my first winter jacket

by now, everyone close to me knows that i might be leaving singapore in a few weeks. of course, deep in my heart i know that everything is still uncertaiin. as i've written on my past entries, there are still a lot of things that i have to do.. however, in my excitement i shared the good news to my friends (and i want to share my remaining weeks here with them). well, anyway, i know they are happy for me too. and they are excited too.. too excited that they even bought me my first winter jacket..

my thanks to you.. jim, che, elay, chelle and raqs. im so looking forward to wearing it.. kahit na i know na baka manigas ako sa lamigg kung san man ako papunta hehe

ohh, my housemate gave me my first winter gloves and scarf as a christmas gift.. thanks teetel. im so lucky to have found friends here in singapore. im already missing you girls!

thank you LORD

with all the hullabaloo and holiday fast approaching... i forgot to give my gratitude to the One who made my dream possible. now, i give this space entirely to Him. for without Him, i wont be creating this blog.. so, thank you Lord for hearing the greatest desire of my heart.

this is for You!

minor glitch

hopefully, it is just a minor one. i haven't submitted my letter. im still waiting from hr's confirmation if i have to even without the visa approval. syempre, im hoping na wag muna dahil im waiting for payday pa hehe pero im raring to go at baka mabulilyaso pa. as in!

anyway, while gathering my requirements i found out that my contract is saying that:

... you are required to serve two (2) months' written notice and to pay a penalty.

huwatt??! this cannot be. i dont have two months.. not even a month if i wanted to have a few days rest. what am i going to do?!

pray.. that my interpretation is incorrect.
pray.. that my employer will let me go with a month's notice.
pray.. pray.. pray.. with God, everything is possible so I need not worry.


epilogue:
i got hold of the hr... jan 21st is just a temporary date needed for my visa processing. so, there's no need to resign.. yet.

as for my contract, yes i think it is two months notice. i checked the original contract and the clause like that is not there. original contract was from april to may of next year. after two months, they gave me a new one... that's the one giving me a major problem!

my preparations

first, i have to submit many documents and forms for my green card processing. well, i cannot go for medical pa. its just the time of the month. and i still dont have my employment certificate from my current employer. shocks! i promised hr pala na im going to send all the requirements by monday. ngek! labo ko...

second, i need to resign? syempre.. pero when? still uncertain.. i asked the hr pero no reply pa. hopefully, by end of today meron na. i dont want to resign naman without the visa. pero kung di pa ko magre-resign, di naman ako makaka-start on time. ayy. i know i asked a very stupid question pero its better to be certain.

third, i have to find someone to replace me sa bahay. so, i told my housemates na din that im going away for good na by next year. syempre, so happy sila for me pero since counted na ang days namin altogether (some of them are going home this holiday), kaka-sad talaga. i still need to give them so many papers, im the man of the house kase. i signed the condo contract, pub, online and cable...

fourth, i cannot bring all my things there 'coz i have a lot. what am i going to do with them. i cannot sned them to pinas naman lahat. i might sell a lot of things.. i'll keep you posted baka interested kayo.. but first things first.. visa muna.

fifth, its winter there. my wardrobe is good for summer. i dont even own a long sleeve shirt for pete's sake! and ginawin ako at sipunin! im not complaining.. i've prayed for this a long long time and i know in my heart that i deserved this.. anyway, masarap mag-shopping ng winter clothes :D

there are still a lot of things going on inside my head but i want to deal with it one thing at a time.. we'll see, we'll see. for now, i have to complete my requirements so my future employer can apply for my green card.

when it all started?

my journey took more than a year, few interviews and a lot of prayers in between.

my friend vera (thanks a lot tivela, she's also the one who made it possible for me to work here in singapore), has a friend who's friend (parang kapitbahay ng kapitbahay ng kaklse ko!) is working in ireland. vera knows that my sister is there, so i mentioned that i was interested to work there too if there are opportunities. after more than a year or two, i forwarded my resume to joan (she's the friend of the friend).

my first technical interview was oct 9, 2006.. and i knew then that i failed. it was a panel interview and i was blubbering like a fish. i was prepared. but i am never good at interviews.

come july 2007, i received an email from joan. she again, forwarded my resume to their hr. and she told me to expect a call from them.. by late afternoon, i was on panic mode na. i forgot that my resume was outdated na and i've already changed my mobile number. ngek!

the hr scheduled my technical interview 2 days later. got loads of pointers from joan. made a lot of interview notes. went home early and wait for mike's call. he's the guy who interviewed me. the interview went fine, that's what i thought. i may be sick with coughs and colds at the time but i made sure that i was more than prepared. we even talked about the weather :) it was raining at the time. (see? i remember details), he even mentioned that im good at what im doing... something to that effect. basta in short, pinuri nya ko! he said to wait a week for the result.

unlike the previous technical interview, this time around, i knew i pass. however, days turned into weeks and i did not receive a call from them. i sent them an email but i didn't get a reply. so, i stopped hoping na.

oct 9, 2007 (yup, same date...); after a year... i had a call from their hr. they were trying to call me the night before (i knew someone was calling me, i didnt know it was them.. i didnt check my mobile as i was busy watching the nanny diaries hhehe). they were scheduling me for a VTC.. ohmygosh! i thought a webchat was sufficient, i felt so stupid... it was my final interview. as fate would have it, the VTC was rescheduled and then resheduled again for some technicalities.

prior to that, i am so ready to go. i just updated my resume and forwarded it to some employers. it was really a matter of right timing. and their call at the time was really unexpected.

going back to my VTC, it was so fast. less than 30 minutes and im done. questions i was expecting from them were never asked. the result they said, i will know within the next week. little did i know that it was just a start of my long wait. week after week, i asked for updates but they could not give me anything. i held on to the fact that they feel that i did good on my vtc and that the position is still available. see previous post.

2 months later, im still hoping and praying that my prayers will be answered.

last week, i got an email from joan. she had spoken with the hr and she confirmed that i got the job and i'll just have to wait for their call. last friday, i got the most awaited call ever. i got the job offer, the long wait is finally over. i didn't get the chance to ask for details as i was in a hurry to leave the office. anyway, the hr emailed me the details. when i got home, there's no email. ngek! almost 11pm na yun our time. excited pa naman ako umuwi agad. buti pala at tinuloy ko na lang yung lakad ko hehe

anyway, i got the email din naman before i went to sleep. problem, start date of my application is jan 21st. yay! so fast! its like after i serve my month's notice, flylalu na ko to ireland, dating ako weekend ng 19. then on that monday, work na. what?!?! madami akong dapat i-turn over dito sa singapore. marami akong tourist spots na hindi pa napupuntahan. marami akong dapat ayusin and 1 month is not enough! well, i was on panic mode the entire weekend.

the end of the tunnel

finally, the long wait is over. one of these days, i'll be leaving singapore and journey to a new place i've never been. definitely, its not going to be easy. as far as im looking forward to meeting and probably living with my sister who's based in ireland, making new friends and living a new life; half a part of me is sad to leave. singapore has been my home for more than 3 years. i have friends and extended family here. and lotsa lotsa of good (meron ding tearful and painful) memories but rest assured, that all of it will stay with me. and im gonna be back!

do visit this blog for updates.