19Jan20

I had a haircut but it seems that nothing has changed.. Haha

Me,  last week

Me today.

Dont mind my funny face.  I wanted it short,  but the haircutter said shoulder length wont suit me and will "fly away".. Choserang bakla yun.  Haha

Good night!

1/15/2020

8:33am
I dont know why I feel uneasy today like something's gonna happen..  i was expecting some calls and results..  Which I'm confused how to react towards it..  i'm on a stage of a decision making but the factors i need to consider are still hazy..  lets see what's gonna happen today.  good morning though!

10:15pm
I got a call. I got a bad news, yet to be confirmed. I had a headache, but I'm fine. Good night.

My Search for a New Job in BARMM

The status says 681 personnel were already hired..  surely those were the ones who previously work in ARMM.

Update: 1/19/2020
They have corrected the variance:
This is the current status now.

So where do you I think I will be on April 1, 2020? Will I get a position on this new governance? I know I might get a slot where my salary expectation can be lower than my current job. But I'll be accepting that because I really want to work at home. I want to enrich my spiritual living and appreciate my purpose.  Ofcourse I wanna be home.  I'm expecting it to be more costly there because I'd love to buy food and share bill payments with my family.  But that would be totally fine with me. On holidays I wont get confused where to go, Surely I could travel. Unlike when I'm far away,  I'm torn between travelling or going home. 

Anyway,  the timing is actually confusing.  Our current project in my present company will slow down or worst will be stopped for a year maybe, which means we need to go back to Manila (which I cant)..  i need to resign again if that's the case..  And I'm too paranoid that our area manager will call me anytime to tell me that.. Err,   i don't want to, but then again I'm going to disappoint him coz I really cant. 

But there's this hospital project that soon to rise here in Davao,  they said it will be awarded to us..  Confirmation will be at the end of this month.  I'm not sure if I should be happy for myself (but happy to davao hired staff) or it only adds to my confusement..  Haha

Its our evaluation period,  anytime soon my Functional Head will call me for One on One assessment...  And she'll surely ask me where to go next if the the workstoppage of our current project will  takes place..  Err,  shall I tell her I'm going to resign for the second time?? (since the Hospital Project is not sure yet.) Shall I tell her that I am applying a job in my hometown? ( what if I wont get that job??)..  Errr,  this is really stressing me recently.  Haha.. 

02.02.2020

I got emails from BARMM confirming the receipt of my email.. I just hope and pray that there will be no conflict on my schedules pag interview na.

2.10.2020

I have these notifications.  One of that informed me that I'm not qualified. I actually expected that since it wasn't really inline my profession..  I just gave it a try since I have a little background about the task... Well,  maybe it wasn't meant for me. 

2/12/2020

Yesterday, I had 2 emails from Barm.. for the position of Engineer  informing me to wait for an schedule of qualifying exam.. I'm just wondering about the status of my application for the position of Engr 3-5, will I be entitled/qualified or they have picked the lowest position I got myself into. 

2/22/2020

I had a text from MAFAR that I have a qualifying exam tomorrow, my head is quiet spinning now I don't know if I should take it.  It wasn't the ministry that I want to be part of but if I had no chance from the the other Ministry then this would be okay.  No second thoughts that I would take the exam if only the result will not be used to other Ministry. I'm not that confident yet to take the exam..  I wanna get a high score so I can prove that I deserve a position...  But I don't have any idea what will be the type of exam,  maybe  general knowledge... Shall I go home in a while and take the qualifying exam?  i pray that whatever my decision I make,  I wont regret it InshaAllah. 

2/24/2020

I went home and took the exam..  And I'm glad that I did.  The type of exam is actually to test our ability to "think fast"..  It's not even about stock knowledge, it wont make any difference if you review (civil service type of exam) or not. So I didn't regret it in the sense that I might conclude I'm not ready...  Coz as i've said,  ready or not,  you'll get a score depending on just how you think and see figures fast. 

Anyway,  in addition to that, I'm glad I took the pre assessment exam coz I just received an email now that I'm not qualified to a same Plantilla position to other ministry (the one I like actually).  And I want to appeal why I'm not qualified for the the position..  Shall I email why?? 

April 1, 202

I asked last January where will I be this April 1.. Whether I'll be on a new job or what.  Well I'm in my room due to the Community Quarantine,  even my resignation was postponed..  Job seeking related activities in BARMM was also froze. 

June 21, 2020

I'm currently home, I took the MTS exam in MPW last friday. I'm just so grateful I made it home due to travel limitations caused by the Covid Pandemic. The exam was a bit tough that you must have read about Managerial skills on Business type! I don't know why it has to be like that, I am applying for a government position but some questions is a little irrelevant, but I hope I had nice guessing to be qualified on the next phase Inshallah.

Oct 9, 2020

I just had Behavioral Event Interview today in MENRE which I think I didn't do it well..  There are technical questions that I forgot coz the last time I had thoughts about it was during college days... 

December 17, 2020

I'am being invited for an interview this coming Tuesday, December 22, 2020 and at first, I am glad that I am shortlisted, but at some corner of my mind, maybe they will just use me as a flower base. The position is some sort of a high position, and knowing the government? They have already cooked someone for that. I don't want to be negative, but maybe if I was invited for a lower position, that would be at least realistic. Ofcourse I believe in my self, I'm just doubtful of the credible process. But that still needs to be proven.

December 22, 2020

It's 2pm and im still waiting for the panel to interview me..  Its supposed to be 1:30pm.. But i don't know where are they..  Maybe they're not really interested in me..  This is just formality..  Anyway,  i'll just take this as an experience of being interviewed. 

December 23, 2020

Yesterday's interview almost ate my self esteem..  The questions were technical but basic and I was not able to answer them.. I've forgotten so many things and my experiences were too inapplicable to them.  i think I don't want to be Engineer anymore haha.  Come what may.  InshaAllah what will be mine will be mine.  i'm really praying to get a job that i deserve... And where I will be good at.

January 13, 2021

Finally the result of my previous interview went out, and as expected, somebody got the position. Honestly, it hurt a bit even I expected it coz it means  I'm not good enough. But then I remember my prayer that I wanted a job I deserve and I would loved, I don't really like that position, so even if I had it, I wont be happy. I just hope and pray that people who will get the position in BARMM will truly deserve it. Anyway, I'll have another interview this Friday in the same Ministry. I don't know how to face the Panel once again, I just pray that I will do better so I can regain my confidence.

January 15, 2021

Had another interview and I'll leave everything to the Almighty Allah, my QADR.

February 9, 2021

Had an interview in MAFAR, so far this is the best (or at least okay) interview I had.

Feb 19, 2021

I got a meeting with Mafar's Minister last feb 17, and i was informed that I am formally appointed. Alhamdulillah. 

Right now i'm at their office to ask about my credentials..  I'm nervous though.  This will be a different world from my previous jobs.  But i'll be just fine InshaAllah  because I prayed for this. 

1st Post for the 2020

I'm always heart broken every first day of the year because it means the holidays are over and I need to travel back to my workplace.  This is my longest straight vacation time from work ever..  Dec 22 2019 to Jan 1 2020.. that's why leaving home seems so hard to do. For the past 10 days, I never been anywhere but home,  just baby sit my nieces and nephews which I enjoyed so much despite that body pains I got in lifting and carrying them especially the chubby one...  We had initially thought of going on a Family Outing, but ended up nowhere but home.. we had food tripping, watched kiddie shows in Youtube ( I even missed to watch the Teleserye's I'm watching if I'm In Davao), brought my niece to the Hardware and bought some construction materials for the house I'am constructing (which restricting me now to go on travels, haha, tipid mode). These are just so simple and really boring to some, but for me it's one of the best days of my life.

I'm having my work application here,  if I'll be accepted,  then I don't have to be disheartened every 1st of January..

Anyway,  another year again,  I'll be a year older, I'm passed over midlife I think,  but that kind of life crisis is still hitting me so hard sometimes..  i'll be fine though.

2019 was really a roller-coaster ride..  Both happiness and loneliness strike me simultaneously. But despite me saying this,  life taught me so many realizations this year.

My father got sick on the last quarter of 2019.. it was one of the depressing and loneliest experience of my life. But it made me cling on my faith more,  it made me reflect on so many things,  it made me realize to see and appreciate even the small things I have and stopped complaining on what I'm lacking.. I became grateful and learned to be contented and stopped questioning my life's insufficiency. Afterall, life is not forever,  I'm not being morbid coz that's an ultimate truth, we can live to the fullest but be a better person for this temporary world and hereafter. We must be good and considerate to other people as everyone is undergoing life difficulties too.

So after being on the hospital for days,     Alhamdullillah,  we survived that stage..  My father got well. And ofcourse I'm not stopping praying for my parents good health.

I've been to 3 countries in 2019 which I am so happy about, no question on that, you know how much travelling curve smiles on my face. I had my first solo trip to Japan last April which I am really proud of, seeing the cherry blossoms for the first time still makes me feel blissful. My aunt and friends had our cruising in Halong Bay Vietnam last August, it was a nice experience too. Then lastly, had set my feet in South Korea last November, met up with my old friends and made us fell in in love on the Autumn foliage.

So while writing this, I'm supposed to pack my things. I'm just hoping that 2020 will be life changing the positive way. I'm not getting any younger, I want to be home, I want to travel more though hehe, at the same time I wanna grow mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually.... shall I say physically too? haha

So that's it, I need to fix my things now.

SEOUL Searching in Autumn

..I'm too lazy to blog nowadays  but every time I travel, I feel obligated to record it thru writing . So, before I'll forget the details of my South Korea trip, and despite of having just two or three avid readers,  I'm going to do this.. This is kinda lenghty, you can quit reading now. haha

Last November 1, I went to South Korea.  It was a trip I almost missed due to some personal reasons. And because I thought of the possibility of cancelling it, I didn't really prepare for it, I didn't have list of specific places that I wanted to visit... if I gave my 100% preparation in my Japan trip, here I gave my 30% only haha..  maybe I'm also confident that if I can go unprepared, I'll be okay coz I am traveling with some friends, they can surely take care of the itinerary. Alhamdulillah, I made it, that's why I'm here writing it. :) 

After office work last Oct 31, I flew to Cebu alone and stayed overnight in Cozy Inn. The next day, I departed from Cebu International Airport  and had arrived at Incheon around 9pm (korean time). After the immigration procedure, I rushed to find the AREX train. I opted for this transportation mode since the direction of going to our accommodation is by taking the AREX train (na pwede naman kahit ano basta makarating sa Seoul Station). I purchased my ticket voucher thru klook, i got a discount, from php300plus to Php50 only.. I still need to exchange that voucher into a physical ticket. Then I must catch the last trip train coz I got no idea how to reach Seoul during late night if I won't make it. I freaked out a bit coz I had hard time locating the AREX train, I think some of their information centers are closing after 10pm or maybe I couldn't find them too coz I'm rattling to beat the time.  But  when I finally found it, I  ended up too early for the last trip that it's kinda creepy going to the train tracks coz no one's around yet (Train to Busan the movie ang feels haha).

It was almost  midnight when I arrived at Seoul Station. Good thing , I was able to connect to Airport free Wifi, so I can communicate with my friends who were already waiting for me in our accommodation. I didn't purchase a Sim Card coz my friends have rented a wifi device.

In order to get to our AirBnB, I followed the instruction they sent me like take Exit 15 , cross here, turn there, go straight and blah blah. Geared with that information,  I went out of the Seoul Station Exit 15, I wore another coat on top of my denim jacket coz the temperature was about 7degrees. 

Walking into the streets of Seoul for the first time, at midnight, alone, with that temperature, with my luggage, my bagpack, a sling bag, and that direction I'm holding on my phone--- it could be scary but I wasn't, it was exciting, chos!  At the last stage of my searching, I came across an intersection, which way???? .. I just followed the one at the right side, and I was right. The next thing was I'm reunited with my college friends.

Day 1 (sorry ang haba ng  intro ko bago mag Day1 haha, lazy pa ako nito)

Our itinerary was like -- ( o san tayo ngayon? sa ganto ba ---?, or dun na lang kaya sa--, mas maganda siguro kung mauna tayo sa ----) -- that kind of easy going, bahala na itinerary. For this trip, we have list of places we want to go, but were'nt arranged accordingly, (actually sila lang yung may list, ako Nami Island lang ata ang alam ko. haha).

While walking and  thinking where to go first, and which mode of  transport to take, we passed by into this place just fronting the Seoul Station. I forgot what it's called. Just had a quick photoshoot..

Meet my friends.. Dinah and Sherry Ann, my college schoolmates, we graduated and reviewed the Civil Engineering Board Exam together... sabay kaming nagnosebleed noong unang panahon at mukhang sabay ring maliligaw dito sa Sokor.haha I haven't seen Sherry Ann for about a decade while Dinah, the last time we've seen each other, more or less 5years ago. And it's so nice to feel that for the longest time, parang walang nagbago (aside sa ang taba ko na raw akala nila imposibleng mangyari at andami ko na ring pimples haha). These two are both working in Singapore. Last April I travelled to Japan and I invited them to accompany me  , but because  my invitation was a short a notice, they didn't make it, so instead we planned for this SoKor trip... that's how this materialized.

EHWA Womans University

Had our  satisfying lunch nearby EWHA University... 

Ang sarap nito! promise! dahil dito ang taas na ng expectation ko sa mga susunod na  meals namin dun. hehe  I never thought that adding some kind of cheese in this chicken recipe can be a perfect ulam. I forgot its name and I'm hungry now. I miss this.

Then we went to Gyeongbukgong.  Rented Hanbuk and roamed around the Palace. Entrance fee will be free as long you're wearing their traditional dress.

Anyway,  I forgot to return the headband I wore,  we were a bit far when I realized that I'm still wearing it,  so I brought it home na lang.

We're supposed to end the day at Dongdaemon but because we're too impatient for the bus to arrive (dahil may rally kaya siguro natagalan) ,  we decided to do it the next day..  We started walking home dahil wala pa ring bus. About 30mins of walking when we reached another bus stop.  We hurriedly hopped into a bus which happens to be a wrong one, in short nalost kami.  The driver dropped us in another bus stop to take the right bus number..

Day 2

Our first stop  was in Bukchon  Hanok Village. O by the way, in this day I was wearing Dinah's Coat (thanks unDinah), I told you I wasn't prepared for this trip, haha.. didn't bring so many jackets & thick coats believing baka kayanin ko rin ang lamig and just want to pack light too.

 

 

Just adjacent to Hanok Village is this Palace. We went in and we couldn't find our way out. It took time before we figured out where to exit, actually di pala talaga namin nafigured out, sumuko at bumalik na lang kami sa kung san kami nanggaling, para safe, baka sa North Korea pa labas namin. (oo ang corny! )

Dongdaemon

Yung kuha mo sa kanya  vs yung kuha nya sayo. Sorry Din, I missed the letter "I" and  forgot to remind you to take off your face mask... haha

COEX Starfield Library. We had coffee break here at Holly's Coffee and reminisced our old days.

N-Seoul Tower.

To get to N-Seoul Tower, our Navigator map --(Naver Map app), gave us the option where we can exhaust ourselves.. haha.. we hiked up for more than 1 kilometer. While hiking, I was wondering  why there are very few people walking along with us, isn't this a tourist spot or are we lost again? (naiisip ko naman yung wrong turn movie haha). After about an hour, with our sweat all over us, we reached the vicinity of the Tower. Then we realized, there are direct buses naman pala papunta dun..  Anyway, the view overlooking the Seoul City somehow eased our exhaustion.. But because it's really getting cold, we chose not to enter the N Seoul Tower, and instead board the bus going to Myeongdong.

Here we enjoyed food tripping and free Almond tasting..  Now,  im inlove with korean foods talaga..  I usually cant find my appetite everytime I'm in a foreign country coz I'm too paranoid my tummy wont cooperate, but in Korea, I'm too excited where to eat next.

Day3

Seokraksan Day tour via Klook. We booked this 2 nights before the trip after choosing this over that one place that I forgot the name.

Our meeting place was at Myeongdong Station. While waiting for our tour operator, I had the chance to have a photo  with these two , I'm a fan!

After 3 hours drive, we've finally reached Seoraksan. 

Who won't get mesmerized with the autumn leaves???? But I still love the cherry blossoms season though.

After strolling around, we ran to our schedule for the cable car ride. Upon reaching the other side, I was stunned with the beauty of mountain views and the overlooking view of the City from far away. I wasn't expecting to see such, because as I kept on saying here, I have not read so much of our possible itinerary . The good thing about being clueless is that you'll get to be more  awed. 

Naksansa Temple

Day 4

Woke up really early for our trip to Nami Island coz according to Naver Map,  the trip one way will take about 3hours..  But unfortunately, we once again boarded the wrong train.  Don't be like us.  Haha.  We have reached the last station of the train when we found out the we were on the wrong way.. medyo, naenjoy namin yung train ride ah,  Isipin mo yun,  mga isang oras din yun,  nakuha pa namin matulog sa train na parang chill lang..  actually,  we chilled talaga coz when we went out of the train,  it was so cold there, umuusok na yung bibig namin ..  Nasaang lupalop na ba ng korea kami? haha..  one of the the railway personnel noticed us and instructed us how to get to Nami Island.

Tadan!! to cut the long story short... Here's Nami Island.

When your two friends photographed you at the same time at different perspective.

The Garden of Morning Calm

The prize we got for being lost earlier is to arrive late in Garden of the Morning Calm, which means its a little dark to see its beauty and super lamig na! We skipped also the Petite France.

Day 5

6th of November - our last day. 

We had so many unsure plans for this day.. Haneul Park was an option (but we might not have ample time), then we thought of finally getting us a lift to the Observatory deck of the iconic N Seoul Tower to witness the panoramic view of Seoul...
But you know what? none of these came to reality, drawing lang lahat haha.. We got busy packing our things the other night to wake up that early. And my other friend whom I met that day didn't arrive that early (kasalanan nya. hahaha.. are you reading this Teh?)

We left our Airbnb accommodation at around 10am (maybe later), and left our things on the storage room nearby. Still, unsure where to go, we waited at Seoul Station for my other friend.  But because she came a little late, I told Dinah and Sherry Ann to go ahead (to somewhere they want to go), that we could separate lives from there since their flight is earlier than mine. So we bid our farewell. 

I stayed in Seoul Station to wait for my  friend Sheryl (Teh). The sad part was , it took ages before she could find me (naturingan pa naman nakapag asawa ng Koreano, di ako mahanap hanap! late na nga sya, naliligaw pa.. haha sori Teh, ). 

No time to waste, the moment we found each other, we wandered around Namsan Park, just walking distance from Seoul Station (pero medyo maraming walks)..

After almost an hour of enjoying the cool breeze of Namsan Park, we walked towards the nearest bus stop and boarded one to Myengdong. Oo, suki na ako ng Myeongdong at nakakarami na ako ng free taste ng Almonds. We had our late lunch there.

I wish we had more time. Gusto ko pang kumain.. haha.. gusto ko pang magshopping (chos lang, wala pala akong pera pangshopping! at quota na akong sa bagagge allowance.. haha). There's so much to see but I ran out of time. 

At around 4pm, we went back to Seoul Station, picked up my luggage and bought the AREX train ticket for my 10pm flight to Cebu. Said goodbye to Teh with the hope that I'll be able to come back so she can make bawi of the little time she alloted for me. Maybe next time, memorize na nya ang Seoul Station, di na sya kung saang saang Exit pa pumupunta.. haha

Overall, I'm so grateful I was able to pursue this trip and experienced Seoul foliage. Traveling with your long time friends is something worth remembering, getting lost with them can be fun too. We're not really a Theme Park enthusiast, that's why we haven't gone to Everland and Lotte's World. 

And I love their food. Kanin pa lang masarap na e.. haha I love how they value the Halal Foods. Even in the street foods of Myengdong, there are lot of Halal Options. Even in Nami Island, we had variety of Muslim Friendly Resto. I don't usually feel hungry on my international trips, eating isn't my priority... but now I can conclude, SoKor is an exception.

I don't know how to make a good ending here, I'm still lazy. Kaya bye na lang. 

P.S. I'm so proud you made it here at the bottom, or nagshort cut ka lang ba? hehe.. but still thanks for reading!