Oh Tapos?! Unang Linggo

Sandali, bago ko simulan ang kwento ko tungkol sa mga unang araw ko sa bansang Singapore eh magrereklamo muna ako. Hwag mag-alala dahil hindi naman ito tungkol sa bansa natin o sa mga krimeng nangyayari diyan.

Hindi ko malaman kung bakit ba ang iba sa mga bloggers ngayon eh ang hilig hilig magsulat sa salitang banyaga o ingles. Naman! Mga Pinoy tayo kaya dapat ang sarili nating wika dahil sa totoo lang ang sarap sarap magsalita ng Pilipino.

Alam ko na marami sa atin ang nagsasanay ng salitang ingles para sa ating trabaho o kung saan man, pero sa totoo lang bakit di natin gamitin ang ating salita upang mas mapahayag pa an gating damdamin kaysa sa gumamit ng isang banyagang salita?

Pag-isipan nyo lang po, katatapos pa lang ng Buwan ng Wika. Ating pagyamanin ang ating wikang kinagisnan at hwag mahiyang gamitin ito.

Tayo’y mga Pinoy, tayo’y hindi kano, wag kang mahihiya kung ang Blog natin ay gawa sa Filipino.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Moving on, my first week here in Singapore was, might I say, very hectic and adventurous!

I have been to Singapore like three times before I came in here to look for a job in Information Technology but I haven’t been able to see Singapore as the way I see it now. I was a tourist back then and my view about this country is rather a one-sided. I thought this country is a paradise to all people especially to all those who are very attracted to IT Treasures.

August 9 was Singapore’s National Day, equivalent to our country’s Independence Day. Just like any national day, Singapore was geared to celebrate this once a year occasion, they even had to practice to make this event perfect for the people. I won’t lie to you but I was expecting a bit more of traditional festivities; I was expecting an extravagant celebration just like in the Philippines, a parade of masked Singaporeans, a merry band, sexy majorettes and many other more.

However, I was wrong. There was a parade, but it consisted of enlisted men from the military, there were three helicopters that carried a gigantic flag of Singapore, and fireworks that concluded the event. It was fun but definitely it didn’t stand up to my standards. I still liketo celebrate an event the Filipino way.

Oh, did I mention that I met my friend Maila who didn’t change a bit and still has her beautiful personality? Yes, she is here having a beautiful life in which she deserves. I miss you Maila and Ate Che and Lerrie too…

Sunday, August 10, I’ve sent tons of resume on Jobstreet, Monsters and JobsDB. I’d sent an application to virtually every company that needs a programmer, a developer, system analyst, team leader and it analyst in .net technology. I took the chance of connecting to Julius and Deejay’s internet connection to send resumes to everyone. By the way, I am very thankful to have them as friends, I’ll have a separate blog entry for them and to all my friends I met here in Singapore.

Let me say that out of ten applications I have sent online, twenty of those replied. Dear me, I was everywhere in Singapore, I’ve spent my first week attending interviews. Thankfully Deejay is very helpful to accompany me during my first job interview. She understands that I am helpless against how the transportation works here in Singapore but after that I was able to stand on my two feet the next day, Thanks to their ever helpful MAP.

Luckily, I was able to receive an offer to work in a government office on my first week, The National Library Board, as a .Net Developer. My resume and qualification was able to catch someone else’s opinion. But since I will be under the payroll of an agency, I was offer a very cheap salary of SGD 2950!!!

That moment, I wanted to accept the offer, being convinced by the words of the agent but as the saying goes, never decide whenever you are happy or angry. So what I did was to consult my friends first, especially the advice of Julius since he is the IT guy that is closest to me. To make it short, I declined the offer. Not only because of the minimal salary but I want to work in an organization that is remotely connected to the academe and a library setting is very close to what I am avoiding. So back to square one for me.

Saturday and Sunday were spent sending resumes and doing laundry. My first ever laundry! Hahahaha and I want to boast, I can do laundry on my own using a washing machine.

During my first week, I have proven what Deejay told me when I was still in the Philippines. It is easier to look for a job when you are here compared to when I was there. I submitted my application online and voila! My schedule was filled with job interviews with the different companies here in Singapore.

Well, if you are an IT professional who wants to have a clue if it is really easy to look for an IT Job here in Singapore, take it from me, IT Professionals are really in-demand here.

To be continued…

- - - - - - - -

Grabe, gusto kong kumain ng tinola na may atay ng manok. Hinahanap hanap ko ang tinola ng aking auntie!!!