bliss

the 2nd day of exams created mixed reactions. i for one thought it was relatively easier than the 1st day while the others had a different opinion. either way, what's important is that it's all over and done. time to brace ourselves for the waiting game.

what they said was true, it's harder waiting for the exam results than studying for the exam itself. i would gladly trade-in the 2 days of waiting for the 2 months i spent studying. if only it was possible. i can only think of 1 remedy and that's not to think about it at all. i got to get my mind as far from thoughts of the exam as possible.

the day after the last day of exams, i drowned myself in dvd's. fun with dick and jane, scary movie 4, anything to cheer me up. i even finished the koreanovela "my girl," which by the way was awesome! aja! even before the exam, Joo yoo rin (or jasmine in the ABS-CBN version) would make me laugh and help me in coping with exam stress. i would always whisper to myself a shout of "aja!" of "fighting!" and that would keep me going.

july the 8th. i knew this would be the day of reckoning. the PRC website was down for almost a month now. thank you philippine government, that didn't help at all! the day's delivery of manila bulletin was still 6 hours away, the bulletin website still showed the headlines of the 7th. i took a chance by clicking on breaking news and saw "669 hurdle pharmacist licensure exam." my heart started pounding. i clicked on the link: The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 669 out of 1,209 passed the Pharmacist Licensure Examination given by the Board of Pharmacy... blah blah, where's my name?! the report only presented the numbers and the exam's top 10. the list of successful examinees was missing. just great.

the tension was building up, now i know that the results are in but just can't seem to find it. i went to different newspaper websites but they only offered previous results and not ours. luckily i stumbled on a link in philstar.com. bingo!

GENER, ANNE PAULINE TAPIA
GEPILANO, MICHELLE HERALDO
GIVERA, KATHLYN JOY RONOLO
GO, RON GILBERT GARCIA <--- YEAH BABY!
GOMEZ, MA GISELLA CHARISMA SAN PEDRO
GONZALES, NOLA PAREJA

i knew i was the first to know so i sent messages to every direction. first, to the other examinees anxiously waiting for my text. even in a small screen of letters i can feel their joy, i was feeling the same bliss. then i announced it to the world, my name is now an "RPh" longer. text messages and calls of congratulations were piling up even at 2 in the morning. i was overwhelmed. i thought twice if i should wake up my parents but what the heck! i was just holding back a scream and a jump for joy. and the way my mom said "talaga?!" was reward enough. she was so happy that she jumped out of bed, woke up my dad and insisted on seeing my name on the computer screen firsthand. happy is definitely an understatement to what i felt last night; i think i slept with a grin tattooed on my face.

now comes the biggest step. work. to be part of the workforce. but until the oathtaking ceremony at the manila hotel on august 1, i ain't gonna think about work or anything. i'm gonna savor this moment of my life 'til its last drop! party up biatches!!!