Sup3rnality

This happened Monday morning at around 11am:

I was listening to the noise on the tv, not paying too much attention to what was going on cos I was on the laptop at the same time; the remote control was too far away for me to bother getting up and turning the tv volume down. My mom was on the couch, snoozed off while watching whatever it was on the tv screen.

I was engrossed by the laptop as per usual. My head was spinning from my wondering whether W-K will be calling me anytime soon and from the dream of my being hired by them... I guess I've been so worried and have been overanalyzing my interview too much that it's been messing with my brain like those little birdies that circle around when you bump your head in cartoon shows. Ah yes, welcome to the crazy mind of Linzy.

Then, my phone rang.

I looked at it like it was a lifeline and dived for it in a flurry. The screen read: Wolters-Kluwer. My heart leaped and I went to the kitchen where it was quiet and talked to Mr. Raymond (from before).

He told me that my interviewers found me capable in handling the job, coupled with my passing the tests, and they...jengjengjeng...would like to hire me! I could have screamed and jumped up and down like a madwoman if not for my wanting to sound professional.

I listened to Mr. Raymond and some of his explanations. He didn't say much, but promised that he would call next week to confirm some things so I could come to the office and discuss my employment further. He wouldn't be able to see me this week as he had to go somewhere. However, he did declare February 2nd as the date my employment commences; although I am not clear on whether that date would be the date I first come in, or that I will be sent for training as was mentioned in my interview *shrug*. I don't know all that for sure yet, but it's just good to know that I am gonna be given a job! And paid for doing something I like. Hehe.. Happy happy happy me *gigantic grin*.

Apart from that, he did ask me to name a price for my paycheck *grin*. I'm glad he said that I gave him a reasonable asking price that he could work on (Mind you, Cyberjaya's cost of living is high). So I'll be looking forward to a hefty paycheck...albeit, with the huge rent that I would potentially pay and all the bills included, I'll probably be left with just a little to splurge on myself and people I love.

Other than that, I'd have to wait til he calls. He said that I could always call his assistant should I need to ask anything. I tried calling today, but no one picked up :P

It took me a while to write this (four days, in fact) mainly cos I was still in a daze. I cannot believe it, and it is only today that I feel much better to actually say it quite freely. On the tippy-top of that, I still am abit wary of shouting it out to the world. In my mind, without anything in black and white, and my having not meet them yet; I feel as though they can take back the offer just like that. I have this fear that maybe they'll reconsider and hire someone else instead. I'm very sure they won't do something like that, now that they've told me they've hired me, but I wanna be safe and very very sure. I wanna see them and talk it our and then really be sure that they've hired me.

But for all intents and purposes, they have verbally told me that I am hired. Yes, I am a future sub-editor for Wolters-Kluwer and will start work on the 2nd of February 2009.

Yeay!!! My first job! Woo-hoo! Yeay me!

Wish me luck!

Love, Lin~

P/S: Dear Anonymous reader/commentor, I hope that you, too, have been hired. Would be nice to meet someone I already somewhat "know" during training. All the best!

I tend to have a little lie in every morning as soon as I wake up. I'd open my eyes, look at the time, then roll over and pull my blanket up around me and hold my bolster closer, and then I'd have myself a sinful amount of snoozing.

Sometimes my mom says I wake up late; I don't, actually. I wake up quite early. It's just that some days the bed seems too tempting to get out of.

Today was no different. I woke up to the sounds of the primary school assembly from the school behind my house. The annoying teacher's grating voice I hear every morning (I assume she's the headmistress) is enough to wake the dead up, nevermind myself. And yet, I managed to find myself in deep slumber again.

Deep enough to dream.

And so I dreamt. I don't remember any lead-ins to the dream, the next thing I know I was in the car with my cousin, Kak Anna, or Kanna, and she told me that I got the job I wanted: as a sub-editor with Wolters-Kluwer. I don't know why it was her who was the one to announce it, but there she was waiting in a car all smiley and knowing. She said to me that I got the job, and I got sooo happy.

A sign? Hopefully.

The dream then jumps to my moving in with Ayus. I dreamt that we were in the lift taking stuff up to her place and she was struggling away looking for her keys. There were some clumsiness and craziness along the way, as well as a cat getting caught in the mix; not unusual I'd say. I don't remember the jumbled mess that comes later, but it revolved around the apartment as well...

Another good sign? Maybe.

Maybe I'm wanting this just so bad...that I'm even dreaming it. With the getting hired and the moving in to a new place. Phew, lets hope I really do get it.

Love, Lin~

Today's Sunday was spent with much fun and silliness with my darling whom I've not been able to see since my birthday. Things have been hectic, and I've hardly had the time to drop by campus to pay him a visit, eventhough I wanted to. The week after my birthday I was in Kelantan, and then the following week was full of appointments with recruiting agencies and interviews... Not to mention the fact that Ash has classes til the late afternoon, hence, I can't come around on weekdays and stow him away for some quality time.

So today was the day I could finally have him to myself. Well, not really, but close enough. I'm content enough to have him near; to talk to him even if they are silly nothings, see him, and be able to reach out and touch him. I love how my heart leaps knowing I'm going to see him, and how it hammers like crazy when I catch sight of him. And I love how my heart eases into relax mode when he's right there in front of me, being his lovable self.

I am easily satisfied and can find the fun in nothing at all. So I took him to Amcorp's Flea Market, to which he's never been. We had fun looking through every single stall and oohed and aaahed at the rarities and antiques. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon together, just admiring knick-knacks and talking about them; sometimes joking and goofing. It was wonderful.

Sayang, it was a great afternoon with you today... I wish the day could go on much longer and lets us spend hours and hours together. Just being close fills me with so much love, and I could only hope that I could be close to you all the time.

I'm missing you already, darling. Maybe soon~

Love, Linzy~

I wanted to pen this down sooner, I just didn't get the time nor was I in the right state of mind to be able to do so;

After the interview on Friday morning, all of a sudden the weariness from the non-stop interviews and tests just came crashing down on me. The last 4 days (since Tuesday), I've only been getting in about 4-5 hours of sleep and some extra minutes on the train to wherever I'm heading. So Friday night all the way to Saturday I've been letting my head drop whenever possible. In the car, on the couch, my handbag as a pillow, hanging my head wherever...yeah, every place good enough for my head to land was my bed. Despite the fact I was out and about the whole of yesterday, I managed to squeeze in some hours of sleep here and there.

Friday marked the end of my hectic week. Like Sarah pointed out, as soon as I started getting worried and desperate for a job almost to the brink of frustration, my job applications got provoked and bit back, and I started getting calls. Most importantly, Wolters-Kluwer called, even after the bust with the recruitment agency. And they got me to sit through some editing tests, which I duly passed very well.

So Friday came, thus interview with them to read into my personality. I'd say the placidity of the two who interviewed me was just an act. A standard procedure to see how their victims withstand pressure. But it managed to throw me off my game just a little. A slight stutter here when I lost track of what I was saying, and a little muck-up of explanation there. Ah well, no-one could be super-perfect. I tried getting them to smile, I only managed a controlled stretch of lips on one, while the other kept on being nonchalant; I smiled on anyway.

They bombarded me with many questions, especially those pertaining to stress, and I cannot say for sure I gave them the answer they wanted; but I gave them what I really felt. It was as honest as I could be. I couldn't possibly tell them, "Don't worry, I'm boring and dull and like doing things that are boring and dull. It's hard to get me stressed doing things I love".

Before the interview, I gave myself a 70-30 chance of getting the job... Now it went down a little bit cos I couldn't read the body language of the interviewers. The played the stoic card pretty well. I couldn't tell whether they were pertial to my answers or not... So I'm giving myself 60-40 now, cos a) I mucked up one answer, and b) because I lost my train of thought in certain questions. But I can't say all that much... I mean, who knows? The possibility of either one happening is just as possible as the other; and as confident as I am, I might not get it as well.

We'll just see how it goes and wait patiently for their call...

Anyhow, Ayus is apartment hunting for me. We might not know the verdict yet, but most people are already very confident I'll get it, and Ayus is one of them. And she's excited at my living in Cyberjaya and had been looking for apartment rooms for me to rent. She's forwarded me some, so I hope to God I get the job so I can live on my own again--finally!

Wish me luck!

Love, Linzy~

"Editing subs", said a friend of Ayus' when Ayus called to ask her what a sub-editor does, as well as how the test would be like.

That explains alot, I thought to myself.

Well, no help there, so I thought I'd just go it alone with whatever skills I have. Yes, today is interview day with Wolters-Kluwer in Cyberjaya, and I was told that I would have to sit for a test to determine whether I really qualify as an editor. When they called me yesterday, they also told me that I was qualified for two posts, so my test would also more or less which post I am more suitable for.

So I got there just before the appointed time, which was at 2pm. Earlier I took the komuter to Bandar Tasik Selatan, took the ERL to the Putrajaya station and got a cab to Ayus' place in Cyberia, Cyberjaya. I got ther s little after 9am, so I spent some time lepaking with the Fairuzs and also had brunch at OldTown. Later they sent me off to FSMB Plaza where the office was.

The office had a very friendly atmosphere to it that I liked. Everyone there seemed high on something and were all so hyper and happy and goofy. I guess that was a good sign. And also, I overheard the guy who called me yesterday, Mr. Raymond, tell his assistant that he's been looking forward to see me. Definitely another good sign. When they handed me the test and led me to a room for me to answer it, I saw the questions and thought it's something that I could do and would love to do. A major good sign.

Ok, lets not get ahead of ourselves.

The test consisted of three sections. The first one was an essay that I had to proofread and edit. I found that one easy, if a little tricky. There were spelling mistakes that were almost undetectable, and subtle mistakes that you would have just passed by (i.e.: the essay was about potatoes, and out of nowhere, it said carrots in a particular sentence). But in an essay, everything is in one specific context, so it was not a problem. The second part however, was similar in my having to correct whatever mistakes, but they were in sentences, which have been taken out of context, thus you aren't very very sure whether something you think is wrong, is. Also, I also had to edit them for length, so I had to cut out words that were unnecessary, even if I thought they should be there. The last section was to test the way I express myself in words, my vocab, my grammar and sentence structures. So I had to write an essay, which is based on a topic I had to choose out of three options. I chose the one that asked what I would to with 100k if it just happened to appear in my account. I had fun writing that.

After the test, which I was given an hour for, I was told I could leave, and they'd probably call me next week, seeing how tomorrow is Friday and they had about 10 pages to look through. I thanked them and left feeling good. The test felt good, and with the little pick-me-up I had from yesterday's interview, I felt that I was close to something. When I was leaving, many people in the lift was wishing me luck, and were saying that they looked forward to seeing me as a permanent fixture in the office. So, another major goodness sign.

I went shopping with Fairuzs after that at Alamanda. My feet were killing me cos I borrowed my mom's sandals, and it was hard and uncomfortable. But I survived anyway walking back and forth, here and everywhere in the mall.

When we got back to the car, and were about to leave, which was already around 5pm, I got a call and it was from Mr. Raymond. He told me that I had passed the test and all that was left was to come for an interview tomorrow at 10am. I was frickin' ecstatic! I passed. I passed?! I passed!!! If I was standing, I would have done the Dance of Joy like Numfar would.

Ayus, who overheard, was already plotting how she'd get her housemate to move out, anticipating me moving in with her :p

Really, I was so happy. I was mostly scared of the test. I mean, I know my grammar is relatively better than most, but I still dunno whether I would cut it as an editor. And to be told that I passed is super-fantastic! Now I know that the test was good for their standards, interview would be a breeze. I mean, not to be overconfident and count my chicks too early; but what I mean is that my anxiety has left, so tomorrow I won't have any of that.

I called Ash as soon as I got to Ayus' place. I was bursting at the seams and just needed to tell him. My parents I wanted to tell when I could see them. I was so excited and gushing when I was telling Ash. And I've to thank you, Sayang, for constantly telling me and assuring me that I could do it.

The Fairuzs after that sent me to the ERL and I got on it to Salak Tinggi, where my dad picked me up. I was so happy to announce the good news and begged him to get me new shoes for me to wear tomorrow. We stopped and I got two :) My mum was equally happy when I told her. And with everyone's assurance and blessing, tomorrow would be a walk in the park (I hope).

So, wish me luck. I really really want this. Pay is good, and the work is something my brain is made to do, so, getting it is so crucial to me...

Anyway, we'll see la, how it all turns out.

Love, Linzy~