The Daunting Interview Task

     I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown earlier this afternoon while I was awaiting “the call.”  My heart was palpitating and my husband laughingly kept on telling me to stay calm.  Easy for him to say!  The phone rang and I answered it breathlessly.  I was so nervous that I failed to hear what my interviewer was trying to say.  I even made a disastrous blunder within the first two minutes, but fortunately, I was able to redeem myself.

     The interviewer was quite nice and not intimidating at all.  I expected some questions on my proficiency on my fourth language, but none came up.  The questions mostly focused on my motivations for applying and my plans should I get the job.  Overall, it was a pleasant conversation and I was told that I would move on to the next step in the process:  The Interview Task.

     So, I eagerly awaited the e-mail.  It was about ten minutes after the interview that it arrived.  And… it made my jaw drop.  It was a dauting task to say the least, with sections on creativity, grammar, vocabulary, lesson planning, and idioms.  There was even a case study!  All these had to be accomplished within five days.

     I’m a bit intimidated by the task, but I’ve started on some of the easier sections and so far, the output has been alright.  The implications of my output would literally be lifechanging so I really hope I could come up with something impressive, or at least satisfactory.

     Wish me luck everyone!  I’m praying that this is something God wants for me and my family.

 

Crossroads

     We all have our share of decisions to make in life.  It’s never easy to pick one over the other, or to choose one of many options.  It requires deep thought and reflection, and the weighing of pros and cons.  Decision-making can be so time-consuming that often, the time it takes to make the decision is longer than going through the consequences of the decision itself.

     I’ve had quite a lot of things to think about the past few weeks.  I’ve been stressed with so much thinking.  I still am at the crossroads, but I think that by now, I have a clearer view of where I’m supposed to go.  There still are several factors that could affect my final decision, and I do hope that God guides me through all this.  I need to make the right decision, not only for me, but also for my family.

 

Living with Allergic Rhinitis

     For some reason, I’ve had another attack of allergic rhinitis during an online job interview.  It is quite frustrating to live with the transient allergy.  It comes during the most inconvenient times.  I have long since determined dust to be my primary allergen.  But living in the Philippines, who can avoid dust?  The hot and humid weather in my home country is a veritable paradise for dust mites.

     I’ve had allergic rhinitis for as long as I can remember.  But it steadily worsened when I reached my late teens.  While people might think that it’s a condition which is relatively easy to cure, it actually is a bit more complicated.  To date, allergic rhinitis has no cure.  It can only be controlled through the ingestion of anti-histamines.  I have tried Claritin, Zyrtec, Virlix, and Aerius and all of them have worked fine.  The problem with A.R. is that as soon as one becomes exposed to the allergen, it recurs at once.

     My symptoms include a runny and itchy nose, and severely itchy and teary eyes which cause blurred vision.  If the runny nose persists for more than fifteen minutes, my sinuses get inflammed, and this eventually leads to a migraine.  It is definitely not a good experience.  A.R. has made the most basic tasks impossible.  Cleaning my room, reading books that have been on the shelf for some time, reading the newspaper, getting exposed to smoky places, or simply having the wind blow across my face could all cause an episode.

     Living with allergic rhinitis is not easy.  It gets mightily frustrating at times.  I do hope that someone finds a cure to rid people of this allergy.  That person would surely do the world a great favor. 

 

Flustered

     For some reason I always get flustered at the prospect of job interviews.  It’s a weird mixture of being nervous, excited, and confused all at the same time.  I tend to get a bit talkative when I feel this way, and it sometimes works to my advantage.  But not always.

     Whenever things like this happen, I refuse to dwell too much on the outcome.  I just keep in mind that if something is truly meant for me, then I shall be given the opportunity to obtain it.  What matters is that I’ve done my part.  Well, in today’s case, I think that I did what I can.  I hope the outcome would be positive, but if it isn’t, then I still am grateful for the chance I was given.

     I prefer to be optimistic.  I believe that all people are given the chances that they deserve.  If something is not for me, I take comfort in the fact that there still is something else waiting just around the corner.

 

Happy Summer Solstice!

     My hubby and I woke up this morning with the sunlight streaming through our windows.  I was a bit disoriented though, because I distinctively remembered setting the alarm to 4:45 a.m.  I was surprised, to say the least, to realize that our alarm clock was not malfunctioning and it was, indeed, 4:45 in the morning.  It was only much later that I realized that today [or at least this time of the year] is summer solstice.

     Summer solstice is also called midsummer.  It occurs somewhere between June 21 and 22.  This is when we experience the longest day of the year.  Longest in the sense that it is the day in which we have the most amount of time with sunshine.  There are two solstices; one in summer, and the other in winter.  Conversely, winter solstice is when we have the shortest day.

     So have a happy summer solstice to everyone!  May the sunshine of this day herald a bright future for all of us.  Cheers!~

 

Relearning Nihonggo

 

     I have recently taken an interest in relearning what little knowledge I had about the Japanese language.  It’s proving to be a challenge, but quite fun nevertheless.  I stayed in japan for a year between 2006 and 2007.  For those of you who don’t know, atashi wa Eigo no sensei desu.  Nihon no ikara.  I used to teach English as a Second Language for a language school located at Sukagawa-shi, Fukushima-ken.  It was a fun experience, one that I wouldn’t mind happening again.

     I’ve started self-studying with some practical lessons on concersational Japanese.  As with any other language, I find it much easier to learn how to speak first, rather than to learn how to read and write.  That’s why I’m studying lessons in Romaji.  I do have resources on Kana, and even elementary Kanji, but I am still too intimidated to start on learning the writing process just yet.

     Why the sudden interest?  It’s too soon to say the primary reason.  But for one thing, I really miss Japan and all my former students.  Also, knowing several languages would always be an advantage wherever you go.  I am currently fluent in both English and Filipino, and I can speak conversational Spanish.  I’m at the lowest rung of learning Nihonggo, but I’ll go up the ladder bit by bit.  Seeing as I have some time in my hands, I don’t see any reason why I would not improve, albeit in small increments.

     I even took pains in researching on the JLPT or the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.  It is given once a year, every December, in various locations in the country.  the closest being De La Salle University – Manila, where I went to college.  The lowest level, which is level 4, requires an individual to have mastered at least 100 Kanji characters and at least 800 vocabulary words.  The test is divided into 3 parts: Kanji and Vocabulary [100 items], Listening Comprehension [100 items], and Reading Comprehension and Grammar [200 items].  The minimum passing rate for level 4 is 60% or 300 points.

     My friends Paul and Mherrie are also studying Nihonggo as of now, but unlike me, they’re focusing on Kana first, rather than conversation.  We’re all planning to take the JLPT this year if we feel ready enough to register by August.  Wish us luck!  For the meantime, Watashi wa Nihonggo no benkyo suru desu.  Yamenaide!

 

Writing Drought

     I have always loved to pen out my thoughts.  Writing often came easy for me, especially when I’m touched by that brilliant flash of inspiration.  I’d like to think that I am knowledgeable enough to write on a variety of topics.  I’ve tried my hand on essays, biographies, fiction, and poetry and everything turned out prety much okay.  I have also tried to nourish the writer in my by regularly writing entries for this blog.

     I have never thought of writing as being difficult or taxing.  Never, that is, until now.  Well I guess it’s because I have never been required to write a certain number of articles on a certain topic within twenty four hours.  It was interesting and quite enjoyable at first.  But after several hours, I think I am now officially experiencing a writing drought.

     It’s not a pleasant feeling.  It’s similar to having all your thoughts sucked up into a vortex.  It’s like all my creative juices have suddenly and unexpectedly stopped flowing.  Now my head is throbbing and my eyes are all blurry.  I guess this is my signal to take a break.  @__@

     I have no doubt, however, that I could get free of this stump.  Maybe catching a few winks would do the trick.  I think I’ll try that right now. 

 

Traipsing in Tagaytay

James, me, Martha, and Mommy at the Palace in the Sky [Joselle was the one who took the photo

     Having a long weekend is quite rare for our family, more so because James is a nurse frequently assigned on the night shift.  But last June 11th – 14th was one such occasion for us.  We left home at around 5:30 a.m.  It was a long drive going to Cavite, where we went to visit my sister and my new nephew.  After having lunch with them, we decided to go to Tagaytay in the afternoon, since it’s just a 15-minute drive from Silang.  James has never been to the Palace in the Sky so we decided to go there first.  The view was breathtaking.  Palace in the Sky is located at the highest point in Tagaytay, and you could see parts of Batangas, Cavite, and Laguna from the viewing areas.  We had a lot of fun just sitting in a hut and enjoying the fantastic view and the cold air.  We also took lots of photos!

 

Welcome to the world, Ardain Theodore!

Martha and Ardain: the cute cousins

     Mom and I were at the office waiting for James to arrive when we received a text message from my sister.  The message said that she is already in labor and would be scheduled for a C-section later in the afternoon.  Since we know that the baby is due on June 18th, we were quite surprised at the news.  We waited for James and immediately prepared to go to Cavite to be with my sister.  Unfortunately though, Martha would not be allowed to enter the hospital due to the proliferation of Influenza A-H1N1 cases and other infectious diseases.  So, James and I had to stay at home and just wait for any news from mommy.

     Ardain Theodore Espiritu Oliva was born on June 5th, 2009 at 3:35 in the afternoon.  He’s a healthy baby boy who weighed in at 6.93 lbs.  His dad was still in Australia when he was born, but Kuya Arnold was able to catch an earlier flight to the Philippines and arrived last June 7th.

     June 11th, we were ablt to visit Ate Ains at their home in Silang, Cavite.  It was a tiring 3 and a half hour drive but it was well worth it.  I was able to see my new nephew and he was adorable.  He was more behaved than Martha was when she was a newborn.  As for my sister, I’ve never seen her look happier.  And I do understand, it’s a feeling that all mother’s share.

 

Rainy Days

     I haven’t been able to write any entries the past couple of days.  There have been a lot of things to do concerning the business.  I had to accompany James several times to NKTI and LCP, and we went to visit my sister [who recently gave birth to a cute baby boy] at Silang, Cavite.  It’s been hectic and tiring, but the weather did a lot to lift my spirits.

     We’ve been experiencing several rainy days in succession since last week.  And contrary to the popular belief that rain dampens the spirits, it has an opposite effect on me and my family.  Thank God for rainy days!