New job, longer commutes, and a road accident

I have so many stories to tell, and there were a lot of times I wanted to write about something immediately but can't because I'm too busy. Now things have piled up and I don't know where to start haha. Okay, so let's do it chronologically!

New job!

I started with my new job last week (August 22). The first four days is dedicated to onboarding us. We learned a lot about White & Case, its founders, the history, vision and mission, the executive committee members, blah, blah, blah. To be honest I've never attended an onboarding this in-depth. Everyday we do a recap of all the concepts. We do quizzes, we recite, etc. Very classroom like. Can't say I hated it.

As part of our initiation (as I'd like to call it) to the company, they made us complete this signature sheet and human bingo card where we had to hunt for people and get their signatures. It wasn't supposed to be competitive but there's a consequence for losing so might as well put some energy into it. Argh.

True to their values, the entire week was indeed very engaging. I met a lot of people and gained new friends. My introverted self was challenged to the core and eventually has gotten used to the cringing sensation of shaking hands and introducing myself. What have you, even public speaking didn't taunt me that much. Noice.

Longer commutes

I remember being scared of leaving Pointwest because for three years I'm only 30 minutes away from work, and I don't think I'm ready to journey back to Ayala every freaking day. But thank God my schedule is midshift so I wasn't too worried about getting caught in traffic. The only problem is going home! Even though the ride home is a breeze (Ayala to Fairview in 45 minutes can you believe it), it's already too late and too dark and I have to cross the super well lit overpass at FCM (note sarcasm) pa to reach home. So I tried bringing the car to work, not really to Ayala but I found a flat-rate parking area at Centris Quezon Avenue so the plan is to leave the car there and commute to work, then go back for it after my shift. I was happy at the thought of not crossing the overpass anymore.

But well, two days into it an I got into a road accident!

This time with a PUJ

My poor Vios getting used to my incompetent driving.

Can't dive into the details but in summary: I hit (was hit by) a jeepney while turning to Quezon Avenue. Thank God I was not alone. I was with three of my officemates and they're all such great moral support. As in, just the fact that someone's there with you makes a lot of difference. One of them called the MMDA to check so in a few minutes we got authorities at the incident.

We went to the police station and filed a police report, and because me and the jeepney driver is accusing each other and there's no concrete evidence, we have to elevate things to the court. OMG. Thank God I have insurance so I can leave the dirty work to them.

A bunch of learnings:
- In case of a traffic accident. DO NOT MOVE YOUR CAR until you've taken pictures and videos of the situation. Get out and record the scene, you need to get an angle of the road, where you are, where the other car is, your surroundings, the damage, and even the signages around. Who knows if the jeepney was entering private lane? Or you are crossing theirs?
- If you can help it... JUST LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE AS IS until the first responders arrive. Don't let anyone move their car without agreeing to certain terms. If they move, they're guilty. Char. If the scene remains untouched, the MMDA can sketch the incident and decide who's at fault. If you're causing traffic, make sure you've taken enough pictures before moving your car out of the way.
- SAVE MMDA HOTLINE - 136. Have extra load with you because it's not free to call. GRR.
- If you must really take matters to the precinct, ask the MMDA officer which Police Station covers the place of accident. In our case, Centris is covered by some police station at Project 8. We were escorted to the place and filed an incident report there.

Sobrang hassle but thank God because:
- We're all safe
- I have friends with me. What do I do without you guysss. Thank you Bear, Tats, and Mhy for staying with me! Shempre na-abala ko sila so I felt bad for wasting their time but I'm super thankful at how supportive they were <3
- My load didn't expire until I got home, whew. I was able to call my dad for help but since he's with my mom at the hospital, he called my uncle to back me up.
- My uncle followed me to the precinct. So overall I wasn't too fazed by the situation hahaha.
- My dad is very very calm. Every time I get into accidents like this, he always makes sure I learn something from it first before telling me what my faults are.

Hay! It's less than a month before my wedding and I damaged my bridal car hahaha. Sana mapaayos agad haha