Pre-Requisites

Now that I'm almost officially part of the labor force, I need to work on some papers and important aspects of being employed.

First off, woke up very early and took a quickie shower. Mom and I dropped off my sister in DLSU then proceeded to park in McDo. We had breakfast there before taking the LRT. It's been a while since I took the LRT and most of the time, I had used LRT3. At first, mom and I were bangag coz we forgot that we had to cross the street near Benilde and then go up the station.

We then bought tickets to Carriedo, where I can get my NBI clearance. I remembered the last time my mom and I rode on the LRT. I was around 6 years old. The old LRT used coins/tokens to pass through. There was no aircon yet and there were no carts for women and the elderly. It was very hot and humid, not to mention the stench of human sweat and hard work.

Anyway, I haven't been to that part of town [Carriedo] so I was a bit excited to go there. We went along Taft and saw some schools there, Emilio Aguinaldo, Phil. Christian University, Phil. Women's, etc.

When we got off Carriedo, I'm sure we looked like fools because mom was taking her personal trip down memory lane. We just stood in the middle of the place for about 3 minutes while people passed us by. She told me that this place used to be the rowdiest, most crowded part of old Manila. The roads where jeepneys used to passed through are gone. Instead, it was like a plaza. There were a lot of vendors, street kids and homeless people loittering about [it was only 8am] or sleeping in cartons and huge plastics. The place smelled like sewers and week-old garbage.

We then went to NBI and proceeded to some guy named Ferdie. My mom's nephew used to work here in the legal department before he moved to customs so we had connections. It's very convenient to have connections here in the Philippines. As long as you know key persons and have sufficient resources, it's as good as sitting in the couch at the comfort of your own home.

Mom and I went inside Quiapo church and said a little prayer. I said a little wish because it was my first time there. The church was impressive. I was also surprised to know that this church has been in existence for 400 years already. They said that wherever the church is, most of the important buildings are near it too. Provinces are like that.

We went around for a while, bought 2 pairs of step-ins for a hundred each; blouses; clips; and then we ate lunch at Jollibee. Mom went to the store she always goes to when she was in college and I can feel that nostalgia was coming onto her fast.

It's nice to know that your parents, once upon a time had been college students. I guess it was exciting to live at that time. Life was simpler then. It was appreciated more.

As for my TIN and SSS, I already have them but we decided to go to the regional offices and request for IDs.

All in all, this day was very productive. Mom and I got to spend more time with each other. I wish I had more moments like this with my mom. But it's because of these rare moments that I truly, really get to appreciate my mom.

Probably in different circumstance, she could've been my best friend. But I think I must have been a saint in a lifetime because God gave me the best mother one could ever have.