Anyway, the make-up artist gave me a cake make-up. You know? The kind where you feel that your face is so thick of wet foundation. I was a bit annoyed because the hand of the person doing my make-up smells of nicotine and who-knows-what. My hair was sprayed with hairspray and I think I looked kind of girly. My mom said that the hairdo looks really nice and my make-up was done well. I hate getting my make-up done by other people because they use their own make-up. My face felt itchy after the shoot, so I went to the restroom and washed my face. I wasn’t able to remove all the make-up since I only used water, so I headed home after that.

By the way, I was watching TV Patrol and saw a segment where we can vote for the New 7 Wonders of the World. Three of the Philippines’ best are on the list. If you are a Filipino or not, and you are amazed by the beauty of this country, please vote for the following:

• Chocolate Hills of Bohol
• Tubbataha Reef of Palawan
• Mayon Volcano of Legazpi City

In order for your vote to count, please type in a valid email address and click on the confirmation link sent to you by New7Wonders. You have to vote 7 majestic wonders of the world. These are the ones that I voted for:

• Chocolate Hills
• Tubbataha Reef, Reef
• Mayon Volcano
• Jeju Island
• Great Blue Hole, Underwater Sinkhole
• Grossglockner, Mountain peak
• The Twelve Apostles, Rock Formation

You can also view the the live ranking of the Top 77 Candidates, as of now, all three candidates from the Philippines are in them.

My sister is going to quit her current job and has applied for another. She has gone through the talent management tests and the HR just gave her a call yesterday to let her know that she has a meeting on Monday for a job offer. From what I know, she’s going to be earning around 58,000Php, that’s about $1450 a month. I wonder if I’d get to work for a company that would pay me that much.

Unemployment is one of the biggest issues that I have to face along with hundreds of graduates this year and last year and the year before that. I don’t know when the cycle is going to end. Well, I know that there are jobs out there, if I knew where to look. I am kind of doubting my skills and I don’t know how to go past that. I want to go to the beach, relax and clear my thoughts. I actually had that dream last night. I wish I can just disappear right now.

Poof!

We learned how to write a battle-ready resumé, and how to prepare for an interview. There were a lot of very useful pointers on how to have your resumé speak for itself. Let me share a few important pointers:

• Use powerful verbs.
  Notice the difference between the two examples:
  “As a service crew, I learned to how to deal with customers….”
  “Acquired expertise in customer service….
• Proofread.
  Of course, it is important to always check your resumé for grammatical errors and spelling. Remember, you are presenting yourself to your future employer.
• Be Honest.
  It is OK to list all of your achievements and skills, but never overstate.
• Highlight your strengths.
  The point of writing a resumé is for a prospective employer to hire you. It is best to include all the skills you have in relation to the job opportunity. You may also add other skills so that in case the position is suited for another applicant, the employer can still give you a job that is related to your other skills.

“Power Dressing” is also included in the seminar. As an applicant, it is important to wear the appropriate attire when presenting yourself for an interview. But since I am in the creative side, Multimedia Arts, we have more freedom to choose the clothes to wear. Still, we have to keep in mind that during an interview, you must always clothes that is very presentable and appropriate.

The speakers were really helpful. They gave us a lot of insights on how they interview applicants. They gave us pointers on what to say and what’s never to be mentioned, and how to express touchy subjects, like why you left your previous job. Our mayor even gave us some inspiring words to help us face what’s yet to come.

Although I was really sleepy during the seminar because I had to wake up really early to get to school at 8am, the two days were not a waste of time. Still, I expected more organization with how they presented everything. I was also annoyed that some students were very disrespectful because they didn’t have the courtesy to show up on time. Some arrived at noon! Now I wonder if they can get to an interview on time.

I can’t wait for our graduation. It will be on the 25th of April. I am still trying to plan where I am going to look for a job. My parents are looking to go abroad, but that could take a while. I do want to get a job now because I want to go shopping for a notebook computer. I saw one online, it’s Acer. I am not sure if it is a good brand, but I know a few people who owns it. So far, they said, they have not had any serious problems with the hardware. I guess, that’s a good sign.

Yesterday, Ryan and I watched 10,000 B.C. and I liked the film, although it is not as authentic as Apocalypto. Steven Strait was hot and Camilla Belle’s eyes were so amazingly blue you can drown in them1. The movie is more of a love story, but you wouldn’t really think that it is focused on that alone. Oh, and a saber tooth tiger is called a “spear tooth” in the movie. Go watch it, it’s entertaining, in my opinion. It’s actually quite funny that at 10,000 B.C. they already speak English and have pearly white teeth!

1. Well, I am not sure if that’s her real eye color [↩]

I actually posted my Z-30 at ebay for bidding, but I was upset that someone sent me a message and is asking for a lower bidding price! I took it down and decided to keep the camera for my whole family to use, then I’d invest on another camera for my own.

Starting this month, I am going to save up enough money to upgrade my camera. I am also going to save for a new PC monitor, my current monitor is too small for what I do1. I’ll be done with school this year, and I can’t wait to start working and earn more money! Good luck to me!

1. graphics related [↩]

I am actually more exhausted on my internship. Our boss is French, and most of the time he talks fast, and in circles. I mean, he appointed me as the head of the interns, which is not a good thing, since I am only there twice a week. He wants me to report to him what they are doing, and relay orders. I am in a great pressure, since I can feel that he is a perfectionist.

I want to be doing what I love to do. What worries me the most is that they are planning to hire me after the internship, but not as a graphics designer or a web developer, they want me to be in marketing! Wtf?! I hate sales. I don’t like convincing people that they have to buy something. Besides, I don’t have a marketing background. They should hire someone with a degree in marketing. I know that I have skills and I am confident that I can do them well, but with regards to marketing, I am not confident about that, and I can foresee myself being fried to my ass constantly if they go ahead and stuff me under marketing. As of now, they have no one in there, so it is like they are desperate. But I am NOT desperate to work with them as their marketing analyst. I hate the thought.

I know that in this day and age, most of the people who graduate never get to use the skills they acquired at school, but I want to be one of the lucky ones who get to do it. I know that there are other job opportunities out there. In 3 months time, I will be done with school, and I can’t wait to start another chapter in my life.

The highlight of my week is when Ryan took me to see Enchanted yesterday. It was a fun movie to watch. Left me happy butterflies in my stomach.

Getting Organized

I was tagged by Pao to do this meme, and post my organizer/planner. Well, this is my super old organizer. I’ve had it since the year 2000. What I like about this is that I can add/remove the calendars. I can buy new leaves for it, so I don’t have to buy more organizers. I keep the insides in my organizer box of papers. If you’ve noticed, the front has Winnie The Pooh pictures on it, mostly of Piglet, because Piglet used to be my favorite cartoon character. I usually use my organizer for my website plans, keeping my friend’s contact information, adding notes, snippets of poems that I never finish, and doodles.

I am tagging: Scart, Nina, and Xyla

1. Show us your planner/organizer by creating a short video clip sharing with us its features that you like. If a video clip isn’t possible, you can take a snapshot of it as well.
2. Post the video clip(you don’t have to speak in the clip if you don’t want to hehe) or image in your blog and share what you like and love about your planner. You can also include how you found that planner or why you started using it in organizing your schedules and plans.
3. Tag your friends and ask them to show you their very own planners, and tell their own story.
4. Add your name to the list of those who participated in the tag with a link pointing directly to your own Getting 2008 Organized post.

Getting 2008 Organized List:
Dre, Pao

I got up at 7am that day and I was ready to go to my OJT1. It takes me about 30 minutes to get there, which is an advantage. Lexie and Richard, was already waiting for my by the shed. We walked to the compound and went to the main office. Our boss gave us instructions on what our tasks are for the day.

I was assigned to do a folder brochure for Adrien Multimedia Inc. He gave me specific instructions on what he wants to see. He actually has a keen eye for a good design. He knows what he wants and how it should be done. Even so, he still gives his people the freedom to add their personal touches. I wasn’t able to finish the design that day, I wasn’t given a deadline. Our boss just wants to make sure that we were able to do something for that day, and fast. It’s a great thing that their computers have enough memory.

By 5:30pm, he came by the IT Department and checked on us. He was with his cute little boy who named himself “Robin”. He said, his older brother’s name is “Batman”! He’s three years old and his dad wants to find a babysitter for him because he is extremely naughty. Well, it’s quite normal for boys his age.

We go back on Thursday for another 8 hours of work. I plan on bringing my iPod to work, though. I actually got bored staring at the computer for those 8 hours.

1. On The Job Training [↩]

There were other applicants vying for the same position, and the others for an actual job. The company is European-managed, but the employees are all Filipinos. Some even came from my school, which is great. At least, there is some sort of familiarity. I feel that the people are nice, some even talked to us, asking us where we’re from and what we do.

I was interviewed by the owner of the company. I believe he is British-Columbian-Filipino. I can hear a tinge of British accent from him. He was very open, but I can also sense that he is quite strict. He said that he doesn’t have a specific place for me right now, but what will happen is, I will work alongside him. He wants to train me for a more corporate position.

They plan on expanding the company and they are in dire need of people to represent their company during client meetings, which right now, he does them all. Since their company does a lot of things, it’s quite a mess in his office and his phone kept on ringing. It’s an organized chaos, I guess, which is fine with me. They do web design, printing, publishing; they also make giveaways, like backpacks, mouse pads, pens… anything that they can put a client’s logo to.

This is going to be a great training ground for me. If everything works out, he said that I may be absorbed by the company if that is the direction that I want to go to. I will actually have a job after I graduate! That means, there is less confusion about my future. I don’t want to close my doors, though.

I start on Saturday! Wow, I am an intern!

I met with the professor that I talked about on my previous entry. I submitted the completion form, and hopefully it will be done after a day. He’s our professor in Advertising Design and Internship Program. I am quite excited about the internship program because it will give us the opportunity to hone our skills with hands-on experience. We are required to do a 200-hour internship program with the company of our choice. I just hope that the company I sent a letter to accepts me. I think it’s cool to be called the “intern”.

I am looking forward to our Game Development subject. Our professor, also our Dean, oriented us about this subject. She said that she will only teach us the logic of developing a game, but the design is up to us. I have been formulating ideas on mini games. We can use Flash, Java or C. Although it seems hard to create a game, I really am interested to know how it works. Our professor is into educational and interactive games for kids. I think that is a good market. Right now, since I am baffled about my future, I want to be interested and be good at all the classes they throw on us.

Remember free rice? I have played every chance I get, and so far I’ve supposedly donated 6,000 grains. Hmm… I wonder how many grains there are in a kilo? Most of you asked why won’t they just give the free rice, well, they need sponsors to do that. If you’ve noticed, every time you click on an answer, the page refreshes, and the ads at the bottom changes. Maybe that’s another factor that we should look into. Why should we doubt something that offers something good? What have we to lose? Time, maybe. But the feeling of having given something big to someone is great. Isn’t it?

PPP just approved this post. That means, I’ll be able to renew my hosting and domain. I plan to move to another host, though. I need a bigger space. Right now, I am using more than 70% of my space. I think a move would do me and my hostees, some good.

I was tagged by Pao to blog about my significant other (boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife, fiance). The rules are simple. Just include the following in your blog post:

1. First name: if he doesn’t like his name plastered all over the internet, a pet name will do.
2. How and where did you meet?
3. Characteristics
4. Your plans 20 to 30 years from now.

His name is Ryan. I met him in 2006 through a common friend. I agreed to have lunch with him to check him out and see if he’d be someone I’d be interested to be with. We watched a movie, and I would say that he was very respectful. He didn’t make a move. If he did, I wouldn’t be in a relationship with him. It’s been 15 good months.

He’s quick-witted, he’s got a good sense of humor, and he is responsible. He likes a lot of things that I do, like music and watching movies. He’s into computer games and is a bookworm, too. He’s the combination of the things that I look for in a man.

He balances me out. His patience with me is remarkable. I mean, I’ve had different mood swings at different times of the day, but he just does everything to calm me down. He doesn’t give up on me, unless he’s having a downtime too, but that rarely happens. I’m the yin and he’s the yang.

Sometimes, he can be so selfless, specially when it comes to his family. He would give anything and everything, even leaving nothing for himself. He’s got a big heart, and I love it.

In 20 to 30 years, I can see that we’re still together (I hope), happy with our family life.

I am tagging, Scarty, Rose and Laarni.

I finished recoding this layout. I am calling it “1.5″ since I used the same images, I just changed the layout; the placement of the divs. I think it looks better. I think this layout does not seem cluttered anymore. I’ve updated my pixel adoptions page. I’m getting the hang of it, I think…

Anyway, Lexie pointed me to a website that aims to stop world hunger by playing a simple game. All you have to do is pick the answer that best describes the word. You donate 10 grains of rice per correct answer. If you chose the wrong answer, they will give you an easy word to define next, if you get the word correctly, you will be given a difficult word to define next. Free Rice is the sister site of Poverty.com. Free Rice has two goals:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

Isn’t that a great idea? They have lots of big sponsors to help UN distribute the sacks of rice that all of us contribute, just by playing a simple vocabulary game. We improve our vocabulary skills, we feed the hungry. Everybody wins, right? So why not spend some of your internet time saving the world? It feels really rewarding.

Has anyone heard about the Google Pagerank issue? I thought my website wasn’t affected by it, but when I checked my PR at PPP, from PR4 my blog dropped to PR3. That kinda sucks, I haven’t checked if it affected my blog traffic, but then, as long as my beloved readers still read my posts and comments, then I’m good.

I tried to do some pixel drawing, and I came up with 3 different ones that I seem a bit satisfied to show, so check them out.

SURVEY: Christmas / Holiday Shopping — 3