the professional job hunter

"he soon became aware that there arose in his heart the desire for desires - boredom." leo tolstoy in anna karenina. "sixteen hours of the day had to be filled somehow..."

at a dinner with a very dear friend at a tony hotel near roxas boulevard, she asked me quite frankly, a bit out of the blue: so what do you do all day? this, while i was about to swallow a spoonful of grilled gindara and japanese fried rice. instead of answering her back, i continued eating, while my mind was quickly looking for an answer. my friend, by the way, is a witch. she usually knows the answer already before she asks the question.
but because she was paying for dinner, and because i love her so, i searched for an answer. mentally.
hmmmm...let's see. tick tock...tick tock.. as i was munching the food. the gindara was really tasty, by the way, and so was the japanese fried rice.
for those who have not been following this widely read, award winning blog (nominated for an academy three times and for a bafta five times), i quit my last job in hong kong at a prestigious international publishing company with headquarters in europe and offices worldwide a few months ago, packed my things, went home last december, hoping to spend more time with my sickly and aging mother, and find a job in one of the country's biggest companies as a media relations consultant.  now you're wrong, i am not ambitious. i just want a job.
so basically, my friend, gorgeous in a red armani prive dress that accentuated her smooth, milky white complexion, while her long, dark brown hair was pulled up, emphasizing her classique greek goddess beauty (narrow, turned up nose; lush, red lips; deep set, black as midnight eyes) with a few strands falling down on her ears and face, wanted to know how do i fill my day aside from looking for jobs online.
hmmmm.
tough question.
i wanted to say "next!"

$$$$$$$$$$

so here it is:

i usually wake up quite late, normally around two in the afternoon. when i wake up, i check my emails for any feedback from prospective employers or referrals from friends. i read the news online, both local and international. mostly business. a little of politics. then i check the latest hollywood gossips, movies, scandals from different websites (entertainment weekly, vanity fair, new yorker, daily mail, financial times). then on to my favourite websites that feature the most gorgeous celebrities, models and movie stars in their birthday suit. a naked bradley cooper, anyone?
of course, facebook to keep in touch with my friends here and overseas. post something boring or interesting or fascinating. if i am in the mood, update this blog. my avid readers would usually bombard me with emails asking for fresh posts and threatening a revolution if i don't. bad.
that will already take almost two hours.
if i have a new dvd, i watch it on my macbook. since i don't have an ipod, blue ray player and teevee (i don't watch television. i don't like the dumbing effects of teevee shows, especially the soaps. what about news, you ask? no comment), i use my macbook for everything: perusing the web, watching dvds and playing adel, ella fitzgerald, nina simone, beatles, chopin, claire dela fuente, soundtracks of the english patient, the age of innocence and other favourite music.
then time for a very late breakfast or lunch or dinner.
i usually eat out since i don't know how to cook. i hate it. if friends are asking me out and they are footing the bill, i get to eat at a bit expensive places like spiral, sugi, fely j's, uno, simply thai, cue, bistro remedios, cafe adriatico, my kitchen, milky way.

when it's just me, i go to cheaper places to save money. usually at point-point or a barbecue stand. haha. god knows until when i will be jobless. no chos this time.

^^^^^^^^

then sometimes i would wander around. aimlessly.
like last week, i was in roxas boulevard to catch the sunset and read a book near manila bay. (i was aghast at how filthy and smelly the area had become. while it was a good thing that the bars and restaurants were gone, the squatters and homeless had taken their places and made the place filthy and smelled of urine and god knows what. then there were the masseurs (manghihilot) offering their services right along the streets.)

but the view at dusk is still gorgeous. so serene, you can almost hear the wind caressing your face, whispering: go away, go away.

&&&&&&&

when i am so bored staying at my flat the whole day just reading a book and web hunting (or sometimes swimming at the pool alongside the very noisy toddlers and kids with their yayas in crisp white uniforms in tow), i would go out for a drink. alone. usually. nuvo at greenbelt is a great place to people watch and listen to the band. or sometimes i would head to the sports bar at sofitel. or at cafe adriatico. or at m cafe. or simply thai. or mr. jones. or cue. it all depends really on my mood and especially my budget.

or i get really pissed with my close friends.

or former colleagues at work.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

but most of the time, i stay at home. read a book. i just finished leo tolstoy's anna karenina ( i wanted to read it again before watching joe wright's badly reviewed film starring his muse keira knightley). now, if you care to know, i am reading charles bukowski's mostly funny but poignant coming of age novel (sort of his catcher in the rye) ham on rye.

i luv the book. it's unputdownable. sometimes i would burst out laughing from reading the main character's (henry chinaski) misadventures as he navigates through his mostly difficult life and fight peer pressure, his cruel father, his helpless mother, his boils and raging hormones.

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that's all from your friendly professional job hunter.