going corpo

can you imagine me and karl going corpo?

both of us are now exploring deals for better paying but blander, more restrictive jobs. for both of us, the monetary rewards seem enticing (granted that i will get what i ask for). karl has almost come to terms with this change. me, i'm not so sure.

i'm looking to become a copy editor for global sources fashion accessories/garments & textiles magazine. it's a 9-5 desk job with twice-a-year appraisals, opportunities for growth and travel to chinese factories. it's a don't be late, don't be absent, don't wear your gimmick clothes to work kind of office, but open toe shoes and sleeveless tops are not uncommon (whew!).

what gives me cause for concern is that throughout the screening process, i've been repeatedly warned that the job is very stale, especially compared to my experience: intern in MTV, marketing for a record company, aspiring lifestyle contributor and fashion designer. they seem to think i will really wither up and die in there! should i be alarmed as well?

yesterday, karl's publicist Emma said that her friend couldn't stand it there. She was too creative for the place. and that turnover in the company is high. that alarms me also. but what karl told me before about frequent turnovers is this: in summit (media), growth is only possible if people keep leaving. huh. true enough. except of course, summit is a dynamic, fun, albeit more stressful (i think) environment.

and in any case, i keep thinking that the global sources job is an almost surefire way to get rid of the nagging weekend mall shows that get in the way of my design classes. this motivates me big time.

but i keep thinking, can i give this up? and can i keep myself tame? how will karl and i fare as corpos?

what do you think?

the production number to end all production numbers

i was watching the american idol finale last night, and i couldn't help but think how crass the whole thing was. from live, to prince, to dionne warwick, to vtr retrospectives and spoof awards, the show was very ASAP-SOP-Eat Bulaga. eeewwwie. goes to show that we're not the only country that loves idiotic pomp.

I'm glad Taylor won, though.

the perfunctory birthday entry

the day was interesting enough: in the morning, the power went out in the office building and I couldn't work on my business e-mails. no work for you, birthday girl. dinner was a badly-choreographed affair, but spirits were up because of the good food at conti's. and just because i actually like looking more special than other people, i wore an outfit that really looked like i stepped out of a glossy. too bad i couldn't wear the fab hat that karl gave me. and i didn't take a picture either.

right about this age, the birthday as an occasion starts to feel old. mid-twenties, people don't really feel the difference from one year to another. there are no milestones to be had, and yet i'm looking for one. like shifting jobs. or something.

the one special moment i really had was last friday, when karl and i spent an hour and a half talking in bed. just talking and holding hands and really saying how he felt about things that were happening to him and to us.

so there i was, or here i am, waiting for something to happen, and then that moment creeps up and manifests itself to be cherished. what a gift.

you do the math

today i talked to miko on ym to congratulate him on his graduation. and a chance to foist reality to a bum like him. hehehehe :) apparently, once you've been inducted into the workforce, it becomes a pleasure to inflict pressure upon non-trudgers, non-cogs.

so the score is that the bum's expected starting salary is 15-20 thousand. he would like to work in a bank. or in the meantime, business process outsourcing at accenture. but ideally a bank. i'm surprised at his asking price - too high.

in turn, he's surprised that even with my grades and apparent skill, i haven't even entered the mark he's hitting for. because his batchmate ron gets 30 thousand. and my sister's 25-year-old batchmate is getting higher because she's an AVP. both of them are at citibank. then there's april and baby at unilever, there's jesse at col-pal. too low.

my parents, i suspect, were more like these bigshots. that's why at 25 they could afford to get married and have kids and buy a car and a lot and have a house built. well actually, that didn't happen until they were about 30.

but whatever. the point is, whenever i hear about these things, i feel like i'm jealous of the amount of money they're getting. but it's not like i need that much money. it's just that, all things being equal, it's not as if they're any smarter than me.

the truth is, things are not equal. i dunno - maybe it IS harder to study economics or whatever the hell they took in college. or maybe it IS harder to haul your ass everyday to Makati to trade stocks or whatever it is they're being paid 30 thousand to do everyday.

i feel like there's this mathematics to the choices we make everyday, the crosses we choose to bear. like one will amount to daily work stress and lots of money, the other to little conveniences and less money. when the time comes that i need that much money, what choices will i have to make?

and my parents, i think in the back of their head they know about this mathematics thing. that's why my mum's so insistent to turn me into a bigshot. or why my dad is just keeping quiet even if we're not following in his path. but i'll bet they've got internal calculators trying to gauge whether we will be able to live as comfortably as we always have.

but life isn't just for bigshots. my dad said once that we don't need to purchase things because we are at a certain age, but at a certain income. Even at oprah they said that we shouldn't be afraid to miss our chance to buy a house or something, because at any given time, when we are financially ready, the opportunity will present itself.

so everyday, most especially on days that i hear about these bigshots, i just suck it up.