Singapore the 2nd Part 2

My second week in Singapore was spent job hunting. Also my 1 week stay at Juvy ended and I have to transfer to another of my friend's apartment. I asked Kenneth whom I worked with while in Manila to let me stay on his pad for some nights. He and his wife Jess were so welcoming and warm even though it was just a short notice. I am very grateful to the couple. Many thanks.

I have learned on my first job interview, with a head hunter, first is that the SG government placed stricter rules for expats (I dont know if it applies to all or just Filipinos). She shared to me that some of those renewing their passes were either rejected or downgraded (from an e-pass to an s-pass). Second, the hiring process takes a long time because of the skill matching and the negotiations between the company and them. From that point on I knew that 1 week is NOT enough to get a job. Thirdly, a sad realization, is that you have to sell yourself and sugarcoat your experience to get a better chance of being hired.

8 years of work experience have taught me how to do my work and forget the rest. In short it makes you focused on what you do and you tend to get rusty on the things that does not concern you. But as a job applicant, you have to step it up and know the things, that even though is part of what you do but really did not care while working. For example the company is looking for a Java developer. They just dont want a Java developer per se, they want to hire someone that knows Spring, Hibernate, and all the specific of those frameworks. I know some who does know java, spring and hibernate but during job interviews they sweeten the deal and study (review) because most of those stuff they ask during the interview is either concept stuff you dont really work on, or simply technical terms and definitions you have to memorize in order to appear knowledgeable. Im not saying they are not important but what Im saying is that focusing on definitions, you get to lose a lot of potentially good people (and Im not saying Im good, heheh).

It was fun though frantically sending and clicking the ""Apply" button from the different job sites even though I know that I don't qualify for that job posting. After a lot of applications, many email rejections and a few callbacks, my 2nd week ended. I am sad that I have not been successful in finding a job this time at SG. Maybe it was not time or the time I allotted is not enough.

Overall, it was a nice experience almost like a vacation for me. I thank all my friends who set aside their precious time to meet and share with me an afternoon or dinner. Thank you all, and maybe in the future I can return the favor too.

Singapore the 2nd Part 1

Two weeks in Singapore! That is a lot of days right? Yes and No. My primary goal going to Singapore this time was to find a job and earn those SG dollars. Becoming an OFW is something of a pride belt you can wear and brag, not to mention being tagged as "bagong bayani". Kidding aside, I want to experience working in a foreign land, with a different culture than my own. I worked with Japanese, Americans, Europeans but maybe it is different working with them when Im not the local and we are all foreigners. The rules are different, and most importantly the pay is!

To be brief and to the point, I did not get a job in Singapore (sad face). But I sure did see and experience it like a backpacker tourist can!

Im very thankful for the hospitability of my friend Juvy and her husband Jann for letting me stay with them for 1 week - FREE! First thing to know when going to SG is that there is no such thing as free stay. If you are not paying for your stay, then someone else is.

Almost everyone lives in an apartment (called HDB) and for each month's consumption of electricity, water and gas add up as a PUB. So it is unfair for anyone of those housemates to bring extra guest for an extended stay and everyone pays for the extra PUB charges (this maybe ok if all your housemates are close friends). Im very very thankful for welcoming me and letting me stay for free, it is a big deal.

On my first day, I was accompanied by Juvy (she was on Medical Leave) around Tampines and showed me the mall, the bus stops, the MRT, where to eat.

We went into their national library and I was amazed at how beautiful the building is, not to mention how functional it is - there are people, old, young people in the library reading, studying...I cant see this in our local library in Cebu where the books are crumbling and dusty. I purchased a Duck Tours where there are different busses you can hop in and hop off to see the various interesting places in SG.

My 2nd day and 3rd day was spent touring SG and riding the busses. It was fun! Even though I couldnt get a picture of myself because I was so shy to ask someone to take my picture. SG is a very industrialized country with tall buildings everywhere. However they did not forget that they need nature too. In their HDB swamped land, there is a playground where residents, especially the old, can walk or jog and exercise in every community. Trees are also well taken cared of in the bustling city.

Riding the bus, I've seen the different cultures integrated within SG like the Indians with their little India place and the China Town and places of Christian worship. It is a mixture of cultures that makes SG more than just a place to work and earn, it is educational at least for me.

I always buy the KOI milktea because it is addicting! Food is a thing to get used to because it is different than what Im used to, but is not that intimadating to try. Transportation is the best of all the countries I've been.

You cant get lost in SG! You just need a modern smartphone and download the app for the bus schedule, the map and the mrt route, and you are good to go, just pick a destination. The mrt gets crowded but it is tolerable and their stations are clean! I like the bus but Im not so sure where they go (I dont have a smartphone with me) so I just needed to memorize what bus number passes by Juvy's apartment.

Overall, the first week was just tourist mode. Visiting and viewing places and meeting my "bagong bayani" friends who have successfully found work in SG.  

August 2012

I've never written (actually posted) anything this August. So I will just sum it all up in this post. 

First off, Im back in Metro Manila. Quezon City to be exact. I've relocated here for work because my first option, SG, did not pull off. 

It was a rainy August to start. One Tuesday work was cancelled because of the floods caused by an unnamed Habagat. Most of the city was flooded but luckily for me, I was not affected. 

I moved in a relatively small room because I need a space to live and soon. It was a good choice because it doesnt flood when it rains and it feels like a compound and homey, albeit a little pricey. 

We are allowed to cook, laundry, use the tv and wifi which is in the common area. However the wifi is very far from my room and I dont get reception. If I want to use it, I have to go outside of my room. The kitchen's ref is full, though I think I can still put some stuff in it. 

In brief, Im a little bit shy around my neighbors because they seem to know each other well and Im not friendly when Im the newbie of the group.  

I have to admit that it feels nostalgic being here again. I have done it for a year, 3 years ago, and now Im back. It is of course different from the first time now I know the place and better prepared to live here than before. The city feels like just an extension of Cebu unlike the first time where it feels foreign even though it is still in the Philippines. 

I've got few friends here, and of those few there is none yet (as of the moment of posting) I feel comfortable to just pull (fool) around and hang out at any time. I think those types of friends needs time to develop and it is still a month since Im here. 

Work is interesting! It is an area new to me, telecommunications. Though Im not yet in the interesting part of the work since Im still on training. Ahh, speaking of trainings I think Im not getting good first impressions. My C++ skills if judged through the various exams are dismal which may make them wonder how the h€ll I got in to this company. I have to admit though that my scores perfectly mirrors my C++ know how. It is just that my last 2 yrs C++ has not been used that much - and I always say to myself that solving problems is on some level independent on a particular technology (programming language) - though Im not saying it is not important but to make muself feel a little better.

Aside from C++, we have this systems infrastructure training where we need to learn how the system works from the inside with all the details of how each component works. 

I tell you, it is information overload! It hadn't sunk unto my brain yet, and I guess I'll learn with time. One thing to sum it up is it is Acronym Land where acronyms have acronyms on their meanings.

We will be having lectures and exams every week for 5 weeks, I dont know what happens if you keep failing on the exams, Im afraid to know the answer. So the plan for now is to study, study, study! Improve C++ and learn as much as I can on the infrastructure. That seems like a good plan for me.
 

A minor note as of the moment is my travel plans. Ever since the thought of me being back here also the possibilities of travels. There are a lot of destinations from here, I can go North, to the mountains, to the Southern Tagalog and even overseas. As of the moment though, I have to stall because money is an issue and I need to know my financial health. Salary just comes once a month which will test my spending discipline. 

As this month is going to end, I hope that the ATM and salary is already available, I pass exams and get project duties, make friends and best of all enjoy what my current life is. In the future when this passes too, I would like to look back with a smile, with great memories and a whole lot of friends and pictures to remember this moment of my life.

Rain

(August post)

It was Monday, I just finished my first day at work and decided to dine in SM North. The weather is just gloomy and the rain fell nonstop that day.

Im on the jeep and when I looked outside, the road transformed into a wide river and the jeeps are wading through it. 

Those with motorcycles have to get off the road because the water gets into the engines. We are struck in traffic and nobody dares to walk even though SM is just a block away. Nobody is crazy enough to walk into the knee deep reservoir.

Thankfully we got off safe and dry into SM after an extended stay inside the jeep.

It Never Gets Old

(August post)

It never gets old. The feeling of excitement and anticipation as I go through, yet again, my very first day at work. What would the people be like? What team will I be assigned? What is the aura of the office? What...what... and more what.  

May 2004. I was just 6 months fresh from college and my very first fulltime job. I was very nervous because I always thought I am the least desirable of all the graduates. I am not the brightest student, Im not proud to say but just stating a fact. My concern back then was if my knowledge and skills are enough. I stayed there for 4 years, my longest employment yet. 

April 2008. One of the most exciting days of my life. Im literally in a new place, Metro Manila, living on my own for the first time. In hindsight, I've learned a lot both in computer programming skills and in real life in a short almost a year of staying there. 

June 2009. Back in Cebu and in my mind was that this is a place where I can still earn and continue with my studies (education teacher). About a year after, I was axed because the company ended its operation. 

August 2010. I consider this as my reentry into the software developer world. Because of a friend's help I got in and in a way reinvigorated me to pursue and be back on track with what I do best, code. Two years is long enough for me to find a new nest. 

August 2012. The start of something new but familiar. Even though this time Im in a new place, Quezon City, I've experienced this before and it feels not that lonely compared to the first time. 

This is the 5th time to start over, I just hope that I will learn something worthwhile here and making the best of my time and talent. 

 To the future! More exciting days ahead.

Return

(August post) 

So many things to do before the start of my new job a week from now. Im flying back to Cebu today to get the rest of my things and file that BIR record update. Im glad that I already got a room to stay, my very first experience to really look and negotiate on my own. 

It is a small room but I think that I can live with it and the contract is only up to 6 months, by that time if there is a much better place I may transfer, but for now Im good with it. I have to prepare for a month's deposit and advance. Cash (more aptly, credit card charge) will basically flow next week. I have to buy pillows, blanket, curtains, hangers for my clothes, electric fan, and other home stuff etc. I'll have an entire 4 days to do all that settling down before the start of my work. 

 Speaking of work, the hiring manager texted me to study C++ object oriented concepts like Inheritance and destructors because I have to take an exam at work to qualify for a project. Since my computer is at home, I have to study while in Cebu, and that is basically just in 2 days (Monday and Tuesday), I already have plans for today and tomorrow.  

 Im getting short of cash now since the last pay from my previous job is not due for another 30 days and the relocation allowance from my new company is yet to be given on my start day (or within that week). Im basically living on the excess cash from my SG trip and will feel the pinch next week when I get to withdraw from what's left of my bank account. It is a stressful week for me so to speak and the upcoming weeks are definitely too since I will be in a new environment, new people and new job, new everything. Definitely exciting! 

Never felt this way in a long time, it just makes me feel brand new. Im hoping and praying that this is the right step towards the right direction.