Texting Capital of the World ...

Well, as I mentioned, I still had to interview a lot of potential candidates the next couple of days, afterwhich, Mike and I will decide who the best one to get. Days passed ... time to decide on who to hire... (this is actually not as complicated as the Apprentice)

Honestly, speaking Cris is not the first choice Mike and I had. In fairness, she is on the top 3 on our list (actually, our second choice). However, due to some circumstances, we decided that she will be a better fit for the position... must have been destiny....

I submitted all the documents to the HR department to have her processed ... Time is money and we had to get that substitute, given that we'll still need to train the new recruit on the in's and out's of the business.

Again, a few more days passed... one night, I was a bit bored and was lying down at my bed... I remembered MariC"h"ristine and was curious if ever she is wondering how her interview went... I felt a bit playful and wanted to tease her a bit... so... I texted her. Yes, for some reason, I stored the mobile number she gave me on my phone (I think she gave me the right number given that the number indicated on her CV is no longer hers).

As I can recall, she didn't actually responded to the message I sent ... not until a few hours ... actually she responded a bit past midnight. When I heard the beep on my cell phone, I wondered who could have texted me at that hour... I looked at my cell phone (at that time I think I'm using my T68i)... Anyway... I got a message from MariC"h"ristine.... interesting... that late... so... one text led to another... until i think it it was already 3 in the morning... geez.. I still have work the next day... but I had fun talking to MariC"h"ristine... A bit flirty and pa-cute din... pero she was kinda sweet too... I did enjoy talking or should I say "texting" her ...

I guess.... that's one of the reasons why the Philippines became the texting capital of the world... =P

The First Meeting ...

January 3, 2003 came... It was a very busy day for me... a long one indeed. I had to interview a lot of potential candidates .... My desk is cluttered with papers ... and I even still had the hang over from the long Christmas holidays... I came in the office that day around 9 or 9:30 AM. I sat down and gathered my thoughts and prepared the things that I needed to conduct the interviews. It will be a panel interview, with my partner, Mr. Mike Balaoing. He is actually the serious and quiet one. I, on the other hand, would ask majority of the questions with a lot of jokes on the side. Yes, I normally crack jokes to give a more relaxing atmosphere to the candidates (especially if I find them really new in this game).

...Fast Forward...

Lunch came. I was a bit tired already from the pile of work that I had for the day, aside from the interviews... I went out for lunch and probably ate at some place near the office (can't remember where). Anyway, I came in around 1 PM. The guard told me that someone is already there (since 12:30 PM) to see me for an interview. I looked at my watch and thought that the next schedule will be at 1:30 PM. She was one hour early... I said to myself. I told the guard that I will meet her for a few more minutes after I freshen up ... Besides, Mike hasn't returned from lunch yet...

Boys will be boys... engineers are already curious who the next candidate was... normal questions would be... "Is she cute?" or "Is she sexy?" ... as if it was a beauty pageant rather than a job interview... Naturally, I was curious too... hehehe... that's why I wanted to freshen up first ... Yeah... Yeah... But still, I am a professional who knows the limits to things... work first before pleasure... =p

... Fast Forward ...

I came out before 1:30 PM to meet this young looking girl. I peeked at the hallway first out of curiousity before I walked towards her. She was very young looking... attractive... and very sexy... She actually looked bored and was tinkering with her cellphone ... I approached her and greeted her Good afternoon (with a very professional voice ... if i may add) ... I introduced myself and apologized for keeping her waiting and told her that we are still waiting for my colleague who will be in the interview as well. I went back inside my Solution Center area or what we normally refer to as the aquarium. I told my team and some engineers that she was actually cute ...

... Fast Forward ...

Mike arrived and I went out again and fetch this young lady ... We passed by the Solution Center area and we waved at some of the people there ... Our electrician, Paul, even whispered to me that the candidate is really pretty and winked at me ... as if I was actually looking for a girlfriend rather than a substitute for one my Solution Center Call Coordinator ... I can't blame them for thinking like that ... they just want me to be happy considering that I had a major disaster with my previous relationship 8 months earlier (this is a different story) ...

... Fast Forward ...

We went to a room that I had reserved for the interview and waited for Mike to come in... I introduced her and we all sat down ...

The Beginning

Back in 2003, a few weeks before I left my previous employer, I was scouting for a potential substitute for one of my team members . It was just the start of the year. I went in the office January 2, 2003 to do my scouting. Only a few of us went in that day (considering that it was the day after the New Year), including one of my colleagues, Mike Balaoing. I had a pile of CVs for review and one by one I tried contacting them hoping to get good potential candidate. Mike approached me and showed me some more CVs to evaluate. I took a glance at them and saw this one CV that is a bit black, given that it was only a photocopy of the original. The CV also has a photocopied picture included (You won't be able to see the actual face because it was so black and only some teeth would show from the smile. I told myself, who in the right mind would send a photocopied CV. I would think that job hunters would try to do their best to impress employers... Anyway, I continued on reading all the resumes that I had on my desk. One by one, I tried calling them. I was able to contact a few...

Now, which one do we select.... hard to look for good suppliers...

Just relaxing at Enchanted Kingdom....

A collection of memorable pictures ....

The BIG Question popped at UCC at the Podium, Ortigas

"THE GIFT" that will determine my future....

This is it... "THE BIG" Preparation...