The Server of Iris

21

That was my age when I graduated from college.

Top marks. Top of the class. The smartest guy in the room.

Finding a good paying job and starting up my own career should be easy, right?

Wrong.

Oh, I was so wrong.

My expectations were skyhigh. I thought when companies saw my credentials with flying colors, they'd hire me right away.

But no. They didn't.

They always prefer someone who already have "years of job experience".

"You can train me, Sir. I'm more than willing to learn new things in this company." I eagerly answered.

"I'm sorry, son, we can't. What we need is a professional - a person who already knows how to do this job properly and efficiently, as soon as possible. We'll call you when there's a vacancy.". The cold manager replied.

They have no more time to train a newbie like me, and they don't want to spend anymore resources to pay for the cost of that training.

They, "The Big Leagues", "The Corporate World", prefers someone "better". Always choosing the "perfect guy for the job" and not me.

It's also a possibility that they feel threatened about me. That maybe one day, I'll take away their position and rise higher above them. "Cut the root, kill the threat." as the old saying goes.

Or maybe, this is just a rough estimation of mine, there's a hundred thousand job vacancies in the country and there's a million fresh graduates looking for a job, just like me.

Sigh...

Job hunting in the concrete jungle has never been so fierce.

For two years, I've looked for a job that's related to my degree, which is Electrical Engineering. I e-mailed many copies of my resume to different companies and went to countless interviews.

I've waited patiently for a long time, expecting some good news.

And the result? Nothing.

I've been turned down and rejected.

Rejected, rejected, rejected...

I need to find a job. I need to earn some money. We're not rich, and our savings is running out. My parents are getting old and I need to provide for them. Their pension is not that much and we're barely making ends meet... How can I pay them back for all the support they've given me? They've sacrificed so much just to make me finish my college...

I also have plans and dreams too you know... There's this girl I really like when I was in college. We're good friends and, of course, I want us to be more than that.

"One day, I'm going to marry her." I said to myself. "I'm gonna work hard... Save lots of money, buy a house, and buy that gem-studded, 24 karat gold wedding ring. But I'm gonna keep it all a secret, save the best for last. I want to surprise her.

First and foremost, I'm gonna ask her to go out on a date with me. We're going to eat that delicious korean barbeque in a nice restaurant. Eat the world famous, Japanese melon bread for dessert. Go and play coin-operated video games and crane machines in the arcade. Watch an epic romantic anime movie in the cinema, to set the mood and also express my intentions for a little bit. And as the sun sets on the horizon, we'll walk on the white sand beach. I'll show to her, I'll prove to her, that I'm a good man and I can provide for her. And then, when the moment is right, I'll confess all the feelings that I've kept inside my heart for so long. I'll do my best to make her like me back! She's going to be my girlfriend and I'll be so proud of her, I'll show her off to my friends! And introduce her to my parents! We're gonna know each other so well, and I'm gonna love her so much.

I want to do all the romantic things couples do. I want to feel, I want to experience it all! The happiness of finding your one true love and being in love!

And then, one day, when I'm ready, when she's ready, when the time is right, I'm gonna propose to her under the famous Narra tree with Christmas Capiz lanterns. We're gonna get married and start our own family. We'll have 3, maybe 4 children, and we'll be so happy..."

That was the plan.

That was the dream.

But it never happened.

Everything that can go wrong, went wrong.

I was too slow...

For two years, I've looked for a good paying job...

And within those years... She, the girl of my dreams, Irma De Los Santos, found another man, a reliable man, and got married...

I wasn't even invited on their wedding day...

Maybe, it's a good thing they didn't invite me. It's just putting salt on wound...

All these thoughts are running inside my mind and it's giving me a massive headache.

Sigh... Why aren't they hiring me? Is it because the whole country is in recession? Is the economy really that bad...?

Or am I... Not good enough...?

The thought is depressing.

But...

In the darkest moment of my life, light breakthrough and hope came flooding in.

I just realized something.

"If you can't find the thing you're looking for... Why not create it yourself...?"

It was so obvious that I said to myself,

"Well, duh..."

My name is Teslan Dama De Noche, yes, you heard that right. My father named me after the famous scientist and inventor, Nikola Tesla... Now I know why...

I'm 23 years old. I'm weird, geek, nerd, crazy, mad, ugly, four eyes, loser, tinker, whatever names they call me, I'm all that plus more. And I'm gonna prove to the peoples of the earth that you don't need the corporate world to have a good paying job and a good life. No. I'm gonna destroy the very thing that rejected me and create a new world for every, single, unhappy, jobless person out there.

I'm gonna make the dreams and fantasies of all the brokenhearted people like me come true.

After all these painful years, my Eureka moment finally came...

The Server of Iris.

This is my first log to my Voice Diary.

End recording.