Archive for January, 2009

gennaio trenta, 11: 03 PM (venerdi)

January 30, 2009 · Filed under present · Tagged

Yikes. I didn’t go to work, because I woke up late. I woke up late because I stayed up late, just for the sake of shopping.

 The week had been less stressful, because I was no longer forced to do OTs. Plus, there’s no motivation for me anymore, because the incentives had been frozen.

 It’s been a week since I bumped into Mark and his new girlfriend. Well, the thought still makes me laugh. Last Monday, I was with Ed, and we saw him, and Ed was like, “It’s John Lloyd, haha.” I stopped by to talk to him, and when we’re done, he said, “Sige, ingat!” Fratello laughed non-stop. He couldn’t get over it.

Yesterday evening: I went to work early. I went to the break room to check my mails. Unfortunately for me, none of those desktops were working. I saw that the TV was on, and they’re watching HBO. I looked for an empty couch. I was so unlucky. Then, I saw this dude in a bonnet, lying on a huge bean bag.

“Ron!” I exclaimed.

 “Hey!” He said. I went up to him and sat on the bean bag.

 “What are you watching?” I asked. It’s Adam Sandler, playing basketball. I figured it out before he could reply. “It’s Chuck and Larry.”

 “Yeah. Are you okay there?” He asked. Actually, I wasn’t, because the bean bag was bumpy. I adjusted the bean bag lied down, next to Ron. “No.” He chuckled.

 “What time is it?” He asked. I looked at my watch. I have a confession. I don’t know how to look at the time. I wasn’t using a digital watch, so I told Ron that I don’t know. He chuckled some more.

We watched the entire movie. During boring parts, he told me about his grand parents. His grand dad was in the hospital, and he was so tired because he hadn’t slept yet. I just listened to him and told him, “Everything will be okay. Kaya mo yan. I’ll pray for you.”

“Thanks.” He said. And we continued watching the movie. I’ve seen this before, literally, in my dreams. That was so creepy, I’m turning into Raven Baxter in That’s so Raven (it’s the future I can see… ). Haha. Well, maybe, it’s just a coincidence. Ron removed his bonnet. Oh. He shaved his head.

 “Wow!” I touched his head. I liked it. “You shaved you’re head.”

 “Yeah. You like it? They say I look like a bad boy with this hair cut.” Well. I like it, very much. Because that’s my type.

“No. It looks neater on you.” I said, which I mean, “No, you look hotter.”

My day wasn’t that great. The calls I received were so weird. Way weirder than me. 9 minutes before our shift ends, TL A told James and I to log out. I happily did it because I thought I needed a break.

He just discussed the new policies, and coached us. I was the one who has the most number of calls handled last week. 1940 calls? They said I’m a monster. James just finished second to me. But my AHT wasn’t that good, but I told them that I have long calls because of confused callers who don’t really know why they’re calling.

I decided to go on shopping. I texted Mom to meet me in SM, at NBS. Just like what we usually do, it’s shopping galore. I bought a lot of stuff that I’ll need tomorrow. You know, I’ll spend the night at my best friend’s house because we’re going to attend Micah’s party.

We went home around three in the afternoon and I went to sleep. I told my mom not to disturb me. And I just woke up. I decided not to go to work because I’ll run late. I just told my TL that I can’t make it to work today due to endometriosis, and I logged and chatted with Aubrey and Jeni.

 I showed the blog to Aubrey. She said it was good. Whoohoo! She read the post about Obama and I told her what I really think. Unlike other people, she didn’t laugh. Instead, she found it intellectual, and we started discussing about books, and other intellectual topics. You’ll never get bored with an intelligent friend, I swear. I really missed her.

I confronted Angela. She said she didn’t say anythin me at all. She asked where I got that, and I told her the source. I’m glad it wasn’t true. because if it is, I’m not sure what to do. So then, I drew the line. I told her that if she have problems with me, she can just tl me straightly, no need to spread rumors.


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Gennaio Venticinque, 1: 23 AM (lunedi)

January 26, 2009 · Filed under present · Tagged , ,

             I couldn’t sleep. I guess it’s because I’m not really used in sleeping during night time. Actually, I just literally woke up.

 

            I told Mom to wake me up for American Idol replays at 5 pm.

 

            So, okay, it’s been a long time since I did this. I don’t know. Maybe, I’m not inspired? Haha. You know the reason, I was busy.

 

            You’re never gonna believe this:

 

1.)    After all those times I was hiding from my former schoolmates, I was finally spotted by one of them, at work. Well, I don’t mind, since he doesn’t know me that much, and why I left that freakin’ school. I just found when I heard that he can’t do OTs because he has to go to school. I asked where he goes, and he told me. I was like, “Really? Where?” I was hoping that he’d tell that he goes to another branch, but heck, no, he said he’s from the same branch I was. And he knows Lane too. Whatever. Well, actually, he didn’t ask why I left. Maybe he did, but I guess I simply told him, “I wasn’t happy there.”

2.)    Jeff from TeleTech texted me. I thought my disappearing act wouldn’t be noticed. And I did my very own “disappearing act” so that no would know that I left already. He was like, “Why did you disappeared?” And I just simply told him, “I wasn’t happy there. “

3.)    I was on my OT, and this familiar pretty girl sitting behind me asked me, “Did you work at HSBC?” I absentmindedly told her, “Yes. Why? But I think I know you. You look like someone from the HR there.” And she answered, “That was me! Why did you leave HSBC?” I simply told her, “I wasn’t happy there.”

 

“The pursuit of happiness.” I wonder where to find it. Whatever.

 

            I’ll start where I left. Like what I’ve said. I’ll be working hard. And I really did. I did pre-shifts and post shifts OTs all week long. And the people at work were like, “What are you gonna do with all that money?” Ha! They don’t know that I’m always broke. I always reply, “Matindi ang pangangailangan, eh.” Well, if you say that, there are no follow up questions, unlike last week, when I was asked the same question, and I replied, “I’m gonna buy something,” and there’s a lot of questions to follow like, “What?” or “Why?” Whatever.

 

            Yay! There’s American Idol again! I watched the season premiere, and I could tell that this season is gonna be crazy. I enjoyed the last season very much, and I think the new batch of crooners will have a hard time to live with the viewers expectations because previous batch was great. I haven’t picked my bet yet.

 

Sunday (early in the morning):  I was about to go home when I caught Angie’s eye. You know what, she’s really okay. I don’t care if she’s arrogant or whatever as long as she doesn’t mean harm to me. She asked, “Are you friends with Angela?’ I was stunned. Does it appear that I’m not already? It’s true that I dislike her because of her tactless personality and back-stabbing deeds, but really, I’m not mad at her or something. I hesitantly said, “Yes, and why?”

 

            Hesitantly also, she told me, “I don’t mean to make you guys hate each other, but the last time I saw you in the washroom, she saw you and told Arcel, ‘May bumagay rin sa thighs nya.” I was like, what the heck? You know what, I don’t know. I tried being assertive, arrogant, temperamental and opinionated before and people hated me. Now I’m being Miss Spice-and-Everything-Nice (means I’m patient, I don’t give out comments, soft-spoken, generous, un-assertive and all) there are still people who dislike me. But don’t get me wrong. I don’t give a DAMN. I’ve been through a lot, and she’s just one in front of me right now. I drew the line before; I told her if she has problems with me, she can tell me straightly. There’s no need for that back-stabbing tirade she always does.

 

            Well, that’s the way she is. Like what Ira said, she has a strong personality and she’s opinionated. In fact, I’m quit impressed. She’s really good. I saw her scorecard and I could be never half-way to what she accomplished.

 

            I told Angie, “Well, that’s the way she is. “ I said my goodbye and went home. I’ll confront her and talk to her. Enough of that “disappearing act” that I always do. I think it’s time for me to settle down in one place for a longer time that I usually do in schools and other offices.

 

Later that day, we had two caterings, but I wasn’t able to show up with any of those because I was busy catching with my full-eight hours of sleep, which I barely do now. It was evening when I realized that I don’t wanna miss our catering gig, so I showed up one of those. I was wearing this really tight shirt, and some of the dudes were looking at it. Gosh. I thought that was a wedding? Why were they drinking so much? I left and went with Cha, Ate Edna and Jed. They all said I lost weight.

 

On our way to their house, I saw Maricar. She was like, “Is that you? Why did you lose so much weight?” I just giggled, smile and giggled some more. Haha.

 

She asked me I could help her through APAC. I said I’ll do everything I can. All she needs to do is to be confident and spontaneous. We agreed to meet on Tuesday morning, at my office. Janice was back from Finland, so to keep in touch with her; I bought prepaid credit and called her. Line was so choppy, so I decided to hung-up and just text her. Bizz was nowhere to be seen. I hope she’s alright.

 

I ate gulaman salad for dinner at Ate Edna’s house. We went back to Woodsite II and Mom told me to go home because they’re going to our other catering at Citta Italia. I said I’ll just go home. So I went home, and watched TV. I watch a local movie, which stars Richard Gutierrez and Marriane Rivera. I’m no fan of both, but it was good, I could say. But there’s one thing I noticed about Richard; he always plays rich kid in the movies.

 

I texted Mark and asked him to go jogging. I kinda missed him. He’s fun to hang-out with. And I never saw him when he got a new girlfriend. Gosh. He didn’t reply, until the next day.

 

I was up at exactly five am. I got dressed and went jogging. I was alone, because Krissie didn’t know I was gonna run that day.

 

And everyone was like, “Wow! You lost weight!”  Nah. I didn’t. I was just wearing black Nike shirt and black sweat pants. It made me appear thinner. So I ran extra few miles, saying hi and hello back to old, boring people that say hi and hello to me.

 

After that, I went home and went online. There were few offline messages from him. He hopes to TTYL. But how? He never gets online. Maybe he had change. Maybe he’s just saying that. Maybe he doesn’t like me anymore and he’s just detaching from me slowly. I need to get over him first, before he does. But trust me, this is real. What I feel for him is real, and I’m just shy to admit that. Nuff said. 

 

I checked my phone and there were several text messages from Mark. It says “Gine, sorry for the late rep. Di ako naka-pag-jogging kasi may ubo ako. Buti naman naalala mo ako….” And so on. I forgot. I really hate it when people call me “gine”. You know what, I think Mark has weak lungs. He always got cough or whatever.  

 

I waited for him. No sign of him. I logged out and went to sleep.

 

I went to work later that night. It’s my first time to spend Martin Luther King Jr Day in a call center. It’s like a usual day; we’re so busy, taking in calls from people who really needed our help. Seriously. Haha. And of course, I did four hours OT. What’s new? It’s as if my body is used to it, it’s no big deal.

 

Maricar arrived at the office, and I asked her to fill out the referral form. I ushered to the pantry and gave her instructions how to nail it. It was my lunch break so I spent my lunch with her and James. The three of us were talking and Joseph Mark Racadio joined us. Before, I think he was cute. Call me mean or whatever, but I think he’s really dumb. I introduced Maricar to them, and we got along fine.

 

Mark R. commented on HSBC; he said that hiring process there was bloody difficult that’s why he didn’t get in. James looked at me meaningfully. He laughed and at my expression. I looked at Maricar and she was looking at me. I just said, “It’s not so bad, Mark. James and I used to work there.” And it shut him up.

 

My lunch was done so I went back to the floor. I decided to go home with Lem. She’s super nice, to tell you the truth. I bought Maricar fries and burger from Jollibee before we left.

 

On our way out of North Gate, Lem mentioned something about Angela. She said Angela has something against me; she was mad at me because I’m always comparing the AHTs. So what? I don’t give a damn. I need to hear more so I decided to go to Festi with her. I picked up a lot of things from her. You know, the gossips. It’s been a long time since I shopped with someone aside from Mom and Mark.

 

We ate at Jollibee, and it’s super girl bonding moment. I found out a lot about Lem. She worked as a preschool teacher in Thailand before and she loves reading books. I told her that we go to Power Books and National Bookstore later. We went to Fusion and we bought Skechers. Actually, I think she doesn’t really like the Skechers platforms, and I just convinced her that it looks good on her, that’s why she bought it.

 

The girl in Fusion still remembers me. She said I should’ve gone there during Christmas because they’re on sale. I bought this pair of ankle-straps Mary Janes Skechers . It costed me a fortune. Well, I don’t really mind because I was really planning to buy that since forever, and now that I’m earning enough, I bought it. We emerged from Fusion with large shopping bags in our hands.

 

We went to Red Girl. I bought this cute top, which was very similar to the purple top that Angela commented on, “But bumagay sa kanya.” Hmp! Lem went to SM and she told me to meet her at National Bookstore.

 

I went to Get Laud and bought the dress that Lem and I saw earlier. I saw a similar style, and I bought that as well. Well, it’s two hundred bucks cheaper than from the brand I usually buy.

 

Then, I went to NBS to meet Lem. They’re out of Twilight. Dang. I confessed to Lem that I lost Tina’s Twilight and that’s why I need a replacement. I bought Sophie Kinsella’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and Steve Berry’s “The Templar Legacy” while Lem bought a Mark Haddon book.

 

I went home. Mom was happy with all the stuff I bought. She excitedly ripped the shopping bags and asked me to try those things. She was really impressed with the Skechers. The brown dress was really sophisticated. I hope he sees me on that. It shows what he wants to see. Haha.

 

I gave her some money because I was so guilty that I didn’t take her with me. But she was extremely happy with what I gave her. Duh, it’s 40% of my salary. It’s three in the afternoon when I finally went to bed. I drifted off to a peaceful sleep as I conceptualize what I was gonna wear to work later.

 

I woke up and decided to wear the new top I bought. I paired it with a mini-skirt. Off to work. As usual, it’s boringly action-packed. The never-ending drama of the pharmacists filled my ears for twelve hours. I thought the inauguration of Obama will shut them for a moment.

 

Honestly, I don’t get why Obama is phenomenal. But you know what, I think he’s the antichrist. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a religious fanatic or whatsoever, but he’s too good to be true. If I tell someone what I think, they’ll think I’m just being crazy. I told Mom, and she said, “Where did you get that crazy idea? He’s a Christian!” See! Even my own mother thinks that I’ve gone crazy.

 

In fact, I don’t care about the antichrist, but I think it’s him. From a girl who loves pink stuff and obsessed-with-shoes’ perspective, he’s the antichrist. Why do I think so?

 

1.)    Barack Obama is so popular: indeed true. I don’t know why. That could be because of his New World Campaign and One World Religion. You see, he’s fighting for the Muslim people’s right to vote in the US, and yet, he’s saying that he’s Christian, befriends Israel and pulls out the forces in Iraq. For me, he’s trying to break the differences of the people when it comes to religion so that it would be easier for him to inflict the One World Religion.

2.)    He’s persuasive: Listen and watch to those speeches he does. Always standing ovation. Even his former rival Hilary Clinton endorsed him. In reality, it’s impossible. Impossible like Ateneans cheering for La Salle cagers, or Letranites supporting San Beda in one of NCAA heated match. At the heat of the campaign, Hilary surrenders and endorses him. What did he do to her? Maybe, they talked privately and Hilary realizes how charming he is. Which reminds me of:

3.)    He’s charming: Charming in a way that you can’t say no to him. Has anyone said no to Obama? Celebrities were all on his side: Jay Z, Anne Hathaway, Oprah, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, you name it. Even Lindsay Lohan, who does nothing but to get controversial by making out with everyone, doing drugs, getting arrested because of DUI, passing out because of hard partying and dating a lesbian, pledged her all-out support to Mr. Obama.

4.)    He’ll rise quickly: they say antichrist will quickly rise out of nowhere. True. He literally rose quickly out of nowhere. Last season of American Idol, he gave a speech in Idol Gives Back, and he was just then “Sen. Barack Obama.” And now, new season of American Idol has barely started yet, and he’s now “Pres. Barack Obama.”

5.)    He’ll come out from unexpected race: True. Does everyone knows where is Kenya? Or the “Luo” ancestry.

 

Well, I told James about it, and he said I was hilarious. Well, whatever. Don’t expect the antichrist to be boring, robotic, dull and look nerdy. How he’ll be able to persuade people if he’s looks like the creepy antichrist we see in the movies? Of course, he has to be soft-spoken, charming, gentle, well-educated, kind and everything nice at first, to win the people’s trust.

 

They say I shouldn’t judge Obama or whatsoever, because I don’t know him personally. True. Who does know the antichrist, anyway? Of course, these are just my opinions. Well, nobody cares about my opinion right? Haha. I’ll bet, after several months, Kofi Annan will resigned and give up his seat as UN secretary-general to give way for Pres. Obama.

 

But I’m watching out for the rapture of the church. I can sense that it’ll take place these days, so I’d better go to church next week and be kind to others.  

 

James left early, so I was stuck alone with tenured reps. I took a break and went to 7-11. Look who’s there: Marky in his green La Salle jacket and his new girlfriend. I thought he saw me, but looked away, but I squealed, “Mark!” Then, he turned on me and looked surprised, but indeed, happy to see me. “Gine!” He exclaimed. Puh-lease.

 

I asked him how he was (he has cough, remember) and he said it’s still there. He asked me what I was doing there, and I told him I was on my fifteen, and I need to grab something to eat. Then, he pulled his girlfriend, April, and introduced me to her. I looked down on her and she smiled sweetly at me. “Hi, April, I’m his friend, I said.” Oops, no comment. I thought he sees me as friend now only because I’m not a stunner. Thought I said no comment.

 

And then, his girlfriend turned around to pay for the things they bought, I asked him to go shopping. He said yes. I couldn’t believe how ridiculously I behaved. You know, asking someone out when the girlfriend was within the earshot.  

 

 I went back to the office and started taking calls again.

 

The Day After Pres. Obama’s Inauguration:

 

            I was so bored to death. Can’t wait for my shift to end. For once in a while, the thought of him pops in my mind. Not Obama, I mean. Haha. I wonder what he’s doing right now. I spent half of my lunch time in the washroom, washing my face, brushing my teeth, chatting with Anna and Adaleigh, my washroom buddies (we met each other at washroom only, though we work together). Pretty much, it’s a usually daily routine.

 

            I glanced at my wristwatch. 6:11 am. I heard a super familiar beep.

 

            “Thank you for calling, my name is Regine blah blah blah blah… “ I said. The caller’s name was Angelo, another troubled pharmacist from Pharmerica.

 

            Pretty much, it’s easy. I simply told him to tell the members that they weren’t “dis-enrolled” (that’s how he say that) but their policies expired and tell them as well to contact their HR and bug them to get them another policy for this year.

 

            Then I asked, “Is there anything else that I can help you with?”

 

            “Let me see if I have rejections for today….”

 

“Pilipino ba tayo?” He asked suddenly.

 

I was shocked. I did a quick conversion of what he said to English. My instincts told me to deny it, but I just couldn’t. If I say no, it’ll just prove that I understood him. If I pretend that I didn’t understand and say “I beg your pardon?” he won’t believe it because I’m a lousy liar. Fine.

 

            “Oh my gosh.” I mumbled. “Yes.”

 

            “Talaga?”

 

            “How did you know?” I asked. I started to panic. I wasn’t used to talking in English while the person I’m talking to is talking in the vernacular.

 

            “May narinig akong nagmura sa background.” He said. Crap. It was Rafael, on mute, swearing.

 

            I should’ve told him to speak in English, like what I usually do Spanish callers. You know, they ask, “Hablas espanol, senorita?” and I say right away, “No, senor, yo soy no hablo espanol, lo siente perdon. Nosotros Ingles, por favor,” so on and force them to talk in English, by threatening that I’ll hang-up on them if they don’t.

 

            “So, anong oras pasok mo?” Asked Angelo. I really didn’t know how to reply.

           

            “Actually, I just had my lunch,” I replied, as I scrolled down the screen. I answered far from his question, I realized. “My shift starts at ten.”

 

            “Eh di pauwi ka na nyan?”

 

            “I still have four hours.” I answered. Crap. And while I was working on his concern, here’s how our conversation went:

 

Angelo:             So, that’s like, ten to ten?

Regine:             Yes.

Angelo:             San ba yang, san ba yang call center niyo? Nagpunta kasi ako diyan eh

Regine:             You guess.

Angelo:             Makati?

Regine:             No. You’re far.

Angelo:             Ortigas? Di ba dun marami?

Regine:             No. Still far.

Angelo:             Magbigay ka naman ng clue. Balintawak? (I had a good laugh at that. It would be   funny to see a call center in Balintawak)

Regine:             Fine, we’re here in Alabang.

Angelo:             Ah!!! Alabang. Alam mo ba dati, nag-apply ako sa call center, hindi ako natanggap?

Regine:             Why? What happened?

Angelo:             Mashado raw akong slang.

Regine:             No, you’re good.

Angelo:             (He laughed). Salamat. Ano magagawa ko, I was born here. Magtagalog           ka nga. Pero in fairness, ang galling mo umi-English.

Regine:             You’re slang, they said? Well, we prefer neutralized accents (take note of the “s”, haha. grammatical error.)

Angelo:             Oh. You’re accent is neutralized nga eh.

Regine:             I do apologize, but we’re not allowed to talk in the vernacular. (then, I told him about the problem on his concern and gave the solution). Is there anything else that I can help you with?

Angelo:             Teka, meron pa ko dito. (I laughed. That’s perfect Filipino attitude. Kung pwede ka makalibre ngayon, gawin mo na.)

Regine:             Sure! (He gave me some prescription numbers)

Angelo:             So, nag-aral ka ng pharmacy tech?

Regine:             The what? Ah. No. I didn’t even finished college.

Angelo:             Talaga? Pero ang galling mo umi-English! (Haha)

Regine:             Really? Haha!

Angelo:             Talaga! Oo!

Regine:             Really? Haha. Is it okay if I place you on because I need more time to work on this?

Angelo:             Oo naman!

 

            I placed him on hold. I pressed mute and laughed. Raffy and James looked at me. James asked, “Why?” I told him that there’s a noypi on my line. I went back to my caller.

 

Regine:             Thank you for patiently waiting. The claim was blah blah blah blah blah (and I explained that I need to transfer him over somewhere)

Angelo:             Sige, wag nalang. Ano nga ulet name mo?

Regine:             I’m Regine, sir.

Angeol:             Regine? As in Regine Velasquez?

Regine:             Ew!!!!

Angelo:             Haha!!!

Regine:             Would there be anything else?

Angelo:             Aha, marami ka pa time. Huh?

Regine:            Sure.

Angelo:            Here’s another…. Ano ginagawa niyo jan?

Regine:             Accepting calls. Actually, there are many of us. Like, 350 people per floor.

Angelo:             Wow! Parang call center din trabaho ko di, kaso mag-isa lang ako.

Regine:             Haha!!! But all in all, we’re like, 2, 000 people.

Angelo:             Wow, ang galling, ang ganda siguro jan, noh!

Regine:             Of course. Would there be anything else?

Angelo:             Wala na eh. Ano extension mo? Para pag tatawag ako, sayo nalang?

Regine:             Let me see if that is possible…. (well, you could get my cellphone number, I told  

                         myself.) Sorry, I don’t have.

Angelo:             Sayang naman.

Regine:             Just call back and ask for me, next time, Alrighty? Thank you for calling, and have a  

                          good day.

Angelo:             Salamat, ikaw rin, ha?

                       

            Good luck to him. Haha. He’d never find me again, does he realize that? Hello, we’re 350 here on the second floor. He’s just lucky if he do that. And last time, I laughed non-stop at the lady who called me and she requested to be transferred to Mary. Hahahaha. Mary who? Mary Christmas? Haha. The point is, there’s a lot of Marys in the floor. And sometimes, it’s not even their real name.

 

            That call set the mood for this week.

 

Friday: I wore my brown dress. It looks good on me. Even the Operations Manager noticed. They noticed that I’m back on my glam style. It’s normal work day for me, except that I felt like eating something, after shift. So I bought two boxes of donuts from country style. I texted Carl not to leave the house because we’ll have a little bonding moment when I get home.

           

            I dropped to the market to buy fruits. All eyes were on me. Well, not on me, but on my dress. I bought a lot of fruits and went home. We spent the Saturday morning eating, watching TV and telling stories to keep up. I finally went to bed around 1 pm, but I didn’t sleep yet. I finished reading Confessions of a Shopaholic.

 

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC

By: Sophie Kinsella

 

            I see some parts of myself in Rebecca Bloomwood’s character. Like me, she loves shopping as well. But she’s gorgeous, and works as a financial journalist in a boring magazine.

 

            She uses credit cards to pay for the items she buys, but she seldom pays the bank. She buys unpractical stuff, like bowls, cards, stationeries and all. To pay for her debts, she tried cutting back, but of course, as a natural shopaholic, it’s not gonna work, so she tried the other way around, which is MMM (Making More Money). She tried working part-time as saleslady in a fashion boutique, but ended up getting fired because she hid a pair of jeans from a customer because she wanted to buy it.

 

Her love interest was Luke Brandon, a rich PR man. Actually, she wasn’t really interested to him at first, because she thinks he’s super serious and scary.

 

Becky borrows 20 quid from Elly, another journalist, during a press release, and she was overheard by everybody, including Luke. Elly doesn’t have money that time, so Luke lends her, after she said she’ll buy a present for her dying aunt. Actually, she’ll use the 20 quid to buy a scarf at Denny and George, which costs 120 quid (she has a hundred.)

 

Later that day, when she bought the scarf, she bumps into Luke. Luke commented how generous she was.

 

Suze, Becky’s flatmate celebrates her birthday, and they went with Suze’s cousins, Anna and Tarquin, to a restaurant, wherein Becky met Luke, who was with his parents. Mrs. Brandon commented how lovely the Denny and George scarf was, and Becky told them that her aunt left the scarf to her when she died.

 

After few days, Then, she applied for a banker position in some European bank, and she put “Fluent in Finnish” in her profile. But when she meets her employer from Bank of Helsinki, who doesn’t speak English that well, in an interview, she ran away.

 

Becky bumps into Luke. Luke takes her to shopping, and they bought a Louis Vuiton luggage for Sacha, Luke’s girlfriend. Then, they went to lunch. Becky was offended when Luke told her that he has a girlfriend. Becky was disappointed and walks away from lunch.

 

Philip, Becky’s boss sent her to a fair, to cover for the magazine. She sees Luke there, and she avoided him and socialized with others. She bumps into Derek Smeath, the manager of the bank where she owes so much. In short, Derek Smeath threatened to do legal actions if she doesn’t pay. Becky goes back to her parents’ house.

 

Martin and Janice, their neighbors, told Becky that they lost all their investments to a windfall, because they were offered a bigger amount of lump sum. Honestly, I actually didn’t get it that much because I don’t know that much about finance. She felt guilty because she advised them to do so, and she found at that the old couple was tricked by the insurance plan.

 

Becky worked on her article, more likely an expose about Flagstaff, which is one of Brandon Communication’s major clients, and passed the article to The Daily World, because she’s friends with Eric Foreman, the old editor she met in some press release. Then, Becky becomes controversial, and she was invited by Morning Coffee to appear in an episode. Flagstaff sends its most powerful PR force, which is the Brandon Communications, including Luke, himself. They had a debate in the show, and Becky single-handedly won the debate.

 

After the show, Luke asks her out; he broke up with Sacha. Derek Smeath appears on the show, and Becky promised to pay back. Eric Foreman paid Becky 400 quid for the article, and Morning Coffee hires her to be the finance consultant on a segment. Yay!

 

Becky and Luke went out; they ate at The Ritz, and they did some stuff. You know what I mean.

 

            The book ended as Becky calls Derek’s assistant to cancel on their meeting, because she’s spending time with Luke and she sends a check, worth 1000 quid.  

 

            I thought Sophie Kinsella sucks. It’s my kind of read, actually. 9 out of ten stars. Much better than the last book I read (Twilight). Haha. You know what, I really see myself into her. She’s a shopaholic, she writes and she’s unlucky, most of the times.  Actually, I tried writing about mortgages, home loan, refinance and all, but I found it really boring, so I quit and just worked in a call center. Can’t wait to buy the next book.

 

            And yesterday, I slipped into my pink dress and went on my RD OT work. Ada Jessica commented that she sees me seven days a week in the office. She wants to know I feel tired a bit. Of course, I do. But what can I do? I need the money.

 

            I went home, logged in. I found his offline message. He said he’s fine, and TTYL. Gosh. He doesn’t like me anymore. I waited for him and while I was doing that, I checked my msn. I have a lot of unread messages and I started checking boxes, because I will delete them. Then, there’s this 123cards, dated last Dec. 25. And below, there’s his email address written on it. Oh my gosh. He sent me a card, and I never read it. It was sent twice, on different dates. I opened it quickly. It says:

 

Hey there,

Just wanted to say, my best Christmas Wishes to you and your family. Happy Christmas! My only regret is that we can’t spend it together…

The best I can do is wish you well, and that you have a great Christmas.

And even though there is quite the distance separating us, you are still in my thoughts, as always. Who knows? Maybe one day we can celebrate together…

Sincerely Yours,

 

            Tears dwelled in my eyes. He never says things like this. I hope he meant this. I replied to his offline message. And right now, I just cried. I re-read the card and coincidentally, I’m listening to Ruben Studdards “Flying Without Wings.”

 

            I waited some more. Look who showed up. Charlie. Yup. Charlie. Now I know my remedy about him. Before he goes melodramatic, I should go on and be melodramatic first, so that he’d forget his own problems.

 

            How did he know I think he’s boring? I really do think he’s boring, because of conflicting interest. You know, he likes Cascada and water polo, while I play volleyball and basketball and dig PCD and Boyce Avenue.

           

            And for some unknown reasons, we talked about marriage. He said he’ll marry if he’s here. I don’t know. I have a crush on him before, but now, I feel hollow. I was like, “Really?” And teased him some more.

 

            I said I think “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada was girly, and I told him to try on my dresses and shoes (because he told me before that he liked my dresses), and he was like, “I noticed that you have doubts on my manliness.” Haha. Well, with him being melodramatic and all, some people would think. Nevertheless, he told me that he’ll try on my dresses when we get married. Psh.

 

            It’s six o’clock in the morning already. New day, new week. More later.

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GETTING THE BEST HOME LOAN RATES

January 26, 2009 · Filed under present

Struggling to find secured home loans? Get tips at http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com as well as secured home loan with low rates.

 

            We people are proven vulnerable to loaning. We simply cannot avoid it. Home loan is the best type of loan you surely first think of. Interest rates are way lower because you have collateral to offer. To make it easier for you, here are some tips that can absolutely helpful in finding the best home loan rate for you:

 

            Know what you want: whether it is fixed-rate or variable rate, you decide. Consider the factors like how much you are making every month, your job status (regular or contractual) or your type of employment (self-employed or you work for others( to determine how much you can manage to pay and how long.

           

            Do not haste in making your decision, because you may end up getting a loan, which is difficult to pay and will make you struggle instead of helping you. Never get a loan without understanding every detail of it.

           

Search and look for best deals. There are numerous creditors out there, with different offers: cooperative banks, mortgage institutions, individual appraisers and commercial banks to name few. Each has different offers such as low interest rates, long-term loans or 3-step loaning process. All you have to do is to contact them, know what they have to offer and study if you have advantage on what they are offering. It is okay if you contact several creditors, but be sure you would not get confused and mistaken with their offers. If you have time, it is much better and advised to make a list of the creditors and you write their offers under them, so it will be easy for you to eliminate and compare.

 

            Then, get on with comparing. With the help of your list, which is highly recommended, you can compare everything without bothering or talking to the creditors. Compare everything: from rates, interests, modes of payments, penalties, risks or even the credibility of the company in order to avoid unwanted surprises later on. Eliminate the creditors that do not have anything good to offer but high interest rates, lack of payment options and impose too much percentage of penalties. If possible, you ask for information about whatever good you see in their offer to make sure that there is no hidden agenda behind the good offer. Give yourself enough time to compare prices, consider the rates and penalties. Check also if they had a license to prove their authenticity.

 

            Eliminate also creditors from newly-established institution as well as small companies because they needed to raise more money than other companies to establish. In order to do that, they offer you things like low interest rates or easy payment modes to trap you in penalties.

 

            Calculate if ever you have doubts on the computation showed by the creditors. You can ask and it is your right to know how they got that particular computation. Do not believe the computations typed in flyers and print advertisements, as well as online, unless, you talked to somebody from that company and it is all proven true. You can ask them to explain about their own offers and if you think you missed or did not understand something, try to clear it by asking again. Narrow your choices by eliminating until you the perfect home loan for you.

            When you are through comparing and finally finished choosing the one that suits you, start inquiring. Go to their office and negotiate. Try if you can make them lower the interest rates. Remember, before signing the contract, read it and analyze it. Be sure to be able to understand all the things written in what you are going to sign, because once you have signed it, alteration cannot be done unless you convince the creditor to do so. Also, repeat what you originally agreed to avoid trouble.

            Be wise. It is better to spend more time deciding than to spend more money paying interests.

            Visit http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com to find better deals in home loans.  

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EASY HOME LOAN REFINANCE

January 26, 2009 · Filed under present

Get rid of bills and loan-related tension. Find the best loan terms that suits you and your paycheck at http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com

 

Are you running out of cash and still have bills to pay ahead? Then, home loan refinance is for you! Home loan refinancing can lend you money ahead of your loan paying terms and deadlines. All you have to do is to pledge your property as collateral and you will get to refinance your existing loan obligations with better and more suitable terms for you.

            Home loan refinance offers to extend your paying time in order to pay your other loans in a low interest. It is just like revising your old loan, replacing it with another loan, but you sign a better terms and extending the payment schedule for paying the debt. This is one of the most affordable methods to have additional funds because it features lower interest rates compared with other kinds of loans.

            In other words, home loan refinancing can be adjusted or programmed the monthly payment you owe on your other loans just by changing the loan’s interest rate. You can change the paying terms in a lower rate because you pledge your property as collateral. You don’t have to worry paying different bills in different times because it can be arranged to pay all your debts in one payment.

            You will have the money in one lump sum of cash so that you can pay your other bills, and you will still have extra cash to use in whatever things you like, such as improving your house, getting a dream vacation, buy stock shares or just keep the money in your savings.

 

            But don’t you worry! Refinancing is designed to suit your paycheck. You get to pay only one bill every month. You don’t have to worry; get rid of the bills and get rid of stress! The best thing about refinancing is you have cash ready to be spent anytime, anywhere, without thinking twice of the worry.

By refinancing an adjustable-rate mortgage into a fixed-rate one, the danger of sudden increasing of interest is removed, making sure a constant interest cost in a given period of time. Once you refinance, you are assisted to pay other debts such as your old loans and credit cards, with lower interest than everyone could imagine.

There are minimal penalties when you fail to pay the loan on time due weak cash flows, but you can pay it entirely in a portion if you the cash flows get better. You can consolidate the single-bill payments in a time, but you have to finish paying the loan in the given period of time.

You may have a larger total interest cost during the loan span, but given that you have lower initial payments, it’s “easier to be done than said”. You can also choose what best suits your cash flow: you can pay low initial payments and have a large total interest cost or you can pay a higher initial payment and a lower total interest cost. It’s up to whether you choose the first or the latter, at least, your worries are lesser than before, given the fact the you pay a single bill everytime. You may not even know it.

Borrowers are required to pay a certain percentage of the total loan amount as part of the contract of refinancing loan. So, when you get the lump sum of money, you pay a certain percentage ahead of time. Paying ahead of deadlines can be helpful for your refinance, because as soon as you get rid of the obligations, you can start all over again refinancing, having cash at hand always, and living an easy life.

So, even if your credit record is bad, you have no reason not to enjoy the benefits of financial freedom.

In addition to that, nothing beats the fact that you are not trapped in many loan and credit liabilities; you are free of stress and pressure from other loan obligations.

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HOW TO AVOID HOME LOAN FRAUD

January 26, 2009 · Filed under present

Don’t get into trouble. Find real low home loan interest rates at http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com

 

            Don’t make yourself one of the many victims of predatory lending. If you decided to get a home loan, better know something about it. You might get tempted in some low-interest home loan offers that looked so good to be true. Ask further information and check the credibility of the lender before applying and getting the loan. Look for better deals, calculate and seek professional help. Some lending fraud offers you low home loan interest rates, and their intentions of foreclosing the house early is very well hidden.

 

            In order for you not to get “trapped” in a home loan, here some steps and guidelines in avoiding home loan fraud:

 

1.) Give yourself enough time to look and compare prices of the houses. Picture what you really wanted and narrow the choices by eliminating. Avoid sticking with one lender or broker. Lenders who claim and try hard to convince you that they are what you need to own a house are absolutely fraud. If you notice that they don’t answer your direct question, and jump into another topic right away without further explaining drop it. Look for a new lender.

 

2.) If you are asked to sign some forms as part of the requirements, read carefully and understand what those forms are for. Don’t sign right away and check all the pages to make sure that you don’t get into some unwanted contracts. Check also if the information are all true, and if something is not clear, ask for further information. If the lender gives you the one-line, unsatisfactory answers, or refuses to give more information, look for another. 

 

3.) Make sure that the prices are right and you can afford it if you finally get to choose the one that suits you. Before closing the deal, repeat what you heard from the lender and if that were the things you agree upon since the beginning matched, you go for it. But if not, look for another lender.

 

4.) If you are asked to tamper some of your own documents and claims to get the loan, it’s fraud. Do not say also having ready cash for the down payment if you happened to have savings to appear more persuasive and hard to convince.

 

5.) Clear whatever you did not understand. Before signing a deal, think about the decision you are going to make, analyze the pros and the cons and if have any doubts or bad feeling about it, don’t go for it. Calculate once again and see if the advantages are really in your side. If you are not sure yet, tell the broker that you will think about it and they bug you out and looked like not willing to let you go until they closed the deal, do not be intimidate. State firmly your side why you are thinking twice.

 

6.) If the property costs higher than it look like, do not sign the deal, as well properties with overly low rates. Low home loan interest rates maybe a way to get you sign the deal, and you will just realize after you sign the contract you are ought to pay more than you thought or penalties are high.

 

7.) If you really needed cash for an emergency, do not apply and sign a home loan yet. Think if you can pay back, or the need of cash is a real emergency, because lenders may use the opportunity to trap you in kind loan you do not want.

 

8.) Please, please avoid refinancing multiple times because your house will lose its value.

 

9.) Do not borrow money unless you needed to. Make sure that you only borrow what you need and what you can afford to pay back. If you made the wrong decision by borrowing more than you can afford to pay, the chances of losing your property will increase.

 

10.) Make sure that you are getting the right appraisal and the interest rates are fair, or if possible, it favors your paying schedule. Do not hesitate to inform the lender that you are thinking twice about it because the interest rates seemed not fair for you and they get higher benefits. If the lender lowers the interest rates, do not go for it. If they simply insist that that’s the policy, it’s a sign of a good home loan, because they honor the policies and regulations of the company.

 

            Save yourself from trouble. Go to http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com to find genuine home loan offers.

 

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WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO APPLY FOR HOME LOAN REFINANCE?

January 26, 2009 · Filed under present

Is really now the best time to refinance a home loan? Find out in http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com

Are you thinking twice of refinancing? If you just decided that now is the proper time for refinancing, maybe you had chosen the right thing to do. You may have tons of bills to pay ahead, the deadlines are coming, your cash flow is poor and you are worrying to death; refinancing is the best solution you ever had.

If you plan to stay longer than the refinance term, it’s better to do it now because time is wearing out. Don’t procrastinate, so that you can finish paying the loan ahead of time and give way to your other plans in life. For instance that you didn’t get to finish the loan in the set term, you are always free to extend again the paying terms. Worry a little about the rates because the more you expand the time, the lower the rates will be.

If you are not convinced yet that this is the perfect time for refinancing, you better tell yourself that there’s no other way that you can borrow such big amount of money in a minimal procedure these days. Pledging your home is the best collateral that you can ever give to the lenders. In addition to that, you may have longer payment schedules but mostly, with a lower interest rate.

When you add all the payments you are going to make when you refinance, obviously, you pay much larger cost, but given the fact that the payment deadlines are extended and the interests are lower compared to any other loans, this way preferable.

Refinancing your home loan is the best move for you, since you cannot simply get another loan without involving collateral. Think about how you can save money in the long run and how you are going to be financial-free individual with only a single bill to pay for a long time. Applying for it will be like uniting all your bills, and when you get the lump sum, you pay ahead, keep what is left and worry a little for the single bill you have to pay for the home loan refinancing.

By using you home as collateral, you can borrow money and have it in no time! Don’t wait to drain yourself out of cash, apply for a home loan refinance now. The sooner you apply, the sooner you get the lump some of money that you can use to pay your other bills. You will be relieved from stress because you don’t have to worry in paying other bills.

            We offer to extend your paying schedule plus you can choose the best payment mode that suits you. Home loan refinancing tends to replace your old existing loans by a new one, which can help you pay your olds loans and you can use whatever money is left in whatever way: upgrade your house to increase its value, pimp your ride, put it on savings, invest properties or simply spend it on a summer getaway.

 

            Besides extending the payment schedules, you can alter it the other way. You don’t have to wait for the payment terms to finish if you can pay the loan earlier than you set.

Since it’s adjustable, you don’t have to waste your time worrying for interest costs because all you have to do is to expand the payment schedule. For example, you signed for refinancing and you pay the home loan set within five years. If you don’t complete it due to cash and resources problems, you can adjust it and extend the loan from five years to ten years, depending on what you think is best for you.

           

If you decided and already refinanced, be glad about it because you can finally have you home upgraded. Improving the doors, painting the walls of your home, replacing ceiling, and redesigning the whole area could increase its value, and it is the best investment you can have. The longer you keep the house, the greater its equity and value will be in the future.

           

Here in http://www.homemortgageloan-refinance.com, we offer you the lowest interest rates as possible to make living easy for you.

 

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Gennaio Undici, 5:12 PM (domenica)

January 25, 2009 · Filed under present

Gennaio Undici, 5:12 PM (domenica)

 

            At last! I’m able to do a post. I’ve been busy for quiet some time, with all the holiday hype, and of course, my job.

 

            You know what, it’s my dad’s birthday today. But what’s the point? He’s dead already.

 

            So, okay. I don’t remember that much what I did these past weeks. I guess I just went to work regularly, and I go home after that to rest and sleep, and when I wake up, I go to work again.

 

            My Auntie Noem, her two kids and Kaye went home before New Year. Having them here in our house for, like a week, left me broke. So it’s just us during New Year’s Eve. Just like Christmas, we had the dinner early because I had to go to work.

 

            I went to work, as usual. I sat into my usual station, fixed my system and got ready for my shift. When it was time, I started taking calls. Boy, people in the US don’t really give a damn about anyone who celebrating their New Year. They don’t care at all, as long as they can what they need from you.

 

            It was 11:59 PM. I looked around. Everyone was on their calls. Somebody pulled the blinds up, and I saw the clear, dark sky from where I sat. My caller had no idea what time it was out here. My seatmate, Faye, removed her head set and started to talking to her friend, who was sitting at her left side.

 

            I remember what it was like last year. I was in front of my computer last year, answering emailed greeting and texts of my friends. Now, I barely had time to do that. I was busy talking and helping a demanding American.

 

            New Year ticked off. Outside, the dark sky cleared up. It’s beautiful! I love fireworks so much. It’s the second best thing I like in the world, after flowers. It’s so sad. The caller had no idea that I was spending the first seconds of my year, antagonized by her. Hello, can I get a “Happy New Year” from you? It was so sad.

 

            I muted my phone. Oliver was there. He hugged and kissed me on the cheek.

 

            “Happy New Year!” he said.

           

            “Happy New Year too!” I replied. I went back to my caller. Everything was okay.

 

            “Ma’am, don’t worry, I’ll be glad to help you with that,” I told her. A minute passed, it’s 12:01 am already. That’s how I started 2009.

 

            The next day, I went online to if he was on. I waited, but he didn’t. I just received an offline message from him. Well, I was glad that he still remembers me.

            I went to Aunt Baby’s house, because my family was there and we had our breakfast there. I was so tired so I went to Aldrin’s bedroom and slept there. Nobody goes there, even Aldrin because it was so dark. Perfect. I went to sleep. First day of the year, when everybody was celebrating, I was sleeping.

 

            I woke up, we went home and I slept again.

 

            The next day, I went to work, like as usual.

 

            Last week, I got my pay. I can’t believe it. I just earned 10, 000 bucks just in two weeks. Well, my hard work paid off. My mom was behind me when I withdrew my salary. She saw the shock in my face. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

 

            “Nothing.” I told her. I was all-smiles. The bad aura I got from not getting enough sleep that day went away.  Mood had change, and I was feeling like I had full 16-hours of sleep.

 

            “Let’s go, and buy me a donut,” I said. She bought me a doughnut. I didn’t tell Mom the truth. I said it was big but I didn’t tell her the exact amount, because I was so sure that she’ll borrow it. You know, I wanted to save it for the future.

 

            So we went shopping for groceries. I bought two dresses and a pair of jeans. Until now I couldn’t believe that I was spending that much. Well, that’s because I’m earning that much. My mom was worried that I’d spent all of my money in one day so she’s like, “Hold it, there’s next time.” If she just knew, haha. Well, she’ll know, I guess, because she’ll check my pay slip. I have no privacy here. It’s a private thing, you know. But my mom had no idea what privacy means. She checks my cellphone, my mails, my pay check, my bags, my things. It’s not that I mind or something because I don’t really have that much secret, but the thing is, I’m a grown-up already. I need to have PRIVACY.

           

            My brothers liked the dress. Ryan Carl said, “You look like a Barbie in that pink dress.”

 

            “Yeah, Barbie- barbeque.” Mom said. Yeah, right.

 

            So now, I’m working full 12 hours. Well, it’s better that I work hard for the things I wanted. The downside: I barely had time to talk to him. I hope that he’ll wait for me.

 

            As of now, I’m really enjoying what I do. Yes, sometimes, things get sour between me and the callers, but it’s nothing personal. They’re not mad at me, but at the situation.

 

            My friend, James, commented, “You’re such a workaholic.” After few days, we’re spending most of our break times together because he’s also in OT. Workaholism is contagious.

 

            And today, I just woke up. I’ve been working since 7 am. James and I plotted our plan. We’ll be working pre-shift and post shift on next week so I need to rest.

 

            I went online before I went to sleep. I was hoping so badly that he’ll go online. I was so happy when I saw my offline messages. He sent me offlines, saying that he’s hoping to catch me online. Oh my gosh. I hope he’s always that sweet.

 

            I talked to my friends Natalie and Rodney. I was so sleepy that I could barely time so logged out and went to sleep.

 

                       

           

           

 

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