5/30/14

Today was quite an interesting day. 

I received both good and bad news. First, I got my first salary! But...the ATM was offline so I couldn't withdraw my money yet and I don't want to withdraw from other ATM machines because of the deductions.

I was invited by my previous officemates to have dinner with them to celebrate the last day of one of my former fellow colleague. As always, we had a lot of laughs over the silliest things.

Despite not being able to withdraw my salary yet, I couldn't resist the temptation of buying new shoes that were on sale! I was torn between 2 pairs of shoes that were both appealing but I ended up buying the cheaper pair. I almost got into a fight with some old lady when she overreacted after my box of shoe touched her back.

I also found out one of my fellow team mates at work is resigning! What a shame as I thought we would get along in the long run. I felt shy to ask the reason for the departure as we were not close yet but I'm starting to see cracks in the company. Even my fellow new hire thinks he won't last a year. I know I shouldn't be comparing myself to other people's situations but this scenario is starting to look similar and gets me worried especially after finding out earlier that I may end up in the shift I hate the most.

5/29/14

I saw this particular ad on my timeline today and thought it was worth sharing. I like what Coca Cola did here. It is a given that they would promote their product but they created something that would make a change and promote social interaction which we seem to lack nowadays.

I would love to see this happen here locally.

5/28/14 - Head Or Heart

I got to admit that the Christina Perri's debut album underwhelmed me despite the strong singles. But she is back this year with the release of her sophomore album which is titled, "Head Or Heart". Her lead single, Human, was released last year and I instantly fell in love with it. Though my interest in her music did not really disappear despite her weak debut album, I had a good feeling with the new one.

The infectious song Burning Gold was released to tease the public and that sealed the deal for me and completely believed that the new album was going to be amazing and I was right.

The new song doesn't fail from delivering what Christina does best and that is her ballads. But in this album, she spices up things a bit instead of having a monotonous or boring tone.

She even enlists the help of Ed Sheeran for a cute duet in Be My Forever. I am not a fan of Ed but the song was a cute filler and may be a good single in the future.

Trust talks about knowing who to trust and avoid the pain of heartaches. One Night and Sea Of Lovers are some of the best ballads in the album.

Christina absolutely delivers her best work so far with this album and I am looking forward for more.

Top tracks: Burning Gold, Shot In The Heart and One Night

5/27/14

What another tiring day! Totally different from yesterday but at least I got to experience what it feels like on a regular day after training. I also received some scores from our previous exam and was so disappointed. I'm already setting myself up for the worst possible scenario when I get hired, or if I get hired.

Downloaded a bunch of new music after arriving at home earlier. I still have plenty of new music to listen to but I'll try to listen to them at the office to stay awake as well

5/26/14

It's always so weird when most of the TV shows I watch are on break But not too worry, a few of them are returning next month. But you know what, having no shows to watch has its advantages. For one, I don't get that feeling of rushing home just to watch the latest episode and I can do other things I want to do. Now that I have work, most of my time are consumed working at the office so my free time is very valuable. Right now, I'm listening to some albums that have been waiting in my library for the past few weeks and only got a chance to be listened to now.

I'm also reading some books every day before heading to work. It's a nice thing to do before working. But it just worries me how I will miss all these precious moments when we start shifting next month. It;s hard not to be concerned.

5/25/14

Third week of work is about to start! We don't have a schedule yet but I heard we're mostly full of hands-on this week. I really need to step it up or I'll end up last in the rankings. I can't be complacent now that everything seems to be heading that way.

Mom arrived from London today and guess what I got. Another shirt with the Union Jack design! I didn't ask for it but it's a nice addition to my wardrobe. This is already my fifth shirt with the same design and I'm starting to look obsessed. Speaking of UK, One Direction is having a concert here next year and the tickets sold out fast and the news reported that there were plenty of fans who camped out a day before the selling and was left very disappointed when tickets ran out in just 2 hours. How unlucky for them but I heard they added a second show. Why couldn't the promoters do it in other past concerts? I would have loved to see some of the artists I missed because tickets were sold out already.

5/22/14

Today was such a tiring day. I had a presentation at work in the morning which challenged my presentation skills and we learned a new task today for our job. I had to leave the office early to finally accomplish my BIR requirement (Form 2305/1905) since I couldn't finish them during lunch break. It took me a long time but I managed to complete it after more than an hour.

I rushed to Ayala and rode a bus to the Fort where I dropped by Fully Booked to check out the ongoing CD sale. All regular CDs were discounted with 20% and bought myself American Authors' album I hope to come back there this weekend. I also wanted to head back to Glorietta quickly so I can watch the new X-Men movie. I thought I was going to be late as the queue for the bus was very long. The bus finally arrived and my bad luck continued as the bus' engine died and we had to unload from the bus. I didn;t know how to go back to Ayala and walked until I reached EDSA. I had to walk all the way to Buendia and ride the MRT. Such a complicated way back to Ayala over a small matter.

I was able to catch the earliest screening time available and enjoyed the film. I'm so tired and so happy that tomorrow is already Friday. I need some rest!

5/21/14

I think I'm getting my first memo at work and it's not a good thing. I've been trying to finish my requirements, specifically the forms I need to accomplish in the BIR but everytime I go there, there is always a long waiting time and I don't have much time for it. I requested an undertime tomorrow and even if it was permitted, they will still probably issue a memo since the rules are really strict. I'm worried that it may affect my performance but I really need to finish my requirements already.

5/20/14

Second week of training has just started and it's starting to look bad. I'm not doing well as I thought I would. I don't expect to excel but I didn't think I would do bad in my performance. I have to say that the hands-on experience is actually quite manageable but when it comes to the written exercise, it gets so confusing.The worse part is that my fellow new hires are doing so much better. It feels like I'm in the bottom of the pack and I don't like it at all.

5/18/14 - Wanderland Music Festival 2014

The Wanderland Music Festival is back again and it promised to deliver the goods. That is exactly what they did when I went yesterday.

Unfortunately, because of the heat and my exhaustion from stress and work, I decided not to come early so I missed several artists who played earlier.

I missed last year's festival which boasted the likes of Neon Trees, The Temper Trap and Nada Surf but this year, I made sure not to miss out on this one.

After several speculations, it was announced that this year's line-up includes Architecture In Helsinki, Lucy Rose, Woody Pitney, Last Dinosaurs, The Paper Kites, The Drums and one of my new favorite acts, The Royal Concept. Most of them were playing late in the afternoon or at night which is why it was okay for me to come in late. Ticket prices were quite high but I was able to snatch an early bird ticket priced for a fair cost.

The last time I had to watch a concert at the Circuit, I had to walk all the way from Glorietta but this year, I opted to ride a jeepney from Landmark. The driver helped me on where I should head to after the drop-off point.

The venue was quite great! The entire place was actually not finished yet but the main venue for the concert was at the field and it provided enough space for these big events and the best of all, there were no divisions or sections. Everybody paid the same price and had equal chances of getting near the stage. If only more concerts were like this. I can still see disadvantages with that set-up but I digress.

I arrived during Franco's set and I took the chance to roam around the venue while seeing all these young people at the crowd and all the "hipsters" roaming around having fun. There were plenty of food choices and carts to choose from. Prices were quite high but there were a lot of freebies like drumstick ice cream that Nestle was giving away if you are lucky or sign up for stuff. The only thing I hated was the fact that my cologne was confiscated. I didn't see it on the list of what's not allowed so I brought it with me. I knew the heat was going to be so hard and I'm going to look so haggard.

There were a lot of game booths where you can win prizes but I didn't try them because I need tokens which were at 50 bucks a piece. There were pop-up booths and even a Merry-Go-Round.

But I'm glad that they were selling band merchandise. I initially couldn't find the booth at first and assumed they were sold out but I was able to find it near the meet and greet area and got myself CDs of Architecture In Helsinki as well as signed copies of The Drums and The Royal Concept's albums.

Crowd response were good. At least towards the foreign acts. All the artists who played were great It was my first time to see all of them live so it was a good experience.

I also saw some familiar faces in the crowd and also some public figures/celebrities.

I hope next year's lineup will be as awesome. The Royal Concept teased a comeback next year and I will certainly not want to miss out on that whether it's a solo concert or another Wanderland appearance.

5/16/14

First week at my new job is over! It felt so fast but it was tiring! I need to catch up on sleep but I am going to be so busy this coming weeks. I barely even have time to sped at the gym anymore because of exhaustion and thigs I want to do. But this will be all worth it in the end.

5/15/14

A lot of TV series that I watch are having their season/series finales this month and some of them have already aired and some will be in the coming week. I must say that there were a couple of disappointing finales like HIMYM, Glee and Starcrossed, which is sad because at least two of them were series finales. But some of them were pretty good such as Arrow.

I'm expecting some shows to end with a bang like Grey's Anatomy with the departure of Cristina Yang and Survivor Cagayan who will reveal the next million dollar winner. I'm rooting for Spencer to win but I think Tony has a bigger chance.

It's quite good that some of them are ending so I can focus on my new job. We've been learning a lot this week and I expect more to learn next week.

I also cannot wait for Wanderland this weekend! I need some fun in my life before my social life is killed by employment.

5/14/14

My headache keeps on getting worse. What's funny is that when I'm in the office,my drowsiness or headache is not as bad but when I'm at home, it's like my body is about to crash.

Training at work is starting to become more difficult. We had a couple of exams and exercises today and I'm worried about my scores. I hope I can pass them!

5/13/14

Second day of work continued to be as exciting. We continued our orientation and started our lectures on the tasks we will do for our job.

So far, I'm still feeling high so my drowsiness is barely felt at work but I instantly become sleepy on the way home. I need to find a way to adjust my sleeping sched especially when shifting starts.

5/12/14

My 4th first day at work went quite well! I actually thought I would have a bad day as I only had 3 hours of sleep due to some stuff I was finishing last night.

I was surprised to see that there were barely any traffic and there was absolutely no queue for the jeepney terminal! I was expecting to ride the van on the way to work but I figured I would save a lot if I rode the jeepney since there were a lot of them waiting for passengers. I got to eat breakfast at a Family Mart and cool off before heading to the office 30 minutes before my shift starts.

I met my fellow newly hired employees and found out that there was only 2 of us who are new to our team while there were more for the other one. I can't really disclose what happened the whole day because of their strict confidentiality agreement. But we mostly spent the day for orientation and discussed the office policies which I find quite restrictive and intimidating but I will do my best to keep this job as long as possible since I really asked for this job and the environment as well as the people are actually quite nice if you set those details aside.

I'm happy that one of our supervisors are very discouraging of overtime work and I got to leave the office just on time. I even got to go to the gym afterwards. Our office also have lockers which is very convenient for me as well as a pantry which I never experienced in any of my previous jobs.

I should probably relish my shift right now because I expect to be moved to a different shift in the coming months.

5/11/14

Happy Mother's day to every mothers out there. I hope everyone is having a good time with their families. My mom isn't here right now so we aren't really celebrating but it's nice to see my friends having their own celebration.

Today is my last day of freedom before I start work tomorrow. I'm feeling all sorts of anxiety and excitement. I'm just so tired and I hope that I won't carry it over tomorrow as I want to give a good impression on my first day.

Can't wait to see my new officemates and work station.

5/10/14

Last day of being a bum tomorrow! My requirements are already set and I'm just trying to make the most of my remaining hours of freedom but that is turning out to be a mess as I've just been spending a lot. I don't know why I'm worried. I don't think I even need to splurge on any supplies or clothing.

I also have the Wanderland to look forward to next week. It's gonna be amazing!

5/9/14

Today is officially my last free weekday. We had our grandmother's birthday dinner in QC but I pretty much wasted the rest of the day. I have just been so tired and sleepy from all the stress I've experienced this week. I hope this won't be the same when I start working on Monday.

I am going to miss days like these but I'm sure it won't be the last but right now, I want to give my life a new direction and stop slacking off.

5/8/14

I have finally claimed my NBI clearance and that makes me around 98% complete with my requirements. I am so happy! I didn't think it would take such a short time and if I had known that I'd be able to get it less than 5 minutes, I probably shouldn't have went there early and caught up with more sleep.

The traffic was noticeably not as heavy so I even got there earlier than last Monday so I left the premises early. I decided to kill time by having breakfast at KFC across the street and decided to go to Cartimar. It was still early so I spent around 2 hours in the 24-hour Mcdo in the Isetann mall.

Got myself 11 CDs in total. There were some new albums but not really the ones I was hpoing for. Regardless, I still left the place a happy person.

Arrived in Makati and quickly ate late lunch and while waiting for my mom to finish hit the gym which would take several hours since my arrival. I had the chance to go around the mall as usual. My legs were hurting and my head was dying of headache and not to mention spent a lot! I can't begin how much I've been spending when I haven't even started my job yet!

Tomorrow's gonna be my last free weekday before work starts next week. I am so nervous but excited at the same time.

5/7/14

I'm worried for tomorrow I am going back to UN Avenue to claim my NBI clearance. I hope it won't take too long. If I finish early, I plan to go straight to Cartimar and do last minute CD shopping. Hopefully there are new stocks of CDs since the last time I went there. I don't really have a huge budget but I hope to get a handful if ever I go there.

5/6/14

Got my Barangay clearance earlier! I'm surprised that it's free since I paid for a small amount the last time I got one 3 years ago. But I'm not complaining.

Now all I need is to get my permanent PAG-IBIG number and claim my NBI clearance. I do hope that they won't be a problem.

5/5/14

What an unexpected productive day! I've set this day to get at least 1 work requirement but I ended up getting more and even doing personal chores.

I woke up early at 5 am and didn't even feel sleepy despite struggling to get some sleep. Left home early as I expected the long lines for the jeep which did not fail. I was still able to reach my destination at around 7 am which was a new place for me. It was at the main office of the NBI where I am supposed to get my clearance. I wasn't surprised by the long lines but for people who applied online like me, I was directed to the payment already which was composed of both online and walk-in applicant which meant queuing in a long line. I was worried that it would still take me a long day but to my surprise, I got to the next step within 45 minutes and finished the entire process for an hour and 15 minutes at least! Though I still have to return because I got a hit, I don't expect it to be as stressful since all I need to do is show up and claim it.

I made my way back to Makati and headed straight to my old office to inquire about my BIR forms. Unfortunately, the HR was absent but it was nice to see some old faces again. I got to the mall at lunch time so after having a quick meal, I decided to try my luck in getting an SSS ID which I've wanted for quite some time for ID purposes. The line was a bit long but manageable I've already filled up the application form before I went. I was surprised to find out that it was free for first time applicants which is nice because this wasn't a part of my budget. Since I finished quite early, I decided to try my luck at the BIR to verify my RDO. I initially went to the wrong one as I thought I would be in 49 but I was told I was registered at 48 which was at the floor below. I immediately accomplished the required forms to change my RDO to 50 and that was it!

I got to apply for an NBI clearance, SSS ID and change my RDO at the BIR which is a huge deal to me!

5/4/14

I have the next five days to work on my requirements. If not, I'm not sure if it means that I won't be employed but it may cause some problems which is what I'm trying to avoid Tomorrow, I'll be attempting to get my NBI clearance The system has changed so I'm not so familiar with how it goes, all I know is that I should expect long lines of queuing which seems to be the only thing consistent when talking about claiming of government related documents.

I actually lack around 5 more requirements but I think 2 of those are not as hard to get. Two of the forms I need are regarding my taxes and I don't think I've even had those kinds of forms which is what I'm worried about. I hope I can finish them by Friday as my grandma is celebrating her birthday and we are going to have a dinner for her special day. It's so bad that I'm worrying about this while everyone else is having a fantastic time in their mini vacation due to the Labor day holiday.

5/2/14

Had my contract signing today but I can't spill the details yet because I am having trouble completing my requirements. They gave me a week to prepare but I'm not sure if that's enough to complete them. I hope this doesn't endanger my chances of working for the company.

5/1/14 - The Amazing Spider-man 2

Andrew Garfield returns to the screens this year reprising his role in the sequel to 2012's The Amazing Spiderman. Emma Stone returns as Peter Parker's love interest, Gwen Stacy and Marc Webb is still the director. This time, they are joined by Jamie Foxx, Dane Dehaan and Paul Giamatti playing the main villains. Sally Field returns as Peter's loving mom.

I have been waiting for this movie for a long time as this is one of my favorite movie franchise and they did not disappoint. 

One of the brilliant details in this film is the musical score. The songs and background music were amazing. Hans Zimmer did a good job once again for this film. The soundtrack contains songs from Alicia Keys, The Neighbourhood and many more. But I particularly love the scene where they play Phillip Phillips' Gone Gone Gone.

Prior to its release, many were worried that it might suffer the same fate as Spiderman 3 which had too many villains and looking at the line-up of villains for this film, that is not impossible. You have Foxx playing Electro, Dehaan as Peter's bestfriend, Harry Osbourne who turns into the Green Goblin as well as Giamatti as the Rhino.

However, they were able to give a good backstory not just to each villain but to all characters in the film which was absolutely brilliant on their part. I've seen a lot of negative reviews but I didn't bother reading all of them I actually liked that despite running for 2 hours and 20 minutes or so, they were able to give everyone ample amount of screentime and establish a good story for most of them. To be fair, Rhino's part is quite small and it looks like he will be carried over to the next film where the planned Sinister Six is supposedly making an appearance. For those who are not familiar, the Sinister Six are a group composing of Spiderman's worst villains that includes the Green Goblin and Rhino so it makes sense that they'll be back.

There is also an issue with Gwen's fate as in the comics, she is supposedly killed. They have tried to stick to how the comics goes but there were skepticism whether the movie will follow its path. After all, Andrew and Emma had the perfect chemistry which makes Peter and Gwen's love story so relatable and appealing. News that they have casted Mary Jane Watson, Peter's next girlfriend, in this movie heightened those speculations with Shailene Woodley supposedly getting the role. However, Marc Webb decided to cut her role from the film which made some people hope that it is because they plan on keeping Gwen alive. There were many promos and spoilers that have popped up from time to time including Gwen wearing the exact same outfit in the comics where she died and almost concluding her fate. But I don't want to give away spoilers.

In the movie, we see Peter's struggle to keep his promise with Gwen's dad and trying to keep her safe. He also learns more about the real reason why his father left and we get to see what happened to Peter's parents after leaving him as a child. 

Foxx plays Electro, a utility man/electrician who is a misunderstood loner craving for attention and companion. His obsession with Spiderman is also a factor on his fate. Dehaan plays Norman Osbourne's son and Peter's bestfriend Harry who was originally played by James Franco on the previous trilogy. I was quite skeptical at first but he owned the role very well. Rhino's part was quite disappointing and useless but I understand why he is in this film.

Andrew captures the youthfulness and wit that a typical high school graduate possess and the movie gives him the inspiration and motivation for Spidey's role as a hero. Gwen also has to deal with her own struggle as she may have to make personal sacrifices for her own good even with or without Peter.

This is simply my movie of the year and I have to watch it again even on DVD. The pressure is set high for the person who will be selected as Mary Jane Watson as Andrew and Emma's on-screen romance is almost untouchable.