Officially working

So yesterday marked my first official day in work. I never knew how difficult it is to suddenly start working after months of vacation. For one, waking up is such a HUGE challenge. Getting up really is half the battle. I spent my first day being sleepy. Haha. Well I still listened, but I was really sleepy. I'm so glad Cza is there to keep me company! What a huge blessing! Considering we're the only two people in the entire office who are dealing with separate things, it's really great that we can do it together. Heehee.

Today though, the real work began. Well, a little bit. We have homework na, and I still don't have a desk and a PC! Haha. It's okay though. I'm getting to know more people by constantly going around. =D I'm glad though that everyone is really nice and friendly. It's sad that there aren't any cute guys in the office though. Haha, not even one! How very disappointing. But there are lots of pretty girls.

I haven't even received my first paycheck and I'm already thinking of what my big purchase will be! Maybe a Christmas gift to myself, I don't think aabot for my birthday because that's already so soon!

Anyway, I have to get back to doing my homework. =) Later!

Crossing over to the "real world"

"Cross the border into the big bad world
Where it takes you 'bout an hour just to cross the road
Just to stumble across another poor old sould from
The dreary old lanes to the high-street madness
I fight with my brain to believe my eyes...
...
Where'd the days go?
When all we did was play
And the stress that we were under wasn't stress at all..."
-These Streets

I was listening to Jam88.3 the other day while reorganizing my closet (just in time to make the wardrobe shift to office wear!) and heard a new song, These Streets by Paolo Nutini. Now I don't know who this guy is, but the song grabbed me. Especially after seeing the lyrics. It's such an appropriate time to hear the song.

It's both an exciting and a nerve-wracking time. I officially start work on Monday, and contrary to how other people may feel, I haven't gotten my entire life mapped out yet. I'm just working on getting to the next step: making my brain cells work again.

I'm both excited and extremely (extremely) anxious about starting work. Cza and I (yeah, Cza will be my officemate! Yay!) started orientation last Tuesday, but I don't officially start until June 26. The job sounds extremely serious and I am a bit freaked out by that. There's also a gazillion things to learn, since we are dealing with information. I feel like I can work for the FBI once I'm done with this job! Haha. Just (semi)kidding. That's all I can say. But I do think it'll be a great, great training ground for whatever I decide to do in the future. The discipline itself will particularly be interesting to develop.

So how am I savoring the last week of my vacation? This morning I discovered the fun in solving Sudoku! I was really intimidated when I first encountered that in the plane. It's pretty challenging, but the satisfaction of solving one is great! =) It's also a great way to warm up the brain cells before I start working! If you'd like to try it out, there's a free version in Yahoo games.
There's driving too. Just two more sessions and I'm done! I'm such a slow learner when it comes to driving. I also finished reading The Undomestic Goddess last weekend! Yiee! Now I'll have to wait for Sophie Kinsella's next release because I've already read everything she's written (and to think, I thought chick lit was so beneath me! Haha. It's just a fun light read). I'm gonna miss being able to leisurely read anytime!  Ho well. Other things are just customary bum activities. No need to elaborate, really. =)

Golly my whole college barkada is working already! It's so strange.

Well I gotta jet. I have to pick up where I've left off with my room. =( Oh joy!

Bidding goodbye to my bumming days

Alas, after a very surprising interview, it's official. My bumming days will be over very, very soon. I can't wait to start working! I'm really excited, and I think the wait was really worth it. I'm going to miss being a bum though. I really will! (I will not miss the stress of job hunting tho. Haha)

Why I will miss living the bum's life:
1. The Nanny reruns on Hallmark (darn just when Ms. Fine and Mr. Sheffield are about to get together!!!)
2. Watching movies on their opening days
3. Taking naps
4. Waking up whenever I want
5. Flexible eating hours ;)
6. Reading for leisure
7. Free lunch
8. Chatting with friends
9. Watching the morning reruns of the shows I missed the night before (since I don't get home by Wednesdays at 8, I only watch the Monday morning rerun of Veronica Mars)
10. Just sitting in front of Bailey with no pressure to come up with something intelligent
11. Hanging out at Palms. The Friday exercise!!!!!!

What I will not miss about being a bum:
1. Gaining weight
2. Looking for a job
3. Having no disposable income
4. The occasional boredom

Sigh. I will miss being a bum. But it's time to grow up.

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Speaking of growing up...

I was reading some private journal entries from 2004 and I realized how much I've changed since then. Whatta relief! It's nice to know that I can look back and laugh at all the crazy things I wrote about. Even if they are embarrassing and tempting to delete, it's a nice reminder of a time when I had so much angst. When words were my only tool to unleash all that negative energy. I guess even sensibilities do change, and when it does, looking back is always an amusing break. No matter how embarrassing your thoughts were. ;)

Stuck with a bad haircut

"Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends."
- Legends of the Fall

I caught Legends of the Fall in HBO this morning. I've heard about this film since grade school but only got to watch it now. It's hard to know what I feel about it, though I haven't been moved by a film in this way, in a long time. Well, ever since films from Fr. Nick's film classes. And boy do I miss that! I miss the feeling of being captivated by a film without completely understanding why. To be enthralled and just be caught in all the emotion of the characters. It's the films such as these that we shouldn't take at face value, because it has so much more beyond it. For the same reason, Brokeback Mountain, has the makings of being a classic. I'm sure that if I watch it years from now (and not in a classroom setting!!!), I will still flinch, but appreciate it with greater awe.

Sigh. The stuff that makes up classics. It definitely isn't for the uncultured mind.

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Well, if you want the 411 on what my inner bum has been doing these days, read on...

1.  Catching movies on their opening days.
I love it. Haha. Only, I don't get to look forward to doing something on the weekends. Last week I saw Take the Lead (Antonio Banderas is just so dreamy in that movie. I was floating the whole time) and Cars. This week, we'll catch The Lake House, a Hollywood version of Il Mare. I saw this with Jacqui and Rach, and remember thinking that Hollywood is never this creative in making storylines. So, they make up for it by pirating. I only hope that they do the Korean version justice. The Korean landscape was absolutely breathtaking (even if we did just see it in black and white! Darn the TV and DVD player!! Haha)

2. Hair experiments
So I am still on the quest for the salon and manggugupit (ahem, parlorist) who will replace the void that Verna and Aura has left me. Sniff. Traveling to Katipunan just to get a haircut is a waste of gas. So, after my not-so-great haircut at Bench Fix Bicutan, I decided to try the salon at the Palms.

I got my hair dyed! Hahaha. I was nervous about this, but it turned out... fine. It's not really noticeable unless there's light, and I did it to lessen the contrast of my hair and my face cause I am so pale. Haha. However, an interesting discovery was made  by the colorist. One that did not make me happy. Turns out I have a.... gaaaah! bald spot! My Goodness! He said that it's from relaxing treatments, and I haven't had one since 2 years ago. It was like receiving a notice that my cellphone has been disconnected (which has never happened to me before).

To top if off, he gave me a bad trim.

(Eww, did I just tell the whole cyber community that I have a bald spot?!)

3. Job hunting
Alas, will it never end! One of my friends (still in school, boo!) asked me, "hindi ka ba nagsasawa?" and there is only one answer. YES! I wish the mail would just come and tell me "Dear Camille, we have a job for you!" And you know, I show up and I'm hired. Hahahaha. Oh gosh, I am beginning to sound like one of the ditzy heroines of chick lit. This is what too much Becky Bloomwood and Emma Corrigan can do to the brain! I vow to read more intellectual material. I started with The Art of Courtly Love and looking for the misplaced Unbearable Lightness of Being around the house.

ANYWAY. So yeah, job hunting is really... blech. It IS tiring to go to exams and interviews and not receive a callback after 1 or 2 screenings. And those that call back, well, they don't exactly make me feel chipper. Oie. But the hunt must go on.

4. The quest for the perfect black work scrunchie v.2
I went out with Anna again last Friday. Haha, and though she didn't find that perfect black work scrunchie, we found cute non-black ones anyway! Heehee. It was fun! We just had coffee and then! We headed to Timezone as she convinced me to play Daytona with her. Guess who we saw! Haha, we saw Gab and Cat and we raced with them. Heehee I didn't know car racing could be so fun! My last (real life) Go Kart experience wasn't exactly ka-chow, y'know.

It's great to just be with friends. And it's always so much better than how you imagine it would be. :)

5. Regular exercise
I'm beginning to really love exercising! :) It hurts, but in the end, the feeling is incredible.

So, off I go now. I have to get ready for driving school! Which would have been number 6 on that list! =)

Ta ta for now!

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For those (aka fellow bums) who want a good learning experience, you must watch March of the Penguins. It's a great documentary about the emperor penguins. It will leave you amazed and to tears. Really.

If you, like me, are constantly on the hunt for what new song to download, check out the celebrity playlists in the iTunes Music Store. They give previews and I've found some pretty great songs from there. Also, try Rosario Dawson's version of Out tonight from the Rent movie soundtrack. It's chipper! ;)

side effects start to kick in

So June has finally started. It's kind of hard to rack my brains to answer what I've been doing this past week. I've officially been a bum for one month now, since I got back from vacation. I was really hoping to be employed by June. I'm still being optimistic, I mean, June is just beginning. I remember thinking before that when I get so sick of being a bum, I'll probably just take the first job that comes along. And now, finally, I've got that chance. But now, I feel iffy about taking it. I'm still on a debate with myself right now. Finding a job can be soo taxing! It sucks to go to interviews, then not hear anything (right Anna? hahaha). And now that I know what I want to do (well, sort of), I'm having a hard time looking for jobs in that area (corporate comm).

I'm really getting tired of this bumming business. Although it still has its perks, I need to start working again. My brain needs exercise! I miss the rush of deadlines. I need to get out there! Or rather, I want to get out there. The great thing is, I'm not receiving any pressure from my folks, only from myself. I know I'm not the only one still unemployed, but it's already June! June!

So last week, I started my first three hours of driving class. Hahaha. I was really nervous the whole time! The engine kept dying. Driving stick is so complicated! I never really knew that. No wonder it's such a big deal to know how to drive stick! Ack! I had a lot of booboos on the road, obviously, but I'm starting to get the hang of it, I think. Learning how to drive is gonna be a HUGE accomplishment for me cuz I am such a scaredy cat.

I also exercised too much! My tummy is growing the side effects of the couch potato lifestyle (apart from mental side effects, of course), so I spent three days this week in Palms trying to burn it off. And yowza! Am I aching all over right now! Last Wednesday was a stretch and tone class--basically weights, stretching, and tons of ab workouts. Friday was basic steps class, which is really more of a cardio workout with a bit of toning. And on Saturday, I got a personal training program in the gym. It's so weird to have a trainer. His name is Ryan (haha, wala lang). The exercises he assigned to me were a killer. I could barely walk afterwards.

I just got excited to blog today because I discovered this Firefox extension called Performancing, that allows me to blog from Firefox so I don't have to log in to my account. It's like a software within the browser. Heehee I get easily excited these days. Obviously, nothing much happens in my life anymore. It's really hard to believe that I've gotten by so many days with not really doing much. It's amazing to see how much time a person can actually waste. How sad is that?! Well, the perk is getting to watch movies when they open. I watched Failure to Launch on the opening day, and X3 on the second day (then again for the second time after opening weekend). Sigh.

Someone hire me!