Status: God himself could not contain us.
Music: One Last Song - Josiah Leming

I was just browsing through my files and I couldn’t help but snicker at the articles I had written in the past months: medical packaging, bungee cargo nets, pimp canes, folding cutting tables and oh, get this, industrial vinyl extrusions.

Five months ago, I started working as a web writer for my current employer. Although the company is despicable in all sense of the word, I am proud to say that our team’s client is anything but. To be honest, never has the thought of staying here this long entered my mind. But yeah, I’ve been here for five months and I seem to be counting some more.

I remember posting this on my third day at work:

My friends have been asking me how I find my new job as a writer. They ask me if it’s fulfilling. And of course, I have a default answer. “I don’t need a fulfilling job right now. The only job that will give me fulfillment is being a diplomat. And until I become one, I don’t need to feel fulfilled. I just need to feel happy.”

Surprisingly, right now, I feel both happy and fulfilled. The job turned out to be the best training that any type of writer could ever get. On my first day here, I was required to write about romantic love. It was probably the easiest topic any writer as hopeless romantic as me could get. Then the next days brought me diverse topics ranging from GPS dog tracking to jock itch to hoist brakes. Who cares about hoist brakes? Exactly.

I even wrote about how cozy hotels and how fantastic restaurants in Omaha are. Oh yes, Omaha is a nice city. But it would’ve been nicer had I actually been there.

Some of the topics, I’d never even heard of before. Sometimes, resources were scarce; thus, I had to squeeze so much creative juice from the deepest recesses of my brain, which used to contain only a little perversions and a lot of arrogance.

Yes, I am so happy and fulfilled right now that no one would ever believe I have considered filing a resignation more than a couple of times. There have been moments of boredom and depression but they were all mainly because of the HR’s horrendous (mis)management and the company’s pay, not of the job itself.

My mum doesn’t like me working here. She’s been urging me persistently to quit this job even before I accepted it. I can’t blame her. I used to take home PhP 27,000 a month when I was the Research, Development and Projects Director for Take 4 until they moved to Cabanatuan. Now, I receive less than half of that.

There have also been several job offers that came my way. One at an international school as a teacher. Three, as an editor at publishing companies. Others, advertising and film jobs that I have long avoided. In fact, I’m supposed to be in Paranaque right now for an interview for a Business Editor position.

The truth is, I don’t have a friggin’ idea why I choose to stay each time.

On second thought, I have. It’s the people here. It’s my teammates. It’s the people I work with that make me feel happy and fulfilled. Something I did not expect in an environment where the sound of fingers making love with the keyboard is ambient. I love my co-writers (or at least, most of them) and my editors. They are all so nice and lovable. Yeah, like me. Wahaha.

Perhaps, I’m the only one cocky here. Yes, I have a humongous head but these people make me feel I am worthy of every cubic inch of pride I pump into it. And for that, I am thankful.

I’ll be staying. Maybe a bit longer. Maybe a lot longer. I like the training I receive here. I mean, come on, if you can write about recycled industrial vinyl extrusions, what is there that you can’t write about?

*image courtesy of cnn.com

If you liked this post, you might want to check out: