Monday, August 25, 2008 Girls will always be girls By Luis Quibranza III
TWO respected women. Surrounded in all aura, essence or spirit “corporate authority,” they are suddenly caught by confusion and tension when asked one simple question.
“Are you a shoe or a bag person?”
I guess girls will always be girls.
Both handling public relation positions in Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa and Plantation Bay Resort and Spa respectively, Mildred Amon and Joanna Cuenco enter the competitive world with feminine grace.
Meet Mildred. She’s currently the director of communications at her workplace. She carries with her not only sophistication, but also a charm that can disarm. And to the guys out there, she’s still single.
“I am not looking, they’ll be looking for me,” she playfully challenges while laughing.
A self-confessed bookworm and coffee addict, she claims to be a great fan of Paolo Coelho’s works and her favorite one is
The Alchemist.
Would she prefer romantic comedies over action flicks for a movie? You bet.
Just barely two months in the Queen City of the South, Mildred says that Cebu unlike Manila (where she was based before) has a great balance of the “city” life and the “laid back” feel.
She recalls her first job up north and years back as a production coordinator for the PBA.
Now, she’s a seasoned professional, experienced in years. And in these times, she says that her inspiration to get her through life is her mom.
“I know it’s a bit cliché. But if you can rewind your life and view it, you can see that there’s no one to turn to but you’re family. Consciously or sub-consciously, they’re the ones who’s with you at your highest and lowest points.”
Then we meet this young girl. Dainty, diligent and just 22 years old. Meet the purpose-driven Joanna.
She is a public relations associate in her workplace and has been in that position for 11 months now.
But don’t let the title draw conclusions to what this girl can do. For Joanna, variety is the name of the game.
“I can eat anywhere from Siomai sa Tisa to The Gustavian,” she assures gleefully.
At work, pressure is served on a daily basis and the stress piles up hour after hour.
To cope, Joanna hangs out with her friends, watches movies once a week and like Mildred, is also into books. Besides also having an interest in photography and traveling, Joanna is an exercise-buff.
She might be some workout machine in the gym, as she confesses that for once a time before she’d workout six out of seven days a week.
But like most girls, she’s helpless when offered a slice of that luscious chocolate cake.
“I’d have to say that chocolate cake is my ultimate comfort food,” she admits.
But what I have to know (and I ask this in behalf of other curious readers) is how it feels to be in such a post that calls for greater responsibility at such a young age?
“At 22, it’s a challenge. I feel very blessed to be given this opportunity; to be able to push myself and establish my future.
And I believe God wouldn’t just give me anything I couldn’t bear. I just feel very blessed.”
Her inspirations in life are her parents, boss and most of all, God.
So there you have it. Two stories told about courageous women daring to do greater things.
By the way, their answer to the shoe or bag question?
