what colours have you seen today?

Aldrich and Ms. Close-up!
Posted at 09:46 PM

Well, I know this entry is a bit delayed as I meant to type it yesterday while the thoughts were still fresh. But oh well, I was too damn tired yesterday so I guess an entry that's been in my head for a little while is still fresher than most. haha I'm not exactly sure what I wanted to say in the previous sentences, but anyway, on to the verbal diarrhea!

I took another test yesterday, only this time, it was not done in-house. It was actually done in a third-party assessment thingy. For which company you may ask? Well, it's Trip's company. haha If you didn't get the previous sentence, just scroll down to the entry before this and enlighten yourself. haha Anyway, before that, I of course had to get there. Now, getting there through MRT is not really the highlight of the story (if it was, then it probably isn't worth typing here anyway, right?). So anyway, the main point here is that two days earlier, I was informed of this testing thing, and was asked to bring a valid ID. Yep, and the person who called me repeated this twice, and I even wrote it down in all caps.

But, when the guard asked me to present a valid ID, I found out that I left my school ID at home. I left my driving license in the car. And all I had in my small wallet were my cards and my money. I brought my job fair envelope - with resume's and transcripts, but no ID! So I pleaded to the guard to at least accept the transcript - I was even offering the original one, which is an official school document. But no!? He even laughed in my face saying that he did not need my transcript since I was not applying to him. What a way to handle the situation! I was already panicking and he still found a way to make fun of the situation. At first I thought he was kidding, but then, it turns out, he was serious. He just told me to come back another day. God! I hate security guards with no job satisfaction! So, I was already panicking, and called up Mandy, knowing that she was also going to be in Makati that day. It turns out, she was still on her way. But at least she was there to comfort me. Ohmigad Mandy, I'm so glad you were there. As in, I would have died of pressure, if I wasn't able to talk to someone.

Anyway, I was already losing hope and I was just going through all the stuff I had in my bag. I went through my hygiene stuff. I also went through my wallet for the six hundred fifty second time. And then, I looked at the small envelope where I keep my one by one pictures. Lo and behold, there was a piece of paper there - the Security Briefing Identification Card that I was given during my first day in Unilever. (mabuhay ang mga pahinante! haha) I placed it in that small envelope and never removed it ever since. I didn't even have the chance to laminate it. Oh my god, talk about silver linings! haha So, I went back to the guard, shoved it in his face (trust me, he deserved it.), and then went on my way up. I dressed up once again - yep, costume change ako every time I go to Makati.

I went there fifteen minutes earlier than the agreed time, and sat down. The receptionist reminded me of Professor Umbridge in the Harry Potter Five film. Simply, she has the temperament of spoiled sugar. Yep, sweet but with an overpowering taste of bitterness. Anyway, the test was definitely lost. haha The english part was okay, I mean, I think I usually catch up in English - catch up from what exactly? Well, math. haha I think my below average arithmetic skills are definitely coming back to haunt me. haha Anyway, there was also a personality test. Also, there was this multi-tasking thing that I enjoyed. However, I don't want to really dwell on those. What I want to discuss, is one part specifically - the 12 point Financial Analysis part.

Can I just say, out of the 12, I was only sure of one. Yes, one friggin item. The others were just mini-mini-my-ni-moed. haha There was one question that really shocked me. It was a question that provided cash flows for three years. And then, it asked for the IRR. The first thing came to my mind? What again does IRR mean? haha (I googled, and I my guess was right, IRR = Internal Rate of Return.) Anyway, it wasn't a question that looked for the definition. It asked for a value. Take note, this was a no-calculator test. And there was no value table thing that we had when I took my finance class. AND, I only had three minutes to answer the test. OMFG. So anyway, I guess, that part was dismal. haha

But I think, what I really hated in that series of tests was not from Finance (because God knows, I did my best), but it came from the Math (arithmetic) part. haha You see, it was looking for the average of 5 values. And I can remember them (yep, that's how frustrated I was of this number. So the five values are: 300, 170, 180, 100 and 150. I added them up, and I ended up with a sum of 850, so the average was 170. So I clicked on the answer, and then submitted it. But then, I added it again, but this time, the sum was 900 and the average was now 180. Pakshet. haha Why did I have to have the arithmetic skills of a fifth grader!? (Take note, I used to teach math to public school honor grade five students way back in high school.) By the way, hi to Jonathan, Alyssa, Shermaine, Princess and my other TD kids! haha

So anyway, I finished the test and came out of the room looking haggard but still with all the composure that I could muster. So I gave the pencil back to the receptionist and as I looked at the next batch of people who were to take the test, there was this someone who looked at me. Basta, we had this close-up moment (you know, in the Close-up advertisement, when these two people meet somewhere, and one smiles and the other smiles back.) so I'm calling this person Ms. Close-Up. Basta, I think Ms. Close-up looked familiar. And then Ms. Close-Up smiled. So I smiled back. Weird. And then I took my bag, looked back again, and there Ms. Close-Up was, smiling again. so I smiled again. haha Weird di ba?

I told this story to Kamille that same day din. And I think she was really laughing out loud. haha I could definitely imagine here laughing her ass off. haha And then she typed, "baka type ka niya." haha Maybe. wahaha Well, things like that have been known to happen you know. Not as much as I would like, but they still do happen. Or, maybe she really does know me, and smiling back was just a courtesy. haha Oh god, if that is indeed true, and Ms. Close-Up gets to read this entry, OMG, this is sooo going to be embarassing. hahahaa But anyway, that's that about this. See, no follow through... tsk tsk.

So I guess, that's all about that morning in Makati. The afternoon was just spent buying a new radio for my CRV. I desperately need to get a job soon. All these days going out, job hunting and other stuff are draining my funds fast! But anyway, its still worth a "Yay!" Finally... Lorelai is now surround sound. haha And I also did boring errands in the Quezon City hall. Plus, I forgot to mention that all I had that day was bread. Can you say fasting? Well, I didn't really intend to eat bread the whole day, but anyway, I had a slice of baguette for breakfast, 2 croissants for lunch and another croissant for dinner. I felt so tired. haha My body is not used to not having meat in its system. haha Its not me wanting to lose weight, that day was just weird. haha

Anyway, that's it for this post. I think it's long enough. And by the way, I think some people assume too much. haha You think you know, but you have no idea. Ciao!

Hearing: the radio.
Feelin' tranquil.