Starbucks Barista Application

Everyone's really here for my misadventures with job-hunting and job interviews. Here's a recent opening that I was called for: A Barista post for Starbucks. How to start with your application? You can start by grabbing one of their application forms in any of their branches (and grabbing a decaf cup of white chocolate mocha too, if you were me).

Here is a sample application form that you can grab in any of their stores. I got mine from SM Calamba. Click on the image to enlarge it. DO NOT download it an fill it up and pass it to them. I just posted this so you have an idea of what it looks like and what information it's asking for.


You can fill this up and submit it to the manager on duty. But if you're tech-savvy and prefer the internet to do things for you, just send a resume to the e-mail address provided in the brochure: 


people@rustancoffee.ph


You can also click on the link provided in their Facebook profile. For your convenience, you can also just click the link here.


If you get called for an initial interview, you'll be asked to go to their office at the first floor of Urban Building, located beside SM Cyber Two (which is beside the MRT Buendia Station.) Just hop on the MRT and you won't get lost. It's a group interview, so don't be shy and bring your game. If you make it through the first stage, they'll give you a "hooray you made it! Congratulations!" letter. Good luck!

Dirt Cheap Outfit Breakdown #1

You're a babe on budget like I am. Yeah, you probably are. I find clothes to be something I don't splurge on. I actually more likely see my money vanishing into thin air via buying pastries rather than via seeing the perfect fit shoe or skirt. If I see an article of clothing I LOVE but is otherwise expensive, I can always go Adele on it and say "never mind; I'll find someone like you" to the thing. So something wonderful but cheap will always be a treasure for me, or any college babe on budget.


This week I'm sharing the outfit that I wore to a recent event.

It's all retro-vintage-ish babe for me. Never mind that the event was a business/corporate event where people were in formal wear. The top part is made up of a sleeveless shirt underneath the red polka-dot shirt. They're from our family's new business line of clothing which will be out soon! I can tell you they're dirt cheap at P99 and of good quality. The skirt is garterized with yellow floral prints, something you can get in le tiangge for around 120 PHP. I also put on my trusty black stockings and black school shoes flats. The item around my neck is actually a timepiece on a bronze/copper guitar pendant. You can find a lot of cool timepieces like it in Quiapo starting at around 50 PHP.


My sis just pulled my hair up into a high pony. I call it "Marisa" hair, since it reminds me of a character from a video game who also has a high-pony.

As for make-up, I swear by my favorite Dream Girl BB Cream (Now P194 but only P124 when I bought it a year ago!). Then I put on some San-San Age Defying blush (P60) and San-San Eyebrow Pencil (P35). And then I use some black Ever Bilena Stargazer Eyeliner (P45). Of course I also use some CoverGirl Lashblast and some Marks & Spencer Lip Butter, but I didn't buy them myself, I don't think I ever will, they are bloody expensive and they are just the benefits of getting your heart broken your mom ends up buying you awesome stuff.


Ciao!

Broke Girl Cheap Stuff: NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose

If you want a cheap but quality imported brand, then you should know NYX from the US. While they don't have a shop here in the Philippines YET, many online sellers carry their stuff and you can also find them in make-up bazaars, like my sis did when she went to the last SuperSale Bazaar (and didn't bring me along!). I told her to try out NYX, so she came back home with NYX lippies in Indian Pink and Tea Rose.

On Left: Indian Pink

On Right: Tea Rose

Background c/o my awesome new Iced cookbook.

Plain lips with nothing on them.

With Tea Rose Lipstick.

Tea Rose is a very subtle shade, slightly pinkish in pictures but warmer looking IRL. The lipstick glides on so smoothly it reminds me of lip butter, but it's staying power isn't commendable--you have to reapply it after two hours or so. But these lippies are cheap, cheap, cheap, and they're good quality enough for their price. What you really want from NYX is that they have hundreds of colors to choose from--you can't not find your own personal lipstick shade fave!

Tea Rose is a good everyday lipstick, natural-looking enough for everyday life. I can't wait to try other shades! The Indian Pink shade is for my sister to review.

My sister bought there lippies for P120 from the online seller here when they were at the bazaar. I realize they're being sold at P140 each if you order online, so if you want a cheaper option, try here, where you can get if for as low as P100 each. If you're from the US, I hear these lipsticks go for 1USD each! Must ask for some from my dad!

Our Favorite Resort: Doña Jovita Resort

Recent pictures from our Doña Jovita trip go here.


If you want a to go on a summer vacation where you can swim in either cool water or hot spring-waters, be one with nature and go on a hike, and have a lot of wonderful photos, you have to go to Doña Jovita in Laguna. It's our favorite getaway, easy to reach if you live in Calamba (like I do), and fairly inexpensive--you get the quality for your money. Recently they have also improved their site to be able to accommodate weddings and such. My family and relatives have been going to Doña Jovita for almost seven (?!) years now. We make it a habit to drop by once a year.


TIP: If you want a peaceful, quiet atmosphere, don't go there at April or May. Be a boss like me and my aunt and go there on February, or early March. We were, literally, save for the staff, the only people in the resort.


How to get there:
From Calamba, ride a jeep that will go to UP Los Banos. Say Dona Jovita and you're set. Tell the driver to drop you off.

Doña Jovita has 6 or 7 pools--some are cold water, and some are 'hot spring' water. (And there are various 'mini pools' and jacuzzi-like pools, too!) It's good because when the weather is cold you can choose to jump into a pool of hot water instead. (I prefer hot water myself)

This one is a 'mini-pool' against a stone wall. They have water running down the wall too, to make it look like a waterfall.

More scenes and pictures from Jovita:

If you're looking for pretty rocks and greenery, this resort has it.

Beside one of the pools. This one is has hot water, and is my favorite among all their pools.

You can hike up these steps on a hill quite a distance from the resort to reach a "grotto".

Many years ago, we slept over at this resort, renting one of their awesome cottages that will remind you so much of nature. Of course, we brought our own food, too!

Me and le aunt got hungry after all the swimming and waddling around and the sunbathing, so we ordered some food from the resort restaurant and asked it to be served to our table (which was conveniently one step away from the pool. We moved it there because no one else was around anyway. -_-)

The order was for some Pancit Bihon. It tasted home-made and good, not like those ridiculous instant things. With that being said, you'll also have to wait quite a while for the order to arrive. Later my aunt also ordered some cappuccino, which she remarked was good, but half the cup was just foam. Haha. XD

I highly encourage everyone to visit Dona Jovita. And I'm not even getting paid to do this. It's a beautiful place where you can swim in whatever water you prefer, hot or cold, and be one with nature as well, and take a lot of amazing photos!

And here is a picture of me sunbathing in a bikini:

No, I'm just kidding. XD

Click Here to See Dona Jovita's Facebook page and More Pics

Great Find: 'Iced' on Sale

You know it's your day when you go shopping for innocent things like lemons and then you come back from the grocery trip with a thick book that you got for P75 instead of P429.50. I got the book "Iced" which is a collection of around 180 ice cream recipes, from traditional vanilla ice cream, to Italian gelato, to more exotic recipes like wasabi ice cream and even our own 'halo-halo'.


The great thing is that these recipes don't exactly require that you have an ice cream maker! If you didn't know, you can make homemade ice cream without the machine. The book touches up on that, too, and I'll quote it here. Another good thing is that the ingredients here aren't uber rare, and that the measurements are written in grams and their cup equivalents. Couldn't anything be more convenient?

It was only 75 and it was pretty thick and heavy. And so many beautiful pictures!

Cappuccino ice cream cakes! Awesome. I want to try this out. They have a recipe for the cake and the ice cream.

Anyway, for those curious about homemade ice cream without needing an ice-cream maker, I quote the book:

If you don't own a machine, good ice cream can still be made. Put the chilled ice cream base into a large metal bowl that allows for room for expansion and freeze for about an hour and a half, or until the edges start to freeze. Using a wire whisk, or electric beaters set to slow speed, whisk the mixture to break up crystals and also aerate the mixture--these two processes are what a machine does mechanically and they are responsible for the soft, scoopable texture of the ice cream. Repeat this procedure at least twice more, freezing the ice cream for an hour and a half between beatings.

Each recipe had an instruction for what to do when you have an ice-cream maker, and for when you don't. This is a great book indeed. Will start making some homemade ice cream soon and will share them here when you do this. 

When Life Gives You Lemons... Make Lemon Bars

Last Sunday I made Lemon Bars by request of my brother. He now declares them his 'favorite'. He loves desserts that have a touch of fruit in them--his other favorite, so far, are my mango bars, and anything with strawberry in them.


To bake, I used a recipe from Joyofbaking.com which uses easily accessible ingredients and is very easy to make. Here is the resulting product:

Photo editing care of my brother. He loves them so much he did this for me! :3

I didn't garnish them with the powdered sugar, so they look a little different from the ones at joyofbaking.com but they taste wonderful! It's tart and tangy, and just right. The lemon flavor and smell really comes through. I can't wait to make more!

Everything you need for this recipe can be right at your own home, and for Filipinos who don't store lemons at their homes, lemons are around P50 for three pieces at Puregold. For this recipe, you'd only need 2 lemons anyway. I'll quote something from joyofbaking.com about buying lemons:

When choosing lemons look for ones that are fragrant with brightly colored oily yellow skins. The best ones are firm, plump, and heavy for their size. Don't buy lemons that have blemishes, soft spots, or are hard and wrinkled. 

Read more:http://joyofbaking.com/LemonCurd.html#ixzz1oLODBfGK

It's important to use fresh lemons instead of imitation lemon juices--fresh is best. With that being said, I can't wait to buy fresh vanilla someday.I also can't wait to make lemon ice cream. :3


xoxo
Xarin


PS: While making these, my brother helped me with squeezing the juices from the lemons. And then he asked me, "Why do fanfictions say 'lemon'? What does lemon in fanfic mean?" I told him, "Smut." And so he laughed and said, "Ooh, we're making smutty bars! Yum. They taste smutty."

All Things Starbucks Here

All things Starbucks-related go here.


I don't frequent Starbucks because we all know it's pretty expensive for a middle-class student. If I want coffee or hot choco, I'll always go to cheaper alternatives, like McDonalds' (they have awesome hot choco) or Country Style (where you can get a cup of brewed coffee + free refill for only P40). And besides, my last experience drinking a Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks ended up in me getting palpitations.


But I met friends who worked there, and also, my aunt loves going there, and so we would always cap our mall trips this vacation season with going to Starbucks to get some coffee or tea for her, hot choco for me. It was almost a once-a-day ritual during our stay at Calamba, where we were in SM Calamba almost every day.

9:45 AM , at Starbucks SM Calamba. Just got off the bus and was so hungry I just dove into everything, forgetting to take a picture. Fail.

I always order their Hot Choco. I prefer the Classic one as opposed to the Signature one.

White Chocolate Mocha Latté. Decaf. Yummy. I should order all my coffee decaf from now on. It's sweet and light, oozing with the white choco flavor.

Le Aunt Merle enjoying her Mocha Latté.

The staff at the store in Calamba were also very nice, open, and smiling, good to you even when you asked them ridiculous questions. Save for one woman who was upset over something and yelling at the other employees. My friends who worked at Starbucks would be angry to hear that. They always told me everyone in Starbucks stores are nice, from the Barista to the Managers. Meh.

Cheers to the Starbucks SM Calamba store for putting up with us. From Jakilyn Chipeco.