I had a scheduled interview at a CPA firm in downtown Los Angeles, CA last Thursday, March 19. I had to fly in and out the same day coz my boss allowed me to only have a 1 day off. I flew to Burbank (Bob Hope Airport), with my suit, skirt, stockings and heels at 6:50 am and arrived there at about 8am. I took a cab to downtown LA to make it to my 10:30am interview appointment.
I arrived early (about 9-ish) and thought of relaxing for a while. I toured and walked around the building and ate breakfast at this Korean Cafe located at the ground level of 3600 Wilshire Boulevard. And before my scheduled time, I went up to the 17th floor to meet my prospective employer.
I was welcomed by a kind receptionist who initiated the interview by asking me about the necessary documents that I needed to submit. She also had me take a short quiz about Internal Control, which I believe was quite easy (hehe!). And after that, I had a face-to-face interview with the HR Director.
I can say that it was a smooth interview. Though not until I get a job offer from them or another call atleast would I know how I did on the interview. He introduced me to the Managing Partner and toured me around the office too. The office is kinda small and a bit messy still coz they just moved. Well, most of the professionals are on the field so no wonder they never had the time to clean up. So, after having the tour, I left the building with the hope that I get the job offer really soon.
I texted Ken that I just finished with my interview. I was about to walk and look for a restaurant when he called me and invited me to have lunch with him. My, I did get ecstatic when he called me. So I hurriedly took the train nearby and after 4 short stops, I met up with Ken at Pershing Square Metro Station. After 2 months of not seeing each other, I was really really happy to be in his arms again! We talked like how we were before and deep in my heart, I can feel that the feeling is still mutual. I just know it.
We spent an hour chatting and just catching up on things. He had to go back to work so I decided to meet up with my friends, who also work nearby and have merienda with them. Ken walked me to the train station, and as the train was coming, I hugged him goodbye and hoped that I’ll see him again really soon.
I met up with my college friends, Julie and Jay at 3325 Wilshire Blvd. My feet were already cursing me coz yes, I was still in my high heels. It was a perfect weather in LA but my suit, skirt, stockings and ehem, heels, didn’t match the sun at all. Good thing I brought an extra blouse but bad thing is, I forgot to bring flat shoes. I could barely walk to the nearby McDonald’s where Julie and Jay decided to eat. Upon getting there, I hurriedly went to the restroom to take off my suit and stockings and change clothes.
After meeting up with Julie and Jay, I took the train going to 7th Street/Metro Center. My feet were really getting sore that I could barely stand. But I had no choice, I have to get to Macy’s in downtown LA where I could buy flat shoes. When I got to Macy’s, I didn’t mind the price of the shoes, I just had to buy a pair by all means, the soonest possible time. But the more that I’m seeing $79s and $89s for a pair of flats, I just couldn’t decide if its really worth it. A nice saleslady was staring at me and talking to another lady when I caught her eye and she went near me. She just mentioned that she was just telling the other lady how nicely dressed I was. She complemented my blouse and skirt and got excited when she saw that my heels looked exactly the same as the one that they had in store. I told her that I got mine at Target (Mossimo brand) and it was relatively cheaper than theirs. She helped me buy a pair of shoes and finally, I decided to get a $50 worth of Naturalizer leather flats. The price wasn’t much of a relief, but how can I complain if my feet were feeling much better.
After shopping, I still had about 3 more hours to kill before meeting up with my Manabat friends, Jezz and Aris. I decided to drink coffee and read Eclipse while waiting for the time. Good thing I bought a book with me, I just knew that it’ll be of handy. I decided to spend the whole 3 hours there but my cellphone was running out of charge and all of the outlets in Coffee Bean were being used. I had to go back to Macy’s and look for an outlet where I could sit and relax at the same time. I was walking around and around when I finally saw an outlet in one of the benches where I found a new friend.
I sat down and smiled at her when I noticed that she was staring at me the whole time. She asked, “Pinay ka ba?” and told me that she saw me walking around in circles for like two times. I told her that I was looking for an outlet and was just waiting for my friends. I asked if she was waiting for someone coz I noticed that she just finished shopping at Macy’s. She said that she was just resting and would be heading home in a while. The conversation started there. We talked about life in California in general as compared to Manila. Usual conversations like how we got in the US to family background and exchanging POVs lead us to talk for about 1 1/2 hours. I didn’t notice how time went by so fast, not until I got a call from Aris and Jezz that they were already on their way to meet me. I walked her to the bus stop and kissed my new friend goodbye. Her name is Aling Ara De Guzman and she is 68 years old. FYI, we exchanged numbers. 
Jezz was the first to show up at Macy’s. I got thrilled when I saw her coz the last time that we saw each other was in the Philippines more than a year ago. She was all dressed up (according to her, she prepared every detail of what she was about to wear) while I was all tired and messed up and not to mention, wearing flats. Aris followed shortly and the next thing we know is that we were on a joy ride to Burbank to have dinner somewhere near Bob Hope Airport.
We ate at Subway where we had a quickie dinner coz it was almost time for me to go. We took some pictures but was not so successful with it so we ended up making a pact that I will come back again really soon. They dropped me off the airport and shortly, I was already flying back home. That was at 8:15pm.
When I got home, I just changed my clothes, brushed my teeth and barely noticed what time I went to bed. All I knew that I was tired with so much travel, talking and walking. My head & body were aching that I needed to rest. And my feet couldn’t agree more.
And before I closed my eyes, I swore to myself that I’m not going to do this again! Hehe
