So there are a few changes in my life at this point. Last time I wrote, I think I hinted that those changes were already on their way. Well, now they're here and they're quite strange, but I guess exciting changes.
And with that, I begin with my "something new." Number one off the top of that list is my shiny, new job. Yep. Someone actually thought it would be a good idea to hire me. Heh-heh. But, no, seriously I'm quite thankful for this job. Even if I still, every now and then, ask myself what came over me to try even looking for a job so fresh out of college, I am in awe about how fast I was able to get employed. Imagine me, receiving a job offer right after the second interview--to be accepted or rejected in the next two days!
I started working exactly a month after my graduation. I don't know if it's just me, but I have this sneaking suspicious that I might be one of the firsts, if not the first, person from my batch to start working. On the work itself--it's something I'm confident about doing. Granted that I have never actually had this type of thing as my work before, I still think that it is, as they say, "right up my alley." I haven't been on the job very long--I'm currently on my fourth day and only handling one set of duties, but I'm quite eager to see where I go with this. It is a very good thing though, that even if I'm still about to get used to this job--I mean, its a more detailed version of something that we used to do back in college (very quick and briefly)--I am just very happy that it involves something that I am quite fond of: the Internet.
No, I still won't be able to make videos or lurk through YouTube like I used to. I mean, there are no restrictions when it comes to what sites we can or cannot browse through, but for my own sake--and for the sake of professionalism--I won't be spending too much time combing through vlogs. That means I have to spend more of my time watching cute babies, crazy special effects videos, lolcats, funny dogs and other viral videos. Yep, those come with the job description and I'm seriously kid you not.
I think I'm also very lucky that, within just my first week on the job I get to go to the 22nd AdCongress here--to be held in Camarines Sur. For those not in the know, Camarines Sur (which we locals shorten as "CamSur") is very far from the Metro Manila area. To prove this, my officemates (ooh, look I get to say "officemates" now) and I are going to be taking a bus, while everyone has taken either a train or a plane. The plane ride, I think takes 1-2hours tops. Meanwhile, we travel on bus that leaves at 9pm-ish and gets to the region my 4-frickin-AM. Seven hours, my friends. Seven, long and butt-paining hours on a bus. Well, gives me time to get to know my new officemates. And, to be fair (and as a consolation) it takes longer to get there via train. So I'll consider myself lucky, Thank You Very Much.
That brings me to my "something old": me.
Yep, I'll be going to CamSur this weekend--my birthday weekend. And as I'll be with officemates and new friends that means that I'm going to be turning 23 without my family for the first time in my entire life. My. Entire. Life.
Now this portion is going to me, as a disclaimer, another one of those things where I rant about something that seems like a no-brainer, not a big deal to most people--but is just the most pain-staking thing for me. Yep, one of those. So feel free to check out now if you don't care about the inner workings of my mind.
NO--I was just joking. Come back. Don't leave me. I have no friends. :'(
So I've never spent a birthday without my family. That's because we have this tradition of always eating out on that day. When I was younger and still in grade school and high school, it used to feel like a really big deal when it was my birthday. Since we always rode the bus to and from school on normal days, it felt so special when our mom and dad would leave their work early to fetch us. We would go to a restaurant or a hotel buffet after they fetched us and, as much as possible, we tried eating in a new place every birthday. In short, I felt very bad-ass during my birthdays back then.
When I entered college and being fetched wasn't such a big deal anymore, what made birthdays special was still finding a new place to eat--having the stomach for buffets and having a more open stomach for other types of food.
Now that my mom's here, I get to experience that as a whole family again, something that I didn't get to do for half of high school and the whole of college. So, I think it goes without saying that it was a very hard decision for me to say "yes" to going to CamSur.
Actually, in a way, it was my parents that decided for me. They knew that I was in a new job, that I needed to get to know the new people I was with and that I had originally wanted to go (way before my mom decided and booked her flight home) and I was torn up about it falling on the day on my birthday two years back as well. Well, in a way, I'm glad they did decide for me because I knew that I wouldn't have been able to.
So, I will be turning older on Saturday, in a new place with new people. I won't hold any expectations because I don't want to over-expect and then be underwhelmed. Bring it on 7-hour bus ride and strange new places and friends. Uh-huh, I'm living life on the edge. Watch me.
Mishie
