long sleeves and cab talk

i was ready for my job interview but i was running late on schedule. it's a good thing that the heavens were smiling at me, the series of fortunate events kept me on track. first was catching an fx taxi in valenzuela, a rare occurrence since last year. then at monumento station, crowds were spilling from the platform on to the sidewalks. it's a good thing the fx route was up to 5th ave. there were long lines as well but there was an express lane for those who already have tickets. good thing i still have my stored-value ticket from last month. still running a bit late, i decided to take a taxi cab on buendia. the roads were full of taxi cabs but were all taken. but after a long long walk from taft avenue, i found one. i came in 10 minutes early.


i was feeling the pressure. months have passed and i'm still unemployed. the very first interview was not a success, i didn't get the job and never really enjoyed the scrutiny of the interviewers. this time should be different. i was told beforehand by friends working with the company that the interviewer was nice. they even gave me some pointers to prepare for the interview. i did my homework but i still had my doubts. then she came into the room and started the process. i was tensed but as the interview progressed, i felt comfortable and enjoyed the experience, even learned a lot of things about the pharmaceutical industry. the pressure dropped massively the minute she opened her mouth. it was so casual that i thought, this is an interview.

an interview should be an assessment of the applicant's chemistry with the company's people, including the interviewer. it shouldn't be about asking whether the applicant could do this or not. he could always say yes and you wouldn't know if he means it.

after the interview, i decided to drop by the school to pick up my certificate of graduation. i took a taxi cab from novartis to the LRT. the cab driver started some small talk that developed to an interesting cab talk. the more or less 20-minute ride started with a discussion on the effects of "milenyo." more chit-chat and upon nearing my stop, we already had a number of topics including job hunting, pharmaceuticals, the ins and outs of makati, the san miguel beer oktoberfest, and even husbands working in makati cheating with officemates behind their wives' back. tsk, tsk.