first day

5:00 a.m.  Alarm clock rings.  I wake up, hits the snooze button, and falls asleep again.

6:30 a.m.  I wake with a jolt.  Shit, how many times did I hit the snooze button?  I do a 10-minute shower (which is the ultimate speed record for me!) and get dressed.

7:45 a.m.  I leave the house.  (Yes, it's actually the choosing-what-to-wear part the takes the longest!).

7:55 a.m.  I arrive at the FX terminal in Pacita and find myself standing at the end of a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong queue.  Not a single service is in sight.  Dammit.  Monday traffic.  I can't believe I'm gonna be late on my first day!  Stupid, stupid.

7:15 a.m.  An old classmate from high school arrives at the terminal.  What's her name, again? 

8:00 a.m.  Who's that guy in light blue polo?  He's cute….oh, wait, my God, my former ka-barkada from high school!  I can't believe I thought he's cute! 

8:15 a.m.  A third old classmate from high school arrives.  He used to be this pasaway student who always got called to the guidance office.  And look at him now.  Dressed up and decent, what with the brown necktie and all.  Oh how time changes everyone.  I'm sure under those glasses (which by the way doesn't conceal his eyes the way he thinks it does) he's looking at me and thinking, "Is that Koryn?  She has smaller hips now…"

8:30 a.m.  I think they decide I've seen enough high school classmates and a van arrives.  Finally!  I sleep all the way to Makati.

9:30 a.m.  Just in time.  I arrive in our building and makes my way to my new office.  My sup isn't there yet, so I wait for her in the holding area in the meantime.

9:45 a.m.  My sup arrives.  She introduces me to the rest of the staff (all of whom are amiable and very welcoming) and gives me some serious looking documents to read.  "Read it and familiarize yourself with the format and details."  So I read everything.

10:20 a.m.  I finish reading the hundred or so pages and my sup asks me to relax in the meantime because she needs to cascade some email first.  An officemate advises me, "Lasapin mo na 'yan, dahil 'pag nagsimula na ang mga events mo, wala ng relax relax!  Haha!"  I laugh too.

12:30 p.m.  Jean, my new yosi friend from another team, sends me and SMS, "Huy, nag-lunch ka na?"  I reply, "Hindi pa.  Kaya lang nahihiya ako magpaalam kasi parang wala sa kanilang balak mag-lunch!"

1:00 p.m.  Jean and I finally meet up to have some lunch at the next building and consume cancer sticks.  While walking down Ayala Ave., we suddenly scream like lunatics.  After I say we're handling the same account and would be pretty much together everytime there's an out of town event. 

1:15 p.m.  We talk about how hard it is to pretend to be busy when everybody else is actually busy.  But, in the words of my officemate, "Lasapin na natin 'to," I said.

2:00 p.m.  We go back to our office and my sup tells me we'll be attending a meeting.

3:00 p.m.  We meet up with several people from other departments and discuss details about an upcoming major event.  Goodness!  Too many corporate jargons in one sitting!  Ingress, egress, collateral, FYA…baka dumugo na ang ilong ko!"

3:30 p.m.  My sup and I go back to our cubicle.

6:30 p.m.  Time seems to fly faster in the afternoon.  Before I know it, it's time to go home. 

6:45 p.m.  I'm walking down Ayala Ave, bag on my right shoulders, earphones in my ears (Duh.  Where else would they be??), happy songs in my head.  Then suddenly…..Tap.  Tap.  Tap.  Taptaptaptaptaptap…..!!!!! BIGLANG BUMUHOS ANG ULAN!  I run to the nearest underpass entrance for cover.  Thank God, for underpasses!  Syempre, wala akong dalang payong davah?  Kasi naman dapat summer eh!  Bakit umuulan?

Then I remember.  Someone once taught me how fun it could be, walking under the rain. 

So I lock my bag, make sure my phone's in a waterproof pocket (well, as waterproof as leather bags can be), and walk out from under the entrance roof.  I stroll past the Makati Stock Exchange, skip over a puddle of water, and smile.  I'll be having my first event tomorrow.  And today's been pretty good.