✱ Long overdue oil change!
Last weekend we had our long overdue oil change and PMS at Shell Dahlia. We’re supposed to do it every 8 months or 10,000 km, whichever comes first daw. But well, it’s been 15 months and the car has only been driven 2,000 km since. We usually go with the distance marker cos it looks more practical, but at our current rate it’ll take us over 5 years to get the oil changed lol and that’s something no one should ever do unless you enjoy riding an active road hazard.
The mechanic says everything looks good except for the AT fluid which needs changing. Have to buy this from Toyota directly so we’ll get to that this weekend. It’s the first time I heard of such fluid. Apparently it’s used to lubricate the transmission component of the car to ensure smooth shifting from gear to gear.
We got the battery checked as well cos it’s going 2 years and 10 months already and I feel like the headlights are starting to dim. The battery tester says it’s at 62%, mechanic says it still a good number but if we’re starting to observe some performance issues then it’s probably time to change.
I did some Googling and it found that SOH (state of health) refers to the condition of the battery cells relative to its age, maybe like our phone battery health? SOC (state of charge) is the battery level relative to its capacity, so it’s uhm 99% charged in a 62% capable battery. RES (resistance) – I don’t really understand this but it says the lower the value of the internal resistance, the better the battery can discharge a high voltage load. Today I learned! Thanks to this Q&A.
✱ Maya and my first crypto purchase
So Paymaya recently rebranded into a neobank and it’s offering 6% p.a. savings as its early access promo. Naturally I have to try. I pulled out a small amount from CIMB and transferred it to Maya. For CIMB to GCash to Paymaya, transfer fee is ₱15 via InstaPay. Maya Bank is not listed yet so I have to move from Paymaya wallet to Maya bank account within the same app.
Since they also offer crypto on the platform, I tried that as well. Don’t really know much about bitcoin so I just bought ₱500 worth. I mean it plumetted quickly cos I bought it on a downtrend lol but that’s fine as I only intend to watch it fluctuate.
✱ Looking out
You know I’m dreading RTO so much that I started handing out resumes to several companies through LinkedIn. I’m specifically avoiding consulting firms and agencies and so far I’ve gotten to three HR interviews. They all happened last week on Friday. It was a back-to-back-to-back interview begining 3pm and what can I say, I think it only made me more grateful for the firm lol.
Company 1 has enough budget for my asking, offers permanent remote work, but I don’t think I’m a good fit for the role. It’s an automation testing role that uses technologies I’m familiar with but have never used within the scope of testing.
Company 2 has no budget for my asking, so they tried to encourage me by sharing their benefits. I was a bit hopeful about this company because the Jobstreet and Glassdoor reviews are good, and they’re listed in Great Place to Work PH so those count for something right? But again, I don’t think I’m a good fit because they wanted an automation tester with experience on Selenium and Cucumber so I’m definitely not the person they’re looking for. Their max budget for the role is pretty much my current basic pay already so I decided not to pursue. The benefits are okay but not stellar compared to what I’m currently enjoying.
Company 3 is also a no-go. The position looks promising, very relevant to what I’m currently doing. The tools and technologies match, my years of experience check out, and it’s a big company with a big infrastructure so it excited me how much I could learn from developing in such a scaled up environment. However, as much as I felt the fit, they couldn’t possibly meet me at my asking price. Their budget is way below my current salary. And my asking, according to the HR is already on the executive level lol.
So yeah, after the call HR formally told me they’ll keep me in the pool but would not pursue with my application. We talked for over 30 minutes, starting with a long primer on the history of the company, it’s partners, subsidiaries, and parent conglomerate. It’s actually the same company I worked with 10 years ago as a fresh grad haha, and back then the HR didn’t give me this intro lol so I actually learned a lot haha.
It’s kinda sad that none of the interviews worked out for me. It made me wonder if I’m actually overpaid or I’m just looking at the wrong companies lol. Actually no I’m not overpaid, some companies – specially local ones – just don’t have the budget haha. Also, as my husband says, “better overpaid than underpaid”.
It also gave me an insight at how blessed I am with the firm. In 5 years my pay has increased by 56% so I’m still on track as far as my personal standards go. My workload is manageable, my teammates are all great to work with, my manager is cool, and my office friends are a delight. I’ve become so comfortable I don’t wanna leave. Also I don’t wanna lose the iphone plan I literally can’t afford it haha.
Okay that said I think I’m gonna give RTO a chance. Still actively responding to promising opportunities though, specially overseas ones!
✱ YouTube payout
Good news! I just got my second YouTube payout! I’m saying it’s YouTube but it’s actually Google Adsense so that’s a combination of my blog and vlog earnings. The income ratio being 25% blog and 75% vlog so yeah it’s mostly YouTube. I set my withdrawal threshold to $200 and I was able to reach it in six months! I know it’s not that big, when I got in the Youtube Partner Program (aka monetized my channel) my first payout came nine months later. So this arriving three months early is a great thing! It means I’m still earning lol. It’s fun to get paid doing stuff you enjoy no? lol