Luck is When Preparation Meets Opportunity

I love that line. It's from one of my favorite movies, Little Black Book. Girl doesn't end up with the guy (in this case, both guys) but somehow still gets the happy ending she deserves. It's not your typical love story, precisely why it's up there on my list along with crazy twisted Wicker Park.

Since my life's basically on hold right now, I can't do anything else but wait. Unlike most people, I actually enjoy waiting - provided that I'm actually waiting for something and not wasting my time on unworthy ambiguities. So while the rest of my batchmates are scurrying around Makati after graduation, scattering their resumes like confetti and collecting pre-employment exams and interviews like trophies, I'm sitting pretty with my laptop on my work desk perusing the pages of the world wide web. Yes, I'm researching. Couldn't shake the student out of me just yet.

So far, I've already combed through every relevant job listing ad I can get my cyber hands on. This is so I'd have a general idea on what kinds of positions I can apply for when I get to LA. Based on the info I've gathered, my gameplan is to score an internship job with one of Fortune 500 companies based in California (fingers crossed) and then, get a part-time job on the side. I have already come up with a list of my target companies, their addresses, websites, industry information, job openings and even the distance of their offices from our LA home. I'm OC like that.

But before anything else, I need to establish my California resident status by applying for a state ID and a driver's license. This has to be done within 10 days from my arrival date. So, that's the first thing I need to do. I even downloaded a copy of the California Driver Handbook to study for the written test. Haha! I'm such a geek. I'm pretty smug about the driving test though. I personally believe that if you're able to drive in the Philippines, you can drive anywhere. The daily battles with our friendly bus and jeepney drivers have taught me well.

I've located nearby commercial establishments, tourist spots, churches and schools via Google Earth, official LA City websites, LA bloggers and travel sites. I've studied the local transportation system which includes bus and train routes. My sister doesn't own a car and I don't have money to buy one just yet so I'd have to commute. It'll be a while before I'll be able cruise down Sunset Boulevard in a kick-ass convertible. Give me a few months to work on that. ;]

After going through all of that, I must say that I'm still not quite done, yet alone satisfied, with my LA info hunt. Still on my wish list is finding a personal blog written by a Pinay who moved to LA in her early 20s. I want to know how it is from a primary source. The closest I got to this was coincidentally reconnecting with a good friend from way back who migrated to LA three years ago. Yay, serendipity! She found me through Multiply. I had no idea she lives in LA now, and she didn't know I was migrating. I just saw her location status and voila! My saving grace. I felt like dancing on the spot in front of my laptop. I feel so relieved. I have a friend!!! Yeh hoe!

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Time to shed that infamous Pinoy mantra, "Bahala na si Batman". I'm taking a hold on my life.

** Sidenote: Since One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl just ended and the new seasons won't be out til September, I decided to finally give in and watch The Hills. Ditzy much? Haha... Hey, it still qualifies as research! ;]

Spring Cleaning

Yes, I know it's barely summer (I'm thinking in terms of the western weather now) and spring is still far off. I just think the term's perfect for what I'm about to write.

Anyhoo, I've been spending the past few days clearing my life of junk, excess baggage, what-have-yous. First on the list is to figure out which of the things currently occupying my closet space actually belong to me. So, heads up to the people I owe. You might just be looking into a sweet reconciliation with your long lost possessions sometime in the near future. This list includes a couple of shirts, shorts, ribbon pois, a paperbag full of dvds, framed photos, borrowed copies of the last two Harry Potter books and The Time Traveler's Wife. Horraaay for your owners who probably already have forgotten about you. Sorry!! I'll throw in a beer for every item returned.

After organizing these borrowed items in a neat pile, I now move on to the things I actually own. I plan on bringing as little baggage as possible with me to LA. In line with my life's current theme of starting FRESH, I am sticking with my trademark one-luggage travel style. Yes, it is possible. I will make it happen. What's life without these small challenges, right? All I have to do is squeeze 20 years of my life into one check-in suitcase and one carry-on bag. Yeah.

So there, I'm currently in the process of shedding off life's non-necessities. 80% of my worldly possessions will be up for grabs at a garage sale next week. Leftovers from the sale will be donated to the less fortunate. Win-win.

I feel good about this. I'll soon be rid of clutter. It makes me realize that I don't really need a lot of things to make me happy. I can actually live inside my suitcase! I'm ready to redirect my energies to more productive, more important things in life. What things? Honestly, I don't know yet. We'll figure this out as we move along.

14 more days til I fly!

Transition Periods

Life's full of it. Transition periods. Though most of the time we are not aware of it. They last for two seconds, two years, two decades. No clear-cut durations. No specific timing. No specific topics. One olympic-size pool of dissolved encounters, memories, events. We'll never be rid of it. There's no such thing as a clean slate. That much I learned. You are an irreversible product of your choices. I just wish we're all smart enough to arrange for ample personal buffer periods.

I'm learning how to do this for a while now. To just stop. To cocoon. Instead of the good old habit of just throwing myself, head first, leaping without thinking, into my next adventure. Lundagin mo beybe! is not meant to be taken so lightly.. or literally.

I guess that's why the past year felt like one great transition period. All those times when I was supposed to stop-and-think-but-didn't decided to finally pool themselves together and throw a big party. I like it. I'm not used to it, but I like it. I guess that's one of the primary reasons why I decided to start an actual blog. I need this outlet if I intend to stay rooted.. focused.. sane. I tend to float when I'm thinking.

I'm leaving for LA in 18 days. For good. I can't describe the feeling in just one word so i'll use this: anxious-excited. Wish me luck in Wonderland.