PART IV – THE JUDE B EXPERIENCE ATBP
Dec 1 - Saturday
I dunno if I have mentioned it in prior blogs, but my manager sent me to Cebu to interview RCGs (Recent College Graduates) for 2002 hiring. Apparently, after failing to meet our attrition %, we are now in need of 21 new engineers. And that is for our department alone. I guess that’s economy right there for you. At it’s volatile best. So, just a few hours after my business communications class, I flew to Cebu.

Timing is indeed everything. You see, my high school batch didn’t just give me my bestest friends in the world, but it also yielded a bunch of different personalities and talents. One of them happens to be Jude. By day, she is an ecological consultant (I’m not sure if that is her actual title). In a nutshell, she is one of the folks who survey the environment before industrialists start raping what’s left of our natural resources. They ensure that no species are harmed or something like that. By night, she is a wedding coordinator-cum-entertainer. And after months of trying to catch one of her shows, I finally did, without even trying. She does stand-up comedy, but last Saturday, she had an acoustic concert in Dish (not connected to the one in Powerplant), along with a few of our local bands. My, she is really good. Her repertoire ranged from EBTG, to Cyndi Lauper, to Alanis Morisette. Her rendition of “Not a Doctor” by the latter, is really amazing! She can really pull off some vocal acrobatics. And I could almost hear everyone sigh after she sang “Pls. don’t ask me… why I’m so in love with you…”. Judie, we are so proud of you, and I think it’s not an exaggeration to say you are now one of Cebu’s rising stars! And I’m not just saying that because of the free beer. :-)

Dec 2 – Sunday
After partying for three nights in a row, I finally gave in to sleep… The day just sort of whizzed by, and all my waking moments were spent trying to finish reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, eating, and texting. I even missed my favorite reminiscing-my-youth show – Tabing-ilog (and I haven’t missed any in the last three months or so!).

Dec 3-4 – RCG Interviews
Now for the official business. Monday I interviewed EIGHT applicants in one day. I spent about 45-55 minutes with each interviewee, asking technical and behavioral questions. I had to be really thorough because these kids I will hire will definitely have huge roles to play in pressing forward the future of our company. Tuesday I had a couple of interviewees.

Monday night was spent with my family and (later) watching the second episode of Charmed Season 4. After the interviews were completed today, I went to do a bit of my Christmas shopping in Ayala Center which was also a bonding activity with none other than my dad! Much later, I watched Monsters Inc. with my younger sis, Eyen (na BI ko na mag-undertime sa office, after all, we hardly spent time together) . Yep, this is definitely one of the funniest movies I have seen. Sully is very endearing. Now I wish I had befriended my closet monster, too! And yes, in the end, laughter is not only the best medicine, it’s potency and power sustains life and energy as well!

After another round of shopping (yes, I am now a proud owner of a new purple dress, among other things) I had dinner at Persian Palate with my two other best friends Risa and Arlene, and Joy, another friend from high school and Eyen. The food was not bad. I guess it reminds me of my brief sojourn in Penang three or four years ago. I had chosen to be more adventurous this time, as I had already satisfied my craving for Cebu’s lechon, barbeque and Chinese dimsum in previous days. After dinner, we went to Ayala Entertainment Center to make tambay a bit. After The Village and Crossroads, this is now the latest hangout of Cebu’s yuppies. For dining, you can choose between Sol Y Luna (Spanish/Filipino cuisine) or Don Henrico’s. If you wanna party, you can go to Brix Sports bar, Me Vida (known for it’s bar counter top dancing beauties) and Ratsky’s (while Tequila Joe's will open before Christmas). Or for a nightcap, you can go to Bo’s Coffee Club, Cebu’s answer to Starbucks or SBC. Anyway, since we just had dinner, we went to Bo’s. You definitely have to try their Mango Float dessert. Sarap. Their blueberry cheescake is also good. After a few minutes of hanging out, we bumped into some other high school friends, and each one’s elementary friends. I guess this is one of the things I miss about Cebu. Since it’s really just a small town, you are bound to bump into old friends wherever you go. After about a day of hanging out in Ayala, I met three ex-suitors, one ex-crush, about ten or so old schoolmates. (Eyen, on the other hand, have been, by then, asked for her phone number by two young men. Well, Arl, talk about drawing power. ;) Laos na talaga tayo. Or worse ulay na talaga.). For my non-Cebuano readers, ulay (I just came across this term now lang also), is Cebuano for old maid. Ouch.

Must be all that ulay talk, but at the last minute, the five of us decided to go out and drink. We went to this place called Backstreet, no relation to the boy band, but so-called because of it’s location. It’s an inconspicuous billiards place/internet café but very apt for the occasion (or the absence of one). We had a few games and a couple of rounds of Red Horse (sarap mag-beer! ;D). Since Doc Arl is on duty Wednesday (not to mention I have a flight to catch), we had to go by midnight.

Postscript:
Storm signal #2 was hoisted over Cebu and other nearby provinces. "Quedan” brought not only incessant rain and strong winds but a bit of flood in some areas here. So I learned even Cebu gets flooded now. No, my flight back to Manila was not cancelled, but I decided to extend my vacation till the weekend. Brrrr.... it's really cold here tonight.