HOW. ARE. YOU?
I have to spell that sentence that way because just putting the CAPS LOCK on is not enough to express how much I missed you and me writing on this blog. I know, I know, I have not written for quite a long time, and for that I apologize.
But let me fill out the deets on the goings-on in my life from the time I made my last update:
1. A lot of major changes happened in terms of my employment history within the first half of the year. Just last February, I was elevated to regular employment status. Last March, my position in the team's stack ranking has gone higher than the previous month, when I became a regular employee. (FYI: Being a regular employee qualifies you for the monthly stack ranking, both for the whole team and for the whole project) And last April, I submitted my resignation letter.
You heard it right, I resigned from my (previous) company last month. Reason: I got myself a new job -- a permanent (regular) one for a government agency which I could not disclose for security reasons.
I'm working there as a legal assistant -- something that is very, very close to my future career as a lawyer. And given the present circumstances in government work, the job makes it something that is too hard for me to resist, if you're gonna ask me. So yeah, I resigned from my work in favor of a new one.
Truth be told it was hard for me to leave behind the people I've come to know over the past nine months. The people and the culture there was entirely different from the people and the culture of my first work, but nevertheless I enjoyed every bit of it. I learned a lot of things, from within the office as well as beyond it. I'm kinda hoping that they learned something from me during my short stay there, and I hope that they do not forget me even when I'm no longer part of the company.
BRB, reflecting. *haha!*
I believe in making the most of my stay in a certain place in the days before you leave it. And enjoyed I did -- I treated my colleagues with two boxes of pizza on my birthday, had my last few lunches with some of them and joined the team outing in Calatagan, with a little real talk with some colleagues along the way.
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| Me and my colleagues during my pizza bash |
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| Petite (!) colleagues trying on the couches on the then-newly-built pantry during my pizza bash. Too bad the couches are too short for me to lie on. Haha! |
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| Cupcakes as my project's gifts to the birthday celebrants. |
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| Now you know when my birthday is! |
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| Red velvet is <3 |
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| Special delivery from the Retail Team! |
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| A giant card! |
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| Written by (nearly) all members of the team! |
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| Team Camaraderie in Calatagan! |
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| My boss eating halo-halo during our stopover in Tagaytay.. |
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| Last look on the newly-built pantry... |
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| Such a posh counter! |
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| Last lunch! |
At present I've been with the agency for nearly two months now, and I'm still in the adjustment phase of my employment. After all, I'm still within the six-month probationary period required in my job, but nevertheless, I'm getting to know more about the nature of my work as a legal assistant and a government servant. That, for now, is what matters most to me.
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| This is the table where I was first seated. I'm no longer seated here at the moment but it reminds me of my first tasks as a legal secretary... |
2. Speaking of birthday, I just turned 26 last month. And for the second consecutive year, I spent it in Pangasinan with my family and relatives. We went to Lingayen beach and had a swimming party with lots of food on the side.
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| Selfie with Bibilab Snowy! |
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| Another selfie! |
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| Beach birthday grub! |
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| Melon juice with milk |
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| Grilled hotdogs -- a hit in the beach! |
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| Me and my niece Kylie! |
I had to rush back to Manila that night because I still have to go on duty the next day at 4AM. Well, I arrived late but I had to explain that I got down from the first trip in Dagupan bound to Cubao, which left at 12:30AM. I don't mind getting late that time because that was only the second time I ran late for the year.
But later in the afternoon, I treated my officemates to pizza from the nearby SnR Pizza place. It feels good to treat them on my birthday even though it's already past my exact birthdate. (FYI: It was already past 12:00AM CST of April 7, 2015. Meaning, it was still my birthday earlier that morning. Confused with the time difference? Me, too. Haha!)
3. The grades are finally out! Well, the grades of only three out of four subjects I'm taking up are now up on my school's online system, and I passed all of them. I still have to see the grade of that remaining subject from the dean's office since the online system has been cranking up for the past two months, starting right before the grade for that subject was encoded into the system.
For me, it only means one thing: I'm a few steps away from graduation! Yay!
However, those few steps is still a long way to go. I still have an entire school year's worth of subjects, plus some back subjects and an undergraduate subject (English) that is required for me to complete the requisite number of undergraduate subject units needed for me to take the bar exams. I'm trying to fast-track everything so that I could graduate within one and a half years, but not too fast that everything just passes me by and come pre-bar review I'm staring at the lecturer with no idea as to what he's talking about.
So yeah, that's my goal -- to graduate within one and a half years. Octoberian, as they call it, but why so? Because I'd like that my bar review will last the entire year, as opposed to the usual six months pre-bar preps. While observing baristas (bar candidates) over the past few years, I kinda find that six months is a bit too short for something as enormous as the bar exams. A year of preparation, in my opinion, is more than sufficient to cover at least one subject per month plus the bar review in itself. I don't know if you guys quite get the idea of what I'm talking about, but that's my game plan so far.
4. I met up with my high school BFF Joanne last March, and it was a reunion like no other. She is now based in Australia, and she is in the country to visit her family and to renew her passport. Actually, when we met up at SM Manila that day, she just finished her personal appearance with the DFA satellite office at the area for the passport renewal.
We had lunch at Hot Star with her sister Joyce, who is now graduating that same month with a degree in Business Administration. In the process, we had a lot of catching up -- me with my working student (mis)adventures, Joanne with her work and stay in Melbourne, Joyce with being the student council president and her studies, and so much more. I actually felt like a day is never enough to catch up with her, that is why I'm really looking forward for her next visit in the country. But for the meantime, I plan to give her a call via Skype on her birthday this coming Friday. Teehee!
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| L-R: Joanne, Joyce and me! |
But what sets the trip apart from the rest was the food stop at a branch of Lola Helen's at Concepcion. For the sake of information, Lola Helen's is a popular restaurant near the Marikina Riverbanks serving one of the best pancit in the city. And I swear by this, you guys -- their pancit canton with sarsa (thick sauce) is THE BOMB. DOT. COM. Even after a few months since having a taste of it, I still can't forget its taste. So I promise myself to come back to the place, and maybe visit the main branch in Sto. Niño.
Sorry, could not retrieve the photos during this trip. Will upload them once I do, though.
Hey, I still don't forget all the backlog posts that are due to me. I've got a few places and products to review, as well as thoughts to share over the past days, so stay tuned to that. And because I now have more frequent access to Blogger, I hope I could write more posts without any restrictions whatsoever. See you guys next time!
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