Why the hesitation? Normally I'd prefer a direct-hiring thing and am wary of agency-like things. But anyway, I decided to send and application to the e-mail add specified. If they called and I had to show up and they asked me to pay some sort of downpayment for getting me this job, I'd be out the door the first second anyway.
I got a text about a week later asking me to go to their office in Cubao with regards to the job I applied for. Cool. I showed up, and on the way there I saw a young lady in office attire with her boyfriend, who were probably going to the same place I was, because who in Cubao wears that attire these days? I decided to bet that they were going to the same place I was and so I silently trailed them,
Anyway, I was right! They were going to the same place I was.
I arrived there and there was a long, long line by the staffing office, the seats were filled and the rest were standing up or loitering around the area, waiting for their turn to be called. I decided to take it all in stride and look happy and flick my hair from my shoulder and all that while pretending to look for a place to stand by. And then the plan worked and I heard a few guys who had seats start looking at me and whispering and elbowing each other, and I glanced by them and immediately they all got up from their seats and offered me a place.
I found out from the guys that they were walk-ins and that they had to pass their CVs and SSS copies and take and exam and have an interview to find out if they were going to be considered for any job. Meanwhile, since I was texted and specifically had an appointment there, I didn't have to undergo all that and just had to wait for my name to be called. Which wasn't too long. I was called in for an interview with Miss Carol.
She was pretty friendly and nice. Won't intimidate you. While most of her questions still focus on my resume, she also asked about some of my knowledge about their client, Cafe France (which is, btw, formerly Delifrance and formerly associated with Jolibee Foods Corporation). And of course, she asked me why I decided that I wanted to work there. I told her that I preferred the atmosphere that the Cafe offered--true that.
And then she gave me an endorsement for an interview with Cafe France in their UN Ave. office the next day and gave me directions on how to get there. But it's still, as always, Google Maps that I have to thank for being able to get to all my interviews.
Since I live near SM Fairview, all I did was hop onto a bus that stopped by Taft/PGH/NBI and passed by UN Ave. You could also try boarding the LRT and get off at the UN Ave. station. From there, you'd see the Times Plaza. That is not where you want to go. Cross the road from Times Plaza (be careful) and just go straight ahead and turn right when you hit the stoplight. You'd see the PPL Building and that's where you wanna be. The Cafe France office is at the fifth floor.
Anyway, I was thirty minutes late of the call time
He looked just like my frickin' ex who was supposed to be in the middle of some kitchen in cruise ship in some ocean. Only he was six inches taller than him.
And of course he told me that I was at the right place and he asked me if I was an applicant, too, and for what position.
There were more seats inside, and I found that there were around twenty people, or more, waiting to be interviewed. I was offered a seat far from the ex-lookalike, than goodness. I saw the girl that I saw in Cubao with her boyfriend there, too. Tried to wave at her but realized she probably didn't recognize me. Waited quite a while to be interviewed. There were some applicants at my table that seemed to know each other and were chatting, I spent my time eavesdropping. When they left, the ex-lookalike moved to the seat next to mine. No! Now I won't be able to resist the urge to stare at him. I stared. He had the same nice-looking arms my ex had (which my ex got from lifting too many frying pans in the kitchen, haha). And then I noticed that he had this same scar/birthmark that my ex has on his right elbow. Now that is just impossible what in the world is this?!
I had to distract myself from him, and so I decided to pull out a piece of paper and start this portrait commission that someone asked me to do for Valentines. The ex-lookalike was with another guy and girl that he knew, so they were chatting. I spent my time drawing to not notice him. But then from the corner of my eye I saw that he kept glancing at me. I dismissed it and thought that he was probably looking at something behind me. And then the girl or guy with him just said, "Ayan o, inggit nanaman yung isa nakakita lang ng magaling magdrowing, tingin tuloy ng tingin."
And I looked up and found out that he was looking at me and glancing back at me all those times, and when he realized I caught him, he laughed and complimented my art skills. And then eventually he sat closer to me and started asking about art and all that, and eventually even about cosplay and the like, from which he discovered I cosplayed on the side and took out some pictures and he told me I was cute in my pictures. He even showed his friends. And he said, "Ah, Xarin pala yung name mo," after he saw it in the ID in my wallet along with my photos. And the guy with him was like, "Bilis talaga nito, tinandaan na agad yung pangalan o."
All the chatter stopped when he was called in next for the interview. And I was next after a short while. I was interviewed by a woman who looks like your typical HR personnel. There were two people doing the interview and I fell into this woman's lap. I heard the other interviewer didn't ask in English, so others wanted to be interviewed by her instead. The woman who interviewed me, however, spoke in straight English and, for me, all the better. She asked almost the same questions that Ms. Carol asked me earlier, mostly about my resume and what I saw in Cafe France that made me want to work with them, and asked me what I hoped I could bring to the establishment and what branch I hoped to work in. And then she told me that I'll be called for a final interview with the area manager soon, and I'll get a call from them to know exactly when. Usually when I hear "we'll call you", I know that it's the end, but when they tell you a specific, like "I'll call you tomorrow" or "I'll call you for a final interview with the area manager", I take it that they mean it. She told me that I'd probably receive the call next week.
I walked up from the interview, and I found that ex-lookalike stayed around there with his pals even after he was interviewed, and as I was walking away he was calling me (WHY did he even remember my name, I never planned to give it to him, he saw if from my ID!) and asking me how it went. I just smiled and gave him a thumbs up as I walked away and didn't stop, so I could resist the urge to walk over to him and make small talk and end up with him with my number or something like that. And, important note: I heard he has a girlfriend, so I had to resist his awesome caramel skintone and gorgeous arms
It's been a week since that interview, though, and I haven't received a call yet. What is the meaning of this. I got impatient and secured appointments to be interviewed for Max's Restaurant instead and will have my final interview for that soon. I still hope Cafe France calls me because they have a branch nearer to my home.
And maybe I wanna see that guy again, too. My friends say he must secretly be my ex who's adopted a new identity to find out what was going on with my life and has miraculously grew six inches in a year. What do you think? And of course, any questions not related to the guy and related to the actual purpose of this blog will be answered, too!
- Xarin
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