From March 27, 2006 to April 7, 2006 was the Ateneo Summer Programming Camp (ASPC). The organizers are: Neill, Elijah, Gretch, Steph, Mic, Kenny. This 2-week camp serves as our practicum. We taught high school students JAVA programming and problem solving. It was a great experience for all of us and we had a great time with our campers. The pictures below were taken on the last day.

March 27, 2006 was the first day of ASPC. We had prepared a lot of activities for the campers and of course, a lot of getting-to-know-you games. I had an interview at BlogStar that afternoon. MDi has a very nice building and my interviewer Mich was nice too. All in all, it went very well especially since we were laughing throughout the interview. I actually had fun but I’m not sure I like the job description very much.

The next day, I went to Eastwood because I had a test at Canon. It was a very time-limited test and I felt I didn’t do so well. *hehe* Hunbun and I had a very late lunch at Jack’s Loft. I love their mushroom soup and salpicao. But I’ll never eat “I Declaire” again… Also, I got the news that CompSAt is finally accredited! Yehey!!!

On March 29, 2006, hunbun and I went to PowerPlant after the daily ASPC planning session. First we bought some pork floss from Break Talk. *yummm* Then, we went to Dencio’s. I was officiating my first EB meeting there. Everyone was present and we managed to discuss a lot of stuff. It was a very productive power dinner.

On March 30, 2006, hunbun drove me to Accenture Libran building. We had difficulty finding the place because of all the one-way streets. *lol* When I finally got there, they made me wait for the slip and sent me to Glorietta. I went to Patient First to have my medical checkup for Accentire. The process took an incredibly long time. Although I haven’t fully completed it, I rushed home because I had a party to go to with mom. My dad’s sister had a birthday celebration and it was really boring! The next day, I got into a little rift with a friend.

On April 1, 2006, I went back to Patient First to submit my icky sample. *lol* Since I was already in Makati, I went to Citibank for a test that afternoon. The test was really easy, I got a 46/48. It was a great score and a self-confidence booster. But the personnel there said that there was no IT job available. Hunbun waited for me really sweetly and patiently at Greenwich. *awww* We then headed to Glorietta for a little shopping. I bought hunbun a nice jacket. He wanted one for so long now. We ate merienda/dinner at Bon Appetit, Rustans. I love the food there! *yum*

On April 2, 2006, Hunbun and I tagged along with mom and her friends to Subic Grande Island Resort. Her friends were going there in celebration of Auntie Heidi’s daughter’s birthday. On the way though, Auntie Heidi’s and Auntie Francy’s cars kept breaking down. Good thing we still got to the boat on time. It was incredibly hot when we got to the resort and the lunch food service was incredibly slow too. After eating, hunbun and I decided to ride the jet ski. It’s my favorite water activity. *hehe* The rental is expensive though. We paid for 15 minutes but we got to ride for a long time because:

• 1st time: Maximum speed is 10 so we went back.
• 2nd time: Still turtle-like speed so we went back again.
• 3rd time: Finally the jet ski worked. Need for speed.

We then rode “The Matrix”. We were hanging onto a floating triangle with only our outstretched arms. My nose kept bumping the device and it was too much for me so I gave up after 1 round. Hunbun rode it for 3 rounds though and his arms hurt badly. We also rode the banana boat. It was fun and we were only dropped once. *hehe* Afterwards, I started to get rashes so I went to the changing room to wash up. The place was scary and icky! I washed up in record time.

Hunbun and I played around in the sand. He made me this cute “Nata love Gretch” sand art. That was sooo sweet! *Gretch is melting* We had dinner in the restaurant there since the early boat left us. Auntie Heidi was really made about that and the fact that the service was really slow. She even threw her drink on the floor. Shortly afterwards, we were on the boat ride home. It was a bit scary because of the darkness and tough waves. We also saw lovely fireworks near the shore.

Upon landing, we headed towards Subic’s Meat Shop restaurant because Auntie Heidi and her family haven’t eaten yet. Mom, Budz, hunbun and I went shopping instead in a Duty Free mini store. Mom bought hunbun little Absolute Vodka bottles. I also bought a cute pair of Roxy’s pink and purple shorts. We then dropped by the restaurant and ordered an oreo latte - very much like a yummy chocolate milkshake. Pictures are here.

The next day I woke up to the sounds of Mom and Sahia fighting. All these over cars… On April 4, 2006, Eli and I had an interview at STORM. The company is a start-up one with a condominium as their office. It was a very casual setting since the interviews were held at the lobby of Renaissance 3000 in Pasig. I like the PHP and MySQL job description. It went well for both Eli and I since we got text messages that night saying that we were accepted. After the interviews, we went to National Bookstore to get the necessary supplies for ASPC graduation.

On April 5, 2006, I had my first exercise session with Ted the physical trainer - along with hunbun and his mom. His mom is paying for my sessions. It’s an okay experience because I’m finally getting some much-needed exercise. (I want some pretty Nike exercise clothes. *lol*) Afterwards, hunbun and I had dinner at QC.

On April 6, 2006, hunbun fetched me at Faura around lunch-time to go to Eastwood. I had an interview at Canon at 2pm. I was surprised to actually get the call since I wasn’t confident about the exam. Canon is a research and development company so they are very strict on security. No USB, no PDA, no cellphone with camera, no documents. *eep* I went through 2 interviews one after the other. Then, I got the news that I was accepted. Yay! I was asked to wait for the orientation. I think I waited for more than 3 hours. *sigh* Finally, we were ushered into the lounge with Ma’am Pinky. She asked us to read the confidentiality clause. Wow! I’m starting to think that the work environment may be too stiffling for me… Anyway, Ma’am Pinky gave me a choice to pick OJT or Contractual Employment (more pay) since I need not be graded. I told her I’d call her with my decision the following week. So there, I’m going to be a Canon employee.

Sadly, I had to turn down job opportunities at Accenture, STORM, Citibank, 7-11, UniOil, HP (I forgot when exactly I had my interview).

Hunbun had actually been waiting for me for 5 hours. Gosh… I’m so thankful that he loved me that much to be patient. My high heels have been killing my feet. *sniff* So hunbun brought me to the car to change to my regular sandals. We bought tickets to Ice Age 2 and had a rush rush dinner at Heaven and Eggs.

The graduation of ASPC campers was on April 7, 2006. Their parting messages were very touching. It was a great 2 weeks to have spent with our kids. *hehe* I had another exercise session that night. I think I’m getting hang of this thing, although I’m having difficulty knowing when to breathe in or out. *lol* And when I came home, I saw a bouquet of flowers from Sahia to Mama. Yay!