DAY 5: DAMN IT, MY FEET HURT.

it's day five of my stay here in the lion city, and boiy was today tough... for my feet. i woke up around 7.51am, and my brother was ranting in bed. apparently, his timer didn't set off and so he was late for work at 8am. after he scurried off to the toilet to bathe, he took time to choose what to wear and then went off. i, on the other hand, was lax. i had a preliminary interview today at aljunied, and it was for an agency. i was having second thoughts, but i was pushed out of the bed by my hiya.

after praying to st. therese (yes, i pray. whatcha think of me!?), i reminded myself to buy a copy of the straits times, so i could browse over the classifieds. anywho, i bathed, put on neat clothes (kinda 'cause it was in a dark gray and black palate), and made my way to the eunos hawker centre. there, i ordered the usual fried dumpling mee and some water. after that, i tapped in, and went to aljunied.

at aljunied, i exited towards bus line no.2, crossed the overpass, and waited for bus 125. the lady who texted me from the agency told me to get off after five stops. and so that was what i did. i waited for the bus to stop fie times. stupid me, she meant five sheds.

at bendemeer, the "fifth stop" of the bus, i started to feel uncomfortable with the fact that there was no green building in front of or at the back or side of the shed. i called ad SMSed the lady from the agency, and lo and behold, apparently i went three stops too much. and so i freaked out a bit, then composed myself to ask someone for directions. an old chinese man was gracious enough to give me directions, saying that i went too far, and that genting lane was the other way- going back. and so, i walked back: passed by bendemeer, and mcpherson road, and finally reaching the post office the old man was saying, which led to genting lane. sadly, i did see the post office but i did not see genting lane.

after much ado, i went on a side track, and found a bus stop. i called the agency and told them i was lost. that time i was in kailang way in front of infineon. she told me i had to take the bus back to aljuneid and start the journey all over again. i felt dismayed and disheartened. i told her i was kind of tired from all the walking (since i walked more than five kilometers, going in circles and through back alleys, and i felt i wouldn't find their office. she told me they could give me 30minutes of rest time when i arrived.

and so after mustering enough strength, i walked, and walked some more, until finally i found traces of the streets bus 125 passed through, including kallang way 1 and 2, and kallang 1, 3, 5 complexes. i stumbled upon an indian guy who said he knew where 128 genting lane was, and so he gave me directions and walked some more.

128, 124, 120, 118, 100. it felt like the road was never gonna reach 80 genting lane. but it did. it was a big old green building in tannery road. just like what the lady from the agency said over the phone. i went to the lift platform and punched number 4. in a matter of minutes (and after i washed my face in the nearby toilet), i was inside the recruitment agency.

inside where two tables, seven applicants, five chairs, two secretaries and one child. aside from the child, who was indian, the rest were pinoys. i could hear the two secretaries lecturing the applicants about posture and how to properly make resumes and stuff that i taught in class. i was amused.

the little nine-year-old indian kid was angeli. when i started talking to her, she was playing a mind game in the GERONIMO book series, which apparently was as big as harry potter, since their books' prices were both pegged at S$20+. we talked a bit, while i filled out the application, and found out that she was the daughter of the owner of the agency. and that she had a twin. i started to miss my own kid. angeli was very witty, and she had a pretty smile.

minutes later, all of the other applicants left, and it was my turn to get interviewed. the interview didn't last long, since the secretaries were overwhelmed with the credentials i showed them (no, i am not bragging.). apparently, this was the first time someone with PhD units applied for a job through them, and they would not accept that i be placed in f&b. i asked why, and they told me i was overqualified and that some of the employers in singapore did not like it when their employees had better credentials than them. i was pleased, but took note of the comment. after a few more exchange of thoughts, the other secretary gave me an address and a company who was in need of administrative and training staff. she told me i was perfect for the job. she also told me that it was a direct hiring slot, and that they gave it to me because they got a good laugh talking to me (in a good way). i said thank you and asked how i could get back home to eunos. she told me to get a bus 125 at the front gate of the building.

lo and behold, when i got out of the building, i was at the junction of tannery road and kailang way. the same street i was three hours ago. i took the wrong turn, and so i went in circles. i laughed it all out, although my feet kinda hurt from all the walking.

at aljunied, i bought some lunch. i felt i deserved a good lunch, so i bought some rice LOL it was a vlue meal worth S$2: buko-pandan flavored (you read that right) rice, fried egg, a frank, two slices of chicken fillet, and some chili paste on the side. at eunos, i did some groceries; i bought a 1.5L of water, 3 cups of instant noodles worth S$1.05, some detergent, chopsticks and some stackable microwavable containers-- all for just S$6.50.

i rushed upstairs, turned on the PC, and skyped with ineng and grace to tell them all about what happened to me today.

still here. hey.