06/26/10

Dear Singapore,

A week had passed and still no interviews in tow. I just realized that I got more calls while I was in the Philippines rather than staying here. And it is because we have slow to no internet access in the flat. Bummer. Really bummer. Dear Singapore, please be kind to an innocent girl like me.

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A friend of mine back in high school had high hopes of finding a job in Singapore. When he came here last Monday, he was ecstatic. He said he was meeting a potential employer. The following day, he told me he was already employed. So I asked him if he received a job offer and if his pass has already been processed, he hesitated and shrugged me off. He insisted that I should visit his office because there were openings there. I was hesitant on how the set-up of the agency goes but he was persistent. Being Filipino that I am, I went to his office the following day.

Inside the office, there was a Tagala, the Singaporean who looks like Chinese guy, the Singaporean who looks like British girl and my friend, Jules. They looked at me in awe like I was the perfect catch. And I heard the Singaporean guy said, he could be in the bikini retail.” My knees shivered. Bikini retail? What kind of job would I be having? Selling retails in a bikini? I mean, thanks to my hard worked body, but hell no, was I gonna sell bikinis. Not that it is bad, but it’s just not me. I shook my head and begged Jules silently not to put me in bikini retail. Finally Jules said that there was another opening for Sales Executive for a beauty product. There will be an interview in the afternoon. The agency was presenting to me like I had no other option but to take a bite of the slice of cake they were giving me. They said they were doing me a favor, looking for a job for me, hassle free. I was insulted because I am a very qualified professional. I mean I need a job but I am not that desperate to pay 100 sgd just to get an interview and pay another 500 sgd to get my pass processed. I had everything done before without paying anything. Besides, if I were going to pay 120,000 pesos, might as well be a job that I get to choose and love, right? I came here to Singapore to look for a better life not being milked by some unknown agency.

Finally, I said no to them and apologized for wasting their time. Then the Tagala was somehow was pissed off, and said, “Hija, ‘di ba kelangan mo ng pp..”, she didn’t continue while looking at me from head to foot, because somehow I looked decent and rephrased it, “Ba’t ka nandito sa Singapore? ‘Di ba para makahanap ng trabaho?” I smiled while shaking my head. “No I came here to look for love. Love.” And that’s how they became hopeless of me. I left.