Night Shift

Ayala bus stop at night

"Night Shift' was all too foreign to me until several nights ago. It's not something that I want, so I tell myself "if I can avoid it, I will." One night shift has made me close my doors to any possibility of working as a call center agent  or anything that would turn my night into day and vice versa.

Our shift started at 8 pm. By four am, I could no longer think straight; it was difficult being alert. By five, the end of the shift, I could not wait to hit the sack. I was too sleepy to notice much of the metro. I played a game with nature, though. I told myself that I must get home before sunrise. Throughout my brief travel back home, I was trying to be a vampire, not wanting a ray of sunlight on me, trying to beat time. Well, I lost. Although I got home twenty minutes before six, vitamin D's healing power was nourishing me. With sunshine outside, going back to bed would be difficult. In a few minutes, my brother and sister would be making noise as they prepare for work and school.

Since I have always been a day person, and staying on the bed for long is not a habit, I rose three hours after I slept.Thankfully, the rest of the day was light.

I made up for lost sleep the next day. In a few days, I might do night shift again.Again, as I do that, I shall only be thinking of the money I am making afterwards.

Temporary job, permanently grateful

Opportunity came knocking at a time when I needed it. The Lord has His ways of making me feel that He listens still.

Let me give you a background. Money has been scarce lately, I have to admit. For someone who has been accustomed to receiving salary bi-monthly, I developed the habit of 'not saving.' Now, since I am technically in between jobs, that habit has been giving me nightmares! It's difficult being poor. I tell myself I'll never let myself be one again! Although I still get to eat complete meals every day, I am not at ease at the idea that I don't have money in my bank account. I have been irresponsible on that aspect. So, just imagine the kind of frugality I am practicing now; it's not fun, I tell you.

Three more weeks before I officially start my work with the government, my resources are dwindling. Luckily, I got a call, an answered prayer. The call meant that the much needed 'moolah' was coming. Although my contract prohibits me from disclosing what I am doing, this is what I can tell you - it has made me feel like one of those Makati office people although I report in Boni in Mandaluyong . I put on a nice shirt and parade the streets where tall buildings stand proud. It is still strange for me, for I have never done corporate before. It is so different from the school set up I have known for years.

Inside the train

Back when I was a teacher, everything had become familiar. Now, everything seems very strange. I take the bus along thousands of office workers of the metro. It was overwhelming. Squeezing into crowded buses  had to be re-learned. At night, as I go home, I am at awe at the multitude of red lights snaking their way into their owners' destinations.

Many posts ago, I wrote about long-sleeved-wearing people taking the bus or jeep to work. This experience has made me reflect on my previous beliefs. The everyday people I ride with are just doing what is expected of them. Everybody needs a job. I'd certainly put on a wig and wings if my job called for it. The whining had to be set aside; gratitude is now taking the limelight.

Happy New !

Christmas Day Mass at Fort Pilar, Zamboanga

Something great happened towards the end of 2010. I received the good news about my three-year attempt at a job I had been eyeing. 

I will finally be changing my work address in a few months’ time, thus, new route and more new stories.

But the road to this job has been nothing but difficult. Three years is not exactly a short time. The wait, however, is worth everything. 

A merry Christmas indeed!

I started taking the Foreign Service Officer Examination in 2007,  the year I became a regular employee at the school I was teaching in. My father introduced me to a possible career in foreign service; he had a brief stint at the Philippine Consulate in Manado, Indonesia. He supplied me with stories of diplomatic life. I was attracted to the perks! Initially that was what got me interested; I was thinking of formal dinners and meeting important people. I’d fit in there, I told myself. I took the exam only to fail it. The exam confirmed my academic capacity. It was ambitious of me to have taken it. My failing the University of the Philippines College Admission Test in high school should have reminded me.   The next year, I took the test again. I got nothing to lose. The exam then was free. More prepared this time, I successfully made it to the pre-qualifying exam, which was the first in a four-step examination. That year I  went on to passing the next step which was the three-day written exam, qualifying me to take the oral exam, another three-day ordeal. I failed that oral exam. My answers were probably  wrong or the examiners did not see in me the makings of a diplomat. Yes, it was painful and frustrating, but it was a short-lived frustration. The good Lord had always armed me with optimism and an accepting mind. He had better plans for me. 

I think the better plan came the next year when I was invited to re-take the oral part of the exam in 2009. It’s in the exam rules that an examinee can re-take an exam within the period of the pre-qualifying exam’s three-year validity. I read like crazy and started seeing the importance of diplomacy. Weeks after I sat for the orals, I received the news that I was eligible to take the last part of the process – the psychological exam in the summer of 2010.  This was not an ordinary test; in fact, I think this is the most difficult test of all. It was like taking the three earlier tests all in one day, and many examinees failed this last stretch.

To make the long story short, on December 22, 2010, I received the good news at the time when my mother lost her twin sister. My Tita Lilang cannot be replaced, but the news of my acceptance in the department surely cheered my mother up.


Now, I shall wait for President Noynoy's signature to officially start my career in the foreign service.

I'm just happy. I really am.