One year from now...

Dear Self from one year ago,

So how did your thesis defense go? I mean your first thesis defense. You'll be thankful to those people that seemed to kill you before now cares for your graduation a lot. You'll graduate on time and it will be the proudest moment of your life. Trust me. You will have his name (three given names, two-word middle name and last name) at the end of your thesis acknowledgments, just as you wished.

One year from now you'll look back at it and still be amazed how you got away from all the shiznit alive. After the revision, you won't be able to open your thesis manuscript until you had to refer to it while editing a friend's thesis--yes, you will help a friend with his thesis. You can't open it not because you curse the final manuscript to the deepest pits of hell, but because you know for yourself that it's 90-something half-baked pages that could have been better if not of the circumstances brought about by your respondents. One year from now, OrCom students will come to you for help and you will not deprive them of it. You will, in fact, make a pledge that you would uphold the pursuit of academic excellence (or somewhat like it) in any way you can because that's the least you can do to help them. If only your thesis respondents thought the same way as you do.

After your graduation, you will stay at home all summer looking for a job, and finally get one a week after classes officially start. I'm sorry darling, but no matter how hard you try to avoid Human Resources, you will inadvertently land there. And I am telling you this now, you will learn to love it that you actually see yourself in the industry in the long run. It just sucks that your cover letter for that PR role wasn't enough to do the trick--I thought it was kick-ass too.

One year from now, you will be in a top recruitment company based in UK and your body clock still wouldn't have changed as you will work with counterparts in the Americas (ergo, the night shift). One year from now you will realize that your thesis manuscript has nothing to do with how you start your career--it is what you have learned and experience during its making that would. At this moment I know that you have already learned the virtues of patience and optimism, and I kid you not, working like mad as long as you see a hint of light at the end pays off eventually.

You will encounter difficult clients and even more difficult teammates to work with. You will contemplate resignation for at least ten times and cry in toilets. A year after you first tried to defend your thesis, however, you will write this and realize how good your life is and that your company values you a lot. You will "Strongly Agree" to a survey item that states"I will not leave this company right now". You will be awarded as Contributor of the Quarter on your first quarter at work, and your excellence will become a special case in the company that you will bypass regular employee processes. I'm not telling you this to swell your head and give everyone a middle finger, saying "I don't need this, suckers!" Do not be proud as you read this. Do not neglect every little thing you do. Do not be grumpy when things don't go your way because they can only get better. Trust me.

One year from now you will write this using your personal office computer while on a 1-hour break. You still have your headphones on but you will listen to Oasis (mostly), Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Jet, The Smiths, and The Beatles instead of your thesis playlist. You will finally be aware of the fact that Wonderwall is not the best Oasis song there is (but it will always remind you of his scent and how he juxtaposed his body against yours as he tried to know what you listen to). You will have an unexplainable admiration for a man named Noel Gallagher (if you don't know him you can google it up) who is 23 years your senior and you will secretly wish you were a British girl born in the 70's who was in Knebworth's biggest gig in '96. You will have changed a lot of your views in life, you will have established a stronger personality, and you will listen to music that you used to skip on MTV, mostly by British rockstars who used to sniff cocaine during the time that you were just learning to recognize the five basic senses. In the end, however, you are confident that you have grown up more than you have grown old. It's only a year hence.

I can't wait until you get here. It will be the wildest year of your life so far.

Onwards.

In a bit,

Yourself (only a year older)

Career Objectives

 

GOOD LORD DID I JUST---

I raised 45 requisitions and almost fainted

I can hear my stomach do the guitar riff of Metallica's Enter Sandman. Sitting in front of my trusty office PC for 12 hours now and I still haven't got over that 2-hour web conference to happen at 11. I sighed. Why the heck am I processing all these requisitions when I am in fact in a team and not a one-man band? I don't know, really. I just know that there are a lot of work coming and it's kinda unfair for my other team mate to take on this when I can do it on my own. 45 requisitions. Good Heavens. Whoever says America does not have enough jobs to cater to them all probably just don't know where to look or have mismatched degrees.

Le sigh.

I left the office at 2PM. Passed by McDonald's to get myself some sugar-heavy caramel sundae, reflected on my life (this is a joke), passed by the isawan, ate some betamax and isaw manok, and finally called it a day at 4PM. I'll be leaving again at 11PM and I don't have enough time to get the recommended sleeping hours. Or do I? I don't know.

I set my alarm at quarter to 10, but you should know how I always hit snooze upon hearing the intro to Cigarettes and Alcohol which I awkwardly set as my alarm knowing that neither do I smoke nor drink alcohol. I then woke up to the ring of my phone and my boss is calling. I dropped the call and texted him "On my way, Boss." LOL JK your phone call just woke me up.

I arrived at the office a little after 11:30 and my boss instantly knew that I just woke up when he called. I asked him why the need to call me and he answered that it's because I had a sh*tload of escalations that came along the 45 requisitions I raised earlier, the same ones that made me take paracetamol because my head felt like being ripped apart. After all that fookin' pain, I'll be getting escalations? Hell.

I opened my PC to take a look at it and answer them myself. I whispered, albeit a little loudly and I don't give a damn anymore if anyone can hear me: "Di naman ako mamamatay dito." My boss said that he sent it to my AMS email and I should take a look at it. When I saw it, I almost fainted.

#^*#!!#!!! Boss and my Team Mates. You started my day on the wrong foot by fooling me like this.

Ladies and gentlemen, my first pat on the back. Although this is of a lower rank, shall we say, than the one I previously received (The employee of the quarter award), this is still something that makes me feel that I am more than a fookin' machine that generates 45 job requisitions a day.

If I only knew that the turnaround time for that project is 3 days, then f*ck it, I wouldn't have done it all. I DIDN'T KNOW. I THOUGHT IT WAS 24 FOOKIN' HOURS AND I WORKED MY ARSE TO COMPLETE IT. But oh well... The isaw manok already compensated it.

Well, I kinda hate how AMS makes me so attached with these stuff and with Human Resources as a whole. I used to believe I am not made for HR. I am not a people person, man. But I always land here, recruitment particularly. But I've no regrets. Especially with my first recruitment experience. In fact, right now I am starting to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, I am destined to be in HR after all. Writing is my first love, but maybe, just maybe, God wants it to stay that way so that I'll never lose my interest in it. I myself don't want the day to come that I'll view writing as a task and not as a hobby that I should enjoy.

My friend Cole is leaving the company on Friday, and she asked me if I wanted her to refer me to the company she'll be working for. She talked about the perks of her new company, like traveling to different parts of the country and experiencing a lot of different things. And here's how I answered her: "I don't think I'm ready to leave AMS just yet."

Remember how I used to rant like there's no tomorrow about AMS? Eat that.

Just because I believe going on a business trip to London is better than recruiting on different domestic locations. Madferit, mate!

Suck a Mountain and See

I've always wanted to climb a mountain. On December 2011, I posted a status message that I'd go mountain climbing once I get my job done to sh*t out the stress before entering the new year. Because my team mates are supportive, they wanted to join me. We made plans. We selected a mountain (Mt Maculot as the first option), then re-selected (Pico de Loro), and settled with a volcano instead of a mountain (Taal Crater). Like all elaborate plans, that trip never happened.

Two months later, Kris came to AMS and became a friend. What's it gotta do with mountain climbing? A lot. She hikes as much as other girls party. She met her other half through common mountaineer friends. She can set up a tent, knows the best places to go to, first aid, and stuff. She breathes mountains.

On a regular day, thinking that she's a mountain climber is quite impossible.

Prayer answered!

So while we were experiencing system downtime, we talked about her hobby. We ended up planning a hike up Mt Batulao the weekend after that. It's all good and there's no turning back! Ya-hey!

You know those stuff you used to see in TV about camping trips and life in the mountains? Some of them are true and some are not-so-true. Here I am to debunk some, based on what I have seen from the first mountain I've owned like a G6:

1. It's possible to obtain cellphone signal on top of a mountain. Even access Wi-Fi!
2. Dora the explorer's backpack is possible. Kris's boyfriend, Jaycee has a backpack that spawns anything that you'll ever need. Aside from the usual camper's stuff, he's got a kitchen, a tent, and an entertainment system inside!
3. You can't not know anything and just say "Sorry, taga-bundok ako e". They know better than us in some aspects.
4. There's a store at the mountain's summit!!! They're selling--go on and guess--MOUNTAIN dew!!!
5. Sea Bears are avoidable if you stay in groups or inside your tent.



Thankfully, we're Seabear-proof.

 6. You can drink your own pee, but please avoid it at all costs.
7. You don't really need a compass if ever you got lost. Just follow the horse poop and you're on your way back home.

Going up a mountain to unwind from the harsh city is something I don't regret. It restores pleasant vibes that the workplace robbed you of and reminds you how it good feels to be alive--as a living, breathing human being that you really are--more than just an 8-5 employee with no social life aside from Facebook.


Top stuff I loved:
1. The village locals. Before we started our hike, we passed by a residential area and the people that we come across say: "Ingat kayo sa pag-ahon sa bundok!" (Take care as you ascend the mountain!) and smile. Wishing others well is something that does not cost anyone anything, yet it is something that brings great joy. Sadly, it is also something that most of us have forgotten.

Here's one of our well-wishers. He said "moo", roughly translating to "ingat!"

2. Other campers. As we head off the new trail, we encountered campers on their way down. It's like everyone knows everybody, it's amazing! They face us with greetings, ask us questions (day hike?),  and tell us to take care. Mountaineers are wonderful people.

3. Since everyone knows everyone, the people at the camp are in for a huge slumber party! People share food, lend each other stuff, drink all night, and share stories like they've known each other for so long. The people at the nearby tent shared their drink with us and we became friends. Going up a mountain to unwind is also a great way to meet new friends.

Kris and our new beki friend!

 4. The food. We're quite lucky that Jaycee enjoys cooking, which made us end up with superb gourmet meals instead of instant food. We had fried chicken, buttered baby potatoes and chinese cabbage for dinner (all freshly cooked, man!!) and toast, pizza omelette, and corned beef for breakfast. There's been a little accident with the rice though, one of our mates Lean accidentally put gin instead of water as it boils. The result was drunken rice (not bad, but I'm not sure if someone got to eat it).

Can't do anything else but scratch his head...

Breakfast like a sir!

5. The air. Fresh, cooool breeze gently touching your face!

My "Oh yes mahangin!" shot

6. The scenery. Just seeing the other mountains on the horizon (Mt Talamitam can be seen nearby) is enough to break the monotony brought about by the tall city buildings.



Wash your face in the morning sun...

7. Tree branches and talahib grass. I never thought they'd be very useful.
8. Motivators. I'm too close to surrender our ascend to the summit, but my friends Jaycee and Nestor were too steady to agree. Even if it's raining and we won't really see anything up there, the rule is to never say never.

"See that? Just a few climbs and buttslides and we're there..."

9. The dirt. I said that. I loved the dirt. I am officially the girl in the dirty shirt. I hugged dirt, lied in dirt, rolled in dirt, gripped dirt, and ate dirt, and I am still alive. It's wonderful. I lost all remaining sosyal cell in my body.

10. The climb. I don't like quoting Miley Freakin' Cyrus but that's what it's really about. We reached the summit but did not see anything aside from mist, but the fact that you got up a mountain 800 meters above sea level is something that others do not readily achieve. It's amazing. I can't believe I'd be doing this but heck, I just did.

The Batulao Summit companions: Jaycee, Lean, Nestor, and Me

775~ meters above sea level. Eat that, ground-level people!

The Verdict:
With how it brought me closer to the sky, Mt Batulao is definitely just the first of many mountains I'll climb. :)