That familiar happy-stressed-rushed feeling!
Wow, my life felt like EDSA on rush hour back there! But damn, it sure felt exhilarating! It feels so good to be this alive!
Short recap. Woke up earlier than usual today to get to the office ASAP and made sure I could leave by 4 PM for an interview with Jesi Mendez at 5 PM. L'Oreal needed a writer (freelance at that, so I luckily fit the bill, yay!) to do a press release for Jesi's new concept salon/cafe at the Promenade, but since the original writer couldn't make it, oli_birdie asked me if I could do it. With this opportunity in my face, how could I resist?
Jesi Mendez was really nice, a bit low-profile and not the typical drama-queen-ish salon owner I'd conjured in my mind. This was the first time I actually saw/met him and I was relieved he wasn't that bald, masa-salon guy I initially mistook him for.
Nakakahiya!!! Haha! Now isn't it obvious I know almost zilch about the salon industry (though I gotta hand it to Birdie for educating me on a lot of stuff, nyahaha).
The salon/cafe's at the third floor of the Promenade, and the first thing you notice is the uber clean, crisp, white interiors. The cafe is intentionally al fresco, and looks quite promising, overlooking the people and parking area below. I've yet to see it fully constructed during the grand opening on the 10th or 15th. But what I'm seeing right now is the kind of intimacy that the cafe will lend to the whole thing. Top-of-mind-image: Jesi going around the cafe casually chatting up clientele.
Claire Estacio from L'Oreal Sales accompanied me throughout and I was grateful I had someone to share part of the happy-stress with. Thank God microcassettes come in packs of three! We initially thought the recorder that was lent to me wasn't working. We were panicking because the record button wouldn't budge. It was the tape, darnit.
After giving us a tour of the salon/cafe, Jesi invited us to Cibo where we'd have the interview. There I was feeling what I haven't felt since my Guidon days - the thrill and excitement of meeting someone new and just listening to that someone tell his/her story. It's also the thrill of having that privilege and responsibility to tell the same story to the world.
A few minutes later, a friend of Jesi's from GMA (Bong something, I failed to get his full name but I think he's also Jesi's publicist) came and sat with us, and put in some more good words. You could tell both of them were close friends ever since, they were so cute talking and laughing about the good-ol' 70s and 80s.
Several other friends and stylists joined us at the table. They kept commenting about the smooth, blank artboard that was my face, and how so so tempting it was to give me a makeover (sooo... I guess those weren't compliments?). Okay, so maybe the powder, liner and lip gloss I put on earlier wasn't as noticeable as I thought, and more so under Cibo's yellow lights.
Bottom line, I really really enjoyed and am so thankful I got to do an interview after so long! Much love and thanks to my sweetie especially... *SMILES*
And guess who called earlier today?
I've an interview tomorrow at 11 AM with none other than Myrza Sison herself. Here we go.
Well, not that fear is gripping me again. But it's something worth considering still, and as long as there's no offer in sight, I'm keeping that one option open. I might try haggling but if that doesn't work, I'm definitely pitching the freelancing option.
Short recap. Woke up earlier than usual today to get to the office ASAP and made sure I could leave by 4 PM for an interview with Jesi Mendez at 5 PM. L'Oreal needed a writer (freelance at that, so I luckily fit the bill, yay!) to do a press release for Jesi's new concept salon/cafe at the Promenade, but since the original writer couldn't make it, oli_birdie asked me if I could do it. With this opportunity in my face, how could I resist?
Jesi Mendez was really nice, a bit low-profile and not the typical drama-queen-ish salon owner I'd conjured in my mind. This was the first time I actually saw/met him and I was relieved he wasn't that bald, masa-salon guy I initially mistook him for.
Nakakahiya!!! Haha! Now isn't it obvious I know almost zilch about the salon industry (though I gotta hand it to Birdie for educating me on a lot of stuff, nyahaha).
The salon/cafe's at the third floor of the Promenade, and the first thing you notice is the uber clean, crisp, white interiors. The cafe is intentionally al fresco, and looks quite promising, overlooking the people and parking area below. I've yet to see it fully constructed during the grand opening on the 10th or 15th. But what I'm seeing right now is the kind of intimacy that the cafe will lend to the whole thing. Top-of-mind-image: Jesi going around the cafe casually chatting up clientele.
Claire Estacio from L'Oreal Sales accompanied me throughout and I was grateful I had someone to share part of the happy-stress with. Thank God microcassettes come in packs of three! We initially thought the recorder that was lent to me wasn't working. We were panicking because the record button wouldn't budge. It was the tape, darnit.
After giving us a tour of the salon/cafe, Jesi invited us to Cibo where we'd have the interview. There I was feeling what I haven't felt since my Guidon days - the thrill and excitement of meeting someone new and just listening to that someone tell his/her story. It's also the thrill of having that privilege and responsibility to tell the same story to the world.
A few minutes later, a friend of Jesi's from GMA (Bong something, I failed to get his full name but I think he's also Jesi's publicist) came and sat with us, and put in some more good words. You could tell both of them were close friends ever since, they were so cute talking and laughing about the good-ol' 70s and 80s.
Several other friends and stylists joined us at the table. They kept commenting about the smooth, blank artboard that was my face, and how so so tempting it was to give me a makeover (sooo... I guess those weren't compliments?). Okay, so maybe the powder, liner and lip gloss I put on earlier wasn't as noticeable as I thought, and more so under Cibo's yellow lights.
Bottom line, I really really enjoyed and am so thankful I got to do an interview after so long! Much love and thanks to my sweetie especially... *SMILES*
And guess who called earlier today?
I've an interview tomorrow at 11 AM with none other than Myrza Sison herself. Here we go.
Well, not that fear is gripping me again. But it's something worth considering still, and as long as there's no offer in sight, I'm keeping that one option open. I might try haggling but if that doesn't work, I'm definitely pitching the freelancing option.