The Interview...

I had a job interview the other day.

Wag niyo nang itanong kung saan. It went okay, I guess.

The interviewer, a guy named Carlo Jose (but you can call me CJ, said he) who was wearing this ultra-sleek corporate attire which made me feel like a fast food mascot in my purple long-sleeved shirt. He looked younger than me, parang commercial model ng Eskinol for Men with Real Papaya Bits and Essence. Na-insecure ako agad sa kaniya.

"So, how long have you been working in PeopleSupport?" he asked.

Too long, I thought, but instead said, "More than five years."

"Wow, that's quite an achievement. I heard that it's pretty hard to stay in that company for that long," he reacted, while polishing his glasses.

Did he just subtly insult the first ever company I worked for? Hmmm...

"I've been there that long because I really enjoy the working environment," I said, "The people are really quite something."

"Really? What do you mean?" he asked. Tangina, humingi pa ng details, eh chika lang naman yung sinabi ko. Filler ba.

"Well, the're very dynamic," I answered. Nakakatawa. Ano ba talaga ang ibig sabihin pag sinabi mong dynamic ang isang tao? Wala talaga ako sa mood ma-interview noon.

I continued on bago pa niya tanungin kung anong ibig sabihin ng dynamic, "Plus, a lot of my co-workers are very interesting. I've been saying it over and over again all these years, I stayed because of the people in the account."

CJ nodded, "I see. And what is it exactly that you do in your account?"

Nagpapa-kapokpok para sa mga epal na foreigners, I thought, but I said, "Mainly, we cater to their travel needs. We do everything from booking their travel to making sure they get home on time with the littlest amount of inconvenience as possible."

Gusto ko sanang idagdag, "Paminsan minumura nila kami. Pero di naman kami makaganti. Instead, ngingiti na lang kami at magsasabing Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"What do you think you can bring into our company that no one else can?" CJ asked.

Sandamakmak na bilbil? Tsismis? Harry Potter trivia? Boxers na walang garter?

Wala akong maisip so I said jokingly:

"My cunning wit and devilishly handsome looks?"

CJ blinked. Di niya yata na-gets ang joke. Sabi niya, "Hoookay..."

Alam niyo, usually, di naman sa pagyayabang, I'm very witty pero during that interview, I think my heart really wasn't into it. I kept thinking to myself, Kaya ko ba talaga ito? Iwan ang PS? Am I really ready to go out of my comfort zone?

"Well, you can expect a call from us in the next three days with the results," CJ said, shuffling papers around his desk, "Thank you for your time."

I stood up, shook his hand, and said, "Salamat din."

What's funny is, they did call, and they were going to offer me a job. And what's even funnier is I told them I would have to politely turn them down. Was it the salary, you ask? Hindi naman. Ok naman yung offer nila eh. I just don't think I'm quite ready to leave yet.

Sayang naman pag nawala ang cunning wit and devilishly handsome looks ko sa PS, di ba?