waiting to be explored and experienced. I decided to blog about it NOW since I am still in euphoria about it...for tomorrow...I wait. I hope that this will be the ONE.

I can't wait for the bountiful hams come Christmas. Please pray. : )