When I was at work yesterday, the atmosphere at work was just overwhelming.  Lucky ladies get to show off their long-stemmed bunch of roses they get from their special someones.  My supervisor gave me 3 pieces of heart chocolates not because it’s Valentines but because she always supplies us with it.  I got a cute card and a peanut butter cup given by the daughter of one of my closest friends from work.  That gesture made me smile and I put such precious thing in front of me in my computer so I get to see it once in a while and bring smile to my face.

I was on my way out and TS is waiting for me at the parking lot.  I could not resist but tell one of  the Loan Officers that she’s got a pretty bunch of flowers when I passed by cube and notice the beautiful white roses.  As I continue to walk through the halls, many more ladies were carrying their baskets of flowers and or sweets.  There was even someone who looks like she might need some  weight loss pill got a handful of flowers of 2 different kinds while I only got my purse clutched in my hand and my Contigo Stainless Steel Vacuum Mug on the other.  It lead me to ask, where are my flowers?

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I have been working for 3 weeks now.  Wow!  Time sure flies so fast.  But I still continue to take on the day to day challenges of my work.  I can definitely say I am doing pretty fine.  I was told by the seniors that I picked up pretty fast and is now doing what the people who are already there for 1 year are doing.  It is these kind of remarks that inspire me and make me continue the good work that I have done.

It was on my 1st week that I was taught how to do faxes.  It is something that I enjoy doing.  I was glad to be assigned to do it coz it gives me more time off the phone.  I must admit I am still not very confident on the phone and my English surely needs some sharpening.

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Last year has been very difficult for our economy.  It has made employment really challenging.  In fact, we can still feel the effects of it this year.  Many companies including IBM continued to lay-off people.  All the more it made the job search competition even tougher. So what do we need to do to nail the job?

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What is good about working as a temp is that you get paid each week.  It gives a feeling that you are rewarded at the end of the working week.  My first paycheck came in the mail the other Friday.  I was excited!  I knew my hourly rate but I had no idea how much withholding will be taken from it.  When I opened it and see the figures, I have this huge smile on my face.

I am pretty satisfied with what I saw.  I never received such big amount of wage in my entirely short career.  The pay which was just for one day turned out to be equal to 1/3 of my monthly earning when I used to work in Convergys in the Philippines.  Having seen it, it has just motivated me to work each and every day.  In fact, the following Monday, I did overtime for 3 hours.  Kaching! Kaching!

Even before I got this paycheck, there are already things planned for it.  I was already thinking buying another set of fancy bed sheets like those of Sferra. I have also planned to buy TS on Valentine’s Day something that he desired for a long time.  It will have to remain a secret for now.  I have more goals and I am slowly bringing them closer to my reach.

I must admit that good paychecks motivate me to work.  But it is the good working environment, the chance to grow and excel and the heartwarming recognition, praises and confidence of the people around me especially my supervisor that made me want to do even better.

And when Monday comes, I will not only work harder but I’ll be working longer. Yes, it’s yet another overtime!

I like my job!  I get to work at my own pace.  What I basically do is simply assisting a Home Mortgage Consultant by keeping in contact with his or her clients who usually have relocation program with their work in our company.  We do this by calling the clients and sending them correspondence through email.  I was also trained to manage the faxes in and out of the company.  Something that I can choose to do if I want to stay away from the phones.

We have two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch. It isn’t that much time but we got adjusted to it. The time was just enough for us to bond in between our munches. For the past days, I have not been eating a lot of lunch because my I got an impacted wisdom tooth. I tried to eat just oatmeal since I can’t chew much on food. This could be a blessing in disguise coz I will be losing weight without investing my time reading Hydroxycut reviews to find out if they really work.

I have learned from my supervisor today that other than faxing, she has other plans for me. I don’t know what it is but I sure do hope I can manage it and that I will meet her expectations. I am loving my job and I’m pretty excited about it each day. I’d sleep early and eager to go to work. I have never been this enthusiastic before. And of course, there’s the paycheck that would come at the end of each week. So, that’s really rewarding!

While I was in the middle of doing my usual routine as a Mortgage Assistant and learning some new tasks that are handed to me, I suddenly smell something.  I need not to look around to know what it was.  I can instantly identify the yummy aroma of a freshly-cooked french fries.  In a little while, I smelled an inviting chinese food.  This really made me hungry so I emailed Kyeela for lunch.

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Getting a job definitely changed my daily routine.  Normally, I would wake up at 9:30 and stay in bed awake until 10:30 or even longer.  Now that I have a job, I have to get up as early as 6:30 and no time to lay around.  Once the alarm goes off, I have to lead my sleepy self and start getting myself ready.

My first day at work went out fine.  Like most first days, me and the other 3 new faces in the office were given a tour and were oriented as to our job functions and how things are done around the place.  We were assigned to our own working area and then we set-up our computer, email and network systems.  We also did a few classes from the Learning Center.  It was not stressful but rather relaxing and we worked at our own pace.  The four of us bonded at lunch and we had a great time!

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting acquainted with the program that we will be using.  It looks complicated but we are starting to get the hang of it.  Just a couple more practice and I should be comfortable with it.  Before we headed home, we marked our territory and my work place now has my name on it.  Yikes!

I stayed in the office for an extra hour and spent it with my supervisor.  She is super nice and considerate.  When she learned that on January 12 – Monday will be our 3rd Wedding Anniversary, she told me that I can take that day off so I can spend it with TS.  Not everyone gets a day off after just 1 day of work, right?  So, this is indeed a blessing.  When I go back to work on Tuesday, I’m gonna work harder and make sure she won’t regret that she gave me the day off.  Wooohooo!

Despite the economic crisis in our country and many people had been laid-off their jobs, I am so blessed to have a real good start of 2009.  Tomorrow I will be starting as my career here in the United States as a Mortgage Assistant.  I must admit that I have almost given up searching for a job.  I just let my recruiters take care of my job hunt and Office Team definitely did a great job.  My Staffing Manager Tami Olsen has been very enthusiastic about giving me a job.  She made everything easy for me.  But of course, all these comfort was after I met with another Staffing Consultant at a different branch and discussed my options and goals.  I also took a variety of assessments (mostly skills) and they were pleased with my scores.

It is nice to be part of a big company.  The company that I am working with is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance for more than 23 million customers through 6,100 stores, the Internet and other distribution channels across North America and internationally.

I will be learning more about the company and its working environment when I step my foot in the office tomorrow at 8am.  I will no longer be working here at home but rather I will have a more professional setting.  This would mean that I won’t be blogging as much as I used to but I won’t be saying goodbye. For now, I have to get my much needed rest and prepare for tomorrow for it sure is going to be a long day for me.

Choosing a bed is one critical decision to make.  Not only because beds nowadays would cost a fortune but because the wrong bed or mattress could make you restless or it will give you back problems.  It is very essential for us to do our homework before we rush to the store to purchase a bed.

There are many things to keep in mind in choosing or buying a bed. But let me point out the important ones. First, we have to consider what type of mattress you would like to have. Whether it’s a soft, medium-firm or firm mattress, it is a matter of personal preference. I may be comfortable with a softer mattress but you may not be. So, it is best to decide in advance which mattress gives you more comfort and will give you a sound sleep.

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December 20, 2008. I had to get up early yesterday and go with TS to FedEx Kinko’s as I needed to print a document that will be essential for my possible employment in the future. Instead of going to his work with him, we both decided to just go to FedEx Kinko’s and do what I had to do. After that, he just dropped me at Ridgedale Mall where I waited for the bus that would take me home.

I am a Metro Transit virgin. Since I arrived here in the US, I never step foot on any public buses (except during the MN State Fair that they have special routes). I was pretty anxious. It was 14 degrees Fahrenheit outside and I still had at least 30 minutes to wait for the bus. I went inside the mall to wait for it. I checked on my mobile phone for the time every now and then.

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