People come and go

Maybe that’s the reason why lately I have found myself stuck inside my own little world….

It’s hard to invest on relationships only to see them come to an end when all common ties also come to an end.

Maybe that’s why it’s better to invest big parts of your savings on a few investments that you know you can focus on and will bring enormous returns; rather than investing small parts of your savings on many investments only to find out that those little investments will soon be gone. Quality over quantity, they say.

So now, I really don’t feel the need to maintain some relationships. At least not as much as I used to. At the same time, I don’t really feel the need to gain so much more. At least I should be selective from now on.

If you see the “new” me sitting in one corner instead of mingling with everyone else, I’m not being unfriendly or arrogant. I’m just learning this new concept of people coming and going.

It's Monday morning...

It’s Monday morning and it’s the start of the workweek. Two weeks into my first ever real job, I can’t really say that I’ve fully adjusted to it. I’m coping and sorta getting the hang of it but I’m still encountering so many new things that are supposed to be protocol or at least should be known by everyone in my profession.

At least I can say I’m happy with what I’m doing and with all that’s happening. I’m learning a lot from my firm and, at the same time, enjoying the experience. I don’t get too burdened with workload (at least, not yet). I can say that I get just the right amount to let me have good training as a starting lawyer. The atmosphere in the office is also very conducive to working. I don’t get too much pressure – which is good, considering my health condition. In fact, I just went to my kidney doctor last Saturday for a check-up and my laboratory results were good and stable. My doctor made the observation that my work doesn’t seem to affect my health.

I’m looking forward to many different new encounters again this week. And the week after. And the week after that…

Bottom Rung

It's hard to be the bottom rung of the ladder.

The end of the food chain.

The youngest and the most inexperienced in a professional group.

While I feel that I have gained the trust and confidence of most of the partners and my fellow associates whom I have dealt with, there's this one particular partner (who happens to be the big boss in the particular fields I am interested in) whom I feel uncomfortable working with mainly because I know he still doesn't trust me with the work I do. I'm not against all his criticisms of my work; in fact, I'm a very open-minded person. However, it's the way he makes it known to me and to others that I still don't know what exactly I am doing.

As the youngest associate in the firm, his presumption is that I will always lack something in my pleadings. I will always have grammatical errors. And there will always be a better way to put into words whatever I have written. The presumption is just always against me!

The other associates say that it's just his style of training new associates. And that I mustn't lose confidence in myself. And when he sees consistently excellent work, he does give a pat on the back and some uplifting words. And then he'll learn to trust.

I vow to work my ass off in every task he gives me and show him what I'm really made of.

I'm not just a bottom rung. I'm the bottom rung of the ladder.

A Tribute to the Real Winner of AI

Melinda Doolittle is, without doubt, the best singer of 'em all!

An Eventful First Week

In my first week of work, I already have...

• done my own pleadings, legal memos, contracts and the like (normal lawyerly stuff...)
• eaten my first attorney's fees (a binalot meal prepared by our clients)
• attended a CBA negotiation meeting with big shots
  
• gotten words of wisdom from those who have long been practicing (it's definitely good training)
  
• eaten out with all the lawyers of the firm, partners and associates alike
• semi-settled in my own room
• gotten lazy and pretended to be busy from morning til afternoon
  
• downloaded YM on my computer and chatted with friends while working
• given orders to apprentices of the firm (tasks which I was supposed to do)
  
• met with clients, both formally and informally
• learned how to evade paying for whole-day parking
  
• gone on an out-of-town trip (and actually drove going there. it was my first long distance trip wherein I drove)
  
• went on a side trip while on official business outside the office (upon the influence of another associate, of course. but i gave in easily!)
  
• dealt with armed men (around 20 of them!) and three bulldozers (peacefully, of course. we were outnumbered in terms of men and weapons)
  
• had a series of unfortunate events (like getting a hole on my pants, for instance)
• gotten attached and emotional over a case
• met some great people at work
• realized that I can actually like and do this kind of work for a long period of time, if not for the rest of my life...

It has, indeed, been an eventful first week.

My First Day of Work

Ok, so I'm at my office right now and I'm writing a legal opinion. I'm stumped coz I don't know how to solve this damn case. But i'm happy. :)

And I'm doubly happy now that I found out I can blog here in the office! (Now I just have to figure out how to use YM.)

Gotta get back to work now.

The Day I Officially Became a Lawyer

After the results of the bar exams were released a month ago and having learned that I passed the same, I still had to undergo two acts before I could officially become a lawyer. The first was our Oath taking which I attended last week. The second was the signing of the Roll of Attorneys which I did yesterday morning. Thus, i can proudly say that I am already a full-fledged member of the Philippine Bar! :)

It actually feels a bit weird, you know. And it feels particularly peculiar on two points.

First. My group of friends and I agreed to meet up a few minutes before our roll signing. We did such so that we could do our signing consecutively and thus have consecutive roll numbers as well (which, i think, we will use for the rest of our lives). I brought along with me my parents and my sister. L brought her aunt. P was with his mother and Z brought his parents as well. M was missing in action because she was abroad (in J). It felt a bit strange: here we were, a group of soon-to-be lawyers friends doing our normal crazy routines, with our parents and/or relatives on the other corner mingling with each other. It felt like we were in kindergarten. Which I believe we still are. Z brought hangers with him which L had to carry. One of the hangers eventually became part of history as it became part of our pictures. P was in his normal quiet self but every sentence he said had to have a curse which L berated. I was just there laughing my way through when my pen suddenly didn't work as I was about to sign my roll (I still believe it was Z's fault!) and smiling at every picture being taken. It certainly feels good. Moving on and yet staying the same.

Second. Everything that's been happening in my life just seems so surreal. I still can't fully take in the fact that I'm already a lawyer, albeit my health issues and my usual laziness towards studying. I can name so many people who are more deserving to become a lawyer than I. Who would have thought that this spur-of-the-moment decision I made right after college of entering law school would ultimately become my career? And the responsibility and maturity that lawyering entails! I honestly don't think I'm ready for that. What if I'm simply not cut out for it? But despite all these questions and uncertainties in my head, it does feel good to actually achieve something. It's time to move on and change for the better.


On the day I officially became I lawyer, I learned how to move on and resolve which part of me stays the same and which part of me grows.

First Glance

My two adorable baby nieces.

just a thought

i just find it funny that when you have so much time in your hands, you realize at the end of the day how little you have accomplished; but when you're pressed for time, that's when you're most productive.