It All Started With Hi

A really good friend of mine from high school whom me and our barkada haven't heard from for quite sometime decided to post a mass email giving the rest of us a heads up on whats been going on in her life. That very simple five liner (cant really remember now) email has spawned nearly 100 plus replies that had most of our heads spinning from reading the previous emails just to catch up on what's the current topic and even managed to arrange a birthday bash for one of our friends without her knowing about it even though she is part of the email loop. Now talk about being lost!

To borrow her words..."I'm really loving this email trails of ours"...

It really feels good to be able to connect with people I've known almost half my life.  It brings back all the innocent good times that we've had back in that lil corner of ours we'd like to call Manre where we were keber to the jocks, cheerleaders, diva-wannabes and the nerds. May sarili kaming mundo nun! Pati rin hanggang ngayon actually. Ahaha! But seriously, I'd like to think that the reason behind the friendship that we were able to cultivate and maintain over the years is because of the shared experiences that we've had during those so-called impressionable period in our lives. I guess instead of the world at large leaving its imprint on us, we got a bit too narcissistic and embossed ourselves on one another. LOLZ!

They say that high school is either the among the best time of your life or one of the worse. In my case, its among the former! Nakilala ko kasi sila kaya masaya! Corny, pero totoo!

Top 10 Law Firm Interview Questions

A friend forwarded me this yesterday and since I'm still feeling the blues from my job hunting, I'm sharing this with you guys...And since obviously this was written from a male perspective, there are some questions that DOESN'T apply to yours truly!

One of the worst experiences in law school has been the ritual of
submitting applications for summer employment and then going through a
series of 20-minute screening interviews that would put a marine drill
sergeant to shame when it comes to humiliating and dehumanizing you.
Here are my top-ten (least) favorite questions, and how I actually
answered them as opposed to how I would have liked to answer them.



1. Why are you interested in this firm?



What I said: Your firm handled (insert name of case I read on their
website) which I found to be exciting because it was just like another
case I was reading in this class I got an A in. I've also asked some
(read: none) upper class-men about your office and they said it's a
great work environment.



What I thought:
I looked through your attorney roster and saw that you hire people who
do not appear to have any honors and come from bad law schools. That
made me think that I have a chance to work here.



2. Why did you go to law school?



What I said: I went to law school because I want to be able to make a
difference. Legal work allows me to be competitive and to work for
justice, both of which are important things in my life.



What I thought: That's a good question, and I ask myself it daily. I'd have to say the answer is, stupidity.



3. Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of the kind of work you will do as an attorney?



What I said: Law school has been a challenge, and I think my grades
reflect that. More important than my grades, which by the way have
steadily improved over my academic career, is my dedication to the work
I do. My performance during my summer jobs is the best indicator of how
I will work, and you will find that my previous employers were all
pleased with me (or at least forgot who I am and so will not remember
the fuck ups).



What I thought:
My grades are absolutely a good reflection of how I will work. I will
put in the minimum amount of effort needed to not get fired, and I will
approach my job with contempt and disinterest.



4. What would you say is your greatest weakness?



What I said: My greatest weakness is that I get too personally involved
with my work. For instance, when I am working on trial prep, and then
the case settles favorably, I feel as though it should have gone to
trial anyway, despite knowing that the settlement is what's best for
our firm and our client.



What I thought:
Pussy. If there are any females in your office, you can be certain I
will work twice as hard to get into their pants as I will to make my
billables. And yes, since you require us to bill 1,900 hours, that
means I will be sexually harassing my co-workers 3,800 hours a year.



5. Tell us about a recent mistake that you have made.



What I said: I accidentally misfiled a case at work that was set to go
to trial the next week. As soon as I realized this, I alerted my
supervisor and disaster was averted.



What I thought:
An even bigger mistake I've made has been wasting 20 minutes of my life
in this interview instead of taking a dump, that would have been much
more satisfying and productive.



6. What do you do for fun?



What I said: I enjoy jogging, skydiving, and traveling to exotic countries.



What I thought:
When I really want to have fun, I grab my "Big Butt Sluts # 24" DVD, a
bottle of Bourbon, and a bottle of lube. By the end of the night, both
bottles are empty, and my room smells like jizz and puke.



7. Tell us about your style of leadership.



What I said: I lead by taking the initiative and working proactively with my peers to come up with solutions.



What I thought:
I lead by playing "The Eye of the Tiger" on a boombox while pounding my
fist on the table and shouting insults. (It works, I've done it)



8. If you don't get hired by this firm, what will you do?



What I said: I will analyze what I could have done better during the
interview and take that knowledge with me into my next interview with
[rival firm name].



What I thought:
I will breath a sigh of relief that I won't be working for an asshole
like you. Or I will stalk you and slit your throat. I haven't decided
yet.



9. Do you have any questions for us?



What I said: Will I have a key so that I can come in and work on the weekends?



What I thought: Will I have a key so that I can come in and have sex with my girl friend on my desk on the weekends?



10. We value creativity among our associates. With that in mind, what kind of plant would you be, and why?



What I said: I would be a tree, because they are tall, strong, and live a long life.



What I thought: I would be a tree, so that I could fall on you and kill you

Original URL: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/273595054.html

So that's what it means!

When I was "setting up" this site of mine here in Multiply, I clicked on the option of cross-post to blogger since I have recently resurrected my blog at blogspot.com. I thought that when I type there, the cross-post to blogger option would post what I posted there here at Multiply. It turns out that it was the other way around. Talk about misunderstanding!  Well, now that I know, I guess, I'll be doing most of my blogging here and make the most out of that function. It would be more time-effective that way.

Hmmm...would anyone know how to change the tags that one sees at the home page? If I can remember correctly, I typed those tags when I uploaded some albums from yahoo photos.

Ahahaha! I'm such a dumb dumb today! I scrolled down and found out that I actually didn't have to copy and paste my recently posted entry at blogspot cause I just had to use the Add Blog From: option at the bottom of the page.

Aiyoh! I really need to get hired SOON! My brain needs to be exercised!

Being Nemo For 20 Minutes

Yesterday, I had the privilege of being in a fishbowl...well, minus the water, the pebbles, the fake plants, and of course, the rest of the fishy population. I was the main fish attraction that day. It was my very first panel interview out of the six interviews I've had so far. I've heard of "horror" stories from Ms. Greekie about how confusing panel interviews go--the constant pelleting of questions from your panel, not being able to completely answer their questions because of overlapping and ending up looking like an idiot, not knowing exactly whom to look at if they weren't asking you questions yet and not being able to get a clear vibe from any them just because they were too many or that their vibe were just bouncing off one another and camouflaging one thing for the other. And there is the odd ratio of being 1: against how many that may sit in your panel. Bottom line, odds are always stacked up against the interviewee.

I guess I should be glad that none of those mentioned above happened yesterday. My panel, composed of four, 2 of which were the name partners, were kind enough to allow me to finish answering before launching off on another question, which weren't many actually. For the most part of the so called interview, I just sat there, feeling like I was on display for the 3 panel members who were sitting across from me (the other partner was on my right), listening on them discussing about whether they would expand in terms of office space so that they could decide whether they were going to hire associates. In fact, at the end of the "interview" they told me that that I shouldn't get my hopes too high up on their firm and should actively pursue my other application as they were very much undecided until they've come to a decision on whether they would obtain additional office space. They were, according to them, building up their active file on possible hirees that's why they were doing the interviews. I think if my screws weren't screwed on tight yesterday, I might have taken down notes from their meeting and handed them the minutes afterwards. You know, might as well make myself useful. But since I was there to make a good impression, which I couldn't tell if I did (since to my perception, I might be wrong, their attention weren't exactly on me) but do hope I did, I just sat in my chair, my back straight and alternated between looking at the four of them, giving each one equal attention so that no one would feel the least bit dejected.

The first real interview question (I don't consider the preliminaries or introductory questions as real interview questions cause they are required questions) the partner threw at me was what was my ranking in the batch. When I told him that I didn't get it, he then asked me what ranking was I in my class. I told him again that I didn't know. Personally, I have problems answering that kind of question(s) and with the whole ranking system/procedure or whatever you call it itself. I know its but automatic do (the system and the questioning about it) but to my way of thinking, its highly prejudicial for any interviewer to stereotype the interviewee into a certain category by just by his/her ranking. Does your ranking in your batch/class really enough to determine how well you will do in their workforce? I say it definitely does not and should not! Life has too many variables for one be sized up just on a single number. I'm sure those in the know haven't even begin to fathom the number that could sum up a person so why are these lawyers, who mostly are lawyers because they don't deal well with numbers in the first place, relying so much on numbers in making a decision on whether an applicant should be hired or not?

I may be sounding bitter cause I am. I not going to go finger pointing here cause I know if I do, I've got four pointing my way and rightly so. Aside from the fact that I didn't have any other ambition other than to become a lawyer, I went to law school because it was a challenge and a goal for me. I took it up because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do what I set my mind to. I didn't go there to find out if I was intellectually superior or inferior to anybody else there. I was there to give myself some good ol' mental masturbation. That "selfishness" is the reason why I didn't pay much attention with rankings and all that crap that comes along with it. Going through four years of law school in one of the country's best law schools is enough mental flagellation; I had enough lick wit of sense in me not to add anymore pressure on myself by competing with 177 other people just to get a good ranking. And that, I have to admit, is one of my greatest academic folly. Though I may not lay claim to being the sharpest tool in the shed, I can with pride say I am among those who are most eager, willing and determined to be sharpened further.

I am, again, back to waiting by the phone all day, hoping that it would ring with another call from any of the firms that I've applied to. I really do need to get hired soon. I feel that I'm starting to get dumb doing nothing that requires brain activity day in and day out. There is also that paranoid thought that's creeping up on me that length of time I remain unemployed is in inverse proportion to my chances of getting hired. Further, its going to get harder to explain my unemployed status without coming across as being unhire-able. Honestly, although I'm gaining much experience from the interviews I've had, I'm getting tired of just being interviewed. But what can I do, I'm not with the power of leverage here. I can only hope and follow up so much without irritating the firm's office manager and appearing as an eager-beaver.

*sigh*

Oh daddy Marlin, I do hope you find me soon!

Job Hunting (Mis)Adventures

And misadventures they were! Like what I said 13 days ago, it deserves a stand alone post so here it is...

Mis-adventure number one:
The 3 (Ms. Greekie, Ms. Stewart and yours truly) of us agreed what we'd be wearing "informal casual" (if there was such a thing), i.e. jeans and nice top to distribute our resumes in the corporate jungle called Makati. With all the one way streets in that city, I knew that we'd be walking throughout the morning. I would have worn flats but silly me didnt have any that would match my get up...I really couldnt wear my sneakers since I was wearing a button down pink polo shirt and the only flats that I had in my shoe rack were sneakers. Further, we were going to different law firms which might eventually be our future offices...really didnt want to be remembered as the girl who submitted her resume in jeans and sneakers...In short I was trying to look the part of an aspiring young associate. Hence, I made the very bad decision of wearing heels. And you guessed it, my feet and legs were more than ready to give up and fold on me at the end of the day.

Mis-adventure number two:
My aching limbs and feet were commensurately compensated that day since I received an sms for an interview the very next day from ____ firm (name withheld just for the sake of withholding it...mwahahaha). The only problem for me was that I had to wear heels again when my legs and feet havent even remotely recovered! Not wanting to aggravate my pain any further, I decided that I'd just bring along my heels and change into them before I walk into the firm's office. It was a very good plan if only I had flats to wear to get to the firm. I would have opted to wear my thong sandals but since I was going to wear pantyhose stocking, I had not other choice but wear my Nike slip-on rubber shoes. Nevermind that I'd end up on fashion police's most wanted with wearing that along with my black skirt and violet turtle neck top accessorized with pearl earrings and necklace! Keber na lang ever sa mga taong nililingon ako nung araw na un!

My misadventure didnt end there. It was, as they say, just the tip of the iceberg. As usual, I miscalculated traffic that and was going to be late (I wanted to be in the office at least 10 mins. before my appointment for interview) if I didnt haul my a$$ as fast as my aching limbs could carry me. The elevator of the building that housed the firm only went up to the 7th floor. The firm was on the 8th. So with time running out on me, I just went ahead and changed my footwear in the stairwell that led to the 8th floor, smiling at the woman who came out of the emergency exit that served as the entrance to the floor I was going to. The anxiety and stress that I went through just to get there on time were all for naught as I was called into the conference room around 15-20 mins later by none other than the woman who saw me changing shoes.

Ang buhay nga naman, parang life!

It went downhill from there. To be truthful, the interview felt like it was just a dry run for the real thing! I kept on buckling. I was finding it hard to put together comprehensive sentences to convey my thoughts and answes to her questions. I was totally unpreapared. And like my former, highschool teacher said, "If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail."

Mis-adventure number three:
With the phone still silent way after that disasterous first interview, I did round two of distributing resumes. Having learned my lesson, I now wore flats (which I had specially bought for the "occassion" from DV) to our second hunt. I dont know if it was my feet (which incidentally was called by my mom back when she still bought me shoes, well she still does even today, iron feet because of the rate I could "destroy" my school shoes) or just the length of the walk I took around the Makati CBD (you see, I started from Ayala Ave then to Paseo de Roxas towards A.I.M. and then continued on to Amorsolo, moving towards Cityland 10 which was right beside RCBC and then traversing the length of Valero St. to get to Chattam House (corner of Valero and V.A. Rufino), Herrera Tower & Equitable Towers and finally ending up at Villar St.(Citibank) after dropping off one of my resumes at BDO plaza, almost at the corner of Makati Ave and Paseo de Roxas where Ms. Stewart "rescued me and my aching feet, again) but my flats died on me (as I exited Herrera Tower...good thing that there was a Mini Stop at the building's basement which sold rubber slippers in my size 9!) but not before getting back at me and giving me blisters!

Mis-adventure number four:
This one, which I hope would be my last one, isnt as bad as the others abovementioned but its just as funny. Culling the lessons I learned from my previous misadventures, I arrived almost 2 hours early for my interview at the firm where there's IFOs. I used the time to formulate answers to some of the 100 questions legal interviewers ask that Ms. Greekie found on the net & sent that night before to help us prepare for the interview. While we were waiting for our interviewer to call us in, I thought that my breathe had staled so I decided to eat a Clorets candy, with the thought that I would throw it out when I was called if I havent finished it by that time. I was just half way through the candy when our interviewer came out and asked who shall go first. The non-smiling reception suggested "first in, first out" meaning that I go first since I was the first one to arrive there. With my mind switching to serious interview mode, I totally forgot about the candy in my mouth. I only realized that I still had it in my mouth about 3/4 into the interview! I guess the interviewer didnt mind it since I got a call back from them. Now, Im crossing my fingers (along with everything else that can be crossed) that I'd finally get that last call from them.

9 months or so...

NO! I didnt go and have a baby in the 9 months I've been away...I just got too caught up with living in the real world that I (almost) forgot that I have a blog. I spent the first trimester and a month reading, reading, and reading still; trying to jog my memory of four year's worth of law school lessons in order that I wont be a complete DUH when I take the BAR exams. It was stressful but thank God, I can strive on stress! Would you believe I didn't have a pimple breakout during those times? And when the Sundays came, it just felt like I was taking a finals final! Oh, don't take it that I'm overly confident about the results. I'm just saying it as I felt it back then. Looking back now, it was actually fun being with equally neurotic friends in one hotel and still be able to laugh your way through the stress. I guess that's what made the BAR bearable!

Greekie! Ms. Stewart!Smung! Love you guys!!!

The last month of the second trimester was spent in my father's province with yours truly trying her hand at being a shana! I didn't get to ride any carabaos and whatnot's but I did get to trek through rice fields, hills, cross two rivers and ride a banca almost to the open sea. When I first went there, I thought I'd go crazy with just doing nothing, thinking that they wouldn't even have televisin signals but lo and behold! They have sattelite and cable tv! So I spent most of my days glued in front of the tv and discovered Wowowee and Boom tarat tarat (it was a case of "if you cant beat 'em, join 'em thing) ! I had my fill of seafoods, particularly crabs and clams (yum). Good thing that the quickest means of transportation there was by walking. Otherwise, I could have just floated back to Manila.

Bumming months is what I'd like to call the last trimester. I spent most of it on my back watching DVDs I bought from Quiapo. If not that, I'd be going on thrift shopping sprees in the melee of Divisoria. Then I'd have occassional meals with my friends, both from high school (that would extend to sleepovers) and law school (odeng! sam gyulp...oh something! its so hard to pronounce that korean dish we had! and of course Haute Bangers!). But bumming was fun only until you have people to bum along with and before you bum funds run critically low. To remedy the situation, I started the New Year job hunting along with my former bumming buddies.

...What happened to our jaunt is so interesting, at least from my perspective that is, that I feel it deserves another post altogether...