Monday is Exam Day

December 15 marks the first night of the traditional Simbang Gabi in our barangay. This mass is conducted in anticipation of the Misa de Gallo which starts on December 16, 4AM.  There was a big turn out of people in our small chapel considering this year's mass schedule, 9 to 10 PM. Our baranggay is the last place where the priest will celebrate mass. This year's mass schedule is relatively late for many people in our village. People here sleeps early! Even before the mass started today, my Grandmother already had hesitations if she will be able to complete the 9 Simbang Gabi masses.  But there, she went! A tradition is a tradition. It will never cease no matter how "late" the schedule is.

Tomorrow is quite a day! After more than two years, I will be taking a pre-employment examination once again! So say hello to verbal and numerical tests, plus the star of the show, the ever ubiquitous examination "must-have", abstract reasoning tests.  I really can't say I am good at it, but practice does help.  One more stuff that I expect to show up are number series, analogies and synonyms. The vocab test will not be left out for sure! I'll be seeing and reading words which I'll never, ever use in my lifetime.  Well, that's how a pre-employment exam goes here! But if ever I'll be unsure of my answers, I'll just follow someone's advice, "If you don't know the answer, it's either A or C."

Astalavista!

Ticket to the World

11 Days Before Christmas. Day 5 of My Sister's Room Extension.  2 Days before my exam in the Foreign Affairs Department. One day after the submission of my first ever financial proposal. Day 4 since the launch of my newly-discovered recipe, the breaded porkchop. Hahaha I can't help but laugh! It sells like pancakes! My spoon was full this week. From the more idle times in the previous months, I bounced back. There's so much to do with very little time. I was juggling myself dipping porkchops on beaten eggs and rolling them on breadcrumbs in the morning and finding myself eating abstract and verbal reasoning exercises during breaktime. My pre-employment examination is coming up and I need to brush up on aptitude exercises which are meant to measure my numerical, reasoning and analytical skills.  I've waited for this opportunity and I shouldn't screw it up. Fingers crossed. 

What is your dream job? What is that duty that will make you feel blessed everyday? What is that task that you are willing to do for the rest of your life? What is that something that you will look forward to everyday? What is the career path that will lead you to a happy life? 

Have you found it yet? I haven't found it yet, but I keep looking.  I am not twerking on it, but I am working on it! I'm not afraid to pass resignation letters and jump into the unknown because I want keep looking and discovering. In his inspiring commencement speech in Stanford, Steve Jobs said,

“If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.” 

Who knows, my very own, newly-discovered and delicious breaded porkchop recipe will be my ticket to the world! 

SUPER POWER. Traveling is one thing I can do for the rest of my life. I am sure of that. I can do this for a living! Maybe I should try becoming a tour guide. The photo above was taken in the vicinity of Puerto Princesa Underground River. 

Happy Lives

For two days, I prepared a response to an e-mail I received regarding a possible job placement. The deadline was today, December 13, 2013, 5:00 PM.  I am keeping my fingers crossed. Will Friday the 13th bring me good luck? I'll see in a couple of days. Just before writing this piece, one tweet caught my attention. It says, "The mind is everything. What you think you become."- Buddha.  Great words, indeed. I just hope the whole universe will conspire to help me realize my dream. This is a dream to chase and this warrants a blog post after more than a year of hiatus.

While searching for a photo to accompany this blog post, I suddenly opened the old family pictures I compiled back in 2010. I saw the pictures of my great grandfather Mamay Lucas and great grandmother Nanay Anda. They seemed happy and content with the life they lived. Were they able to follow their dreams? Did they chase it? I'll never know that. Nanay Anda and Mamay Lucas, if you're alive now, what would you want me learn to live a fruitful life? I hope your story inspires me to become a better person. 

                   Mamay Lucas and Nanay Anda lived a simple, happy life.